With recent events of the WTC bombing some ex JWs and inactive JWs are returning to meetings and all the customary rituals. Some wonder what could drive such individuals to do such irrational acts. I will outline some of the factors and I admit that it could be one or more or none of these because in the final analysis only the individual person knows why.
Fear: As JWs we were programmed to have a pervasive fear of a God that was punitive and blood thirsty with his creatures. This was masked over with all the beliefs of justice on the part of this God, the belief of JWs being the sole channel to salvation with their preaching, the belief of Satan and his worshipers being the cause of all bad things that happen to humanity and especially to JWs. These fanatical thinking processes at work with people drive them to have tribal thinking. Tribal thinking does not permit an individual to have their own original thoughts, the tribe’s beliefs rule supremely in an effort to protect itself from outside enemies. Groupthink leads to a false sense of security inside the fold.
Doubt: The structure of doubt is a frame of reference of the person not being sure of beliefs they at one time felt certain about. In the frame of doubt the person holds on to two or more conflicting beliefs. This of course will create an insecurity and anxiety not having a solid foundation of their own beliefs. In this state they are highly proned to be influenced especially by JW family members.
Denial: This is perhaps the most powerful mechanism that we tend to run, oftentimes outside of our own conscious awareness. The function of this defense is to keep us from feeling unpleasant emotions or to face the consequences or pay the price for being “real” with ourselves. If a person is using denial they will rationalize all the reasons of why they left or became inactive in the first place. In this state the person will deny and block out the panoramic perspective of bad things like this happening all the time in different parts of the world. Through their tunnel vision they will only believe what the JWs tell the person to believe.
Cognitive dissonance: This happens when the person is divided inside, they are split with two or more sub personalities having opposing beliefs, values, feelings, and motivations. The person may have a part of them that believes the JWs to be what outsiders view them as, a fanatical apocalyptic group that control their members and keep them enslaved to sell their literature and recruit other members. The other part though believes without question all the programmed theology of Russell and company. It’s like no other theological beliefs can get through to this part to create a counter example to at least consider the truthfulness of this belief system. This in my opinion is the most insidious and evil acts of JWs, the programming of the person through hypnosis to believe and obey orders without ever questioning whether it’s for the person’s highest good or within divine will for them.
"I just want to know God's thoughts the rest is details" A Einstein