The Watchtower Society has come to grips with the futility of D2D preaching

by wasblind 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Jim_TX

  Okay - Aussie Oz beat me to it. I can forsee their next District Assembly 'release' being a new Jehovah's Witnesses Internet Browser (JWIB).

  It will come preprogrammed with the jw.org (or whatever their website is) as the home page, and all of the important sections where they can get their magazines - or whatever - pre-bookmarked for them. All they have to do is click-click - and viola! they're there!

  (Please be sure to attend the drama on Saturday that demonstrates this new Internet Browser - hosted by an actor portraying Moses - as he writes the Ten Commandments using his new IPAD computer with the JWIB installed. Hear Moses' frustrations as his efforts to write the Ten Commandments are futile, UNTIL he launches the new JWIB and is taken straight to the jw.org web site where he is able to easily write the Ten Commandments straight onto his new IPAD.)

  Donations for JWIB are welcome, and recommended. Those that donate are given a special passcode that allows them free access to the online library at jw.org. Those that do not donate are still able to use the browser, but with limited abilities.

  All browsers can be used to surf the internet, but all activity will be monitored and any unapproved web sites will be reported to bethel, which will lead to a meeting locally with the elders.

  Some restrictions may apply.

  Not available in all states.

  Alaska and Hawaii not included.

  Your mileage may vary.
• 

  Apognophos

  Seriously, though, I'm still in shock from the TMS part where they used a tablet at the door. You know that change must be blowing in the wind for them to schedule such a part.
• 

  steve2

  Never a JW wrote:

  The Hispanic JW's that I see in my neighborhood socialize among themselves much more than they preach, and that seems to be the general rule for other areas too.

  Good observation. On the few occasions when I see JWs "out" in the D2D work, they spend a lot of time dawdling along the footpaths and chatting to one other, completely caught up in their own private little worlds. They do not look like they are on a mission. Contrast this shuffling demeanor to the young Mormon men who busily bike from location to location and waste no time in getting to front doors!

  Interestingly, when I last saw them mid-week in my suburb over a year ago, I estimated that when they finally would have got to the doors, they would have found a significant proportion of householders not at home (I live in a coastal town where vast numbers of properties are not in use out of season).

  Add in the growing tendency for them to take (long) mid-morning breaks at McCafe and you do seriously have to conclude they are not actually spending much time talking to householders.
• 

  Jim_TX

  Well... regarding the slowness of going door-to-door, and the socializing... I must say that I was guilty of this when I was a JW many many ... many years ago.

  To be absolutely honest, it was the only 'social' activity that I had as a kid growing up and a young teen. Field service was that activity where you were not in a formal environment like the KH. Yes, you were wearing a suit and tie, but you weren't confined in a small room with a lot of other individuals, and were able to talk to someone one-on-one.

  I could usually strike up a conversation with the partner I was walking with, and we could talk and learn about things that each other did, etc. There were the exceptions of course, but if I was careful, I could pretty much get assigned to work with someone that was interesting to be around. While I would rather be at home on those Saturday (or Sunday) mornings, if I had to be out banging on doors, it was much more enjoyable to have to do it with someone that I could talk to.

  It was also the only way that I had to get close to someone of the opposite sex without raising too many eyebrows. I.E. sitting next to them in the vehicle as we traveled to and from the territory. (I was sorta like Rajesh on The Big Bang Theory - I couldn't talk too much to gals.)

  Of course, once in a while I got stuck with going solo, and while that wasn't all that bad... I had to be careful to not be too loud when I knocked - otherwise, I might have to talk to someone at the door that I had to talk to.
• 

  Vidiot

  ABibleStudent - "I sometimes wonder if the Watchtower is purposely trying to cause JWs doubts?"

  Not so much doubts, per se, but definately something is going on.

  I've come to suspect that the GB have become increasingly aware (subconciously or otherwise) that the WTS's current modus operandi is- in the long run - unsustainable, and are (again, subconciously or otherwise) making policy decisions that will have the cumulative effect of paring the R&F down to a more manageable size whilst still maintaining the revenue flow necessary to maintain their lifestyle...

  Bear in mind, this doesn't necessarily mean that members of the GB are closet unbelievers; the majority of their recent policy decisions, coupled with many testamonials from those having had personal experience with the GB strongly indicate that they are full-on True Believers (TM) .

  This, in my opinion, actually supports the theory; authoritarian hard-liners with genuine convictions are well-known for their antipathy towards anyone who cannot or will not submit, and have always strived to purge them from their ranks (i.e. maintain "unity") at all costs.

  There’s also another possibility.

  I've mentioned this once or twice before, but I think it bears repeating; recent history has arguably shown that apocalyptic millennialist groups actually need to set a date (for the impending End) from time to time to bolster support from their core membership and bring in new recruits.

  Unfortunately, the WTS holds the (unofficial) world record for failed Armageddon predictions, so that option is long past its sell-by date; the GB would lose a huge amount of credibility with even JW loyalists in this day and age if they tried it.

  What they could do, however, is – for all intents and purposes – stage a less significant prophetic fulfillment (at least as far as the R&F might be concerned) that is supposedly linked to the End.

  Remember the prediction about the "love of the greater number cooling off" in Matthew 24:12? The WTS hasn't mentioned it too often, but if I recall correctly, they've always interpreted that passage to mean that there will be a reduction in the number of JWs sometime during the Great Tribulation.

  At this point, they've got culling out the "lukewarm" down to an art (deliberately or otherwise).

  Once it reaches a certain point, perhaps when the revenue flow is getting too slow even for a smaller operation, for example (or more practically, when the malaise within the R&F becomes impossible to ignore), how hard would it be to publish "New Light" suggesting that Matthew 24:12 is being specifically fulfilled by that very selfsame circumstance?

  If it's spun right, it could be used as a real (albeit short-term) shot in the arm for the R&F, maybe even bring a few wayward sheep back into the fold.

  No date-setting neccessary.
• 

  Sulla

  Interesting idea, Vidiot. However, I think you may be underestimating the genius of the WT thinkers. In a million years, I never could have come up with "overlapping generations." Nobody saw that coming, the audacity!
• 

  Jeffro

  Tater-T:

  but there is a verse in the bible that says 'you have to go door to door'

  Well, actually... there's not.

  The only thing the Bible really says about going from "house to house" is at Luke 10:7, where it says "do not be transferring from house to house" (Greek, ek oikia eis oikia, literally "from house to house").

  Acts 5:42 and Acts 20:20 say that Christians spoke "in the temple and from house to house" (Greek kata oikos, literally "in the houses"). The New World Translation corrupts the intended meaning of this verse to defend their door-knocking activities.
• 

  Pickler

  Hey Sulla, ex JW here, I met my atheist (now husband) in the mid 90's

  Back in 95 i told him about the prediction of Armageddon in this generation that saw 1914, and he said rhetorically " so what happens when it doesn't happen........(no reply from me, cause even though i was out i couldnt comprehend the Borg being so wrong ) .......I'll tell ya, they're just gonna change the rules....hahahahaha ha"

  at the time I remember thinking you don't understand witnesses, now, I think he understood better than I knew
• 

  Apognophos

  Blah, when I said "TMS" above, of course I meant "SM", it was a Service Meeting part; I don't know why I make that mistake sometimes. I agree, Sulla, the overlapping generation concept was pretty ingenious!
• 

  Tater-T

  thanks Jeffro... I think most JW's think there is I did when I was in..