One reason behind the slow steady decline of JWs

by AllTimeJeff 56 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Lieu
    Lieu

    As long as they don't have recurrences of the F.Franz lunacy or Rutherford tyranny.

    Btw, welcome back!

  • done4good
    done4good

    ATJ - Who you knew and how you portrayed yourself was more important than who you really were.

    Is that not the JW way?

    Good to see you stop in, ATJ.

    d4g

  • steve2
    steve2

    Remember in the early '70's Knorr and Franz preached over and over, "There are NO NEW remnant."

    Yes, sparky1, I remember hearing from the platform that younger ones who claim to be of the remnant are likely to be 'puffed up with pride' and not of the anointed.

    One of the "real" anointed in our congregation (he was in his mid-80s so do the math! ) was known to say to individuals that anyone who partook of the bread and wine who had not observed firsthand the events of 1914 was part of the evil slave.

    Okay, most of us were quietly amused by his comments - but he got away with saying this because he was considered eccentric - but, more importantly, because it suited the organization's then view on who constituted the remnant. And I lost count of the number of times we were reminded that the door to being in the remnant closed in 1935. You really had to have a hide as thick as a plank to dare to partake of the emblems if you had not been around for literally decades

    .

    And here we are several decades later, and the number of remnant has virtually doubled since the late 60s - early 70s. In hindsight, we realize Bible interpretation is literally a fool's game.

  • James Mixon
    James Mixon

    Pew Research,2015

    Immigrants to the U.S are increasingly identifying themselves as religiously

    unaffiliated that is, atheist, agnostic or having "no religion in particular".

    So there is a slow decline of religion across the board here in the US...

  • WingCommander
    WingCommander

    ATJ:

    So very good to see you again. Your story, along with SnakesintheTower, are some of the ones I remember the most. I'll never forget your story of being tossed out on your ass when you most needed assistance, and you were a Gilead Missionary ta boot! Your treatment really speaks volumes as to the "Christian Love", that those self-righteous poseurs have. Who would stick around after that abuse? Not me (I had enough to last me a lifetime) and certainly not you.

    Things are bat-shit crazy in this cult now. It's unrecognizable. The lunatics are running the asylum. Lett being paraded on JW Broadcasting is proof. What a loon!

  • Doubting Bro
    Doubting Bro

    ATJ!!!! Just wanted to pop on and say hi...;.

    I agree there are many reasons for the apathy within the JW ranks and really they all lead back to lack of leadership. This is definitely not the religion of my youth.

  • sir82
    sir82

    Welcome back ATJ.

    I've posted this before, but I think it is a good summary of this thread:

    The current GB members have all risen to their position by being completely and mindlessly obedient to those "above" them. There was utterly no need whatsoever for creativity, rationality, leadership, or imagination. It was a case of, 100% of the time, "well, what written instructions do we have?"

    So, now they've reached the point where those they were obeying have all died, and now they are at the pinnacle.

    Who is left to obey? Nobody. These guys are at the top, but they have not even the faintest whiff of an idea about what to do, now that they are there.

  • Room 215
    Room 215

    Then too, there's the mindless "Back to the Future" regression --- to IPads in lieu of Rutherford's phonographs, and to literature carts in place of sandwich board placards.

    Knorr's educational reforms -- he spear-headed Gilead Missionary and Theocratic Ministry Schools, which were conceived to giving each "publisher" a voice -- transforming them into skilled, self-reliant exponents of Watchtower doctrine, by weaning them away from phonographs and sandwich boards -- have been all but completely discredited

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    @ Dunedain...

    I gotta admit, the idea that we're actually watching the Tower crumble, like, right now is an extremely appealing one...

  • AllTimeJeff
    AllTimeJeff

    Enjoying the various viewpoints. I like Room 215 and the point made. Knorr actually wanted to make the JWs of his day more skilled and qualified. (Thus the various schools) These days, GB 2.1 has shown themselves Wanting to take anyone charismatic and with knowledge out.

    The GB (I believe we should distinguish the leadership from the captive sheeples) is in major decline. The flock will either wake up or join other cults, because in the grand scheme of things, JWs don't matter, and never have. One of my biggest learnings is that there usually is someplace for most everyone to pool and collect in, especially if one feels a need to "belong" to something.

    My concern isn't that JWs are crumbling. It's the group that will replace them that concerns me.

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