Is the WTS planning on going mainstream?

by besty 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  besty

  Been thinking with all the changes announced and more yet to be announced by all accounts, is the WTS planning a major shift into mainstream religion?

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/150690/2876143/post.ashx#2876143
  
  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/150690/1.ashx
  
  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/153895/1.ashx
  
  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/147479/1.ashx
  
  and anything from http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/member/24550/topics/default.ashx

  For me the two big changes would be shunning (disfellowshipping still practiced of course) and blood.

  Stop shunning ex-members and make blood a conscience matter and lot of the cult overtones disappear IMHO. The rest of their beliefs can stay a bit left field without too much trouble.
• 

  slimboyfat

  Good question. I think they are sending out mixed mesages a bit at the moment.

  On the other hand, if you compare today's Witnesses with the rabid clegy baiting, politician hating, "fifth column" conspiracy theorist Jehovah's Witnesses Rutherford cultivated in the 1930s, then I would say the Witnesses have already become fairly mainstream actually, compared to what they were.

  A big change I think was signalled in their flip flop over Romans 13. The governements are now seen as part of God's arrangement.

  Read the old blue school brochure and notice how it was all geared up to how different Jehovah's Witnesses are and how they will not conform or compromise. Then compare that with the much more teacher friendly updated version where the emphasis is very much on how normal and eager to fit in Jehovah's Witnesses are despite their differences. I think that is one instance that signals a general change in attitude.

  Another thing is how they changed from not cooperating with outside historians of the holocaust in researching Jehovah's Witnesses in the Nazi period in the 1980s, to actively engaging with the scholarly community in the 1990s.

  Another thing is they began to seek recognition as a religious body under public law in Germany, a status that did not bother them before.

  Over the short term small changes might be hard to discern in terms of impact and direction, but over the long term I think the trajectory toward the mainstream began a long time ago and has been steady.

  Slim
• 

  Witness 007

  It would take a million years for this to happen....would be nice though....they are trying to polish up their reputation, but, this can only go so far with out causing a major "Witness Civil War." EXAMPLE: The World Wide church of God tried to change some of it's major doctrines when it's founder {Armstrong} died....like the Trinity...to be more main stream Christian. This made them bankrupt, they had to sell colleges and airplanes as the membership desolved into many groups.
• 

  besty

  A big change I think was signalled in their flip flop over Romans 13. The governements are now seen as part of God's arrangement.

  Read the old blue school brochure and notice how it was all geared up to how different Jehovah's Witnesses are and how they will not conform or compromise. Then compare that with the much more teacher friendly updated version where the emphasis is very much on how normal and eager to fit in Jehovah's Witnesses are despite their differences. I think that is once instance that signals a general change in attitude.

  Another thing is how they changed from not cooperating with outside historians of the holocaust in researching Jehovah's Witnesses in the Nazi period in the 1980s, to actively engaging with the scholarly community in the 1990s.

  Anothe thing is they began to seek recognition as a religious body under public la in Germany, a status that did not bother them before.

  Broadly agree SBF

  It seems the WTS has worked out that politicking and lobbying if you like, is a more powerful way to work your own agenda than doing it all from outside the corridors of power and influence.

  From a doctrinal standpoint though I think they may be working towards some significant 'new' ideas - yes/no?

  One recent WT article referred to following instructions even if not sure of the reasons its more important to be obedient. For me (apart from the obvious cult overtones) this sounds like an article they may refer back to when introducing something significant that the rank and file may find difficult to digest.
• 

  besty

  This made them bankrupt, they had to sell colleges and airplanes as the membership desolved into many groups.

  007 - it depends what the funding structure was of this church - for example if it was tithing, then yes a significant drop in membership would be a problem.

  Correct me if I'm wrong but my guess is that the WTS finances are not dependent at all on the membership. As has been stated before IMHO the JW religion is potentially a loss-leading front for the main business of financial instruments and property. So the core drivers of revenue are not the membership any more.

  Add to that the downsizing at Bethel, the move to upstate, the sell off in Brooklyn and you have an org that is following some sort of strategy here - these are not random events.
• 

  BreakingAway

  To me, it almost seems as if there's a power struggle at HQ between the more hardcore JW's and the business oriented ones who feel that the "best thing for the company" would be to relax in some areas and bring in more investors.There's a very strong lawyer presence whose jobs would be made a lot easier if the Society didn't insist on maintaining some of the more extreme and litigious policies such as no blood.The thing is, these same policies are also their claim to fame and serve as attractant to those who don't want to be part of mainstream religion.The "mainstreaming" I'd like really like to see them do... is crumble to the ground.
• 

  WTWizard

  I think they are trying to put on the appearance of going mainstream while clamping down on things that would have made a difference. You see them doing away with college among members, phasing out entertainment and fun, and having all their thinking done at headquarters (fewer opportunities to go off The Track with comments).
• 

  easyreader1970

  As another message said, I think they are sending mixed messages right now as well. More and more they are giving "Christians" more room to make their own judgments on "matters of conscience". Some of these are things that they would have just said were just plain wrong in times past. Even with the removal of the book study they are reducing the number of weekly requirements of the Witnesse rank and file.

  At the same time, they are coming down on colleges and universities with a ferocity that hasn't been seen since the late sixties and early seventies. I would hardly call encouraging ignorance mainstream.

  I think this attack on education is pretty much a last ditch effort to stop the bleeding, the people draining away from the Organization as they find out that their brains are actually good for something other than memorizing scriptures like Psalms 83:18 and Revelation 21:3,4.

  With the economy getting worse, with no sign of getting better any time in the next 5 years or so, I don't think this will work. JW parents will NOT discourage their kids from seeking higher education. The reasoning will be that they are not "seeking riches" but that their college kids are trying to be self-sufficient.

  When this last tactic fails, and the remaining elders are too old or too burnt out to successfully maintain entire congregations, they will have no choice but to open the flood gates, so to speak. They will have to become at least a bit more mainstream and change more of their doctrines, possibly even reversing some. I think they know that they will lose many current members to the changes but might gain even more by appealing to the masses.

  er
• 

  Amber Rose

  I think it would be very difficult to try to predict the WTS plans. I don't think they even know if they have a plan. They seem to be in a very unstable place. They know that they are losing members like crazy but are divided on how to make them stay. Should they tighten the reigns, force them to believe with fear and threats or loosen up and put on a friendlier face? Either way they will alienate a lot of folks.
• 

  journey-on

  I think they are in an experimental phase right now. They are testing the waters a little at a time.

  I smell some dissention among factions within, but I don't think a quick conversion to mainstream Christianity

  is going to take place. The "members only" issue is throwing some things out there for the rank and file

  to chew on a little bit at a time. The WTS will hold back, analyze the response, then proceed cautiously. They

  will set the stage in advance with snippets of information for the r&f to ingest, then they will put the change out

  there for full digestion. Baby steps. I think Legal is running the real show right now.