by Hermano 39 Replies latest jw friends
If JWs truly believe the end is upon us, they wouldn't lament getter older, sicker and dying in "the present system of things." Even the most faithful I know do not speak cheerfully of never becoming old. It's obvious what is not going to happen in our lifetime or maybe even that of our children ... grandchildren....
CoCo Ages
DesirousofChange, Compound Complex, I grew up hearing my dad say he would most like see the end in his lifetime. Then it changed to "I still hope I will see the end in my lifetime." As of about 5 years ago, I don't even think he says that anymore.....
I do think that many JWs are "main-streaming" it. In other words they go to meetings, out in service, etc. but really dont care. Remember its a social club also, friends, family, something to do. I know many JWs who watch violent movies, play violent video games, have a little too much to drink, stay home from meetings on occasion for reason, etc., etc. It will take a tremendous, earth shattering event such as a GB member being caught on video with a man or a hooker and evidence that the others tried to cover it up to shake some people up. Even then many will not even pay attention.
Its a pyschological hold that being a part of a congregation holds over you that causes the... whats the term cognative dissonance? I would guess that in a given congregation 25-30% or more dont care about the religion anymore. However each of those people would never reveal their doubts because of fear of retribution and being cut off from the rest of the group to shut you up. Its sad because if all these people in every cong around the world would reveal themselves then we would see a big change. Fear prevents it from happening.
a friend of mine went to a funeral recently intending to speak to disfellowshipped relatives of the deceased whom she knew would be there (my firend is not related to the deceased or her family and is a witness). She said to an elders wife "Where is Cathy (not her real name) I can't see her anywhere, do you think it would be alright to go over and offer my condolences". Without a second thought the elder's wife said yes of course it would. (Cathy is disfellowed and her relative had passed away). So my friend went and asked another relative of the deceased where Cathy was and without a blink this relative who himself is an elder took my friend to her. So my friend spoke to Cathy for a couple of minutes and hugged her twice. No one has criticised her actions or said anything to her.
DesirousofChange, Compound Complex, I grew up hearing my dad say he would most like see the end in his lifetime. Then it changed to "I still hope I will see the end in my lifetime." As of about 5 years ago, I don't even think he says that anymore.....
Hermano, my grandmother said that too. She's saw the end -- HERS -- she'd dead. Nearly 20 years. She thought she was surely one of those MILLIONS who will never die.
My parents said hat too. Thought they would be among those MILLIONS who will never die. Now one of them is dead as well, and the other has one foot in the grave but still a Die-Hard JDub.
All those born-ins of the next generation, like me, have witnessed this. Every generation that thought they would live forever is already dead or rapidly approaching it. My grandfather (who accept Studies in the Scriptures), my grandparents, my parents, and I'm an old bastard already too.
Yes they have lost (most of) their control on me (fading for family), and I think much of it on my kids and their peers (many not getting dunked or reaching out for any privileges). Most all of them going to college. Skipping on pioneering or Bethel. Setting plans for their careers and future.
In fact I think the FDS no longer has the total control over MOST of the JWs I know as they once did. Most are doing token service. Most do not fear skipping a meeting if there's a better offer for something else -- vacation, concert, whatever. Many men not bothering about being appointed as MS/Elder, esp those who have served before and stepped down or been removed. They find that it's a great relief to not mess with all the politics and BS.
That's why I think there is the tightening of the screws regarding DF/DA/inactive/weak family & friends. Also, the reason for the new BRAZEN conduct definition which allows them to control the fringe JWs.
Doc
I recently, out of necessity, attended an evening meeting. Attendance was extremely low, my old friends were, as always, welcoming, no one commented on my hair and beard, and I was called on during the service meeting.
The strange, strange world of Jehovah's Witnesses.
CoCo's In and Out
It is so strange, how the organization is bringing up in the talk this summer about the organization as "Mother." I wonder how that one is going to go over. I never called the organization "mother" but would hear occasionally older ones referring to it that way. To me it was strange, as we would not called anyone "father" (and criticized the Catholics for doing so) but some JWs would call the organization "mother." Strange, indeed!
I will remind everyone participating in this thread of one of the great events of the twentieth century: the collapse of communist rule in Europe. Thirty years ago, both the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union stood secure. Despite unrest within, and daunting challenges without, nobody in his right mind would have conceived or predicted that the Wall would crumble overnight, and that an abortive coup in the Soviet Union would lead to its implosion a mere two years later. Yet both happened and those events dramatically reshaped our world.
To my mind, the WTS is facing a similar situation. There is unrest within the ranks as more Witnesses--some quietly and others more overtly--challenge the Governing Body and its increasingly out of touch teachings and policies. Meanwhile, the glaring heat and light of negative publicity is what is getting hotter and brighter on the organization. While many if not most Witnesses remain ignorant of the Candace Conti case and other similar ones throughout the world, the Internet has become the weapon of choice for WTS foes and opposers. Cyberspace is bringing unwanted and greater pressure on the organization. Its leaders first condemned the new medium, and now that they have concluded overlate that its members have embraced it, they are making hamhanded efforts to make the WTS brand known, recognized, and relevant there. But even as the WTS struggles with finding a place and voice on the Internet, its opponents are using it to revive and recall its contradictory and inconsistent publications and teachings; point out its doctrinal flip-flops and errors; and recount its unsavory and shameful history.
For the first time since J.F. Rutherford and six other directors were railroaded off to prison in 1918, the WTS faces a crisis of monumental proportions. Ninety years ago, the organization had a leader who was very intelligent, charismatic, dynamic and ruthless. There is no one of that stature in charge now thanks to the Governing Body collective leadership which replaced the autocratic presidency of the past. Whatever adjustments the Governing Body makes to accommodate rapidly occurring changes, they seem to always be a day late and a dollar short. It was likewise in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as the 1980s ran out and the 1990s began, and before their leaders could marshal their complete strength, events overtook them and swept them into the dustbin of history.
I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing doesn't eventually happen to the WTS and lead to its longed for implosion and end. Like so many other tyrannical systems of the past, such an organization cannot resist the human desire for freedom and liberty. Like those others, the WTS has relied on a reign of terror through the practice of disfellowshipping and exile to some kind of religious gulag to stifle and silence dissent. But just as those other despots discovered, the tighter the leadership grips, the more the power it seeks to keep will slip through its fingers. Its downfall is inevitable and I only hope that I live to see it.
Quendi
I would never discourage anyone who detects cracks in the edifice of the WTS. I think that that hopeful attitude is a breath of fresh air and will ultimately prevail - just maybe further down the road than we would wish. It isn't a matter of if, but when. The generation that sees that within their grasp is the generation that will probably make it happen.
It is oh so easy to be cynical - in fact nothing could be easier - but I am pinning my hopes on those who envision sooner rather than later.
For once, I agree with BizzyBee.
