Cedars thank you so much for your hard work on this. This is very interesting.
LITS
2005 - The year the Society began its decline (without anyone noticing)!
by cedars 112 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Finkelstein
It had been mentioned years ago by mere observation that this religion had a expiry date attached to it, for it was really
constructed and formulated on a set time frame . 1914 had occurred and all the proceeding events from that year were to follow
accordingly, spoken and preached supposedly by god's only solemn earthly organization.
Well here we are almost 100 years from that date and still nothing has really happened, which was proselytized and sold by
the WTS. over many decades. You can only feed the public bullshit for a certain length of time before they realize what
they've actually have been fed.
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cedars
Hi uninformed, please try posting again - but this time press the "compatibility view" button in your address bar. It should work then.
It would be nice to hear your thoughts.
Cedars
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stapler99
Peversely, the failed 1975 prediction had a positive effect for the religion. It made the less fanatical leave and it retained strong control over the members' beliefs.
We hear a lot about 1975 on this forum and elsewhere, but 1925 was a bigger and more definite failed prediction. There is a chance for 1975 to be forgotten about in the same way.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
At the time, certainly. But 1925 is barely a blip on the radar anymore, and it will be extremely difficult to find any Witness alive that even remembers 1925. The failure of 1925 exists only in the minds of JW critics. Even 1975 barely rates a mention from most active Witnesses. It's safe to say that the Society has weathered both storms. In both cases they quietly moved on from a doctrinal standpoint and the movement grew (though in the 1925 instance it took a few more years to recover). I think it's safe to say that the Society has learned their lesson the hard way regarding date setting and is unlikely to set another one other than the usual "last days" spiel. What point was made in this thread was that the Society can't play by the old rules anymore, and the guts have been ripped out of its once impressive publishing empire. As soon as this goes, so does the movement.
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Red Piller
Great read Cedars. I appreciate your and Randy's work. Anything that speaks to the end of this harmful organization warms my heart.
My theory: The decline became most visible in 2009. The reduction to one meeting night a week was a colossal change that affected every publisher immediately.
Personally, it lead to my awakening. I was so excited about the extra free night - I just had to think that someone else was discussing this. I googled "one meeting night a week" and ended up here.
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Violia
I agree the 80's and the apostasy witch hunts hurt the Borg a lot. Seemed like everyone was suspicious that everyone else was an apostate. Crazy interrogation ( witch hunts/book burnings) meetings in the back rooms. I agree that the wts going to donation only really hurt them. The wealthier of the jws had to take up the slack for the poorer ones. The ms knew who was contributing, they watched that box carefully. The generation change in 95 and the Internet were the next nails in the coffin. I have been on net since 96 but it was nothing like it is now. Mostly there were AOL chat rooms and message boards and some of the older apostate sites. 9/11 showed the true colors of the wts more than anything I have ever seen.
" oh well, they were going to die at Armageddon anyway". Horrifying to hear that kind of talk.