When I was about 12, a friend of mine and I were walking home. He told me about the "half factor"-something his strange mind had concocted.
Starting at whatever distance from your destination-lets say a mile-walk half the journey, take a break, then walk half the remaining distance, take a break, then half the remaning distance again.
Even when you are yards, then feet, then inches from the finish line you never get there.
Kind of like the history of The Empire in a way. They get closer and closer and closer but never there. In one of those "half the distance" pauses 1975 came and went. In another more recent one, the Generation That Saw 1914 teaching got a little tweak.
I also remember being told that 2000 would be it, or at least we would not make it to 2000 now here it is 2001.
Now down to inching along-or millimetering along-I wonder what will fill those "half the distance breaks".
Do you think the sayings will gradually get more outlandish and sensational so as to keep spiritual adrenaline pumping?
I'm curious to hear theories y'all may have on what "new light" may blink forth from Brooklyn to keep interest up.
How about The Empire adding extraterrestrials somehow? (maybe alien abductions are just E.T. Jehovahs Witnesses who didn't realize Earth wasn't on their territory card and decided to witness to humans. Maybe those weird medical experiments on their planet is how they place Watchtower and Awakes)
mike.
JW's and the "Half" Factor
by Bendrr 3 Replies latest jw friends
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Bendrr
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slipnslidemaster
The Truth is out there
Slipnslidemaster: "You can pretend to be serious; you can't pretend to be witty."
- Sacha Guitry -
Amazing
HI Bendrr: You have an interesting point. It seems that the WTS has been taking these 'half' steps for a long time. It is hard to say what they will do next. They have certainly run out the clock on every one of their speculations and prophecies. They may try again to come up with some new thing to capture the interest of JWs.
Back in the 1960s it was 'hippies' and the anticipation of Armageddon by 1975. Then in the 1970s it was social ills. The 1980s they seem to turn more on materialism and some focus on teen issues. But, by the 1990s they have developed a seige mentality against those they label 'apostates' and with the Internet this seems to be their mainstay of battle.
There is a chance that they will shy away from anymore prophetic issues given how this has proved to hurt them. They may even take a shot at some kind of reform, in hopes of getting back many lost members. But, it will be too little, too late. I personally expect that by 2010 to 2020 they will have shrunk to a very small group of old diehards ... and by 2030, the WTS mat go out of business.
I could be wrong, and if so, I will be on the Internet eating my own words if someone repost my statements. - Amazing
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Bendrr
Hi Amazing.
Glad you joined in on this thread. I enjoy reading what you have to say.
I made a little joke about The Empire and extraterrestrials, but then I got to thinking. Do you remember in the late 80's or early 90's an Awake magazine dealing with the possibility of life in space?
It was interesting to me the argument The Empire used to disprove any and all possibility of life anywhere other than Earth. It went something like this:
Jehovah sent Jesus to EARTH to die for MANKIND's sins. If there were life on other planets, He would have had to die on each of those planets for their sins as well. But the Bible only speaks of Jesus dying for us.
(or so I paraphrase)
How fascinating!
Number one:
Maybe other planets have races who stayed faithful to God and Jesus DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE THERE.
Maybe other planets had an Adam and Eve scenario and God is working on them as well and what business is it of ours?
Boy, can't wait for those "new scrolls" The Empire always hints at to be opened!
mike.