BTW, does anyone have access to the AWAKE! October 22, 1999 article on "Superstitions: Why So Dangerous?" It seems to contain more current statements on the matter, but the on-line catalog of wt.org only goes back to 2000. I looked into this issue back when the DVD first came out in June, and remember checking old literature on the old jw site, and looked at that article (didn't download it, though). My impression after reading that was the "no magic" policy wasn't anything new or "more extreme", just the same old nonsense message ban on magic toys, except DVD was targeted to kids, not adults (like the Awake).
Fantastic quote on jwfacts Sparlock article
by cedars 115 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cyberjesus
Fyi cedars i wasnt responding to you.....
But now that i am... Do you think that you might feel attacked by anything or anybody?
Im just saying
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cedars
cyberjesus
Glad to hear it. I did wonder whether you were talking to someone else because your comments didn't make that much sense, but I thought I would answer them in case they were addressed to me.
And no, I'm not paranoid - if that's your question. The vast majority of people I know don't attack me, thank goodness!
Cedars
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cyberjesus
Ha you punch back just in case? ... And that is not paranoia?
Some one is trying to get you...
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steve2
This discussion has turned out to be far more interesting than I had earlier thought - with perhaps the greater interest in the heat this to-and-froing of views has stimulated, including my own heat.
That said, there seems to be broad "agreement" (possibly too united a-word) that the unequivocal warnings in the 2012 Watchtower Sparlock video are sterner and in plainer language than those found in the 1994 Awake article.
Everything else is interpretation as to what that increased sternness "means" (i.e., policy shift? less room for individual conscience? or no change than before for individual consciences because "attuned" witnesses would have realized even in 1994 that the subject matter was disapproved? etc).
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Stealth
After watching the Sparlock video, I think the question for JWs at this point is, should they allow their children to watch the Disney Jr channel?
After all it's tag line is; 'Where the MAGIC begins' http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior
Mickey and Minney are trying to get our children to worship Satan at such a young age. Also note how they push pagan birthdays on that site.
The only imagination that the WT wants your children to engage in, is the imagining god killing 99.9% of the world population.
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cedars
cyberjesus
Ha you punch back just in case?
The odds were it was aimed at me. I was the last person to comment to you.
Easy solution - tell us who you're talking to. In any case, it wasn't a "punch" - mostly bewilderment.
Cedars
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Black Sheep
Asleep! 22 June 1883
Teaching Children to Be Selective
Some parents might react to this by simply ridding their home of comic books. Danny, however, says that “if kept in balance, comic books can be quite enjoyable.” And comics are so popular with youngsters it might be next to impossible to prevent their reading them. Some of your children’s schoolmates may collect them by the hundreds. Said one youth: “I have over 600 comic books in my collection. But some kids have far bigger collections.”
So rather than simply becoming a “censor” you might try a more positive approach—teaching your child to be selective. Dr. Gary Stollack of Michigan State University suggested to parents: “Take the time to read the material and talk about it with [your] child. Outlandish and immoral material can then gradually be shown to be what it is, and the child’s understanding sharpened and his tastes improved.”
Find out how your child feels about the comics. What does he like about them? Is there any other reading material in your home that would interest a child his age? Rather than condemning all comics, might it not be more helpful to encourage your child to branch out in his or her reading? If some of your child’s reading material is objectionable, why not explain how you feel about what he is reading and why you feel that way? Helping your child to be selective in his reading is a lot harder than simply making the decision for him. But you may need to do that, too, as a parent who really cares about the welfare of your son or daughter.
Of course, comics are only a small part of the immensely popular “fantasy” industry that caters to children as well as adults. But is it wise to get too immersed in fantasy? Is there a danger of confusing fantasy with reality? -
Black Sheep
Whether parents or their children see this movie is, of course, a matter of personal choice. But because of the movie’s great popularity, let us not forget that it becomes an effective vehicle for sugarcoating youthful conduct that is definitely wrong.
E.T. may be a skillfully constructed and highly entertaining movie. But it provides no substitute for our True Friend, Jesus Christ, who saves us from this dying, wicked world. After all, E.T. is make-believe. Christ is reality.
Awaco! 8 July 1983Note that this article pulls the same stunt as the 1994 article. It says it's a personal choice and makes the article sound reasonable to the potential recruit that it is designed for, but includes the mind control for the cult member. This is a recurring theme and you can find it for movies, video games, computer games & comics and if you ever get into a discussion with a JW on it, they will quote mine, putting the emphasis on the personal choice then quickly trying character assassination or a distraction.
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King Solomon
So here's the probable answer (and you can ask the WT in QTR, if you want a definitive answer), based on reading a few JW past articles on magic, occult, dolls, etc. where ALL are consist on the policy of magic (and hence, magic toys) being forbidden. The OT prohibits practicing of magic, under penalty of death. JW policy has disallowed magic for a LONG TIME, AFAIK, probably back into the days of Russell.
The 1994 Awake! article was about TOYS, but the subject wasn't 'magic' toys per se, but toys based on fairy-tales and sci-fi characters. 'Sparlock the Warrior Wizard' was created by WT to represent the epitome of a verboten 'magic' toy, a WIZARD (AKA a user of magic: it doesn't get any clearer than THAT).
Caleb twice uses the word "magic" when running about the yard, and Caleb, when asked a direct question: "Is this toy magic?" responds with: "uh-huh". Case closed: that's a "magic" toy. That word is the kiss of death to a JW child who has a toy, just like Ouija boards are and always have been verboten.
So the 1994 Awake! was discussing toys, some of which are based on fairy-tale and science-fiction characters, which MAY rely upon "magical elements".
Think of sci-fi like Star Trek, Star Wars, or fantasy stories like LOTR, Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, My Little Pony (with magical unicorns) which ARE closer to the verboten Magical Sparlock on the "magic" spectrum. Each character relies on differing amounts of "magical elements", and in a sense, this is a bit like the blood-fraction issue where a little is considered OK, just as long as it's not "too much". A fraction of magic for a toy's character is OK, but it's a conscience matter to determine how much is "too much".
Re-read it again, understanding that difference:
What about toys based on popular fairy-tale or science-fiction characters? Such stories generally deal with the triumph of good over evil. Some parents thus view the ‘magical elements’ in these tales as simple flights of a childish imagination and see no harm in letting their children enjoy them. Others may fear that the stories could stimulate an interest in the occult. (Deuteronomy 18:10-13) Without judging others, parents must make their own decisions in this regard, considering the effects such stories—and any toys based on them—have on their children.
When Mom asked Caleb "is that magic?", she considered the effect the toy would have on him and others, and made her decision.
No doubt she considered the stumbling effect on others, when Caleb came running into the house with a toy which he accepted from a school mate, or the other schoolmates who were going to the movie and he was invited along, or his stumbling the neighbors by running around the neighborhood shouting "magic!": stumbling potential at every turn.
And remember: the WT didn't create the video for the sake of JW KIDS who want to play with magic toys, presenting them with logical ways to side-step the objections of THEIR parents. For example, they didn't say this:
Mom: "Is this toy magical?"
Caleb: "Heh, heh, of course not, Mom! It's simply a 1/4 lb piece of vacuum-shaped poly-vinyl-chloride dye-injected plastic, marketed to children as TOYS and not as objects to be worshipped. Sparlock is a profitable item for them, riding on the coat-tails of a multi-million-$ mass-market advertising campaign that's being conducted for a major motion-picture film release! It's called "co-marketing", Mom, and that's just part-and-parcel of how the entertainment business works nowadays, where filmmakers sell licensing rights to produce toys to Chinese toy makers...""But that's not why I'm playing with it, Mom: I'm simply using Sparlock as a platform to develop MY imagination! "
Mom: "uh-huh...."
Caleb: "Mom, let's talk straight up for a moment: I KNOW that you KNOW deep-down that magic doesn't REALLY exist, so let's just put THAT one to bed, OK? We all say and do things we don't really believe in at times: I get that! HOWEVER, we have to PRETEND like magic DOES exist as part of our JW eschatology, so we act like we believe the schtick about Satan using magic to seduce men into following him, blah-blah-blah. So officially we DO believe in magic, even though we both know it's kinda SILLY..."
Caleb: "Now, I completely understand your concerns as my parent, and the effect my actions may have on others, so I assure you I'll be very careful NOT to be seen playing with Sparlock in public, and hiding him somewhere that no one (even you) knows about, ever-mindful of the potential stumbling block that Sparlock MAY present to other non-believers and JWs alike, who might incorrectly assume that I might be engaged in the practice of, or the endorsement of magic. I'm not, Mom: it's just a cool-lookin' bitchen' toy....."
(OK, the bitchen' reference was for 00DAD, who remembers Jeff Spicoli)
Soooo, would they say all that? Of course not: the DVD is made to express JW policy, and the only NEW thing here is that the Society is providing the "no magic toy" policy directly to KIDS, and not in the Awake! (which is written for parents).Sparlock IS a hypothetical 'no-brainer' for most JWs, but much like the blood fraction issue, many JWs will miss the subtle semantics on display (as many did here), and WILL throw the non-Sparlocks out with the Sparlocks. Oh, well.... That just goes to show: you cannot save people from their own flawed understandings.
And if you don't want to worry about the sheer silliness of "stumbling" others with plastic toys, then be very glad you are out!