There have been posts and topics about the WTBS imploding and feuding factions in Bethel etc. Some have said that the end is near for the WTBS. Is this just wishful thinking...or do you really think that this is a reality? I want to believe it...but it is almost too good to be true. That being said, when I was growing up in the 70's I never imagined that the Berlin Wall would come down, or that the Cold War with the Soviet Union would cease, and yet the unbelievable happened. What clear evidence, other than the many contradictions that the Society is getting caught in, indicates the demise of the WTBS?
Is The WTBS Really Crumbling?
by exjdub 57 Replies latest jw friends
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willyloman
The demise of the WT is going to be a very slow process because they have a large number of captives and a prison system from which it is difficult to escape. Add to this the fact they have money, a lot of money, with more to come from the sale of their "surplus" properties (they own much of Brooklyn's prime real estate).
That said, there are plenty of signs of decay. Among them:
They are losing their young at an enormously high rate. It's been estimated that 80% of all JW kids leave "the truth" when they grow up; many of the others remain on the fringes of the WTS, held there by family and peer pressure, not by any desire to be spiritual human beings.
At the same time, there is a growing number of elderly witnesses, people who put all their eggs in this basket, expected the end to come in their lifetime, did not expect to have to retire and thus made little or no preparations for it, and who are becoming increasingly disillusioned and angry.
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ohiocowboy
Yes, I think the days are numbered for the org. With the advent of internet, more and more dubs are able to do research on their own, and are able for the first time to quickly find all the nasty little secrets that the WBTS has been able to hide over the years. In addition, as per the E-Watchman group, there are LOTS of dubs who evidently are still active at meetings, etc. and are waiting for things to go haywire, so they can step in to help change things. Seems like there is another "Sect" of witnesses just waiting in the wings and the WBTS can do nothing about it, and am sure that they are running scared knowing that their demise is near. They will be facing their own personal Armageddon-awwwww, what a shame!!!
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XQsThaiPoes
It is crumbling like the king dome. Spectacular but in a controled structured manner. So the problem is when the dust settles what will be left? A tiny cult of zealots or a multi-billion dollar interprise. I have a feeling that as the watchtower manuvers more people will leave because there is nothing for a JW to live or die for anymore. There are an entire crop of JWs that never get baptized but hold the JW ideals, for unlike the 1975 era the WT has stop preaching a means immediate salvation. Now they tranversed from a cult, to a sect, to a business, to being a normal church with unusually ignorant parishioners. Once the door knocker "fall sleep" due to lazyness induced by years of futile service in mass the guise of the WT brainwashing or what ever will ware off.
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Doubtfully Yours
Just wishful thinking on our part, I do believe.
As long as there are people buying into their paradise dream, they'll continue to go on and prosper. They're not some silly small movement. They're big and they'll get bigger, just like any other mainstream religion.
DY
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galaxy7
i believe something is happening.There seems to be alot of the die hard witnesses questioning the faith.
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ohiocowboy
Six million out of 6+ billion people-does not seem that impressive to me, what if Mc Donalds had only served 6 million instead of the billions and billions served? I think Ronald would be out of a job!
There are more than 6 million people in New York city alone!
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Bubbamar
My vote is also: wishful thinking. If they didn't get it in '95 when the masthead on the Awake was changed and "God's Promise" thereby revoked....then I don't know what it would take for them to Wake Up. There is no arguing with a delusion that firmly held.
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willyloman
Welcome, bubbamar. You pretty well summed it up.
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roybatty
As long as there are people buying into their paradise dream, they'll continue to go on and prosper. They're not some silly small movement. They're big and they'll get bigger, just like any other mainstream religion.
That's how I feel about it. There will always be some percentage of the earth's population that doesn't want to think for themselves, wants to believe that soon all of their problems will be solved and all they need to do is listen to the "man behind the curtain." On the other hand, because of the internet and ability to easily access site's like this one, the Watchtower will no longer appeal to middle and upper class. This probably worries the Watchtower because these are the people with the cash.
I don't know about them getting bigger. It's really going to come down to what changes they make. If they lighten up about the blood issue, come clean 1914, 1925, etc, encourage community involvement instead of just field service, - then their numbers will grow. If they revert back to the hardline that I recall (such as no college, etc) their numbers will fall. My prediction is that their numbers in the US and Western Europe will slowing drop, while they'll have gains in other parts of the world. I think China will open up more and this will be ripe territory for them.