CalebInFloroda - . . . I am frustrated because I know that something even worse must happen to the JWs before things come to a screeching halt.
I think this may be the Watchtower's first "atomic bomb" that hits them. Like ideological Imperialist Japan, they will refuse to surrender, to admit they are wrong even now. A second event is coming that will be like Fat Man hitting Nagasaki. Only then will it be over.
But the cost to them? . . . what will become of their own families, their friends, their children? What will happen to the JWs once the Governing Body does surrender and it all comes grinding to a halt and millions of people must live with the shame that they have been part of one of the greatest most infamous cults of all time, that all they believed and sacrificed was for naught?
. . . But I am frustrated because it is even now nothing but a wide void, and it will painfully shock millions once the scales from their eyes are forcably removed and they see that they have been standing not in light but dark shadow for over 100 years! Even once it is gone it will still be hurting people in some ways. The scars can run deep. And that leaves me feeling a bit frustrated about it all.
Your feelings are called empathy. Your comments, as highlighted above, are what many on this board, myself included, have had to come to terms with. It hurts, and we know it will hurt them, if the stack of Watchtower cards ever comes tumbling down. Some will survive, some won't. Some will cope, others won't. Some will be relieved, others will be terrified beyond belief (no pun intended). Some will see it as the end of the Watchtower, others will see it as the start of the Great Tribulation.
There's no "faithful and discreet slave class" to fall back onto. The back-up plan is gone. There's no "evil slave class" to take the blame. There's no way to pass the buck.
No matter who we are, if the Watchtower ever goes down we have to be there for our JW families and former JW friends. We have to pick up the pieces for them. My father lives in a Watchtower fantasy world. He won't cope. He's invested his entire present life and his entire future life.
Watchtower is unique in carving out a religious niche, a promise of everlasting life on earth, but only if we die or Armageddon comes first. Death is guaranteed by fact. Armageddon relies on faith. Either way the reality of life or the JW religion only proves that death is in store for us all. That you can have faith in.
