Thinkers? No, Thanks!

by VM44 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  VM44

  Thinkers? No, Thanks!

  Norman Hovland

  To most of us it is of course quite obvious why the Watchtower Society prefer their "faithful" to have as little education as possible, but it is still very rare to see this expressed so blunt and honest as here:

  "In the world, there is a tendency to reject leadership. As one lecturer said: "The rising education level has improved the talent pool such that followers have become so critical that they are almost impossible to lead." But a spirit of independent thinking does not prevail in God's organization, and we have sound reasons for confidence in the men taking the lead among us." (The Watchtower, September 15, 1989, p. 23, §13)

  Imagine that! Education promotes critical thinking and makes people so smart that they stop to blindly follow their hypocritical religious or political leaders. And thinking people are (gasp, choke) "almost impossible to lead"!
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  VM44

  I was able to find the source of the quote that The Watchtower used. Tomorrow I will post it here.
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  designs

  The weekly warning shot to all Witnesses- Don't get any ideas of making changes...We alone will tell you what to think and believe.
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  3Mozzies

  Nice find VM44

  What a bunch of control freaks!

  3Mozzies
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  VM44

  The original source for the quote that The Watchtower used was an article published in the August 6, 1979 issue of Time magazine.

  The articles title was "A Cry for Leadership," and the quotation itself may be read online at:

  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948730-1,00.html

  Here is what The Watchtower quoted in the contex of the surrounding paragraphs.

  By one of the great ironies in American history, the rising level of education in the U.S. has at once improved the talent pool from which leaders are drawn and made followers so critical that they are often impossible to lead.Says Economist John Kenneth Galbraith: "When the House of Representatives consisted of machine Democrats from the North and semiliterate farmers from the South, and you came to a question of foreign policy, they yearned to be led. Now you have a House where everyone is a college graduate, and most have advanced degrees. And every one of them feels superior to whoever is President." The same is true of constituents. Says New York Labor Mediator Theodore Kheel: "Now everybody knows as much as their leaders. They aren't willing to believe in 'secret plans' for ending wars or solving problems." (Once again, the almost atavistic appeal of Ted Kennedy contradicts the trend. His followers are willing to trust Kennedy in an old-fashioned way, even though they might actually disagree with his programs, or be ignorant of them.)
  
  At the same time, the general level of critical intelligence and intense watchfulness means that leaders cannot creatively manipulate circumstances as easily, either for good or ill, as they did in the past. A political operator of genius, like Lyndon Johnson, would sink into depressed impotence under such restraints—as at last Johnson did.
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  VM44

  The Watchtower writes "As one lecturer said", but the quotation is from a Time magazine cover article, not from a lecturer!

  Also, The Watchtower altered the words slightly.

  Original:

  "...the rising level of education in the U.S. has at once improved the talent pool from which leaders are drawn and made followers so critical that they are often impossible to lead."

  Watchtower:

  "The rising education level has improved the talent pool such that followers have become so critical that they are almost impossible to lead."
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  VM44

  The Watchtower writer simply "adjusted" the original sentence to make it fit better what he wanted to say!
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  InterestedOne

  OMG. Change the words and say a "lecturer" said them. Ugh. Thank you for looking at this closely. As you noted, they subtly change the tone of what the original author was saying. Are there more examples of this type of thing in current WT literature, or have they wisened up?
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  clarity

  Vm44, thanks for your 'digging' work. Awsome!

  Watchtower is losing it's credibility bigtime. Brick by brick.

  "..a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.......and it caved in and it's collapse was great."

  clarity