Yea I was warned recently not to be bitter because it would be a shame for me to drop out right before this system ends. I was going to respond but it just isn't worth it
Is the WTS preparing for a MASS EXODUS?
by passwordprotected 49 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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SouthCentral
Never, most witnesses that have seen the light, hang around for social reasons. MOST DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE, THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO LOSE THEIR DRINKINGPARTYGATHERING BUDDIES. The LA witnesses LOVE concerts and jazz festivals, why give that up for a little truth and integrity.
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passwordprotected
Southcentral makes a depressingly good point.
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wha happened?
Ouch
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JimmyPage
Remember, tho, that they've ready started to point - not to 1919 - to their printing presses, global expansion, CO arrangement etc etc as proof of divine appointment. Crazy but true.
Yes, this is the direction they're going! Although anyone who investigates religions that began at about the same time as JWs (i.e.; the Mormons) will note comparable growth rates. This is confirmed by what my JW mother-in-law said when she returned from Mexico. She reported that the Mormons and JWs are battling each other there for converts... and it sounds like the Mormons are winning.
And along with the comments from other posters, a local elder mentioned that at the recent district convention they made it feel like "the great tribulation could break out at any minute". How this is different from the past 135 years is beyond me, though.
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steve2
JWs suffer from collective amnesia and they're not the sharpest tools in the tool kit. Desperation to believe easily overcomes critical thinking abilities - especially if those facilities ain't there in the first place.
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dozy
A friend of my wife who attends the DC a few weeks before us confidently tells my wife virtually every year that "the Slave says at the DC" that basically there wouldn't be another DC next year as Armaggedon was just about to start so not to bother rebooking the accommodation. She texted my wife again this year excitedly after the closing talk to say the same. When my wife pointed out that she actually says this every year , she got very annoyed. "But this time it is different!" she says. Doubtless she will be going through the whole process every year until she dies. This sister is like so many so tied up in a social world of extended family & friends that it would be inconceivable that she would ever leave.
As far as the WTS is concerned , while there is undoubtedly a bit of wheeling & dealing behind the scenes as a result of legal and financial pressures, I don't think that this is a wide-awake efficient business that listens to contrary opinions , studies competitive businesses to see what they can learn , brings in external consultants to look at best practice and the latest industry intelligence. They are just basically a few old , lifetime JWs most of whom have never had a proper job or even a family and who have reached their position by being yes men without a single original idea , brown nosing their way to the top of a very small pool and also believe that they are part of a special elect who will rule as kings in heaven. So I don't think that they have the nous to prepare for anything , other than a semi-retirement in the Bethel infirmary , waited on by awe struck young pioneer brothers and sisters.
While 1914 would seem to be a potential problem , I don't think that it is a major issue for most JWs. I spoke to a couple about the death of the last British WW1 soldiers and the end of the "generation" and they just shrugged. The WTS has removed the tangible time-limited link with 1914 and replaced it with a much vaguer "we are in the last days , isn't there so much trouble" concept. I honestly think they can easily keep on going for another 20 or 30 years without any major dismantling of 1914. And then they just won't mention it as much.
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Matthew 46:79
I wonder if the WTS are silently (and foolishly) putting their money (so to speak) on 2012
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steve2
Dozy, you're right on the money! Excellent points.
I'd just add this: Every "established" religion has its heyday (i.e., its time of spectacular growth). For the JWs it was the dizzying years leading up to 1975. The zeal to witness was so great that "newly interested ones" literally virtually walked into Kindgom Halls off the street and were baptized in months. I have never before - or since - seen the local Kindgom Halls bulging so much.
Whatever the Watchtower goes through in the near to mid-term future will not re-capture its heyday. It will splutter, see here-and-there growth (especially in 3rd world countries where even a motor mechanic can successfully start up a religion) but other newer forms of Christianity are now on the ascendancy, and the JWs, tired and cranky, are still no where near the elusive finish line.
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insearchoftruth
Whatever the Watchtower goes through in the near to mid-term future will not re-capture its heyday. It will splutter, see here-and-there growth (especially in 3rd world countries where even a motor mechanic can successfully start up a religion)
They may see some spurts of growth just after some unfortunate world events, like massive earthquakes or another large terrorist attack, even if the novel H1N1 flu gets really bad....but very short durations as the world goes back to status quo.
The hardest thing for me to accomplish with my wife is to show her that the world we are living in is not a bad place, in fact we are in a pretty good time to be alive.........unfortunately, that is not what the WTBTS is printing, so it must not be true....because you can never trust statistics....sigh.