classification of Jehovahs Witness members by when they joined up (page 4)

Hillary

I have seen people mention 2034 and am very concerned about that as I have young nephews who will be in their 20' and 30's in 2034. I know it's a way's off but I hope they don't get sucked into that the way so many people did with 1975. Hate seeing history repeat itself and being powerless to do anything about it

jwfacts

Soon will work forever. It has worked for full human lifespans of several generations of JWs so far, so no reason it won't keep working.
Slimboyfat - Thats not true. Until 1995 JWs always had a specific timeframe to work with (1914, 1925, 1975, the generation). This "very soon" vagueness is relatively new territory, me it's proving difficult to sustain.

A specific date is not required for "soon" to work. Look at Christianity. 79% of Americans still believe in Jesus Second Coming to Earth, and 79% think it will be in their lifetime, and they don't have the strong eschatology of JWs. http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/the-second-coming-of-jesus/

BESTY Now the 20 somethings and recent converts have only ever known 'soon' - thats the difference I'm trying to explore.

It is an interesting question. However, I am not sure that there is a large difference between the number of born ins that leave now, and that left in the 1970's or 80's. Franz claimed it was 2/3, which is still what it seems to be today.

I think that it is harder to get new converts without the urgency, and for them "soon" does not cut it. As with Jeffro's graph, there was a spike in growth prior to the specific date of 1975, which also occurred prior to 1914 and 1925, and even in the 1980's with the final push regarding any logical meaning of the generation.

slimboyfat

When did "the generation" talk start? 1975 was layered on top rather than preceding "generation" talk.

jwfacts, but mainstream Christianity is not growing as JWs are growing. And many of the fringe evangelical groups, the ones that are faring the best, also produce specific end time prognostications, in the style of The Late Great Planet Earth.

slimboyfat

In case you have not heard of it The Late Great Planet Earth was an extremely popular evangelical book predicting Armageddon would come in the 1980s and by 1988 at the latest. JWs don't have a monopoly on end time predictions.

iCeltic

But most folks frame of reference here is jw. Personally I'm not interested in the ins and outs of Mormons (or any other religious craze) because I was never affected by it.

3rdgen

LostGeneration, I think we are on the same wavelength. IMHO it doesn't matter whether "sooooon" works for ALL. There are enough breeders in the borg to keep this cult going because it is a matter of numbers now. Even if 2/3 leave, 1/3 will keep procreating (sp?) (having babies) who they teach to be JWS. The "base" is already in place.

jwfacts

jwfacts, but mainstream Christianity is not growing as JWs are growing.

I agree that a specific date spurs growth of converts more that an ambiguous "soon", and Watchtower growth will slow now there is less compelling urgency to join, along with greater access to comparative information about religions. However, for those that are already indoctrinated into the religion, "soon" seems to be good enough. My relatives get all excited everytime the Watchtower says how soon the end must be, despite having lived through the failures of 1975 and the generation, simply because the want to believe it is soon.

BESTY - 70+ age group ... have surrendered to the resurrection hope.

Good point. JW's used to talk a lot about walking arm in arm into the new world. It does not seem so certain anymore. I was shocked when my parents spoke about wanting to die in each others arms, like in the movie The Notebook.

exwhyzee

The twenty and thirty somethings we see now, were raised by parents who were taken in by the whole 1975 falshood. They've heard the tales their parents and grandparents have to tell and wonder how they could have been so naive. They may be going through the motions of being JW's but they seem to be covering their bases as far as future plans and there is a noticable bit of skepticism about them. The "normal ones" aren't as strict about shunning, following directions such as "NO FACEBOOK", going to concerts, R movies or having non JW activities or friends. I don't think they feel the fear or have deep guilt about not going in service or missing meetings. I don't think they will be as deeply affected or dissapointed when they hit 40 or 50 and realize things just don't ad up.

besty

it would be interesting to hear from anyone baptised in the 1950's (or has heard 1st hand from someone that was) - what version did they join?

If 1975 didn't become 'truth' until the 1960's and the previous date before that was 1931, what false prophecy were people signing up to for those 30+ years?

slimboyfat

The generation prophecy was already in place by then, no?

classification of Jehovahs Witness members by when they joined up

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