by Roger Kirkpatrick 69 Replies latest jw friends
I would say that if a known df'd person turned in a time report, I would expect the elders not to add that to the monthly total.
But I knew an inactive jw (for 3 years) not attending meetings, turned in 3 years worth of time reports, and that congregation's elders added it to their report to the head jws in NY. But he did not attend the meetings then or ever and never turned in a time report after that. He was his little test of their honesty.
Opening post: "...Watchtower will manage to exist in one way or another for years, if not decades, to come. "
I was sure of that when I faded out in 2007. I still don't get at all hopeful that Watchtower will end in my lifetime.
But it is great to see that they went to more of a serious decline from their slight growth since I left. They sold off Brooklyn and many Halls since I left. They have been found guilty in child abuse cases since I left and it cost them millions.
So who really knows? There is a tipping point where such a monstrously large thing like Sears Roebuck or Watchtower cannot sustain itself. What is often left at the end is a token- like The International Bible Students are. Who really knows what it will take?
There are scandals awaiting. Who knows?
OTWO - I always appreciate your views re/WT - as well as others.
stan livedeath - "...I dont think he would ever have believed all this paedophilia scandal--just apostate lies."
Not if he hears it from from outside sources, no.
Way harder for rank-and-filers to simply dismiss it if elders and COBEs can't actually deny they're occurring due to repeated court failures covered in the media, though. One can only deny facts screaming in your face for so long... sooner or later, you have to either accept them or walk around blindfolded with your fingers in your ears.
This, IMO, is a huge part of why the WT leadership is fighting so hard to keep a handle on things... the more the full scope of the problem becomes "a matter of public record" (not to mention more and more rank-and-filers seeing the issues with their own eyes), the harder it becomes to convince the membership that it's all "apostate lies".
Therein lies the problem re/JWs -- they walk around with horse blinders on and air force earplugs with respect to the fear of reality about cult WT and their fantasies. I think it will take a lot of moxie for the devout JW to view the real truth.
I agree LV101, but there was a poster on here who only woke up because of the Abuse scandals. If only a few do so, and find the Road to Freedom it will mean the the Org is losing even more quality members.
The guy, and his wife who left were quite prominent in their area, if memory serves he was a District ( Regional) Convention speaker, lose people of that quality and the Borg's decline begins to speed up !
Good point, Phizzy - do you reckon those in the upper echelon (elders/COs/DOs/who-hoes, whatever) see more of reality? Maybe not - they're not treated like the R&F and could be in the clouds. I use to mention the child abuse issues to JWs - they don't seem to be phased and were quite aware of it themselves being very protective of their children or even have a family member/close friend that's been a victim. It's crazy. They can't give up their fantasies and look at the reality -- too much pain to walk or stay for family, etc.
Phizzy - "...the Org is losing even more quality members..."
This is another significant factor too, yes.
The more decent rank-and-filers see "unrighteous" actions being taken by the WT leadership (particularly actions that are "Biblically" unjustified or even in contrast to scriptural commands)...
...the more will feel compelled to speak out and get themselves DFed, DA themselves, or simply fade.
Those that remain can't help but - statistically - be a lower quality of individual...
... whose inevitable attitudes and actions can't help but further perpetuate the downward spiral of egregious behavior that started getting the Org into more and more trouble to begin with.
think of the rebellious youth factor. There is a new generation of jws rising, that do not want to hear about doctrine. They blame us older ones to have created, and sustained that pie in the sky. Any apologetic reply to them is derided. "do not burden us with that irrelevant to our lives stuff" Any refutation of faulty doctrine, "new light" gets a shrugged shoulder: " who cares, not us new generation" . Overlapping? get over it.
Hypocritical millionaire elders taking wt program parts on "pioneering out of high-school " sets them free to do it their way.
Wt could have a vox populi, vox dei future.
