Several months ago we had the visit of our C.O. and his Thursday night talked included rants covering several topics, with an especially long winded diatribe against "higher education". He is pretty good speaker , and his choice of illustrations seemed to win an emotional response from the audience that Ive never seen with regard to that subject.
He began the discussion with how concerned the governing body was with the decision some parents have made to send their kids to college. The very thought of this sent convulsions through the packed house. A division arose, with half of the attendees filling their lungs in a terrified gasp, while the other group evacuated their chests in a disappointed sigh. Both groups were united though in their disgust that Witnesses exist who would sacrifice their children to university.
Throughout the discussion, he made sure to include the disclaimer that " we arent making any rules, it is a family decision." Each time he said it , his face and tone took on a more derisive , sarcastic flavor. It was clear to all that this statement was an obligatory asterisk that was not intended to add ambiguity to his message.
Evidently, he had performed a study of sorts, that tracked 50 Witness youths that attended college. Of those 50, only 3 graduated with their spirituality intact! You can imagine the frantic respiratory activity of the friends upon hearing that little nugget.
This statistic provided a masterful segue into his illustration of how risky higher education is. He spoke of how , of the 2,224 aboard the Titanic, only 710 returned home safely. " You parents...do you like those odds? If I told you I had 2 tickets to the Titanic, would you buy them for your kids? What if they were half price? ...What if the tickets are free?"
The point did not fall on deaf ears. Higher education had been sufficiently vilified until his next visit. Of couse, " we arent making any rules, it is a family decision". Part of me wishes they would grow an ecclesiastical sack and just make college a df'ing offense.
My favorite fear-inspiring comment was that" a professor, in 5 minutes, can destroy what it took you 18 years to build."
Is the JW faith that flimsy?
Should I spend 18 years inculcating beliefs that can be unraveled in 5 minutes?
Is the message that the Creator of the universe is having preached worldwide one that can only survive if the student is insulated from any differing views?
The WT will always portray higher education as producing athiests, agnostics and apostates, not architects, attorneys and accountants.
IMO