Can i just ask about the public and non public watchtowers..

dobbie

for those of you that know, is there any difference between the two?I haven't been here for a few months and wondered if the public wt is tolerant and friendly than the witnesses one,and if the witnesses one was more hardline, covering the more controversial things?Would just be really interested to find out if the public one has articles more designed to catch householders out, without putting anything in them that could put them off ie discipline (shunning) or blood etc. Thanks!

insearchoftruth

Good question, are the study articles in both, or will they loan my wife one if she goes to a sunday 'meeting'?

easyreader1970

1. What is the difference?

The "public" edition contains your normally field-service friendly articles that appeal to the religious people with the right "heart condition". They describe world conditions and encourage a study of the Bible. There are no study articles in the public edition. The "study" edition consists of about five study articles and usually a couple of other articles thrown in. Since January 2008, almost all of the articles have had to do with the Witness Christian relationship with God and with one-another. Every now and then there will be an important doctrinal article (e.g., the "this generation" change).

2. Will you be given one if you attend a public Watchtower study?

I don't know what the official stance on this is from Brooklyn or even if there is one. It seems to change from congregation to congregation. My current congregation will make a few copies to pass out but other congregations will not make extras. I don't know if this is because of the cost of paper and ink or because they feel that only those who actually are important enough (baptized Witnesses) to have the magazines should have them.

er

dobbie

thanks for repyling, i didn't know if they'd use the witness only one to get even more controlling but looks like that hasn't happened (yet!)

KingArthur

Is it possible to get subs still and are they mailing them again or do u have to get a RV every week by them? And can you get the study article ones or is it like the KM copies which only go to the "privileged ones?" ----- Art

SnakesInTheTower

KA:

Is it possible to get subs still and are they mailing them again or do u have to get a RV every week by them? And can you get the study article ones or is it like the KM copies which only go to the "privileged ones?" ----- Art

they no longer mail the magazines..they used to do so in limited numbers..but when those expired, the society stopped altogether. the only way to get a magazine is to either a) get them from a JW...at your door, on a street corner (in larger cities), maybe in a doctors office or laundromat... as for the private edition (the one that has the study articles).. you almost always have to get them at the Kingdom Hall.. I am merely inactive and I cannot get an elder to get them for me...my JW mom (who lives in another state) brought me some..but has not followed up as she promised ...another elder (supposedly close friend)...replied to me when I asked him to get them for me: "you have legs" (nsinuating i need to go to the KH to get em)... another elder just the other day promised to start getting them for me.. I will call him and tell him the last issues I have... and then we will see if he follows through.... i am not holding my breath... (not that I really want any of them..I am just testing these fools) Snakes ()

independent_tre

They are keeping a rather tight grip on the Study edition WT's, even making access to copies very limited. I was once given an extra study ed. WT, by accident, and one elder literally hunted me down to get that 1 extra copy back, telling me that I didn't need more than one. But I also know of some congo's that arent so strict.

Makes me think they are trying to hide the more crazy, less appealing dogma, and I don't think it has anything to do with printing costs, because you can still get as many public ed. as you like. My question is, if it's all from the Bible and all supposedly 'truth', why hide anything???

jgnat

IMO, the coded language is in the study edition. You know, "obey", "Faithful and Discreet Slave" and so on. The "study edition" is the heavier load.

Mat 23:13

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Luk 11:46

And he said, Woe unto you also, [ye] lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

dobbie

Maybe they figure that if you can only get the wt study mags by going to the meetings, it'll make the attendance figures jump up?!

Can i just ask about the public and non public watchtowers..

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