Will JWs leave the org because of accelerated doctrine change?

by cultswatter 27 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  moshe

  Worldwide Church of God [hope I have the name correct] commented on the church's official apology regarding doctrinal error. That admission wrought a massive walkout - was it some 50 to 60 percent?

  And why wouldn't they leave after changing their doctrines to be very close to orthodox Christianity. They had a onerous tithing system and met in rented facilities. Why pay 15% of your income to be meet in a gym and hear scripted WWCG talks given by a layman elder type, WHEN you could join a real church with programs, fellowship, childcare, preschool, youth groups, a real professional clergy staff and a nice building you own for a cost of say 1/3 the WWCG was charging you to be one of them.

  It surprises me that they retained as many as they did. The WWCG members did not work as hard at antagonizing and ridiculing the churches as JW's have, so it will be much harder for JW's to walk out of a KH and join a church , if the WT should ever become more orthodox in it's teachings.
• 

  compound complex

  Thank you, Moshe....

  I appreciate your filling in the gaps and bringing up logical conclusions that I hadn't drawn myself. I agree that most departing JWs would not be likely to join any church, though some have. There are notable differences in the two faiths, so I guess we cannot necessarily expect identical results or consequences even if similar circumstances might occur.
  Thanks again.

  CoCo
• 

  Saru

  Flyin High, I was thinking back to when I was a child. We were dirt poor. The catholic church gave us boxes of food with no questions asked other than, "what else can we do for you?" My dad was unemployed and mom was working as motel maid with 4 kids. They helped pay for the light bill so that we could have electricity, without any expectation in return. The first time any of us kids got to go to an amusement park(6flags) the church provided the tickets, food & transportation. We felt like "normal kids" for once, instead of the poor kids that had to sleep on the floor. So yes, there are real christian religions that do provide assistance to ANY persons in need, regardless of your race or religion.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  My biggest reason for becoming dissillusioned with the org was the lack of genuine love and downright coldheartedness toward those in need. I did have some problems with God's need to kill billions instead of patiently drawing them to him with love. I didn't like the way the WT applied every Bible verse to themselves or the annointed. I could see that the Revelation book was pretty farfetched, too. I remember thinking, "Where do they come up with this stuff really?" It all seemed so fanciful and self serving.

  Saru, how wonderful that the church helped you to feel more joy and normalcy as a child. My grandson Julian said earlier this year, "Nanna, for some reason, I feel like I am a really big part of this church." He serves as an acolyte/altar boy. Everyone says he does it with a natural majesty and dignity. They all love him and dote on him. Mickey, our five year old also loves St. Mark's. The cool thing about Episcopalians, they are very tolerant of children being children. They provide crayons, books and toys for the part of the service after The Peace when the children come in for communion, even babies take communion if they are baptized. The kids crawl under the pews, pile up the prayer cushions like building blocks, call out, "Mommy!" and escape up the aisles once in a while. No one criticizes them or scolds them. After church, during coffee hour, the kids just take off and cruise around the parish house and church. It's just refreshing the way they are treated with dignity and you can tell they all are so happy to be there.
• 

  compound complex

  Dear Saru and FlyingHighNow,

  I find both your experiences - past and present - to be very heart-warming. To be provided for regardless of who you are is what it's all about. And FHN, I was christened Episcopalian, though I attended the local Methodist church as a child with my older sister. I went to a choral presentation of secular music last month at the Methodist Church where I now reside. I enjoyed being in that setting and felt somewhat resentful for the 40 years of JW hammering away at me about "Babylon the Great" and her evil.
  There are so many lies I am recovering from. I'm glad you and your grandson are enjoying your new spiritual life. It sounds as if you have made a complete spiritual recovery. Good for you!

  CoCo
• 

  WTWizard

  And, those who have been in the organization longer than 20 years are so set in their ways, that they don't know anything else.

  This means I got out in the nick of time. No, I did not leave for doctrinal inconsistency because I would have fallen for that "new light" crap. It was the way they treated me: trying to make the opposite sex reject me at the assemblies so I would be "able to do more than myself plus kids". It is obvious that they were trying to pigeonhole me into a mathematically impossible situation, plus they wanted me to not succeed in finding a mate. That alone was a disassociation issue.

  But I decided not to make it that easy for them. I snuck in the border between two congregations, and then started skipping meetings. Each congregation would think the other has the duty to hound me. If anyone called me, my Caller ID would alert me and I would just delete the message. Letters and Craptower magazines saw the business end of my shredder. And since they don't know I am online (I came online after my fade), they cannot spam me with emails. So, they are just going to have to continue wasting their time hunting for my service times (that are not there).
• 

  diamondblue1974

  By accelerated doctrine change, do you mean the 1914 and generation doctrine change or have I missed something?

  Gary
• 

  metatron

  Guys, I'm not saying you're wrong, but we all need to do some deeper thinking about this subject.

  If you think that the Watchtower is threatened by doctrinal exposure, you need to explain how this

  could damage them, step by step. As long as Witlesses are wiling to obey whatever nonsense

  is excreted by the Governing Body, what difference does it make? What difference do facts make?

  Or logic? Or even the Bible itself?

  Maybe we're taking this WorldWide Church of God thing too far. Maybe the Armstrong folks actually

  demanded doctrinal consistency to a degree that dumb, Witness zombies don't.

  On the other hand, maybe some sort of sudden collapse could emerge if large numbers of leading

  Witnesses ( the few who read or think) simply expressed an indifference to belief in specific

  doctrines.

  metatron