JW's Would Stay With The Org Even If 1914 Was Dropped (page 5)

smiddy3

Would they ever be fazed out by dropping the date 1914 ? No

They wouldn`t even be fazed out by dropping the name Jehovah and replacing it with Yahweh as "new Light"

That`s how much they worship JW.Org and the Governing body.

Gorbatchov

Remembering being a young boy, 40 years ago (omg) Gorby's father mentioned 1914 and the kingdom at every door while preaching. 2520 years if he got his moment.

And now JW's can not explain it.

G.

resolute Bandicoot

Has anybody graphed the occurance of the term '2520" in the publications against year printed, this could be intefesting. I don't have the tools just now.

Good OP, PE!

StarryNight9's words nicely summarize the difference in GB I and GB II's thinking:

"'obey even if it makes no sense' rather than 'we'll prove we're right'."

The old GB at least used to try, however feebly, to justify their beliefs. Today's GB in their self-produced high profile, doesn't even try. It's just "obey and be blessed."

In response to the thread's topic, few would leave if they dropped 1914 and few would care about the associated 1918/1919 dates. If some on the GB started sporting beards, THAT would cause a much bigger ruckus than changing 1914.

ttdtt

One common line..

"It is still the best way of life"

Cult followers are conditioned to stay no matter what.
Think about what it took for some of or most of us to have out eyes opened.

blondie

Don't forget the WTS dropped 1914 as the end (now the beginning), dropped 1925 as the time of the appearance of Armageddon, dropped 1975 (7,000 year creative day and 6,000 years of human history dropped. The WTS just stops mentioning the concept in its publications and somewhat slowly replaces with a new or "adjusted" thinking.

truth_b_known

Isn't ironic?

The question posed to believers asking if they would remain faithful to their religion if their religious leaders changed a core belief with the following general response -

"I love being part of a religion that admits when it's wrong and changes it's beliefs, which it has done many times."

How can anyone refer to their religion as "The Truth" when literally every belief may be wrong and could change at anytime?

Perhaps Witnesses should replace the term "The Truth" to "Blind Obedience."

pale.emperor

If anyone has ITV iPlayer there's a great documentary about Charles Manson with recovered lost footage of interviews with his "family" cult.

https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week39/manson-lost-tapes

The stuff they say are eerily similar to indoctrinated JWs.

"I love Charlie. More than I love myself".
"If Charlie told me to kill, sure i'd do it, I wouldn't even have to think about it".
"It doesn't matter that that baby died*. It'll live again somewhere."

*Referring to the Sharon Tate murder where they killed her unborn baby.

DesirousOfChange

Also, consider the fact that the JW membership is "graying". Look around the convention center........LOTS of older JWs. The (serious minded) youth are few -- most youth who are there because they are forced to be there. Thus, you have all these people in advanced years that have their entire life based on the JW network. Where would they go to "start over"? Start over with new friends. Start over with new "rituals". Start over with new things to fill up their boring lives and schedules. Where? My mother is nearing 90 and her little rural Cong is her "everything". It's too late for her to "start over"! I think a majority of the current JW membership is in that very situation. Then, many others are stuck in to avoid the shunning if they speak out or leave.

Just my personal observation.

pometerre21

Scary, isn't it? When I expressed doubt to my mom and showed her some articles about JW child abuse, I suspect she actually read some "apostate" material, because one night she just broke down and said that she didn't understand the overlapping generation teaching and didn't care that the GB were neither inspired nor infallible, but "What else is there, Pometerre? What else is there?"

They'll fall back on what Lloyd Evans calls the box-ticking exercise, where they talk about how there's no organization on earth that displays the love and unity that JWs do and there's no other way to live the best life than with the organization. There's of course the excuse that it's an imperfect organization run by imperfect men, and if we fall for it, it's our fault for expecting more out of them than what's reasonable. It's headbanging logic really. Sometimes I feel suicidal listening to these circular reasonings because I know that it makes sense to them, and only them, and that there's no hope of them waking up.

1914 and that generation came and went, but JWs literally do not care. The carrot of seeing your dead loved ones again and that sickness and death will miraculously disappear once Jehovah murders everyone else is too delicious for them to give up. JWs have an addiction to their organization. There's no other way for me to put it.

JW's Would Stay With The Org Even If 1914 Was Dropped