by EndofMysteries 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
They are going to "adjust" the overlapping a bit. They must have " anointed" GB members running the ORG. NO ONE, but Nobody is gonna take a GB helper seriously. When the current GB start dying like Guy Peirce, Sanderson will need to stretch the overlap like A Morris III stretches his pants.
DD
Can someone please explain why the change from an undefined period of time to the "overlapping generation" b.s.?
The speculation here is that JWs were just too disappointed and demotivated by the news that this system could last any amount of time. The overlapping generation places a new "latest possible date" on Armageddon. It's a bit of a gamble, but it keeps JWs believing that the end is soon. In theory they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, stealing from their future lifespan to buy more time now, because they could end up with another blow-up like 1975. But in practice, they have demonstrated that they can keep pushing out the end date before we get there, as they did when we got to 1994 and the generation that saw 1914 was dying off, and no one in the org. will call them out on it. Even the post-1975 period barely saw any decline in membership, and that was the Greatest Disappointment since the Millerites in 1844.
LOL Data-Dog!! Okay, I guess I was wondering why they would once again time restrict themselves. Were people starting to leave and so they had to do something to make people believe that paradise is "soon" again? I guess the indeterminate time period meant there was not really a carrot to dangle so they had to switch? Just crazy, smh.
Thanks Apognophos! We were posting at about the same time.
There's that old song from 1969 that I've been singing in anticipation of the year 2014.
wanderlust: Can someone please explain why the change from an undefined period of time to the "overlapping generation" b.s.?
I had actually typed an answer but lost it; then I noticed that Apognphos said basically what I was going to say.
I'll say it anyway. I think the org realized that without a deadline, that is, with the undefined period, JWs would just go to living as normal humans do. The org realized it needed to keep the excitement up - to keep the carrot dangling - so it had to have a deadline. Therefore, the new generation teaching which has a limit (although it could be decades away).
Now the org can claim the end is nigh, yet still have plenty of wiggle room - plenty of time to gradually come up with plan B when the time limit on this teaching runs out like it did the one that was used for many years before '95.
I thought the big push for the overlapping generation was a just a few years ago? I know it was talked about in the past, and the WTS tried to use this to say it wasn't a new teaching afterall. Dogpatch had a really good chart on his site, but my computer can't go there right now (site is down?)
I read about this and I honestly cannot believe how anyone could possibly buy into this. But then I think to myself that if I were still in, I would probably drink the koolaid too. I'm sure some people are like wtf? but then they just fall back on "trust in jah" and then put the blinders back on. Once again, smh, can't believe this.
In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centenarian
Just a small point, "Millions now Living will never Die" was first presented in 1918. You are right that it is already a failed prophecy, as there are less than 1 million alive from when that statement was made in 1918.
Sadly, JWs are so deluded that most do not think it matters if the GB preach lies.
Here is a history of the Generation changes.
jwfacts - thanks for that. Very helpful. Makes me want to research the history of the doctrine.
