WTS Official Spin on monthly Awake: 'More emphasis on the Bible!'

by Neo 87 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  JeffT

  When this was first discussed I made the point that I think they are going to be using the Awake for public consumption and the WT will become an internal publication. In this scenario the Awake will have articles about bible prophecy and discussion, etc; and the WT will have all the crap fine spiritual food about disfellowshipping, shunning, staying close to the org etc.

  It will help them hide their true nature from the public. The comments about the WT being for the "little flock" could be used to support this.
• 

  steve2

  We make fun of the Awake, but as a religious publication it's pretty benign. And not much more biased than your evening news.

  Good observation. Equally, have you noticed how dumbed down the JW literature has become over the years? The Awake! articles, expecially. An interesting comparison could be made between the content of the Awake in 1965 and 2005.

  Present day articles seem cobbled together from various sources, with a brief and obligatory "Let's thank the Creator" line or two tacked on at the end. And those ridiculous catch-your-attention question titles on the cover? Irritating to the extreme. And, really, in recent years, they've been going overboard with cute pictures of children and animals. I much preferred it when the magazine was gutsier and harder-hitting in content.

  The other day, I glanced through a 7th-Day Adventist magazine (Signs of the Times). I predict that this is the direction in which the Awake! is headed. Innocuous articles extolling the virtues of good clean living, and praising the wisdom of the Bible. Safe, bland and ultimately interchangeable in content.

  The trouble with end-times religions is they grow old and then have to face the fact that the members are kind of getting bored waiting for the end. We all know what happens when people start fiddling...
• 

  funkyderek

  And so they inform the Witnesses that the Awake will become a monthly magazine and that there will be a considerable simplification in the preparation, translation and shipping of the publications

  As I prophesied, so it has come to pass

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/83364/1382061/post.ashx#1382061
• 

  metatron

  You guys have some excellent analysis going here. Besides the obvious cutbacks, we may be seeing a desperate

  strategy emerging.

  Some of the latest KM's suddenly emphasize lots of door to door presentations - instead of the simple, robotic repetition

  of what ever gets printed on the back of the KM, word for word.

  They may have developed a fantasy wherein they revive the organization by dumping the 'animals and flowers' filled

  Awake magazine and "emphasizing" the Bible. Such a self deception may appease the ultra conservative faction

  that would otherwise object to the decline of the Awake, as well as deceive gullible publishers , eager to deny that

  their glorious organization has fallen on hard times.

  "Emphasizing" the Bible is going to be a no-win move in the age of the internet, besides the fact that the Bible

  is leaving popular Western culture.

  metatron
• 

  steve2

  "Emphasizing" the Bible is going to be a no-win move in the age of the internet, besides the fact that the Bible

  is leaving popular Western culture.

  I find it interesting that in all that the KM says about the once-a-month only Awake!, there appears to be no overt reference to how deep into the time of the end we are (I hope the rough translation was correct about this!). Instead, there are statements about more 'Biblical emphasis' and about 'the kingdom'. So, it seems even the good old KM has become more moderate in its assertions about the late stage into the last days. I'd like to know, given that I haven't actually read the content of the March KM, whether my assumption is correct about no mention of how near we are to the end.
• 

  Big Tex

  but I rarely even looked at the WT until I was hunting for it to study. Most of the time I seldom looked at the other articles unless they were particularly eye-catching.

  I know several active JWs who are exactly like you sunspot. I wonder if WTS knows how few people actually read their magazines.

  Chris
• 

  xjw_b12

  I suspect they will print double the quantity of the monthy issue, in order to keep the circulation numbers at least close to par, otherwise their annual report is going to take a very big hit, both in magazines palces and return visits.
• 

  biffy923

  Couldn't you just get a copy off their website http://www.watchtower.org/. I mean it wouldn't be a hard copy but it would have the article.
• 

  blondie

  biffy, the WTS does not post their current magazines on their website; only older stuff. If you want the current magazines you have to go to the KH and ask the brother behind the counter if you can have them; or get them delivered to your home by a JW.
• 

  Nosferatu

  Yeah, I'll bet the publishers' placements will drop big time. Also, having only one Awake and two Watchtowers will screw up everyone's RVs.

  Pub Dub: Here, I brought you the latest magazines

  HH: I already have those ones (seeing the Awake on top)

  Pub Dub: Oh shit, sorry

  JWs hate looking like idiots. They probably won't be making as many RVs so they don't look "unorganized" at the door.

  Also, if the Awake is going to be more bible-based, they won't be as easy to place. "There's a good article in here about how Jehovah is going to destroy you at Armageddon if you don't take this magazine"

  For the poster (sorry, I forgot your name) who said the Awake is easier to read without force, I must agree. It's also a great way to get those damn Watchtowers into the householder's hands. The way I was looking at it was the already large burden of reading the JWs are supposed to do. Who would want to add the Awake and even the Yearbook to the pile? Also, why don't they use the Yearbook at the Book Study instead of studying the same damn books all the time? I think the yearbook would go over quite well.