The magazines didn't used to be so dumb and boring

by Lore 28 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  NewChapter

  I remember being interested at first. A few even had some interesting writing. But as the years passed, it was all the same. I would anxiously open the article expecting some little gem that would excite me. That happened less and less. It got to where I couldn't even finish an article anymore they were so mind numbingly boring. Regarding it being the same as a college education--no. No one ever graduated from first grade.

  And the few times they did get interesting or deep, everyone walked around panicked and confused. "This lesson was sooo deep! I barely understood it. I had to read it four times! I still don't understand it." It was like a bunch of babies, only they were adults. Everyone hated the book on Daniel, it was too deep and hard to understand. How many times did they have to study Revelation Climax? Yet they STILL complained. The 2 Isaiah's prophecy books were absolutely unreadable. My eyes would glaze over. I started missing those book studies.

  I did like Daniel's prophecy though. There was quite a bit of history in it. It was probably skewed, but history still interested me. It made everyone else stamp their feet. It's not all inaccurate history either. I remember an exam question I hadn't really studied for, (I always got A's, but sometimes she'd throw in a zinger) but it had been something covered in the Daniel book. It was an essay question and I simply retold it as I had learned at bookstudy. I got full credit and the comment Excellent with the reaffirming "!" . So it wasn't completely without value. This was college last fall.

  I wasn't in danger of that happening too often. The R&F couldn't handle it. Who can blame them? They are exhausted and stretched beyond what a human can do. Making them think is just cruel.

  NC
• 

  nugget

  I think the problem is that after decades of conditioning and restricting higher forms of education the rank and file are not up to reading more challenging material. Articles have to be very basic otherwise the congregation is left behind and unable to process the lesson.
• 

  aligot ripounsous

  I guess one could precisely link the erosion of the mags writing quality to the death of Harry PELOYAN, once a heavy weight within the WTS writing department
• 

  sir82

  How those paragraphs would be written today:

  See Gideon. See his 300 men. See the horns. See the jars.

  Blow men, blow! Break jars, break!

  Lots of noise. Everybody wicked dies. Jehovah's side wins.

  Win Jehovah, win!

  How good it is to be like Gideon, and avoid Facebook, the internet, and porn. Yayy for our side!
• 

  Broken Promises

  LOL @ Sir82
• 

  truthsetsonefree

  I think there may have been somewhat talented individuals who have left, couldn't take the cultish ways, some may have passed on. Now what's left are the drones who can't bring out that creative writing. I noticed this when I was in some years ago.

  Isaac
• 

  Gayle

  Before the Internet they could say just about anything they wanted,,but Internet does a "spotting" on it right away,,they could say alot about Catholics,,lot of U.N.,,could supposedly quote in part scientists and other sources, but now researchers can get to that source for accurateness and people can spot on the WTs bias and misquotes. Their literature is easily 'copy and pasted' and archived and not hidden away after some years like they did in times past.

  Assemblies with talks are taped, and talks of circuit overseers, district overseers, and bazaar talks from some Ciro Aulicino, other Bethelites and even talks and YouTube videos of even the Governing Body..

  They are nervous,,getting afraid to say stupid things more and more so now, and say less and less. But they still come up with crazy enough stuff like "overlapping" generation(s).
• 

  steve2

  I agree: There has been an appalling dumbing down of the Watchtower publications. One of the most rivetting books I ever read as a prepubescent child was the book that came out in the (mid?) 1960s entitled God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached. For all the BS in its several hundred meaty pages, it also contained a lot of history. It was well written and - believe it or not - very excitingly told with pretty graphic drawings (usually showing what Jehovah's rage was capable of accomplishing). Astute posters will recall it was this shameless tome that promoted the slyly clever notion linking the mid-1970s with the culmination of 6,000 years of human existence. Far-fetched and manipulative, yes; but a story well told. Freddie Franz was narcissistic and could write well about arcane bible prophecy.

  After this book was released at an assembly in 1966, I spent long nights reading it and throughly enjoyed it. An aunt joked that if I wasn't careful I'd study my way out of "the truth". She was closer to the mundane truth thanshe knew.

  Yes, today's Watchtower publications are written with a child's reading age in mind, highly patronizing, repeatedly labor the same points and inducie the lovely escape of sleep.......
• 

  godrulz

  I have read quotes from the older literature (like the 1980s article on tacking of sailboats that tried to justify WT errors/changes and relying on WT, not Bible. It is relative within WT, but if more JWs were exposed to the wealth of Christian literature, they would start to wonder who really is divinely directed.