weird: passing around literature fragments in prison

by Magnum 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Apognophos

  I would just feel bad for the brother who was given a page which turned out to be an article on cheese-making. Can you imagine all the brothers reciting from memory the article they've been given during surreptitious meetings in prison?

  "--and that is why we can be confident that God's day of judgment is near. And then Romans 8:25 is cited at the end."

  "Thank you, Brother Adam. That was very strengthening, wasn't it? Okay, Brother Joe, let's have you go next."

  "..."

  "What's the matter, Joe, you've got your article memorized, right? Well, go on..."

  "M--most people never think about where the cheese in their local grocery store's dairy aisle comes from. *sigh* Well, let's take a tour of a traditional cheese-making plant in Venezuela..."
• 

  RedhorseWoman

  Cheese making...LOL...or how about "How to Paper Train Your Puppy." Those are definitely spiritually upbuilding, for sure!
• 

  Magnum

  AnnOMaly:

  I don't think it's weird. The fragments being smuggled in would only contain what was deemed faith-strengthening or doctrinally important. The act of taking great risks to smuggle in this stuff gives the message:

  - Jehovah/the Org. has not forgotten you;

  - Keep your resolve to serve Jehovah/the Org;

  - We're sticking it to the 'man' who bans us and our preaching and even locking us up won't stop us, so nyah!

  'Dissident' groups of all flavors have done similarly when being oppressed and imprisoned.

  They could send such a message by simply writing a note and saying such. Wouldn't that be more personal? Wouldn't that be more effective than smuggling in an article written by somebody thousands of miles away who doesn't even know they're imprisoned?

  Also, one of the main reasons I say it's weird is that they pass around this fragment and read it over and over as if it has some supernatural quality to it - as if it's feeding them. If their God is so powerful, why can't he sustain them with his so-called holy spirit? It makes no sense to me that a piece of cheap paper with some writing on it could be so important and be treated in such a way. It's almost like idolatry.

  And as to your first point, "The fragments being smuggled in would only contain what was deemed faith-strengthening or doctrinally important", the stories I remember don't indicate that someone specifically chose a part of a magazine that he thought would be appropriate. It was more like they just came across or happened to get a mag or a page or two of one, so the material could have been about anything.
• 

  cult classic

  Those stupid prison -persecution stories serve one main purpose:

  To guilt those not imprisoned or actively being persecuted into appreciating "Jehovah's loving provisions" by regular attending meetings and partaking of all the wonderful "spiritual food" given in the form of WT literature.

  PS - One of my uncles has a prison route. He acts like he's back in the 60's/70s during the Vietnam war.

  eta: I'm not saying that those imprisoned were stupid. They were deceived. WT only cared about them insomuch as it served to drum up the persecution complex among the JWs.
• 

  Phizzy

  Smiddy has reminded me about an "experience" given in a Yearbook where the Gestapo looked in to a room where a German Bro was and did not seem to see him, so he was not arrested.

  Wonderful, the Angels blinded them, so the Bro was able to ..................

  I actually met the said Bro at a Convention held near Germany in the mid '60's. He laughed about the way the Yearbook told his expereince because he did not put it down to anything supernatural, he said when they glanced in to the room he was shaving at the time, and as he did not panic, they must have thought this guy is not who we are looking for.

  The yearbook did not say how he continued to use his angel provided freedom, he went and gave himself up at the local police station, because he was fearful the Gestapo would say he was a spy and would have him executed. The regular German police dealt with him according to law, nothing supernatural there.
• 

  Band on the Run

  It makes sense to me. I have scripture fragments hanging in my home as art. Many people write down motivational quotes. I had Desiderata and rock group lyrics in high school.
• 

  AnnOMaly

  They could send such a message by simply writing a note and saying such. Wouldn't that be more personal? Wouldn't that be more effective than smuggling in an article written by somebody thousands of miles away who doesn't even know they're imprisoned?

  But a handwritten note could've been written by anyone. Official writing from 'mother' would have more weight. I remember visiting Selters bethel once. One of the many things they had on display from the Nazi era was a matchbox containing a part of one of Rutherford's books in miniature form, specially printed so it could be smuggled into the camps. It was pretty cute. To think that the Org. had not forgotten them would also have greater psychological impact, and yes, of course Brooklyn knew the JWs were being imprisoned!

  If their God is so powerful, why can't he sustain them with his so-called holy spirit? It makes no sense to me that a piece of cheap paper with some writing on it could be so important and be treated in such a way. It's almost like idolatry.

  You don't get the same feeling of solidarity or comradeship without human contact.

  And as to your first point, "The fragments being smuggled in would only contain what was deemed faith-strengthening or doctrinally important", the stories I remember don't indicate that someone specifically chose a part of a magazine that he thought would be appropriate. It was more like they just came across or happened to get a mag or a page or two of one, so the material could have been about anything.

  That's not the impression I got from stories I heard, but your experience may well be different

  Phizzy - Funny story! LOL.
• 

  LoisLane looking for Superman

  How I heard it, someone would get something smuggled in page by page or less often, one (1) whole magazine and it would get copied down so more people could 'benefit' from the 'spiritual riches' coming from the zealots of Brooklyn.

  I recall one experience told about Eastern Europe, where sister's would bring walnuts in a basket to the JW prisoners in jail. (Obviously, where this was allowed). The top ones were real in case the guard helped himself. The bottom ones had been carefully opened with their meat extracted and a page from a Watchtower tightly rolled up, stuffed in, and the two shells glued back carefully together.

  LL

  PS I appreciate this topic so I can clean that corner of my brain out from worthless information.
• 

  kaik

  Generally what I heard during Czechoslovakia from elders who were imprisoned during Stalinist years, there was never really smuggled entire magazine, but rather extract of informations like what verses to debate, etc. Some elders we had were in forced labor camps in the 1950's and felt entitled on truth and how much the sufferred for the faith and lived on several biblical verses passed from the Mother in Brooklyn. It is unlikely that people would be able to smuggle entire print although it was possible if you bribe someone. First there was not enough publications, we had to share. Any smuggling would require tearing up the magazines. So the information were passed by form of letters, small notes, and extract from WT. It would not be much different from note exchange that was used by imprisoned Catholic clergy, or by dissidents within communist party. Pretty much all these information are well documented and available in the DoJ archives in most of the Eastern Europe.
• 

  Apognophos

  Phizzy: Wow, I remember that story well if I'm thinking of the right one. It had sounded in the story like he was standing the whole time in the same room as the Gestapo man.