When will a firebrand lead the Organization?

by refiners fire 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  refiners fire

  Its apparent that a number of people on this site have read Eric Hoffers "true Believer" .Did anyone find Hoffers "3 monarchs" theory as spooky as I did?( pages 130 thru 160 of the book)

  Hoffer says that a movement is founded by a "man of words".This man is a writer,highly regarded as such and is often a charismatic person.He is an intellectual who speaks out about the corruption of the established order.
  Sounds like Pastor Russell to me.

  After this founder, the movement is taken over by a fanatic, (second ruler ).Here is hoffers description of this man, on page 153:
  "Ruthless,selfrighteous,disputatious, petty and rude".
  Sound like anyone you know?
  If that aint Rutherford I'll eat my hat.
  This man leads the organization thru what Hoffer calls the "active phase" a period of expansion and confronting action.
  
  Phase 3 of the movement, or third monarch, is The Organization Man.
  Hes preoccupied with administration. Consolidation of gains won.
  He streamlines robotic drill and organizational structure.
  Sound like the WT under uncle Nathan?
  Sure does to me.
  Under monarch 3, progress freezes,everything petrifies and turns to stone. All truth has been revealed. Dead repetition takes over.There is no more to be learned.

  Its pretty clear from Hoffer, and a study of Russian communism (which Follows Hoffers pattern)That after Monarch 3, organizational leadership falls into Gerontocracy. The rule of fossilized old men.
  Thats what the orgs got right now.

  Im just wondering,in Russia when the system couldnt continue,due to the death of change,the russkies brought in a young firebrand to remodel their party.
  Whats the chances with the org?
  When?
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  Abaddon

  Nice post. I'm not familiar with the author you mention, but it seems right on the money... I'd be interested if it fitted other cults too; the Moonies I suppose are still at stage 1, the Scientologists had a definate phase 1, but I don't know their organisational history after that, likewise the Mormons.

  I personally feel that a schism will come, and it will be lead by a charasmatic person. There will quite possibly be a reformed JW's that dispenses with the Organisational structure, and that personal conscience will be held hugher than a set of rules. It would also involve a distancing from any literalistic interpretation of the Bible.

  This is bound to happen at somepoint, as all religions move further away from a literal path according to a book as they become a more deeply embedded cultural entity. Look at the Roman Catholics. Millions of people say they are Roman Catholic, and contravene Church law, and rarely attend services.

  There is bound to be a 'rump' of traditionalists, but it would likely fade away to an ineffective stub as inborns would almost all leave, and the beliver base would atropht over time.

  People living in glass paradigms shouldn't throw stones...
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  refiners fire

  Hey Aba- You remember Pastor Russells parallel dispensations? He loved those parallels.Well. I read somewhere . It might have been Steve Hassan, not sure, but the gist was that the moonie doctrinal timesetting is based on parallel dispensations.I think the parallel runs Abraham to Jesus,Jesus to 1930ad. Moon was born. Parallel time spans. You know anything about that one?
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  proplog2

  Refiner- very important post.

  Others have a four stage model of organizational development.

  1. Initial stage of excitement
  2. Refining stage of sorting things out.
  3. Stage of intense activity.
  4. Stagnation.

  There seems to be a leader for each of these stages.

  Stagnation can go on for a long time but it becomes the ground from which a new stage of excitement emerges. The Christ cult eventually stagnated into Catholicism. The reformation started a whole new cycle.

  JW's are clearly at a stagnant stage. There is a reformation among JW's that seems to be emerging.
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  Stephanus

  I've noticed that every successful cult has always had a second leader who grew the org from the base begun by its founder. They were often more ruthless than the founder, probably due to resistance by those loyal to the originator. The second person is usually the really interesting one. The SDAs have Ellen G White, the Mormons Brigham Young, the Christadelphians have Robert Roberts and of course, Rutherford has been mentioned!

  "Oh God! To hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust." - The Ghost of Christmas Present
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  Pathofthorns

  Interesting comments.

  Eventually out of necessity, they will have to reform the whole central teaching of the FDS, which will essentially reform the whole organization.

  At this point in time, it is very difficult to bring in anyone new to the top, except more guys who also have to be relatively old due to their 1935 teachings and "replacement" theories.

  Any of the "other sheep" who have a role near the top, or these days legally at the top, are bound in principle by the writings of the FDS of the past and can do little to effect real change until the GB is basically dead.

  How any thinking Witness will be able to abandon what has been fundamental to their doctrine and what essentially defined Witness beliefs that they held in such high regard is beyond me. Essentially they will be creating a brand new religion with many of the same old people.

  Path
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  Thirdson

  This is my comment on the whole JW reform issue.

  The current GB is dying off. Most members are so old that they can no longer function as leaders and they severed the link to the old Watchtower Societies. The organization has created a new legal corporation namely "the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses" again without any offical link to the existing GB.

  Ever since Russell died the directors of the WTS were the leaders and the President its supreme leader. Although the GB and the board of directors were divorced from each other in the early 70s the GB still sat on the board of the WTS. Now with the GB concentrating on "pastoral care" they have effectively been sidelined. Ask any JW to name half the members of the GB and most won't be able to. Ask them to do something contrary to the lastest Watchtower mag and they will refuse on the basis that it is going against God.

  Once the GB is dead the new king will reign. The Watchtower will say that the "Chieftains" are in charge, (that the end is so extremely close now) and they will have wrestled power away from the old timers and could carry on as normal. Alternatively, and likely once in full control, they will begin a period of slow revolution.

  THirdson

  'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing'