by truthseeker 52 Replies latest jw friends
Latin America... That's the biggest growth area... And their stronghold. Very few Spanish-speaking apostates, need more!!
More than double the English-Speaking JW population... And a very different ball game there.
In Mexico, every convention sees hundreds getting baptized...
I should (and will!!) get back to the jwfacts translation... It's urgently needed!!
Read Magnum's post. It's excellent in articulating what the situation is.
metatron
Emeth,
You are right the WTBTS will probably be here in 10 years. That's because the big "A" isn't coming like the WTBTS says. Soon they will change 1914 or drop it for good. We will see this in our lifetime. Be a good person, live your life in freedom. If the Big "A" was to come, you are covered. If not, then you won't be a watchtard.
DD
Alphaman said: Seriously ask yourself......how many fools out there actually think it's a good idea to study with and join the Jehovah Witness cult?
(emeth) @alphaman dream on .. keep repeating your own fairytales. In answer to your last question i can answer.. several hundreds of thousands a year.
The several hundred thousands of bible studies reported by Watchtower is a scam and you know it. I can't believe JW defenders would come on an X-JW board and be stupid enough to think we don't know the truth about Watchtower Society activities. JW's can pull that theocratic warfare and defection crap on outsiders that question things, but don't really know the scam. You can't pull that on X-JW's that know the truth about "the truth".TM (hard for me to write "the truth" without wanting to vomit)
JW bible studies are mainly JW children and it is nowadays counted twice by Dad & Mom. Dad to keep his pity KH priviledges and Mom to get her some easy time. (most here have done this- except maybe count it as 2 bible studies)
You find some poor friendly sap out in service and you go by weekly studying a Watchtower book and you have a bible study. This person has no intention of becoming a JW, but they are friendly and go through this book study thing with you just to be nice. (we all had BS's like this)
You get somebody spiritually weak or inactive then an elder will study with them if it's going to be easy time. If hard time, then they turn it over to a pioneer. (we all did this too)
RARELY, and I say RARELY was there bible studies started by contacting someone at the door and you actually has a Watchtower book bible study that progressed to baptism and became a JW.
Before the internet, and before the "Millions Now Living Will Never Die" because of "this (1914) generation" will see the end Watchtower lies....there was some number of JW bible studies. (especially leading up to the end will come in 1975 Watchtower lie) Nowdays the internet is kicking the Watchtower's ass so bad most JW's are too embarassed to show up at people's door and get called a cult member or have to explain the pedophile scandal. JW's are even too embarassed to stand by their own literature carts for fear of someone on the street noticing they belong to a false end predicting, two witness rule pedophile loving, Jesus rejecting, new light belief changing, bat-shit crazy cult.
The rise of atheism due to the internet will hurt all religious growth with time. That's what is happening now.
Good luck Witnessing to millenials JWs, you're gonna need it.
i cant comment on the modern day JW situation--i cut all ties back in '81. but i have family still in.
my observations are from the 60's--up to 75.
ive been ib 3 different congs--the pattern was the same.
fanatical middle aged women--with " opposed" husbands--or--at best--occasional meeting attenders. these women did most of the answering up--and door knocking. head nodders.
men who were content to sit--fall asleep--answer up if prompted. maybe a little door knocking--say once a month--or--more likely--reporting "incidental" witnessing---that no-one else witnessed ! they were called "weak" back then
a few power hungry men--usually with a rubbish career--these were the servants--before the elder idea was invented. often nasty pieces of work.
young pioneers--railroaded into it by pressure from the visiting CO--usually for a few months before the apathy wore them out.
is it any different now ?
I am not a JW apologist, but I agree with emeth on this one. WTBTS will go on and on. Many high up Bethelites and GB members are all about self preservation. They have a good lifestyle and won't want to give it up.
I cant see them collapsing, having said this more seem to leaving, this is good news. Baptisms will not stop though, recruitment will carry on regardless of exJWs reaching a high number. IMO a critical mass would be half of the JWs in every KH knowing TTATT and teaching TTATT to their loved ones.
I can't see that happening, when most leave they can't stay in for family too long, they need to build a life for themselves. Many who stay in after learning TTATT are generally retired and have grown up kids that are in. Keeping up a pretense for the sake of family is too much strain for many.
Kate xx
Religion as a whole is crazy in their thinking and teachings. So what makes Wt. teaching any diffrent. People who have to have religion will stream to the Wt. teaching because they are not happy with their crazy religion. So they just replace one crazy religion or another. My wife and I have given serveral talks to groups on the Wt. and what we have found out most don't even know how dangerous the Wt. cult is. Most of these poeple we have talk to don't believe in the bible or a god. So why do you think those that do believe in god and belong to a religious group that is as crazy as the Wt. would know anything about the Wt. cult? To them it all sounds good and makes sense. Still Totally ADD
This doesn't necessarily lead to collapse overall but it IS a trend in many areas: congregations on the edge of collapse.
There are many small congregations particularly in rural areas that average perhaps 40 -60 publishers. When a congregation gets down to this size, meetings really get pathetic (or more pathetic if that's possible). A few people giving up or moving out and your congregation isn't viable.
This is why there's so many congregations getting merged because they have declined and are too small to function. And there are C.O.'s who sweat a bit about getting stuck with circuits that are loaded with these near-death congregations. Not fun.
metatron
The WT appears to be doing fine. Membership on this forum is self-selected. Most here want to see the WT go down and so you see signs that it is. Their legal liability is quite small. They have the assets. Few cases will present with the facts of Conti.
I am not aware of any sign that they are harmed. They are going through a transitional process. Many businesses do the same It can be a sign of vigor rather than doom. Do you have any idea how many times the Roman Catholic Church seemed imperiled during the Middle Ages. There were popes and antipopes. The Vatican was taken by force. Popes were poisoned. There probably was a female pregnant pope. Yet Francis is going quite well.
I wish people would focus on life in general more than an obsession with the end of the WT. Also, recent attempts to bring down the WT, such as the recent petition, were so pathetic that they gave life to the WT. I don't think they are so obsessed with us. I fail to see where any doctrine has been mediated b/c of apostates.
Living well is the best revenge.
