by Fred Franztone 39 Replies latest jw friends
Pepperheart
Watchtower is a real estate company, buying, building, selling, buying, selling,......that's what they do. It's a successful business. Out of the printing business and into latest technology media business, another smart corporate decision saving millions. Taking in $$$$$ and streamlining operations. Billion dollar operation is not going anyplace.
The Organization as a whole won't go bust, they will probably sell every KH they can and pocket the money for survival, trim down all functioning expenses to those that show a profit get read of a lot of free laborer they have to feed and house, and be bare bones until they come up with another scam to start raking in the positive cash flow. But with the slow minds of the heavily indoctrinated guiding it that may take many years.
I've seen religions fall before. People still hang on. Hell, there are still Bible Students that follow Russell. So *IF* the Watchtower does fall, there will be believers for a long time, IMO.
But I believe it will fall. Even *IF* it has real estate holdings, you need cash to operate. What do you do? Sell off your Kingdom Halls? Then where do the affected members go? And when that money's gone, then what? Sell more? Once you've sold off all of your Kingdom Halls, then what? Have the congregations reserve a set of picnic tables in a local park? Back to meeting in homes? Back to meeting in homes is where I see it going to eventually and hanging on there for a LONG time. Until a generation or two dies off.
There's the attitudes against college. So you end up with all of these low-income members who can't contribute because most of their income goes to the basics of living. Not to mention it's popularity in third world countries that also don't contribute much.
You've also got doctrine that's killing the religion. 1914? Really? Jesus came over 100 years ago? But he's invisible you say? And you're going to stick with that? But he's going to come back visibly real soon. Real soon. Any minute now. As decade after decade passes. Covering for pedophiles, shunning, etc.
Plus, you have the internet exposing the lies not only of JWs, but of religion in general which is hurting all religions. The category, according to Pew research, of no religion in particular is the fastest growing. Which not only includes atheists, but religious, just not part of a religion. At some point, there will be a tipping point. The more non-religious there are, the less of a stigma it is and the more likely you are to look into it. And it very well could accelerate exponentially.
Go bust, as in 'out of business'? Unlikely. They may downsize, they may reorganize, but the religion will continue to do the same thing it has always done - reinvent itself in order to stay relevant (at lease relevant to people who believe in it)
Now - here's a fantasy to dwell on for a couple of minutes.... what if the entire GB were arrested for fraud, cover up, something, anything... the kind of scandal that brings down powerful leaders and icons.
Oh sure, there'd be a few diehards that would refuse to accept the reality, but by and large, for many it would be the catalyst to dig deeper and realize the folly of their belief system.
Highly unlikely to happen, but oh well, it's fun to think about for a couple of minutes anyway
"If the Watchtower went bust..."
...I think a lot of still-ins would actually breathe a sigh of relief.
If they went broke (which let’s face it, is at any given moment) I think they would meet up in homes in smaller groups like in Russia etc.
What would "bust" look like anyway?
They would be just fine, they would have a "bust" contingency plan.
I had a die hard JW friend who may commit suicide or end up in a mental institution, if the religion gets dissolved.
How many would be there like this. That is my concern.
They're not going bust.
Or in the words of Arnold "It's not a toomer."
Were there mass suicides in Russia after the ban? The sky hasn't fallen just yet. Why waste mental and emotional energy catastrophizing over something that is not happening and may not ever happen.
