My core beliefs were like an operating system on a computer. I was raised by Witness parents and taught Witness behavior and law right along with the abc's and 2 plus 2 equals 4. I was hard wired. Was that mind control? No. It was education. Was it good education? No!
The will and wishes of the Corporation is the only subject the Witness people study in the context of that group. Can they take in other information in addition to that supplied be the Corporation? Yes! Do they? Many, maybe all do. Even though I take in that information, do I have to act on it? Nope! I only act on it if I make the decision to act.
If Witnesses were under the kind of mind control some here indicate, none of us could have left. Records indicate that hundreds of thousands of us do leave and stay away when booted out. We do that by decision not by program. The same free will that we used to leave is available to all Witnesses. Being a Witness is more like having a job working for a large corporation than belonging to a religion.
To understand something, take it out of context. The Catholic Church uses all of Lifton's Eight Criteria for thought reform. Are the Catholic people under mind control. I belive they are not. The question is, how are the Witness people different from other people in society? I say they are not. Some are deluded, some are flexible, some are rigid, some are superstitious, but they are no more so that other people in society voluntarily participating in a fundamental religion.
Manipulation is a separate issue. Because one is manipulated does not mean that one is under hypnosis. That's a whole different subject. GaryB
