There's something very bizarre about Watchtower's use of the word pioneer.

by Island Man 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Island Man

  I have researched the meaning of the word pioneer in a number of online references. None of the meanings seem to match Watchtower's use of the word.

  The word refers to persons who are trailblazers; persons who are the first to settle new territory; persons who initiate some new field or technology.

  JWs' use of the term to refer to publishers who spend a long time preaching every month, does not in the slightest bit, match the definition.

  Now I could see the word being used to refer to missionaries going to a land where there are no JWs, to start the preaching work there and eventually form the first congregation. The term pioneer would legitimately match such missionaries as they would be the first to establish the JW religion in that land.

  But to call JWs who preach a specific high quota of hours per month, pioneers, is just blatantly dishonest. It's like they've essentially invented a completely new and unrelated meaning to an existing word in the English language!

  What's the basis for Watchtower's use of the word pioneer in this way?
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  Listener

  Here's an explanation from Yahoo questions

  "These are JWs who decided to spend more time in preahing the Word of God. They make a commitment to spend more time than the usual hours they take in preaching. Being a pioneer is not mandatory to a JW. However, we view it an opportunity so serve God more, by giving more time in preaching His divine will and purpose.
  
  Why is “pioneer” an appropriate designation for Jehovah’s Witnesses who can be full-time preachers? The word originally had a military connotation, relating to a soldier, though not an ordinary foot soldier. It connoted a military engineer, one who preceded the main body and built bridges, roads and trenches. Hence, “to pioneer” came to mean to prepare or open the way, and a “pioneer” was one who took the lead, forging ahead in the face of odds or opposition, as the early settlers of the North American West did. The term suggests an individual who is intrepid, one who presses ahead until his goal is realized. It is an apt description for self-sacrificing “soldiers” of Christ Jesus full time. "

  They are also publisher's, pioneer publishers. They really distort the English language.
  
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  Village Idiot

  I don't know how early the JWs started using the word but if it was adopted in the early to mid 20th century when their numbers were low then it could be understandable how "pioneers" would be the ones to take the lead in the preaching work.

  By the way, the Soviet Union used the word pioneer in reference to their youth organizations.
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  Lieu

  I would think it goes back to the 1800's when the few Bible Students would visit homesteads on chicken wagons and such. Back when there was still vast wilderness in the US and "Indian Territories" being settled.

  Now, it's just a title to boost egos of mostly female JWs who pretty much have nothing else in the Org.