Reinventing the WBTS

by link 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  eyeslice

  Personally, I wouldnt get too excited about any imminent changes. I believe the 1914 doctrine is going to be a huge issue, but the same time, I cannot see how the hierarchy is going to put a spin on it.

  See my thread on a very similar topic a couple of days ago. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=43078&site=3

  Some have suggested in this thread that the whole 1914 deal may be downgraded and that the rank and file will not notice it. This may wear in countries that have seen big increases in the past 10 years but in the USA, Europe and Australia, there has been little or zero new growth in the past 10 years. In our local congregation, most have been in all their lives, and cannot think of any recent new one. This means all the elders and all the older ones have been steeped in the 1914 doctrine for a very long time. It is going to be very difficult to sell any radical new light to these without a significant backlash.
• 

  Analysis

  Link yes I do think that the 1914 doctrine, based on 607 as the year of the fall of Jerusalem, is unimportant. The average JW today can no longer tell you how they get to 1914 anyway and with the new publications they do not even address the issue in any detail. They could keep it or change it, either way it would not make a difference to most current and future JWs.

  metatron is correct when he states; "The only efficient and rapid change seems to come from the Legal Dept - or
  the Treasurer's Office. Money and law get immediate attention - not the cries for justice by the sheeple."

  But, that is why I believe the mainstream changes will occur. It will be forced on them by the Legal Department and the Treasures Office. They need the money and they need to stop the cause of legal cases they can not win.

  I tend to agree with what JT says about the change. Look, Catholics use birth control, they eat fish on Friday and most will get a Divorce and Remarry if they want to bad enough. However they still love the Pope and consider him the spokesman from heaven. Until recently most of them where proud to be Catholics. Those who have a reaction to the Child Abuse of the Priest still want the Church to survive and they think it is a disgrace what some have done to the good reputation of the Church.
• 

  peacefulpete

  It works with babies. If you want your keys back you pretend you don't want them and draw attention to the rattle laying unattended next to them. They give up the keys with a smile as long as they don't jingle when you palm them.
  
  As a side comment I remember vividly being called to the back room for my heretical WT comments. I believed all would share my excitement over finding that a printed interpretation of a verse was "new light". That is that it had subtle differences from former interpretations. The P.O. actally told me it was not his or my "juristiction" to compare current explanation with older. Unless it was specifically announced that a point was new IT WAS NOT. When I became P.O. I had the same problem with the branch coordinator when I inquired about a change in interpretation and whether I was free to explain this to the congo.

  As I said we all feel what we have is vital till it is gone. I now know none of it is vital.
• 

  No Apologies

  They have already taken the first steps in dropping 1914 with the generation change. I think it went over pretty well for them for the most part. Yeah, a few left, there was a slowdown in the field service, but still, not much reaction. So watch it become further de-emphasized.

  I think they will either shrink into a fanatical hardcore ultraloyal group, or they will loosen up bigtime, and possibly become even bigger, unless the loosening just increases the mass exodus. There are so many variables: how many pedophile cases come to light? How many lawsuits do they lose? Will they drop the blood issue? The Internet will continue to be a major thorn in their side. And of course some type of world catastrophe would be incredibly good for them.

  Its fun to ponder. It seems they are definitely in a state of flux for the next few years.
• 

  wednesday

  Raised in the "truth", i think a lot of jws do not really understand the 1914 thing. i hated trying to explain that to anyone, people just look at u all puzzled. finally i was told if they were "right hearted" they would accept the explanation of FDS.So if they did not really understaned it to begin with, why are they worried if it changes? Now, i know, this won;'t apply to all, some really did study but a lot of jws don;'t they just read the WT.
• 

  ozziepost

  I find it difficult to see how they could reinvent themselves with regard to 1914, since so many doctrines depend on it.

  If 1914 is done away with, then so must the F&DS, the remnant teaching, etc. And what of Babylon the Great which they teach "has already fallen"? Indeed, what of Babylon the Great? Would they have to also re-interpret that, too?

  All in all, it's a nice thought, but I doubt it. But old Ozzie's been wrong before..........
• 

  Nathan Natas

  While there is nothing to prevent the WTS from trying to re-invent itself, there is no reason to think that such a re-invention would be successful. An apocalyptic religion needs an apocalypse.

  Case in point - Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, the publishers of "Plain Truth" magazine. After Herbert Armstrong died, the man he personally selected to run his organization began a sincere re-evaluation of the WCOG teachings, and trashed a great many of them. (TRIPLE tithes - is this a GREAT COUNTRY or WHAT?) Today the original WCOG organization still exists, under a different name if I recall correctly and at about 10% of their previous membership. Where did former church members go? To various "orthodox"WCOG splinter groups who kept true to Herbert's teachings. Garner Ted Armstrong, Herbert's son, was himself the prime actor in at least two sex scandals within the church, and today GTA has his own organization is not involvd in the church his father started.

  I'm perfectly willing to sit down with a big bucket of popcorn and watch the WTS self-destruct.

  Edited by - Nathan Natas on 27 December 2002 20:2:3
• 

  jgnat

  The World Wide Church of God reinvented itself - apologized even - and lost half it's membership. In the process however, they humanized and normalized. So it is proven that change is possible for a former high-control organization.

  The WTS has itself in a double-bind, however. It cannot apologize, since it claims to be the (nearly) infallible and only mouthpiece of Jehovah on earth. And Jehovah doesn't make mistakes. Also, and I find this most fascinating, it is run by committee. No captain is steering this ship, making the WTS as slow as a garbage scow powered with paddles. As the organization gentrifies, it is becoming more and more like the image of Christendom it so loves to revile - controlling, inflexible, and contrary to foundational Christian beliefs. The public images the WTS tries to convey are conflicting and confusing. A symptom, perhaps, of the multiple prirorities pursued by various committees. Here are some of the public images, as I see them:

  • Maverick, upstart, growing organization, speaking the "truth" over a crippled, ageing Christendom. This is losing some impact as the keystone WTS doctrines that were novel in the 1800's are getting passe'. The key WTS doctrines, if they were outlined plainly to a householder on first meeting, just sound weird. Also, newer, younger denominations are popping up and proving to be even livelier and relevant and growing today. The mainstream churches are also experiencing a refreshing and revival.
  • A dignified, clean organization as a refuge from a deteriorating, wicked world. For people wanting escape from their own addictions or a bad relationship, the clean "Christian" image is a strong draw. This still works great. As long as none of the dirt leaks out. Which explains the organization's obsession with keeping the organization "clean" and silencing dissenters. With the internet and the free flow of information, this image will be hard to keep up in the industrialized world. Because of this, I predict we will see decline in industrialized areas, and continued growth in the third world. Also, in many parts of the third world, the Catholic Church plays an important role in people's lives. Since the Catholic Church is one of the WTS's main targets, their doctrines will continue to have an appeal in these areas.
  • A noble organization with a venerated history. This seems to be a relatively new development. And only natural, as the organization ages. Consider the video on the sacrifices made by witnesses past; the German prisoners of war, and so on. By focusing on this image, the WTS is using nostalgia, rather than the reasonableness of its doctrines, to hold on to its members. I see this also in the apparent pride that JW's take in being second or third generation Witness. Correct me if I am wrong, but a multiple generation Witness has ready access to the priveledges offered by the society. The irony is that the organization is becoming more like the churches it loves to hate.

  I wish the WTS would get rid of the disfellowshipping doctrine. Even if the WTS beast is large, it would be toothless, allowing members the freedom to come and go as they please. This would naturally result in a liberalizing of some of the most harmful WTS doctrines. I think the WTS can be helped along this road by hitting them where it hurts - the pocketbook. Go, lawsuits, go. If it gets too expensive to be extreme, the organization will change.
• 

  hooberus

  Now that the "length of time/ generation" teaching has been successfully disconnected from the 1914 date, why would the Watchtower even need to tamper with the 1914 date?

  The teaching that there is a remnant of the 144k still alive can be extended almost indefinitely by saying that since some of the remnant fell away they have been replaced by either newbies or witnesses who once thought they only had an earthly hope and who now claim to be of the anointed. I have even read this in past WT arcticles. Likewise the FDS doctrine can hypothetically be continued for an indefinite period because these "faithful" replacements are running the Society.