one reason for the dumbing down of the org

by Magnum 91 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Magnum

  A lot of us have said that there’s been a dumbing down in JW land. It’s just not like it used to be – especially a few decades ago. It seems to me that if JW are right and the end of the world is near, the spiritual food should get tastier and more nourishing as time goes on, but it's getting more and more bland and less nourishing. The material was deeper a few decades ago. There were the Babylon book and all the 384-page prophecy books and deeper Watchtower articles. We realize now that it was BS, but at least it felt more scholarly and it did stimulate the mind and require some actual thinking.

  So what happened? Why the change? Well, I think one reason has to do with the change in power structure of the org. It used to be that Freddy could hole himself up in isolation and come up with all the theology (including his types and antitypes) and there was nobody to check him; what he said was it. So it was easier to get the deeper material out at that time – because basically only one person had to approve of it – Freddy himself. He was the guru – the oracle – the sage - the scholar – the theologian, and I think the others felt too insecure to challenge him.

  Now, though, if one GB member comes up some doctrinal point, that point has to have the vote of at least a majority of the other GB members, so it’s not as easy to get material out now. It’s sort of like a dictatorship or pure monarchy versus a democracy. Dictatorships and pure monarchies can enact laws, change laws, etc. quicker than democracies because in democracies such actions have to be approved by more people and that takes time and often kills the action because it’s not approved by the necessary entities.

  So, now, it would be hard to have, for example, another Babylon book because it would have to be approved by too many different individuals and it just probably wouldn’t happen. At least the process would get bogged down and take far too long.

  There are no more gurus or oracles; those days are over. JWs are in for a boring, dumbed-down ride.

  (I think there are other reasons, too. For example, JWs just don’t have the brain power and scholarship. Also, with the availability of info now and all their failed doctrine, they have to be more careful, so the material has to be more elementary. They can't be as bold as they used to be; they know there's a good chance they'll get challenged.)
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  Barrold Bonds

  Yeah there's absolutely a HUGE difference in the style of writing post-Franz.
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  Listener

  Very good points Magnum.

  Even years ago there weren't many JWs that were interested in the 'deeper things', mainly because it was too difficult to understand. It is interesting that the only place that these 'deeper things' were usually taught was at the home book study meeting.

  The main theme these days is to obey, obey, obey. It's such a simple message and the only thing that the organization really wants.
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  gingerbread

  This religion has always attracted the less educated and lower income person. In the 50's - 70's the mags and books were a full blown treatise on doctrine / biblical prophecy. When Franz entered his 80's the publications and talks became shorter and less indepth.

  Now the message to the faithful is simple and direct : listen, obey and be blessed.

  ginger
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  Finkelstein

  Good points Magnum

  The Borg is certainly not as aggressive as they use to be, and as you said it is mostly to the fact that decades of false doctrines

  has weaken the organization to a point that they have little foundational resources to compensate for those old

  redundant doctrines that simply never appeared as they were proselytized .

  .

  No wonder the publications have been dramatically dropped and meetings have been cut.

  They ran out of Bullshit to feed the public.
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I think the current leadership is of the thinking:

  "dumbing down" = "organizational growth"

  The books and articles used to be much more complex and complicated when there were fewer JWs. As all this was "simplified" the organization grew and translation becomes much simpler. So I expect the dumbing down to continue. I wouldn't be surprised if the future WT "study edition" drifts down in content and wording to what is currently the "simplified edition." The future "simplified edition" will probably just be pictures. Not only can WT discourage college, they can tell the baptized 10 year-olds that they don't need high school.
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  transhuman68

  Mad Freddy sure could write! I wonder how many people went to sleep while reading his books? But lol, it makes no difference without him- as long as people attend meetings, do FS and donate money, it doesn't matter what the content of the books & mags is. Dumbing down means less time needed to write the guff, less paper wasted making the literature, and as long as the information is non-specific, there is no danger of people using the Net to check any of the 'facts' or quotes. Its the same pigfood served up again & again anyway, so what does it matter how dumb it is?
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  LisaRose

  I think it's being dumbed down because the people they are attracting these are not as intelligent. Think about it, if you are reasonably intelligent and were interested in the religion these days, what is the first thing you would do? Look it up on the internet. You would quickly figure out that the religion is crazy, Russel and his miracle wheat, Rutherford's drunkenness, 1975, etc. You wouldn't sit through six months of study until you were thoroughly brainwashed, you just wouldn't study. The only ones who would not are those that are semi-literate, or too poor to afford a computer or have mental issues. They are working with what they have.

  I also think they realize how failed date predictions make them look bad and are harder to hide, so they have toned it down.
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  kaik

  As I had noticed, the quality of JW knowledge in the Bible is way down from my time there 25 years ago. When I talk to my parents and relatives, they seem to lack the knowledge what is written in NT & OT as they had back than. My mom is still alright, but she knows more on what is written in WT publication than what is written in Bible. My relatives and sibling are even worse. The quality of biblical education within JW frame went down since they bannished private small bible studies. The literature was dumbed down to match the demantia of the elderly population and the lower IQ of the others. I do not think WT would be capable to bring high quality book like Commentary to James as we had 30 years ago to present WT population.
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  Vidqun

  I wondered about that while I was in. In one of the publications I read that the obligation of the GB towards the R&F is that they will only dispense basic Bible knowledge. That is their obligation. So they will only dispense "milk" for the new ones. If you want "meat," you must fend for yourself. What they didn't say, for all the Beroeans out there that want to advance their studies, check the food, and question everything, those will be kicked out and branded as apostates. You must not go beyond the things that are written (in the Shepherd the Flock-book).