Have any of you asked your JW family why they started the kool-aid edition?

by serenitynow! 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  serenitynow!

  I mean really asked why after all these years they don't want the public to see the study articles?

  Has anyone ever challenged a JW to give the private WT to "worldly" people?

  I've asked my mom why they have the private edition and she gave me some crap about not having to explain terms or teachings to worldly people, then she kind of blew me off like it wasn't an important issue. Of course I know that they don't want outsiders reading them because they have really been writing some over-the-top cultish stuff lately. If I encounter some JWs I wonder if posing questions about the two sets of information could get them to question.

  Has anyone tried this?
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  undercover

  I like the name "the Kool Aid Edition"... and I know that this edition is meant primarily for JWs to use for the WT Study.

  They've admitted that they due this to be able to use phrases and words familiar to dubs but would confuse outsiders, which to read between the lines means that they're loading up the articles with some good cult propaganda.

  What I've never really understood though is how at times some ex-JWs or anti-JWs claim that these are secret and no one in the public is allowed to have them.

  While they're not offered door-to-door and even some overly strict elder bodies have restricted to who can be given one, it doesn't really matter. They're free to download from the WTS' own website. Anyone can go there and download it. It's not secret...it's not even private, technically speaking. It's just not offered...but if one wants it bad enough you can get it.
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  serenitynow!

  The thing is though, what HH is going to go looking for it? On the off chance that a HH actually reads the mags JWs place, the WT does not want unindoctrinated minds to see what they really teach. I would love to get distribute the private edition to "worldly" people and see what would happen.
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  simon17

  The answer is pretty obvious: Its a tremendous money-saving arrangement, and one that makes a lot more sense than what they used to do. Now they only need to print 3 WTs a month instead of 4 so right away they cut 25% of their costs. Plus the study edition is a lot less "fancy" in terms of pictures, etc so that is probably easier too. They really should have done that a long time ago IMO.
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  undercover

  what HH is going to go looking for it? On the off chance that a HH actually reads the mags JWs place, the WT does not want unindoctrinated minds to see what they really teach. I would love to get distribute the private edition to "worldly" people and see what would happen.

  True, the WTS doesn't want people to see the "real dirt" of their teachings until it's too late.

  Here's the beauty of the Internet though... you don't have to distribute the Kool-Aid version to warn outsiders. Outsiders have instant access to all the dirt about JWs as close as their nearest Internet connection. If a person is reached in field service and is intrigued by the WT mag given him/her, odds are in a technologically advanced nation, this person will google "Jehovah's Witnesses". Any normal person after seeing the tons of info on this wacky cult is going to say, "Whoa... I don't need this shit. Think I'll give em a pass." They don't even need to read the Kool-Aid version...they'll see it pretty darn quick after reviewing just a few websites.

  I think we do the most damage to WT recruiting by continuing to talk about JW issues and exposing their scandals and screwy teachings on-line. It keeps the negative issues about the JWs/WTS at the top of the search page when someone searches.
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  Black Sheep

  It is available on the net now, so while they might not actually place them in the hands of hhs, we can no longer accuse them of having a 'secret' edition.

  I got my shots in while it was still 'secret'. I wouldn't bother now. There are better issues to target.
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  Mad Sweeney

  You can still use the Kool-Aid edition as a tool, just not with the "secret" angle.

  There is an expression, "speaking out of both sides of your mouth," which implies saying different things to different people...hypocrisy. Why would an organization of "truth" need to speak one type of language to members and a different type of language to the public? What kind of organizations typically have such internal groupspeak?
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  unshackled

  Anyone mind filling me on this public and "private" versions of the WT? I left about 10 years ago, and the setup was 2 Watchtowers per month...with the study articles in those.What are they doing now? Thanks.
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  serenitynow!

  Unshackled, the study articles are no longer in the regular WT. They put like 10 study articles together in one issue. Those are supposed to go only to active JWs/people who go to the KH. It seems to me that since they stopped giving the study articles to the public that the info has become more hard-core cultish.

  Congrats on being out 10 years. Welcome.
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  LostGeneration

  Unshackled, they offer one mag to the public, no study articles at all. The other mag is still called "watchtower" It has either 4 or 5 study articles per edition. The front is the same design every month, though they do rotate the colors - they all seem to be different shades of vomit. maybe someone here can post a pic of what the covers look like