Does anything think wts could become dangerous when it falls?

by lighthouse19something 27 Replies latest jw experiences

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  sexyk

  The organization has over time began to be more strict. Mostly because their reasoning is that they think the worse the system gets, the more strict they have to be. And by bringing in more rules and regulations, they make the excuse that it is new light from god, so people should follow the guidelines. Now as time goes on, i think things will get even more strict.

  For example, i think they will even go as far as banning people from using the internet. After all, the internet is a huge enemy to the society now days. And nothing good is said about the witnesses on it. Maybe if you go to the watchtower website, that's it. But it's so easy to access the watchtowers cover ups and lies on the internet. They'll probably just delete it's website and tell people not to use the net since it's a huge threat.

  People will lose interest after a while i think, and realize it's just way too strict and mind controlling. But the cult will always have new members comming in, and new leaders changing things and making so called new light from god.

  But as of now, their are more people leaving, then comming in. And i think that will get even worse for the jw's after a period of time, their will be a fade as time goes on. But i think the religion will never just fall. It will just change like it has changed since the early 50's, but for worse. And they will cover up shit up in the future like they did in the past.

  Overall, i beleive they will get more strict (if thats even possible). And people will find it's just too hard to live by, and learn that it's not good for your mental health to stay in it. Just cause it's almost impossible for people to live up to it's strict rules. And i think it takes time for people to find out about their false prophecys and cover-ups.

  I think their will be a population decrease in the future, and after a while, it will be known even to it's members how full of crap it is. But the organization will never fall, if anything, it will change and de-populate.
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  AllAlongTheWatchtower

  Most likely not...more of a quiet fade away than a burnout. Unlike the WWCG and Armstrong, there is no central, charismatic figure in the WTS because its run by the 'Governing Body'. This insulates them from having someone die and totally disrupt the organization. All of those people are getting older though... it wouldn't surprise me if they went more mainstream once all those people (or at least half of them) are gone and replaced with new ones. Despite it's many faults, the WTS has never advocated violence, so I don't see some huge meltdown happening...though I suppose a few postal-style watertower incidents are possible; there was one of those with the WWCG a couple years ago I heard-some guy walked into his congregation and shot up about 20 people.
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  jayhawk1

  Watchtower is not like the small Doomsday Cults like Jonestown, Heaven's Gate and the Branch Davidians. They're too corporate with lawyers and such to become a suicide cult. In order for Watchtower to become like that, they would have to shed the corporate structure and lawyers.

  Watchtower would need a strong figure-head like Rutherford or Franz would have been had he not been so old or held in check by the newly formed Governing Body.

  As far as changing doctrine to reflect a suicide cult's thinking, that wouldn't be so hard to do. JWs have been taught from early on to expect "new light" at any minute. It wouldn't be that hard to introduce this "new light" as a new way of being a true Christian.

  What would be more likely is a break-away group or a renegade Kingdom Hall to form a suicide cult. I could see that happening. And could likely happen should the Watchtower Corp. rot from the inside out.

  But as far as Watchtower Corp.'s demise, that will be a slow demise at best.
• 

  abbagail

  I don't think the WT will either Collapse nor Fade. I get the feeling it will be "absorbed" as part of the "New World Order System Of Things" (a/k/a The [Masonic/Luciferian/New Age] Golden Age) and JWs will continue to be "directed" by their corporate-fascist-lawyers-and-leaders toward accepting and complying with the New World Order (which the Average-JW will be led to THINK is their longed-for "New System of Things" but instead it is the exact Biblical opposite, ie, The Short-Lived Kingdom of Antichrist).
  
  It's just a "funny feeling" I get from several years of reading and comparing the two ideologies.
  /ag
• 

  jayhawk1

  God's Only True Orginization On Earth merging with other religions... An interesting idea Abbagail. Not a far fetched idea, it would need about a decade of "new light" planning to get it done.
• 

  abbagail

  jayhawk: "...Not a far fetched idea, it would need about a decade of "new light" planning to get it done."
  
  So, hey jay, let's play "What IF"... and tell me what you think...
  
  1. World-wide chaos/war/nuclear erupts... JWs may think it is Armageddon when it is really "only" WW3 (when I was a JW in the 1980s, the common knowledge was that there would NEVER be a WW3. I used to tell people that at the homes in field service all the time, and I assume I heard it at the KH. Is that still the case? If so, that leaves JWs-as-a-rule susceptible to thinking WW3 is really Armageddon. In my "What If" scenario, that's their first big stumbler to NWO-deception).
  
  
  2. The "peacemaking" world ruler (antichrist) strides onto the world stage after WW3 ((Armageddon to the JWs) and negotiates world-wide peace, and in big headlines he is referred to as the Son of David, the World Savior, the Jewish Messiah, etc. and that he has brought in The Golden Age and a New World Order/Society. (Terms familiar to JWs who are themselves expecting a One World Government w/Jesus ruling from heaven). This peacemaker will also perform "signs and wonders" mimicking Jesus. Who do you suppose the JWs will think this person is? Will they be fooled? Will they think it is "Jehovah" returned? Or will they recognize him for the fraud that he is? Can the WT teach them "real quick" to believe in this person as either Jehovah, or "new light" that Jesus DID come back in person afterall? -- The "stumbler" for the JWs is that the WT teaches them there IS NO SUCH "singular individual" Antichrist. Hence, all the more reason they are susceptible to be fooled by him, because they don't believe from the get-go that such a person will ever come (erroneous Biblical interpretation on WT's part -- possibly ON PURPOSE to DECEIVE for this reason??)
  
  
  3. More "proof" (for me anyway) was the shocking news recently that the 2007 JW DC Theme is "FOLLOW THE CHRIST." Holy Moley! "THE CHRIST" is an occult term for Antichrist. The Masons and the New Agers refer to their coming "world savior" as "THE CHRIST." So why is the WT using that lingo? Why isn't the WT Theme, "Follow JESUS Christ"? ---- "We should be particularly wary when someone refers to Jesus Christ as 'the Christ.' " --Norman Geisler -- (For info on Who Is Norman Geisler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Geisler ; http://www.chick.com/information/bibleversions/articles/copyright.asp )
  
  For more info about why this WT-DC Theme "sticks out like a sore thumb" to me:
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THE_PARADISE_REPORTER/message/4186
  
  
  4. JWs are taught that they will "grow to perfection" during the 1,000 year reign. I've learned this is also an occult belief, this "slowly" growing to perfection. (Biblical Christians, on the contrary, are "changed instantly- in the twinkling of an eye" and do NOT go through a "slow" growth to perfection). Therefore, when/if such talk about slowly growing to perfection is published in the media under the world ruler/antichrist, would JWs fall for it and think they are truly in the "Kingdom on earth"?
  
  
  5. Everything will be "rosey" for the first 3.5 years of this "peacemaker's reign" so all will look good (JWs may THINK they are under the 1,000 year reign if they are told this often enough). But at the half-way mark is when he will require the Mark of the Beast, the Luciferic Initiation. Since JWs do not believe in ANY SUCH LITERAL "Mark of the Beast," will they agree to accept it since they do not even believe these things will be "literal"? -- This is the other area where I can "imagine" the JWs being duped into taking the "Mark" for the simple reason they don't believe there ever will be such a thing.
  
  ------------
  
  But back to my original thought... Do you think JWs could be almost immediately retrained (by some big announcement by the GB) to believe something entirely new in a time of crisis? I think they could, because of the fact "Whatever the GB says, We Believe" type of mentality.
  
  Oh well, just thinking out loud...
  /abbagail
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I am with Drew on this. They will probably reinvent themselves into a more mainstream religion eventually.
  Either that, or they will lose too much profit, and see too few recruits, and reinvent themselves into a
  modern-day publisher of religious materials and just pay the taxes. I doubt the latter, just a thought.

  These guys are similar to the Catholic Church of old. They look at things in the long-haul and the short-run.
  They focus on growth of profits. As long as they make money, they don't do anything whacko. They might
  say whacko stuff, but take no actions.

  We already see evidence of mainstreaming in blood fractions, alternative service, trying to use clergy privilege.
  They will continue to discourage things like college, but not DF for it. They will probably continue to
  accept less and less rigid standards from their members or risk losing those members.
• 

  Gadget

  Well there are a few things to consider. I believe that the WTS has to much money and influence to just simply 'fall' one day. They are smarter than that. There is a major trend in their literature right now to create fearful and less educated members. They have also made a strong effort to sanitize negative information about their past. This has worked to a large degree. For years they would simply lie about the problems of the past. But lying is to risky. Now they simply state half truths about the past. Harder to expose, harder to make and effect with them.
  
  This new change has a positive and negative effect for the society. When people become less information driven and more driven on emotions it can be much eaiser to control. The problem is that in order to bring the newer JWs into a more emotional relationship with their mother org, they sacrifice the die hard believers they used to create with a powder puff copy. The newer members are much more ignorant, moronic, and just simply unaware of what they really believe. When they come up against challenges, they fall eaiser. All they know is that they have to listen to the faithful slave, as the years go by they have less and less reasons why they should be listening.

  I think Drew has a very good idea of where the group is now, but I disagree with his ideas of where the group is heading.

  To become more mainstream there would have to be a lot of backing down on certain teachings. The way things stand at the minute people are constantly watching each other looking for signs of weakness. Nobody wants to be labelled as apostate or running-ahead-of-the-organisation. People are too afraid of the response if they speak out or want to cut back on things, and peer-pressure will keep them inline.

  As the grip tightens the number of jw's may fall, it'll be harder to recruit new members, but those who remain will be more faithfull than ever. There may be splinter groups who disagree with this and leave (such as ajwrb), but I suspect the main group will continue and just get more and more tightnit.