Witnesses and their "specialized knowledge" (page 2)

Stress Free

I have learnt more in the past 2 years then what I was taught for 40 years by the jw's.

What surprises me is that we were all gullible for a time, some longer then others. We just

swallowed whatever they told us, but then again, if you are told the same old thing over and

over, I guess you don't question it.

In particular I am amazed what little I new about ancient history,religious history and how the

bible was brought to us. Of course, a lot of what they taught us was edited so as not to bring up

any contraditory evidence that would catch there teachings out, and at the same time highlight many

of there erroneous views.

To be able to study and think with an unbiased and open mind has been a major highlight for me

since walking away.

By the way, great post SNG.

talesin

I actually did know a lot of Bible history and passages. Not just by rote, but really knew them. But only according from the tainted NWT and it's implanted doctrine. I have since found out I knew little about what the Bible really says. I knew even less about what the WTS had hidden.
I was also surprised to find out that not all religious people and pastors are a bunch of uneducated morons. They actually know the Bible and read it too - with a deeper perspective than I ever did.
Jeff

Yes, that's what I was gonna say, but you said it better!

I never thought about the mythology, SNG, but what an excellent point. Maybe that's one reason I love Star Trek so much. My favorite mythology revolves around Arthurian legend, which for the most part has the same themes. That started at an early age for me (grade school). Perhaps because the JW 'mythology' left me feeling empty and I felt the need to find another that satisfied my soul's desire.

And Science ,,, so true. Their hatred of science kept me from an education, as it was all I wanted to study, and of course, in the 70s that was verboten. I can add nothing to your summary of that point.

tal

t

zagor

yeah "specialized" indeed.

Undecided

There is a lot of technical knowledge out there as can be seen by the products it produces, but knowledge about life and it's cause cannot be determined because there is no evidence to prove anything other than we exist for a while and then die. So all I'm trying to do is enjoy what time I have left, although I think about life and it's meaning everyday, I don't have any "specialized knowledge".

Ken P.

M.J.

Great post SNG.

That's the big draw. "C'mon, check it out. We got the inside scoop! It's what THEY don't want you to know about! It's all here!"

That's a very old pitch.

Gnostic societies in early Christianity were built on the premise that they had "secret knowledge" about God, Christ and the universe that no one else had.

http://www.calcompnutrition.com/natural-cures-kevin-trudeau.html

Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About !

The revolutionary book that talks about the reasons you are sick and how the American Medical Association, Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the pharmaceutical cartels are suppressing information about natural remedies and natural cures for virtually every disease.

Buy the book and learn about the unholy alliance between the federal agencies, the FDA and the FTC, and the pharmaceutical industry and how they work together to suppress the truth about natural healing.

Learn how the food industry is purposely putting secret chemical ingredients in the food that can cause you to become hungrier, become fat, and become physically addicted, and not listing them on the label.

Learn the secret to losing weight without crazy diets or exercise.

Euphemism

Nothing to add, really... I just had to say that the Star Trek comparison is priceless!

I wouldn't actually blame the WTS for having a small mythology, however. Consider the intricacy of Russell's chronology, or Franz's endless variety of types and anti-types. The reason the WTS has a small mythology nowadays is that all that stuff was just patently nuts, so they've stripped it down until nothing's left but a few vague bits that are relatively easy to defend.

Jeffro

Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About!
Learn how the food industry is purposely putting secret chemical ingredients in the food that can cause you to become hungrier, become fat, and become physically addicted, and not listing them on the label.

I think that was a misprint. What they meant to say was: "They make the food taste good and you get fat because you're a greedy swine who doesn't know when to stop eating."

seattleniceguy

AK - Jeff:

I actually did know a lot of Bible history and passages. Not just by rote, but really knew them.

I hear you. Actually, I knew the Bible pretty well also. I had read it several times and was familiar with it all. I often used scriptures that were off the beaten path for Witnesses. However, like you say, even at this level, one does not actually know that much about the Bible, and I think we can also say that this is fairly rare level of knowledge for most Witnesses.

tetrapod:

i was always being shut down my "mature ones" as a kid for trying to get more out of the mythology than was acknowledged. like, for example: how does the ethereal holy spirit interact with the physical brains of the F & DS? and how does that differ from the inspiration that the bible writers had? 700 years into the new system, would the WT pubs be considered their own canon?

LOL...that's a great question about the interface between the HS and the FDS. :-)

kazar:

I don't know how I did it but I believed all these things and the WTS' teachings at the same time. What a juggling act!

That does hurt one's brain, doesn't it? Cognitive dissonance can be pretty taxing.

M.J.

That's the big draw. "C'mon, check it out. We got the inside scoop! It's what THEY don't want you to know about! It's all here!"
That's a very old pitch.
Gnostic societies in early Christianity were built on the premise that they had "secret knowledge" about God, Christ and the universe that no one else had.

That's very interesting. I never thought about the Gnostic societies in that way. I have a friend who thinks that they were the best thing since sliced bread because of their focus on understanding the gospel as metaphor to facilitate personal growth, which does seem much more innocuous than modern Christianity. But you make a good point about other aspects of their pitch.

Euph:

I wouldn't actually blame the WTS for having a small mythology, however. Consider the intricacy of Russell's chronology, or Franz's endless variety of types and anti-types. The reason the WTS has a small mythology nowadays is that all that stuff was just patently nuts, so they've stripped it down until nothing's left but a few vague bits that are relatively easy to defend.

LOL. I guess you're right. Maybe that's why a lot of people look back on the '40s, '50s, and '60s with such fondness: they had an actual mythology back then, however crazy it might have been!

SNG

JW83

I second everything! It is embarrassing what I used to believe eg dinosaurs were killed in the flood?!!! C'mon! Religious history is also a huge one - we just had disdain for other religions, & no knowledge of church history, even (or especially) early Christian history - what an eye opener! And most people are NICE - wow, what a surprise!

greendawn

The JW literature and doctrines were written by a handful of people Russell, Rutherford, Franz, and Knorr, who were not properly educated in religion and philosophy and not surprisingly they produced a body of knowledge that is of very inferior quality and always goes through a process of revision and rejection by the jWS themselves.

Their claim of divine inspiration is obviously belied by the fact that their ideas can't stand up to the test of time. The truth should be permanent. But unfortunately some of their ideas that are deadly are still current.

Witnesses and their "specialized knowledge"

Share this