by Sour Grapes 42 Replies latest jw experiences
I went to a funeral yesterday and ran into a JDub. Of course, he approached me and it didn't take more than a minute into the conversation for him to get into the JDub gloom and doom mode. He said that world conditions have never been as bad as they are now.
I looked straight into his eyes and said, "I think that world conditions were a lot worse during World War Two."
The look on his face was priceless. It was like he knew that was true and never thought about it before.
Eric Hoffer in his book The True Believer said the following:
"Here, as elsewhere, the technique of a mass movement aims to infect people with a malady and then offer the movement as a cure."
And:
"Not only does a mass movement depict the present as mean and miserable - it deliberately makes it so. It fashions a pattern of individual existence that is dour, hard, repressive and dull. It decries pleasures and comforts and extols the rigorous life. It views ordinary enjoyment as trivial or even discreditable, and represents the pursuit of personal happiness as immoral."
He never mentioned the JW's or the Society by name but what he said was an accurate mirror of that religion and organization.
"I think that world conditions were a lot worse during World War Two."
...and just about anytime before that.
Take a look at population explosion in the 20th century. Mortality went down and continues to go down, like never before the 20th century. Standards of living are better than ever for everyone. Famines are almost non existent (obesity is the new problem). Wars are pretty much restricted to few civil wars in few countries. Longevity keeps going up.
The look on his face was priceless. It was like he knew that was true and never thought about it before.
The rationale is that JWs expect people in a situation like a funeral, and its corresponding mood, to be vulnerable and consequently, more easy to prey on with their proselytizing. Hearing an answer like this one (which I believe is quite on point), not only makes them rethink what they believe, but also disarm them from their techniques.
This catastrophizing of our current way of living, to me is the signature of nonsense. Bad things happened, bad things happen, and bad things will continue to happen. In fact, getting sucked into a cult while looking for comfort after loss is one of the bad things that happen.
Thanks for sharing.
Europe during the Black Death of 1340's. 200 million deaths across Europe and Asia. It took 300 years for world population to get back to the same level.
The Americas during early colonization. An unknown number of "Native Americans" between 10 and 100 million people were alive prior to colonization. European diseases spread across the land and killed entire communities, if not outright, then because caring for the very sick allowed not enough people to hunt or gather. Possibly 90 percent of the population was wiped out, and if so, this was worse than the Black Death by percentage. The remainder was much easier to defeat by warfare and economic methods.
Many remember growing up to hear about starvation in China. Well, in the 1950's and 60's, they were changing from an agricultural society to an industrial one, the change being forced by the Communist rulers. Between the change and natural disasters, millions starved to death.
There are horrible times in history.
He said that world conditions have never been as bad as they are now.
He's just regurgitating the misinformation the WTS puts out, without any historical fact finding.
Mankind was living in worse conditions previously well before 1914 I might add.
ie. health was worse, crime was worse, wars were more abundant, famine was worse etc.
JWS are basically poorly educated robots that regurgitate the false misleading information the WTS puts out.
All this propagation is relating of course that mankind is living in the last days and Satan is running a muck , therefore Armageddon is just around the corner.
Indoctrination in, indoctrination out
It can easily be argued that at this point in human history things are better than they ever were. Up until the modern inventions of antibiotics and other marvels of modern medical care, people were dying of ear infections, and the flu, and "common" ailments that today we take for granted.
Wars in our past were extremely more brutal, and widespread. The brutality of the American Civil war to the 2 World wars of last century are examples of this. Things are also perspective as well. If you were sold into slavery as an African, in the 17th or 18th century, then you were living in the worst "days". If you were starving in an impoverished country, no matter what time period, those were the worst times for your history.
If you were a Jewish person during the Holocaust, you were most likely thinking you were in the "final days". If you were an American indian during the 17 and 1800's, slowly watching your culture and people being wiped away, that was your Armageddon.
There are countless examples that could be given, and during ANY century of documented human existence, that could be argued were the "worst" times in history, especially if you were on the "wrong end" of it.
Yes, there are still plenty of current horrors that are befalling people around the earth. Yet, we have the best medical care EVER. We have the most educated groups of people and opportunity for education, around the planet, especially with modern technology, than ever before. Our life expectancy, and birth rate are greater than ever. Mass starvation, and epic famines, are no where near the scale of what they were only 20 years ago.
It can be argued that with the continued break thrus of modern technologies, and the sharing globally of thoughts and ideas via the internet, we are going through a modern "renaissance" so to speak. The quality of life for MOST, and on the largest scale ever, has increased exponentially, and is only getting better.
Wait wait wait. Just one second. I heard that the Dark Ages were awesome! Really good times.
Today sucks with all that "medicine" and "technology" and you know, refrigerators and stuff.
This is a great way to plant a seed.
This worked on me when I was waking up. I was telling a non jw workmate something similar about how the world is much worse now and he just matter of fact told me that conditions now were actually better due to technology and advances in medicine etc. It wasn't confrontational- wasn't religious or anti JW so it really stuck with me. These type of "common sense" things were what helped me really analyze some of the JW core beliefs.
He said that world conditions have never been as bad as they are now.
just reply--"oh--i wondered why you look so happy "
