"The battle for your mind" july 17 WT

by Bad_Wolf 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • carla
    carla

    "Use your God-given thinking abilities and power of reason to make the truth your own."--

    If a jw did that wouldn't that be grounds for getting df'd? Say they decided to forgo the overlapping generation doctrine, making the 'truth' their own' and refused to teach it at the doors or actually said they didn't agree with it in front of a door and another jw. I think they would find themselves in the back room pretty quickly.

    Every jw knows that if they make it the truth their own they will be out on their ass and lose their friends and family.

  • Bad_Wolf
    Bad_Wolf
    Can you give us a bit more info? Some here, like me, refuse to click on anything from the org.

    Here are the beginning parts, as you can see most would be DFed if following these.......

    In the pages of the Bible, you can find ALL you need to combat Satan’s propaganda.

    “Nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It’s something you have to find out for yourself.” So “find out for yourself” by being diligent in “carefully examining the Scriptures daily.”

    Because propaganda “is likely to be most effective,” says one source, “if people . . . are discouraged from thinking critically.” (Media and Society in the Twentieth Century) So never be content passively or blindly to accept what you hear.

    and here is the complete reversal of the beginning parts......

    " Be determined to stick to Jehovah’s organization and loyally support the leadership he provides—no matter what imperfections may surface. (1 Thess. 5:12, 13) Do not be “quickly shaken from your reason” when faced with what appear to be damaging attacks by apostates or other such deceivers of the mind—however plausible their charges may seem."

    "Surely there is ample evidence to show that you can trust the channel that Jehovah has used for nearly a hundred years now to lead us in the way of the truth."

    So first we have that truth won't be spoonfed to us, only the bible has the truth, one must think critically, etc. THEN it says always trust the GB, God uses the GB, don't worry if any red flags happen, no matter how plausible they are, etc.


  • sir82
    sir82

    It's not really surprising, from an organization that says that "misuse of free will" (i.e., Adam's sin) has caused (literally) every problem known to man.

    So, if "free will" can be "misused", if there are punishments and bad consequences as a direct result of "misusing" free will, then exactly how "free" is it?

    "Never blindly accept what you hear - use your power of reason to come to the conclusion that we are right" is not a whole lot different than "of course you have free will - but if you make the wrong choice I'll kill you."

  • Spiral
    Spiral

    I agree, when I saw that article, I thought it was weird even by JW standards. One could hope it was written out of a sort of desperation to keep the worker bees under control.

    But, the JWs I know were totally taken in. "Look, they say they don't brainwash us, so it must be true! I can have my own thoughts as long as they are WT approved thoughts!"

    UGH

  • carla
    carla

    Thank you Bad Wolf!

    Good grief. Talk about speaking out of both sides! I could go on for quite some time about this particular article but it would just raise my blood pressure and get me annoyed. Bunch of dumb!@##@!

  • jp1692
    jp1692

    It is telling in this article that the WT writers refer to Noam Chomsky (whom they quote) as merely an "author"!

    Remember this basic fact expressed by author Noam Chomsky: “Nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It’s something you have to find out for yourself” (p. 28).

    For those that are not familiar with Chomsky, he is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here also is a snippet from his bio:

    • Noam Chomsky is an eminent American theoretical linguist, cognitive scientist and philosopher, who radically changed the arena of linguistics by assuming language as a uniquely human, biologically based cognitive capacity. He suggested that innate traits in the human brain give birth to both language and grammar. The most important figure in “cognitive revolution” and “analytic philosophy”, Chomsky’s wide-ranging influence also extends to computer science and mathematics.

    That's quite a bit more than just an "author," right?

    It's actually a great quote they used from Chomsky, but it is more than just a little curious that the WTBTS writers would quote Chomsky at all given his very public views on the Bible, God and Religion.

    Note this comment Chomsky once made: "If there’s a god of the old Testament, he’s a genocidal maniac!” - (See the linked video @ 0:15”):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb-Z_0Q2vD4

  • jp1692
    jp1692

    Even more interesting is the source of Chomsky's quote the WT used. It is apparently from a book that is basically an interview by David Barsamian. The book is called, "Propaganda and the Public Mind" (2001). The quote is from page 158.


    Be sure to notice what Chomsky said two sentences before the quote used in the Watchtower: "You shouldn’t believe what I say it true."

    The context being, don't believe anyone just because they said it. It doesn't matter who they are or what credentials or "authority" they supposedly have. Check it out for yourself!

    This is the approach we all should take, particularly in reference to anything published by the WTBTS or spoken by any of their representatives.

  • jp1692
    jp1692

    For any interested in reading more of Chomsky's views on the subject, see this website:

  • Bad_Wolf
    Bad_Wolf

    jp1692 - good stuff on chomsky. Wonder how the WT decided to put him in their stuff. Unless the 1st half of the article was written by an awakened and the 2nd half by the gb lol.

  • Disassociated Lady 2
    Disassociated Lady 2

    Excellent thread! :-) x

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