This morning I stopped at Dollar General to get a cheap container for waste paper. It was 11:30 AM and there were two JW literature trolleys parked near the store and manned by three JWs, on old man in a rolling chair, a 30 something man, and 30 something woman. As I walked by them I glanced at the their literature rack and proceeded into the store.
I was in the store for 20 minutes and made my purchase. As I left the store to return to my car, I noticed that the female JW had departed. Apparently she clocked out early. Anyway I stopped by the trolleys and looked at the JW propaganda leaflets and brochures. To my surprise the younger JW man said: "Everything is free, take what you want." From what others on the forum have related, I didn't think the trolley JWs were suppose to talk to the public. Perhaps this guy was the exception.
I didn't have a lot of time and I wasn't interested in any of the publications that they had on display. But I did want to get a copy of their new Bible. So I asked: "Do you have any Bibles?"
Again he surprised me. He handed me a copy of the Revised NWT. It was still in the clear plastic wrap, which I accepted. I told him I preferred the New Revised Standard Version Bible, but I'd look over the JW Bible. Again he surprised me by saying: "I have the NRSV at home. It's a good translation."
Unfortunately I didn't have time to engage in any un-witnessing. So I thanked him for the Bible. But as I was leaving he gave me a leaflet titled: "You Are Invited to Study the Bible With JWS." I found it interesting that the leaflet said it was printed in Canada. But this experience took place in Santa Rosa, California, USA. Is Canada doing the bulk of JW printing now?
The Revised NWT was printed at Wallkill, New York, USA. However, the quality of this new Bible is inferior to the JW publications that I remember during my time in JWism. Of course I departed from JW land in 1984 so I guess things change.
Regarding the RNWT, the gray cover seems to be good quality for synthetic material. The Watchtower is too cheap to use quality leather. The paper also seems to be good. However, the binding is greatly inferior to that used in the older JW publications. Where in the past even JW teaching books had signatures, where the pages and backing were sewn. The pages of the RNWT are simply glued to the back. Actually this RNWT has the same binding that you would find in a trade paperback, which is not designed for the frequent use that a devout JW would put it through. So I can see the spine cracking and the pages falling out of these new Bibles after a year or two of frequent use. Perhaps that is the Watchtower's intent, so the devout JWs will have to replace their Bibles every few years.
