Alf,
I believe this religious organization would be powerful today, had the society done the above.
That statement and your analysis that leads up to it are profound, in my opinion. It certainly is a tragedy of monumental proportions that the Society veered in its course toward being hard line in so many areas of its teachings.
Phantom,
I'm almost 70, and thanks to giving my life in full-time service to the WT Society, I have only a small pension. It's folks like me who really feel the impact of the income limitations you mentioned. If and when I get the time and energy to investigate the online programs you mentioned, I'll be sure to do so. At the present time, I have to do manual labour to do something about my debts and monthly bills, and sometimes the drudgery is almost more than I can bear. But recently I got into building church websites as a weekend hobby, and I'm starting to feel new life due to the encouragement I'm getting to make a living at building sites for local businesses. I see this as a godsend. I just hope others in my circumstances are also seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
Herk