by metatron 43 Replies latest jw friends
As much as I would love to see a quick and painful death to the watchtower, I also worry about the reaction of the j-dubs that truly believe in this cult.
I fear there would be a significant spike in suicide rates among many of the witnesses.
If the wt does fall, fast or slow, I believe we should all forgive our families and be there for them as they adjust to the real world.
metatron ....
Cut off the head ( financially) and the body of this snake will die.
I take that a little personal, doncha think.. kidding....I agree...pull the damn plug, watch the WTub drain.
SnakesInTheTower (of the Lazy [and still not donating to the Borg] Sheep Class)
badboy
I predict that in thirty years time,most congregations will be shut.
do we haaaaave to wait sooooooloooonnng? We've waited since 1914 19191975 for the end. I want it shut now now now.
SnakesInTheTower (or the Lazy [and whining] Sheep Class)
Hey guys, stop knocking the MAD JW poster. I think he's one of the currently few best things the Watchtower's got going for it: He's entertaining, side-steps issues and brings a hit-and-run level of low debate that is congruent with the Watchtower's own desperate back-against-the-wall mindset. Recall the days when JWs actually attempted to reason? Ah, those were the days!
As for this thread topic on hoping for the end of the Watchtower: let me say, hope has nothing to do with it; Over history, big groups have disappeared and small groups have flourished and vice versa. They come and they go...
On the positive side: The current irrational noise emanating from the Watchtower seems more like death throes than growth pains. To paraphrase MAD JW: Bwa hahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahah....
I think that we think of the Watchtower organization too much in terms of what is tangible. We think of the Watchtower Society in terms of: real estate, buildings, bank accounts, printing facilities, and members. I think that what the Watchtower organization really is; is a deeply entrenched belief system; a concept - as Don Cameron put it. All of it's material outworkings are somewhat less important. Take away the material aspects, and you still have millions of people who have an absolute emotional investment in it's ideology.
Think about how powerful their concept really is:
This ideological framework is just as seductive and addicting as cocaine or heroine. I am convinced that there are millions of people who will never let go of this belief structure, no matter what reality brings forth. If every single Watchtower property were gone tommorow, these people would still need an outlet for their beliefs.
Any weakening or losses on the part of the Watchtower will only confirm their beliefs that Satan is "out to get them and weaken their faith in Jehovah". They will always form new groups or organizations to provide them with outlet that confirms that they belief; like a heroine addict who is always able to find another needle.
Jehovah's Witnesses are here to stay for a very long time. The only way that they will cease to exist is when everyone around the world who is addicted to this belief system all die off.
Considering all points thus far made, I agree with Highlander's comment re: shattered faith and its potential for spiritual, mental and emotional disorientation. I personally have been through the stages of anger, denial, bargaining, depression and have arrived at acceptance. It was a tough period of emotional chaos when I learned that I had been lied to. When I speak with JW friends and family now [initially, I should have been locked up and gagged], I answer a question or insert an "is it really so that...?" type expression whose intent is to induce critical thinking. Easy does it.
I am truly concerned about rank and file reaction when "the news gets out" - whenever and however it does. The spiritual shepherds, I cannot imagine, would ever be prepared or qualified to assist the sheep when the onslaught arrives.
CoCo
I hope for the youth to be able to achieve a better life, go to school, college,,enjoy just being kid, challenged with reality. The old people will stay with it, 'cement' in the brain happens! (I am a grandma now so I can talk about old people like that!)
Arthur, you've got good, well-thought out points to be made about what keeps the organization going.
I wonder if the older members of the Governing Body tell themselves, "What the hell were we ever
worried about? Why did we bother with all those books against evolution, or all that response on
doctrinal matters? Obviously, we never needed it! Just keep saying 'it's the truth' and labeling other
people and there's no problem! The suckers get baptized anyway".
Even if the loss of money never causes an outright collapse of the Watchtower, it will erode them
internally and accelerate their assimilation into the world, especially the young people.
Suppose you had 6 million people who were not one bit different from ordinary Protestantism?
Would collapse even matter? Their End is approaching, one way or the other. How that demise
plays out is up to them.
metatron ( hoping they dig in their heels and create a disaster - class)
Whether they will dissolve into oblivion, I don't think so. It will faction off into splinter groups. Several perhaps. But it will be decades before that happens. But one thing is guaranteed, it will not survive. Look at the real influx leaving. How many discussion boards can you find to be exclusively pro-JW?
Come on, we know that many a JW look at web-sites that are supposedly apostate. It's a losing battle for the WTS because the truth never loses.
Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
Jehovah's Witnesses are here to stay for a very long time. The only way that they will cease to exist is when everyone around the world who is addicted to this belief system all die off.
I so disagree, but time will tell! Even now, there's not much get up and go among publishers. Where's the zeal of earlier decades??? Also, let's not forget the recency of the Watchtower: Approximately 130 years old - only!! In the meantime, far, far more troubling religious and political systems have flourished and overshadowed the Watchtower in terms of sheer numbers and influence - and, in some cases, been transformed (e.g., Russian communism, South African apartheid).
The Watchtower is a very small fish in a very large ocean. True, if you happen to be bitten by this "small fish" it matters a lot. But there are far bigger, more troubling fish prowling the waters of human life (e.g., radical Islamic movements, extreme right-wing funadamentalists). The Watchtower is a cultic blip whose noise will get louder the more its influence declines.
