How Many JWs Stay In & Are Not "True Believers"? (page 2)

chickpea

if the question is about how many
professed JWs are just hanging
with the hive rather than dealing with
the trouble that can be stirred for
having a variant position on any of
a number of issues....

i would think a whole lot more than we know!

There is said to be about 2.5 to 3 million JWs in the "Conscience Class" - people who attend but no longer believe that the F&DS is God's sole channel. The most recent CO to exit the WT estimated that that number was too low.

dgp

I agree with Blondie: we would need to begin by defining "true believer". I am sure we would all agree that a true believer is NOT the kind of person who goes through the motions or behaves like the perfect religious person (not only JW's would do this). A true believer would have a deep conviction that he or she believes what he or she believes because that is the truth. And this is very difficult terrain, because I am sure we would also agree that "true believer" is not the same as "someone who never questions what the organization says", because all men can make mistakes, or can twist things to fit their own wishes. And then, in your particular case, a true believer would not stay in the organization out of fear of losing family and friends. Or, fear of burning in hell/never being resurrected/whatever. True belief would be based on faith and intellect, and would act out of love (Thanks, Raymond Franz). And, it would not be based on fear of damnation (Thanks, Saint Therese of Jesus; thank you, Saint Francis of Assisi).

My opinion is that, as in any religion, you would find it impossible to know exactly how many truly believe in the Watchtower. "Hard core", by the way, would not necessarily be the same as "true believer", either, because many hard cores are there for gain, and not only in the Watchtower.

For someone who is not a Jehovah's witness, it's difficult to tell who really believes and who doesn't. All JW's seem to be just as hard-core. You would know better, of course.

Maybe we would know how many true believers a religion has if they were told that they are free to leave without eternal damnation, disfellowshipping, whatever, and that the church in question would not object to people studying anything and everything, without someone who will tell them what to think.

As a teen-ager, I had a card that read something like "If you love something, let it be free; if it comes back to you, it's yours; if it doesn't, it never was".

WTWizard

That is the main reason why I did not stay in. Remaining in that "friendship" was not worth it--to just meet men, be told what to do, and never have the freedom. Every time I was genuinely drawn to someone, they always shuffled things so I was not able to see them anymore. Ultimately, the group they had me with was just men--and then I was driven out partly by this (at least that had something to do with my finally pulling the plug).

Quirky1

I "know" there a quite few in the KH I used to attend that are not "TRUE" believers.. I have seen many of their comments on FB just recently. They are just as fake as many others. I wish this religion would just wash up.

cantleave

I think the majority will have some doubt's. but will move them to one side and wait for Jehovah to clarify things. That was my approach.

dgp

I forgot to add something to my rant . I believe that a true believer would not gobble up everything that an organizaton fed him/her. Because he or she would feel a greater commitment to "the truth" than to the organization, and would be careful not to let "the truth" be stained by worldly thought.

Cantleave, that was my approach when I was religious, too. One fine day I had too many doubts, that I couldn't simply brush off, and left.

yknot

The number grows larger in each generation with each passing year and WTS noo-light expanations.

I doubt very much there are any 'true believers' in the Western/Westernized world........if you get them talking in a private converstation.

Tristram

Methinks 60/40 "true believers" (lock, stock and barrell everything that is taught is 100% true.)

The other 40% is a mix of downright nonbelievers who stay in it for the friendship, family and social structure. Then there are those on all levels of the org. who question certain doctrines, positions or interpretations of scripture. Then there is that large cadre of "believers" in the doctrine and that it is the truth, but with the secret lifestyle that belies what they should be doing if they were 100%. Stuff like getting drunk, rated R movies, "questionable" rock concerts, extending to more "serious" wrongs.

minimus

A little leaven ferments the whole lump.

How Many JWs Stay In & Are Not "True Believers"?