One thing about the Watchtower Society is its lack of understanding of its own charter to "spread the good news of God's Kingdom throughout the world."
C. T. Russell realized the power (and the profit) of the printed word. So his first act was not to form a religion, but a magazine and book publishing company.
C. T. Russell also understood the untapped power and profit of slides and moving pictures. His "Photodrama of Creation" was a landmark advance that matched motion pictures with colored slides and sequenced recordings. Going to see his Photodrama was like going to Technicolor movies in the 1930s and Cinerama in the 1950s.
Thanks to C. T. Russell's ability to harness the power of those fledgling technologies, his own fame spread far beyond his own ability as a speaker or as an self-proclaimed Bible expert would have taken him. Thousands of converts were gathered into the ranks thanks to his publishing and cinematic efforts - even as crude as they were.
J. F. Rutherford used the new technology of radio to spread the word. His national and international radio station linkups using telephone lines were among the very first of any note. The Watchtower actually owned, partially owned, or had a monetary interest in several radio stations across the USA and Canada from the 1920s until the 1960s. Rutherford's speeches were on the air for several hours a day, seven days a week. He was every bit as famous as Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson were at the time thanks to the reach of radio.
J. F. Rutherford also promoted regular door-to-door preaching. His techniques were observed and later modified by companies like Amway, Avon, and Mary Kay Cosmetics. They not only used his door-knocking ideas, but also used conventions and near religious and cult-like fervor to expand and control their sales forces.
J. F. Rutherford also used portable phonographs and sound cars handled by unpaid volunteers (publishers) to spread his speeches.
My point is that Russell and Rutherford used the new technologies of their time to spread the word and to generate money and converts. The modern version of the Watchtower has failed to use the two most powerful informational technologies even conceived to spread the word of God to the ends of the earth - which they both can do easily and rather cheaply: Television and the Internet. On the contrary, they have branded both of those communication resources as sinful and distractions of the Devil.
Nathan Knorr may have been a good corporate organizer and Fred Franz a self-appointed prophet, but neither one had the foresight or intelligence to understand the amazing technologies placed before them.
I also think that they thought that countries other than the USA, Canada, and Britain would never really have enough people of means to support the Society, so they were considered to be distant and unimportant "missionary territories." As late as 1990, Gilead was still sending missionaries to Europe, even though hundreds of congregations were already in place there.
Actually I fear the day when the Watchtower Society wakes up and starts using TV and the Internet to spread their cult propaganda. That could make them a far more formidable foe for those of us who oppose them.
Oh, and don't tell me that they are using the Internet now. Their piss-ant websites are puny and outdated in every way compared to Freeminds.org, JWN, JWfacts, and other ex-JW discussion websites. The quality of WT sites shows they lack the understanding of how to harness the power of the Internet. They still prefer to do their witnessing the hard and expensive way - door-to-door.
Obviously, they aren't being guided by Almighty God, the creator of science, education and the Internet Machine. Maybe they could have gone that way long ago, but could never get 2/3 of the Governing Body's old farts to understand what they had available to them and actually vote for those changes.
One well-produced YouTube video could have been seen by 1000 times more people in one weekend than could ever have been preached to door-to-door in five years. But the Governing Body just doesn't understand. They are blinded by their own ignorance. And if there is a Jehovah God, he might be the very one throwing a veil over their blind eyes.
Thank goodness!
JV
