Rather than a debate, a good fade requires an oblique approach. Here is an example:
(Older brother and younger sister get up on stage in a family living room setting. Older brother begins.)
"Dear, I know something has been keeping you from the meetings and field service. Would you care to talk to me about it?"
"Well, Dad, if you must know, it bothers me that Jehovah God's name is being besmirched by the way the Society is handling these pedophile cases. People out in the field service ask about that now, and I don't know what to say to them. It sure doesn't seem loving to me to allow the pedophiles to remain in the congregations and treat the victims as if they were wrongdoers. It has given me some doubts and I need some time and some space to work through them."
"Well, those accusations are made by apostates, and Satan controls the media."
"All of them? Do you realize how many accounts there have been? There was another case brought out in California just over the summer. So which ones are false? All of these court cases can't be false, just like all of those made against the Catholic priests can't be false. So I just need some time to work this out. Hopefully, Jehovah will take care of the matter soon, but in the meantime, it really bothers my Bible-trained conscience. I just need some space while I do some soul searching."
(Brother and sister exit the stage.)
Here the fading sister has deflected her father's objection without a direct confrontation. She has also indicated she is wanting to back away with a wait and see approach to avoid a crisis of conscience. By expressing her doubts in the form of questions, her father's cognitive dissonance did not kick in full force. While still clearly in denial, he may be compelled to do some research into these cases for his daughter's sake.
Tammy
