Raising the Standards

by Justin 8 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Justin

  I remember back in the '70's, when the CO visited, he stated from the platform that there were people working at Bethel who had been there for many years and who had initially started, not because they were interested in the truth, but because they wanted some means of support. (Not, of course, that they would make good money, but at least have room and board.) Now the Society had gotten wise to them and made all the Bethelites take a written examination on the basic beliefs, and the ones who flunked were dismissed. The CO thought this was something to be proud of, that such people would no longer be tolerated.

  At the time I could see that expelling people who had been admitted with the understanding that their labor alone was required, who had been supported for years and were now older and could do nothing else with their lives was wrong. It would have been one thing to test all the newcomers, and not allow someone to start working at Bethel who didn't know the basics, but it was wrong to make this retroactive and expel people who had nowhere else to go - no pension, medical benefits, etc.

  Does anyone know anything more about this - perhaps former Bethelites who were there at the time?
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  ocsrf

  Can't imagine anyone who has been a JW for any lenght of time not to know the basics especially if they have been at Bethel for a while. I agree however, that once someone is there, they shouldn't dismiss them unless they break on their rules. OC
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  carla

  how assinine! even I, a non jw could pass their silly test. hell, I would do better than my jw husband! I wouldn't even wish Bethel on the homeless. Better off in a shelter or the library!
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  theinfamousone

  well, i work at bethel.... they wanted to kick me out because i became diabetic, but i tricked them by taking a j-dub test and now i am still working in bethel... i clean toilets and change the diapers of the GB...

  the infamous one
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  Cellist

  I can imagine alot of JWs would fail that test. I remember one older "sister"'s comment on the quality of answers at the Watchtower study, "even a Hindu could give those answers."

  Cellist
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  FairMind

  he stated from the platform that there were people working at Bethel who had been there for many years and who had initially started, not because they were interested in the truth, but because they wanted some means of support.

  IMO your CO told a bald face lie! It is much more likely that some JWs who were very zealous as youths wised up as the years passed. This sounds a lot like what happened with Ray Franz and his friends. The WTS always wants to destroy the reputations and lives of those who come to see the organization for what it really is.
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  Lady Lee

  there were people working at Bethel who had been there for many years and who had initially started, not because they were interested in the truth, but because they wanted some means of support.

  huh???

  Don't people have to be recommended by their cong or the CO before being accepted to go to Bethel?

  Why would anyone looking for support waqnt to go somewhere where the only support is hard work for a pittance and constant eyes watching your every move?
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  garybuss

  The people at headquarters who write and publish the literature certainly don't belive the published doctrines required for belief by the Witness people. If they believed it they wouldn't change it. The reason they change the teachings, is that they DON'T BELIEVE the teachings.
  
  
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  Justin

  Well, there's been no confirmation here, and we probably have ex-Bethelites on the forum. It does sound far fetched, and I think Fair Mind is probably right that the CO did not present the full situation as it actually was. But neither can we compare the Society's policies of years ago to the ones today, and so my answer to Lady Lee would be that it is quite possible that Bethelites were not screened like they are today. The CO did say that the ones dismissed did not have the knowledge that the average publisher has. One would think that they must have been severely disabled if this is true.