Magnum: Also, there was the old generation teaching which made far more sense than the new one.
Which of the 7 or 8 WT versions of "generation" are you referring to? LOL.
Stagnant JW growth at international convention
by kneehighmiah 52 Replies latest jw friends
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AndDontCallMeShirley
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DATA-DOG
So, like the Catholics, JWs strike gold when they convert a family. IF they lose the CONTI case and IF they are forced to trolley witness, despite the claim that D2D is THE WAY, what becomes of their "growth??" I also believe a major decline is coming to developed countries. The WTBTS had better continue translating their simplistic "bible-based" propaganda in the languages of undeveloped backwater countries.
Perhaps with a totally internet based e-religion, where the R&F print all their own literature while donating, the BORG can survive a few more decades?? I honestly cannot imagine anyone remaining loyal once 2020 rolls around. That's probably when they will drop the 2034/120 year nu-light.
DD
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Magnum
AndDon'tCallMeShirley - good question; it is laughable. Seriously, though, the first one I really remember is the one that stated that individuals of the generation had to be at least ten years old in 1914 in order to be able to recognize the sign of the last days and that the generation could be, at most, 80 years. So that one "expired" in 1984. Then they started saying that the members of the generation could be born in 1914. So that bought another ten years - extending the limit to 1994. We know what happened shortly after that - another change.
Even though the pre-1995 generation doctrine made more sense to me, it, too, didn't really make sense because 80 years is not a generation; it's a lifespan. And a lifespan can cover several generations.
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Magnum
DATA-DOG: I honestly cannot imagine anyone remaining loyal once 2020 rolls around
I can't, either. That's one reason I find it so interesting to watch the situation and keep up with what's going on; I want to see what's going to happen.
My wife's been saying she thinks they're going to "drop the 2034/120 year nu-light". I kind of think so, too.
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DATA-DOG
They should have kept the meaning of a generation "that failed to mend their ways." That way, the END could be forever looming, but never come and they would never have needed to set a date. After all, there are always "bad" people to point to as examples.
A bet they still kick themselves on that one. Watchtards.....
DD
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Phizzy
" My wife's been saying she thinks they're going to "drop the 2034/120 year nu-light". I kind of think so, too." - Magnum
have they actually said anything in print about 2034/120 years as yet, or is it too early for them ?
I just wonder when it is going to be obvious even to mind-controlled JW's that their beloved JW.Org is withering away ?
Of course the old "love of the greater number will cool off" mantra will be uttered over and over, but after all those years of trumpeting growth as BigJ's blessing, that is going to sound hollow even to JW's.
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TheOldHippie
OneEyedJoe - Death rate in larger populations is at 1 %. Factors that you state can not be used to stipulate a higher death rate, they are of course included in larger populations. You cannot stipulate a rate with small populations, then you must increase the number of years you are looking at to say 3 or 5, but the JW population both worldwide of course but also in the US is more than large enough to use the 1 % rate. So worldwide 80,000 die in a year, and a growth rate of 0 therefore "in fact" is a growth of 1 % because those having died have been substituted by new ones. If the old mantra of 1 % df'ed and 1 % leaving is still valid, then the annual loss is at 3 %, and theefore a 0 % growth means there are some 3 % new ones because they have substituted those that have left. So 0 growth = 240,000 new ones among the stock.
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Vidiot
Magnum - "The ones they might get are for the most part going to be from the bottom of society - the less educated, the socially awkward, etc..."
...the mentally ill...
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Phizzy
Thanks for that clear explanation Old Hippie, two things I do not quite understand are, the WT reports around 250,000 baptized (approx)and claims this is a 3.2% (approx) increase, 3.2% of what ?
Also, why do the total numbers of active JW's keep going up, when deaths and people leaving should in theory keep their total static ?
As you can tell, statistics is not my long suit.
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