by Aussie Oz 30 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
While looking through stas charts on Jwfacts i notice two charts of publishers through the years.
on them, it is very clear that growth fell off the chart after 1975 and dropped dramaticaly again at 2000.
We know why for 75 and remember that many understood the big A to come by 2000.
Will 2014 mark a subconscious and hopefully conscious psychological reaction from JWs and 'interested' ones i wonder?
oz
How could it not? WT refuses to drop 1914 (witness Volume I of the Faith in Action DVD), so there have to be at least a few bulbs lighting up dimly around the centennial... "Hey, wait a minute, 2014 sounds like it could maybe be important... Like, didn't something happen like a hundred years ago about Jesus or something?"
There may well be a drop. However expect there to be a drive to distract the faithful from the date. Expect to see articles about keeping the faith, trusting the gb implicitly and not serving for a date. They will probably also continue to vilify those who leave keeping the congregations under the cosh. It is likely to be a miserable time to be a jw. Hopefully alarm bells will start going off.
Anybody who has not worked out by now that the WT is the biggest steaming pile of crap will probably not wake up then either.
You have got to have suspended any critical thinking skills to go along with it now, those skills will remain dormant for the mind controlled JW's even after 2014 has come and gone.
This will not be difficult for them as Nugget points out, if they had openly promised something for 2014 it might have affected a number, but they are already safely tucking away any thoughts about how long ago 1914 was.
Do more ! Stay close ! The end is sooooooooo near! How do we know ? The Holy Spirit, sorry we mean The Holy Governing Body, said so!
The older Dubs around here have already resigned themselves to the thought that they are going to die in 'this system'.
If there is a falloff after 2014, it won't be because of 2014. The WT has never hung anything off it. Ex-JWs are the only ones getting excited about it.
If you want some family out, they are not going to leave because nothing happens in 2014. They are well used to nothing happening and the bOrg will do damage control prior to this non-event. They will have to leave for other reasons. Reasons that you have to make sure they know about and that will bother them.
Chris
I hope the KH membership continues to age in place, with no young blood to replace them.
I think we are due for a sizeable drop followed by negative growth after 2014.
No, the date has no significance, but it doesn't need to!
For instance, I had trouble getting a restaurant reservation in NYC last Friday just because it was 11/11/11!
I think people make mental "milestones" like 2000, and for witnesses there is no doubt that 2014 is a milestone. As the 100 year mark approaches, the cognitive dissonance will be intense for many, and they will either "hunker down" in their "faith" or start questioning what the hell is going on. I also think the society's doctrines will grow weirder and that will wake ones up as well.
I truly beleive this religion is moribund.
For many it is just the idea (and ridiculousness of the thought) that 1/10th of the way through the "Millenial Reign" that Christ has yet to cleanse the earth. Think about it, if you have a job to do,say moving, do you get up that morning and relax on the couch a bit, drink some coffee, then around noon decide you are going to actually start packing and loading the truck?
No, you get up and moving, and want at least the first truck loaded by noon. You have started cleaning the house out.
Is Jesus up there sitting on the couch, drinking some coffee, and thinking "Hey, I've got all day to do this"?
The WT has always found ways to skew their numbers, such as lowering hour requirements for pioneering, changing the standards for what qualifies as a publisher. They may take a dive short term, but they'll rebound. They are good at adapting, if nothing else.
