"simplifying" teachings because third worlders can't understand English?''
Explains why the ''spiritual food'' sees to grade-school like in recent years. Simple and dumbed-down.
Quality of newer membership
by Lostandfound 55 Replies latest jw experiences
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burnedout
What level of intellect do you attract by handing out the brochure "Answers to life's BIG QUESTIONS"
That title immediately struck me as Dumbed Down. I would not be able to keep a straight face while presenting that, and simultaneously be embarrassed.
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rip van winkle
Today's JWs no longer need to know bible verses or be able to answer questions. They can sit at a table or stand next to a cart with publications and don't have to talk to anyone unless someone speaks to the JW first. Basically today's JWs just direct the public to their website. Can't get much easier than that!
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compound complex
Well stated, Rip!
CC
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westiebilly11
When I was last at a meeting I noticed how shallow the new younger ones have become compared to the calibre of elders and ministerial servants when I first went in, in 1982. Over the years younger wannabees have little enthusiasm or genuine interest in others or the subject matter. Their talks became progressively shallow and trite, lacking effective Bible depth , logic, or enlargement. I well remember one talk by a son of an elder, which had as its introduction just the words "Beep Beep..Roadrunner...Beep Beep....". It was a hastily put together talk which made no sense on any level. When I asked the speaker what it was about he said he used those words/sounds to illustrate problems in communication within marriage...! He then apologised and admitted he hadn't prepared well..As older ones die off they take with them the convictions and groundings that brought them into the 'Truth'. Right or wrong, such ones had sincerity and feelings. Those qualities in turn drew others to them . I knew of many young teenagers and older ones who were in just because they were brought up in it. They just went through the motions, unable to venture into the world without the pain of shunning by family and friends. Trapped. -
Half banana
@ Village idiot, "Satan eating his children"...That's the way to do it, said Mr Punch. No new converts then it has to be feed off your own children. What happens though when there are no new converts and your own children leave the Borg?...party time!
@ctrwtf, and what other organisation condemns higher education?
The future for the JWs is Idiocracy (but without the amusing ironies)
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Beth Sarim
What organization discourages education? Then yet and goes and takes advantage of doctors, scientists who have obtained such recognizable titles with College which the WT's badmouths so much. -
crownboy
Having not attended meetings since the early 2000's, the religion today (from what I read here) is way different than what I experienced. The "lower quality" member thing was already starting back then, but it seems to be a much bigger issue now. Even though I found the literature unconvincing back then (towards the end of my time in there), having skimmed some of the newer stuff, that older literature might as well have been written by Harvard professors.
When I was in, one of my favorite books was Mankind's Search for God. I was always mad that it was never featured at the Book Study, but we would study the Greatest Man book for the thousandth time. Obviously, now I can read MSFG and see its many flaws and biases, but I remember reading it as a teen (through JW colored lenses of course), and actually feeling like I learned something and was reading something substantive. Now most of the stuff seems like it's written in the style of the "simplified English" edition of the magazines (do those still exist?).
But as someone mentioned up thread, this is all the religion's fault for promoting an anti-intellectual attitude generally and not addressing the religion's doctrinal short comings specifically. Hopefully we'll start seeing negative growth in the overall numbers very soon (it was already that way in first world countries minus the US even when I was still in).
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Lostandfound
Think many of those who joined since the 90s are also less well off and less inclined to put money in boxes to support things. They have less disposable income and no room for large donations in budget. Those of the time in the 70s and early 80s seemed to have more working people, less benefit claimants, and as they grow older they are tiring of constant demand for more for this or that. And of course these people die off and so no further donations. Some have bequeathed estates to WT but from what I have seen, current membership have no property, assets to leave society. And what little they have goes to family.
Demanding more can only go on so long, but actually, promising New World has gone on with imminent big A for decades, over a century, so maybe constant hectoring for fu do yields some results. If a God really backed them they would have no need of appeals, boxes etc. Did not someone say, decades ago that " when we have to ask for money we know Jehovah is not backing us". Well they do ask and he is not backing them.
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never a jw
Quality of ex-JW's going down is a good things at two levels
1. It's evidence that is a dumb down religion whose members have no clue about their own religion or the Bible
2. is closely related to number one. It's so dumb that they can't even retain the current membership
Just a brief comment for those newbies who feel offended. It's true, the people who posted as late as five years ago very commonly were very intelligent and extremely knowledgeable about JW history, Bible and Christianity. Take Leolaia for example. The caliber of posts that she and many others gave us is rare nowadays.