by JustTickledPink 16 Replies latest jw friends
We will not know the Day or Hour! It will come like a thief in the night!
Yeah you see if you look at it that way you can't say well based by our calculations this is the year.
In other words I can't say 10 years from now I will have my car stolen or my house broken into!
Brooke
"...how many JWs would quit today? Would some stay "faithful" and still believe and live their life will the knowledge it wasn't coming in their lifetime?"
We can look at history for an answer.
After 1925 failed to produce the promised resurrection of David, Solomon and a host of other "ancient worthies," the membership of Jehovah's Witnesses declined by about a third, if I recall correctly.
Then it experienced decades of growth.
Why? Because they offered a serene vision of a utopian future that is just around the corner combined with a hellish vision of punishment for all God's (read: YOUR) enemies.
After 1975 came and went so unceremoniously, the membership of the JWs experienced a large decline.
It has since experienced a spurt of growth to new heights (that seems to be slowing again).
If the WTB&TS announced that they just got a phone call from God that the big A was scheduled for 2150, a large number of people would probably leave the organization. Others, feeling that they had already invested most of their lives, would continue to abe "faithful," thinking they were passing some kind of cosmic test, and new people would join, for reasons I cannot imagine.
Humans are not rational, and tend to expend large amounts of energy justifying their irrational decisions. You will never go broke underestimating the human race.
P.T. Barnum was right. There's a JW born every minute. All the WTB&TS has to do is find 'em and fleece 'em.
What would probably happen is the conventionalization (a new word?) of the religion to a more user frindly org. (the only ones that can survive in Western Society at least. The org. was really agressive and confrontational in earlier decades (placards, cars with loudspeakers, etc...) compared with today's kinder, gentler version when dealing with outsiders.
Voluntary service, more holidays, less career restraints, etc...
I don't think an apocalyptic religion can survive without its apocalypse! This conventionalisation process will continue unitl JW's are more like your average American bible belt morons.There will always be people who'd rather be told what to do than think for themselves -Hey- that's what religions are for anyway!
I don't think an apocalyptic religion can survive without its apocalypse!
I like that. That sums up my feelings.
:: 2150? not a point - not in MY or OUR (collective) lifetimes, so we're guaranteed a resurrection...
Years ago, I thought of this, and I decided that according to JW-think ...
Why not just kill myself now, then I don't have to worry about a date cause I'm really guaranteed a resurrection ...
doesn`t make any sense to me, no matter how I look at it.
I am with the general consensous here; an 'end time' religion has to have an end point.
JWs will increasing problems recruiting people into a religion that sticks to its 1914 doctrine.
Eyeslice
I don't doubt that there is a conclusion to this system of things . I just question how much human error is involved while trying to calculate a specific date . Many religionists believe that the gentile times ended in 1948 when Israel appeared as a nation so now there's this very big zionist movement to help jews return to Israel . Talk about insane , I can't believe anybody falls for that . I watch John hagee on occassion and if you go to his web site he is even given humanitarian awards for helping jews return to Israel .
BTW -- The WTBTS does have a symbolic significance to the number 666 . It is in referrence to goliath who had six fingers six toes and was six cubits and a span . Basically 6 is a number given to Gods enemies .
