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Reasons for Imitate Bk. Pīnyīn, etc. Material

2014–12–12

• Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
• Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.
  • Worldly Chinese education and culture in general tend to condition people to follow the herd and work for the group, rather than to think much about their own hearts, feelings, beliefs, etc. (Of course, worldly Western culture has its own forms of groupthink, and it can also at times go to the other extreme, encouraging excessive self-centeredness.)
• The Imitate book helps people realize the Bible talks about zhēnrén-zhēnshì (real people, real events), not just chōuxiàng ideas.
• This builds faith, which a Bible student needs to go beyond mere head knowledge and take action.
• It’s downright cinematic at times, dramatic and moving and insightful about human nature the way really good movies, etc. are.
  • The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
• The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.
• In the letter from the GB in the Imitate book, it says that that book will be used in the CBS.
• The above, along with the fact that there are currently no official or unofficial proofread Pīnyīn, etc. files for the Imitate book, provide strong reasons for producing Pīnyīn & Pīnyīn-English material for the Imitate book.

Update, 2015–06–26

• It has been officially announced in the June 2015 km that the Imitate book will be considered at the CBS, starting the week of October 19, 2015.
• There are now official Pīnyīn and Sidney Lau PDF files for the Imitate book on jw.org. However, there are currently no official Pīnyīn or Sidney Lau files that are in mobile-friendly web or EPUB formats, or that provide English, etc. ruby text.
• Unofficial Pīnyīn and Sidney Lau Imitate book mobile-friendly web and EPUB material with English ruby text has begun to become available.
• For a list of official and unofficial Chinese field resources for the Imitate book, go to tiandi.info/ia.