The Watchtower Society has mastered the art of how to sell books. Unlike authors who believe that to sell non-fiction books they must be well-written and well-documented, the WTS has concluded that to sell books of fiction they must be presented as books of non-fiction and be constantly replaced with new books of fiction presented as books of non-fiction. Judging from the collective writings of Joe Rutherford and Fred Franz, it is obvious the WTS doesn?t believe any of its books have to be well written OR well documented. Finally, each WTS book has to be zealously promoted as being from the mouth of God himself.
The WTS has a rich heritage of shamelessly promoting a book to be the definitive and conclusive authority on subjects, only to have the view on those subjects radically change in future books on the same subjects.
If the WTS had truly produced a library of books which WAS definitive and conclusive, they would not need to produce any more books. In short, they would be out of business.
In recent years, the WTS has lost its once-fertile imagination. In other words, they may have run out of new shit to make up anymore. The new books are merely cut-and-paste versions of material from older books and their membership is beginning to notice that fact. Why buy a new book when an older book contains the same stuff? Perhaps that is why the WTS has figured out that in this case, the only way to sell more books is to make CHEAP books that fall apart very quickly. If they can?t get planned obsolescence through doctrinal changes and new material to present, why not get it by producing books that don?t last much longer than a Sunday newspaper that is out in the sun every day?
Which brings me to this: doncha just kinda miss the good old days of Freddie, when every summer you could count on new and wacky shit to brighten up the otherwise dreary assemblies?
But I think (had I lived back then), the good old days of Da Judge would have even been more exciting. Consider the book ?The Finished Mystery.? Now THAT was some book! Unfortunately, the WTS bound that book to last a long, long time, much to their chagrin. They?ve learned better since then. Perhaps slow-acting disappearing ink will be their latest addition to their printing process.
Consider what was said about the Finished Mystery back in 1917:
?The Scriptures show that it must be published?none other than the Lord himself has served us with the truth of Ezekiel and Revelation?Is not the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel which the Lord has used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning of the harvest period?? ? Watchtower Reprints 4/1/1919, p 6414.
Brother Rutherford who according to the ?Proclaimers? book was a 'harsh but humble man' (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!) publicly thanked God and Christ for his part in printing that book when he said, ?which the people in the centuries to come will read with deep interest and profit and will give God the glory.? ? Watchtower Reprints, 6/1/1920, p. 169
However, a mere 11 years later that book lost its lofty status. Either that, or Jehovah changed His mind about what the Revelation actually meant. Why? Rutherford had NEW crap to sell, that?s why!
?Prior to 1930 there never was a satisfactory explanation of The Revelation published.? ? ?Light I,? 1939, p. 5-6.
A decade earlier Rutherford was thanking God for his part in a book that now "never had a satisfactory explanation of the Revelation."
The Finished Mystery book, which was to be read for ?centuries?, was soon outdated. Those who would not read and believe the book before it became outdated were condemned and disfellowshipped. Those who did read and believe it after it became outdated were also disfellowshipped. This according to both the Dawn Bible Students Assoc. and the Epiphany Bible Students Assn. Journal.
Let's not forget what's happened since then, either. 1963 brought us "Babylon the Grape Has Fallen," 1988 brought us "Revelation - I'm Having a Grand Climax" and that all time classic, "Then is Finished, the Misery of God."
THAT, folks, is how you sell books!
Farkel
