The Watchtower on Brainwashing

by Norm 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  Norm

  Some times the Watchtower magazine really comes up with some really hilarious articles. When describing competing crackpot cults they often in a very accurate way describe themselves. Just look at this little gem about the Moonies:

  *** g82 9/8 10 Moon's Unification Church-What Does It Believe? ***
  Who are the “Moonies”? Press reports about the Unification Church have tended to highlight charges of weekend brainwashing sessions and slave labor. The political and financial problems of the Church have also made headlines, especially since Sun Myung Moon, the Church’s founder, was convicted of tax fraud. Moon’s mass marriage of 2,075 couples also made headline news. But what do you know about the beliefs of the Unification Church? What is motivating the Church’s small army of apparently idealistic youths? Why are they willing to give up college and careers to follow Sun Myung Moon? What is he promising them?

  Brooklyn shouldn’t have to go far to find out why the Moonies do slave labor, what motivates them, and why they are willing to give up college and careers to follow Moon. It is of course exactly the same motive that causes any Jehovah's Witness to give up college and career to follow the collective “Moon” in Brooklyn.

  Just look at what these guys say about “college and career” in this next quote:

  *** w69 3/15 171 What Influences Decisions in Your Life? ***
  12 The influence and spirit of this world is to get ahead, to make a name for oneself. Many schools now have student counselors who encourage one to pursue higher education after high school, to pursue a career with a future in this system of things. Do not be influenced by them. Do not let them “brainwash” you with the Devil’s propaganda to get ahead, to make something of yourself in this world. This world has very little time left! Any “future” this world offers is no future! Wisely, then, let God’s Word influence you in selecting a course that will result in your protection and blessing. Make pioneer service, the full-time ministry, with the possibility of Bethel or missionary service your goal. This is a life that offers an everlasting future!

  I for one do not have to speculate about what Moon and the collective Watchtower "Moon" is promising their faithful followers. I also know that they are all chasing the rainbow. None of them will ever experience the fulfillment of the sick fantasies of either Moon or the Watchtower Society.

  Norm.
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  reagan_oconnor

  It's truly amazing that they hold the mirror up for all to check their reflections, but won't look into that mirror themselves.

  -Reagan

  "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."
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  slipnslidemaster

  Mirror, mirror on the wall...

  Who's the most brainwashing cult of all?

  Slipnslideius Masterus: ... Strength and Honor ...
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  JAVA

  Norm,

  The quotes out of the Awake! followed by The Watchtower are excellent examples showing how the Tower accuses others while doing the same thing. It's nearly impossible figuring the dollar loss JWs and former JWs suffer because of putting their lives and education on hold in order to sell books for the Tower. Beyond money, there is another loss for not pursuing an education after high school--the loss of personal control and self-esteem.

  College is not the end all in making a happy life, but it gives one a leg up in many vocations that are closed without a degree. People with more training and/or education usually have more personal control over their lives. Healthy self-esteem can also follow because of the efforts and rewards of going beyond minimal eductional requirments.

  Higher education can also expose students to many disciplines beyond ones immediate interest, and as a result, a person has a rounded view of the world around them. Cloistering oneself in a narrow mind set as found in groups like the Witnesses and Moonies leads to mental atrophy--how do you place a dollar amount on that loss?

  The counsel coming from the Watchtower has enriched the growth and holdings of the Tower's printing corporation. This is done at the expense of young Witnesses conned out of making normal decisions about their future, swindled out of their birthright. Perhaps that's why only one GB member has a son, for indeed, what normal parent would do this to their children?

  --JAVA

  ...counting time at the Coffee Shop
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  MacHislopp

  Hello Norm,

  excellent post (I have the quote in my files).

  The first problem is, that the WTS thinks everybody forgets very

  soon what they have written 5,10,15,25 years before and the second

  one is exactly what Java has written:

  "The quotes out of the Awake! followed by The Watchtower are excellent examples showing how the Tower accuses others while doing the same thing. "

  and also Reagan:

  "It's truly amazing that they hold the mirror up for all to check their reflections, but won't look into that mirror themselves."

  You couldn't have worded it better!

  Agape, J.C. MacHislopp