University student's JW based honors thesis research. PLEASE HELP!

by honorsthesis 85 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • honorsthesis
    honorsthesis

    @Band

    I am not sure exactly what you asking or even saying. You seem to be jumping all over the place from topic to topic. You say going to law school is an extremely "unwitness" activity...you must mean "uncommon", since seeking a non-secular education or even a career for that matter is discouraged by the congregation but it is not an unscriptural offence.

    In addition, the conclusion that JW's would be social conservatives may be obvious to you, since you are educated on the sect, but most are not and there is no hard-line documented evidence out there to point to the "obvious answer". My research aims to do such.

    @VIII

    No, I am not planning on a career at Bethel. Although I love Jehovah, I am not necessarily a stand-out Witness. Plus, the Bethel lifestyle is not for me. That is not even taking into consideration my ambivalent feelings toward the Watchtower in general.

    Polling defected JW's is simply a portion, not the focus, of my thesis. I am seeking to see how former members feel about the same issues I am polling active JW's about. For example, I am already seeing a hard-line difference between active and defected member's feelings about whether religion has a place in the bedroom, the literalness of the Bible, homosexuality, and abortion.

  • jwfacts
    jwfacts

    I have just done the survey. I am not from the US, but have an opinion on US politics, since it is a more extreme version of what works quite well in Australia.

    BAND - How do you get sworn in to the bar without taking an oath?

    I did jury duty recently and was in the awkward position of being asked to swear on the Bible. I had not thought about it prior to that moment, so when the judge gave the option of swearing on the Bible or taking a non religious oath I was put on the spot as to what to do. 10 of the 12 jurors swore on the Bible and I felt extremely judged by them when I chose not to.

  • Band on the Run
    Band on the Run

    My point is clear. Perhaps now one can go to law school. Also, I assume you are male. Something sounds inauthentic to me. Univ. of Florida, while not the best school, is a decent school. I find it hard to believe that a faculty member would endorse this survey. Stating that you are an active Witness, but qualifying that your heart is not into it, skews the results of everyone who takes the survey. From the terse exchanges of the internet, I cannot know the truth. I'm not the only one to suspect a hoax.

    When you publish your thesis on an internet forum, you open yourself to criticism. If I am wrong, I am sorry. Personally, I prefer devout Jehovah's Witnesses over someone who is active in a cult but thinks not taking it seriously is admirable. My perception is my perception. You cannot judge it. The wording of the questions indicates a lack of knowledge necessary for the task. It is difficult for me to place myself in college and evaluate what my skill set was at the time. In my mind, the problem is not either one of us but the dubious nature of internet interactions. Engaging in this repartee skews the results even more.

    I don't think you should be punished by being a Witness. Law school might cure. The Socratic method is a good learning device. The difference between college and law school is great. Law school was great for me. No one wishes you ill.

    It seems strange that the Society would endorse Witnesses taking a survey for nontheocratic purposes.

    Such is the world of the WT and its peculiar culture. Since I was female, I could get a part-time job as a nurse's aide or retail sales person. My father wanted to pull me out of high school to bag groceries. I fought for my very life to get an education. Later, I worked on landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions and helped people in legal services setting. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. College was mocked in my day. It was an object of derision. Why go to school when the big A. is coming any second?

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    Analyses of the political dimension of the Watchtower movement are thin on the ground. Have you consulted this article in your background reading:

    W. Cohn, "Jehovah's Witnesses as a Proletarian Movement," American Scholar 24 (1955):281-298

    Of course it's very out of date but it could perhaps still provide an interesting historical contrast with your argument that Jehovah's Witnesses now have politically conservative instincts.

    In fact if anyone does have access to this article is there any chance they could post it online because I have been wanting to read it for ages!

  • Room 215
    Room 215

    Notwithstanding their profession of neutrality, documented examples of JW polictical activism can be cited: demonstrations in France for one; and also in NYC, to promote the expansion of the Brooklyn Bethel complex. It will take a bit of digging, though.

  • VIII
    VIII

    I am sure that no JW would take this survey.

    Why would an Ex-JW?

    This is a fraud IMO. Something just doesn't seem *right*. IMO.

    An *in* JW coming to an Apostate site, claiming to be a University student who is going to go to law school?!

    WTF?!

    Quote:

    Polling defected JW's is simply a portion, not the focus, of my thesis. I am seeking to see how former members feel about the same issues I am polling active JW's about. For example, I am already seeing a hard-line difference between active and defected member's feelings about whether religion has a place in the bedroom, the literalness of the Bible, homosexuality, and abortion.

    ________________________

    Seriously, how many JWs will answer these questions except in general converstion? NEVER!!

    And when did Defected JWs become a term anyone uses?

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    You are way too suspicious. Anyone can tell an untruth of course, and many things we read on this forum may be misleading, but there is nothing fundamentally unbelievable about the story presented by this poster in my opinion. It is more common to talk about defection from or defectors from a religion, whereas the phrase "defected JWs" sounds bit odd to me at least. (Do they mean Jehovah's Witnesses with something wrong with them?) But so what if someone uses a phrase in an unusual or incorrect way. I don't think it reveals anything much other than an attempt to use disinterested rather than familiar terminolgy, which is surely appropriate for the task described.

    The poster may well have trouble getting active Witnesses to fill out the survey. I suppose it depends on their relationsips with people in the congregation, how liberal the Witnesses are, and how the survey is presented and its goals described. (There could be interesting ethical issues about full disclosure there) But just because there may be difficulties in executing the idea does not necessarily mean the poster is being disingenuous about their intentions.

  • Band on the Run
    Band on the Run

    I currently have access to ebsco host and other academic data bases through a community college. If I am able to locate it, how do I post it?

    Copy and paste?

  • Band on the Run
    Band on the Run

    My search yielded no results. There is another database related to religious matters. I will try later.

  • VIII
    VIII

    If this survey is really through the University of Florida, why is the survey through Survey Monkey? Odd that.

    This survey also gives no option for No Opinion or Not Applicable. Which any legitimate Poll or Survey would. Having the option to not answer is critical. This lack of will skew the result. Which will render his results useless. A college student, especially an honors student, should know.

    Perhaps he's working on the Ministerial Servant program.

    Yes, call me over suspicious. I don't trust JWs who show up on Apostate DBs with polls asking DFd and inactive ones (calling them defected) if they'll fill out a poll for an honors thesis research.

    He's proved only that he can't be trusted. <shrug>

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