by Paul Bonanno 68 Replies latest jw friends
May 22, 1969 Awake! magazine. If this wasn't an obvious directly worded comment about 1975 I don't know what is...
Witness youths: “If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone! "
WANNAEXIT:
I wonder if most of the ones who made remarks about ‘weak Christians’ were living a comfortable life and made no sacrifices.
I imagine people who sold everything and then had to start over would be too preoccupied and stressed out with trying to make a living to be bothered criticizing anybody. But, you never know. I wasn’t in the religion at the time. But, I dealt with the 1995 Generation teaching. I planned my ‘Fade’ when I heard this nonsense.
The people who lived through and stayed after 1975 - if they were older they probably passed away. Anybody younger who stayed is at retirement age now. They had all the time in the world to make a living and plan for retirement so let’s hope they did. I imagine this was a major life lesson learned.
I’m not totally comparing the 1995 Generation teaching to the 1975 thing because that didn’t involve people selling their homes, etc. and living off the proceeds til the money ran out!.. But, what I am saying is that the religion lost all credibility as far as I was concerned and that’s basically why I left. I’m not interested in anybody’s opinion who thought I was a ‘weak’ Christian for that and not succumbing to pressure to quit my job years earlier.. I wouldn’t be retired if I listened to these people.
1974 the "Divine Victory" Assembly in Christchurch New Zealand G.B member Leo Greenless said " This may be the last Assembly this side of Armagedden".
Fast foward 1976 Nathan Noor went on a world wide speaking tour as the number were rapidly falling.
In his speech he said "In the very unlikely event of the system going on till the turn of the century.
Karter.
There is a video somewhere on youtube also of Charles SiNUTko giving a talk about the significance of 1975,
There is no denying it. Those who do deny it are in denial. That's it.
"Stay Alive Til '75!"
I was made to sit and listen to a recording of that talk. Taped copies of it did the rounds of New Zealand congregations,
I stopped frequenting my parent's church soon after 1975. The Elders didn't bother to question me about my absence.
TonysOH - “…If Armageddon will come when it is least expected, then it will never happen for JWs. They are in constant expectation of it…”
This.
And they’re specifically told to be in “constant expectation” of it.
1975 is a whole different story.
I had a good 1975. The weather was lovely. I bought some great albums. Discovered some great bands. Got my first motor cycle.
I do recall one October, looking at the calendar at work and thinking, 'Nothing is happening.' I wasn't totally convinced by the JW stuff but my family was all in the cult so I was naturally invested in it.
The fact I was wondering about 1975 is evidence enough for me that the Watchtower Babylon Crap society DID make us think 1975 was the end.
I have no '75 house sale stories, but I have a good story about an earlier (failed) 'end of the world' date and house sale.
An elderly sister, in the congregation I'd been assigned to as a pioneer told me that as an earlier prediction of the end (around 1918-1919) was approaching, her mother was considering selling their house. An 'elderess' (the wife of the presiding overseer - or whatever ratbag term was then being used) approached them and said she'd heard the house may be sold and made an offer for it. Needless to say, this elderly sister's mother re-considered the sale.
punkofnice's personal story remind's me of my own. "Nothing is happening' was also noted by none other than Nathan Knorr.
How do I know? I know because he told us so during his last visit to Australia,
In August/September of 1975 the elders in Sydney were invited to a special meeting at the Greenacre Assembly Hal, both Nathan and Freddy F were the featured speakers, and Nathan said straight off that it was unlikely that all the things the bible said about end were unlikely to happen in the last few months of '75.
That was, I now realise, the beginning of my journey out. It took some years, and some heartbreaks, but eventually I was free of the bible's ratbaggery.
------------------------------------------------------------------
As an incidental sequel, many years later, i was walking through Sydney's Chinatown, and passed a JW group advertising the supposed JW charms to a Chinese student. A JW elder (that I had known ) was holding forth that the JW's had never made predictions of an exact year for the end of the system. An outright lie, and I told him so.
