The growing irrelevance of the Watchtower message

by drew sagan 94 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Blueblades

  Drew, you make a lot of sense. I'm in agreement with your thinking on your topic.

  When was the last time that the writing dept. gave an in-depth watchtower study on it's original theme on the front of the Watchtower?

  "Announcing Jehovah"s Kingdom". I remember back in the seventies when the articles were 30 to 40 paragraphs long on such topics as the Kingdom.

  Now, there is very small talk about 'Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'. What is the Watchtower's message today?

  Go to meetings, go out in field service, wait for the Great Tribulation to come anytime soon. And they haven't had a good study on the Great Tribulation recently either.

  So, your right, your topic about the growing irrelevance of the Watchtower message is spot on!

  Blueblades
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  Wasanelder Once

  They say "Preach more" while they say Matthew 14:24 is fulfilled. It is double talk like this that will kill the movement. People will become embittered as they see the changes in so many fundamental areas continue. "Preach the word, be at it vigorously" has been their credo, but the reality is.. it ain't so urgent any more. Disasters here and there will rile them up, but in the long run disappointment will overtake them. The sooner the better. W.Once
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  daniel-p

  The changes that the WTS are making corporate-side foretell the changes they'll continue to make with the actual religion: Downsizing, streamlining, liquidating, shrinking. In other words, they'll happily grow smaller if they can achieve long-term fiscal and congregational sustainability. They would be happier with fewer members if it means they would have a stronger core. That's been their corporate strategy since around 2000, and will continue to lead commensurate changes among the management of the religion.
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  done4good

  The changes that the WTS are making corporate-side foretell the changes they'll continue to make with the actual religion: Downsizing, streamlining, liquidating, shrinking. In other words, they'll happily grow smaller if they can achieve long-term fiscal and congregational sustainability. They would be happier with fewer members if it means they would have a stronger core. That's been their corporate strategy since around 2000, and will continue to lead commensurate changes among the management of the religion.

  Yup. That's the way I see it. A smaller core is far easier to manage, (whatever doctrinal direction they decide to go in), so keep the drones, drop the intellectuals, and hope for the best...

  j
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  Amber Rose

  They would be happier with fewer members if it means they would have a stronger core.

  The problem is how strong is their core and is that core sustainable.
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  slimboyfat

  You have made an excellent series of posts Drew. I agree with a lot of the points made. Especially the astute point that their genuine belief that we are near the end may be what is holding the leadership back from making needed reforms. This flies in the face of the apparent consensus view among JWDers that many in the leadership do not believe their own propaganda. I think you are right on the button that they do believe it (the vast majority anyway, there are probably some in high positions who don't believe or have strong doubts) and that their belief is harmful to what we might term a more organisationally productive strategy for the future.

  I wonder if you are interested in some of the theoretical literature that discusses Watchtower change, and lack thereof.

  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n4_v56/ai_17841569/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

  This one is well worth reading if you have access to an academic library or online access:

  http://www.jstor.org/pss/1388177

  A small point about having babies in the 'time of the end'. I think the Watchtower has made some movement in this area. In the past having children was strongly discouraged at times, whereas now family life with children is often promoted as the ideal. Singleness is still called a 'gift' and so on, but it gets rather more perfunctory mention these days, and there is a definite shift in emphasis I think.

  It will be very interesting to see how the organisation develops in the decades to come. There may be some surprises in store along the way. But whatever the future holds I seriously doubt we will see anything resembling the end of Jehovah's Witnesses within any of our lifetimes.
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  The Oracle

  great thread Mr. Carey.

  I agree with just about everything you have commented on.

  I do think that the WT, to whatever extent and speed that it can, is making moves to adapt. The changes of late are rather significant, and I do see a growing trend to "normalize" the religion as much as possible.

  The weakening stance on some of the more extreme teachings like;

  1) the generation that will not pass away (this core doctrine was completely abandoned)

  2) prohibition of blood (allowing fractions was a major shift in direct contradiction to prior edicts)

  3) disfellowshipping (I have noted a general softening in this area through meetings with CO's and elder school lessons)

  4) attending a worldly wedding in a church is now a conscience matter, etc.. etc... (more and more practices which were once explicitly outlawed in the past have become "conscience matters")

  Don't get me wrong - the teachings of the WTS are still cracked. However, there is no question there has been an attempt of late to eliminate more of the extreme beliefs and practices.

  Too little too late? I believe so. Let the crumbling begin.

  The Oracle
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  M.J.

  :That's what the WTS is pushing now. The fear.
  
  If the FEAR is primarily what the WTS runs on nowadays, then they are in trouble.
  
  
  Recently, a former member of the International Church of Christ explained to me some interesting observations he had regarding his former group.
  
  As many of you may know, this movement essentially broke up a number of years ago (although Kip is trying to get it going again).
  
  He explained that the movement was primarily built on the fear of losing your salvation.
  
  If you motivate someone out of fear, there is a very quick response: if someone screams "fire!", people respond by running really fast...for a really short period of time. Amazing things can be done in short bursts based on fear. The problem was that it wasn't sustainable. Thus, many would go strong with the program for about three years, and just burn out, give up hope...and drop out.
  
  On the other hand, this particular member simply started to take the screams of "fire!" with a grain of salt...and eventually after years in the group it started to sound like the screams from the boy who cried wolf. Thus the message became less and less relevant.
  
  So his take was that a group can't rely solely on fear-based motivation or they'll fizzle out.
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  Dogpatch

  done4good may be right. scary proposition, but can the "new Iran" at Bethel ever get strong enough to pull off a major wake-up call?

  Only with a leader more charismatic than Ted Jaracz, which might sound pretty easy considering the man's severe mental limitations, is still a long shot away. The current GB won't appoint anyone that even whiffs of rivalry. He will have to be snuck in. Hmmm...

  Randy
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  willyloman

  My ex-wife, a JW since the 1950s, told me the other day, "It's happening all around the Earth just like it's supposed to."

  Imagine what she'd have thought if she'd been an adult during WWII. To say nothing of the 14th Century, when a third of Europe died of the Black Plague and bodies were stacked like cordwood and burned.

  And what will today's dubs will say in a decade or two, when the next wave of peace and prosperity breaks out and scientific and medical advances once undreamed of are announced?

  Of course, it's hard to be too critical; we were there, once.