New baptisms here are exclusivly born-ins or well below average intelligence. The most telling thing, though, is that even the idiots all have extinuating circumstances (most are recent immigrants) that made them more susceptible to the love bombing at the time that they began studying. These days even idiots see through the BS unless they're a total fish out of water or just had someone close to them die.
How many *educated* adults are being converted into the Jehovah's Witnesses nowadays?
by EdenOne 23 Replies latest jw friends
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LoisLane looking for Superman
In the past 10 years, I have really only seen mostly JW children get baptized. A few much older people, who otherwise would have stayed at home, with no one to talk with.
We had one native who studied and got baptized. She could see the hypocracy in her native religion, but so far hasn't noticed? it yet in JW's.
I am embarrassed when I see what is sitting warming the seats at the KHall's and CA and DC. For the most part they are all basically good, honest sheep being led and controlled by WT/GB.
They are birds caught and put in a large cage and do not realize the door is open for them to leave... But the women don't want to lose their friends and social network and the men, I don't know, they don't want to lose their Boy's Club status? so they all for the most part stay. This so saddens me .
I have not seen one educated person fresh from the d2d work become a JW ever.
LoisLane
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sir82
I've been in my current congregation 9 years.
In that time we've had 2 not-a-JW-kid baptisms.
Both are middle-aged African Americans with middle incomes and middling inteligence.
The JW message is laughably simple-minded and demonstrably wrong on numerous counts. They don't target the "educated".
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Apognophos
I've seen a couple very educated individuals come into the religion. I can't give specifics but you'd be impressed if you knew the historical projects they worked on. They both had strong emotional reasons for wanting to be JWs, so they were willing to overlook the aspects of the doctrine that didn't make sense in order to get the warm fuzzies that they were promised.
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3rdgen
My father and his 3 siblings all went to college although they were "born in". This is because we are talking the 1920's when the WTBT$ hadn't offically ruled out education or thinking. Their mother had been a Russelite/Bible student who herself was college educated. Dad's 2 sisters got degrees and became school teachers. All of them were very intelligent, however cult mind control and love and loyality to Grandma proved to be more powerful than logic. As far as a college educated intelligent person coming in cold (no family ties to WBT$) from the field is EXTREMELY rare. In the 60 years and at least 13 congregations I had been associated I only know of 2 individuals who did. Both were women undergoing a personal crisis at the time they agreed to study. One died of old age decades ago so never saw how dumbed down and controlling the Borg became. The other, says things like "I'm constantly praying, Jehovah please don't let me see what I see."
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EndofMysteries
Only those at the top who see this as a shady opportunity to take advantage and make loads of money. (JW's who own the companies the WT sends all the millions in donations for unneeded remodels, construction, car leasing, materials/supplies, investing, etc.)
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stuckinarut2
Same here...any new converts are the more vulnerable, downtrodden people from the territory...ones with a great deal of "life baggage".
The witnesses love to 'explain' this type of situation by saying that Jehovah calls the "crushed reid, the lowly, of this world, as they are truely humble"
I say, its only the gullible who fall for the "love bombing" which prevents them from seeing the really crazy doctrines!
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Magnum
Zero with education in the last thirty years. I only know of one outsider, but he was studied with for years. Was in his fifties when dunked. Has personally known several JWs for several decades, so not really a complete outsider. He's actually a nice guy. Seems to be a hardworking, stable, family man. He's a maintnenance man. Doesn't know Abraham for Absolom.
And I'm not talking about just my congregation; I'm talking about every congregation I know of.
One semi-exception: In another congregation in the area, there was an older medical doctor who was baptized (about 20 yrs ago), and I don't think he had any family connections. However, even though he had the piece of paper saying he was educated, he wasn't too bright. His wife was far sharper than he was. If you didn't know he had the degree, you'd just think he was some weak, uneducated JW. So I put more emphasis on what's between a person's ears than what's hanging on his wall. And it's been 30 yrs since I've seen a person get baptized with a decent chunk of functioning gray matter between his ears.
I just don't see how any educated people could come in anymore [by "educated", I don't necessarily mean having formal schooling or a degree, but I mean intelligent, emotionally stable, logical, reasonable, well-read, & knowledgeable]. It was possible a few decades ago when the org seemed more scholarly and noble and individual JWs were of higher caliber, but now, I just don't think it can happen. I don't think I would have come in if I had come along at this time. There's so much info available now. The message and the messengers are dumbed down. The passing of time is showing JWs to be more and more wrong - not more and more right. With every passing year, the chances become less for educated outsiders to become JWs.
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ruderedhead
I know of 1. She was an educated woman raised in the south as a baptist who became a convert. Her ( now ex) husband, who grew up a witness, suggested she look into it as she was searching religions (he was not a jw, his family was), and got her Master's degree while a witness. She and her son are still witnesses (he recently became a police officer), but her daughter bailed. She and her ex husband made sure their kids received higher education. So I guess that would be 2, including her son.
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Apognophos
Actually, I can think of three, and maybe more if I dwell on it longer. These weren't just degree-holders; they were analytical, intellectual, wealthy people with significant achievements behind them. But again, it's about the emotional place that they were at when they were contacted by JWs. They must have wanted the acceptance of a group.