AboutBrenton Hepburn Expertise I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I can answer questions on the reliability of the NWT, the so called mind control problems, so called prophecies, and general practices and history of Jehovah’s Witnesses.....
>>>>WARNING<<<<<< ....Please be aware that there are at least ... 3 .... people here who ARE NOT practicing JWs and, (at other times there have been as many as 5.) These ones will, at times, appear to have an agenda against JWs., and will often give answers that are not correct in regard to JW teachings and practices. If you are after a answer from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, please read some of the answers that the various experts have published before choosing someone. If you want to ask them a question that is fine, but if you want a balancing view after asking one of the NON JWs, ask a JW the same question
Experience I have been a publisher since 1964. When I first went on the internet I found a lot of negative information dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses covering prophecy, mind control and what many said was a very bad translation of the Bible known as the NWT. It shook my faith. After may hours researching these topics I could see why some felt that way, but, I was also able to explain why there were these misleading views. I can now set matters straight for anyone that has negative information about Jehovah’s Witness to show them that such information is at best misleading and at worst dangerous lies.
Education/Credentials I have been a student of the Bible for many years, am trying to teach myself Biblical Greek.
Was a public tax accountant for many yrars untill SEP 2009 when I gave it up.
Question I need to ask questions to work all this out. Please forgive me if I sound picky.
My question is:
"How can a person who has succumbed to mind conrol, confidently say that they themselves are not under under mind conrol?"
To me it's sort of like a person who was born blind trying to explain to a "seeing person" what a sunset looks like.
Answer Hello Owenaoz
Thank you for your question
This is not an easy question to answer on this site as it requires a lot of information to be discussed as to just what is and is not mind control and just what you consider mind control in your question.
There is a lot of information about mind control on the internet especially when it concerns JWs. I have read a great many of them. They often use references to books written by the following two men Steven Hassan and
Robert Lifton.
If we read these articles, yes, it does seem strange that someone under the influence of mind control would find it difficult to se that they are under mind control. However, in every case of mind control article I have read regarding JWs, there are many many untruths and misinformation about JWs published. This misinformation along with the mind control behavior described by Steven Hassan and Robert Lifton, really makes one think JWs have been greatly influenced by mind control. The general idea is that when we are under mind control we can not think for ourselves. When one carfully examines the criteria of “mind control”
The mind control techniques that are described by those writers are portrayed as evil.
Now this may seem like I am agreeing with them but I am not. JWs willingly come under the “mind control” of God as set out in the Bible. That is they willingly conform to Bible principles and laws because we see at as “God knows best” because he is our creator and as such he really does know what is best for us. That allowing ourselves to come under his “mind control” is based on reason and knowledge not some subversive techniques that we are not aware of.
The simple truth is, when one carefully examines the criteria of “mind control” as set out by Hassan and Lifton, every body on earth is under some form of mind control. That is because all of us are influenced by other people, by our parents, teachers, peers, advertising etc. All these things affect the way we think and behave.
God created us with free will, but that is not absolute free will. It is our choice to do either the right thing or the wrong thing. We have to have laws to protect the society as a whole or there would be total anarchy over the earth. So laws are a form of mind control as they stop us from doing harm to our selves or others. JW’s willing chose to follow Gods laws.
Take for example road laws. We are under a form of mind control to obey them. Of we do not we might get away with it, we might get a fine, we might damage our car, we might damage someone else property, and at worst we could kill ourselves or someone else. We chose every time we get into a car to do the right thing or the wrong thing.
For a discussion of JWs thinking for themselves see the following
