Argh. I'm so mad right now. A little while ago, i asked some of my friends to explain the new teaching on this generation, and posed the same question to
my parents in an email (was emailing them about something else and thought i'd slip it in), here's the quote
"When I was a kid, during the Watchtower studies & in some of the books at the bookstudy, there was always a lot of emphasis on 1914 and 'this generation' which Jesus spoke about, especially in how it related to the 'end times' and Armageddon. From what I remember (correct me if I'm wrong) the understanding at the time (80's) was first that the adults alive during WWI in 1914 would survive to Armageddon (this somehow related to the anointed class being 'sealed' in 1934, and the rest having an earthly hope). Then there was new light stating that the kids (10 years old I think, early 90's this was taught) comprised the generation, and then again new light, that the babies born up to the year 1914 would survive to Armageddon (late 90's). Now, I'm not trying to drag you into an argument over semantics. I understand that interpretations can change with time.
David mentioned the last time we talked that the organization has really ramped things up in the last couple years. Changing the meeting formats, more emphasis on the preaching work, etc; all in anticipation of the end.
Basically, what I'm wondering is what is the new light or understanding regarding the 1914 timeline? If a 'generation' refers to a lifespan, and world average is about 80 years, that only takes us to 1994. Again, this is probably something that I should be able to remember the new teaching on, but if you could explain it to me, that'd be awesome! "
So, i call my mom today. My grandma (her mom) had a stroke on Monday and i called to see how my mom was holding up and how grandma was doing. My mom then invites my girlfriend and i to the convention, i tell her we're going camping, blah blah blah. Anyway, so then my mom goes into this long diatribe about what the subject matter is at the convention and that they'd be 'going into a lot of detail about your question' and then....."this is the generation that will never die you know!" i just about threw my phone across the room. I couldn't believe that she couldn't explain the answer to my question, but could claim that "millions now living will never die". I was floored. My mom has been a JW since the 1950's and special poineered for a while and my dad's an elder. No explanation, just blanket reciting of doctrine.
Thanks for letting me vent.
"When I was a kid, during the Watchtower studies & in some of the books at the bookstudy, there was always a lot of emphasis on 1914 and 'this generation' which Jesus spoke about, especially in how it related to the 'end times' and Armageddon. From what I remember (correct me if I'm wrong) the understanding at the time (80's) was first that the adults alive during WWI in 1914 would survive to Armageddon (this somehow related to the anointed class being 'sealed' in 1934, and the rest having an earthly hope). Then there was new light stating that the kids (10 years old I think, early 90's this was taught) comprised the generation, and then again new light, that the babies born up to the year 1914 would survive to Armageddon (late 90's). Now, I'm not trying to drag you into an argument over semantics. I understand that interpretations can change with time.
David mentioned the last time we talked that the organization has really ramped things up in the last couple years. Changing the meeting formats, more emphasis on the preaching work, etc; all in anticipation of the end.
Basically, what I'm wondering is what is the new light or understanding regarding the 1914 timeline? If a 'generation' refers to a lifespan, and world average is about 80 years, that only takes us to 1994. Again, this is probably something that I should be able to remember the new teaching on, but if you could explain it to me, that'd be awesome! "
So, i call my mom today. My grandma (her mom) had a stroke on Monday and i called to see how my mom was holding up and how grandma was doing. My mom then invites my girlfriend and i to the convention, i tell her we're going camping, blah blah blah. Anyway, so then my mom goes into this long diatribe about what the subject matter is at the convention and that they'd be 'going into a lot of detail about your question' and then....."this is the generation that will never die you know!" i just about threw my phone across the room. I couldn't believe that she couldn't explain the answer to my question, but could claim that "millions now living will never die". I was floored. My mom has been a JW since the 1950's and special poineered for a while and my dad's an elder. No explanation, just blanket reciting of doctrine.
Thanks for letting me vent.
