Posts by Big Dog

16

Predictions for the next decade?

by jehovaxx in

as it’s nearly the new year my prediction over the next decade or so will see the sense of urgency dwindle.

then some huge huge changes.

for example by 2034 in a decades time, they will have address the 1914 issue and will come out and say we can’t be dogmatic.

Big Dog

I think it's important to note that it's not just the WTBS that is in trouble but organized religion across the board. Attendance is, belief is down, there is infighting in the RC church on a massive scale at the very top of the heirarchy.

When you think about it the hard science era has not been around for very long, giving people rational explanations for the world around them. Religion has been losing ground consistently since we've moved into the modern era and that makes complete sense.

I think the WTBS goes the same way mainstream religions will go over the next 10 years, more and more towards the margin, only a little faster given their end times theology falling apart and not having the deep bench of the mainline faiths.

I could see them being down to half of today's numbers or even less in 10 years and so inconsequential in the big picture as to fall out of the masses' consciousness. Oh yes, those folks, are they still around?

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

Big Dog

Vidiot you make a really good point. These are people that have their questions in questions from readers asking if its ok to say shout obscenities when busting a nut or some similar idiot thing.

I really think a fair amount would become either suicidal or homicidal and go after the forces of evil that brought the Tower down. Think Shawshank, these people have been institutionalized, they didn't leave of their own free will. The rug will have been pulled out from under them without any warning. That spells some deep psyche trauma. Cut off from the channel of God suddenly.

Any original Trek fans here, remember "I Mudd"? I can see them all screaming Norman, Norman!

7

Some Seasonal Nostalgia

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

can't find any references, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

i remember, probably at least two decades ago, a small news snippet about someone was going around brooklyn heights and setting fire to christmas wreaths on people's doors.

i've always personally suspected* that it was a bored/semi-insane bethelite.

Big Dog

I can see some triggered Bethelite that had been traumatized at the HQ out on some mad mission to burn the symbols of pagan idolatry put up by people actually out there enjoying life while he slaved for the Borg. It would fit the profile, probably a diagnosis available in the DSM.

19

The "Problem" With Zoom

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

here is the org's problem with zoom, attending this way does not fit with their "scriptural definition" of a christian gathering.

at least not anymore, one thing my pimi wife is fine with is attending on zoom occasionally, even 2-3 times a month or so.. if some of you recall, during covid there were break out rooms setup for people to stay on and associate.

many would also stay in the main meeting and talk over each other trying to say hello, etc.

Big Dog

Virtual meetings and broadband reliability have pretty much killed business travel and has made serious inroads in foot traffic in professional offices. Accountants, lawyers, financial planners, etc. have all reported a sharp drop in clients coming in rather than meeting virtually. It's so nice that people don't have to stop their day, drive to the professional's office then drive back. With the virtual meeting the "wasted" driving time is gone, the interruption in the day is much less, no parking issues, no fighting traffic it just goes on.

With churches like the RC and Orthodox where receiving communion is the point then zoom doesn't work. That was something that even struck me as a child the few times we went to weddings at a RC church, I was impressed with how they seemed to participate in the mass rather than just sitting and being talked at and the whole communion act seemed more like worship than answering canned questions at the WT study. The KH meetings always had a very low personal investment as far as I could see.

24

We’re getting out.

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

been in for 20 plus years but decided to get out with my son.

can’t do this anymore.

never seen such hypocrisy and clickyness anywhere else.

Big Dog

Always gratifying to see another mind freed from their sick control. Run like you stole something and never look back.

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

Big Dog

Some of my family are extremely hardcore when it comes to the Tower. I can imagine them having a complete break with reality. They would be like the crazy cat lady petting the cat that has been dead ten years going on about how they are just napping.

I would give a lot to be a fly on the wall in their homes if things really went south to hear just how they would work themselves through the cognitive dissonance and realign their reality.

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

Big Dog

Some of my family are extremely hardcore when it comes to the Tower. I can imagine them having a complete break with reality. They would be like the crazy cat lady petting the cat that has been dead ten years going on about how they are just napping.

I would give a lot to be a fly on the wall in their homes if things really went south to hear just how they would work themselves through the cognitive dissonance and realign their reality.

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

Big Dog

I agree that it will probably be a slow death but after years of watching films where someone wakes up and the unthinkable has happened, I really tried to imagine that scene with faithful dubs. Waking up to find the Tower just gone.

Rage, denial, grief, etc. Just wondering what the responses would be.

54

What If The Tower Fell?

by Big Dog in

what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

Big Dog

What if the truly unthinkable happened and the Tower went down? Perhaps the IRS swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors? Or the GB took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years? Or any other really nice end you can come up with? I mean, HQ goes dark, no one is home giving orders, the money stops, the website is down, etc.

What would the truly devout do? Suicide? Try to organize again, which would be difficult on any meaningful level. Become atheists? Go to mainstream churches? I was really trying to come up with a pie chart of what I thought the breakdown would be if the Tower closed suddenly with no warning and no chance of starting back up again.

31

If 1914 gets tossed

by Leathercrop in

it feels like the change in reporting of hours becomes a fundamentally bigger deal every day.

the weight and importance placed on quantity was enormous, and now it's just gone.

even tho most witnesses really didn't keep "accurate" records so to speak hehehe.... this could very well be a precursor to even bigger doctrinal changes, like 1914. damn, would would happen then?.

Big Dog

Tonus outlined it nicely. It's how pretty much every organization handles its back peddling and change of doctrine. The JW's are late to the game, the RC church has been doing it for centuries. Take Joan of Arc for example. Oh, she's possessed, she wears men's clothing, she fights. Burn her at the stake. Wait, er, perhaps not, actually she was a little bit of alright. Scratch all that, she's now a saint of the church. The RC church has its own version of "new light" as do most other denominations that have been proven wrong on evolution or young earth theory or fill in the blank.

You go away from it for a while, then come back to it with a mea culpa and all humility and of course God wasn't the problem, it was us sinful, foul, bone headed creations that once again got it wrong. Too bad, so sad, now let's carry on and hope we don't fall into such error again.

1914, it's just a number to be explained away.