Posts by slimboyfat

19

Question about 1940s Watchtower history

by slimboyfat in

i was studying this fascinating composite graph of jw growth.

lots of interesting things there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demographics_of_jehovah%27s_witnesses#/media/file%3ajwstats1931-2015.png.

slimboyfat

Rutherford can't have written Let God Be True since he died in 1942.

But you raise an interesting point about the cut off for the anointed being moved from 1931 to 1935. I've never gotten to the bottom of why that changed or what the reason for either date really was.

Some have pointed out that if they accepted mainstream Bible Chronology and Jerusalem fell 20 years later then they could say the Gentile Times ended in 1935. But since they've abandoned that date now there's no reason to fit it there. And even a "generation" from 1935 is now a bit of a stretch.

25

Why a drop of over 3,700 publishers in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

by freddo in

jw
friends

looking at the figures for 2014 to 2015 the numbers have dropped from 180,343 to 176,585.. any idea why?.

slimboyfat

It's the average figure so that doesn't explain it.

I was going to suggest that the population of the country may have dropped at the same time (as has happened in some Eastern European countries) but quite the reverse, so that's no explanation. Between 2014 and 2015 the population of Congo jumped by almost 8 million from 69 million to 77 million. The jump in population, combined with the drop in JW numbers, meant that the population to JW ratio climbed from 321 to 375. That's a huge change for a single year.

Maybe there was a mass defection or a rival religious group has been formed. It has been known to happen in Africa before.

25

Why a drop of over 3,700 publishers in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

by freddo in

jw
friends

looking at the figures for 2014 to 2015 the numbers have dropped from 180,343 to 176,585.. any idea why?.

slimboyfat

Is this a peak number of average number? Really lazy not to check myself I know.

Because if it's the peak number it could be abnormally high or low because secretaries sometimes double count lots of publishers who submitted double reports in August, a common practice that has been discussed many times on the forum.

14

Wild speculation / fearless prediction: how to (continue to) ratchet up the flock's fear

by sir82 in

jw
friends

i've been thinking: what with all the bunker videos at the rc, instilling fear and paranoia and excitement among the masses, what could the gb do as a follow-up?

how do they feed the flame?.

how about identifying the "king of the north"?.

slimboyfat

Would be a wreckless provocation endangering hundreds of thousands of JWs in Russia.

Yeah they might do it.

40

Now this is weird, ever heard of the "Mandela Effect" ??? What if... ?

by Greybeard in

jw
friends

now this is weird, ever heard of the "mandela effect" ???

i know how crazy it sounds but i got to tell you, this article about the governing body finally admitting the "faithful slave" was not divinely appointed by jesus in 1919 was epic to me.

like a mandela effect feeling.

slimboyfat

This Mandela effect is freaking me out!

There's NO WAY Kit-Kat doesn't have a hyphen. Something seriously wrong has happened to this universe at some point: CERN or what I don't know what. Thanks for alerting us.

25

Why a drop of over 3,700 publishers in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

by freddo in

jw
friends

looking at the figures for 2014 to 2015 the numbers have dropped from 180,343 to 176,585.. any idea why?.

slimboyfat

Or the branch were fiddling the numbers, they had a zone visit and were told to cut it out.

Has happened before. (Was it Fiji?)

19

Question about 1940s Watchtower history

by slimboyfat in

i was studying this fascinating composite graph of jw growth.

lots of interesting things there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demographics_of_jehovah%27s_witnesses#/media/file%3ajwstats1931-2015.png.

slimboyfat

I think I just had a deja vu moment. I have a feeling I asked this question ten years ago and Leolaia gave the same answer. I'm beginning to wonder if anything I think to ask or say I've already said before.

25

Why a drop of over 3,700 publishers in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

by freddo in

jw
friends

looking at the figures for 2014 to 2015 the numbers have dropped from 180,343 to 176,585.. any idea why?.

slimboyfat

Volatile country in constant conflict with refugees and porous borders.

13

Jehovah's Terrorist?

by TerryWalstrom in

jehovah’s terrorist?.

(a personal memoir).

john f. kennedy's brother, robert (bobby) was assassinated in 1968 shortly after he won the california democratic presidential primary.

slimboyfat

Very interesting. Can't someone ask him?

The 1946 Consolation magazine quote is very damning, While the world was in shock over reports about Auschwitz this is what JWs were saying about Jews.

19

Question about 1940s Watchtower history

by slimboyfat in

i was studying this fascinating composite graph of jw growth.

lots of interesting things there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demographics_of_jehovah%27s_witnesses#/media/file%3ajwstats1931-2015.png.

slimboyfat

That was sort of my guess too (now I was thinking about it). Thanks for confirming it. In particular there may have been a lot of "anointed" ones in Germany that only began being included in the figures again after 1945.

It would be interesting to scrutinise the Watchtowers from 1944 to 1948 to see if there is any discussion of this increase in the anointed. I doubt it would pass without comment.