I think you're right Wozza that any event that sounds Armageddon-esque (wars, natural disasters) definitely riles up the faithful, and maybe fills them with a little bit of 'zeal' which keeps um coming back and donating and preaching, but I still see that sustaining membership or slowly the decline, not growing membership; far as I can tell Russia didn't do much for them and they milked that for all its worth. For them to grow again I really think the Governing Body needs to predict a specific date for Armageddon, like 2040, Flodin hinted at that a couple years ago in a morning worship video on jw.org, or 2034, the 1990 Watchtower hinted at that. But they learned from 1975 not to do that, and with the age of the Governing Body Cook and Sanderson withstanding, they don't wanna rock the boat. They can live out the rest of their lives in comfort and moderate luxury as is, even as growth tapers off and donations dwindle. Most are what, 70-80 years old?
john.prestor
JoinedPosts by john.prestor
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7
Is this JW Investment for the future?
by wozza ini first had contact with jw's in the early 70's so i have seen many changes in that time like many people here.. in recent years we have seen the talk of many new kingdom and assembly halls to be built with urgency ,then suddenly it was put on hold ,then the halls were legally taken over by the society and congregations now renting ,if you will, back the halls they paid for and built with their own hands .i am talking generally as it would be different in some parts of the world.. people have been consolidated into neighboring halls as a lot of halls have been sold bringing in massive amounts of money for the wts.
over time policy ,scripture interpretation etc have changed ,people move about new ones get born in ,new people become jw,s and all this churning keeps people distracted.. eventually,over time surely the halls will fill up again with there being less of them around .i wonder whether this is part of wts strategy for the future fiscal plan ,that they can once again build the hysteria of the 80,s for quick built kingdom halls again ,and so then completing a cycle for future sell offs again ensuring future money and investment?
for ones born in or newer ones who were'nt around in the 80's it would all seem so fresh and exciting for the wts to sell it to them!.
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7
Is this JW Investment for the future?
by wozza ini first had contact with jw's in the early 70's so i have seen many changes in that time like many people here.. in recent years we have seen the talk of many new kingdom and assembly halls to be built with urgency ,then suddenly it was put on hold ,then the halls were legally taken over by the society and congregations now renting ,if you will, back the halls they paid for and built with their own hands .i am talking generally as it would be different in some parts of the world.. people have been consolidated into neighboring halls as a lot of halls have been sold bringing in massive amounts of money for the wts.
over time policy ,scripture interpretation etc have changed ,people move about new ones get born in ,new people become jw,s and all this churning keeps people distracted.. eventually,over time surely the halls will fill up again with there being less of them around .i wonder whether this is part of wts strategy for the future fiscal plan ,that they can once again build the hysteria of the 80,s for quick built kingdom halls again ,and so then completing a cycle for future sell offs again ensuring future money and investment?
for ones born in or newer ones who were'nt around in the 80's it would all seem so fresh and exciting for the wts to sell it to them!.
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john.prestor
That's an interesting thought. I don't think they can get the excitement of the late 20th century back Internationally or nationally, it's too late in the game at this point, what's there to be genuinely excited about? Armageddon ain't coming around the corner anytime soon and people kinda know it by now, at least, enough of them do.
That being said, if you got a nearly empty hall and you add in two or three more congregations it does change the emotional experience, there's more of a community, more temporary excitement, and frankly I imagine it'll come across like the organization is doing better than it is when Witnesses come flooding into the Kingdom Hall twice a week instead of looking at a driedup lake every service. I can see that sustaining membership, but not growing membership. What do other posters think?
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Signs of company men
by john.prestor inanybody seen a sign posted in a kingdom/assembly hall or another 'spiritual' place that made them laugh?
i saw a sign in a janitor's closet at one assembly that said something like.
'make sure to return your key to this supply closet.. 1 corinthians 14:40: 'do everything in an orderly fashion.'.
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john.prestor
Anybody seen a sign posted in a Kingdom/Assembly Hall or another 'spiritual' place that made them laugh? I saw a sign in a janitor's closet at one assembly that said something like
'Make sure to return your key to this supply closet.
1 Corinthians 14:40: 'Do everything in an orderly fashion.'
Cause make sure you return your key apparently just don't cut it.
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Paradise Earth
by Jeff1 injust recently i was looking at a topic on jwfacts entitled 'paradise on earth forever.
' from the research paul did on this topic he mentioned that there is no biblical evidence of an earthly resurrection.
i haven't heard this before but wanted to get some thoughts on this topic.
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john.prestor
Early Christians believed a lot of different things about the kingdom and what that involved. 'Matthew' refers to a 'recreation' on earth and 'John' talks about rooms in heaven apparently and the church father Papias tells this story about Jesus predicting grape vines growing thousands of grapes a cluster and Judas scoffing at that; but in the Goapel of Judas Jesus shows Judas a grand home in heaven 'reserved for the holy.' The Asian elders like John and Aristion taught some Christians got paradise, some got New Jerusalem, and others got heaven. 'John' in Revelation predicts an earthly paradise, centered about New Jerusalem, and the 'heretic' Cerinthus predicted the same basic thing except with lots of sex and animal sacrifice.
The point being: early Christians predicted lots of different things.
Guess what? None of it came true. None of it will ever come true.
In the gospel of Thomas the disciples ask Jesus when the kingdom's gonna come, and he replies, the kingdom is spread out across the earth already.
Open your front door. Welcome to paradise. Go listen to the birds sing and watch the sunrise, dip your hand in a stream, savor a good cup of coffee, hold someone you love. There aint nothing better to look forward to.
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The phrase "one of Jehovah's Witnesses"
by Ding injws don't say, "i am a jehovah's witness.".
instead, they say, "i am one of jehovah's witnesses.".
what does the second way of saying it convey that the first does not?.
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john.prestor
It's another one of their feel special things, we're not a denomination of Christianity we're Christianity restored. As far as I'm concerned that's all it cones down to.
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Lawsuit against the Watchtower for child abuse issue accepted in Quebec(Canada)
by yalbmert99 inhi everyone, i got the news that the lawsuit against the watchtower for the child abuse issue has been accepted in quebec(canada).
that means it can proceed further.
it is a first victory.
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john.prestor
We came up with child sex abuse because we didn't want to go knock on doors?
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I'm leaning towards troll. You can't be this stupid and callous. I refuse to believe you're this stupid and callous.
And that's all I'm going to say about that, enjoy your weekend. I'm gonna get a cup of coffee and start my day.
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I Phones At Bethel Going On The Internet Umonitored
by Brokeback Watchtower ini would have to say now that practically every has one what do you think this will means for situations at bethel, will more and more get wise that the governing body are just conmen?
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i think things are already very unsettling with all the leaked private information from so many sectors of the watchtower corporation's confidential stuff on the internet to me bespeaks something major is in the works back there in the spiritual pair dice..
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john.prestor
I agree completely. Too many people can access too much information, it's that's simple. The Governing Body want everything by the book or by the letter or the video these days, it's not word-of-mouth where you just deny you ever said, and that means sensitive information gets spread abroad to lots and lots of people. They're more deluded than they come across already if they think they got enough fingers to plug all the holes holes they drilled in their own ship.
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Lawsuit against the Watchtower for child abuse issue accepted in Quebec(Canada)
by yalbmert99 inhi everyone, i got the news that the lawsuit against the watchtower for the child abuse issue has been accepted in quebec(canada).
that means it can proceed further.
it is a first victory.
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john.prestor
Oh Rattigan like 'Rat again,' another rat who snuck in? Heh. Kinda clever if that's what he's going for...
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I Phones At Bethel Going On The Internet Umonitored
by Brokeback Watchtower ini would have to say now that practically every has one what do you think this will means for situations at bethel, will more and more get wise that the governing body are just conmen?
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i think things are already very unsettling with all the leaked private information from so many sectors of the watchtower corporation's confidential stuff on the internet to me bespeaks something major is in the works back there in the spiritual pair dice..
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john.prestor
I mean I don't know how these things work, somebody could ask Atlantis if he's willing to share but honestly it's probably better he doesn't, but all you need is a flash drive, I can't imagine you can trace those or know who they belong to when you stick them in a port, and all you need is two minutes to copy the files you want when Brother Superior goes to make a cup of coffee or use the bathroom. And then you just leak it through your own data plan instead of using the Warwick Wi-Fi that 'responsible brothers' so 'lovingly' monitor.
You can't keep secrets forever. The more secrets you have, the more secrets get out.
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WT-Closing In On 50 Subpoenas!
by Atlantis inmore subpoenas have been added.
so the watchtower is getting close to 50. i think there are about 44 of them listed here.
brumley the witchhunter!.
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john.prestor
Man the faithful slave sure does put donated funds to good use. Child sex abuse lawsuits and settlements, business class flights, best lawyers in the country, I mean how much more faithful could they be?