Why are there two Watchtowers published? The real reason

by exjehovah 27 Replies latest jw friends

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  RagingBull

  @ Witness M.F., the difference was not so great. Scriptures sited were the same etc., but I did wonder why they would do that if they want everyone "IN HARMONY" (hate when people say that when commenting). The only reason I could think of, was to make sure the bros and sis. are getting the full study mags, making their monetary donations for them, versus printing the articles from online (where you use your own paper).

  If everyone printed articles...why donate $ for what you can get at home.

  But yeah, the changes were different enough that one could not keep up without a mag. Whole sentences were flipped around, some words were missing, other words were just substituted with a different word.
• 

  Paralipomenon

  A small part of the reasoning, I figure is to cloud their minds.

  The public editions are very colorful, meant to capture your attention and trigger an emotion or feeling. The down point to this, is that they are very memorable.

  The study edition is bland by comparisson.

  If you remember an article saying something conflicting, it's harder to map it in your mind to which article it is in. Was it the teal study edition? aquamarine?

  In all, it gets blended together in their memory and they just focus on what the newest one says.
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  man oh man

  My vote is all of the above!!!
• 

  ScenicViewer

  Lots of good points being made here.

  I agree with Metatron and others, that the change required fewer mags to be printed, thus cutting operating costs.

  I also agree with Heath N, who said "The public WT is to GET THEM IN......the study WT is to KEEP THEM IN."

  Watchtower claimes to speak the "pure language" of truth (Zeph 3:9), but in reality has always spoken two languages. The first language is to attract people, and is usually based on a Bible verse that promises a paradise earth, the removal of wickedness, a world with no hunger, an end to all suffering, etc. This is fairly effective at getting people's interest since virtually all people would love to have these things in their lives.

  The second language is Organizational. It is the language of Watchtower, the language that keeps people locked in. It is full of man made rules that only pretend to be supported by the Bible. I think of it as the language of the cult, since many cults use a similar technique of luring people in, then keeping them trapped by promoting the cult's teachings, undersstandings, and loaded language.

  The transition from the first (soft) language to the second (hard) language is subtle and clever, so that a person may not even notice that he has been moved away from the 'truth' of God's Word to the controlling language and unique understandings of the religion (cult).

  I believe Processor illustrated it very well,

  Brochure: "God will do away with the wicked."

  Public Watchtower: "God will do away with all people who do not obey him."

  Internal Watchtower: "God will do away with all people who do not obey the Governing Body."

  Watchtower took advantage of at least two benefits when it cut magazine production. 1) Costs were cut, and 2) by having a Public edition and a Study edition, promoting Organizational interests by the use of the double language became easier.
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  flipper

  Steve Hassan mentioned in his books on cult mind control that many cults will print more hardline, controlling, disciplinarian literature for members only in order to control them more firmly and then print a softer , more appealing, happy scenario type literature for non-cult members so as to recruit them. So in my opinion the main reason the WT society has 2 different versions is to clamp down the more rigid control on active JW members in order to MAINTAIN that power and control over them. And the WT society prints the shiny, happy, fantasy paradise deliver in the field service magazines as a marketing tool to lure unsuspecting non-Witnesses into the cult. Then once they get baptized and start attending meetings as an unbaptized publisher - the real strict magazines appear in the picture to control them.

  The monetary thing ? O.K. I buy that. It probably saves the WT society more $$$ . But the end game still is power, control, and monetary domination over all Jehovah's Witnesses. So it's all tied in together, really. Just my take
• 

  hamsterbait

  "Three magazines for the sons of men

  dancing under heaven,

  One magazine to bind them all

  and into darkness drag them."

  HB
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  hamsterbait
• 

  processor

  Would it really be wise to publish THIS in a magazine that is widely distributed to the public? (It's from the internal Watchtower April 2012):