AGAIN with the college bashing

by Pistoff 70 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Pistoff

  OK so the mate took good notes at the CA and here is the newest on "higher education:

  • The usual bashing of motives: those who want great wealth, prestige and seek it in a college education
  • College graduates don't always get jobs in their fields
  • Drugs, drinking and sex are "rampant" at colleges
  • Those who want to "snatch us away" are near if we go to college (Isa 54)
  • If we seek a college education, we are not spiritual minded

  The most disturbing for me was this:

  • Those who choose college will not get blessings from Jehovah

  And of course there was the obligatory interview with the college graduate who disdains the education whe received.

  I have had it with the character assassination of those who attend college. Now they say that Jehovah will not bless anyone who goes to college!!

  Really? What blessing is he going to give one who can't find a job because employers have their pick of degreed and non degreed candidates? Who would most choose? Will the society choose a NON college RN or lawyer?

  And not one word about why they are bashing college: anyone who gets a course in comparative religion or logic will probably lose the fundamental level of primitive belief that the WT counts on.

  Why can nearly every other religion send their children to college and have them return to fellowship in some way? They acknowledge on some level that people attend for many different reasons, and not always because they think it is the GOSPEL.

  Here is the take away point for me: by killing the prospect of college (anyone who pursues college is NOT SPIRITUALLY MINDED, per the speaker) they are limiting the current and future fellowship to a group of lower IQ, lower income and lower sophistication than other groups.

  With this limit, how will they ever nurture and promote the forward thinking leader they obviously need?
• 

  mraimondi

  • The usual bashing of motives: those who want great wealth, prestige and seek it in a college education
  • College graduates don't always get jobs in their fields
  • Drugs, drinking and sex are "rampant" at colleges

  how are these three not true?

  there are some who want great wealth, etc... and love of money IS biblically wrong, if you believe that sort of thing... so yeah thats not good. Me? I just wanted to have a better job to pioneer with. Now? I want to be a teacher and have all my time to myself :)

  the other two make sense....

  ok so you have the remaining two.
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  WTWizard

  How about when I was in college--I didn't see any drug problem that was worse than in the world at large. Sex--so what? It's in the world, too.

  Yes, there was a lot of beer. That's what you get when you take a group of people that are just of legal drinking age, and independent of their parents. Some are going to abuse that--and, guess what happens to those who continually party all the time? They end up flunking out! Those who make it through college are more moderate, or learn to be more moderate, with their beer consumption. Notably, I have rarely seen much in the way of hard liquor or wine--mostly beer. Besides, I had ample opportunity to start drinking (and smoking) while in college. Including on my 21st birthday. I simply refused. They insisted that I now have the right to drink. Which I answered that I did. I told them that it comes with the right to not drink. Which would have not been possible had I not had at least a measure of independent thinking.

  The love of money doesn't become bad until one puts it ahead of all other things. Usually, such people will start trampling others' rights to get more money (like the drug companies and the Federal Reserve Bank). Others will hoard it like they need every penny--while they have plenty, they are reluctant to spend any of it, and cannot enjoy it. The majority of people that graduate from college are neither--they just want enough money to comfortably live, with the ability to put away some for their heirs and in case of emergencies. They want to enjoy nice things in life--nothing wrong with that. And most people want wealth and prestige, with honor--that is, doing things that are good for themselves and society. Nothing is wrong with that--in fact, if everyone was like that, the world would have all its problems solved by now.

  It is true that college grads do not always, or even usually, get jobs in their fields. However, they are more likely to get a decent job whether in their field or not. They are more likely to get a better job. In this economy, they are more likely to get a job at all--or to hold onto a job, regardless of their field. The witlesses are going to have crap paying jobs, or none at all--and the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger continues to print out littera-trash telling them they are not donating enough. I wonder why.
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  Pistoff

  Mraimondi, the point is that

  1. Sex and drugs are in high school too; they are also present at work places. Is that a valid reason to bash college?

  2. Grads may not get a job in their fields, but their degree makes them much more likely than non grads applying for the same position.

  3. NO middle ground is acknowledged for attending college; great wealth and prestige are the red herrings, no allowance made for people who just want a better job, or a job at all.

  They allow no reason to attend that is not venal or greedy.

  P
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  DaCheech

  my witness wife and I ARE putting $$$ away in childrens college fund!

  screw them!
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  frankiespeakin

  It seems to me that the GBs response on college is motivated by by simple mathematics.

  1) If they go to college they will leave the org. and gone will be a prostlylizer, book salesman, contributer & free laborer.

  2) If they don't go they have a better chance keeping a prostlylizer, book salesman, & free laborer. Allbeit contributions would be reduce because of smaller wages but smaller as apposed to $0.00 contribution. No college wins.
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  AuntBee

  The 2 young witnesses i really care about are in college currently. (One is in a very high tech major, that will make big money. horrors!) I hope the org keeps up with this kind of talk. What effect does this have on those currently in college? IS there a chance it could cause them to re-evaluate and maybe even leave, even sooner than they would have otherwise? I hope so!
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  Pistoff

  They also state that to go or not is a personal decision, but really, if you care what your parents, peers and elders think, you are not going to go. They have painted as Satanic the desire to go to school!

  It is really just the most untenable position, and it is turning off more and more parents and middle of the road young people.

  Keep it up GB brothers; you are driving out the people you NEED, morons.
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  passwordprotected

  Whether or not you get a job based on your degree is completely irrelevant; many jobs require having a degree, not what the degree is in.

  Sex and drugs are as prevalent in the workplace as in college.

  This is another fear-factor control technique.

  • the organisation fears the ability of the R&F to think for themselves
  • the R&F fear not being blessed by Jehovah*

  I know plenty of 'brothers' with some sort of college education who are well used within the organisation. The key element is being born into a hooked up family...then you can do what you like, be appointed as an elder in your 20s and end up serving at some sort of Circuit level job by the time you're 35. Fact. These ones get to go to college and they get blessed by Jehovah*.

  I'm active in church fellowship, not just with Riverside, but some of the other local churches. The vast majority of the young people go to college, remain in Christian fellowship in college, leave college and use their degree in some way to try and make a difference to society. This is called being the salt of the earth and a light to the world.

  Of course, Christians don't believe that the earth is soon to be ruled over by the Governing Body, so I guess they feel responsible to try and make a difference while they're on the planet. The average JW believes that soon Losche and his cronies are going to be ruling over them to an even greater degree than they currently are, so why would they need an education/decent job. The end is just around the corner, right?

  *the Organisation
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  passwordprotected

  They also state that to go or not is a personal decision, but really, if you care what your parents, peers and elders think, you are not going to go. They have painted as Satanic the desire to go to school!

  The pressure to get an education beyond high school is put on the same level as being pressurised into taking crack cocaine.

  Remember, the CO outline last year presented the scenario that any appointed men who approve of their kids going to college and recommend it as an option* to anyone else would be removed from their position.

  *part of our God-given gift of free will.