In Search of An Analogy

by InjusticeSystem 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  InjusticeSystem

  Hello everyone,

  I hope this finds all of you well. I'm also hoping some of you might be able to help me with a particular type of de-witnessing strategy that I'm trying to develop more in my own discussions with active family members. It seems to me that analogy and metaphor plays a prominent role in the Society's teaching (critical thought killing) techniques. We all remember such gems as the dirty gutter lollipop that signified holiday celebrations with pagan origins, and the whiskey bottle IV that somehow showed that you shouldn't get a blood transfusion that were both in the Bible Teach book. (I never said they were good at it.)

  I think that since Jw's learned some doctrine this way (or at least had it reinforced) and are therefore familiar with it and comfortable accepting conclusions drawn from this type of reasoning, it might be an effective way to reach them. My question is this: Have any of you found analogies or metaphors that have been effective at helping an active jw understand how or why a particular belief/practice/bible verse or interpretation/argument is wrong or untrue?

  I'm trying to get a few really effective and clear analogies under my belt to have ready in addition to evidence based arguments, when the time comes.

  Any help is much appreciated!
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  waton

  How about marking the whole wt apparatus as the establishment and the clarifying comments of Jesus attacking the one in his day as a justification to pointing out digressions of the WT? (particularly doctrinal ones)

  How about Joseph's reporting to his father as the quintessential whistleblower? rewarded at the end? even to a double tribe in "spiritual Israel" ?
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  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  
  
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  Pete Zahut

  JW's say: The Bible forbids eating blood and taking blood into the body via a blood transfusion is the same as eating blood.

  If this is so, why is it that a person who is starving to death, would still be starving even if he was given a blood transfusion?
  
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  Phizzy

  I think you have hit on something I.S, the Fallacious Analogy is often used by JW Org, along with some analogies that may in fact not be labelled as totally dishonest.

  They are used because JW's are not trained to pick apart the analogy,( Critical Thinking), just accept it.

  I think any analogy we use must be solid, it must work, so care in selecting is indeed necessary.

  The problem arises when we realize that solid or not, our analogy may be rejected, probably will be, because the JW simply does not acknowledge Facts and Evidence, in other words Truth, when it contradicts their beliefs.

  So using an analogy like " Using the Bible to prove the Bible is like using Harry Potter books to prove the existence of the young Wizard " may not hit home.

  But I will be interested to read more input on here, as teaching by Analogy is a good idea.

  Come on Folks, any good, solid effective ones ?
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  stillin

  Have you read Terry Walstrom's recent post about forgery of antiques? I think it fits your search.
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  blownaway

  One of the ones I used was the 1914, They say that Russel predicted WW1, I said no he said the end of the world and WW1 happened. but not gods Armageddon. Its like a psychic saying there will be a plane crash but a boat sank and them saying NAILED IT.
  
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  AllTimeJeff

  I think analogies on the spot work best.

  I comfort myself by knowing even the most stupid "worldly" person says no or slams the door. I was a born in. The GB strategy in the age of the internet has changed. It used to be that you could call on an otherwise nice and stable household and start with a theological discussion. No internet to investigate. No pedophile stories. All it took was someone being pissed off at their priest/pastor, some love bombing, and voila! You have a JW candidate. A disaffected individual currently unhappy with what is going on in their life.You didn't have to be crazy back in their hay day. Now you sorta have to. Because anyone can research these guys on the internet.

  The tack of starting with paradise and working backwards to the truly ridiculous teachings hasn't changed, but their target audience sure has. Most educated people are not joining, and we all know why.

  In my opinion, I am afraid that unless you are dealing with a born in who, like Neo in the Matrix, sees the glitches and is motivated enough to investigate for himself, analogies will have limited effect.
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  Giordano

  The great Flood is accepted by the JW's and others as having taken place, even though there is no real proof of it. Leaving that issue aside how do believers justify the following:

  If a JW accepts that abortions are forbidden how does one square the fact, as it pertains to the Flood, that God also caused the death of the unborn when he caused pregnant women to drown?

  At what point does an unborn child become 'wicked'?

  Is a newly born baby wicked? What about a one year old? A two year old? Maybe when a child is 3 years old wicked tendencies might be noticed.

  Were the animals wicked?

  And if God could indeed see the future....... surely HE or SHE would know that the Great Flood accomplished nothing..... as the world he created and the life in it reverted back to what it was before. The Flood accomplished nothing other then the mass murder of a world whose creator was disappointed about.
  

  Then this cheap suit of a god (personal opinion) decides that blood is sacred and must be poured out on the ground the same thing we do with our human waste.

  This is not the last time God had innocent children murdered. Apart from additional child murders here and there as recorded in the bible...... like tribes that needed to be eradicated from the promised land, like the first born sons in Egypt. Leaving this to God's judgment is like trusting Jim Jones to do right by his followers.

  If God could indeed see the future surely HE would know that the Great Flood and all other child murders accomplished nothing..... as the world he created reverted back to what it was before the Flood.

  But not to worry ......the biggest murder of the innocents is still to take place....ARMAGEDDON.

  Agree or not agree the JW's beliefs/history etc. make them a death cult. They embrace the coming deaths of the worlds population.
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  TerryWalstrom

  ---

  The Tobacco Industry held in thrall millions of addicted smokers for decades with an almost endless litany of false claims reinforced by propaganda and bad science.
  It is informative and eye-opening to examine this brilliant but insidious strategy.
  1. Exploiting controversy
  The Tobacco team focused on "Conflicts of Interest" to create a distraction and exploit mistrust so nicotine addicts own confirmation bias would work in their favor. This strategy of producing scientific uncertainty undercut public health efforts and regulatory interventions designed to reduce the harms of smoking.
  The Watchtower easily did the same thing by exploiting the confusing doctrine of The TRINITY and pointing to the corrupt history of the Catholic Church.
  2. Creating alternative facts
  This is more than "Is the glass-half-empty or half-full" which is a POV opinion. The Tobacco companies hired their OWN scientists and conducted their OWN experiments and represented the results of their biased endeavors as a counter-balance. The Watchtower religion built its own Bible, the New World Translation. By changing the wording of Bible passages in favor of quirky doctrinal teachings and declaring this to be superior to the other translations the JW's felt their decision to trust the GB was well-founded and safe.
  3. Reliance on massive advertising
  The Tobacco industry presented its product as beneficial, soothing, sophisticated, and smart in all Media available.
  
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  By the same token, the Watchtower has utilized its FREE VOLUNTEER evangelizing and door to door distribution of printed propaganda through the use of clean-cut families at your doorstep smiling and chatting about Paradise on Earth.
  Watchtower KNEW THIS WAS ADVERTISEMENT from the very start!
  
  
  
  
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  4. Exploiting CONFLICTS of INTEREST
  The basic tenet of the highly articulated public relations approaches the companies deployed centered on the notion that if the current cultural context was inhospitable to the product, one could—through shrewd and creative public relations interventions—change the culture to fit the product.

  Tobacco and Watchtower created an alternate universe of false choices and lifestyles out of thin air!
  In the course of this transformation, the tobacco companies successfully defined and exploited critical aspects of a new consumer culture. Within the industry, marketing experts had developed a powerful notion of social engineering, what early public relations theorist Edward Bernays had called the “engineering of consent.”
  HOW? Manufacturing and exploiting personal CONFLICTS of INTEREST.
  Jehovah's Witnesses were told they were "no part of this world" because the world was ending, was corrupt, and its treasures and rewards would
  soon vanish in a cataclysm called Armageddon. So--why bother pursuing a career or education?
  Risk VS. Reward is very powerful.
  5. Cherry picking quotations
  Tobacco industry hired Public Relations experts suggested cherry-picking "experts" who could disagree with Scientific Findings inimical to the
  product and its cancer prone effects.
  Watchtower writers did exactly the same thing in promoting 1975 as the END of 6,000 YEARS of HUMAN EXISTENCE by citing worldwide famine
  predictions, overpopulation of the globe, increased lawlessness, earthquake statistics, and an endless list of isolated passages in seemingly reputable
  scholar's published works.
  We now know how fraudulent these cherry-picked "facts" have been over the years.
  For Tobacco companies, identifying the most vocal and visible skeptics of the emerging science of smoking and disease. These scientists (many of whom turned out to be smokers themselves) would be central to the development of an industry scientific program in step with larger public relations goals.
  American Tobacco began to collect the public statements of scientists who had expressed skepticism about the research findings indicting5. tobacco. The company's own public relations counsel understood that it would be critical to create questions about the reliability of the new findings and to attack the notion that these studies constituted proof of the relationship of smoking to cancer
  6. Self-serving PR statements
  American Tobacco put on a sincere face of concern and used 400 newspapers and magazines to declare:
  We accept an interest in people's health as a basic responsibility, paramount to every other consideration in our business. We believe the products we make are not injurious to health. We always have and always will cooperate closely with those whose task it is to safeguard the public health..

  
  
  
  Watchtower Governing Body representatives are keen on self-serving announcements too.
  http://doctrinesoffaith.com/watchtower-governing-bodys-geoffrey-jackson-lies-under-oath/
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  It is an obligation of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee at this time to remind the public of these essential points:

  1. There is no conclusive scientific proof of a link between smoking and cancer.
  2. Medical research points to many possible causes of cancer….
  3. The millions of people who derive pleasure and satisfaction from smoking can be reassured that every scientific means will be used to get all the facts as soon as possible.
     
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     7. WHISTLEBLOWER effect
     
     In 1995, a Tobacco company whistleblower named Jeffrey Wigand, spilled the beans on 60's Minutes broadcast.
     In 1983, Raymond Franz, Governing Body member, did the same thing exposing Watchtower corruption in his book
     CRISIS of CONSCIENCE
     A war was begun in which Franz was disfellowshipped and all ex-JW's who spoke out became public enemies
     and a source of specific targeting as "mentally diseased Apostates" working for Satan.
     This concerted "blame-the-victim" effort continues to this day.
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     https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/smoke/smokescript.html
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     In view of the above parallels between The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's efforts and American Tobacco, this
     analogy reinforces a bold realization that it is quite possible to fool people by a conspiracy to cover your own ass
     through clever and resourceful advertising, publicity, false controversy, and labeling of your opponents as
     maleficent and evil.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
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