I need some help ... references needed

EdenOne

I would appreciate your help, please.

My son is approaching an age where he must ponder about going to university or not. I know that the Elders in my congregation will put some pressure into him as to not take it. As a MS, i will also be put under pressure as to not give him any encouragement in that regards. So I devised a strategy. I will let him make an informed decision by himself. BUT .... i want him to see by himself that the arguments advanced by the GB are bogus without me having to go into great detail.

What I want is to show him literature from wayyyyyyy back (many decades ago) where the GB wrote that High Education is useless because the end is coming soon, so no need to study much. You know, quotes from 1930's...1940's....1950's.... 1960'... til modern times. I don't have access to that. The point I want to make is that this has been the official discourse of the GB since long ago "because the end is coming soon". And he's smart enough to see the dates, and to realize the phallacy of the argument.

So what i beg of you is to give me references in old(er) literature where the argument used against higher education is the fact that "the end is near".

Thanks in advance for your help.

Eden

jgnat

I'll bite, but I'll start with a bible verse:

Pro 22:29 Have you beheld a man skillful in his work? Before kings is where he will station himself; he will not station himself before commonplace men. (NWT)

jgnat

As important as your secular education may be, there is another education that is indispensable if you are going to be truly successful in life. You need to be educated in the Bible, the Word of God. Concerning this ‘highest education’ American educator William Lyon Phelps wrote:

“Everyone who has a thorough knowledge of the Bible may truly be called educated; and no other learning or culture, no matter how extensive or elegant, can . . . form a proper substitute. . . . I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.”

Did you know that part of the Bible was written specifically for the benefit of young people? The book of Proverbs, for example, was written “to give to the inexperienced ones shrewdness, to a young man knowledge and thinking ability.” (Prov. 1:4) Among other things, the Bible will show you the advantage that true godly wisdom has over money. (Prov. 3:13-18; Eccl. 7:12) And its counsel will safeguard you against the way of regret and heartache.—Proverbs, chapters 1, 5, 7.

With your future in view, God’s Word wisely admonishes: “Remember, now, your grand Creator in the days of your young manhood.” (Eccl. 12:1) Hundreds of thousands of youths, the world over, appreciating their indebtedness to their Creator, are remembering him by serving as witnesses to God and his kingdom. Hundreds of them are involved in the printing of this magazine and the many other publications of the Watch Tower Society. You may see them at work in the Society’s printing plants in such cities as London, New York, Helsinki, Toronto and Wiesbaden.

Such Christian youths know what they want out of life. Enlightened by Bible prophecies, they know that current world events mean that this present system of things with its hypocritical false religion, greedy commercialism and corrupt politics shortly now will be destroyed. So they wisely are building with a view to life in God’s righteous new order. (Watchtower 1970 Feb 1, "What do yo want out of life?" )

jgnat

The Phelps quote in full:

Everyone who has a thorough knowledge of the Bible may truly be called educated; and no other learning or culture, no matter how extensive or elegant, can, among Europeans and Americans, form a proper substitute. Western civilization is founded upon the Bible; our ideas, our wisdom, our philosophy, our literature, our art, our ideals, come more from the Bible than from all other books put together. It is a revelation of divinity and of humanity; it contains the loftiest religious aspiration along with a candid representation of all that is earthly, sensual and devilish. I thoroughly believe in a university education for both men and women; but I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.

(Bolding is mine)

dazed but not confused

This looks like a task for

EdenOne

Thank you for the reference, Jgnat.

I would think it would be more effective if I could come across quotes that clearly link the "futility" of higher education with "the end is near". It has much more "punch"... especially if the date is in the 1930's, 1940's .....

Eden

Edit: Jgnat that is so precious, the fact that the WTS "forgot" to include the part you put in bold. Priceless! Do you know where that quote is taken from?

jgnat

8 Another reason such ministers have so much to do is that there is so little time left to this system of things; so they must be diligent. “Do not loiter at your business. Be aglow with the spirit. Slave for Jehovah. Rejoice in the hope.” The urgency of our times demands that they “work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah.” It is a lifesaving work and, as Jesus said on one occasion, “We must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work.”—Rom. 12:11, 12; Col. 3:23, 24; John 9:4.

9 What a stimulating, refreshing challenge presents itself in this never-to-be-repeated lifesaving work! There is nothing dull, routine or uninteresting in this occupation so that it holds out for youth no appealing prospects for which youth seeks. A report concerning Harvard University’s 1970 graduating class says “that students are increasingly uncertain about what to do after college and that many are accepting, even welcoming, manual jobs . . . many recent graduates were taking jobs as taxi drivers, warehousemen, book store clerks and craftsmen because they feared that their identities would be subsumed and their energies misdirected in traditional jobs.”—New York Times, March 3, 1971. (Watchtower 1972 April 1, "Exert Yourselves Vigorously!")

perfect1

Eden One,

no offense but your approach seems backward to me.

Why not review some facts and statistics about college graduates, employment, and earning potential.

Why not ask the kid what he is interested in studying, what kind of career he might like to pursue- what his top schools might- look up rankings and compare them to what his GPA is now.

You can help prepare your kid for college by supporting all the research and preparation that should go into applying. I would leave the WT out of it. Show your support, help him out- and leave off what you are now considering important information in old Watchtowers.

Applying to college is a daunting task,

I will let him make an informed decision by himself.

You realize with the efforts you are describing it is unlikely he will be able to sort through the process himself and may just give up due to your lack of support.

It sounds like you are just trying to cover you ass as an MS.

Lame- when this is your kids future- and you would do well to have the foresight to realize that his future is your future- 30-40 years from now when he has to decide what to do with his aging parents who thought the future would never come.

jgnat

You don't ask for much, do you? I don't have access to materials that old either.

Human Nature and the Bible by William Lyon Phelps

EdenOne

LOL, I apologize if I sounded bossey, Jgnat Thank you for the reference.

Perfect1, that part I already cover. What I want is to deconstruct the WTS argument. And you're right, I'm covering my ass as well. You would too if you were in my shoes. I went to college myself. What better example could I give?

Eden

I need some help ... references needed

Share this