by metatron 35 Replies latest jw friends
Exactly. When we recognize that "Witnesses were always dumb" (true), we must also realize that they used to have solid reading ability. From seven volumes of Studies in the Scriptures to the Babylon book, they could read and retain, however fanciful the material might have been.
Either they decay away or somebody comes up with a bold new business plan.
metatron
"it means that the WTS is accumulating ever greater numbers of weak, dependent people with empty wallets and fragile health"
And the JWs are singularly ill-equipped to deal with people who are in this state. How many times did you hear it spelled out:
- "Jehovah's organisation is here for only one purpose, to preach the good news of the kingdom."
Anybody requiring welfare existence is directed to whatever services are provided by the state - or if these are unavailable or insufficient, to those offered by charitable institutions.
Furthermore, they have no qualms whatsoever about directing their own R&F to charitable services that may be provided by the much-maligned "Churches of Christendom".
I experienced this directly some 30 years ago, when my children were very young and my wife was hospitalised for three months. Accused by the congregation of "trying to use people" when I sought some help with caring for my children, I received instead assistance from a group run by the local churches. I tell you, the irony of that was not lost on the people of the small town in which we lived!
Bill.
metatron - "What's left besides stagnation or collapse? Simply put: Rot. Decay.... Spoilage."
I'd meant it as a rhetorical question (aren't rot and decay a form of stagnation? or is it the other way 'round?)...
Either way, I'm in 100% agreement with you; the WTS's current modus operandi is completely unsustainable for any kind of long haul...
metatron - " Consider entire extended families that have left the 'truth'..."
Hmmm...
...I wonder if - on a grassroots level - we're gonna see less and less stigma attached to that sort of thing (i.e. passive rebellion), at the same time as the anti-apostate rhetoric coming out of Brooklyn Warwick approaches spittle-flecked-ranting levels of crazy ('cause you know it's gonna)...
Well, now we come to the fork in the road, don't we?
They can accept decay and decline - even with the absolute numbers of publishers growing (and their quality falling). This happens sometimes - where is Ovaltine? Burma Shave? Polaroid? Kodak? They made a few efforts at renewal and that was that.
Or......
http://uosm2018.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/cultural-revolution-and-its-aftermath/
They could go 'cultural revolution' as China did! China owes much of its greatness today to a collective reaction to this horrible event. They took their fanatical ideas all the way, nothing held back and experienced such trauma that they changed dramatically and never looked back.
So far, it looks like they are going the Burma Shave route ("angels who guard you/when you drive/usually retire/at 65 - Burma Shave")
metatron
metatron - "They can accept decay and decline..."
I think that, on some level, they have "accepted" it, but are convincing themselves that it's actually something else; and what's more, it is (directly or indirectly) influencing the WTS's collective decision-making process.
It's why I've often theorized that they "want" to pare down the rank-and-file to a more manageable size (and are issuing even more draconian directives that inevitably accomplish that)...
...by having a deliberate or semi-deliberate hand in reducing the size of the WTS's overall membership, they can convince themselves that a) it's what they wanted all along, and b) it even might be a fulfillment of prophecy (love of the greater number cooling off, etc.).
Make no mistake, authoritarian regimes will do damn near anything to maintain the internal illusion that their authority is legitimate.
Yes, it certainly looks that way. Are they experts at spinning decline into looking like progress or are Witnesses just idiots? (oops, I already know the answer to that!)
Still, I wonder about the GB and other folks at HQ privately thinking, "God, this is some boring $hit" or not bothering to read the magazines (according to some testimony).
I do recall that Knorr changed convention schedules because afternoons were too damn hot in many areas, He also rejustified marriage in Bethel/ at the top because he had personal lust problems (only really oldtimers would know that).
So, things can change simply because a few people in power say, "F*** this". You never know.
metatron
