JW Literature-why not public? (page 3)

Joel Wideman

Oroboros, just a minor - but important - correction. In the US, a work is under copyright protection the moment it is produced. Registration of copyright is not required to enjoy legal protection of copyright, though it is required for civil lawsuits. Further, what you are talking about is Mandatory Deposit. Failure to comply does not affect copyright protection, and exceptions to Mandatory Deposit may be granted.

GMahler

All Along the Watchtower,

That is a very good question that you ask, and it it a question that I have been asking myself since I left the WTS. It would seem to me that an organization that claims to have information that could save millions of lives from eternal destruction would do a much better job of making their information available to the public. This is, after all, a "never to be repeated" activity. While it may be true that Christian bookstores will not allow JW book, their are other book chains that I am sure have no religious bias. What are WTS publications not available at Borders or Barnes and Noble for example.

I find it interesting that, historically, this was not always the case. While WTS publications may not have been available in local bookstores, there was certainly a greater effort to make their doctrine a matter of public debate. Charles Russell, for example, would not only publish his sermons and writings in newspapers, when necessary he would also engage in public debate with opposers. Even under Rutherford during the "Millions" campaign, such publications were advertised in newspapers so that even those who may not have been visited by JW's would have an opportunity to purchase the literature. Under Knorr, things changed a little. The advertising tactics of Russell and Rutherford were scaled back, and no longer were the author's names printed in WTS publications.

I think that there is a reason for this transformation of a "cult of personality" to one of a "cult of anonymity", and I agree with many of the reasons mentioned above. My own conclusion is that when an individual or organization makes the decision to make their information public, they also open it up to public criticism and peer review. Imagine if the Reasoning book was sold in bookstores nationwide. In time it is reviewed in Christian journals and discussed in academic circles. In time it is exposed as being a fraudulent publication to millions of readers. It makes the task of finding converts much more difficult if the genearl public is aware of your errors before you have the opportunity to evangelize to them. By controlling the distribution of their publications, the WTS is also able to control the interpretation of its literature, as was mentioned above. This is more evidence that the WTS is more concerned about brainwashing than they are about making the "good news" available to all.

riotgirlpeeps

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh blondie you're not supposed to say what we're doing with our books. Actually I haven't sold any of mine on Ebay yet but hell if I can I will. I can use the $$$ and I know the Org took enough of my time, and isn't time money?

-Riot

Gill

Why would the WTBTS pay someone to distribute their propaganda, ie book stores with a 55% discout, when they could get a bunch of brainwashed fools, who are paid with promises of eternal life, to do it for free?

They're not completely daft!

DannyHaszard

The Watch Tower Corporation(s) is a book publishing, event sponsoring, and real estate developing business. The Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall is the local Watch Tower produced book distribution outlet. The Jehovah's Witness people are the unpaid book distributors. The corporation produces literature is now written TO the Witness people, not FOR them. The Witness people now produce the donations to keep the corporations busy printing, building and sponsoring meetings and conventions. The door to door literature distribution is a straw man. It's not the purpose. The purpose is the production and the exchange of the production for cash. The door to door activity clears out the literature store rooms, delivers the occasional new worker, and develops some additional donations for the group leaders.

The value of the literature is not the message they contain, their value is the cash flow the literature generates. Spreading the message is nothing but more religious dogma. The Corporation's purpose is self preservation, profitability, and security and comfort for the corporate directors. Don't believe what they say, look at what they do.

Thank you Garry Buss a concise objective profile of the WT pedigree,a valuable quote i can use.

Pbanna

I used to get the Watchtower and the other magazine in the mail-they stopped that. That was while back.

M.J.

All Along,

You don't find any moonie books or Herbert W Armstrong books at Barnes & Noble either, do you?

It would be like selling Amway products at Wal-Mart. It just doesn't work that way. The books are for personal use by the individual distributers, who in turn use the books to recruit more distributors. i.e., it's more about adding more distributers than actually selling the products.

By the way, I recommend this video for your wife: http://www.freeminds.org/sales/calledtobefree.htm

(which you probably know about already. Didn't you say you were ex-WCG?)

jgnat

I would like to add to Lady Lee's comment, this happens in our library in town, too.

I know at my old library in Montreal they couldn't keep the books on thes shelves especially if they were anti-WTS. Presumably JWs would take them out and never return them.

sting

Let's be honest would YOU buy a book that looks like a JW publication????????? - covered in single gloss with one word on the spine???? I have just been given a copy of 'CREATION' by a Witness at my door. Would you buy that and rush to read it? I think not!!!

Plus those awful pictures inside....what is wrong with these poeple?

r51785

Why can't you buy Amway products at the local WalMart?

Same answer.

The Watchtower has chosen to distribute its literature throught "The Worldwide Multi-Level Marketing Work."

JW Literature-why not public?

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