Because Jehovah told the GB to end it no questions!!!!
What really ended the book study in private homes?
by Alfred 82 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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sir82
All throughout my JW history, despite all the comments about "peach cobbler" and "good association", the CBS was by far the worst attended meeting out of the 5 each week.
I think a lot of people just couldn't be bothered with the idea of making the effort to get dressed up and go out for "just" one hour, especially after a stressful day at work or with the kids (or both).
I think they may have just pulled the plug and declared victory, as they have done in the past several years with reducing the Awake to a once-a-month edition, ending the pioneer assist others program, ending missionary training, ending food service at assemblies, etc.
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OUTLAW
Regardless of whatever the reason, it sure was shocking when it was announced....NRFG
It blew us Old School JW`s away..The Book Study..Gone?..
It`s something I never could have imagined..
The fear of not attending the book study,was drilled into us from Childhood..
One day the book study in a private JW home was no longer life saving or important?..
It was done away with,just like everything else the WBT$ used to preach..
It`s all Bullshit..
..................;-)...OUTLAW
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steve2
JWs are saying, "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Be quiet otherwise they might start them again". Subtext: One more meeting-free night to chill out.
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MrMonroe
Although the Book Study "arrangement" (aaarrrgh! Those words!) finished a few months after I quit meetings entirely, it still greatly surprised me. It was the meeting I was most likely to attend, though overall in our congregation it was the meeting that was least supported.
It reminds me of the old Cold War-era obsession with "Kremlin-watching", in which diplomats and news media used to interpret the statements and actions of the USSR: the Russians would do something and offer an explanation, but the experts knew the real reason was something else, so their job was to figure out the true purpose of a decision made in Moscow. Likewise the WTBTS: as a member you came to know that their explanations for decisions usually shielded the real reason. It was standard practice in congregations for people to speculate (quietly) on the real motivation. It was no real surprise when it turned out that the organisation had sided with Jimmy Swaggart's evangelical holy-roller group in a court battle over taxation around the time they stopped selling their books and magazines in 1990. Yet they never, ever, ever came out and said so in their magazines. That's quite a condemnation of an organisation that is supposedly open and Christian and in which everyone ie equal.
The choices offered in the opening post are intriguing. It struck me at the time that after so many years of poor attendance, the meetings were simply abandoned as an admission that they were flogging a dead horse and that elders were putting in extra effort for no real gain. But it is so out of character for the WTS to simply give up. I don't know any other arrangement they have that they've just abandoned because of lack of interest; I mean, what next, scrap field service?
They would know that very few people would actually have a Family Worship Night, so effectively they are just handing back free time to the brothers, which carries an enormous risk that without repeated indoctrination, more will just drift away.
Maybe the real answer comes down to the adage that given the choice between a conspiracy and a cock-up, such intrigues are almost always a cock-up. In their Bethel Bubble the GB really thought people would embrace Family Worship Night.
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lola-rabbit
Book study was great the perfect setting for adultery and sadly, child abuse.
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hamsterbait
For many years the Sevice meeting was full of items about this VITAL spiritual provision. They also admitted that the bookstudy was the worst attended of all the meetings scheduled.
Years of chivvying made no difference, so they got rid of it to hide their failure.
And all the above reasons already mentioned.
HB
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dreamgolfer
in our old congregation the local families started to charge $5 a head and they were worried this might continue state wide. Many of the homeowners thought by doing this he had enough coming from the BS on a weekly basis to quit window washing and paper routes and thus full time pioneer.
3 years gone, I bet they are all still bummed when they shut the BS down, now he has to climb that dang ladder again and wake up at 3 am to bust windows with his papers.
Oh how they must long for the good ole days.
sheesh when will the persecution stop!
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NoRegrets
To me, I remember the book study coming as close to critical thinking as we ever did. The small, intimate setting allowed for a little more liberal discussion than the big meetings. I do remember the amount of material scheduled to be covered seemed to increase over the years leaving less time for elaboration. Maybe aside from opportunities for overt "apostate" discussions, the book study simply allowed for personal perspectives which could unwash the publisher's brains just a little......
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Found Sheep
I never heard of people charging!!! cheep!!!