Sure, there will always be Witlesses around..... but the magazines?
metatron
Could The Watchtower and Awake Collapse?
by metatron 42 Replies latest jw friends
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thetrueone
Dont be too surprised one day if they drop the Awake magazine all together.
The JWs still need printed publications to go door to door with.
The WTS. has played the fools card toward the public for more than a century, that in itself shows there is sustainability to their marketing strategy.
Some come in and leave to only have others fill the spots that were left ..
There is higher amount of people in the world with a lower degree of education than there is a higher level.
So there is still a great loop of people that could become a JWS given the world population as it stands.
It very well may be the reason for the paring off of the organization's operations because there isn't a pressing financial need.
The hierarchal leaders know they are sitting on a golden cow, its just a matter now to ride it out and make the ride as smooth as possible.
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WontLeave
Caution! Bad puns to follow:
I hear if something becomes dense enough it will implode into a singularity. If this is true, the content is certainly heading in the direction of a collapse.
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Listener
Why haven't they dropped the Awake already? It could be easily done with the excuse that they need to focus on the Watchtower magazine now that it is printed in various versions. But they didn't drop it when they chose to print the Watchtower monthly instead of fortnightly. It is interesting to speculate as to why they didn't
One reason may be that we know how very proud they can be and to drop the Awake would be a bit of an embarassment. It is also a good way of using some of their good bethel writers who aren't of the anointed and can be allocated airy fairy topics without too much control.
The other problem that dropping it would mean they have to concentrate more of their efforts on the actual 'meaty' stuff and as they are not very imaginative these days it is a hard task for them. They couldn't even produce a substantive book this year.
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NotBlind
Why haven't they dropped the Awake already? It could be easily done with the excuse that they need to focus on the Watchtower magazine now that it is printed in various versions. But they didn't drop it when they chose to print the Watchtower monthly instead of fortnightly. It is interesting to speculate as to why they didn't
One reason may be that we know how very proud they can be and to drop the Awake would be a bit of an embarassment. It is also a good way of using some of their good bethel writers who aren't of the anointed and can be allocated airy fairy topics without too much control.
The other problem that dropping it would mean they have to concentrate more of their efforts on the actual 'meaty' stuff and as they are not very imaginative these days it is a hard task for them. They couldn't even produce a substantive book this year.
If they drop a magazine, I believe it will be the public Watchtower. The 'downsizing' would be too psychologically depressing to completely shut down the Awake magazine, which has been printed essentially since 1919. They would just offer the dumbed-down Awake with a smattering of Bible articles with a majority of articles about natural disasters, Swiss cheese, and maybe a Young People Ask article here and there. The Watchtower would become a members-only magazine. It seems kind of silly to have two 'editions' of the Watchtower for two completely different audiences, the more I think about it.
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Band on the Run
Unthank succeeded because Australia passed a valid law that included religions in general. Without such a law, you cannot get the same result.
I am curious concerning the "mentally diseased" remark. The WT and Awake! are published in so many languages. Do they change the text to conform with local law or custom? Imagine what German, Japanese, Malawi JWS endured as individuals b/c of doctrine consistency. In Australia, their individual xxxx are on the line. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated every social welfare/stimulation program that FDR proferred. He announced he was going to pack the court with enough justices to change the result. All of a sudden they had "new light" on the Interstate Commerce Clause. It is referred to as the Switch that Saved Nine. I don't how many GB members there are.
Without an audited version of their financial records, we have no way of knowing what their position is.
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Omen
Once they sell everything and cashflow goes to negative, yup
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Anony Mous
When I talk to people here about "I was in a cult" and then go to explain the belief about the end of the world, separation of their followers and medical treatment they usually ask: "Scientology?". When I say, no Jehovah's Witnesses they're like "oh, those people, yeah I heard about them, they're pretty small"
It's funny actually that Scientology is better known than the bafoons knocking on your door every Saturday.
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WTWizard
I only wish the IRS would do something useful for once in its existence and tax the Washtowel Slaveholdery right out of existence. They are still based in the United Tyranny of Stupidity--hey, if they can raid a lemonade stand, why not raid the Washtowel for a lot more money?
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sir82
I can envision the following within the next 10-15 years:
-- Brooklyn properties have been sold, and all the cash burned up.
-- JW population has increased to 9 or 10 million, but the western world's JW count is in a 1-2% per year decline.
-- As a result, contributions are even less than now.
The solution?
-- Drop Awake entirely
-- Watchtower is converted to an internal-only "study edition" and not printed at all. It is sent exclusively via PDF (or whatever format is popular in 2021) and congregations bear the full cost of producing hard copies.
-- Field service is based exclusively on (much cheaper to produce) tract distribution. If someone expresses interest, then offer him the latest study book.
Heck, just to assuage their pride, don't drop the "Awake" title after all. Just change it to a quarterly 4 page tract for field service use.
Interesting topic regarding the potential legal troubles.
For most of its 130 year history, the WTS has typically been the "David" in court cases. Starting with the California child abuse settlements, and continuing thru the Unthank case, the WTS is now more often forced into the "Goliath" role. I think it has surprised them, and they are still scrambling, trying to figure out the best strategy.