i just read and article from the watchtower.org site entitled "CAN I WORSHIP GOD IN MY OWN WAY?". i thought, "hey!, this is great. spiritual food at the proper time!"
well, i couldn't make it through the whole article (i guess it was a series of articles, but in any case...). i really did want to read them because i genuinely want to see how they arrive at the solutions/beliefs that they do. because of my perspective on things now, i just want to see them start from zero and prove their stance on an issue that i'm interested in as they would to someone who knew nothing of the org (this article in particuliar was from AWAKE, so i figured it would be a bit fluffier and more geared toward brand new 'recruits').
i was surprisingly disappointed.
now that i think of it, i see in almost every article basically the same blueprint (you all are probably way ahead of me and noticed this years ago. anyway...):
1. start with easily proveable 'facts'. although these are definitely hand-picked to forward an as-yet-unstated view and usually do not admit to contrasting 'facts'.
2. show how the situation involved is changing (i.e. for the article i just read, it talked about how society in general is turning away from organized religion).
3. they subtly start to allude that the change is for the worse.
and then, 4. the article makes an incomprehensible leap showing how the society is the answer.
yeah, i didn't really learn anything. i hate the words, "Certainly,..." or "Clearly,..." or "Thus,...". man, those are just leading words and they force the opinion as if it was undeniably true. i guess now that i'm out, i just feel more duped then ever.
that's funny...i sound surprised.