Back in my dub days, I used to make copies of all the old recorded talks I could get my hands on. In the process I was surprised to come across several talks in which the "faithful slave" tried to make the case that all the scriptures talking about the "heart" were not figurative, but referred to one's literal heart--the organ itself! As I recall, they even incorporated some pseudo-scientific quotes as "proof" that the heart could effect your thoughts and motivations. At least one of the talks was delivered by a GB member--I may still have it around here somewhere. Anyone else familiar with this nonsense?
Anyone recall the WTS's crazy notions about the literal "heart"?
by fahrvegnugen 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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iamfreenow
I remember some of those talks, and would have believed every word at the time, however ridiculous. I found this link on Quotes from the March 1st 1971 Watchtower.
http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/heart.html
11 Medical World News (May 23, 1969), in an article entitled "What Does a New Heart Do to the Mind?" reported the following: "At Stanford University Medical Center last year, a 45-year-old man received a new heart from a 20-year-old donor and soon announced to all his friends that he was celebrating his twentieth birthday. Another recipient resolved to live up to the sterling reputation of the prominent local citizen who was the donor. And a third man expressed great fear of feminization upon receiving a woman's heart, though he was somewhat mollified when he learned that women live longer than men. According to psychiatrist Donald T. Lunde, a consultant to surgeon Norman Shumway's transplant team at Stanford, these patients represent some of the less severe mental aberrations [italics ours] observed in the Shumway series of 13 transplants over the last 16 months." The article continues: "Though five patients in the series had survived as of early this month, and four of them were home leading fairly normal lives, three of the nonsurvivors became psychotic before they died last year. And two others have become psychotic this year."
Looking back, it's hard to believe that intelligent people actually swallowed this rubbish, but they did, and still do.
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Awakened07
I remember it. I think I read it in either one of the magazines or one of the books. So I think it must have been 'official' at least for a short while. Can't remember exactly where I read it though. But I actually think it would have to have been sometime in the eighties.
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Locutus of Borg
I remember articles the Borg vomited up speaking to this in the 60's. They alleged that the recipient of a heart transplant would take on personality and behavioral traits of the donor. Even as a 12 -13 yr old this crap pegged my BS detector.
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TheOldHippie
Must have been late 70s', I remember a talk delivered at a dc, they said "science" had found that the heart in fact had a small sort of "brain" inside of it, a small organ of some sort, and this organ communicated directly with the brain, so there was a direct organ-to-organ communication between the heart and the brain, proving how these two interacted and the heart therefore could influence the brain and the brain could influence the heart.
Never heard about it later, and never read a word about it, just the two minutes at the convention.
Scientific truths sure are short-lived these days.
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compound complex
Yes, Fahrv -
I was at Bethel at the time and had had a part in set design for the DC [circa 1970]. I remember so well the huge models of the human heart and brain that were "talking" to each other on stage.
They both gave knock-out performances.CoCo
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katiekitten
They alleged that the recipient of a heart transplant would take on personality and behavioral traits of the donor
I remember this being preached in the 70's, when I was a kid, and i absolutely believed it. It sort of supported the blood doctrine too, because it made it seem like a really bad idea to have transplants, which used to inevitably involve blood back then.
Sigh - shakes head in embarrassment.
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Liberty
This was definately part of Watch Tower "science" during the Fred Franz years. The ancient Egyptians believed the heart to be the organ of thought and emotion while they considered the brain was just for making mucos. In mummification the Egyptians didn't even bother to preserve the brain but pulled it out and discarded it as of no use in the after life. The heart however was carefully preserved. The Judgement by their gods was accomplished by weighing the heart of the dead in the nether world to determin reward or punishment.
This is, of course, where the Bible gets it's own false notions that the heart is the seat of our emotions and emminates the thoughts of good and evil for which humans are judged by God. This false belief was considered literal by the Society until the real evidence became so overwhelming that it was quietly allowed to dissappear from JW cosmology along with 7000 year creative days and the 1914 Generation. This heart nonsense was also used to justify the WTB&T Society's idiotic organ transplant ban from the same era which has also since been quietly sweept under the rug of JW stupidity.
If the Society were really "spirit" directed then why do they have to keep revising their belief systems?
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badboy
There is a book being sold in the daycentre's shop about this.
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Terry
The ancient Egyptians believed the heart to be the organ of thought and emotion while they considered the brain was just for making mucous.
In the case of Jw's, the Egyptians were entirely correct! Mucous brains all!