I've seen some older data from some WT report that said approx 1% get disfellowshipped (or disassoc.), mostly for sexual offenses. If that ratio still stands, it would mean some 60,000 each year for that alone.
Your question is about leaving, which could include fading, dying, etc. I doubt there's any way they could tally the faders -- and there are lots right here on this forum with new ones joining, (I suspect) every day.
Fats
Fatfreek
JoinedPosts by Fatfreek
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10
How many are leaving JW?
by poodlehead ini would like to know if anyone has found any data to this affect.
the watchtower publishes how many are baptized each year.
and how many active members.
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Fatfreek
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Why can't i ask questions?
by member inin the first chapter of the book " what does the bible really teach " students are encouraged to be humble and ask questions until they find satisfying answers.
why then, did no one reveal to me the history of the wtbts before i became a baptized publisher?
why do we encourage those of other faiths to look into their religion objectivley and yet we are not allowed to do the same of ours?
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Fatfreek
Member,
We're glad to have you with us. Most of us were where you are today.
One of our friends, Quotes, had an interesting expression during his radio interview with that Canadian station. It was called "disclosure", and it makes so much sense.
If the WT society used that practice (it'll never happen) they would tell folks prior to baptism about the dates, the NGO, the blood fractions, the teaching flip-flops, etc. They would encourage folks to go the Quotes site (any of the some 7 that replaced the site the WT shut down) and see for themselves what they actually printed in the early (and not so early) years. With disclosure like that there may still be joiners -- but you could count them on your hands and toes.
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28
Glad to know I am not the only one
by Wendy_Warden ini've been lurking on this board all morning and reading all the articles about dating/having a relationship with a jw.
because, as many people seem to, i find myself in that situation.
i am confused becuase the jw guy is not a very consistent jw in a lot of ways.
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Fatfreek
Wendy (and all),
If you can get your boy friend to peek at only one web site it is the former Quotes site. That's the one that was legally shut down by the Watchtower recently for alleged copyright violation. It contained virtually nothing (there is no critical editorial) but their own quotes and therein lies its power. They've incriminated themselves on a huge variety of topics -- by their very own words.
I said shut down, yes, but it has resurfaced in several other places, probably overseas.
Check it out. Copy the following line to your browser's "Go" field.
http://www.reexamine.org/quotes/
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10
WT from the 50's that says the only reason they don't kill apostates is ...
by kwintestal in.
... because the law says that they can't.. can someone reference that for me?
i can't seem to find it anywhere.. kwin
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Fatfreek
Blondie,
What a great link, "The After Armageddon Story". Thanks for passing it along.
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My Last Memorial?
by jojochan inlast night just proved to me just that.
as i sat there last night while the speaker kept going on,.
and on, i zoned out.
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Fatfreek
JoJoChan,
You described your experience very well. It's been some 28 years since my last one and I felt like I was there (ugh) one final time. Fortunately, the bad feeling lasted no longer than it took to read your post.
You'll look back at this in years to come and treasure it.
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Ever embarrassed by a JW?
by Fatfreek inwhen i was a jw and married to one, my wife's grandparents invited us over for a sunday dinner, a very nice one indeed.
wife's brother, his buddy, and wife's parents were all jw's.
the grandparents, however, were catholic.
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Fatfreek
I'll have to tell one on myself (and my ex-wife). Yes, we were the guilty ones this time but it wasn't anything we said.
We were freshly married and attending a circuit assy in Des Moines. Those were the days when we rented this private room for some $2 per night from this elderly man in a nicely-kept home.
After the evening sessions we'd returned and retired into the bed and all was quiet -- for a few moments.
Well, we were newlyweds weren't we and we then proceeded to act like newlyweds! But the slats beneath the box springs of the bed let go with such a crash onto that upstairs hardwood floor! We were so embarrased as we reassembled the slats and the box and the mattress.
When we saw the gent the next day he never let on that he heard a thing.
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Ever embarrassed by a JW?
by Fatfreek inwhen i was a jw and married to one, my wife's grandparents invited us over for a sunday dinner, a very nice one indeed.
wife's brother, his buddy, and wife's parents were all jw's.
the grandparents, however, were catholic.
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Fatfreek
Dr. Jekyll, yours takes the cake -- so far. How could they live that experience down?
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Ever embarrassed by a JW?
by Fatfreek inwhen i was a jw and married to one, my wife's grandparents invited us over for a sunday dinner, a very nice one indeed.
wife's brother, his buddy, and wife's parents were all jw's.
the grandparents, however, were catholic.
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Fatfreek
What great recollections. Those folks praying publicly -- that's always been one of my pet peeves, but I subdued it and participated when I had my family out at a restaurant. I could never rationalize that with Jesus' words, "...when you pray, go into a closet...".
That's actually commonplace around here with the fundies as we live in the Bible belt part of the U.S., Arkansas.
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So many feelings - I'm waiting to exhale
by Lady Lee inas a jw i was in a cong where there was a deaf group.
when the interpreters moved away they asked the cong if there was anyone who wanted to learn.
i could not contain myself i wanted this.
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Fatfreek
Lady Lee,
That was one of the most heartwarming experiences I've ever read here. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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11
Brain Removal
by calico in.
if you're gonna be a jw, you might as well have your brain removed--it has no use!
(sorry, having a bad day)
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Fatfreek
Under Google Image form, "calico cat".
or this link, third page of images:
http://www.google.com/images?q=calico+cat&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&start=40&sa=N
Fats