Odd Thomas - “Of Whom Shall I Be in Dread?” - WT 7/15/12

by 00DAD 19 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  00DAD

  St. George: Well of course anyone as stupid as Thomas would be well qualified for this type of work!!!

  
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  whoosier

  I like the effort to question some things that, in our world, might sound far fetched. I thought the same things about this experience as some of you.

  I have read some experiences in the literature that are at best difficult to swallow. At worst, imaginary.

  This one could actually have some truth to it.

  After digging deeper, I found the following on the slcgg.org site. (sierra leone campaign for good governance, a non-profit organization) It's a long text, but it really shows the desperate conditions in the schools in Sierra Leone.

  The link to the document is: http://www.slcgg.org/3_Resources_Documents/A_Reports/Basic%20Education%20Report.doc

  A couple of quotes:

  " A "qualified" teacher for the purpose of this exercise, is an individual that must have successfully completed a course in a teacher training institution and awarded one or more of the following: Teachers Certificate (TC); Higher Teachers Certificate-HTC (Primary and Secondary); Bachelor of Education - B. Ed (Primary and Secondary); B. Sc/B.A Ed.; B.A/B. Sc. Dip and other Diplomas."

  "Most teachers in the sampled schools were either paid late or not being paid salaries at all. Non-payment happens when a teacher’s name is not on the payroll voucher. Late payment takes place because of the delays in processing the payroll vouchers in the schools."

  Whoosier
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  braincleaned

  Good fact-checking whoosier. I like that.
  
  This being said, what that bro was doing working under a priest is at best bizarre. There is a sense of spin in this story... and it wouldn't be the first time.
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  Phizzy

  How exactly did the "Creator and protector of his people" help Idiot Thomas ? did big J organize the 'phone fixing job ? if there was a hint of that the WT would have crowed about it, no, if there is something that rings true about this story it is that big J did not give a flying f**k about Thomas's wasted year and lost wages, and the poor sod had to go and find his own dodgy job.

  Nice "protection" of Thomas's interests Big J !
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  00DAD

  Whoosier: This one could actually have some truth to it.

  I don't doubt that. But some truth is not the truth.

  That was an interesting report you found. Well done!

  But again, even if this "experience" was "based on a true story" there are still countless problems with it.

  We may find we're working for a corrupt company/business/institution and there's nothing we can do about that. The report indicated that teacher's in Sierra Leone were often getting shorted in their pay or paid or late, some not at all. But to work without pay for an entire year is just plain stupid.

  Also, this report supports my supposition that WT Idiotic Thomas would have to have Higher Education to be a teacher, something which the WT routinely condemns. As I said in the OP, they blasted it in the same article just four paragraphs later.

  Next, why was he working in an institution run by a priest? And why did the priest have to tell him that it was incompatible with his beliefs?

  Also, the whole "choose between your job or your Bible-based beliefs" dilemma seems highly unlikely and nothing like that is supported by anything I read in the report. The corrupt school officials actually needed teachers on staff to skim their payroll. (Although there was an intriguing comment about "ghost teachers" in the report). Also, if WT Thomas had any gumption he could have sought legal redress to get his back pay. The comment about "forfeit" only showed a lack of courage on his part.

  And finally, as Phizzy pointed out, there is actually nothing in the "experience" that even suggests that Jehovah protected him in any way shape or form.

  It's just a lame, poorly conceived "experience". What were they thinking?

  00DAD
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  perfect1

  If Thomas was proseltyzing instead of teaching, or refusing to teach geology, biology, or any other science which is not in agreement with the Bible, I could see how his beliefs might be in conflict.

  The morals of these stories are for people to take financial risks which ultimately make them more dependent on their social networks making shunning an even more effective tool of total ruin.
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  DATA-DOG

  Right on perfect1 !! Way to follow the trail of minutea to the real story. No higher edumication ( I am not a fan of kids getting into debt, one must be shrewed furthering thier education ) mean less freedom in your life because your are limited by your skill set. When things are tough you can get a job with Brother Window-washer, or as I have often observed, snuggle up to the right brother and when he goes to serve abroad he will just give you all his accounts! No real skills needed except dependency and networking. So turn down that extra work that you really needed and suck up to Brother Janitorial Service, and whatever you do don't get Df'd or inactive because your next presentation will be, " Hi! Welcome to Big Burger! Can I interest you in a mega-meal deal today?".
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  sd-7

  I think it's confusing to me because if I worked for a year and didn't get paid, well, I would either have starved to death well before the year was out, or gotten some kind of considerable help from someone else. Too many details left out in a story like this, and I think that's why it just seems problematic to bring it up in the first place when, even from JW perspective, there should be better examples to use than this. I mean, can't they just go with another Andre story?

  --sd-7
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  NOLAW

  I accept that 'experience' as true. A smart Thomas would have taken the priest to courts to get his money.
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  finallysomepride

  another made up BS story, I bet this story in the sierra leone edition of the wt would feature a different country