The uptake...

Thisismein1972

With recent events pointing at watchtower growth, I felt compelled to say a few words.

If the figures turn out to be true, then we should not be discouraged. after 9/11 there was a surge in, not only the watchtower, but other demonisation of organised religion. whenever there is a a paradigm shifting event that puts fear into others, this tends to have a life changing affect on an individual.

Now let us zoom to the present. Over the last year, we have seen events that have shook the very foundations of many people. People are genuinely scared of what the future holds. Whether it is Brexit, or Trump winning the election race, these two events have deeply divided others. The divisions run so deep that there have been members of the same family fall out. We have seen it here too. Some think Trump will start WW3, think how terrifying this would be to those who think this way. There is demonstrations and riots currently taking place.

For many people, the future is bleak and terrifying. When individuals feel this way, they go into survival mode. This is where organised religion plays it's part. The Watchtower have always exploited events to suite there own egenda. In desperation individuals fall for this. The watchtower preys on others who are feeling utterly hopeless.

Vulnerability is a target for vultures like the watchtower!

The growth will have absolutely nothing to do with individuals believing they have found "the truth," it has more to do with the hope for a utopian future, something we all crave. I mean, who wouldn't want to live in a world free from crime, corruption, pollution, Ill health and many more. The very reason shows like Star Trek are so popular is because of a vision of a more hopeful future.

As human beings, we need hope, otherwise without the sense of hope, we feel our lives are worthless.

In the current world cycle, there is a huge amount of uncertainty, however, this is only a cycle, eventually things will get better. When things do get better, you can bet your bottom dollar that organized religion will be hemorraging members once again. It's all a cycle.

So never get discouraged, don't give the watchtower vultures what they want. They prey on negative energy. don't give them the satisfaction.

steve2

Good OP. I would be surprised, though, if any growth in JW organization in the West is from those not raised in JW organization - in other words, adult converts. It is far less common nowadays for people to convert to JW organization as happened up to the 1960s and 1970s. Most growth comes from born-ins - even allowing for a large proportion of born-ins dropping out.

I think we will see the pattern continue of huge increases in Latin America and Africa with continued stagnation in many European countries and the so-called "Common wealth" countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Still, all this is speculation with the release of the 2017 Yearbook about one month away.

schnell

"The territory here sucks," say a lot of people here. Indeed, territories like this one seem to have met their carrying capacity. They're tapped out.

Most baptisms I have seen at the assemblies have been born in kids. Most adults who convert to the cult seem to have the same story, that they were vulnerable in one way or another. Possibly spouses of JWs.

The videos shown at the door and in cart witnessing reek of cult. "What if there was an evil force pulling the strings?" I like that line, because I like to think that whoever wrote it had been watching a few too many Marvel movies and got excited. As an introductory video to a religion, it makes you look insane.

And, Deuteronomy 18:20-22.

jwfacts

Vulnerability is a target for vultures like the watchtower!

Great sentence.

OP is very pertinent. The sad lesson from Brexit and the US election is how ignorant large portions of the population are, and easily swayed by the hype rather than facts. There are plenty of vulnerable people for Watchtower vultures to prey upon, and just fortunate that the GB are so out of touch that overall the numbers that fall for them are comparably small.

pepperheart

I doubt that there is much growth because of the closure of 20 branches around the world and the downsizing of both the uk and the south africa branches.The downsizing of the south africa branch is really telling because it look after 20 different countries in southern africa.Iknow for a fact that there has been downsizing in the south africa branch because they have told you that on the jw own website and they even tried to put a spin on it by saying hard working these people that used to be at bethel are

stuckinarut2

The only growth comes from under-developed and uneducated countries ....

Barrold Bonds

How'd the growth in spanish language areas in the US? I know for a while that shit was off the scales and now they are consolidating congregations.

konceptual99

The WTS has enough scale and presence to have some growth for many years. This does not change the underlying trends which show very poor performance. It's just like climate change, just because there might have been a wet summer or extra cold winter it does not mean the trends for climate change can be ignored. Weather is not the same as climate. Growth is not the same as progression.

alanv

The whole of Europe last year managed just 0.25% growth. Pathetic.

David_Jay

Perhaps I am missing a key element here, but I am not sure what growth or stagnation or even diminishing numbers has to do with how we feel about the religion we have left.

Often the craziest of cults, even after undeniable exposure as fraudulent, continue in some form. There are survivors of the Branch Davidian compound who still believe in what David Koresh preached. The Fundamental LDS Church continues even though its leader is in jail, exposed as a pedophile. Several tiny groups are still preaching Armstrong's odd and failed take on the Bible, even though the Worldwide Church of God denounced their leader and his teachings as a cult when he died before Jesus returned as promised. E-Bible Fellowship still functions with a small group of followers even after setting several well-publicized failed dates for the end of the world. And the Speedo-wearing guru of the cult Buddafield continues to gather followers though he has been exposed as a fraud in the CNN film "Holy Hell."

In reality, these groups and leaders, though some still have their adherrents, are over. They have had their day. They have been exposed as the liars and wellsprings of falsehood they are. Nobody in the world really gives a moment's thought to those adherents that refuse to leave now or even, God forbid, join these cults from this point on. It is clear to everyone that if you do, you're an idiot.

Don't waste your time worrying about people who freely choose to waste their time. At this point it is totally clear that the Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult. It may be a surprise to us ex-members now that we have come to accept it, but the world in general isn't going to suddenly shine the spotlight on the Watchtower and expose it as a cult, causing the movement to come tumbling down. Why not? Because the world always knew it was a cult.

They are not going to be more interested in the pedophile and child abuse news involving the Jehovah's Witnesses coming from the ARC as they were with the Catholic Church. Why not? Because the world generally sees the Church as an authentic religion, a place where such things should not be happening. But the world of the Watchtower? Like the cult groups listed above, the world gave up on the Witnesses long ago. As I recently heard one person say who I mentioned it to: "It's not surprising news. It's a cult. You kind of expect that kind of thing to be going on anyway. The only people surprised are those in the cult."

When the world didn't end with 1914 and then later the Patriarchal "worthies" weren't resurrected in 1925 to go live at Beth Sarim, the world closed its doors of interest on the JWs, heck, probably even before then.

It was surely over well by the 1975 fiasco, and the Witnesses were definitely a laughingstock then. If you had the unfortunate experience of becoming a Jehovah's Witness after 1975 like I did as a teenager who knew no better, the world in general kind of instantly gave up on you at that point. In their eyes we were like those still following David Koresh after his compound in Waco had burned to the ground. People just consider others who do such things as stupid idiots. And guess what, we were.

And it is now definitely over for that religion. It is over 100 years after 1914, they have had to dismiss almost half of their doctrine as "the light getting brighter" and spend their days rationalizing over a graph of overlapping generations to justify to themselves why they are still hanging on.

It is over. It was over a long time ago. You are looking now at a ship of fools. It never went anywhere and will never do so. The world in general has given up even laughing at them. Their leaders are guilty of abusing the children of members or are turning a blind eye to such horrors in the ranks they govern? Well what did you expect, says the world. It's a cult. Cults do things like that to children. It is sad, should be stopped, but it's also expected. It's a cult. People been saying this for over 100 years. Where have you been?

Why are you concerned over growth of anything happening in his cult? I know it sounds harsh, and every life is precious. But the proof is already there that it is a failed cult. They are not going to listen en masse either inside of outside. At this point all you have is a group of ignorant folks and the unfortunate children of theirs who get born into the group. I am not saying give up on trying to expose them, but concerned about growth? Even fish out of water sputter around on the ground for some time before totally expiring.

The uptake...

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