How long will it be before no one over 18 becomes a jw?

by fullofdoubtnow 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  fullofdoubtnow

  I believe it will be sooner than many of us perhaps think, in the western world at least.

  I noticed in a thread the other day about baptism that the longest most people raised as jws waited to get baptised was the age of 18, and most got dipped well before that age. The last few assemblies I attended, just about all the baptismal candidates seemes to be young and even pre teen kids of jws who had been pressured into baptism by their parents and congregation elders. I can hardly remember the last person to come in to my old cong through being contacted in the field ministry, unless it's happened in the 18 months since I stopped attending, which I very much doubt. The last one I remember was in 2001, and she had become just about inactive when I left.

  Obviously, the wts must be aware of this lack of success in the ministry, and they must also be aware that there is little or nothing they can do about it. The few who might express any interest in what the jws have to offer these days only have to log on to the internet to investigate the religion for themselves. I would think that anyone doing so, and learning what it's really like to be a jw, would lose interest very quickly. No wonder the wts hate and fear the internet so much!

  I believe that in the very near future, any converts from the field service, particularly in the West, will dry up altogether, and the wts will be left with only the children of other jws to baptise. I have known kids as young as 8 or 9 being pressured into baptism by their parents, with the full support of their congregation elders and sometimes even the circuit overseer, and I am certain this trend will continue, with the pressure being exerted on even younger kids. Heck, they might be baptising them before they can even read soon. It's the only way they will be able to sustain any kind of growth, or more likely arrest the inevitable decrease the wts is likely to suffer over the next few years. They have always spoken against infant baptism, but I wouldn't put it past them to come up with some "new light" to make it ok to do that, if numbers really begin to fall.

  I doubt the wts will crumble altogether in my lifetime, much as I hope to see that happen, but I believe that in the next 10 years or so it will suffer a significant reduction in membership compared to the current membership figure.

  Linda
• 

  ButtLight

  but I believe that in the next 10 years or so it will suffer a significant reduction in membership compared to the current membership figure.

  I agree. I dont think too many new ones are joining, and they are loosing so many. Look at all the new ones just recently here!!!
• 

  jaguarbass

  I dont think that the Jw's ever set out to be just another religion or even a cult. I believe they had the best intentions and came up short. To me it is sad that their doesnt seem to be a God that communicates with mankind. And to me it appears that we are all on our own. When I grew up in the 50's and 60's there were only 3 tv channels in black and white most radio was fm. There was not a lot of informatioin out there, so if you got caught off the mainstream in a little eddy like the new world society, as my father, who was never a witness, god bless his soul, used to say "thats life." The jws are against information. I think other churches are also . If you get deep into a baptist church or pentecostal, they will keep you so busy working for the church and the kingdom that you wont have time to read any thing that might side track you. I would think many religions would have declining membership in the future. Unless the religion serves as a social gathering place with out a lot of restrictions, A place to cleanse your soul of the weeks sins and indescretions. When times are good people dont need religion. When times are bad they look to religion for answers.

  Perhaps a religion that is the antithesis of the jw's would go over. One where you can keep your toe on the line of safety with God if he exist, but where you can live your life as you want, if he doesnt.
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  reneeisorym

  As long as there are 3rd world countries without the internet, there will be adult baptisms.
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  fullofdoubtnow

  As long as there are 3rd world countries without the internet, there will be adult baptisms.

  I agree with you there Renee, but who knows if even these countries will have the internet in the next few years? Probably some of them won't, and the jws will continue to prosper to a degree there, but will that offset the almost inevitable losses they will suffer elsewher? I doubt it somehow. Even their hints that the "end" is very close hasn't brought the flood of new converts that it did when they ran their pre-1975 campaign in the 60's and early 70's.

  And I'm certain that their message will not have the same effect, even in the third world, that it did 20 or 30 years ago. The 1914 doctrine looks even more ridiculous and less believable with every passing year, but if they were to back away from that belief, they risk losing their credibilty, such as they have, with many of those that have been jws for years. I remember how disturbed many were at the 1995 generation change, and some left because of it. Any backing away from 1914 would likely produce the same effect, but one wonders just how long they can keep pushing the teaching before it is obvious even to the most diehard follower that there is something seriously amiss with it.

  They have nothing new to offer, just the same old crap they've been teaching for years.
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  reneeisorym

  who knows if even these countries will have the internet in the next few years

  They should get water first.
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  Save My Soul

  There will always be adults that have suffered some life-changing event that will be looking for A GOD to deliever them.

  (At that moment 6 months ago, Bro. Circuit Overseer, my doorbell rag and I started a bible study and I got baptized this morning)

  religion, any religion is there godsend.
• 

  moshe

  If you are ina third world country you have to take the WT claims at face value, unless you can read English and translate the old publications to see for yourself the history of the WT Society. Most of the old WT books were never translated into other languages. So if you speak Swahili you are at the mercy of the JW propaganda.- And they seem like such nice people.

  In the US and other western countries the KH halls will soon be getting boarded up in the areas of low population densities as they fall below the core number of JW's and elders needed to sustain a meeting structure and pay their bills.
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  IronClaw

  In the US and other western countries the KH halls will soon be getting boarded up in the areas of low population densities as they fall below the core number of JW's and elders needed to sustain a meeting structure and pay their bills.

  I cant wait to see this.

  The Claw
• 

  willyloman

  The Watchtower "brand" has a lot in common with cigarette use in the USA. Fifty years ago, the percentage of American adults who smoked was in the 40% range. Smoking was commonplace and tolerated in almost all public venues. Today, the percentage has dropped to less than 20% and it's against the law to smoke in almost every public place imaginable - or soon will be, based on current trends.

  The tobacco companies responded to the social and legal changes by shifting sales of their products to third world countries where cultural standards are different (or lower, if you prefer) and government regulations less restrictive or non-existent with regards to smoking in public. At the same time, tobacco companies began churning out "light" cigarettes so smokers could continue their habits and "feel" better about themselves.

  Dub baptisms have followed a parallel path, particularly in the past 10-15 years. The responsibility for increased converts has been shifted to third world countries. At the same time, dubs have relaxed their "no child baptisms" rule and now encourage 10 year olds to get dunked... it keeps the numbers up and the current dubs feeling better about things.

  In both arenas, the third world folks will eventually wise up and neither smoking nor JW baptisms will be at today's levels.