The Watchtower Educational System

by R.F. 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  R.F.

  This is just something I was thinking of earlier and it just had me at awe when I thought about just how much into this I was.

  1. Prepare Watchtower lesson each week.

  A study about the org's version of bible understanding. This is the biggie. It is pretty much said that if you don't take as much time as possible to study your WT lesson, you aren't spiritual and don't appreciate spiritual things fully. Don't forget about the constant pressure to comment and one can't help but feel obliged to put this as highest priority.

  2. Prepare Book Study lesson each week.

  Another biggie, especially since groups are smaller and it's even added pressure to comment. Just another study of the org's version of what the bible says.

  3. Prepare for Theocratic Ministry School parts each week.

  There is much pressure here to prepare ALL parts so that you can volunteer if need be. You absolutely MUST give these parts based on info from the "slave", if you use some other source or even add some outside material in that doesn't sound like something you usually hear in the publications, you will likely be given negative counsel about it.

  4. Prepare assigned Bible reading for the week

  Nothing wrong with this at all, besides, it should always be about the bible right? However, there is much pressure to see what "the faithful slave" says in WT publications that might cover specific points from the bible reading. Brothers giving teaching parts are especially admonished to do so.

  5. Prepare for Service Meeting for the week.

  Another meeting where you usually have parts with audience participation, commenting on something the "slave" wrote about their version of what the bible says.

  6. Prepare for field service

  Your encouraged to prepare before going door to door, usually about points you may use to offer the current magazines. Another way of keeping your mind focused on WT material.

  7. Read daily text each day

  Yet another tool to use based on past WT articles for you to read.

  8. Other research projects

  Something else JWs are encouraged to do, but you guessed it, based on WT publications, not on other sources for Bible information.

  Is it any wonder as to why JWs truly think they have true bible education when it's really the Society's interpretation of the bible that is engrained in their minds each and everyday? The average Witness is usually quite busy with other obligations. With constant pressure to prepare for the meetings and comment, or in other words, repeat what is said in a paragraph, the average JW can hardly squeeze in time for Bible reading alone. When they do have time to do so, their minds are already filled with so much Wt material that they still have the blinders on and aren't getting the real sense of the Scriptures.
• 

  VM44

  It all can be summed up in one word.....Propaganda!

  --VM44
• 

  WTWizard

  This is designed to fill one's time. Any free time is supposed to be usurped by service, of which you never do enough. You are supposed to keep up with the latest take on the Bible. And then there are the deep things: agreements between God and Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and any other person they can think of. The Tower spins it into something that can affect us all. And you have to understand the minor differences between how each one is supposed to affect us today.

  All this is designed to confuse. You can study it for a lifetime and not understand it. Why? Because none of it actually applies now. Agreements between God and David only apply to David. And none of us are the David that is affected by this agreement, so it is bogus to us. As Blondie so points out, this illustrates the danger of relying heavily on the Old Testament, or as the Tower likes to call it the Hebrew Scriptures. If one studies all this with a view of applying it to our own lives, we are wasting our time. And that's precisely what the Watchtower Society wants us to do.

  And that Daily Text is a crock. Notice that every one of them has a paragraph from the Craptower to explain it. This is an attempt to integrate the Bible and Watchtower doctrine. You take a scripture out of context and put a piece of Watchtower crap next to it. Of course, you are supposed to waste even more time applying the text to service when "Just get out there, screech directly to the territory, sprint to the doors, and screech to the next territory" would be a more accurate description of what they actually want. If you are going to read and study the Bible, you are going to get better results by studying it independently and in context than by using the Craptower publications to study it.
• 

  Frequent_Fader_Miles

  And that Daily Text is a crock. Notice that every one of them has a paragraph from the Craptower to explain it.

  You said it pal! I'd always be at a total loss trying to figure out how exactly this dumb crap was supposed to give me something "spiritual" to deal with problems during the day.

  The whole topic of JW education reminded me of a local radio talk show with 2 Branch elders as guests. The host posed the question as to why J-dubs don't build schools. One of the elders cheekily boasted: "Most persons don't know that Jehovah's Witnesses actually have FIVE schools". He then began to rant about the theocratic school, service meeting etc (lol) The host butted in: "No, no, no, stop copping out of the question ... don't you know what a school is? Do the Jehovah's Witnesses have a school?" The elder sheepishly replied in the negative.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  For me it was:

  1. Prepare Watchtower lesson each week.

  I wasn't the WT conductor, but as an elder, I knew I had to be able to substitute for this, and comment
  when nobody raised their hand. Study prep was at least 45 minutes. I tried to look up the references and
  didn't just accept the WT teaching without trying to research what I didn't agree totally with. Often 1.5 hours.

  2. Prepare Book Study lesson each week .

  I did conduct that. If it was a new book, 45 minutes prep. If it was a repeat book, 25 minutes.

  3. Prepare for Theocratic Ministry School parts each week.

  I was the Overseer. Average of 3 hours a month scheduling and looking over assignments plus being
  ready to substitute for EVERY SINGLE PART ON THE SCHOOL. Average weekly prep was 2 hours
  plus 45 minutes per week from breaking down the 3 hours a month for scheduling. Total 2.75 hours.

  4. Prepare assigned Bible reading for the week

  I read the material. It wasn't too difficult. Then I would find an article from a WT to volunteer to cover
  the material so this wasn't much time. Total of maybe 25 minutes per week.

  5. Prepare for Service Meeting for the week.

  I rushed through this if I didn't have a part. A speaking part may have taken 1.5 hours to prep, sometimes
  less. I would say I averaged only 30 minutes a week.

  6. Prepare for field service

  I was bad at this. I used stuff from the service meeting and reviewed on the fly.

  7. Read daily text each day

  I was absolutely terrible at this. Rarely did it, but did read the Bible reading for each week in little
  daily pieces.

  8. Other research projects

  I kept vowing to get back to examining my problems with WTS, and finally did. This started out small
  but eventually took enormous amounts of time (for my own good). Now, I am satisfied that I don't need
  to do this or #1-7. But adding it up, in my heyday, I was doing 6 hours a week of pure cult studying, and
  many others did more.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  That "Be a part of the world, but not, part of the world" always got me! This is what a "sister" told me when I asked about witnesses going to public school. And then they use the same scripture for not going to college!
• 

  WTWizard

  This reminds me of a MLM program that I got offered and checked out. I lost interest when I found out that you were selling $1500 courses and $7500 seminars that only taught people to sell the same courses and seminars I was to sell. I had enough of that with the Watchtower Society, so I saw that MLM as a total scam and bailed out without putting in a nickel.

  With that, at least you got paid a portion of what you put in. With the Watchtower, you don't. The whole education system is to teach people to bring others into the same program. Beyond that, nothing. And you do not get a penny for this. No creation of value. No making money. Yes, wasting your time and energy, plus spending your own money, to promote a scam.