Are they either leaving or going full on 'cult mode'? No quarter.

by punkofnice 60 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  punkofnice

  Sir82, fmf, vidiot, sparrow - Totally agree
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  punkofnice

  Crazy, brokeback - they could be firefighting with their evil shunning vid at the latest A$$embly

  chaching, - good point

  scratch, freddo - vive la net

  leu, bradford - you make interesting observations.

  Thanks to those that put thoughtful and reasonable comments.
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  Half banana

  I like Cha ching's point that they leave it up to the next generation of gb to clean up the mess left by the earlier incumbents and find their own excuses and spin as to why Big A has not yet come.

  The poisoned chalice is handed down to a new set of leaders who keep the lie of paradise on the move like a Chinese juggler keeps his plates spinning on a stick.

  It must appear like a game at the top of the JW (dis)organisation.
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  punkofnice

  nana - It sounds like British politicians.
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  JW_Rogue

  Yes, they are getting more persistent in the calls for loyalty and making the org your one and only priority in life. You just have to look at some of the videos lately to see that they want everyone thinking about how they could pioneer or do more in some other way. They are especially going after young people to try to discourage them from getting a well paying career. There are still people "in the middle ground" but more and more they are looked down upon by those with titles or in the popular groups.
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  BlackWolf

  I have noticed people are acting very strange in my Cong since the convention. They all seem very paranoid and desperate. My mother keeps telling me how the great tribulation is coming any day now and how excited she is. I've told her before that I don't want to be a witness, so I guess she's looking forward to my death? Or maybe she just thinks I've changed my mind? Anyhow, the witnesses are driving me nuts lately! The only "end" in sight is hopefully the end of this stupid cult! I too have noticed that some people have become more inactive and some, like my parents, have just become more insane.
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  sir82

  I too have noticed that some people have become more inactive and some, like my parents, have just become more insane.

  LOL - that is pretty much the inevitable outcome for all current JWs - inactive or insane
  
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  Dagney

  I am wondering my own self what the sentiment is in the congregations. A few dear friends have received the "dreaded text message," one the very evening of the RC, terminating already minimal contact.

  This week I ran into what was my very best and closest friend when I was in. Haven't seen them in 9 years, last time was at a funeral of one of my nonJW relatives...huge controversy, groups of JW's standing outside the community hall door refusing to enter as an accused "apostate" gave the memorial talk. Fun times. Our visit lasted about an hour and felt like old times. Statements of wanting to get together soon were made...I don't think they have had their RC yet. They seem to be living the life they want, but still go to church.

  I don't think the message from the videos will carry the weight they want with the majority. Some need this message to tell them how to think every minute.

  What a waste of precious time.
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  Vidiot

  bradford - "Playing witness advocate... This is fulfilment of the prophecy Jesus gave about love of the greater number cooling off..."
  

  I have long suspected that this is how they'd spin any significant, impossible-to-ignore reduction in membership... even reduction that they themselves have concluded is inevitable (given recent developments), and therefore should be "managed".

  On a related note, I think successfully "managing" said decline might actually enable the Org to survive (albeit in a significantly downsized form), but the hard-line and extremist positions they're so staunchly reinforcing (in order to manage said decline in the direction they want) will end up leaving them looking like a slightly more media-savvy version of Westboro Baptist.
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  Vidiot

  BlackWolf - "I have noticed people are acting very strange in my Cong since the convention. They all seem very paranoid and desperate."

  Well, let's be honest...

  ...your typical JW congregation is kind of a paranoid and desperate place.

  

  Seriously, though, I think it's probably a combination of ramped-up rhetoric and our ability to see it more clearly as a semi-outside observer.