Simon says:
I don't think the belief system can be kept going...it is not built upon a firm foundation
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i disagree for the simple fact the religions SELL HOPE and as long as folks need hope of a better future -religions like wt will be around
the catholic church is still around despite the fact it used to round up folks and KILL THEM
yet the avg person today who is catholic merely looks upon that past much like jw look upon the past error of wt
they will acknowlege it many times, but THAT WAS US YEARS AGO and off they go- and you can look at so many Belief Systems who have much the same track record of doing Goofy stuff yet the die hard continue
suppose WT lost 90% of it's members that is 5.4 mill ---leaving behind a DIE HARD- HARD CORE GROUP OF 600,000 MEMBERS-
The key players at bethel who make life and death rules would be able to live the rest of thier life in the lap of wealth-
sell 90% of all the branches, assembly halls, kingdom halls and just the real estate value alone they could live off the interest
and with a core of 600,000 they would live thier lives to the end doing just fine
we have a Preacher in my town- has a Lear Jet- yes baby a Lear Jet and 2 Rolls Royces --one for him and one for MAMA
and he has just 24,000 members in his church and look how he lives
so with 600,000 world wide sending in just $1 dollar a month- that's $7 million a year- on top of all the realestate they sold- life is good
so wt will be around alone time-
whether you agree with wt or not --i think most will admit they sell a very good product-
good health, nice home, no crime, etc- the Brochure is slick- and as long as someone is being born --right now in fact as i type this post---- who will long for something better in thier life --a jw or another beleif system will come along and reassure them that they can get all those things
I have come to realize one thing about Belief Systems- they attempt to fill a NEED in folks
and as long as MEN/WOMEN have that need -- there will be a religion standing there to offer to fill it for them
james