by truthseeker1 5 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I'm not going to post the whole article, but this was an interesting find I wanted to share with everyone.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/amprophesy.html
I think this is what people will think about JWs when they look back at them in 100 years or so, when the movement finally dies out. Its also interesting that all this stuff isn't mentioned in the Proclaimers book. From the looks of it, Millerites are the roots of the JWs down to date prophecies and all.
Are you really surprised that the Proclaimers book doesn't present a complete, accurate and unbiased history of the organization? When do JW publications ever give information without applying their own slant to it, i.e. leaving out information that is unfavorable to them or that reflects badly upon their claims of authority?
I don't think they will die out. Even if it's not for a few more decades, I think that their leaders will start moving inexorably toward the mainstream. A lot of the controversial doctrines (blood, neutrality, shunning) will be done away with, and they will become a group that is socially and psychologically healthier to belong to, though they may remain doctrinally outside the mainstream of Christianity.
The Mormons are well along the way to achieving such status. While their doctrines are unorthodox, and there are still some cult-like control issues, Mormons are not as restricted socially, and thus tend to be mentally healthier than JW's - at least that's true of the ones I have known. Mormons are not prohibited from recreational dating as teens, for example. They are not discouraged from participating in school activities, seeking higher education, having good jobs or making friends with non-Mormons. They are encouraged to spend their time with their families in wholesome activities and recreation, and not in schlepping magazines and books from door to door. As a result, I would expect to find that Mormons have fewer psychological problems, on the whole, than JW's, though I have not really investigated the matter personally. Perhaps if Dr. Bergman is reading this thread, he will have some information.
Of course, if the JW's do not move toward the mainstream, but generation after generation of their leaders continue to maintain their totalitarian grip on their followers, then I do believe they will diminish greatly as an organization, though I still don't think they will disappear entirely. The means of disseminating and receiving information will continue to increase over time, and the amount of information available to potential followers will likewise increase, preventing many potential recruits from ever joining, and continuing to dislodge the faithful who are honest enough with themselves to look. Their numbers can only suffer as a result. I can tell you this much - if the Internet had existed in its current form during the late 1960's, I would never have become a JW. How many today are being turned away from becoming JW's because of reading the truth about the organization online?
Edited by - NeonMadman on 3 January 2003 14:6:45
Good Link Truth seeker,
You can definately see how Russell was influenced by Miller. You should read Apocalypse Delayed if you want to explore more about the roots of "the truth".
I think though that in another 100 years, instead of actually disappearing, the witnesses will just evolve into another organization with a whole new 'plan of the ages'.
I suppose I should have said "evolved into something new". The org is actually not that new of a religion, just an evolution of earlier movements. Its the same damn people (types of people) who keep this crap moving on. there will always be these people, and I suppose there will always be people following them.
Mormons still go door to door. Black pants white shirt on bicycles.
Mormons still go door to door. Black pants white shirt on bicycles.
Don't forget the holy underwear.
True enough, and that's one of the things about them that are still rather cultic. However, they only do such work for two years, generally as young persons. It's more like a rite of passage - like college, or military service - than a way of life that they are expected to devote their entire existence to, as with the JW's. I think that's much healthier for the individuals involved. Which doesn't mean that I'm advocating the practice, only that I think the way the Mormons do it is mentally and socially healthier than the way the JW's do it.
