by munchausen 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Here is an interesting measure of the increasing futility of bible studies. This may have been commented on before, but I don't recall seeing it.
1999 yearbook total bible studies 4,302,852
total baptisms 316,092
1 baptism per 13.6 studies
2009 yearbook total bible studies 7,133,760
total baptisms 298,304
1 baptism per 24.6 studies
I don't have any of the other yearbooks, but I would be interested in the figures from the 70's, 80's, and 90's
Here's more stats for your reading pleasure. http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php
Your title caught my eye as hubby (a JW convert) is deeply discouraged over field service work. He's gone as far as getting dressed to go out the door and changing his mind. He asks me to help him stay motivated, but how can I when I consider it a collosal waste of time?
It is a colossal waste of time. Most of the time, you go in territories. When you get a territory, you work all the doors in it. Those where no one comes to the door are listed on a slip of paper. Next time you go into that territory after it's finished, you get just the numbers on those slips that end up with the territory (I have seen a few where only one or two numbers got scratched off the list on the first working). You go into the territory to work those numbers until you either scratch off every number from the list (which is rare) or you get no additional results. At which point, you destroy the not at homes and return the territory for the next person to do again. Nothing reduced! If you get a call, chances are good that it will fizzle.
As for the calls, I have seen witlesses with call books containing 40 or 50 active calls. Usually, they will get about 50% of those not at home. When they do get someone home, they usually discuss the rags and place a new set of rags. Sometimes, they will place the Washtowel Teach book, and attempt a study. Normally, that's the end of it because they keep having something come up.
And, when you do get a study, it is usually a time waster. I have seen plenty of studies in the Suffer Forever book where they reached chapter 16 or 17, and still have yet to attend a boasting session. And that was before the Internet. Usually, something comes up or they don't want to give something up. I have seen them sticking on giving up their church, smoking, living with an unmarried partner, and that they don't want to waste all their time doing the exact same thing. They can and do reach the end of the book without having attended so much as a single boasting session. They end up moving, and then they become someone else's problem. And that's when they don't snake-work the calls.
This thread is truly "GOOD NEWS!"
Remember, alot of those bible studies are from jw parents studying with their children.
It is also good to note that much of the growth among Jehovah's Witnesses is taking place in third world countries. Interest in the industrialized world is waning. That means fewer and fewer people in those lands are accepting the offer of a "free home Bible study" from Jehovah's Witnesses. Those people who do want to study the Bible often set up a study group or cell on their own to which they invite their friends and other people who have an interest. Those groups do not adhere to some rigid theology but often encourage free discussion with questions and much give-and-take.
I had a Witness friend who had an interesting way of conducting Bible studies with those he found in the field ministry. The study was never conducted using WTS publications. He would use only the Bible, and even then did not limit himself to just the New World Translation. He encouraged householders to use whatever translation they liked. He enjoyed much success, and he would often advise those who accompanied him in the field service to do it that way. I myself would do so and found that I enjoyed the service much more when I followed his example.
The fact is the organization does not engage in true Bible study either among Witnesses themselves or with interested persons. The method used by the organization reminds me very much of how I learned about religion growing up in the Roman Catholic Church and attending Catholic school. That was marked by use of the catechism. Questions were asked, answers were memorized, and the student then regurgitated them. Most home studies are conducted the same way. That may work in poor countries where many do not have an adequate education or are used to indoctrination of various kinds. But I think it has failed in industrial countries whose populations are more sophisticated and where many will resist this method of teaching.
I think this may be one reason for the statistics given that reflect the ratio of Bible studies to baptisms. I doubt very much that the organization would be interested to learn who these students actually are. I agree with the thought that many (if not most) are the children of active Witnesses, and not people found in the door-to-door work or through "informal witnessing". And there is something else to consider. Only about one-third of children raised in a Witness household are still active in the religion after reaching adulthood. That does not bode well for the WTS.
Yesterday the jws came back again to talk to the neighbor next door. He's not interested at all. When they first went by I yelled "There's the jehovah's witnesses again!". My window was open and I know they heard me. About 5 minutes later they walked by again and I yelled again. My youngest son ran to the window and also said something while laughing. I know the jw persceution complex came up in those guys minds (it was two guys and I get the feeling at least one of them was an elder) but it was funny. My daughter walked out to the mailbox and when she came back she said they were just sitting there in a black truck.
They keep coming. It's been about 8 months of them coming again and again. The neighbor isn't interested. Talk about a campaign of futility.
Hey Josie,
as I was pullin' up in my drive today , there was left in my door
two of the same mags that were left last week. now I
have two sets of Jan 2011 WT and Awakes. I thought that
they were better organized than this, last week I was at
home but no one rung the bell, the folks from the old cong
using me as a dumpin' ground
Yep, looks like someone is trying to get rid of mags and pump up their time. *snicker*
I got a "BANG" out of someone posting JW's as JEHOVAH'S WITLESSES"...BECAUSE THEY TRULY ARE 'WITLESS'
