How can they dumb down the 'bait and switch' and other mind control tactics any more?
Just a couple of ideas!!
New simplified Watchtower
by alanv 81 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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punkofnice
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AnnOMaly
Blondie, are you sure that was in the early 70's?
I remember the same thing. The format changed from reading the question first, getting comments and having the paragraph read to sum up, to the order we still have now. I was a little kid so I cannot remember exactly when it was, but it was definitely the '70s.
I've just dug out the old 1972 Organization book and p. 93-4 confirms that paragraphs were read after the questions and comments in summary.
By the way, I wouldn't be surprised if this 'simplified WT' gets routinely used in Family Worship for the children ('We need to obey the FDS to get God's approval' - brrr!).
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Justitia Themis
I remember the same thing. The format changed from reading the question first, getting comments and having the paragraph read to sum up, to the order we still have now. I was a little kid so I cannot remember exactly when it was, but it was definitely the '70s
Unfortunately, I was around for that also.
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the-illuminator81
Magical Skyman chose old men in big city as chief a long time ago. Chief tells you what to do. If you don't listen, Skyman will kill you very soon. You have to tell everyone about Skyman and Chief, so they know that Skyman will kill them if they do not listen to Chief. If you listen to Chief, you will get a big house and pet lions and live forever.
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JustHuman14
Oh really!!! Perhaps I will use the simplified version of the WT to teach my 6 year old kid English!!!
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blondie
FOR JAMES WOOD AND ANNOMALY
I was a little off, it was February 1977 that the WTS started this new procedure.
*** w77 2/1 p. 96 New Method of Conducting “Watchtower” Study ***
Elders who preside at the weekly Watchtower study, as well as those who conduct the congregation book studies, are anxious to teach in the most effective and helpful way. (Rom. 12:8; 2 Tim. 4:2) Moreover, all in the congregation desire to make the most of opportunities for taking in spiritual nourishment so that they may attain to “accurate knowledge and full discernment” of the truth.—Phil. 1:9.
With this in mind, we recommend to all congregations the following order of study: (1) Read the paragraph in TheWatchtower (or other publication); (2) Read the question thereon; (3) Call on those raising their hands for answers, discussing fully the paragraph and supporting scriptures.
There should be a number of advantages in reading the paragraphs before they are discussed. This will quickly refresh the minds of all who have studied over the lesson in advance, and in the event some have not been able to do this previous to the meeting, the reading will at least familiarize them with the material before it is discussed. Everyone will be encouraged to concentrate on the reading, rather than look ahead for the answer in the next paragraph. Those who are shy, or who are slow in organizing their thoughts, will be able to prepare better to put their words together and so gain confidence to raise their hands. There should be freer participation and fuller discussion of the finer details of the study, with emphasis on the application of key scriptures before passing on to the reading of the next paragraph.
This new arrangement should be a blessing to all of God’s people, as they seek to “be filled with the accurate knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension, in order to walk worthily of Jehovah.”—Col. 1:9, 10.
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blondie
FOR JAMES WOOD AND ANNOMALY
I was a little off, it was February 1977 that the WTS started this new procedure.
*** w77 2/1 p. 96 New Method of Conducting “Watchtower” Study ***
Elders who preside at the weekly Watchtower study, as well as those who conduct the congregation book studies, are anxious to teach in the most effective and helpful way. (Rom. 12:8; 2 Tim. 4:2) Moreover, all in the congregation desire to make the most of opportunities for taking in spiritual nourishment so that they may attain to “accurate knowledge and full discernment” of the truth.—Phil. 1:9.
With this in mind, we recommend to all congregations the following order of study: (1) Read the paragraph in TheWatchtower (or other publication); (2) Read the question thereon; (3) Call on those raising their hands for answers, discussing fully the paragraph and supporting scriptures.
There should be a number of advantages in reading the paragraphs before they are discussed. This will quickly refresh the minds of all who have studied over the lesson in advance, and in the event some have not been able to do this previous to the meeting, the reading will at least familiarize them with the material before it is discussed. Everyone will be encouraged to concentrate on the reading, rather than look ahead for the answer in the next paragraph. Those who are shy, or who are slow in organizing their thoughts, will be able to prepare better to put their words together and so gain confidence to raise their hands. There should be freer participation and fuller discussion of the finer details of the study, with emphasis on the application of key scriptures before passing on to the reading of the next paragraph.
This new arrangement should be a blessing to all of God’s people, as they seek to “be filled with the accurate knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension, in order to walk worthily of Jehovah.”—Col. 1:9, 10.
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AnnOMaly
Thanks Blondie. Funny - the change was a little later than I would have thought too (thinking it was more likely early-mid rather than mid-late) LOL!
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WontLeave
I see this "simplified" English WT as a good thing. The straight-forward sentence structure and smaller vocabulary allow less nuance. The duality of doctrine in the less-dumb WT is only obvious to JWs who are aware of what is going on. There is no reading between the lines in the dumber version. The very nature of it betrays "the abundance of the heart", with no wiggle room for back-pedaling when confronted with their beliefs. The vague suggestions which are read as direct orders from Jesus, the wishy-washy demand for obedience while feigning humility, the ambiguous wording intended to be used as a club in the back room yet allow plausible deniability to outsiders; these are all lost in the "See Jane run." version. They are forced to come right out and say what they mean.
Perhaps their ghetto-combing ministry and non-existent success rate with anyone intelligent or educated has forced their hand. Let's face it, when your congregation is looking more and more like a motor skills class, how can you expect to make them conform to subtle implications? The new breed of JWs can't even read the lines, much less read between the lines.
Interestingly, you'll notice any straight-talk "The Governing Body is your overlords" message still fails to appear in the public editions. Just for fun, I searched the newest idiot WT and the public WT from jw.org for the term "slave". In the context of the fds, it appeared 10 times in this one issue. That's not including "Governing Body", "anointed", or any other terms used interchangeably. Meanwhile, in the public edition, it appeared a whopping zero times.
Did John the baptist sweep Jesus under the rug until the people he preached to were nice and indoctrinated? No, he led with that message and was proud of it. The GB and JWs in general hide this jagged little pill in hopes nobody can taste it until it's too late. This one doctrine - the Governing Body - is their downfall; their Achilles' heel. No matter how you feel about any other doctrine of JWs, the GB one is what makes the others mandatory.
Without human dictators, every other doctrine is optional for each person to exercise his or her own Christian, Bible-trained conscience. "But solid food belongs to mature people, to those who through use have their perceptive powers trained to distinguish both right and wrong." - Heb 5:14 But, it's impossible to train our consciences as JWs, because every decision is made for us. Every situation, every interaction, every possible variable in our lives has some Watchtower article about it. The GB tears at our confidence with their self-promoting and condescending literature, to keep us convinced we are babies and must rely on the "mother" organization for everything. They want us to believe we are helpless without them - not Jesus, not Jehovah - them.
Now, introduce an entire generation of followers with no money, no education, no life, and the intellectual prowess of canned goods. The Society obviously realizes the quality of the current newcomers to the religion and are directing the message to them; the useful idiots. The recent radical "fundamentalism" has given the US a new lease on "Christianity" and the JWs are obviously trying to ride this wave or at least adopt the methodology of extremists.
Stupid people are quicker and easier to train as robot zombies. They don't get bored as easily and will perform for much less reward. They don't do research or ask too many questions. They're certainly not going to pose difficult issues that cause others to doubt. Basically, the Society is amassing an army of retards who will unquestioningly do their bidding.
Just like medieval serfs or kids on the playground, anyone who's perceived as different will be attacked and excluded without a thought. The Armageddon and demon phobias, along with Governing Body idolizing, will increase exponentially as voices of reason are marginalized and become a dwindling minority. The Watchtower will be able to make larger and larger leaps from Scripture to doctrine, make more outlandish claims, cite more outrageous "some names are changed" examples, claim more authority, and demand more blind obedience. Anyone who's ever had someone at the door confront them with the Russian well "screams from Hell" story knows exactly the type of blithering idiot the WT is trying to attract and keep. There will soon be precious little difference between the Kingdom Hall and Westboro Baptist Church.
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undercover
I remember the same thing. The format changed from reading the question first, getting comments and having the paragraph read to sum up, to the order we still have now. I was a little kid so I cannot remember exactly when it was, but it was definitely the '70s
I should remember that change but for the life of me I can't.
I remember when all Sunday meetings were in the afternoon, never in the morning. I remember the 10 minute or so break in the middle (smoke em if you got em) between talk and study, but cannot ever remember the questions and comments coming before the reading. I guess I zoned out more that I realized during all those studies...