by LevelThePlayingField 16 Replies latest watchtower scandals
"Some back then believed 1975 would be it" ................ only some?
If most didn't, then they were certainly a silent majority. (Actually, make that bloody silent ! ) Not at all surprising, though, when the WTS thought they had that "No man knows the day or the hour" scripture covered. A Watchtower article in August 1968, entitled "Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" warned that this was "no time to hide behind" that particular bible verse.
What a sad mini movie, so very well done.. Yes it would make an excellent but in on any convention program.
sad part is hm would get the point of it?
Wasandelder Once,
Interesting!
Yes, I was very much a JW during those times - baptised in 1972 after having been a regular reader of WTS literature for six years beforehand. Not only the congregation I was in, but all others I knew about as well (without exception), swallowed that one about 1975.
One of the more prominent elders in that congregation made no secret of what he thought about 1975; as late as May of that year, he was still insistent that the current set of tyres on his car was going to "see the system out".
Nobody in that congregation had an educational level greater than Grade 12. Furthermore, I am only aware of one person in the entire circuit who had a university degree (he was a geologist). The few who bucked the trend did no better than a Diploma of Education (qualifying them to teach school at primary level), and they were widely regarded as being over educated! Even those of us who actually got to complete Grade 12 were few and far between - to say nothing of being on the verge of that very disapproved of state of affairs, over educated!"
Your observations about the connection between education levels and skepticism about WTS chronology seem pretty accurate to me! The congregation you describe, though, seems a little different to most, in having a larger number of university graduates amongst its ranks.
In all the congregations I ever associated with, over 28 years and in three different countries, there was only one that a number of degree-qualified persons. This was an English speaking congregation in the capital city of a recently independent Third World country. As a consequence, its territory included the local elite, plus expatriate professionals who had remained behind on short, fixed-term contracts.
Apart from that, in all the other congregations I ever associated with, you struggled to find anybody who even held a diploma. I can recall one brother who was a Quantity Surveyor, and several who were school teachers. That was it, though!
That's an awesome idea and if I get the chance, I will do it. I certainly have the technical skills and I am uncannily good at going about unnoticed.
My mom confessed to me when I shared my doubts with her that she left for about a year in the late seventies, but she didn't specify why; only said that she had doubts as well. When I learned about the '75 fiasco it was the proverbial light bulb going off in my brain. Before then I had always assumed that she had been stumbled by some other witness, but now I know that she knows the GB is fallible.. and chose to come crawling back to them anyways. The strange thing is that I don't think she did it over shunning; she really seems to believe the WT theology even though she knows they were wrong.
That video is extremely well done! It would be great if it could somehow be played at big meetings and conventions. It would likely be over before anyone was certain it had been "adapted." Regardless, I think it could wake some people up... and that's a good thing.
Another point: while the Society's productions are blatant propaganda that appeals to blind loyalty and shamelessly exploits normal emotions, this video presents its message honestly without manipulating or distorting the facts. It neither overplays nor minimizes the raw truth of what actually happened in many, many cases.
After listening to the audio clip at the end of the video that said "stay alive to 75" it just occurred to me that this was all just a terrible misunderstanding. The brother wasn't saying to stay alive to 1975. He was saying to make sure you live to the age of 75. You evil apostates are just twisting the brother's words to mean something else. 😄
