As some have already noted, there is simply no need for the comparison. They have survived 120+ years simply saying "soon now. Veeeeeery soon!". All they need is the carrot, not the proof or the reason. Using jonah would remove the carrot, in effect send the message that the "end" of this system was hindreds of years away. No chance that happens. They will just keep saying "soon now. Veeeeeery soon!". And dubbies will keep believing because its exactly what they want to hear.
What if WT will claim, that Jehovah has pulled a "Jonah and Nineveh" on them?
by prologos 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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BU2B
They wouldn't do this anytime soon, but the organizations main intrest is self preservation. How many would have thought in 1926 after 60% left the group due to a false prophecy that it would grow to the extent it has? What is more, who from back then would even recognize it? The borg will morph and evolve and do anything it takes to survive. In 60 years they might pull this card out, who knows? They will never run out of excuses and twisted reasonings. The only question is, how long will people keep buying it?
The cynic in me says theirs a sucker born every minute, so there will always be someone swallowing the crap even if it is scaled down to a large degree.
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BU2B
I don't believe they actually will NEED the end to be around the corner to exist. Yes many would leave, but many would stay if they were convinced that they were living the way god wanted them too. I don't believe the Mormons have a doomsday, end is nigh mentality yet they are a successful, destructive cult with millions of members. -
TTATTelder
Dubs want to believe in a fantasy. - Data-Dog
Totally agree. The WT takes advantage of the human tendency to want to be included in an elite group with inside information - a special class set aside from the masses with a secret key to wealth or eternal youth. Throw in a little - "you're a good little boy or girl - God approves of you" from people that claim authority - and you have a recipe to scam people out of billions.
It's a sick ploy.
It's no different from somebody like Madoff. He took advantage of similar human tendencies in his billion dollar scam.
Think about it. Why would a woman in her sixties or seventies - 100+ lbs overweight - bad health - of little means - drag herself to an assembly where she will have to walk 20 times as much as she normally does, probably ache through the whole program, and suffer for several days recovering from the experience? (I just recently went to a CA and saw plenty of these types)
Are the talks that good? No not really. Is the association enjoyable? So so.... it's a mixed bag for most. There are more people you don't want to see than those you do want to see. So what's the motivation? Why would she go through so much pain and struggle?
My answer - to get her prize money. She thinks she might miss out on the payout. Eternal youth, beauty, wealth in the new world.
I know it sounds cynical, but there's a lot of truth to it.
Shame on the WTS for letting these poor, uneducated people line up to worship them. The GB are con-artist crooks. I hope they are publicly exposed and humiliated for what they've done and continue to do.
....To answer the OP, I don't think they would ever try the Jonah thing. Too many JW's would give up.
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TerryWalstrom
Well, they DID use that excuse in a manner of speaking.
Fred Franz stood up in front of an audience and shook his finger at them and scoldingly said that Armageddon didn't come in 1975, because "YOU" believed (what we told you) that Armageddon would come then."
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Vidiot
TerryWalstrom - "Fred Franz stood up in front of an audience and shook his finger at them and scoldingly said that Armageddon didn't come in 1975, because 'YOU believed (what we told you) that Armageddon would come then.'"
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prologos
Thank you all for the deeper thoughts than had occurred to me.
Jonah and the ladies at the assemblies.
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GLTirebiter
... second fulfillment of the "repentant Ninevites, disappointed Jonah" bible Story?
To consider themselves as latter-day Jonahs would be amusingly appropriate. The story of Jonah is about an unfaithful prophet who does his own will instead of obeying the Lord. A prophet who brings terror and danger to the entire ship's company until the pagan seamen cast him overboard. A prophet who had to be forced by divine intervention to do his job, and even then only did it reluctantly and cynically. A prophet who delighted in the prospect of mass annihilation, and was disappointed by true repentance. A prophet who is the model for the Governing Body!
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prologos
a prophet who had more concern about a plant that gave him comfort, than the fate of humanity.