New Article: Jehovah's Witnesses and Chosen Ignorance

daringhart13

Would love your feedback. Thanks gang!

http://darrinhart.hubpages.com/hub/Jehovahs-Witnesses-and-The-Chosen-Path-of-Ignorance

I do not believe that anyone who becomes the victim of brainwashing, is capable of making 'choices', thus I do not believe that in that context, a JW - most especially lifers/youngsters 'choose' ignorance. sw

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Overcoming The Bondage Of Victimization

A Critical Evaluation of Cult Mind Control Theories

© 1994 by Bob and Gretchen Passantino.

This article first appeared in Cornerstone Magazine

"You've got to get my daughter back," Margaret pleaded. "She was such a beautiful girl, such a good student! It's like she's another person. She used to think for herself, she used to spend time with us. Now her whole life is consumed by the Center. Please help us -- I don't care what it costs or how long it takes!"

Margaret's adult daughter had joined a religious cult, and she was now talking to an exit counselor, a professional who specialized in "interventions" for persons supposedly trapped under mind control in cultic movements.

The exit counselor explained that Margaret's daughter was a victim of mind control and described its four components: (1) behavior control, (2) thought control, (3) emotional control, and (4) information control. He said these techniques had combined to rob her daughter of the ability to make responsible and rational choices. The counselor informed them that neither the family nor the daughter were to blame for this cult involvement: at the right time, mind control could bring anyone into a cult.///

cofty

Excellent article Darrin.

"Nothing sways the stupid more than arguments they can't understand." - Cardinal de Retz

The WT live by this maxim. I could list many topics where there are long convoluted articles that are designed to give the appearance that they have actually answered a question that they have in fact evaded.

You are correct to identify intellectually laziness and fear as the two big obstacles.

RayPublisher

Nice article very well written! Thanks Darrin. We need as many blogs as we can get like this one.

The Searcher

Excellent and accurate summation of the laziness of Witnesses - and I'm not being unfair to my brothers and sisters by saying that.

When speaking to a brother recently about a false teaching of the Org, (former Service Committee Elder) he commented, "But Searcher, you're far better at doing Bible research than I am!" Cop-out!!

He was an Elder who used to give Public Talks, was a "shepherd" of the congregation, and has a college degree!!!! Whereas I left school with no qualifications, hated reading books, and detested studying anything!

Witnesses just want their ears tickled by 'Mother', and will roll over whenever they are told to do so. They have no more self-respect or independent thinking ability than performing animals in a zoo - they are totally controlled (willingly) in every aspect of their lives by their 'gods' in Brooklyn in whom they depend for their salvation!

God help them!!!

ILoveTTATT

I loved it!! Shared it too!!

Crazyguy

A rabbi once said "give me a boy till age 9 and ill give you the man". Indoctrination is a powerful thing.

Magnum

Totally agree. I used to tell people in the ministry "I know more about your religion than you do". That may have been true, but I now realize that I didn't know that much about my own religion's history.

It burns me up now observing the vast ignorance among JWs including the following:

ignorance of the Bible as a book - where it came from, how certain books were chosen to become the Bible, etc.
ignorance of Bible content
ignorance of JW doctrine
ignorance of JW history
ignorance of JW policy
just plain old ignorance in general

We have two girls in one of the local congs, both about 19. They comment a lot, bounce around after the meetings, supposedly go out in service a lot, act like spiritual bigshots, etc. I swear they are clueless. My wife told me that one of them didn't know who Abraham was. If you told them to put Noah, Abraham, Jeremiah, and Jesus in the order in which they lived, they would be clueless. I honestly don't think they could tell you whether Jesus came before Noah. Yet these girls are going out "teaching" the Bible to others.

We had an elder who went to the past annual meeting during which the 'GB = FDS' change was made. It went over his head. I swear I think he still doesn't know that the GB = the FDS.

I could give many other specific examples of JW ignorance. It's infuriating to think that they think that they are the light of the world when they're clueless and ignorant.

cha ching

The Bible itself states:

"... do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not teach yourself?" - Romans 2:21

...

Despite all the proof being at their fingertips, on their personal bookshelves, on their CD Rom libraries... Jehovah's Witnesses, considered both 'strong' and 'weak' won't seek the truth. They choose to bury their heads in sand.... despite claiming their very lives depend on knowing the truth.

...

Jehovah's Witnesses stand up at a circuit or district assembly and pledge allegiance to an organization. They are required to answer 'yes' to the following question before they are immersed in baptism:

"Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization? Having answered yes to these questions, candidates are in a right heart condition to undergo Christian baptism." Watchtower 1985 Jun 1 p.30

You will note that this is not found anywhere in the Scriptures. But even more damning is that nearly every person answering 'yes' to this questions...often in front of thousands... knows almost nothing about Jehovah's Witnesses.

I was not able to fully find out 'anything' about JW's until the internet came along... So many/most of the older books that were always quoted, reverred, were not available. Read 'The Finshed Mystery', by Russell and weep... You will not believe what that man wrote... it is pure lunacy, and that is who was always spoken highly of, the great brother Russell who started this whole ball of 'man worship' and misery rolling.

...