by wannaexit 5 Replies latest jw friends
From time to time Wt quotes from supposed scholars. They never tell you the source of the quote or the name of the supposed scholar.
I am wondering if they are quoting themselves. I am wondering if members of the governing brood are considered wt scholars.
What do you think?
Wannaexit
I think they do quote other sources, but don't want to encourage independent research. I tracked down one unattributed quote, and it turned out to be from a noted Existentialist. Which led me on a very interesting philosophical education. Also, if you were able to check the source, you may find that the snippet was taken out of context, and has a whole other meaning.
Usually if they quote themselves, they will list the source (usually an older Society publication or magazine).
They will scour current books and literature for quotes to support their topics, but they don't want their followers to read through those books because they don't trust their followers to be "discerning" -- i.e., those books and literature may contain information contrary to what the WTS wants its followers to believe.
Hence the warning against "devotion to books" that they quote from the Ecclesiastes.
I'd say though that "devotion to Watchtower literature" can wear one out (just like Solomon said).
I checked one or two quotes --especially some of the scientific ones (Creator Book) -- they definitely quote out of context and very rarely give the whole quote so they leave part of the quote out which does alter the meaning -- they do not often give the name of the author either -- personally I call it intellectual dishonesty -- C. O Jonson points out some in Gentile Times Reconsidered
The Society often fails to properly cite quotations for several reasons:
They feel that their word should be sufficient to establish the validity of the quote.
They don't want anyone to check up on them.
They want to save precious print space and so avoid putting in 'unnecessary' material.
The Society got badly burned with the 1985 Creation book. Although a couple of older books (Is the Bible Really the Word of God? 1969; Did Man Get Here By Evolution Or By Creation? 1967) contained a fairly complete bibliography, no one seems to have published an analysis of the quotations. When I was in college in 1979 I wanted to use some of the references for a paper defending the historicity of Noah's Flood, and creation over evolution. I found the references useless because they were often misrepresentations, or otherwise didn't support the writer's claim. Within seven years of the publication of the 1985 Creation book, discussions of its misrepresentations were appearing on several Usenet discussion groups, including talk.origins. I'm sure that over the years the Society got a huge number of letters taking them to task for their idiotic misrepresentations. I wrote 4-5 letters about it but never got a reply. Anyone who is interested in my extensive debunking of the book can find it here http://www.geocities.com/osarsif/index2.htm under the title "The WTS View of Creation and Evolution".
I have not yet tried to do an analysis of the 1998 Creator book, but it's pretty obvious that the Society uses quotations from many people involved in the self-styled "Intelligent Design Movement". Some of the references are fairly complete, but others are in the usual atrocious "one person said" style. If anyone wants to do some research, the Italian version of the Creator book will be somewhat more useful. By Italian law it supposedly must contain complete citations for all quoted material, so this is more useful than the English version. This also shows that, if they really wanted to, they could put complete citations in all of their literature. Unfortunately the Italian version still gives incomplete citatations in many instances. Also, the Society supposedly will supply complete references if requested, but I have not tried this.
AlanF
'PB' sums it up well:
The Watchtower and the Jehovah's Witnesses Cult
is:a CUNNING CONTRIVANCE, a FRAUD, a DIRTY LIE,
a WOLFISH TRICK, a SCAM, a CRUEL HOAX, a WICKED
CHEAT, the embodiment of SPIRITUAL PORNOGRAPHY,
a PARADISE for FILTHY PEDOPHILES, a BLASPHEMOUS
INSULT, a DISGUSTING ABOMINATION, a DISGRACE, a
SCANDAL, a DAMNED OUTRAGE from start to finish.
LovesKally
>
> Prominent Bethelite.
>
> Examples of FINE SPIRITUAL FOOD AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME FROM "THE SLAVE":
> "We need not here repeat the evidences that the 'seventh trump' began its
> sounding in A.D. 1840, and will continue until the end of the time of
> trouble" {WT Nov 1880 p1}; "masturbation is no mere innocent pastime but
> rather a practice that can lead to homosexual acts" {WT May 15 1970 p315;
> also WT Oct 1 1970 p604}; "If heaven were made the receptacle of the
> heathen, savages, barbarians, the idiotic, simple, insane and INFANTS, it
> would cease to be heaven to a considerable extent, and become a pandemonium
> .. billions of ignorant, imbecile and degraded .. never formed characters
> [not] fit companions for saints" {WT Oct 15 1896 p245} Fine JW Wisdom!!
