minimus' thread about research got me to thinking about a friend who recently accused me of researching just to purposely find something wrong so I could justify my actions (of becoming inactive).
How would you answer this?
How do you answer "you research just to criticize"?
by undercover 47 Replies latest jw friends
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Leolaia
That happened to me. The elders had a meeting with me in the library after a meeting to ask me about my research. They said, "Are you doing research (in order) to disprove the Society?" The question implied that the purpose or motive of my research was simply to discredit or disprove the Society, when in fact, I was trying to figure out the facts of the matter. So I said, "No", as I rejected the implicit assumption about my motives.
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leavingwt
Remind them of this..
I have read books by many authors, and have not pre-judged any work I have read. If the author was overweight, I judged his work based on what he had to say. If the author was not very good-looking, I again judged his work based on what he had to say. I did not discount any material regardless of the author’s background. I plead with you only to judge books not by who the author’s are, but what they have to say. I assure you that people who you may not think of actually have some pretty eye-opening things to say.
Ask them, "Do you think people would join the Mormons, Scientologists or Islam if they did a careful examination of the history of those religions and evaluated information from a variety of inside/outside/independent sources?"
-LWT
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StAnn
Tell your friend:
"The Witnesses say that, 'This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you.' I do research because I take seriously my responsibility to learn all that I can about the things that relate to my salvation and my eternal life."
How can they knock you for that?
StAnn
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chickpea
great response StAnn..
i shall commit to memory for
what might be an upcoming
approach into my private life.... -
AllTimeJeff
Here's a couple
If JW's have the truth as they claim, then they have nothing to fear. Research produces facts, or questions to be answered, regardless of the motives.
What does my motive for doing research have to do with anything? Where does it say that doing research is wrong in the bible? Should I be well motivated fool for taking someone else's word for it? Is that your definition of a good servant of god? I don't think the Boreans would agree with that.
Why is it that JW's are told to study and research about a person's native belief or religion before baptism, then are no longer allowed to do the same thing once baptized while a JW?
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M.J.
Hi. It's been a while but I'm back. Cool looking new site.
Anyway if we're honest with ourselves, there is probably some of that going on. It doesn't invalidate the facts, however.
Once we come to accept a certain assumption--that the WTS, in fact, is not what it claims to be--after that point the motivation for further research is to keep reaffirming and further validating that assumption. This is no different from what JWs do. They accept the assumption that the WTS IS what they claim to be and proceed to seek out reaffirming that assumption (with TONS of help from the WTS, I might add).
The point is, then...If I have some valid, objective points to make does it matter what stage I'm at in my thinking?
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Nathan Natas
How could it even be possible to disprove the WTB&TS, since they alone are the sole Universal Repository (not to be confused with suppository) of Truth?
I seek only to allow the foolishness of men to be made manifest.
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JWdaughter
When I first started researching the WT org. it was to DEFEND the 'false' claims I was sure were being leveled against it.
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undercover
Great reponses so far...thanks.
JWDaughter, I like how you were trying to defend the "truth" in your initial research.
It was similar for me. Some things didn't "feel" right but I started with JW publications trying to defend what I was taught to believe. When I couldn't rectify it there, I went outside the Society's publications. It snowballed from there.
Jeff, you make a good point...If anyone, JWs or otherwise, claim to have the absolute "truth" then they shouldn't fear any research or question. It should be able to be defended to the nth degree without doubt.
I asked (paraphrased), "is it wrong to criticize that which is found to be in error?" If research turns up evidence of error and/or contradiction, shouldn't one be a bit nervous of the one who claims to the the authority on the subject yet has promoted erroneous teachings? If the one criticized isn't willilng to admit the error then maybe the problem isn't with the one criticizing the error but the one who isn't willilng to admit the error.