Your Opinion Please: Do GB members believe what they say?

EverAStudent

In your own opinion: Do the Governing Board members believe their own prophecies, stories, and articles?

Do you think they are true believers in the core religion or fakers simply behaving as profiteers?

OUTLAW

Those Crazy Bastards..

Believe every word they say..

Crazy 1

..................... ...OUTLAW

Stealth

Yes, as equally as Jim Jones and David Koresh believed they were god's prophets.

Having read Ray Franz books, I think they are true believers. Unless Ray was also a profiteer and decided not to expose that for some reason when he was ousted. While its clear they have historically had quite an income, I find it difficult to conclude the end goal is wealth. The disfellowshipping policy, for instance, does not fit that theory.

teel

Yes, my oppinion is also that they believe what they say. Also recommended reading as of this regard is Don Cameron's Captives of a Concept

nelly136

in the old days maybe, these days i dont think it matters as long as the r & f swallow it

AllTimeJeff

No, I don't think some believe all of it. For one thing, how does "new light" happen unless someone on the GB in effect, expresses their disbelief on a certain point of dogma, along with showing their own "interpretation" of the proposed new dogma?

Just like any elder body, if a majority doesn't go along with it, then the GB member who basically expressed their doubt are told that at the very least, it isn't Jehovah's time for that yet and to be patient. Which at that point, leaves it for dead for a while.

I am a bit more cynical. I think many GB members don't believe a good chunk of JW exegesis.

yknot

No. I don't think there are any GB that buys it all hook, line , and sinker.

I do however believe that all GB feel they are 'entitled' to their positions after years of dedication.

How this entitled feeling manifests differs from individual to individual.

I think that Fred and Ted started sipping their own kool-aid to the point that their judgement became impaired and this increased their sense of entitlement and demands of loyalty to their POV.

carpediem

For the most part I think they are deceived and deceiving

drew sagan

I am a bit more cynical. I think many GB members don't believe a good chunk of JW exegesis.

I would argue that they most likely compartmentalize WTS belief into things that are "truth" and that which is debatable. Issues such as the trinity, non-exsistance of hellfire, paradise earth constitute a tradition of untouchable doctrines and agruments. The case is closed on these topics as far as they are concerned.

There is another portion of doctrine that is up for grabs. Whether or not these things change, the original "truths" do not. It is probably argued that the original truths outweigh anything that could be bad in the other doctirnes.

So there sure are things they do not belive, but there certainly are things they hold dear as well. They justify their own power, as well as ability to pick and choose doctirne, on the basis of the "original truths".