by CovertsadJW 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hello all,
I have been wanting to write a book for kids who grow up in the borg or near the borg. It would be non offensive and factual. I am putting the chapters together. I want to fight the Borgs indoctrination to our young kids—-Thoughts ?
Should I get baptized ?
What if I change my mind later ?
Is a University Degree something I need ?
Why changing doctrine ?
What is faith ?
Do I need faith in a God to be happy ?
What a neat idea!
A whole section dedicated to the following may be of use:
Criticizing or Critiquing - what does critical thinking entail?
From there, perhaps identify with subheadings the various aspects of identifying fallacious claims, arguments and unreasonable demands for individuals to forsake the apparently dreaded "spirit of independence". Youths could be provided with examples in history where this "spirit of oneness" lead to society's detriment. Perhaps contrast this with individuals who truly did serve as the proverbial grain of rice which tipped the scale - Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Newton, Socrates, and yes - even Charles Taze Russell, who had the gall to fracture away from group-thinking and do what he believed was right. There is absolutely nothing reckless about standing up to the crowd (be it a political party, a social movement, or even a beloved religious organization) and saying "NO". That "no" will affect change. The future rests with the very youth reading this book. Ultimately, the book should demonstrate that there is much more truth, wisdom and hopefully happiness in taking the risk of thinking for oneself.
Nice idea!
Perhaps include the BITE model.
Help those young ones to identify :
Behaviour control
Information control
Thought control
Emotion control
All good ideas, but it would likely never reach the intended audience. Better yet, adapt all these topics into a short video series on YouTube with JW related keywords aimed at young people, and with somewhat innocuous titles and thumbnails.
I do agree that if it is aimed at current Jw kids then the approach h needs to be subtle , otherwise they will refuse to read it. If aimed at non jwkids to educate, then great.
Eric Hoffer said a lot of things in his book the True Believer. I read it when I was 16 and it gave me a new understanding of our so called 'truth'. And every other so called truth.
Three quotes..... and by the by I doubt he even knew about the beliefs and organization of the JW's back in 1951 when his book was published.
The true believer is apt to see himself as one of the chosen, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, a prince disguised in meekness, who is destined to inherit this earth and the kingdom of heaven, too. He who is not of his faith is evil; he who will not listen shall perish.
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.
If a doctrine is not unintelligible, it has to be vague; and if neither unintelligible nor vague, it has to be unverifiable. One has to get to heaven or the distant future to determine the truth of an effective doctrine.
I want to fight the Borgs indoctrination to our young kids—-Thoughts ?
I think that can be a great idea. I think that the tricky part here is reaching out to them in a way that makes them pay attention. If they are young people, they are (a) minors, (b) therefore, have to do what they parents tell them, which means that (c) having them access that type of literature might not be easy.
As for the content, I think your list is good.
I think if you leave out the word cult and made it about religion in general some of them would read it.
If it is an obvious book about the JWs they wouldn't read it unless they were already on the way out.
You could try and get the kids think about how come Jesus wasn’t shunned by his family for starting his own religion. All cults have restrictions on members talking to ex members. All cults restrict association with non members. All cults use the word truth in association with themselves only. My heart bleeds for the kids.
