Question Box

● For which talks in the Theocratic Ministry School is the student to prepare a theme?

In the printed schedule “Theocratic Ministry School for 1970” suitable themes are provided for talk No. 2 and talk No. 5 each week. For instance, on the week of April 12 talk No. 2 has the theme “Jesus’ early life and baptism show God’s direction.” That same week talk No. 5 is on the theme “Are the Christian Bible writers reliable?”

However, the students assigned to give talks Nos. 1, 3 and 4, from “Aid to Bible Understanding,” usually select their own appropriate themes. Often the identification of these three talks in the printed schedule is merely a broad subject. For instance, a talk might be on the subject “Bethlehem,” but the word “Bethlehem” is hardly a descriptive theme. It does not aid the audience to determine and remember the specific point or aspect you intend to cover. Depending on the material to be developed, a talk on that subject might have the theme “A blessing for us came out of Bethlehem,” or “God foretold prominence for little Bethlehem.”

With some talks the printed schedule, in identifying the material, does narrow the subject somewhat (“Diseases and Treatment​—Accuracy of Scriptural Concepts, Quarantine”). In most cases it still would be best to analyze the material under the assigned subheadings and form a theme that gives the central idea you will present. With the subheadings “Accuracy of Scriptural Concepts” and “Quarantine” the theme might be a statement such as “The Bible’s information about diseases and treatment is accurate” or a question such as “Is the Bible a book of folklore?”

A theme helps to give direction to a talk It should express the gist of the talk, making the points memorable. There is an abundance of material for each talk from “Aid,” so, after noting the speech quality you are working on, you should: (1) Analyze the material. (2) Choose a theme that fits the points you want to present. (3) Develop your outline.