I’m a fan of the original Twilight Zone television series. I recently saw an episode entitled “On Thursday we Leave for Home,” and it dawned on me that it had some interesting parallels regarding why a lot of Witnesses never leave the religion even when it starts to become clear that it’s not “the truth.” Of course, these shows presented short moral lessons and different people can find different morals in them, but I digress.
In short, the episode deals with a space colony on a far away planet. The people have been stranded there for 30 years. The planet’s heat is oppressive and resources are scarce. The leader of the group is a man whom the colonists refer to as “Captain” Banteen. He rules over them with an iron fist keeping discipline when the residents have all but given up hope. He keeps their spirits up by telling them stories of Earth. All of the young colonists have never been on Earth and many of the middle-aged colonists barely remember it. The hope of being rescued and living a normal life on Earth provides the colonists the hope they need to continue living and Banteen insures that the residents don’t get out of line by his strict discipline.
Finally a ship arrives from Earth to rescue them. The colonists are elated and the ship is set to leave for Earth on Thursday. Slowly we begin to see Benteen’s demeanor change. He realizes that there is no more reason for the colonists to follow his every instruction. A game of baseball breaks out during the day and Banteen orders the colonists back to their homes, purportedly because he’s concerned for their health (the temperature was said to be well above 100 degrees). The rescuers are notably disturbed by Banteen’s antics, but they let him get away with it. Banteen then calls a meeting telling the colonists that they are not prepared to live by themselves on Earth and that upon arrival things will remain as is. They will have their own community with Banteen as their leader. His description of Earth noticeably begins to change and he describes it as a world full of dangers. The colonists, however, do not go along with his plan.
On Thursday, their departure date, he tells the colonists that they are not to board the ship because they are better off on the colony than on Earth, but the colonists refuse to go along with his orders. Finally, despite the rescuers pleas, Banteen refuses to get on board. Banteen is seen walking around as if he’s still in charge of the colony and his people are still there. He gets on top of a rock, as was his custom, to hold a meeting—but there is nobody there to listen to him. The thought of losing his power, his very purpose for existence, despite the fact that his living conditions would improve dramatically, was too much for him to bear.
From my experience, many Witnesses suffer from this same Banteen sickness. They get stuck in a routine believing they are important people, partakers in the greatest movement in world history. They fancy themselves modern-day Noahs taking the lead in a worldwide, lifesaving preaching work. They look at themselves as special people, one of only a very small, select group of people who will make it alive out of Armageddon, but when the facts and inconsistencies begin to pile up and they’re forced to realize that their conception themselves and their religion is false, many simply do not have it in them to give up their fantasy. They are too used to the routine, to the sense of power and entitlement that comes along with being a Witness. They’d rather lead a meager life of obedience as long as they are able to continue with their delusions of being important people. This is especially true with respect to elders and other “higher ups” who actually have direct control over large groups of people. The thought of giving up being an influential person with control over dozens, if not hundreds, of people is too high a price for them to pay. They’d rather continue in their routine than face the facts, even though facing the facts would liberate them from the Watchtower’s oppression and allow them to lead a better life.
Anyone else out there a fan of the show?
Here are the links to the episode in case anyone is interested. It’s one of a handful of one-hour episodes that aired. These are YouTube links, so who knows how long they’ll be functional before they’re removed.
*Edit [I removed the links. The video can be found on YouTube, but for some reason the links as posted don't work]