Help needed with some research

Doug Mason

I was reading the WTS 2103 brochure "How Can You Have a Happy Life?". In Section 3, it relies on "Professor George Zinsmeister, formerly of the University of Massachusetts".

At: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/jehovahs_witnesses_coming_to_a.html

I located reference to:

"George Zinsmeister of Sunderland, an elder of the Amherst congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses" arranging a meeting for them (June 22, 2012) at the University of Massachusetts.

Is anyone able to tell me if this "Professor George Zinsmeister" referenced in the WTS brochure is the JW Elder mentioned in the news article?

I have no interest in any communication with him; I simply want to know if the WTS has resorted to using one of its own as an authority (probably because it could not find another, particularly a Jewish source - given the intention of the brochure). I do not have a clue about US geography.

Doug

Phizzy

Bump. I have a gut feeling you may be right Doug, but confirmation from someone who knows the guy would be good.

blondie

The WTS has done this before, using a "physics" professor.

*** dx86-12 Physics ***

life stories of physicists:

Science and the Bible Helped Me Find the Meaning of Life: g05 11/22 12-15

Why I Believe the Bible—A Nuclear Scientist Tells His Story: g04 1/22 19-23

Doug Mason

Thanks, blondie!

I will keep note of them.

Doug

L3G

If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll find that this document shows George E. Zinsmeister was a faculty member, an associate professor, in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at UMass until he retired in 1999.

https://cesd3.oit.umass.edu/gradbulletin/2012-2013/Page6643.html

Perhaps he's the same George E. Zinsmeister as here.

http://waltwhitmanhighschool.com/wwhs/frameset.cfm?class=1957&id=27075

Note that he is not registered in their alumni directory (white print), understandable for a loyal Witness (the org has him as local spokesman to the media) who would not want to associate with his worldly old high school classmates.

Likely he would want to retire at around age 60 (1999) to pioneer, etc. if his kids were grown and his health permitted. If so, he'd now be about 75.

Hope this helps.

BTW, Doug, what does he say in the brochure and what's the context?

RottenRiley

Doug, you are a writer so why don't you email this professor, I have had excellent luck getting a hold text-book authors and teachers from different schools and colleges, don't be shy Doug! Use plenty of praise, they dig it!

For example, I thought your "Matthias" article was well written and your arguments made how Jesus followers would have reacted to False Prophets and "Event Mongers" was on spot, thank you Doug@

Doug Mason

Riley,

My assumption is that this guy has reached retiring age. The WTS booklet says he is "formerly" of the Uni, so I have no email address to reference. I see a mention of a George Zinsmeister of Sunderland, Massachusetts in the obituary for a JW lady in New York (she might have been his mother-in-law):

http://hosting-5049.tributes.com/show/Doris-M.-Cantoni-88275629

If George has written a book, I would be able to contact him through his publisher; I have used this tactic several times, with success. I have emailed a newspaper reporter and I am hoping to receive a reply.

Thank you for your kind words.

Doug

Doug Mason

L3G,

Thanks for your support and help.

I am looking at the WTS's 2013 brochure "How Can You Have a Happy Life?" (My suggestions would make the WTS leaders decidely unhappy.) I am considering a range of areas presented in that booklet.

Our man George is presented immediately after this subheading:"How do we even know that there is a Creator?"

George is then written up as saying that he "believes in God and answers this question in a single word - entropy. He is referring to what scientists term 'the second law of thermodynamics.' "

Research at archive.org reveals that he worked in "heat transfer in composite materials".

In the overall scheme of things, George plays a most tiny part in my analysis of that brochure. Possible worth only two sentences out of many pages of notes. But that's the nature of research and investigation.

It's more an issue of the WTS failing to be completely honest, and open.

Any thoughts on the brochure are glady accepted.

Doug

Doug Mason

Apologies for my slow old excuse for a brain. The answer was there all the time in front of my eyes.

The brochure says that the Professor "believes in God", which I take to be code for "is one of us". Who else on this planet "believes in God" apart from JWs?

Doug

RottenRiley

Your not the only one Doug with a slow brain, I read missed it because I scanned it too fast, we are suffering from massive amounts of data processing, thank you Doug for the interesting articles you wrote, they are excellent quality, have you been published?

Help needed with some research

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