Could "this generation" inspire a new "1975 debacle"? (page 3)

Stealth

Next years explanation....

Methuselah lived 969 years so the generation that started in 1914 could last until the year 2883.

Village Idiot

Island Man: "I can totally see this happening."

Not necessarily. They seem to want to distant themselves from 1914 or any set date that can easily be falsified and just continue prattling about how current events are an imminent sign of the end. If I'm not mistaken, the Advntists have not set a new date since 1844.

OnTheWayOut

The Watchtower's style, established mainly by Freddy Franz but also by Russell and Rutherford, is not to calculate people's ages. Their style is to produce complicated theology like the age of Adam and Eve, and melding unrelated scriptures, and discussing past Biblical and current world events that "evidently" cause them to reach conclusions.

They may do a new end date, but it will be connected to the days of Noah and the fall and rise of the King of the North, or maybe some event that seems to fulfill the composite "sign" of the great tribulation.

I personally think they will not give an end date for "this system" but will give a start date for "the great tribulation" that leads to Armageddon. Then they can claim, just like an invisible presence, that it did happen and it did start and we don't know how long it will go on, but things will continue to get worse quickly. They will point to any governmental rulings against religion and the progress of homosexual marriage and adoption and the prevalence of anything they are against as proof.

prologos

OnTheWayOut

that it did happen and it did start and we don't know how long it will go on, but things will continue to get worse quickly.

or, as they taught in the 50s, that the Gt started in 1914, was interrupted in 1918, to allow the GC to come out of the GT, and would resume again with full-blown Armageddon. GT interruptus.

Crazyguy

I'm not sure another 1975 would work again. There's to much information online about the JW's and all their false prophecies. In fact there's so much info about the JW's online I doubt anything they could do or try would get many newbies to join. Religion is dying so it's a dead horse anyway.

cultBgone

I think the jdubs of today are much less likely to actually THINK about anything the wts spews out. They are not the researchers, bible scholars, and critical thinkers of years past. They are the We All Belong To The Coolest Club On Earth! jdubs. The fence-sitters are peeling off as evidenced by the growth on this site, but the mainstream rank-and-file don't question a dang thing put out by the gb.

If the gb said it the trib was going to happen in 2050, not one of them would question it. They would immediately begin thinking about how cool it was that they were living in the Greatest Time on Earth! It would be a cause for celebration and proof that their illustrious leaders are actually appointed by jehoober himself! And it would keep them revved up for another three decades. Then when nothing happened, the gb would again just say, "oh, we never actually used that date".

And several more real generations will be lost. Including one of my kids.

OneEyedJoe

I'm not sure another 1975 would work again. There's to much information online about the JW's and all their false prophecies. In fact there's so much info about the JW's online I doubt anything they could do or try would get many newbies to join. Religion is dying so it's a dead horse anyway.

What do you mean when you say "work?" I don't expect it would work to generate growth like it did pre 1975 but that wouldn't be the goal, at least not in first-world countries. In first-world countries the goal is different these days than in 1975, though. Now the name of the game is retention, not recruitment. I think setting a date would do wonders for retention - many with doubts would stick around just a little longer to see if it pans out. Once it doesn't they either leave (having bolstered the numbers much longer than they would have otherwise) or they stay and double down on their cult loyalty.

Hopefully religion and this cult continue their decline becoming nothing more than a sad stain on human history.

fukitol

The maximum life-span 'generation' of Noah's time was 120 years, at God's decree. So they have it in the back of their minds that the terminus ad quiem is 2034, ie, 120 years from 1914 (and also 2,000 from Christ's death). But they are just too afraid to come out with it. After 2034 comes and goes uneventfully, they will dream up something new, as always.

Bungi Bill

Could "this generation" inspire another a new "1975 debacle"?

For the sake of those who would get hurt as a consequence, I would hope not.

But then again, when it comes to #uc*ing bloody religion, anything is likely!

Bill.

Vidiot

Jeezus, talk about hedging their bets.

One the one hand, unofficial number crunching could extend* "This Generation" to the end of the f**king century, but on the other hand, they're dead sure that the GT could drop any day now.

x

* Beavis and Butthead flashback...

Could "this generation" inspire a new "1975 debacle"?

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