I agree with Gambler that the double life is more pronounced.
As an anecdote: I work with a dub who is middle aged, and been baptized about ten years. In the past few weeks he has told me that he has:
1. Had Thanksgiving with his "worldly" family members.
2. Attended our company's Christmas party (after hours, not at work)
3. Celebrated his birthday with his "worldly" relatives
By the way, he knows I'm an ex-dub and is very friendly with me.
Will Watchtower Fold Like The Taliban?
by metatron 24 Replies latest jw friends
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r51785
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Pureheart
Hi Metatron,
I think that if the WTS is exposed in a "big way" they will lose a very high percentage of their support. Much of the congregations are made up of women of all walks of life that follow the lead of their elders. Whatever the elders say, they will succumb. Amoung these are women who are labled as borderline "Jezebels", widows, teenagers, elders wives, single mom's, ect. Most of them are hanging on by a thread.
Members are told to wait for the governing body to make dicisions on matters affecting the organization. If the society get caught up in a scandal, they will be so busy trying to fight their way out that they will not have time to pay attention to the congregations. Things will come to a halt for a while. In the meantime, like the society says, if you miss meals you will eventually die. So the so-called spiritual feeding will come to a halt long enough for the rank and file to die. And what will that mean for members? "FREEDOM" What will it mean for the WTS?Pureheart
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Athanasius
The Watch Tower is much like the former Soviet Union. Gorbachev initiated many reforms in order to prop up the old regime. His reforms only hastened the fall of the communist dictatorship, despite the August 1991 attempted coup by the hardliners to keep the Party in power.
Will the same happen to the Watch Tower? Does anyone know of someone on the Kingdom Governing Body (KGB)or in the Watch Tower's corporate structure who could become the Witnesses Gorbachev?
I think that real change will come to the Watch Tower through a combination of internal and external factors. In fact a hundred years from now the Witnesses may be a mainline as the Methodists.
Sincerely,
Athanasius
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hillary_step
Hello,
The WTS will survive where the Taliban failed to in that it will change to survive. The Taliban was inflexible in its modus-operandi and subsequently paid the price. This is a price that the WTS will not pay.
While it is true that their exists no will at GB level to change, when change is thrust upon the WTS by outside forces within society it does change and adapt. This guarantees its survival.
Of course these changes are fed to its adherents as changes from Heaven, but many are beginning to know better.
Rather reminds me of the Mormon church whose leader had a vision from God allowing African Americans to hold office in their churches. This happened just days before a judicial case was to be presented before the Supreme Court on the grounds of racial discrimination.
No doubt the GB at that time sneered at the Mormons, I suspect they sneer less frequently these days.
HS
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searcher
I predict that the GB will turn into the Board of Directors.
The KH's will be sold as community halls or turned into bookshops.
The presses will roll printing ordinary books etc.
The WTBTS will turn into a company such as AMWAY with Self Employed
salespeople, and inspirational books for sale to salesperons (after all, we must keep up our quota's if we are going to succeed).
The Legal Dept is quite capable of setting this up when the heat gets too much, (like organised crime getting into legitamate business, starting with a huge advantage because of their cash reserves).
And the dubs? Left in the cold or conned into working for the new company.
Far Fetched?....Possibly.
steve