What will the JW religion be like in 2015?

by JimmyPage 73 Replies latest jw friends

  • steve2
    steve2
    I would be surprised if there was any significant change whatsoever.

    Remember the "biggest" changes happen little by little over longish periods of time. For example, there is a huge difference in manner and behaviour between the JWs of the 1930s and the JWs of this century. My grandparents who converted to the Bible Students in the 1920s would be absolutely shocked by the relatively "easy-going" nature of modern JWs and view them as apathetic and nominal in the faith. There was a hard-edged driven quality to earlier generations of JWs: they deprived themselves of so much in order to dedicate themselves to "Jehovah" (i.e., the organization). The ongoing subtle tinkering of the 1914 doctrine is a case in point: No, they did not come roight out and do and overt about turn on this central doctrine - they drip fed changes that escaped most members attention - but the changes were significant. My grandparents went to their graves earnestly and adamantly believing that the generation that witnessed the commencement of world war one would still be alive here on earth when Armageddon strikes. It was never open to question; it was an incontrovertible fact. Also, there were hard and fast rules about so many things to do with personal choice issues that nowadays the JWs are relatively more relaxed on. In the 60s I was visited by the presiding overseer because the shirt I had worn to the meeting was considered too colourful and I was accused of drawing attention to myself. I was told to wear only white shirts or pastel colours! Look no further than younger JWs and I swear that in many respects they are no different than members of other bland religious groups like the Mormons and 7th Day Adventists.

  • Calebs Airplane
    Calebs Airplane

    mass exodus will start in November 2014 and JW population will probably drop to just under 6 million by the end on 2017 before stabilizing again after some bull shit NuLite explaining away Jesus' falling asleep as the wheel...

  • JW GoneBad
    JW GoneBad

    So far Mary and Donuthole are spot on.

  • Jen2013
    Jen2013

    Self-fulfilling prophecy: Gone!

    Could be it takes a little bit longer.

    Don't you know Humanity and Humanism is on the rise?

  • Julia Orwell
    Julia Orwell

    I'm partly with Caleb. The new bulldust will stumble some of the smarter ones or plant seeds of doubt like the 1995 thing did and have an effect, but I don't think it will cause a mass exodus. The 1995 thing wasn't felt til years later, and I think this one will be the same.

  • Think About It
    Think About It

    We are only talking 2 more years until 2015, so I doubt much big will change doctrinally. Doctrine changes that seem big to us doesn't seem to shake up today's JW's much. I would think after 2014 that there will be a higher than normal decrease, but the WTS will still be functioning and still controlling the cult. You have to think that the longer people stay in after all the negative exposure that the Watchtower gets......the more likely they are to stay in. There will still be the born-ins that grow up and leave as soon as they can.

  • nonjwspouse
    nonjwspouse

    Whoa Mary, you hit the nail on the head three years ago didn't you?

    " I believe that they're going to try and turn even more hardcore. They'll lose alot of members but I think they'd be willing to cut their losses. They'd rather rule over a pliable group of 3,000,000 members, than 6,000,000 who aren't really 'paying close attention' when the Oracle speaks.

    With regards to the actual doctrines, I figure the following will probably happen:

    1. Storing your own blood will become a "conscience" matter, as will plasma;
    2. Witnesses will be told in the study articles that they should have extremely limited (if any) contact with family members who have simply 'faded';
    3. Regular pioneers will only have to get 50 hours in each month
    4. Auxillary pioneers will only have to get 30 hours in each month
    5. Leaving all your possessions to the WTB&TS will be strongly 'recommended' as opposed to leaving it to your family;
    6. The "Faithful and Discreet Slave" will be referring ONLY to the Governing Body members
    7. They'll be 12,000+ partaking at the Memorial which could lead them to make the "144,000" number, symbolic. Since they've already downgraded any of the 'anointed' as being on the same footing as the 'other sheep', it won't make any difference to them one way or another how many partake, because they won't be part of the 'Slave class'"

    The blood issue hasn't happend yet, but I bet it will!

  • Tameria2001
    Tameria2001

    It will be the same old thing. There is a saying, "There is nothing new under the sun." Well there is nothing new in that damed cult. They sucker in new people, and others will wise up and get out, being totally robbed of their loved ones who choose to belive the cult's lies.

  • sir82
    sir82
    mass exodus will start in November 2014

    ???

    On what basis do you suppose that?

    The WTS peddles hope - something that people value highly. So long as the message of "hope" remains, people will stick with it.

    Oh they will continue to slow down their activity, contribute far less, display far less zeal...at some point the numbers will level off and then decline by 1-2% per year - but there will almost certainly never be a "mass exodus".

    The WTS will be here as long as organized religion exists. It will transform and change and, if you were to travel in a time machine 100 years into the future, be completely unrecognizable - but it will still be there.

    And as I have posted numerous times - the WTS holds no monopoly on dumb and/or dangerous ideas. If somehow they do something colossally stupid and self-destruct, most of their loyalists would end up as Mormons or Scientologists or Fundies or some such.

  • St George of England
    St George of England

    Any statististics that may alarm the flock will be carefully massaged to show it's business as usual.

    George

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