NVL: Whenever I hear one of them say that I always ask, "So has the King of the North been unmasked? Are we in the Great Tribulation right now?"
Bingo. I like to ask "when will babylon the great, the harlot, be destroyed? I mean, all the governments, the UN, everyone, has to decide to turn on all false religion, ALL of Christianity, ALL of Islam, ALL Hindus, ALL Buddhists, ALL Hari Krishas.....all of them and every other religion I mentioned has to be outlawed, attacked, destroyed by the governments of the world. There is social inertia that just won't allow that to happen overnight. I mean, in the US alone, at least, The president, the house, the senate would all have to be presuaded to turn on religion that many of them practice, on their friends, to declare marshall law or otherwise change to constitution to outlaw religion....I don't see that happening on a moments notice. The governements in the middle east would have to outlaw themselves, in fact!"
Well put. Long before I came to grips with the truth about my religion, I had a difficult time understanding how all governments were going to suddenly destroy all religions. Witnesses tried to make a big deal out of any perceived governmental hostility to religion--this was easier to do back during the cold war days because of the Communist Bloc. But over the past 20 years, freedom of religion has increased worldwide. This doesn't jibe with JW eschatology at all.
Just take the United States as an example. As a practical matter, in order to be elected to statewide or national office, you must profess a religion--and in almost all states/districts that religion must be some form of Christianity.
So, according to WTS eschatology, society is going to take a 180, going from REQUIRING that their leaders be religious, to BANNING religion. That's so absurd it's almost funny. It puts the JWs in good company with the New World Order conspiracy theorists.
