Analysis of a Time Consuming System: Shocking Numbers about JWs (page 4)

done4good

SirNose,

Interesting you mention pyramid schemes...I remember when I first came across some Amway folks and thought to myself just how wacko they were...It's amazing what I couldn't see about the WTS the time... (I was a witness then).

j

DanTheMan

Nice job Drew. Some people who have never been associated with JW's might look at your post and think "he must be exaggerating!" but all of us here know that it really is like that! Crazy ain't it, all that time we wasted! I remember doing a rough estimate in my head when I was a dub of how many hours a week it would take if you really did all that was expected, and feeling pretty Discouraged™ about it. It kinda flies in the face of that whole "We're the closest to the 1st century Christians" bull.

Amazing Mind ~~Blowing~~ Controlling Total: 828.8 Hours Per Year!!!

under_believer

When I was pioneering, I spent 1,000 hours (real, honest-to-god hours) in the field ministry alone. My load during those years was probably more like 1,600-1,900 hours per year.

purplesofa

40 hours week work

05 hours commute

05 hours to get ready for work..eating, dressing, showering.

02 hours errands per week ...shopping, post office, cleaners, etc.

42 hours sleeping.

12 hours eating, preparing meals, cleanup (one hour lunch, one hour dinner)

16 hours Watchtower time.

128 HOURS

24 hours per day x 7 days per week......168 hours

40 hours left to clean the house, mow the yard, wash the car, get the oil changed, go to the doctor, pee, poop, feed the dog, unclog the sink, paint your nails...........You get the picture.

restrangled

Dear Drew,

I found your numbers interesting but hugely under estimated. Family study, ours was 1 hour and had to be prepared for ahead of time like the meetings.

We also had a pre watchtower family study that had to be pre-prepared for the big watchtower study on Sunday with prepared answers. There had to be at least 4 answers prepared incase you didn't get called on and one answer at the big meeting was not enough.

Then we had family study for the Tuesday night book study because it was held in our home.

We also had big prep work for Thursday Ministry school meeting, and god help you if you had a talk. We were always there 30 minutes ahead of time and at least 1 hour afterwards. So on a school night I would not be in bed before 11:00 pm. Any other night, bedtime 9:00 pm.

When my father was given a Sunday talk, the prep work went on for weeks with all of us having to listen as he practiced. Thankfully my father usually did a slide presentation.

We had to have a sermon practiced for field service and the WT and Awake studied so we knew what we were presenting.

Between school, the meetings and prep for meetings, I had no life. No free time much like the kids today sent to too many outside activities.

Outside reading material was frowned upon, and any school work I had that could possibly introduce a witnessing was pushed big time.

I kept "normal" reading material for a teenager under my bed or in between my mattress as if I had porno magazines!

My mother even introduced a special study to cover topics such as masturbation and dating with my best friends in the truth. Their mother being her best friend. She would call this mother and insist there had to be a special bible study with all of us girls to cover these topics.

I would say at least 50% of my waking hours were spent indoctrinated.

So Drew, I am doubling your estimates!

r.

Stealth453

If each of the, let's say, 6,000,000 dubs all generated an income for the wt of 1 dollar per hour spent, that would translate into $4,972,800,000.00 per year in the societies coffers.

Hmmmm???

mavie

good analysis, 16 hours a week is quite a time investment. Who honestly has the time to do this while working 40 hours a week?

we end up just feeling guilty for not reaching the goals

sass_my_frass

Wow, if they weren't witnesses, they really could get a new college education every three years.

drew sagan

we end up just feeling guilty for not reaching the goals

That's the real point of it all!
Nobody has the time for this (except unemployed housewives and young people that live at home). It is a system of guilt that is used to keep the membership in their controll.
It's more than just 'Bible Study', the numbers prove it.

Leolaia

What gives the list so much ooomph is the very fact that it is underestimated.

Analysis of a Time Consuming System: Shocking Numbers about JWs

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