A reality test for Jehovah's Witnesses that really seems to work

Terry

I admit to a fondness for "factoids". Little snippets of information. Statistics. Brief synopsis that illuminate a larger issue.

One day I was reading about missing and exploited children in the U.S. who fit the "classic" description of KIDNAPPED.

A question above it asked: How many children are kidnapped in the U.S. each year on average?

Here was the answer:

115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.)

I read a little farther and saw there was a big distinction between family members involved in custody disputes who are napped to piss off their ex-wife or husband and the truly serious kidnapping of children for money or mayhem.

I filed this away in my head.

Later that day I met with an old friend of mine who is a lifelong Jehovah's Witness. He has been "in the saddle" since 1958 as a regular Kingdom Hall and Field Service sort of Witness.

He defends The Truth even though he admits to the "problems" in the Society such as flip-flips on orthodoxy, wrong dates, cherry picked quotes, sneaky omissions and such. We all know apologists like him, don't we?

Sure.

In the course of a lunch with him I randomly asked the question I had read earlier about kidnapped children. Just making convesation, you see.

How many children would you say are kidnapped in the U.S. every year? Not family squabbles, mind you, serious criminal kidnapping by strangers?

His answer greatly surprised me.

He said quite seriously: "A million or so."

At that moment I suddenly realized a very important strategy was about to unfold!

I calmly quoted the statisic from the Missing and Exploited Children's website of 115 kids.

He looked open-mouth shocked! I thought he'd explode, in fact.

We had a back and forth about it and I was clearly in the middle of A GREAT EPIPHANY.

Here it is plainly stated:

Jehovah's Witnesses have been brainwashed into thinking the world is hundreds of times worse and more corrupt than IT REALLY IS!

By baiting them with careful questions and letting them supply the ESTIMATES you can give them the ACTUAL answers and leave them

wondering WHY THEY WERE LIED TO!

The same thing works with the increase/decrease in earthquakes since 1914 or the number of murders or anything else reputed to be on the increase!

Facts, statistics and EXPECTATIONS by JW's are totally out of whack!

This is a great tool, I believe in crafting a policy of introducing reality vs JW nonsense.

I just thought I would share it with you.

wha happened?

That's IF you get him to accept that number. Remember, we're living in the world run by Satan.......

marriedtoajw

Wow, what a simple concept and yet I can see how such simple questions can be effective. Great post...

sir82

Exactly.

The next typical JW line is "Well, of course you can't accept statistics at face value, newspapers are biased, researchers are prejudiced, scientists are in it for the glory, yadda yadda yadda..."

Except of course for statistics, news reports, research, or scientific studies which agree with the JW outlook. Then it's guaranteed to be 100% accurate.

wha happened?

Right on Sir82. This is a conversation I have monthly with an old JW friend of mine. We were friends before either of us were baptized. He gets the weirdest statistics and when I show him otherwise, he has this distraught look on his face.

Lore

"Well, of course you can't accept statistics at face value, newspapers are biased, researchers are prejudiced, scientists are in it for the glory, yadda yadda yadda..."

Because newspapers always downplay the bad things in order to get better ratings. . .

Dagney

The real facts vs the WTBS manipulation of the facts is what felled the house of cards for me. I finally looked objectively at a PBS program about life in the 1900's. The "society" TM harps on "no locking your door" before 1914 and completely glosses over the working and living conditions of the average family/person, the life expectancy, deadly disease, violence, etc etc etc. In my own ignorance I never paid attention either. Well I finally opened my eyes and was so excited, I made another elder and his wife watch the program with me. Their response? Unmoved. I was shocked.

Of course I also ordered Jonssons book with the eathquake facts and letters. I didn't even have to finish the book. I just knew the WTBS was screwing us all along. Again, I brought the info to what I thought were reasoning, intelligent, thoughtful JW's. They were not interested.

So for a JW, don't confuse the "truth" TM with the facts.

Good thread Terry.

ABibleStudent

Great thought Terry and good come back Lore. I look forward to the hypothetical JW response and counter punch.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

thetrueone

The same thing works with the increase/decrease in earthquakes since 1914 or the number of murders or anything else reputed to be on the increase!

Facts, statistics and EXPECTATIONS by JW's are totally out of whack!

So true Terry , the WTS carefully selects only the information that supports their End Times agenda and leaves out anything counter.

Presenting actual documented facts that in reality the supposed signs of the times have been in a state of constant continuation right from

when those words were written or spoken. The information now is even more readily available for research on the inter-net.

truth_b_known

The same is true when it comes to the statistics showing that reported violent crimes have been going do each year in the U.S. I once had a book, I forget the title, I think it was called "Everything You Know is Wrong". It showed statistics and studies that proved that things are pretty much as they have always been.

I like the new AMC show "Hell on Wheels". One character says, "What is this world coming to?" in reference to a massacre. The main character replies, "It's not coming to anything. The world is as it has always been."

Jehovah's Witnesses whole world revolves around the idea that this system of things is coming to an end and soon. That the composite "sign" of the last days given to us by Jesus is all around us. When something bad is reported on the news they say, "See. This is part of the sign of the end" and when the news says that things are getting better it is dismissed as insanity.

A reality test for Jehovah's Witnesses that really seems to work

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