Do they read the paragraph before or after asking the questions?

by james_woods 22 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • james_woods
    james_woods

    I used to be the WT study conductor back in the 1970s. The way I remember it, we asked the question first, got several comments, and then read the paragraph. If we were running long on the hour time, I would sometimes just read the last few paragraphs.

    Something I read here made me think that this had been reveresed - i.e. that they now read the paragraph first, then do the questions and comments after?

    Just wondering - (or did I just get this wrong or dream it up?)

  • Hortensia
    Hortensia

    this reminds me of how dumbed down everything is - I can't believe I didn't run screaming from the KH from sheer boredom

    Answer the question from the paragraph, then read the paragraph, oh so boring

    I would only go back to a KH to raise hell, never ever to sit there again like a prisoner

  • NomadSoul
    NomadSoul

    Last time I remember they read the paragraph then the questions.

  • james_woods
    james_woods
    Last time I remember they read the paragraph then the questions.

    That's what I thought I read here a while back. Subtly telling the congregation that the paragraph (what the watchtower says) is of primary importance over their comments. Or, maybe they finally realized that only about 10% of the JWs had read the paragraphs before the WT study.

  • Lore
    Lore

    When they cover the daily text in the morning (Which I believe they've stopped doing) they would ask questions and comment on it before reading the daily text.

    Could that be what you're thinking of?

  • james_woods
    james_woods
    When they cover the daily text in the morning (Which I believe they've stopped doing) they would ask questions and comment on it before reading the daily text.
    Could that be what you're thinking of?

    No, Watchtower study and the former book study they had in peoples homes. IIRC, they previously (1960s & 1970s) asked the questions first and then read the paragraph - but some are saying this has been reversed now.

  • snakeface
    snakeface

    The whole time I was in, we'd read the paragraphs, then ask the questions. However on the casettes tapes of the Wt (in the 1990's) the reader would first read the question but not expect an answer (so that the listener would know what to be looking for in the paragraph), then he'd read the paragraph, then he'd ask the question afterward and allow for an answer.

  • NomadSoul
    NomadSoul

    Oh yeah, they did that on the daily text if there was not much people present I believe.

    And you're right James Wood, I didn't see the point of reading the entire paragraph since you were supposed to done that at home. I can see why it got boring pretty fast.

  • InterestedOne
    InterestedOne

    I recently stopped attending, but during my experience with the JW's over the past year, everything (meaning WT study, cong book study, and my own personal "What Does the Bible Really Teach?" study) was in the format of - read the paragraph first, then ask the question.

  • St George of England
    St George of England

    All Q & A items are dealt with the same way, read the paragraph then ask the question. It has been this way for many years now. I think the reason is as james_woods suggested that few JW's pre-study.

    In the 'old days', reading the paragraph first and then asking the question at say a Bible study was considered to be very bad form and said to be getting the student into bad habits from the outset.

    At our WTS even using this method it is very difficult to get people to answer, even elders and MS's sit there and never utter a word. Just the same few read the answers each week.

    George

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