Fisherman I notice that you said the following. 'You don’t get it. If JW claim a sign validates 1914. It is written in stone. And that’s that." But consider this, in the WT's volumes called Study in the Scriptures, Russell literally said the 1874 and 1878 dates were some of the dates which were "God's dates", "not man's dates". He further said that certain events confirmed those dates to be true. Rutherford made similar claims about those dates (such as in the Harp Of God book, I think). Since the WT did such before, they can also drop the 1914 date (despite having claimed that various signs confirm the 1914 date). Dropping the 1914 would cause them to loose many members (like when they dropped other dates, such as the 1925 date set by Rutherford), but later they would possibly attract other people to become new JWs (after the baggage of the 1914 doctrine has been jettisoned).
Myth of 1914
by peacefulpete 89 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Beth Sarim
If you watched EXJW Panda Tower's latest video mention 607BCE several times in relation to the fall of Jerusalem.
This supports the 1914 Borg dogma. The cornerstone of the Borg Tower.
607 and relation to 1914 just cannot disappear without the Borg collapsing in itself.
The speaker kept on reiterating on the 607 throughout the video as Panda Tower related.
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Beth Sarim
They see the need to double-down on such propaganda. They feel the urgency.
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Rivergang
While not always agreeing with the claims / accusations that W. Schnell made in his 1956 work 30 Years a Watchtower Slave; what he said about 1914 was probably correct. That is, the WTS hyped up that date to take full advantage of the upheaval which the aftermath of "The Great War" left across Europe.
Never mind that earlier wars in Europe (such as those during the time of Napoleon) had also caused major mayhem and upheaval. By 1914, those conflicts were no longer within living memory - and 100 years ago (well before the age of the Internet) there was no simple way of researching such events.
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Disillusioned JW
Beth Sarim, I have not seen any EXJW Panda Tower's videos. If the WT is very heavily preaching their 1914 doctrine (and see an urgency to do so) then I think it will accelerate the number of JWs and of young people raised as JWs to avoid becoming baptized (or to become inactive if they are publishers). That is because I think that one of the first things doubting JWs (especially including unbaptized ones attending JW meetings) will do Is to look to see if the 1914 doctrine (and the doctrine of the governing body being appointed by Jehovah) is false. The heavy promotion of the 1914 doctrine will draw attention of WT affiliated doubting people to that particular doctrine with a critical eye. When I was still a believing Christian a major thing which caused me to stop believing in the WT religion, as being specially chosen or specially enlightened, was me eventually realizing that Jesus hadn't begun to rule as Messianic king over the Earth. [At the time I thought his reign was still in future, at the time I was not an atheist.] T here is no evidence at all that Jesus is ruling the Earth or mankind. All of the governments (most of which are secular governments) of the Earth are being ruled by humans and there is no sign that any of them are taking direction from Christ (though some of the human ruler think they are doing what Christ wants). Likewise Jesus hasn't conquered any human government. No portion of the Earth is a part of his kingdom, no even the JW religion or the WT's headquarters.
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Beth Sarim
All it takes for the single crack to explode into an implosion of 'doubts' is when you conclude without a ""shadow of a doubt'' that 607. When you realize that 607BCE is complete Bog-Shod, your entire belief system collapses like wet cheap tent in a torrential rain.
Yes, I encourage you to watch EXJW Panda Towers videos. I believe it's Mark Noumair(sp) on there. He does in fact say 607 repeatedly a few times. The Borg has no choice but to double-down on this.
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Phizzy
" The Borg has no choice but to double-down on this."
Very true ! painted themselves in to a corner. This has simply got to be the decade they come up with something to replace the 1914 T.S ( total shite), but what on earth can they do ?
Whatever it is, it is bound to be equally as bad as the overlapping generation crap. It will open many more J.W eyes too.
The G.B are running out of time.
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slimboyfat
Is time really running out? As long as SDAs can keep the 1844 date, and investigative judgement, why can’t JWs keep 1914?
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TonusOH
I think the issue is not the 1914 date by itself, but the way they tied it to expectations for so long through their explanation of the 'generations.' The idea, for a long time, was that there was a growing urgency as we got farther from that year, because there was a clear limit to the amount of time left. That helped with recruiting and with keeping the rank and file in line, because people will hedge their bets-- if the end is that close, why not stay in a bit longer to be sure?
They've modified the explanation, but they really should have just said 'look, we have new light and it says that 1914 is correct but the generation teaching doesn't apply to the modern age. So we know the end is near, but we cannot say how near.' That kind of kills the sense of urgency you get from having a specific number or numbers, but their approach (overlapping generations) is likely to turn away more people than just admitting that they were... mistaken.
Sometimes you must take the honest approach and hope for the best. Because if you keep peddling dishonest teachings that get more and more convoluted and unconvincing, you are still killing off your religion, but in a way that people will never forget and use as a cautionary tale.
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slimboyfat
Yes I think expectation around the 1914 generation reached fever pitch in the 1980s, but that’s largely forgotten nowadays. Well over half the current JWs were baptised after the old generation teaching was dropped in 1995. As 1914 recedes into the distant past it could remain as technical teaching, and chronological curiosity, much as 1844 is for Seventh-day Adventists.