What’s the deal with all the Smart-Educated JWs?

by John Aquila 37 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  John Aquila

  We talk a lot about most JWs being uneducated, uninformed, and that they lack critical thinking skills, but in my area there is a lot of JWs that went to the University, Medical school, Law School, and came back to the Organization.

  In my Circuit, that I know of, we had two Electrical engineers, one computer engineer with a Ph.D. eight teachers with a Bachelor’s degree and three of those with a Master’s in Education. We had two medical doctors, one was a pediatrician who closed his business about 3 years ago and went to bethel. We had about 8 Mechanical engineers, some who transferred from another state to work across the border. We had one sister who was dating a pioneer brother and finished her degree in Civil Engineering and was invited to bethel as soon as she finished her degree, (She dumped the pioneer brother) And we had one CEO of a major Hospital Chain who was making several million dollars a year. We had several Lawyers some of who went to Bethel or are doing work for the WT at home.

  This doesn’t include several of the young ones that I’ve just heard about yesterday who are going to law school, and medical school.

  Then there's the ones I don't know about.
  

  All these went to the University to get their degrees, including masters, doctorate, medical, and law degrees,

  and came back to the organization. Some are elders and some are not just like other publishers.

  You would think that a good education would help them develop “Critical thinking” but that is not the case. They still believe the Organization is God’s ONLY channel to mankind.

  How do we explain that?

  BTW, perhaps the WT knows these one will be the new source of income in the future. Young kids that get their degrees and make tons of money.
  
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  tim3l0rd

  Cult indoctrination and cognitive dissonance.

  As far as those that went to Bethel or became elders, I think many are affected by the big-fish-in-a-small-pond syndrome. In the real world, most would never get the recognition that they get in JWdom. They may not even realize that they crave this recognition, but it serves to cement them into the org. Also, most of those that went to college and university in previous decades did not have access to all the information that kids today have. Now that they are older they are set in their ways and, unless something disturbs them, they will never start questioning, looking outside the org, or using their critical thinking skills on JW doctrine.
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  John Aquila

  Also, most of those that went to college and university in previous decades did not have access to all the information that kids today have. Now that they are older they are set in their ways

  I wonder if the young kids today going to college will be pressured by their educated parents to stay in the organization. If so, we're back to square one. Another generation being enslaved by the WT.
  
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  GrreatTeacher

  I would imagine that some of that has to do with the local culture. Some areas have more of this than others. I believe they might see someone else do it and get away with it and then follow suit.

  It can all be justified by saying they will volunteer their skills to bethel.
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  rebelfighter

  I was thinking exactly that when you posted a question the other day. The "Elder" from my past is extremely intelligent with a good education and very good critical thinking skills.

  But I have 2 kids now adults who are extremely brilliant one at age 30 all kinds of education still cannot figure out what to do with it so he is supervisor of banquet setup at a resort. I am paying all these loans for this, really. The other one dean's list top of her class choice of any job she wants. Full scholarship offers for her masters. Not ONE once of common sense anywhere in her brain, her boyfriend and I run after her continually picking up the missing pieces.

  So maybe the answer is they just do not get the picture when they are that intelligent.
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  John Aquila

  I would imagine that some of that has to do with the local culture

  In my area it seems the young JWs are changing the culture within the WT organization. Young sisters, 16-21 "Expect" the young brothers who want to date them to be going to college. No college no..........
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  done4good

  A university education does not mean someone will "leave" immediately, if ever. That is a myth. If that were the case I would have left 11-15 years before I did. Those that do leave because they are attending university are already questioning the organization.The GB are just plain paranoid about their constituents being better educated and smarter than they are, as any authoritarian group is.
  

  IMHO JWs compartmentalize JW life vs. "normal" life. In their day to day normal life, they can use critical thinking skills, and become very balanced and successful people, until they are confronted with something that sets off the group think/cult programming. This causes cognitive dissonance as has been mentioned above.

  Having said that, successful people do not make good robots, and very often times, with the passing of time and experience, probability dictates that something will happen to these ones that will force them to wake up. This is the real reason a college education is a problem for the WTS. College generally = success, and success = not taking bullshit.

  d4g
  
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  username

  We had a university professor in our KH, he was also an elder. He did still live with his mother mind you!
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  John Aquila

  I am paying all these loans for this, really.

  That sucks RB. It is strange, I'm wondering that tim3l0rd has a point.

  Cult indoctrination

  The barrage of constant spew might be what's keeping them in a deep sleep.
  
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  Magnum

  Wow! Not like that in my area. There were two teachers (married couple) who had master's degrees in education, but I swear that neither of them should have been let out of the third grade (I'm not exaggerating). They both had bad grammar, poor comprehension, etc.

  And, one's having completed some kind of schooling does not necessarily mean he's smart, and that applies to advanced degrees, too. Then, there are different kinds of smarts.