Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

by WingCommander 51 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  WingCommander

  I still read on Reddit. (though no longer post) Occasionally, I'll venture over to the ex-Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) sub and catch up a bit. It's been a long time. Sometimes the ex-Mormon sub as well.

  The ex-SDA one is really something. Why? Because seeing as how SDA's and JW's came from the same Millerite Advent Movement (and the consequent Great Disappointment) they share very similar concepts, doctrine, and also loaded cult language. They also share ex-communicating, Elder Bodies, similar looking literature, etc. E.G. White's writings are still held up as authority, in similar to how the Governing Body is today, and unquestioning loyalty is expected. Now Mormons? The only similarity there is the time period, the use of the name Jehovah, Elders, cult-tactics, etc. But SDA's? Well, when you skip over to that Sub it's like you've entered a parallel universe. Almost the same, but not quite.

  Anyway, the point of all of this is what I noticed upon reading down thru the threads:

  1. COVID really allowed members to stop, ask questions, research things they couldn't before. The cult hamster wheel of activity stopped, and cognitive dissonance was allowed to simmer to a boiling point.

  2. SDA's also believe only they have the truth, and also refer to it as "The Truth." Creepy and familiar as hell!

  3. They have evangelical schools and hamster wheel activities (think SKE, Gilead, etc) to keep them busy.

  4. A lot of pressure to conform to their health and dress standards.

  5. You see alot of F.O.G. being talked about - FEAR, OBLIGATION, and GUILT to keep their rank-n-file in line.

  6. You see a lot of people talking about how they or their families were used and spit out, with absolutely NOTHING to show for it. (think teachers in their schools, being kicked to the curb like JW Bethelites)

  7. You see a lot of the similar "waking up" patterns being talked about. People getting fed the fugg up with all the cults bullshit, and saying "Enough is enough" and voting with their feet, and with their wallets.

  8. Just like the JW's, the youth aren't having it anymore. They've got access to this thing called "The Internet" and they are using it. Hell, any of them under 25 grew up with it, used it since little on up. Now, those fruits of the freedom of the information highway are ripening, and dropping right off the tree and not just walking, but flat-out RUNNING AWAY from these dumbass cults and their dumbass demands and ultimatums. Good!

  9. A lot of the above can also be said of the ex-Mormon sub, and also about Scientology. It's estimated that there's now less than 40,000 Scientologists worldwide, no matter what their (made-up) internal numbers profess. Sound familiar? Who the hell believes that there are 8 million baptized JW's, and as high as 20 million (attending the Memorial) JW's on planet earth? LOL! Not me! I think the true number is about 2 - 3 Million, tops. The explosion over on the Reddit sub is incredible, especially since COVID. The last 5 years are really something! When I joined there, it was 15,000 members, if that. Now? Over 100,000. And just think.....that's only the people that have hit the "JOIN" button for that sub. I'd guess 10x that number actually read there everyday, but don't dare comment or JOIN the Sub for fear of someone finding out. Any wonder why WT is shitting their pants and making hasty changes? lol

  10. Something else about visiting other cult "Ex" subs: You already think they're full of shit. So nothing to worry about. If you are active JW, and you read those "other" ex-cult member Subs, you can't help but to see the similarities. It's smacks you in the brain. And the big American ones: Mormons and SDA's and Scientology, really do seem to operate on the same playbook as the JW's. Since you already call "bullshit" on those other ones, all of a sudden you see the correlation and call "bullshit" on the JW stuff and not feel guilty. Boom! You're starting your path out the door. I know researching and coming across other cults really opened my eyes many many years ago.

  Just an interesting exercise in viewing several long-standing cults starting to implode.
  
• 

  blondie

  Good summary, Wing Commander.
• 

  slimboyfat

  In Scotland the number of Seventh-Day Adventist congregations and attendance went up during the pandemic. In Carlisle in the north of England I noticed the following sign posted on their church.

  
  
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  blondie

  The same happened after 9-11, many jws went back to the WTS, for awhile any way.
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  slimboyfat

  The vast majority of churches declined dramatically during the pandemic. The only two exceptions I know are Seventh-day Adventists and JWs.

  https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/churches-attendance/
  
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  Atlantis

  Yes, excellent summary of the JW's and SDA and Mormons. This is happening all over the world and it is not as easy for these cults to fool people like they once did. No one can make me believe that there a 8 million JW's still attending. In my opinion that number is a load of crap

  A salute to WingCommander!

  And a six pack to boot!

  Grandpa!
• 

  a watcher

  There are 8 million 'checking the box', but not much else.
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  careful

  I was speaking with a middle-of-the-road Evangelical scholar from one of their "more prestigious" colleges about dwindling numbers in that camp, their closing schools, and the youth not staying. We also talked about Reform/Progressive Judaism (liberals), as well as liberal Protestants. ALL of them are suffering from a drainage of young people not staying in these traditions that they were raised in. It's really hurting such groups in the wallet.

  The one exception this chap pointed out was the hard-core right-wing Evangelicals, pro-Trump groups who think they can "save America" (= adopt by-gone morality and standards), a different sort of fantasy. That's not likely to continue. Perhaps a sort of last gasp from the Evangelicals?

  It looks like it's happening all over Western culture. What occurred in N. Europe a couple of decades after WW II is happening in America and Canada now. There's no turning back the clock. SBF has been pointing this out for some time. It will be interesting to see if this trend takes hold in Latin America, a place where traditionally SDAs, Mormons, Evangelicals, and JWs have had real growth in the past.

  It would be interesting if we could somehow get the "real story" behind those few youths in these groups, JWs and others, who stay in, at least nominally. Are they mainly brain-dead or so absent of critical thinking that this is the only sanctuary for them? Are their needs for safety and security so acutely basic that they must cling to these traditions that they were raised in? Are many/most who stay just faking it in order to keep family happy? That last group cannot keep that going for long. Their true feelings will eventually come out.

  Thanks for the post, WC. It's a sure trend that will only keep going on in one direction, toward secularism.
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  careful

  SBF, Nov. 2023 was "during the pandemic"? On what planet was that?
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  slimboyfat

  I should have said: their numbers are up compared with before the pandemic.

  In contrast with most churches that are down massively compared with before the pandemic.