Would the Watchtower ever dare to discourage having children again?

nicolaou

What they've said in the past;

"...mark the words of Jesus, which definitely seem to discourage the bearing of children immediately before or during Armageddon: "And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days" - Matt. 24:19... It would therefore appear that there is no reasonable or Scriptural injunction to bring children into the world immediately before Armageddon, where we now are." (The Watcthower, Nov. 1, 1938, p. 324)

"Today there is a great crowd of people who are confident that a destruction of even greater magnitude is now imminent. The evidence is that Jesus' prophecy will shortly have a major fulfilment, upon this entire system of things. This has been a major factor in influencing many couples to decide not to have children at this time. They have chosen to remain childless so that they would be less encumbered to carry out the instructions of Jesus Christ to preach the good news of God's kingdom earth wide before the end of this system comes. - Matt.24:14." (Awake!, Nov. 8, 1974, p. 11)

With almost all growth coming from within the family unit, do you think the WT could ever repeat this 'advice'?

Nic'

jwfacts

The Watchtower has continued with the same statements in 1988 and 2000, which is not that long ago. Most (maybe all) the governing body don't have children, so why encourage others to have joy that they missed out on.

Watchtower 2000 August 1 p.21 Why Do They Have No Children?
"Although Noah's three sons were all married, none fathered children until after the Deluge. ? While this does not imply that it is wrong to have children today, many Christian couples decline to have children so as to become more fully involved in the urgent work that Jehovah has given his people to do. Some couples have waited for a time before having children; others have decided to remain childless and consider the possibility of bearing children in Jehovah's righteous new world."

Watchtower 1988 March 1 p. 19 Childbearing Among God's People
"If the expansion of Christianity was to come about mainly by childbearing, Jesus would not have encouraged his disciples to "make room" for singleness "on account of the kingdom of the heavens." (Matthew 19:10-12) ?
How should Christians view marriage and childbearing today, in this "time of the end"? (Daniel 12:4) It is truer than ever that "the scene of this world is changing," or, as another translation puts it, "the present scheme of things is rapidly passing away."-1 Corinthians 7:31, Phillips. Now, as never before, "the time left is reduced." Yes, only a limited time remains for Jehovah's people to finish the work he has given them to do, namely: "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) That work must be accomplished before the end comes. It is, therefore, appropriate for Christians to ask themselves how getting married or, if married, having children will affect their share in that vital work. ?
During all this pre-Flood period, Noah's sons and their wives had no children."

free2beme

Considering 97% of it's growth is coming from those raised in the religion, it would be shooting themselves in the foot.

highdose

free2beme: This is true, but what is also true is that the WT is very good at shooting themselves in the foot!

nicolaou

"It is, therefore, appropriate for Christians to ask themselves how getting married or, if married, having children will affect their share in that vital work."

Thanks for that jwfacts, stunning isn't it?

OnTheWayOut

WTS is liable to operate in crisis mode and do some things that would be the equivalent to shooting themselves in the foot.

If they can maintain some serious control of the adult members, but know they lose the kids to education and "the world" no matter what they do, they could make such a move to boldly declare the need to stop having children. We have to keep in mind that this is a cult and leaders of many cults are not that concerned with the mess they leave after they die. The old men in the ivory tower might just focus on the status quo for their lifetimes.

punkofnice

Hmmmmm! So, on the one hand, having children is MOST of the Borg growth. Most of those children will exit anyway.

On the other, if you don't have children that will likely exit you can scour the streets entrapping victims to get trapped into the cult.

Neither option seems very productive...!

Doubting Bro

They don't like kids anyway. There is no youth programs, kids are expected to act like adults at the meetings (conventions are especially difficult) and the WTS overall treats them with distain. No wonder so many leave!

And how does the WTS respond? Blame the parents for doing a bad job raising their kids!!!

DagothUr

In the spring of 2010 we had our 1-day convention. The theme was something like "Let's give our celibacy to Jehovah" or something like that. Basically, it was a gross pressure on the unmarried young JWs to serve as pioneers, bethelites, elders, etc. while it underlined the difficulties that come with being married. Armaggeddon was so close, why marry and have children when you could spend a whole lot more time doing field service? I lost a lot of marriage candidates after that convention. A lot of young sisters dedicated their virginity to Jay Hoover for a few years at least. Yes, I said years, not months.

After reading all your comments, I have to agree with those who say the Society does not give a damn about the youngsters. It is the truth. They subtly discourage young people from the idea of marriage and they are openly against having children "when this wicked system of things is just about to end". The GB would like a nation of single drones, with no sexuality and no personality, to serve them, send them a lot of money and do a lot of field service.

cyberjesus

i gave my virginity to jehovah ..... n then i gave it to a girl :-)

Would the Watchtower ever dare to discourage having children again?

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