Hey Thanks for all the fantastic replies ! I appreciate it . You guys are so cool. Happy New Year !
ANDDONTCALLMESHIRLEY- Wow ! Is my math bad - or what ? Thanks for the correction ! LOL. 126 years from 1879 - 2015 ? Actually it's 136 years from 1879 to 2015 ! Even your math was off two years at 134 years ! LOL ! We must have both had too much to drink last night ! LOL.
FINKELSTEIN- Manipulation , power, and control is the WT Society's middle name. And I agree WT Society has created these dates and end times for their own financial benefit while duping rank & file JW's who are none the wiser. And as you mentioned WT leaders always used fear in their illustrations in their publications of people dying at Armageddon. That had a BIG impact on me as a kid back in the 1960's .
GMATIRED-2- Nice to hear from you. Your husband is correct. Exactly. The " new " world looks exactly like the " old " world - because nothing's changed it's the same old world.
OUTLAW- Happy New Year back to ya cowboy ! I was back there as a JW teenager in 1975 as well and it WAS a big fat nothing that happened ! LOL. I remember Circuit and District Overseers giving crazy a$$ talks from the platform getting all whipped up into an emotional frenzy actually saying, " NOW is the time to flee to Jehovah's safety net friends ! If we don't do it NOW it may be TOO LATE ! " And the whole audience would be all shaking in their seats nervous as hell that the Big A was going to come any MINUTE ! WT leaders really worked these people into a frenzy through fear mongering. Those were CRAZY times back then and WT leaders STILL haven't changed. They're STILL crazy.
KARTER- You make a VERY good point. If any of us as JW's had stated before 1975 that Armageddon wouldn't come until 40 years later- we'd have all been DFed for apostasy, very true. NOW JW's are probably DFed for disagreeing with the " overlapping generation " theory ! LOL. If JW's won't admit that a generation is two overlapping generations of 80 years each- I'm sure the elders give them hell.
RULES and REGULATIONS- You are about the same age as me and I was there too in 1975. I saw it all go down. I remember how adamant C.O.'s and D.O.'s got about non baptized people not committing to getting baptized, it was like they had one foot in Satan's world and the other in the WT world and stood condemned strongly. I remember that too. But yeah, you are totally correct WT Society is just marketing their organization by duping the public and duping rank & file JW's with the pretend " Paradise " promised of " everlasting life ". AS you stated like other business entities that market themselves.
COFTY- The final decade in the 1970's. Yep. I remember talk like that among the Witnesses back then.
ANDONTCALLMESHIRLEY- Exactly. I think WT leaders just throw stuff up on the wall to see what sticks. But with all the $hit flying up there- some of it will hit the fan soon.
EYEUSE2BADUB- Good points you make for sure. I think MANY JW's ARE totally fearful of Armageddon not being true. But they are even MORE afraid of the repercussions that will happen from elders in their congregations if they OPENLY admit they have doubts. Because every JW gets SOOOO judgmental that doubt is not allowed, so people suffer with their doubts in silence. I know I did for about 10 years or so until I finally left.
TOTALLY ADD- Like yourself in my early years into my 30's that fear of Armageddon kept me inside the organization as well, but as I got closer to 40 yrs.old I started getting less scared and fell into disbelief. My 89 year old dad is a lot like your staunch elder dad was- it's all they know hoping for a Paradise after 60 years in the organization so it's hard for them to face that they've wasted 60 years of their life on a pipedream. Pretty sad really.
OUBLIETTE- Exactly. Good point. Everybody on earth right now will die in time . It's happened ALL throughout history - always has, always will. Like the old saying in the Jim Morrison song from the Doors, " Five to one, one in five, no one here gets out alive. " LOL. Best to just go live our lives in happiness for sure !
IGNORANCEISBLISS- Yeah they were really weird but exciting times back in 1974 or 1975 in JW land. All kinds of crazy characters getting on the stage and proclaiming from the platform that Armageddon would happen any second ! Really strange looking back now.
WATSON- Exactly. Life is difficult enough going through our own personal Armageddon's dying at the end and then we go through hell on earth while we live. Seems pretty strange- but that's the hand we are dealt. Gotta learn to deal with it.
BAFH- That's so sad about your grandparents feeling down because the big A hasn't come. My JW parents are your grandparents age and I'm sure that they have regrets and doubts as well. It's very hard for them to admit they've wasted their life.
JWLEAKS- Thanks for the links to check out predicted dates and apocalyptic predictions. Access to information means everything. Thanks