JW Education Status

by Scully 37 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Mindchild

  Hey this is good stuff. Thanks Scully for starting this thread.

  In my life as a dub, I only met two JW's who claimed to have a college education. One said he was a historian and the other a biologist. I remember asking the biologist one day about a question about DNA as there was an article in the Awake that dealt with the topic. Her knowledge on the subject was zilch. I asked myself, how could a biologist be totally ignorant about DNA. That is not to say all college educated dubs are stupid, not at all, but education is sure something the dubs don't like.

  You gotta dumb down to be a dub.

  Skipper
• 

  DB

  Though the door has been opened, so to speak, higher education is still discouraged to a great degree, as evidenced in the series of KM parts this past summer.

  This is an orgainzation that does indeed seem to have two faces, or speak out of both sides of its mouth. For example, a few years back, during an elder's meeting with the CO, the CO stated that the brother reading at the WT study is to stand while reading the paragraphs. I cited a WT article, Aug 1999, which mentioned that in some congregations, standing to read the paragraphs at the WT study was somewhat optional (I believe the term "custom" was used). The CO seemed annoyed at me and mentioned that the articles were geared to the public, and that the direction he was giving from the Society's outline was more specific.
• 

  dmouse

  Watchtower 1989 9/1 19 - 7: 'Only Jehovah's Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the "great crowd," as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil. (Revelation 7:9-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4)'

  Watchtower 2001 15th Jan:
  "Zephaniah thus announced God's purpose to destroy Jerusalem, and this prophecy also pointed to the destruction of Christendom. In fact, with God's day of judgment so near today, all the world should 'keep silent before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah' and hear what he says through the "little flock" of Jesus' anointed followers and their companions, his "other sheep"...Annihilation awaits all who will not listen and who therefore set themselves against rule by God's Kingdom." pp 14
  "For Judah there would be "a hurrying of Jehovah's day very much.' Similarly in our time, let no one think that the execution of Jehovah's judgment upon the wicked will occur in the distant future. Rather, as God acted quickly in Judah, so he will "hurry" his executional day...What a bitter time that will be for all who ignore Jehovah's warnings given by His Witnesses and who fail to embrace true worship."-pp 16

  "Theirs will be a disgraceful end indeed, for God will strew the bodies -- even the entrails -- of these wicked ones upon the earth, "like the dung". -- page 17
• 

  Jourles

  It does not matter what the Society says about the destruction of 99.99% of the earth's population. What matters is that those who are still in the org will always cling to what they believe is true to them. Take for instance my mother. She believes, even after pointing out what the WTS's website says, that everyone that is not a witness will be destroyed at armageddon. When my uncle died a few years ago, she said that it was best for him to die rather than for him to remain living during armageddon, as he would be killed later with no chance of a resurrection. She now says the same for my grandfather who is fairly close to dying. "I hope he dies soon so that he can be resurrected in the paradise." BITCH!

  I cannot begin to express the loathing hatred that I feel towards my own mother. The same goes for all other witnesses that feel the exact same way. Witnesses who air this opinion immediately get put on my 'ignore' list. Ignore, as in, they receive the shunning treatment from me - to the letter.

  Thank god my wife no longer feels this way. She is actually starting to listen to me more and more about the WT's dust under the rug without going off and crying. She is really trying to make a stand and debate, something she has NEVER done before. Now that she is starting to think for herself without dragging out the bound volumes to parrot what is written in them, I still have faith that she will someday see for herself what the WTS is all about.
• 

  fodeja

  Jourles, I know all too well what you're talking about.

  She is really trying to make a stand and debate, something she has NEVER done before.

  This is it. It's a HUGE step for herself.

  Good luck,

  f.
• 

  Scully

  Jourles writes:
  

  Take for instance my mother. She believes, even after pointing out what the WTS's website says, that everyone that is not a witness will be destroyed at armageddon. When my uncle died a few years ago, she said that it was best for him to die rather than for him to remain living during armageddon, as he would be killed later with no chance of a resurrection. She now says the same for my grandfather who is fairly close to dying. "I hope he dies soon so that he can be resurrected in the paradise." BITCH!

  This is the prevailing attitude among JWs. When my parents became JWs in the early 70s, they were highly offended when my grandparents said they were not interested in following their path. It was apparent that my grandparents were "beyond hope" in this life, so the only hope that my parents had was for them to die and receive a resurrection. When my maternal grandfather died over 20 years ago, my mom refused to go to the funeral because (a) the service was being held in a church; and (b) he was better off dead because he would be eligible for a resurrection.

  The same thing happened when each of my paternal grandparents died. While we attended the funeral services because they were NOT held in a church, my parents both voiced relief at their passing because they would have a chance to see for themselves that the JWs were 'right' when they were resurrected.

  I honestly do not remember my parents expressing grief the way one normally would upon the loss of a parent. In fact, we were cautioned against feeling sad or grieving "too much", because after all we had the "resurrection hope" that 'ignorant worldly people' did not have.

  The JW woman whom I had considered to be my best friend, told me just before I made my final decision to leave the JWs "If you are going to turn your back on The Truth™ then your three beautiful children would be better off if you took them out in the back yard and blew their heads off with a gun. That way they will have a resurrection in the Paradise and won't go down with you at Armageddon." That sick twisted statement was the last straw. I walked away and never looked back.

  I'm so glad I did that.

  Love, Scully

  It is not persecution for an informed person to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63
• 

  voltaire

  Interesting remarks about the two positions JWs have to maintain with regard to the world's destruction at armageddon. It's the same situation they face on a number of issues, education included(which is, after all, the topic of this thread.) What's fascinating (and unbearably frustrating) is that (some? most?) witnesses will deny the real position, the one not printed for public consumption in many cases. This happens to me with my wife. She would deny that an education (a real one, I mean) is discouraged, even though I'm a witness. I've been an elder and a pioneer! You can't fool me like you could a householder in the ministry. I've probably given many talks discouraging college. Witnesses can believe two contradictory ideas at once and explain each, as needed, as though the other didn't exist. This was eventually the last straw. I'm not capable anymore of such duplicity and I won't waste my breath with anyone so dishonest. (I don't really blame most individuals. I think they want to believe so badly that they can convince themselves of anything.)
• 

  JT

  Voltair

  says

  . Witnesses can believe two contradictory ideas at once and explain each, as needed, as though the other didn't exist.
  ----------

  yes the wonders of DOUBLE THINK DOUBLE SPEAK
• 

  NotBlind

  I totally agree! Just to add, though, in this area many JW's are obsessed with 'home-school', which, at least for JW's, is just another word for 'no school'. I guess they feel they're too good to be in a real school (and no, the Ministry School is NOT a 'real' school.) It's too bad the adults are too dumb to even help their middle school children with basic homework.

  NotBlind

  "Still in, but very aware..."
• 

  RunningMan

  I'm getting a little off topic, now, but I have to add this comment
  about home schooling.

  A family in my city with three boys, switched over to home
  schooling. One of the young girls in the cong asked one of
  the boys about the things they do for each subject.

  For field trips, they would go to the park accross the street,
  or in the field service. But best of all, for math, his answer
  was "We play the occasional game of Yahtzee."

  Needless to say, their experiment in home schooling went
  terribly wrong over the years. The boys got involved in drugs,
  flunked most of their standardized tests, and all ended up
  back in school, set back substantially.