by metatron 122 Replies latest jw friends
On top of all the other comments thus far I think it's important to remember that the Watch Tower Society only had a shelf life of 40 years; the world was supposed to end in 1914, remember. We're almost 100 years past that date...
But what do you take from that? That their demise is well overdue and should come sometime soon or that they have a proven track record for longevity against the odds?
Allow me to respond collectively to your fine responses.
The Achilles heel for the Watchtower is money. Sure, there are millions of loyal, zombie Witnesses who mindlessly go to meetings but they aren't relevant to the central point here! I think that the Watchtower's glowing statistics are largely bogus in regard to strength because they contradict the economic evidence.
More than that, the Watchtower's growth is worse than useless. It is cancerous! Imagine the dilemma of gaining more and more publishers who contribute less and less! This is no different from the past demise of Communism, in which their empire was capturing ever more passive-aggressive people who drained ever more resources. The more they grow, the worse it gets!
The Governing Body is faced with the cold choice of maintaining the Watchtower as a business vs the Watchtower as a religion! Now, you tell me this: WHICH THEME IS EMERGING AS THE WINNER? I think the answer is obvious ( although not to the Average Witless).
There will always be Jehovah's Witnesses - just as there will always be American Nazis and Black Militants and Flat Earth believers and so on - but that doesn't mean that the Watchtower, Inc. will continue in a meaningful sense.
The situation could resemble the Monty Python "Cheese Shop" sketch. If they dump C.O.'s and the magazines and Gilead, what exactly is left?
metatron
Not seen that one before!
You make some excellent points Metatron. I also have felt that their focus on the foreign field would hurt them in the end. Focusing on poor countries does not bring in any real money. And WT is not a legitimate charity in the way most churches are. They get money from their people for the most part. So where will the donations come from. They are surviving now in large part through investments. I have a feeling it will be a slow fall, but faster than we ever thought possible say 15-20 years ago.
Lost-In-Translation, your post makes me think I wasted a lot of time when I was magazine servant! They should have done this A LOT sooner. I always knew JW's to have stacks of "old magazines" lying around. Until that is they made it okay to place them as back issues. The stacks still seemed to pile up though until someone would say: "Hey let's take these and do laundromat witnessing!"
Isaac Carmignani
A multi-Billion dollar Organization is not going to disapear over night..
....................OUTLAW
A multi-Billion dollar Organization is not going to disapear over night..
Exactly.
I can't help but wonder if we're all reading too much into this. Everyone all over the planet is hurting. The response so far is understandable.
Or maybe I'm not reading enough into it.
Time tells all things. Let's see what the next few years brings.
Who says there'll always be Jehovah's Witnesses? No there won't! They are simply one variant of numberless groups and movements who consider their leaders ordained by God to spread a special message. Look at the current crop of religions attracting lots of new members.
The fortuitousness of the outbreak of World War I in 1914 accounts for their longer-than-expected shelf life If there had not been a WWI in 1914, the Bible Students who later became Jehovah's Witnesses would have shrivelled up by now.
I have gotten two relatives out, working on a third ... will happen sooner, rather then later, as the faith they hold too is doing far more damage then I could ever imagine.
I reckon they will carry on for many years, no matter how much we hope they wont. Doubt they'll go belly up soon.
Let's break this down a little. They don't collapse overnight - and perhaps collapse is the wrong word. They don't have significant debt, aside from owing some people conditional donations (i.e. you hold this lump sum and use it until I tell you I need it back). However, they have a classic problem of being asset rich and cash flow poor. You might own a house that's worth $300, 000. Does it make you feel rich? How does owning that property pay for food or gasoline or insurance - it doesn't! Just extrapolate the trends here. If they have dumped long term Bethelites and half the Awake issues and most books, etc, etc, then where do you see them in 2 to 3 years? How much more will be cut? At some point, two things are going to happen as these trends continue. First, there will be a tendency to act in an ill-considered, arrogant manner as to decision making. Having dolts like Herd or Loesch in control is wonderful as you have no idea what they might do. Maybe everybody can be anointed. Maybe we need to forbid watching football. Maybe we pour more resources into fighting for the blood issue while we lose elders and cut off building funds for poor congregations. Who knows? But Brothers, we have to do SOMETHING!........ Second, as they keep cutting and their growth schemes can't be supported, they will quietly question why they care about publishers anyway. They cause endless problems and eat up printed material and close their wallets. Let's retire to the sauna and grab a drink and forget about it. Screw 'em! It's a bit like accepting that you have a deadly disease - denial, bargaining, depression, acceptance. You guys know the drill. metatron
