I was 30 in 1974 and had been raised by Witness parents. It was not the failure of the expectations for 1975 that caused me to loose faith in the Watch Tower publishing Corporation and it's franchise religion, Jehovah's Witnesses. It was the way the publishing corporation chose to deal with the failure that exposed them to me.
They actually did me a favor. If they had not made those ridiculous predictions, and then denied they made them, I may have just plodded on for years more without looking at the group in any real way. I did not appreciate being treated like a weenie and in time just the treatment would have driven me away. The HUGE failure just forced me to leave in 1974. (The real failure was not in 1975, it was in 1974 when the publishing corporation started issuing warnings about the prediction and made clear that they did not believe it themselves. Only those of us there at the time are aware of that fact.)
The Witness people earned my everlasting contempt when they started to shun me in 1992. It was then I did my homework and decided to start sharing what I had learned. When my son started to shun me in 1995, I had nothing else to loose to the group, and I was free to become public and vocal with my sharing of information about the Witness group's practices. The rest is history. GaryB
1975..Let's Keep It Alive!
by Englishman 38 Replies latest jw friends
-
garybuss
-
one
Incidentally thing happened that scared many around that time.
WT implied they knew the “day and hour.”, so ‘don’t toy’ with contradictory argument, they said..
OIL EMBARGO, even some scared head of state said there was no way out of the crisis, fyi then came 911, 30 years later.
President Nixon resigned, “I am not a crook”
President Gerald Ford went to Helsinki for a “WORLD PEACE” conference.
Some jw stored food to survive…
My parents practically gave away everything, abandoned rights and property, so I ended up helping them "survive", the one out of the religion but the one more stable economically, i wonder why... I had to play catch up of course.
Some resigned good jobs. Forget about any needed surgery etc etc
They were acts that showed real faith, you know.
The “last” big international convention “before big A” took place in 1973, missionaries were given the “last chance” to see their relatives.
Two scary “kingdom news” pamphlets were distributed to “1/7” of earth population. I wish i can get one of those. They were really insulting to church and politicians. BTW the WT have no respect for the separation of religion and state. No wonder they have been "persecuted", banned. Some times you get what you deserve.
Then, around 1977, the infamous wt magazine issue blaming the R&F, for believing in fantasy. After that I lost confidence in the old boys in Brooklyn. CoC only confirmed everything I don’t know why I got the book so late, lack of advertising I guess.
-
one
Gary,
did you say warnings in 1974?, can you elaborate?
As far as i know they were stronger than ever.
I concluded in 1974 that at least 1975 was a bit too early, judging by the state of affairs in the org itself.
-
garybuss
One, In 74 they started warnings that were the escape routes. This was done at the same time as the 75 hype. I saw what they were doing. Others saw it with me. There are more than a few of us who left in 74.
-
run dont walk
but Englishman was 1925 any different, after reading many stories/articles (I was not around back then) it seems they tried the same thing back then, so will 2025 be next ??? or maybe 2004 ???
why change the "formula" if it works, just keep repeating to a new generation.
-
run dont walk
for all of us Canadians the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup. Broadstreet Bullies, now that was hockey !!!!!!!!!!!!
-
wannaexit
Hillery_step,
Are you Italian? He may very well be a "pulitore della finestra". Is that not the career of choice for those in the borg? Actually for Mr Veenstra that job would be too good. "Pulitore del gabinetto" would be more like it. He was not very well liked. My husband's family knew him very well. He loved his booze. The first thing he would ask when he would visit was liquor.
Wannaexit
-
talesin
i remember veenstra well - he is good friends with my parents. as far as 1975 is concerned, well. that is the year i left the jw at the tender age of 17.
it had more to do with their abuse (i think) than the date. but now i look back and realize that my logic stepped in and took care of me.
veenstra - may he and many others rot in hell (not that i believe in it, heh heh, it just feels good to picture them there!!!!)
-
mouthy
Expatbrit> If you find out anything can you send it me e-mail? Consider my age & intelligence> I am finding it harder to keep up with the speed of this line"- Sometimers Disease"Not Alzheimers (all-timers)