How many true scholars/scientists are there really among JWs?

by zagor 36 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  zagor

  This is a question I've been puzzled by ever since my days in the borg. Everywhere I looked I saw tradesmen, cleaner, auto-mechanics here and there some computer technician. And I do know there are two doctors, one GP and one specialist in the field of drug rehabilitation.
  I've heard stories of some being true scholars though. To what extent would these be true scholars I don't know, I've never met any of them. And let's not forget that in order to be qualified as a TRUE scholar one would have to have at least a doctorate, PhD or MD and have several year of post-doctorate research experience.
  Of course, I do realize that other fundamentalist religions are probably not much better in that regard either, but few of those venture in handling scientific issues anyway (at least not on the scale WTBS does)

  If there are such people I would love to know what force is keeping them inside and what made them leave their scientific objectivity behind.

  On the other hand, I’d love to hear from you guys and gals. Are there any true scholars on this board? And I mean scholars with their PhDs hanging on the wall of some office or university.

  When we are venturing in the field of scholarship it is not enough simply having a bachelor degree (even if it is from Ivy league university or any other prestigious university) Simply because in your undergraduate study you are learning fundamentals of your field and have not been fully immersed in all controversial, at the edge of science stuff. Neither have you received due recognition for profoundness of your way of thinking. (Don’t want to make anyone feel offended but this is reality. It doesn’t mean that someone is nuts if he/she doesn’t have these stratosphere degrees but such degrees are, nonetheless, recognition from “this world” that you are true ace in your field of expertise)

  Hope to get some positive feedback.
• 

  the_classicist

  When we are venturing in the field of scholarship it is not enough simply having a bachelor degree (even if it is from Ivy league university or any other prestigious university) Simply because in your undergraduate study you are learning fundamentals of your field and have not been fully immersed in all controversial, at the edge of science stuff.

  Well, I guess I'll have to work for a MA and then a Ph.d. Not much money in my field, but I could live with that.

  To your subject line question, I don't really know and I don't think anyone knows (though, you may be able to ask the census, but they'll need $$$). A better question would be: out of all the scholars in the JWs (not including MDs), how many actually do work for the WT? My answer: 5 or less, at most, but that's just a guess, of course.
• 

  blondie

  More than you would think. They come in as adults for the most part rather than going to the university as a JW. But I know of many JWs that did go as JWs in engineering, accounting, law, medicine, nursing, music, dentistry, etc. They found a way around the stigma; father not a JW and "demanded" they go to college, regular pioneered during their school years, being careful not to miss too many meetings (usually around exam time).

  Actually, I can't count even one scientist among my non-JW friends unless you count the epidemiologist. The one scholar I know in Elizabethan literature went back to school to get a law degree so he could make some money. People in general are not scholars or scientists. Even the ones I know that have degrees are not working in the field they got their degree in.

  Blondie
• 

  lucky

  An elder in a congregation I attended had a doctorate in planetary geology and worked for the USGS. He actually designed a portion of the mars rover, I think. He's written at least one article for the awake.
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  ya, i heard of one physicist as well, somewhere in the eastern states. i think he wrote an article for Asleep too.
• 

  Frog

  I always found it interesting that the WT didn't advocate higher learning to it's subjugates, but would lick their lips greedily if an accademic became an interested one. There were always parts on the DC or assembly about this sort of thing. Afterall, if an educated accademic in the field of law/medicine was interested in the "truth", then this must mean that the WT teachings have strong merit, and therefore one and all attached to the org should be praised for their abilit to think so deeply?!? The WT is always very willing to usher these ones into their bethels to fix the teeth and cure the colds of their worker bees on the cheap...Frog x
• 

  zagor

  Hello Froggy

  I always found it interesting that the WT didn't advocate higher learning to it's subjugates, but would lick their lips greedily if an accademic became an interested one. There were always parts on the DC or assembly about this sort of thing. Afterall, if an educated accademic in the field of law/medicine was interested in the "truth", then this must mean that the WT teachings have strong merit, and therefore one and all attached to the org should be praised for their abilit to think so deeply?!? The WT is always very willing to usher these ones into their bethels to fix the teeth and cure the colds of their worker bees on the cheap

  Must have been telepathy since I was gonna say the same. It is quite confusing and I guess merits seperate thread in itself.
  
  Anyone here from Brooklyn bethel to enlignten us all???!!???
• 

  greendawn

  At my old congo there was just one jw, an elder, who had an MSc in chemistry all the rest were of secondary (high) school education. In the neighbouring two congos there was a similar situation the first had two elders that attained Physics Msc and Chemistry BSc, and the second congo had an elder with an MSs in Economics.
  
  None had any PhD's, but at the time I left there were quite a few bright young dubs going to university.
• 

  Angharad

  I'm posting this for LARC, who sometimes has trouble getting the posting to work on the forum.

  It was stated that one of the criteria is having a PhD. I have one, but
  I was not always a scholar. During my lifetime, I have been a
  researcher, a director of education, and a professor. Now that I am
  retired, I have the time to be a scholar.
  
  As you might suspect, I am not a JW any more.
• 

  Farkel

  
  A PhD doesn't make anyone a scholar. People are called "scholars" by agreement. A PhD creates the illusion one is a scholar and sets up the agreement to make one appear as such. Besides that, the term is illusory. How do you define it? By vast knowledge of a subject? That would make a master carpenter a scholar. He has more knowledge of his trade than anyone else. By having performed vast research on a subject? That would make me a scholar on the WTS, yet I'm only a high school graduate.

  With regards to Fred Franz being a scholar or not: he cannot be discounted as being a scholar just because he only had about 2 years of college. He can be discounted as a scholar because everything he said was bullshit and most of it is now discounted by those who used to tout it as truth.

  A piece of paper with an official seal on it does not make one a scholar. People are more than just pieces of paper. The late Paul Winchell had a puppet show on TV in the early 1960's and was quite famous for that in his time. He had no formal medical training. He is also the first man who invented an artificial human heart that was so cleverly constructed, the University of Utah took it over and continued research with it. No medical doctor/"scholar" had even been able to create such a thing before Winchell.

  "Scholars" are defined by RESULTS, not pieces of paper, or even agreement from others.

  Farkel