SCARY: My First Letter From Patterson! (page 2)

onacruse

LOL @ Phantom

Your avatar is a "phantom," right? As such, it will never show up

Craig (of the "trying to get PS to use up all his posts for today" class eheh)

Euphemism

Married... did you scan the letter, or type it in? What type of file is the letter (GIF, JPEG, Word Document, etc)? How big is it?

Dear Euph-yes I scanned the letter, and tried to save into a Jpg file, and then also put into a Word document. I could not copy and paste onto the JW website or anything...I am definitely "attachment challenged"!!! LOL...Ideas???

Euphemism

First of all, you need to attach the JPEG, not the Word document.

Secondly, is the JPEG bigger than 250 kb? If so, you need to reduce it. If you can't do that and maintain legibility, send it to me and I'll put it on the web and post a link here (if that's okay with you). PM me for my e-mail address if you'd like me to do that.

marriedtodamob

ok...finally here it is. I just decided to go ahead and type the darn thing in since I am so : "attachment challenged"...LOL

Dear....

In your letter of October 28th, 2003, you ask why our publications do not generally provide a list of the references with each article of the names of the individuals who wrote the articles.

We are glad you too the time to write to us about these matters. Unless the article is a first-person account, the names of those who do the research or participate in the actual writing of a particular article are not mentioned as no individulal is solely responsible for an article. What is published represents the viewpoint of our organization as a whole, rather than an individual. Additionally, those who write for our journals are Christian ministers who volunteer their time for this and are not interested in receiving recognition for themselves, but are dedicated to bringing praise the Author of the Bible. Additionally, we do not feel that simply giving the names and scholastic achievements of those who prepare the information is what should make it acceptable to readers. Rather, it is the content of the material and the faithful adherence to the bible that should impress the reader and convince him that the published article is reliable.

You also ask why we do not cite all the references for the source material contained in an article. While in some cases the reference is cited in the paragraph or in the footnote, this is not done in every instance because of limited space. It has been our observation that the average reader of our journals does not require such citations. For that reason, we do not clutter the magazines or our other publications with intensive footnotes of bibliographies. Of course, if individuals wish to have more information regarding a source that is quoted in our literature, they can write to us and we will be more than happy to forward not only the specifics of the source but, in most cases even a photo copy of the item.

We trust the above information will be of help to you, and we send our best wishes,

Sincerely,

Christian Congregation of

Jehovah's Witnesses

I never sent a letter...only talked about it with JW family members...!

mobbie

Phantom Stranger

It has been ~~our~~ ~~observation that~~ the intent of many years of focused effort that finally the average reader of our journals does not require such citations.

Phantom Stranger

Thanks, mobbie. Good letter :)

imallgrowedup

Mobbie -

Good job! When all else fails, revert to the "tried and true" methods!!

I think someone whom you spoke to in your family about these matters was as curious about this topic as you were, but didn't want to get "marked" for sending a letter to the Society. Whoever sent the letter knew you'd probably tell everyone that you got a letter from them when you didn't send one, which would give them an opportunity to see what the letter contained without it seeming unusual. It might be a bit mischievous to not mention the letter to anyone who may have written it, and see if anyone asks you any strange questions. I don't know if you've mentioned it to your hubby or not, but it certainly is interesting that SOMEONE was curious enough to write the Society for answers. Do you have any suspicions of who it might have been?

growedup

Odrade

oh puke. Most people don't want the references? Whatever. I care about documentation, I think it gives things credibility. When someone quotes an "authority," there should be a system of checks and balances in place so the writer can't deceive the reader.

And it only took me 30 years of reading the damn WT to realize the value of referencing. Shoot me, shoot me now.

Odrade

Euphemism

Most people aren't going to look up the references in any work. The fact that they're there, however, lends credibility to the work, because the author is opening it to examination by anyone who wishes.

Concerns about the space taken up by footnotes never prevented them from inserting "published by Jehovah's Witnesses" (or, formerly, by the WTB&TS) every time they mention one of their own publications.

SCARY: My First Letter From Patterson!

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