Good afternoon everyone and welcome to my new series of reports I like to call The Watchtower After Hours, where we examine many various topics relating to Jehovah Witnesses, mostly found on their own website:
I'd like to point out that these articles are all current or previous publications of the Watchtower Society, and have not been written or changed by me. The following commentary is usually quite sarcastic and if any current Jehovah Witness is reading this they are more than welcome to post their opinion, and I apologize in advance for offending anyone. Anyone and everyone who is not offended however, is more t han welcome to join the fun
Now that I'm done covering my ass, lets get down to business. Tonight's topic is Education. What's that you say? You can't remember the current Watchtower view of education? Well, I'll try my best, the education stance flip flops faster than Judge Rutherford at an alcoholic's anonymous meeting. Here's the perfect gem of spiritual food I found:
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20051015/article_01.htm
HAVE you ever been so overwhelmed by problems that you felt as though you were drowning in a whirlpool? Just imagine how much suffering could result if you made a mistake in coping with one or more of those problems!
YAWN, get to the point! It's a good thing I have the Watchtower to uncover these deep mysteries of life. Where would I be without their wise council?
No one is born with the ability to solve all problems successfully, making good decisions every time.
DUH! You people are really going for the Nobel Prize in the sociological study of human behavior! Yet somehow we're supposed to believe that a ten year old who would rather die than receive a blood transfusion is speaking with his own mind?
Many, both young and old, extol the importance of an academic education. Some experts even say that they “fully believe that you will never be able to find a [decent] job without a college degree.” Yet, there are a number of human needs that go beyond material achievements. For instance, does higher learning help you to be a good parent, mate, or friend? For that matter, people admired for their intellectual achievements may develop undesirable personalitytraits, fail intheir family life, or even end up committing suicide.
Take a good hard look at that last line. Where on earth do they get the authority to make such a ludicrous statement? What study do they base this on? Absolutely nothing. For those of us familiar with this subject, we know what's really going on here. The Watchtower hates higher education because college teaches you to think for yourself using critical analysis skills. For a Jehovah Witness, this almost always leads to critical analysis of the Watchtower's history and the truth behind their beliefs. But for a Jehovah Witness to have knowledge is very dangerous to the Watchtower, as it uncovers well over a century of lies and crimes against humanity. So they cloak this fear by teaching witnesses that college is a waste of time and full of nothing but immorality. That's how they come to make such incredibly bias and wildly inaccurate statements like this.
Some look to religion for guidance, a source of education, but become disappointed because of not receiving practical help to face life’s difficulties. Illustrating this, Emilia* from Mexico says: “It was 15 years ago that I felt that my husband and I simply could not be together any longer. We argued all the time. I couldn’t get him to stop drinking. I frequently had to leave our small children by themselves while I went looking for my husband. I was emotionally worn out. Several times I went to church seeking something that might help me find a solution. Although the Bible was occasionally used, I never heard any counsel that directly dealt with my situation; neither did anyone approach me to tell me what to do. Sitting in church for a while and repeating some prayers did not satisfy me.” Others may become disillusioned when they see how far their own spiritual leaders are from living an exemplary life. As a result, many lose confidence in religion as a source of training or education for a successful life.
Now who saw this coming? Attack all religion in general with a vague condemnation of no particular church using a person who probably doesn't even exist. I suppose going to the Watchtower meetings and listening to the elders' "advice" on how to overcome your problems by "praying more" is alot better.
Remind me when in history the number of suicides among college graduates ever exceeded that of Jehovah Witnesses. Or for that matter, when was the success of a family relationship ever ruined by obtaning a college degree?
And as for immorality, college is what you want it to be. If you skip classes and party all the time with drugs and alcohol, than it will be the shortest vacation of your entire life. But as for a JW who wants to have a job where you say something other than "you want fries with that,?" This is what happens when you let an uninspired organization of men decide your morality for you.
Anitar