What Religious Trajectory Are The JWs Following?

millie210

I was reading another thread and the comments got me thinking...

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5656910430732288/pictures-tell-thousand-words

Comments such as OldSkools:
More like digital colonialism channeled through one of the weaker and less important institutions western society has to offer.

Some have compared the Orgs future path to the World Wide Church of Gods. Others view it as being more like Scientology or Mormonism.
Some have drawn chilling comparisons between the Branch Davidians (Jonestown) or other cultist religious movements.
For me, I am seeing the Org looking more and more like a little baby Catholic Church.

Looking back over history we see the colonization the Church did
The absolute authority of the church over the peoples daily lives big and small
Demands for material support
Exclusivity from other religions
Loyalty from birth onward
Excommunication (even for marrying a non Catholic in days past)
Papal authority (in the case of the JWs - shared by GB)
Warwick = The Papal city
(Im sure this is a very short list and there are more comparisons to be had)

Obviously the JWs are coming along too late in civilizations history to enjoy the meteoric rise the Catholic church did but is that a prototype being followed?

If the best indication of the future is the past, which religious entity seems to point to the future outcome of Jehovahs WItnesses?

Londo111

As the organization continues to gradually decline, the more the leaders will grasp for authority. They are circling the wagons now. If there is a fast decline, the more cultlike their trajectory will be.

Crazyguy

Fundamentalist Christians like those that protest outside during soldiers funerals here in the United States.

TerryWalstrom

I would call the Watchtower strategy:
REBRANDING through a reboot.

Brilliant tactics allow them to avoid trying to defend refutable doctrines of the past.

They can muster intense loyalty today in a new way: instead of setting End of the World chronology DATES, they create videos patterned after Tim LaHaye's

LEFT BEHIND series. (The Bunker series)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behind

So many members have fallen out of love with the sterile emotional environment of the old Watchtower chain gain, we now have smiling Governing Body faces, emotional video appeals, animated propaganda and a kinder, gentler rhetoric.

By REBRANDING Jehovah's Witnesses/ Watchtower as JW.ORG, they've come up to speed in the age of technology.

The greatest threat to the Organization is lawsuits and Ex-JW pushback.

They're hoarding cash like crazy for lawsuits by creating a sense of austerity. Further, the focus on the evil of Apostacy is bombarding the rank and file day and night.
Additionally, instead of confrontation style preaching, the public cart offering disengages the publishers and diminshes liklihood of controversial debate.

OUTLAW

What Religious Trajectory Are The JWs Following?

millie210

So no one sees them as "Catholic church like"?

Of course I am not meaning the modern day church with a pope traveling and blessing people and a much lighter approach in general.

I am talking about when if you were Catholic you were "apart" (in America at least)

JFK was the first Catholic president.

People were routinely ostracized for marrying out of the faith.

A persons children "belonged" to the church.

Of course the child sexual abuse situation was at its height.

Confessing your sins to the ~~elders~~ priest was big if you were practicing your faith.

In the case of the Catholic church they have backed way off of peoples everyday lives.

So will JW dot Org do that or will they do as some feel in the comments above and become more cult like?

millie210

Love it OUTLAW!

AC/DC couldnt have said it better

EdenOne

I see a parallel between:

the change operated between 1917 (after Russell's death, Rutherford seizes power) and 1935 (under the mantle of the WTS, Rutherford discards the Bible Student Movement, chooses a new name, re-interprets the meaning of 1914, and introduces a radical new "two-hopes" theology). In the process, many who couldn't keep up with the changes were simply left behind. After a period of great decline, the WTS thrived again. A change that took 18 years to complete.

with:

The change that started in 2002 when Henschel stepped down as President of the Watchtower and the Governing Body seized complete control. Under the mantle of the WTS, a new religion is being forged, with a rebranding to JW.ORG, re-interpretation of the meaning of 1914 and "generation", heavy reliance on digital technology vs old-school printed publishing and embracing tele-evangelism and multimedia religion. In this process, those who can't keep up or don't recognize the religion they grew up with, fall by the wayside. After a period of great decline, the WTS should thrive again. We are 14 years into this transition. We haven't seen the end of it yet.

I think we're living this second time of transition, 90 years after the last one.

EdenOne

DATA-DOG

They are "tacking in the wind" for sure. Perhaps the "wind" is a fart?? Anyway, they are rebranding like the Devil is at their heels. 😈

I don't believe the WTBTS will ever imitate the WWC, because the WTBTS does not apologize.

DD

Spiral

I do see a parallel between the Catholic Church collecting properties and monies and becoming rich (forget that vow of poverty idea) and then becoming the one and only approved faith (or, the one and only "true" faith in our time). It was a struggle for them in the first couple of centuries.

I also think the religious side of the org is a cover for the business side - a real estate and investment pyramid scheme. Only, in this scheme, the income only flows in one direction - up.

Does anyone remember the phone card MLM scheme that was so prevalent say, 25 years ago? The phone cards were expensive, and they weren't important, because the real deal was buying a spot in this pyramid and making some $$$$. The product didn't matter. Alot of JWs fell for it.

I think the org is like that now - the product (religion, feel good, you're gonna be in paradise) is not as important as the income flow. Plenty of people (even in New York) try to ignore the obvious fact that the org is now mostly a real estate investment scheme/franchise.

And yes, Warwick=Vatican.

What Religious Trajectory Are The JWs Following?

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