nobspeople wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 3:03 pmTrue, to a point. I didn't read the whole thread, but I think intelligence and lack of (wanting or getting) education can't always be totally seen as independent of each other.
I'll agree with that, too. The point I was making is that I don't think Jehovah's Witnesses are targeting lack of intelligence
per se, but lack of education. I've talked to enough earnest apologists to know that even someone intelligent has a difficult time seeing past the most deeply flawed methods of evaluating data if that's how they've been trained.
nobspeople wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 3:03 pmIf it's so true, so right, so righteous, they shouldn't have to 'teach' them anything. It should make logical sense. If it doesn't, then, IMO, you're setting yourself up for a big problem.
Logic, critical thinking, and the ability to evaluate evidence aren't innate and must be learned as skills. The overall pattern we see is a series of aspersions cast on sources that can teach those skills, while replacing them with mere shadows of the genuine article.
If the topic is worth a few hours to you, download some issues of the Study Edition of
The Watchtower. Pick some at random (so there's no way to accuse me of cherry-picking) and examine the questions with the study articles. Invariably, the question has a straightforward answer within the text. None of the questions involve any sort of weighing of evidence, evaluating a variety of data, or even introspection, but are always about finding the answer within either the specific paragraph of
The Watchtower itself or a helpfully-provided verse of the NWT. The only skill that this exercises is finding the answer in the Watchtower. As you examine the questions, remember that these questions are for adults. This is what I'm told, with knowing, appreciative looks, is serious Bible study. I have seriously, unironically been told that "other churches don't go to this depth."
I suppose, in the strictest sense, that's true.