Can a Spiritual Paradise Have 80+% Defection?

by metatron 21 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  mizpah

  Interesting posting, metatron:

  Twenty years ago I heard the figure that 50% of young members left the organization. I did not realize that it had increased that amount (80%) in the interim years. The guage of how well religious organizations are doing has traditionally been the number of young people who supported it. These figures would indicate a real serious problem for the Watchtower Society.

  This trend is seen in other churches as well. But in some cases, they see a return of families as these young people get married and have children of their own. Except in rare cases, I doubt this would happen in the Watchtower Society. "Once burned, always burned" would seem to prevail.
• 

  Azalo1

  In my family out of 4 kids 2 of us have left, although my sister is kinda on the fence. I think a lot of the ones who leave are like her, they leave because they are unhappy but find themselves just as unhappy on the outside so they think maybe it is the "truth". me i just dont care about religion and so i am perfectly happy. I think part of the strategy to get young ones to stay is to give them "privelages" faster. My grandfather who was an "opposer" for the longest finally got hooked and in less than 2 years, maybe even less than 1 year after getting baptized they made him a MS and I'm sure it wont be long until they make him an elder, same with an uncle of mine.

  when i read these boards it makes me feel like the house of cards is about to fall any minute but when i talk with my parents they seem just as "strong" as ever, maybe they are jut good actors, i dont know.

  (BTW, i used to post as Azalo but I cant retrieve my password)
• 

  lastcall

  I sat and tried to remember all the young people I grew up with and how many left for whatever reason .

  I believe that 80% figure is real close.

  Very interesting ..I wish that figure were somehow well documented. I would love to share that with some of my old dub friends.

  LC
• 

  ozziepost

  Now there's a thought.....how come so many leave a "spiritual paradise"?

  Guess it wasn't what it claimed to be!
• 

  metatron

  UPDATE:

  We got a letter from some old friends from downstate NY. They were faithful,

  obedient Witnesses who stuck by Watchtower standards. Result? All of their

  3 kids are 'out of the truth'.

  Are they AIDS-ridden, drug addicted felons? NO! One has an advanced techincal

  degree ( full scholarship) , another goes to a nice private college, the third less academic

  but still normal.

  Another example of the next Witness generation - that's gone AWOL.

  metatron
• 

  Big Tex

  If the Society could build a wall, a la the Berlin Wall, and keep young people from leaving it would be built in a nanosecond. That's the only way to keep kids "in the truth".
• 

  gumby

  The society didn't realise the implications that would come as a result of them allowing ones to go to college..........and dropping the generation doctrine. Both of these changes seem to have done more damage than to them than they realised would happen. As was mentioned.....there is too much information that is contrary to the society for young ones to get their hands on in todays dub world. Yeeeeeeah!!!!!!

  Gumby
• 

  metatron

  It's wonderful to see them reap the results of Unintended Consequences.

  Toss the Voluntary Donation arrangement onto that pile too.

  Keep up the 'good' work, Brother Jaracz! We're counting on you!

  "what you are doing, get done more quickly" John 13:27

  metatron
• 

  Pork Chop

  The "generation" change is only an issue on forums like this, it has zero influence in the organization as a whole and young people don't even know what it is. A minuscule percentage of Witness kids go to college, even now, so that's not much of a factor and not all that go stop being Witnesses. The real issue for most young people is the unending negativity of the organization and the "fantasy land" view of the world we live in and the organization.
• 

  Aztec

  Here's some anecdotal evidence to lend in whatever support is possible for anecdotes:

  My parents have six children. Five of us have left. One is only eight years old so we'll see how she turns out. My grandparents raised four children as good dubs. Two of them left and twelve of fourteen grandchildren have left. The two who haven't are too young to decide. There are also three great-grandchildren who are not now and will never be dubs.

  As the information age expands the younger generations of ex-dubs will swell. I recently ran across someone who went to my childhood congregation and has left. I hope to find more. I had so many wonderful, truly bright friends who ran off to get married shortly after (one before) graduation. I hate to think of their intelligent minds stagnating in dubland.

  ~Aztec