What's the point of the Awake?

by Marilyn 24 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Lady Lee

  I always used to think the Awake! was a round about way of getting people to take the magazines. For those who were not so interested in the theology of the WT they could always get the mags into their hands with the readers digest version of the WT reality.

  I also thought it was a way to keep the kids from going to the library to do their homework research. No matter what school topic they were assigned there was bound to be some Awake mag that talked about it. Lordy wouldn't want those kids getting hold of real books in the library and finding out how badly the borg quoted.... er misquoted other sources

  Rejoice in the healing and not in the pain.
  Rejoice in the challenge overcome and not in the past hurts.
  Rejoice in the present - full of love and joy.
  Rejoice in the future for it is filled with new horizons yet to be explored. - Lee Marsh 2002
• 

  karen7680

  The purpose of the Awake!? ... subtle brain washing.

  -------------------------------------------------
  Come to the Ex-JW Get Together! Visit http://www.exjw.info for more details.
• 

  garybuss

  Hi Marilyn, All,

  Awake! Is:

  #1 A profit product of a printing company. The Watch Tower Corporation is, by nature, a publishing corporation.

  #2 It is a very successful product. Several million demanded by each printing.

  #3 It is a product to offer for sale (read donation) to the real consumer, the Witness people, and a product for them to distribute and suggest additional donations available for use by the Corporation.

  #4 It is a way for the Corporation leaders to communicate directions to the group members by writing in double meaning language as well as by context.

  #5 It is a way to introduce the disease of the month.

  #6 It is a way to imply the approval of certain cooking utensils.

  #7 It is another means for the Watch Tower Corporation to tell all things good about the Watch Tower Corporation and highlight apparent defects in competing groups..

  #8 It works excellently to cover the Watchtower magazine during solicitation exercises at stranger's doors on Saturday mornings.

  #9 It allows for secular non-controversial articles in case some proof of group sanity is required such as in a child custody court trial.

  #10 It provides a forum to hide information from practicing Witnesses such as articles that favor organizations normally considered by Witnesses to be non approved, such as The United Nations.

  Thanks for the question. Enjoyed the exercise.
  
  gb
• 

  VM44

  Reading the Awake gives one the equivalent of a college degree!

  --VM44
• 

  Solace

  The Awake is bait.
  It is usually not very religious in content and deals with worldwide events or human interests. It is usually one of the first things a householder receives at the door.
  After someone gets comfortable with having the J.W. come into their home and study, the Watchtower comes into play. This contains all those controlling and manipulative question and answer articles that are drilled into the J.W.s minds every Sunday morning.
• 

  butalbee

  What's the pt of the Awake? Confusion.

  And they make excellent cat box liners..........
• 

  Lady Lee

  <<The Awake is bait>>

  yup that is the perfect word for it

  Rejoice in the healing and not in the pain.
  Rejoice in the challenge overcome and not in the past hurts.
  Rejoice in the present - full of love and joy.
  Rejoice in the future for it is filled with new horizons yet to be explored. - Lee Marsh 2002
• 

  Farkel

  I think the previous posters summed it up perfectly.

  The only thing I can add is that the Awake! is my parrot's preferred dropping point for his droppings. This saddens me greatly, because my parrot's droppings deserve much more than that.

  Farkel
• 

  Elsewhere

  The Watchtower was originally for the “Little Flock” (anointed) and therefore had the “meat”. The Awake was for the "Great Crowd" and therefore had more “light” material.

  As doctrine changed, the anointed started to die off, and the “Great Crowd” became more numerous than the anointed they failed to drop the Awake. With recent budget cuts, I would not be suppressed if it were eventually dropped.

  "As every one knows, there are mistakes in the Bible" - The Watchtower, April 15, 1928, p. 126

  Believe in yourself, not mythology.
  <x ><
• 

  ozziepost

  Marilyn,

  I wondered this same question for the past couple of decades and used to voice my suggestion to Bethel people from time to time that the two magazines be combined into a monthly magazine and that this would allow for more quality in the articles and the presentation.

  As it is now, the dubs see them briefly and ..blink!... anew one has appeared. There isn't enough time to digest the contents. Yeah, I know, that assumes there is anything to digest!

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress