New Thought About Active J.W.'s

by The Searcher 45 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Hold Me-Thrill Me

  The Searcher,

  I wholeheartedly agree. Everyone who silently endures repression is not a moron. A significant number are practicing a holding in place mode, JWs waiting for the other shoe to drop. This results in a work slowdown.

  The Watchtower is feeling this in their donations, field service reports, lack of enough young brothers offering themselves up to take the lead, meeting attendance, and in the general malaise that has hit many congregations in the west.

  The other group you mention, the super loyal group, would be ready to follow satan if he disguised himself as a JW leader. Anthony Morris comes to mind.
  

  Frank
  
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  done4good

  The group Frank mentions above is the largest group, IMO. However, the trend seems to be one of polarization from this group, to one of the other two.
  

  d4g
  
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  Vidiot

  I think that the older the Org got, the more this "sorting" was inevitable.

  What's more, I suspect that the WT leadership has come to the same conclusion, and crafted their decisions and policies to work with it...

  a) ...to make themselves feel as though it was their idea (thus internally saving face), and...

  b) ...to "manage" any potential stagnation and decline that could stem from such circumstances, giving them time to reorganize their focus and assets to ensure the Org's continued survival in the wake of an exodus (quiet or otherwise) of soft-core members and fence-sitters.
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  tim3l0rd

  I wish I was in a more liberal state as I think this would be more evident to me and I would feel more relaxed around the group of dissenters and/or hiders. Unfortunately in the "Bible belt", the backgrounds of those here seem to predestine them to take a hard line, especially if you're a non-native speaker in a foreign language congregation. Some part of me wants to reach the status of elder just so I can speak more freely with other elders about the recent changes.
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  Vidiot

  tim3I0rd - "Some part of me wants to reach the status of elder just so I can speak more freely with other elders about the recent changes."

  Good luck keeping your sanity.
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  steve2

  Oppostate - you nailed identifying the third group - a group that could be labeled "Lifestylers".

  They are reasonably okay about the JW lifestyle - very likely being raised in it - and perhaps also feel pretty pessimistic about the direction the world's heading so are unlikely to cut ties. In the meantime, they're content to build a comfortable lifestyle around their JW status - but are not going to go out of their way to serve. No way would they see their experience in the organization as negative. They'd laugh at the suggestion it's a cult. Pass me my magarita, Darling!

  Older religious groups have plenty of lifestylers - especially in wealthier, more developed countries. As the decades pass, the organization increasingly appears like more established churches.
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  traveb

  Where I live here in California, the group that "oppostate" describes fits the vast majority of JWs that I know. His description is absolutely spot-on. Personally, I call them social Jehovah's Witnesses. I call them this because the majority of their family and social circle are JWs, so they go along with the program because that's all they know.
  

  They were brought up "in the truth", yet are not as fervent or studious as their parents. They love getting dressed up for conventions, taking selfies or group shots with their friends, and then posting to Instagram. They love, love handing out tracts or babysitting a literature cart. A lot of them go to college, get degrees, and have decent jobs. They meet up for happy hours, go clubbing, and openly talk about the latest R-rated movie.

  However, If you ask a social JW what the current understanding is of the Biblical generation, or how and why they believe 1914 was the end of the Gentile Times, you will just get a blank look of confusion. They also have private doubts about the whole Armageddon thing, because they know deep down that Jesus won't really come to Earth and slaughter children because their parents didn't take them to meetings on Thursday nights.

  As long as the WTS doesn't make their lives too difficult or annoying, social JW's have no reason to change. Any private reservations they have can easily be quashed and glossed over.
  
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  maksutov

  I don't speak to many JWs any more, but two I have spoken to have both said that they are taking a more 'relaxed' view than they used to - they are fed up with beating themselves up, and are just doing what they feel they reasonably can. One of them said that they enjoy the good bits but take the judgmental stuff with a pinch of salt. These two are both completely convinced that it is the one true religion though, and defend it to the hilt. Not sure which group they would fit in!
  
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  OUTLAW

  From my own observations & conversations with selected active J.W.'s, here are my conclusions:

  J.W.'s are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.....Searcher

  I believe those 2 camps have always existed..

  The Watchtower has always successfully weeded out dissenters,once they were found out..
  

  The WBT$ had rules in place that isolated the camp they considered undesirable..

  Without computers communication the WBT$ once afforded was now gone..

  so ExJWs were effectively isolated by the WBT$,from JWs and each other..

  The Information Age is here..The playing field has been leveled..

  The WBT$ has lost the power it once had..

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  ......................THIS IS FOR YOU WATCHTOWER..

  
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  TheListener

  Perhaps the groups that Oppostate mentioned is really large and isn't donating as much?

  If they use video more at the local meetings they will need fewer shepherds to spread the parts around. That should work well with fewer brothers reaching out.