UPDATE: Cult Myths Biography Posts Cancelled

A whole lot has been written on Stephen Hassan for the Cult Myths Biography series, but as I was approaching wrap-up, suddenly other things kept getting in the way that were considerably more important. Even other material to publish seemed more important over the past two years. The “what the ‘Faithful and Discreet Slave’ is Not” article was Herculean in its effort, but I was able to get it done in a few weeks. Whereas the biography of Stephen Hassan has been holding up my ability to address anti-cult arguments for the past two years, despite my being just short of the finish line almost the whole time.

Then, when I sat down and analyzed the importance of biologies of anti-cult personalities, I realized that Jehovah does not make anything about the entire history of any one person unless it teaches a lesson. Every word in the Bible has purpose. So the lesson, I realized, is that knowing about the people who came up with the ideas countered or supported in this series is wholely unimportant to the ideas themselves.

I must therefore apologize to those to whom I promised that article, but this is a promise that I cannot fulfill. I would rather delete it from the list than fight against Jehovah’s spirit. Thank you for your patience, and I apologize for any disappointment this announcement may cause.

I will also be discontinuing the “Upcoming Articles” list as I obviously cannot guarantee they will get published, nor done in a timely manner.


Thank you.

Comments

Sister R. said…
Please just keep posting! Thanks for the update. Will there still be a post regarding or addressing Steven Hassans stupid book?
Dismythed said…
Thank you for the support and your question, sister.

No. I will just be addressing the individual anti-cult and counter-cult claims about what qualifies groups as cults with fair analysis and give no attention to the authors or their publications.
Lars said…
Dear brother, I think nobody is too upset about the lack of biography for the character Stephen Hassan who was not one of Jehovah's Witnesses, but still argues against us and other groups as "cult". I know that there are brothers and sisters that always appreciate reading the life stories in our magazines and recently on the website or watching JW Broadcasting interviews in detail. Strangely or not, I was never a person that is much interested in this. Sure, even I can learn some points that are interesting and/or uplifting. But, for me, what's important is that the person found the truth and serves Jehovah at the end, not all of the details of the person's life. Surely, the detailed life story of this non-JW critic is COMPLETELY irrelevant. But his points are not, as some interested ones might be persuaded to not continue their course of finding the truth due to misinformation. And that's why your articles are so important and why I look forward to future articles. Thanks.
Dismythed said…
I should put it this way:

I too have difficulty in finding interest in biographies. This, though, was about understanding their biases and motivations. For example, Hassan has certain quirks of personality that become evident by the things he borrows, fudges or misrepresents and are connected to his upbringing. It, though, is not too relevant to the claims he makes, which is the actual point of this series.

I had also planned to break down the evidence that he lifted his "strategic interactive approach" that he uses for ethical (non-cultic) deprogramming almost verbatim from our publications. But that too is not necessary since it does not resolve anything except to show that he actually agrees with our methods, which belies his claim that our methods are cultic.
Dismythed said…
To Anonymous of May 8, 2024, 11:20 PM:

I appreciate your link. Unfortunately, that brother, while his intentions were good, had a tendency to quote apostates in his contesting their claims. I cannot condone that practice and therefore cannot approve your post. I hope he is doing well and holding strong.

Also, it is precisely that and other things that the article I had brought close to completion highlighted among many other things. But it is that which I found to be antithetical to the purpose of the Cult Myths series. The series should be focussed strictly on the merits, or lack thereof, of the claims of anti-cultists, and not on their personal lives. It would just be a form of attacking the man. It would therefore distracts from the true discussion. Avoiding such unnecessary controversy is what it means to be discrete.

Thank you for sharing.