by sowhatnow 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Oh, and by the way, even if the day should come when the Tower crumbles, I wouldn't get too overjoyed. Judging by history, when the WT falls dozens of other offshoots will spring up to take its place
Or, just like other companies that get forced out of business, they often lay low for awhile then reemerge under a different name.
Village Idiot,
You're right, I had forgotten about that one! I was primarily thinking about scam companies I had seen on 60 minutes and such, they either go bankrupt or are forced out of business, but they eventually are back under a different name.
Also, it happened when Russell died. Many didn't choose to follow Rutherford and dozens of offshoots of International Bible Students sprung up all over the country!
Here's how I think it will end: One day there will be a huge Watchtower scandal that will make most if not all the major news networks' top stories. This will result in many JWs hearing it and becoming disillusioned. Also, "people in the territory" will hear it too and will confront JWs with it everywhere they go knocking on doors. A large segment of JWs - maybe half or more - will leave.
This news would be so scandalous that it will forever tarnish the image of JWs so that no one "in the territory" would consider JWs a viable religion, much less the only true religion. And so over a period of years or decades the remaining JW population would stagnate at first and eventually it will start dwindling slowly as they die off, until there are just a few thousand left scattered across the globe. By then Watchtower would be out of business and the last few die hards would be forever going over older literature last published decades ago, until eventually there are no JWs left.
In the midst of this crisis, some members of the GB might split off and create a new sect under a different name. The new sect might then either be JW 2.0 or an entirely new, fully reformed religion that discards all the cultic rubbish of the JWs.
apostrate,
It's interesting to note that although some Bible Students organizations are still around the Witnesses are the only ones who grew to much larger numbers. That too was Rutherford's doing. "Advertise, advertise, advertise the King and his Kingdom!".
I bring that up because the larger a group becomes the less likely they are to completely disappear. I think however that the Witnesses are so tied in to their governing body that no one is likely to become a new leader of a JW sect. Either way it would be interesting to see if they implode and how.
The WT/JW is like a chameleon, it adapts rapidly when they can't afford to lose more money. You might say, but they are losing money over child abuse lawsuits, blood policy, df'g, lack of love. It is all a cost of running a business, they know how to manage their Profit and Loss sheet.
Many of us forget how the real leaders behind the curtain are sitting on billions of dollars TAX FREE.
The doctrines are setup in a way that it benefits the corporation regardless of the actual conditions.
If we live in a time of relative peace, the WT/JW says the end is near.
If a tradegy happens, the WT/JW says the end is near.
Can you image the boost they can get if another terrorist attack happens in NYC, after moving the HQ? They will not stop promoting that Jehovah told them to move on time.
Bottom line, this corporation will change in order to sustain growth. Unlike real a business, they operate in a free tax haven.
That is extremely hard to defeat.
It may never end, but I guarantee you it's gonna get weirder and weirder.
EFDIT: Whoops, I already said that last page. Sorry.
I discovered The Truth About The Truth in the fall of 1998 thanks to this new fangled invention called the internet. Now, I'm just a person of average intelligence, at best, but I figured that since I learned about the Real Truth, everyone else would too. The information is out there, the End of the Watchtower is surely Just Around the Corner!!
But for the next couple of years I would notice when I was driving around and would pass by a Kingdom Hall that the parking lots were usually packed! I just couldn't figure out how this could be! Surely if I can see through the scam, everyone will too!
Yeah, I've learned. The WT is just like a David Copperfield act. Like the best Illusionists, they are good at what they do, which is pulling the wool over people's eyes.
Just like the person who started this post, I thought the WT would come to an end within a few years. But as I stated earlier, I now believe that as long as there is money to be made, they will be around for a very long time. Many JW's are afraid to use their own brains, it is easier to just go along with whatever the Governing Body says. Many of them actually have realized that it is not The Truth, but they stay in because of family or whatever.
So, in spite of bad publicity, in spite of any financial problems the WT might be experiencing, the WT will continue morphing into whatever it takes to keep the blind, faithful constantly donating their hard earned money into the beast.
And if they do fall, well, like I already said, they will just come back under a new name and start all over.
