Are JW's only in it for the New System? (page 3)

AjaxMan

Yep, looking forward to the end of the world is a 'hobby' for most dub's I've been so blessed to have met and grown to hate

I second that.

ozziepost

Some people will stay in a religion because that's all they know. How many Catholics say, "I was born a Catholic and I will die one"?

I think this is absolutely correct. For many dubs, they have neither the time nor the intellectual ability to truly "make sure of all things".

One leading Bethel elder in this country expressed it to me thus:

"I just don't have the time to meditate and investigate the teachings. They keep me so busy with talk assignments, Visiting Bethel speaker assignments, and other things, that I just don't have the time."

An honest appraisal indeed.

The result? An association of people who "believe all things", so long as they are told WHAT to believe.

Cheers, Ozzie

rocky220

Gee, let's see now............God is love......and love should be UNCONDITIONAL......so is it any wonder why the Borg fails in this department????????................rocky220

SYN

My answer would be that it's more the sheer "Fear of Jehover (TM)" that keeps the numbers up in Dubland. Parents and Publishers teach it to kids and wannabe Dubs, and so the cycle is propogated. The same applies in most religions.

One of the neat inventions of the Governing Body is that there are no absolute guarantees to be found anywhere in the BOrganization that will prevent you from dying - there's always the CHANCE that you'll become birdfood at Armageddon, no matter what your ranking. THIS, more than anything else, keeps BORGLand filled with dupes. There are people who realize it's a crock, but stay there for different reasons, such as wanting to keep associating with family.

Yet again, here is where fear comes into the equation. A lot of people, even some here on this site and elsewhere on the Web, have noted that the only reason they haven't left is that they fear losing their families. Here, once again, the BORG uses fear to keep their members. My heart goes out to these people - even after they want no more part of the BORG, it is still using it's dastardly tactics on them. You guys have my sympathies, I understand what you're going through!

Actually, the Dubbies have a two-pronged approach. First, they entice newcomers with visions of the Paradise, appealing to the natural human wish of not wanting to die. Hell, this isn't even something which is specific to humans, any animal will resist it's own demise! Then, once they've hooked the person, FEAR will KEEP THEM HOOKED.

It is so elegant that it's actually quite frightening.

The Alchemist

The WTS is caught between a rock and a hard place. Ask any JW what they believe and they will tell you what they don't believe. In order for the Society to take away one reward they have to offer another. The very thing that JW's have been taught to believe or should I say not to believe will prevent them from accepting any other hope. It's a tangeled mess. If the New System was taken away JW's for the most part would fall although some would stay because of the 'comfort zone' and would in their hearts keep their old beliefs. What I see is the real problem is that many are having doubts that it is going to happen in their lifetime. There is not much comfort that a replica body created by God with "memory chip" of God's memory of our memory implanted by God (Thanks Gary Busselman) taking our place sometime in the future. That is why the promise of never dying is so attractive. Rutherford must have known this and that is what he offered in place of heaven back in the 1930's. Most Christians find it strange that most JW's don't want to go to heaven. I know one ex-JW who's e-mail address started as "imearthbound". The WTS would have a tough job on it's hands breaking this teaching and the results for them would be catastrophic. Dave

Makena1

Farkel wrote: Measure the membership before the greed and fear factors and removed and then measure the JW membership after the greed factor is removed. If you remove the greed factor, the fear factor's power over people is greatly diminished.

This has already been proven on a smaller scale when the 1975 prophecy failed. Look how the numbers fell off dramatically. If you completely take away the "end game reward prophecies" I would not be caught standing in the doorway of the local KH. At the risk of generalizing, very few JW's have been taught, or on their own have developed a strong relationship with God. When you take away the reward, not much is left. JMHO

All best,\

Mak

Realist

hello Beck_Melbourne,

you said its all about money...since there is no one who gets rich in this silly organization (not even a few winners ..really sad) how can it be about money?

Beck_Melbourne

Hello Realist

Who said no one gets rich?? The WT is a business entity....it would not have grown to what it is today without the money. The head of the hierarchy in the old days weren't shoes salesmen...they were educated men...Rutherford was a Judge and a shrewd SOB. Money was important then, and it still is.

I had a friend in the legal department in Brooklyn Bethel back in the days I used to be a dub (1990's), and he dealt mainly with real estate transactions. The money tied up in real estate is kept confidential...wonder why that is?? How do you think people's faith would be affected if they knew how much the society is worth?? The generosity of the publishers might diminish...we can't have that.

Realist..have you read COC?

Beck

Mo

It seems that most of you people forget that all religion promises their devotees a reward if they stay faithful. So why not use the same silly arguments against them {that the only reason they are devotees is because of the prize they will receive at the end}?

I am a JW because for the simple reason that they are the only ones that are trying to their best to apply Bible direction to their lives.

But being that they are imperfect they do make mistakes

just like everyone else. Even the apostles made mistakes {were they wrong}? I serve Jehovah because he is our creator and wants the best for us and who knows what we should be doing in order for us to get the best out of live more then the one who created it? Of course people who think that they know better then Jehovah will argue the point but in the end we will find out who was right.

ozziepost

I am a JW because for the simple reason that they are the only ones that are trying to their best to apply Bible direction to their lives.

But who told you that, Mo? Do you know that's true? Really, do you?

I think it may be a case of "taste and see".

BTW welcome aboard. I'm sure you're going to learn some things here!

Cheers, Ozzie

Are JW's only in it for the New System?

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