Vidiot: I've suspected (for a long time) that they are more-or-less doing it on purpose to pare the R&F down to a more mangeable level
ADCMS: Could be. But, doesn't fewer Jehovah's Witnesses mean less income for the Watchtower? And, the more affluent countries are primarily the ones supporting the WT financially, and that is where the falling numbers are occurring more dramatically. If the WT, by all appearances, is suffering a financial squeeze now, how will it fair with even fewer Jehovah's Witnesses who have the means to continue donating?
Somehow I don't think the Organization can survive on the meager donations of Umbuku the poor sharecropper living in Zimbabwe.
But, on the surface, the WTs escalating legalism, demand for unending "do more" service and laughable doctrines seems to be for no other purpose than to cull the herd by finding more creative ways to either disfellowship people or insult their intellect. I would agree with you on that.
The WT has always used increasing numbers as a sign of God's blessing and the imminence of Armageddon. Falling numbers and a shrinking Organization becomes increasingly difficult to explain. This can be hidden from JWs that have little or no access to information, but becomes a real issue in developed nations where the information can be assimilated and seen for what it is. Not that rational, logical, truthful explanations have ever been a foundational cornerstone of WT theology, but at some point the explanations will have to become so absurd JWs will leave for no other reason than they've reached their human limit for dealing with stupidity.
