Will JW Org benefit ?

by Phizzy 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Phizzy

  Throughout the World there seems to be a resurgence of Faith, probably less observable in Europe where I live, but still evident.

  Russia is now Orthodox, even the KGB (different initials now I know) has its own Church ! Even in India, a secular State in theory, the Hindu influence is stronger than ever. Islam continues to get stronger, making its presence felt, and demanding special freedoms, even in Secular France.

  God/Faith, whatever you want to call it, is making a comeback, despite Rationalism being adopted by many.

  Will JW Org benefit from this resurgence ? The reason for the renewed popularity of religion would seem to be that people yearn for Meaning, for a "Home", and for Hope.

  JW Org ostensibly offers all three, will this mean the decline in membership will halt, or that they might in real terms begin to grow again ??
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  Ireneus

  Yes, change is happening everywhere. Resurgence is happening even among scientists:

  “According to growing numbers of scientists, the laws and constants of nature are so "finely-tuned," and so many "coincidences" have occurred to allow for the possibility of life, the universe must have come into existence through intentional planning and intelligence. In fact, this "fine-tuning" is so pronounced, and the "coincidences" are so numerous, many scientists have come to espouse "The Anthropic Principle," which contends that the universe was brought into existence intentionally for the sake of producing mankind. Even those who do not accept The Anthropic Principle admit to the "fine-tuning" and conclude that the universe is "too contrived" to be a chance event.

  When the late Sir Fred Hoyle was researching how carbon came to be created in the "blast-furnaces" of the stars, his calculations indicated that it is very difficult to explain how the stars generated the necessary quantity of carbon upon which life on earth depends. Hoyle found that there were numerous "fortunate" one-time occurrences which seemed to indicate that purposeful "adjustments" had been made in the laws of physics and chemistry in order to produce the necessary carbon.

  Hoyle summed up his findings as follows:

  A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintendent has monkeyed with the physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. I do not believe that any physicist who examined the evidence could fail to draw the inference that the laws of nuclear physics have been deliberately designed with regard to the consequences they produce within stars.

  The August '97 issue of "Science" featured an article entitled "Science and God: A Warming Trend?" in which it stated:

  The fact that the universe exhibits many features that foster organic life - such as precisely those physical constants that result in planets and long- lived stars - also has led some scientists to speculate that some divine influence may be present."

  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/jan/08/religion-atheism-longley-advertising
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  Phizzy

  If a person believes in a Creator, that is her/his choice, but it is huge leap of faith to say that necessarily a Creator is her/his particular god !

  Whatever one thinks on that issue, it seems to be increasingly that people are seeking the comfort of some sort of religion/church.

  Will JW Org be able to pick (trap) such low hanging fruit I wonder ?
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  Wild_Thing

  I think we will continue to see some surge in JW numbers in some countries where religion is becoming more prominent, like 3rd world countries. But not in developed countries where anyone has easy access to the internet. If i had met JWs for the first time. A simple google news search would frighten me away.
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  Divergent

  Phizzy:

  Throughout the World there seems to be a resurgence of Faith, probably less observable in Europe where I live, but still evident.

  Any statistics to back up that claim?
  
  
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  steve2

  This is all relative and not absolute. Surveys and census findings overwhelmingly show a decisive move away from religiosity.

  Numbers reporting no faith/no religion predominate in many Western lands. Besides, even if religious affiliation is literally on the rise, I think JWs growth heyday is well and truly over. Each religious group has its moment in the "sun" before stagnation and decline set in. JWs growth heyday in the West extended from the late 1960s through the 1990s.
  
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  Phizzy

  Dear Divergent, I do not have solid numbers to back up what I wrote. As Steve2 points out above, the statistics do show a definite move away from religiosity for the majority.

  My observation was based upon various reports which would not impact in any dramatic way upon the overall Statistics, but I thought showed a trend amongst certain people, often in Countries where you would expect a consistent drift away from religion.

  I certainly hope Steve2 is right, I would dearly love to see, in my lifetime, the J.W Org shrink to next to nothing, if not to see its complete demise.
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  Xanthippe

  Even in India, a secular State in theory, the Hindu influence is stronger than ever.

  India has just legalised gay relationships which has always been against the Hindu religion and illegal for a very long time. When you see the devout Hindus bathing in filthy mosquito infested water in the 'holy' Ganges at five in the morning it does seem the religion is still strong but change is happening even there.