Copy of CO Letter/Outline Regarding Education - In Spanish

by grassyknoll07 55 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  cabasilas

  HEALTHFUL WORDS CONCERNING SECULAR EDUCATION (15 MIN.)
  The objective of education is to enable one to praise Jehovah (w96 1/2, p. 14, paragraph 23).
  What we think about education reveals how much faith we have in God’s promise to take care of his servants (Matt. 6:33; Col. 3:23, 24)
  Attending to personal and family necessities is a secondary objective (1 Tim. 6:-6-8: w96 1/2, p. 14, para. 22)
  To make good decisions, one must anticipate the costs of higher education (Luke 14:28-30)
  Question: What costs does a higher education incur? [Monetary costs, promotes the desire for prominence in Satan’s system, a climate of moral relativity, some have abandoned the truth, etc. (w05 1/10, pp. 28, 29, paragraphs 9-13)]
  Parents should help their children by practical means to choose an education which can provide them a happy and lasting future
  Focus on congregational activities produces happiness (Acts. 20:35)
  The first disciples of Jesus renounced promising professions (Matt. 4:18-22; 9:9; Col. 4:14)
  They did not see it as a loss (Matt. 19:29)
  Would a brother be continuing to satisfy the requirements for holding privileges in the congregation if he, his wife or his children pursued higher studies? [Ask for brief comments on 1 Timothy 3:13 and Titus 1:9]
  Situation: The son of an elder is studying for a career in architecture, lives with his parents, is a ministerial servant, has organized his studies so that they do not interfere with the meetings or the ministry, occasionally auxiliary pioneers and the family does not promote the idea that others should obtain this type of education
  Questions: By his lifestyle and that of his family, can it be said that this elder is teaching his family to place the Kingdom first? (Matt. 6:33). [If a brother or a member of his family is pursuing higher education in order to obtain a specific job, does not promote it, and if it is clear that both he and his family are seeking first the Kingdom, his services of privilege need not be affected. Some professions require that an individual periodically take certification courses so as not to lose a professional licence]

  Situation: The daughter of an elder studies at university far from home with the goal of earning a lot of money. The elder and his wife tell other brothers that their daughter is doing this at their request, in view of the good economic situation that she will have and the prestige which the family will gain
  Questions: What opinion does this family have of that which the faithful slave has said concerning higher education, as revealed by their words and conduct? (Ps. 1:2, 3; 1 Cor. 2:13-16; 3 John 9) [When an appointed servant promotes higher education for the purpose of economic gain or prestige, this places in doubt his qualifications to serve in the congregation, and may affect his freeness of expression and that of his fellow elders]

  The more I read this stuff the angrier I get.

  Focus on congregational activities produces happiness (Acts. 20:35)

  So, the only real way to be happy in Jehovah's Witnesses is to be involved with congregational activities? The Scripture quoted talks about giving rather than receiving. Does not a doctor give to people in the community? Is he/she only interested in "prominence in Satan's system" by pursuing that career at a university? Similarly with many other professions that require a high amount of committment in higher education. I know people who have spent years to get accredidation to teach special education classes for various handicapped children. Are the motives for the people pursuing these only negative?

  One of the final chapters in the latest Youth book has a chapter about one's future. The only future it held out was "congregational activities," such as pioneering, Bethel Service and missionary work. Apparently, in the JW Organization the only way to serve God (and thus be happy) is to do "religious" activities. The concept that one's career could also be a service to God is missing from Witness theology. How sad!
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  VM44

  Was anyone able to get the english version of this letter?
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  sir82

  Focus on congregational activities produces happiness (Acts. 20:35)

  Advance peek at the 2010 "Revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures":

  Acts 20:35: "I pass this on, which I also received from the Lord, when he himself said, there is more happiness in scrubbing toilets at the Kingdom Hall than there is receiving university scholarships."
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  cabasilas

  Was anyone able to get the english version of this letter?

  I doubt we'd get that lucky. But, maybe there's a circuit overseer in the English speaking world that still thinks for himself.
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  Quandry

  The CO talk at the local spanish congregation recently was nauseating. It was about how Timothy's father was an unbelieving Greek...and you know what Greeks liked the most?
  Sports, higher education, and other forms of debauchery!

  Unfortunately, persons with a Mexican background have been discriminated against for years in this country. One just has to look at the history of Texas to check this. Their schools were inferior to nonexistant during the first years of the twentieth century.

  The dropout rate of high school aged Latinos is high at this time. Many educators are knocking themselves out trying to keep them in school, even going out to their homes to try to get them back in.

  Now, the only real ticket to a successful life is called debauchery by the WTS?

  Sad......
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  daniel-p

  The frustrating thing about this is that the Society is speaking out of both sides of their mouth. They give an extreme example of someone going to college to actively pursue riches and noteriety in this system, an example that is so extreme in the organization and unusual that the elders will likely never encounter it, but seek examples that are similar in some respects. So there is this "wiggle room," but at the same time, by their use of scripture and all their insinuations (like saying how you feel about education relfects your faith in God) they all but condemn it.
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  daniel-p

  On a further note, I hope they shoot themselves in the foot with this one. A lot of Spanish witnesses in America are set on upward mobility (how could they not be, when they, or their parents, may have been poor immigrants?), and discouraging education is like telling them they can't get better jobs, to just stay poor and in the lowest classes of American society. Ain't gonna happen.
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  sir82

  A lot of Spanish witnesses in America are set on upward mobility (how could they not be, when they, or their parents, may have been poor immigrants?), and discouraging education is like telling them they can't get better jobs, to just stay poor and in the lowest classes of American society.

  In my experience, a lot...a LOT of Latino JWs in the US look down at their American counterparts as materialistic and weak spiritually. They have a kind of weird pride in remaining uneducated and economically disadvantaged, thus in an odd sense demonstrating their own "spirituality". At least that is the attitude of the adults.

  This may be a geographical oddity....in the area I am familiar with, most Latinos are recent immigrants. I imagine in areas with more established populations, the attitude could be as you suggest.
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  daniel-p

  Sir82, interesting. Yes, it sounds like it's related to geography. Here where I live (a four-year college nearby, couple comm. colleges, etc.) many Latinos are going to school. On average, more than those in the English congregations.
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  DaCheech

  these watchtower blind f*^%*$ing bastards are first to condemn, but then are the first to seek the college educated to help them out.

  whether it be the doctor, or the lawyers, or somebody that helps them get their paparwork filed to get more $$govt. handouts$$.... theyre all the same hypocrites