http://www.thehorizonproject.com/earthquakes.cfm.
the link came with this message:.
think we are close to the end?
The graph has been taken from a list of “s elected earthquakes of general historic interest" and naturally lists more quakes in the last few years and is certainly not designed to represent a comprehensive list.
The author of the email must realise this - very misleading. The WTS has admitted that there hasn’t been any noticeable increase in seismic activity in the last century.
the nearly 10% increase in partakers at the memorial in the 2008 annual service report is a huge increase.
there were increases in the previous years too.. this massive increase is no doubt attributeable to the 'new light' this year that the calling of the 'heavenly class' was not closed in 1935, as previously taught.
the new understanding this year is that the calling of the 'anointed' class is 'evidently' still open.
I don’t think the WTS will be too worried. The number of partakers has pretty much flat-lined for the last 30 years without any repercussions. The recent increase can wholly be attributed to a blip following the 2007 “scrapping 1935” article.
The fact is that every JW is conditioned to believe that they have an earthly hope - from the initial introduction through numerous articles warning against “partaking unworthily“ & the memorial talk itself which focuses on the fact that most will not partake. As we know , Jws don’t tend to think “out of the box” and I just can’t think that there will be a sea-change of thought amongst Jws , in discord with the FADS , which leads to many more thinking that they are “anointed”.
There is a huge difference between 10K and 144K. I think that the WTS can sustain this doctrine comfortably while partakers stay below 20,000.
comments you will not hear at the 12-14-08 wt study (october 15, 2008, pages (7-11)(watches).
review comments will be in red.
wt material from today's wt will be in black.
Thanks Blondie. I was very puzzled by the reference to the prisoners. Not only was the solution to their dilemma obvious and hardly “evidence of answers to a prayer“, the WTS has often said that unbaptised persons have only very limited and nominal access to Jehovah via prayer. Yet in this instance He heard & gave the solution to three individuals - criminals at that.
***
w901/15p.6WhosePrayersAreAnswered?***Before Cornelius was baptized, his prayers only “ascended as a remembrance before God.” (Acts 10:4) However, by making a dedication to God on the basis of his belief in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, and being baptized, Cornelius unreservedly gave himself to Jehovah. This established a wonderful closeness between God and this devout man—a relationship giving Cornelius the unrestricted privilege of prayer. (James 4:8) He could approach his heavenly Father through Christ Jesus with the expectation of being heard. That is what happens to all who dedicate themselves to God through Christ and get baptized. They too have the unrestricted privilege of prayer.
the nearly 10% increase in partakers at the memorial in the 2008 annual service report is a huge increase.
there were increases in the previous years too.. this massive increase is no doubt attributeable to the 'new light' this year that the calling of the 'heavenly class' was not closed in 1935, as previously taught.
the new understanding this year is that the calling of the 'anointed' class is 'evidently' still open.
*** yb93p.253OrganizingforFurtherExpansion***
“For many years now
, the number of the remnant of anointed Witnesses has been decreasing.”WT 2009
“The number of anointed ones on the earth has decreased over the decades.”
Notice the change in wording. Actually , even the new formulation is in error as over the last 3 decades the number of anointed has actually increased , with the figure now the highest since 1977.
according to the december 2008 kingdom ministry jehovah's witnesses reached an all time peak number of publishers and pioneers in august 2008. .
onwards and upwards... .
Jws are growing because of their active evangelical efforts - given over a billion hours of ministry they are almost certain to produce an annual increase (albeit a small one).
While I agree that the checkable history of Jws is dodgy , religions with even nuttier doctrines & history who actively proselytise (eg Mormons) are also growing. I was speaking to some Scientologists recently - they were signing up people left , right & centre (despite a whole crowd of protestors).
Not everybody checks the background or history of a religion. Even if they do , some people go for it - for a variety of reasons. Heck - we all did.
someone just sent me a link to the 2008 annual report.. haven't read it yet.
randy .
http://www.4shared.com/file/75568905/6c852737/2008_annual_report.html.
On the face of it , not disastrous figures. If the WTS can grow by 2%-3% per year , then they will be quite happy with that. Barring a schism or scandal , I would guess this would continue to be the trend for the next few years. If the economic downturn persists , it might even be better for growth , as Jws tend to prosper in difficult times.
It does look like almost all the growth is coming from the third world & immigrant communities , though in terms of activity the WTS seem to be motivating the core support - pioneers seem to be springing up almost everywhere.
As far as Japan is concerned , Jws there seem to have plateaud. An interesting article actually quoted by the WTS a couple of weeks ago giving the reasons for the initial growth spurt in Japan is quoted below - perhaps the factors that the author mentioned no longer exist , especially the growing number of Japanese women in the workplace nowadays:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8381/japan.html
Regarding the partakers , at least the WTS has managed to keep the figure down below 10,000 - psychologically that would have been a tremendous blow. Surely if there was a degree of massaging there to miss the figure by 14! The odd witness might be disturbed but the vast majority really couldn’t care less. Most Jws take the view that the figure is inflated by “brothers in Africa” , the occasional confused bible study or “nutters” and reckon (encouraged by the WTS) that the real number of “genuine anointed” is much less.
the january km is completely different.
the style has been totally revamped
I’ve always thought the WTS have been all too willing to react in a knee jerk fashion to perceived legal problems. They were totally sold down the river over Data Protection in the UK , acting like a “bunch of headless chickens” according to one Bethelite and panicking into bizarre changes.
I often have this image of the largely elderly , naive and poorly educated GB having meetings with a few sharp dressed clever JW lawyers giving a presentation on the latest “legal issues” and legislation and basically taking on board every suggestion , lacking the real world experience & common sense to challenge the opinions given or seek other advice. They certainly don’t have the option to consult with other churches and their legal teams. It doesn’t help that they start from a position that the whole world is out to attack Jehovah’s witnesses , so any changes are perceived as persecution from Satan.
the january km is completely different.
the style has been totally revamped
I don’t think the change to the 20 th is especially significant in itself. Nowadays cong reports in most countries are filled in online , so you don’t need to allow for postal delays , “lost in the post” reports that need to be chased up by Bethel or negligent secretaries who always missed the deadline. Informally the service desk (at least in the UK) didn’t start collating the figures till the middle of the month anyway, as there were always a few stragglers.
If (and it is a big if) they are stopping reports altogether , then that is a big change. As many have suggested , the discipline of doing so does force many to go out , as per the number who go out on the last day of the month. The WTS would be loath to give up this procedure , even though it has absolutely no scriptural basis (if anything , it is against the scriptures). I’m convinced that the only trigger for this would be a change in the legal basis , ring fencing the WTS from any legal obligation towards the majority of Jws.
To paint an analogy , if a spectator punches you at a football match , you have no case for suing the club or stadium owner (unless some negligence can be proven - very difficult to do). But if a volunteer ( eg a club steward or burger flipper ) does likewise , you have a valid , easily provable claim.
Define a volunteer. Even though unpaid , he directly receives instructions from the club. He reports his activity to the club on a regular basis & accrues benefits from it.
At a stroke , the WTS removes any obligation - legally , socially - from the majority of it’s members. No doubt office bearers (such as elders & Bethelites) would still (legally) have volunteer status. Pioneers are a bit of a grey area but they are (supposedly) appointed directly from the branch and the WTS turned the legal basis in the past against pioneers and successfully DF them.
OK now. 2010 - little Johnny is being abused by a R&F JW Bro Paedo. His parents go to the courts to seek redress. The WTS lawyers successfully argue that the individual was simply someone who attended the meetings , perhaps on a irregular basis. He wasn’t a member / shareholder / stakeholder / employee / volunteer of the WTS. Though he did go on a Christian ministry , this was as a member of the local congregation & there wasn’t any connection whatsoever with this activity and the incorporated body of the WTS. “We have no record of him , we aren’t responsible for him.”
This begs the question - how do the WTS now “police” individual Jws & ensure that they are going out? The onus is much more on the Group Overseer (GO) (I forget the new title) to ensure that he is very familiar with the activity of his flock. In the past , brothers could go to other arrangements or out with family & hardly ever work with their group. The GO needs to determine who is going out , when , how much - especially if he doesn’t see them going out with the group. A simple summary of activity at the end of the month - total number of who was out in his group - would be all that was needed.
the january km is completely different.
the style has been totally revamped
I’m also sure there is a tremendous tension between the departments. Remember the Aug 07 KM trumpeting the “wonderful provision of the book study” - unceremoniously dumped a few months later.
It is obviously not easy determining the machinations of the WTS - it is a bit like Kremlin watchers in the Soviet Union days. Franz gives a glimpse - there is no strong ideological or theological basis here & certainly the GB have no idea how to run a multi-million dollar corporation - they are purely placemen who have their position by being totally faithful to the Org.
I still think the main drivers are financial & legal - the GB only listen to the lawyers and accountants. The GB don’t have Bethelites knocking their doors & complaining about doctrine or procedures - it would be a one way ticket out of Brooklyn & possibly dfing to boot- so they get little or no honest feedback. I think the WTS has for years run this model of a strong hierarchical controlling leadership which worked well. Now , faced with lawsuits and a rapidly dwindling financial base , it is a disaster.
What would we do given this situation? I think we would cut the direct workforce as much as possible , as the WTS have done (Bethel lay-offs , possible change in Cos). Reduce potential liabilities by defining all non appointed Jws as attendees rather than volunteers by changing the DF rules & (possibly) stopping the need to report. Stop home bible groups due to potential litigation & ban on child abusers attending home groups (starting in Georgia & now spreading across USA). Morph & mainstream to an extent , to keep people on board. Stop printing so many books.
