by ÁrbolesdeArabia 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I can see this game being played until 2050, there is enough cash to last until the middle of the century, if all print is shut off. When will the lights snap on, and the majority of the JWs figure "We were tricked and let's keep our kids from making our mistakes."
How far can you see in your "mind's eyes" the Barnums of Bethel moving the circus tents before the audience realizes the show is long over?
Doesn't matter. It's a revolving door system. Thats why they need to keep recruiting.
Their history from the beginning has been a ditching of old chronology and a placing of new chronology. They can keep doing that until people in general get smarter. How long will that take? 50 yrs, a hundred?
S
Provided they do not abandon any of their most core, basic teachings - soul is not immortal, no such place as hell, trinity is a false doctrine, everlasting life forever in paradise on earth, true religion uses Jehovah's name - they will always command a large following of millions. Only if they mess with any one or more of those basic things would there be a mass splintering and falling away, perhaps comparable to what was experienced by Herbert Armstrong's religion after he died and it went mainstream.
20never.
On Marvin's thread about the Weird Photo he points out that in the year Spring 1927 to Spring '28, Memorial attenders dropped by over 80% !
This was due to the failed 1925 predictions, about which Rutherford admitted "I rather made an ass of myself" (I presume he was saying "arse"),
we are not in the same position now, there is not an actual date given by the WT, 1975 was a lesson to them, and we also now have a body of people, 7Mill approx. who are used to Doctrine change, and used to failed expectations, all of their JW life this has gone on, as has the relentless mind control that the GB/FDS are being used by God whatever rubbish they spout.
The Bible Student still associating with Rutherford around 1925 was a bit of a thinker, so many left. Today's JW's have either never had, or have had taken away, any Thinking skills.
I do think though that the 100 year mark reached in 2014 will start some beginning to wonder, and a year or two after that we may see a spike in the number leaving, but I do not forsee a mass exodus, lets face it, any who are mind controlled enough to still be in it now are not that likely to wake up.
The Internet/Information age coupled with the general lack of interest in religion will hamper their efforts at gaining new members, I already think this is happening, and the WT will slowly die anyway by attrition even if no more than usual wake up and walk.
It would be hilarious if the Watchtower dies a slow, apathetic death instead of the dramatic "center of persecution" role they've assigned for themselves all these 100+ years...
Have to agree with the cynical realists who point out that J W Newbies will always be taken by the "present truth", having not experienced the past. Already numbers of the younger & newer ones believe that 1975 was just the irrational expectations of a few fringe members.They are discouraged from researching the past. We see on line some publications back to year 2000. Will this replace the c/d rom and only show them what they want them to see?
The oldies do not want to discourage them, or have selective memories, so they play along. It is not in their interests to act against the movement since they have invested so much already . "Lord, where else can we go?" is the Biblical attitude that they maintain.
So, I do not think that their end will come about this way. I am much more optomistic about financial meltdown. Law suits, decreasing revenues, future changes to tax liabilities maybe, over reaching with a new H Q? We are seeing swingeing cuts in mag production and cost cutting...
Let's hope so , I really hope so!
The craziest religions continue to thrive and JW's are among them. For every nutty self appointed Messiah, a generation of loons are prepared to follow
People have been deceived by religious charlatans for 10,000+ years.
The Watchtower has no monopoly on deception.
If generation after generation after generation after.... keep on geeting fooled, what is so special about 2020, 2030, 2050, or 8888 for that matter?
The Watchtower may change, grow, shrink, or even completely disappear as the years go on. My best guess is that it will gradually fade into obscurity, slowly declining but never really disappearing, over the next 50 or so years.
Other groups will rise to pick up the slack.
I think with the advent of the internet, more & more WT children will wake up & leave. With a steady decline, especially in affluent & educated areas, the WT will have the cash eventually dry up. And, as we all heard a million times over "When Jehovah fails to provide, we'll take that as our work being complete". Hopefully sooner than later.
