In view of the dire straits of the JW org, what now?

by Half banana 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Half banana

  To use a metaphor; any tower built on insufficient foundations will sooner or later fall.
  

  The origin of the Watchtower organisation was in the announcement of CT Russell’s pet theory, formed from Adventism that Christ had arrived in the heavens in 1874. Within a Biblical forty years i.e.1914, God’s enemies he said, would be destroyed and peace would pervade the Earth. He was completely wrong.

  The Watchtower magazine however by this time had a large readership and trundled on after it was commandeered by Rutherford who nourished its doomsday scam. These questionable building blocks are the "insufficient foundations” on which the Tower stands. The initial idea was utterly worthless in concept and practice, postponing “the date” has always and will ever prove futile... but it gained supporters, made a pyramid of money and empowered its leadership.

  Doomsday teaching is a good business in snake-oil circles but as a notable American once said, “You can’t fool all the people all of the time”.

  The organisation now appears to be on the verge of collapse. The appalling management of funds is amplified by dramatic reduction in income...probably induced by loss of belief and commitment by the membership and drop in numbers in the richer West. Compounding these disasters is the prospect of further crippling financial awards against them.

  We can see the intellectual bankruptcy by science exposing the implausibility of the Bible. Their moral bankruptcy is now apparent from the sexual abuse handling and possibly is to be followed by financial bankruptcy.

  How do you think it will go from here on?

  
  

  
  
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  stuckinarut2

  Well said Banana!

  A very valid observation...that if the foundations are questionable, then all that came afterward needs to be questioned as well!

  After all, that is the reason so many "worldly" celebrations and activities are "wrong" according to witness standards- because of their supposed "false origins".

  So the same principle should apply to the organisation itself!

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/385530004/rejecting-something-due-unscriptural-pagan-origins
  
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  Heaven

  I think many on here have already stated they have to go more like mainstream 'Christendom'. Drop the judgmental, self-righteous, "we're the Chosen" attitudes and actually start helping people instead of harming them.
  
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  Half banana

  Heaven, how could they do that when all would know they would be doing it as a survival tactic and not because they believe it?
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  Vidiot

  @ Heaven and Half banana...

  All those things are an integral part of JWism. They can't authentically mainstream, becasue if they did, they wouldn't actually be Jehovah's Witnesses, anymore.

  Not to mention that if they, in particular, dropped the WTS's sense of exclusivity, they'd effectively eliminate the membership's biggest incentive to stay.
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  Magnum

  I think it's downhill from now on as I just mentioned on another thread. The org is getting weaker as to the quality of individual JWs. With the advent of the internet and all their failed predictions and doctrines that can't be backed up or defended (blood, "generation"), they can no longer attract educated, knowledgeable, stable individuals from the outside.

  Almost all the growth will be internal and a lot of the born-ins will leave when they get older. I think it's possible that their total membership number could start to decline in the near future.
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  AlexRover

  I'm expecting their prophecies will be 'induced' into reality.

  I wouldn't be surprised they announce the start of the GT very very soon now, start selling kingdom halls and say we have to meet in private homes, while at the same time build a few strategic commercial properties for the preaching objectives. Then let the brothers know that a judgment preaching message has to begin urgently.

  The expectations are way too high by the brothers and sisters. Everyone is begging for the GB to give them some light on the start of the end. You can't have dozens of WT in a row priming up obedience and BE READY and not give anything in return. How are they going to spin this massive layoff?

  Attacks on the organization for things like pedophilia will be spun as the "attack of the Assyrian".

  Meanwhile I'm just wondering .. where did all the money go?? It didn't go to the poor, it didn't go to the brothers and sisters. It's not going into printing like before, .. there's things we don't know but one thing is for sure: idolatry has never been this prevalent in the congregations.
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  Vidiot

  @ AlexRover...

  They wouldn't be the first apocalyptic group on the ropes who felt pressured to give things a jumpstart, believing/hoping their deity would bail them out.
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  JWdaughter

  Has anyone tracked the changes I the wwcog-the Plain Truth folks?
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  Half banana

  Alex, I agree with the idea of the GB announcing an imminent escalation of Biblical doom. This would justify the selling and creaming off the profit from sales of the kingdom halls they have 'relieved' from local congregation ownership.

  But I ask the same question where on earth did all the money go? If they had an annual income of approaching two billion from all sources in the recent years, their worldly hubris gave them confidence to build even more than they they expected to finance. Their vision of worldly grandeur was not sustainable.

  The income has obviously plummeted and this is related to and commensurate with loss of confidence in the televangelist governing body TV extravaganza. A situation they were forced into as demagogues after the demise of the printed page.

  I am inclined to Vidiot's view that their belief beyond belief was that their God would in their own phraseology "bless them", they have no such blessing.