I think the GB are realising after their consultation with worldly expertise that to survive they need to become more mainstream and less hard and rigid in a lot of areas like beards etc.
I expect a lot of changes to come.
Again, More confusion about the direction of the Watchtower Society
by Truth and Justice 17 Replies latest jw friends
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no-zombie
I have always thought that the Organization will implode one day, burdened by the weight of its infrastructure because of fewer and fewer people being around to service its running costs. And up until recently, I never thought that the GB would try to reform the Church ... and yet now we are seeing signs of them trying.
But do they have the courage, to do a good job of it? Or will the reluctance for change, make them want to drag things out, too long? I just don't know.
But one thing I do know, is that the Governing Body has no idea of what problems the Brotherhood have to deal with, outside the walls of their gardened compound. For example, why haven't we had an article or assembly talk to warn girls about the drawing power OnlyFan sites, about the re-emergence of Cocaine as the housewife's a drug of choice or advice of what to do when your nationality is being genocidally attacked. No ... we instead just get articles about not following the 18th century custom of chaperones, and a never ending stream of happy relio-tainment.
Their understand of what practical help people really need, just seems beyond their comprehension. So it just doesn't give me hope, that they will get anything right. All we'll be getting instead I believe, is more and more confusing 'new light', to get distracted by.
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TonusOH
Going mainstream may be their best option. It doesn't guarantee that they will not suffer a bad downturn, but there's something there that can be built on. The biggest potential issue is that going mainstream will alienate the hardcore base of true believers who held on for so long and are probably the only reliable source of donations. If they cannot replace them quickly, they could face a very difficult money crunch.
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DesirousOfChange
I saw this happen with a distant family member within the time frame of which you refer. Both born-in JWs. Two kids DFd. For years they "hard shunned" the kids. Then they saw the Canadian lawyer/elder testify before the Canadian Court that DFing ONLY affected "spiritual association" among one's family members.
They immediately saw WT speaking out of both sides of their mouth -- yes, WT was outright LYING about their stance on DFing -- OR IT WAS "NEW LIGHT". Their conclusion was that if WT didn't have the balls to take a stand before the Court, then they would no longer take the hard line against their DF kids.
Additionally, I believe many more JWs are reading "objectionable" material online. It is impossible to avoid on YouTube if you have ever searched for anything "JW". I have never seen the abundance of personal experiences that are posted there now. AND.....they are not all "crazy" people. This kind of thing has to be creating more and more doubts within the R&F.
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Vidiot
DesirousOfChange - “…Their conclusion was that if WT didn't have the balls to take a stand before the Court, then they would no longer take the hard line against their DF kids…”
Nice, good for them.
Long gone are the days of the Walsh trial…
…say what you will about Hayden Covington and Fred Franz, but at least they had the spine to own that shit.
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Foolednomore
Watchtower needs money, so they want to bring back as many pockets as possible to fill their coffers.
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Vidiot
I think they’re just (quietly) desperate to hold on to their “charity” status, and more and more aspects of Watchtower ideology were putting that at risk.
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Diogenesister
And up until recently, I never thought that the GB would try to reform the Church ... and yet now we are seeing signs of them trying.
But do they have the courage, to do a good job of it? Or will the reluctance for change, make them want to drag things out, too long? I just don't know.
No Zombie My old pal I think it's all about money (as usual!). Donations are going down and their 'outside consultancy firm' has probably told them if they want to keep the coffers coming in, they need to stop hemorrhaging JWs and lighten up.
Of course we also have plenty of PiMOs not donating now, too!