How do the leaders of the Watchtower sleep at night?
I often wonder this and feel there is a variety of factors to consider when explaining why people like the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses do indeed sleep well at night (assuming they do).
One of the first things that comes to mind for me is the topic of slavery in the Bible.
This concept trickles down into many aspects of society:
Secular work could be considered a form of slavery. The boss doesn't feel bad about overworking his employees and treating them as lesser people, because in a sense they are lesser people in the context of the bosses work environment. Therefore the boss is playing a "legitimate role" and doesn't feel ethically comprimised when doing ethically scetchy things in the business environment.
The family life also has this "slavery" concept in it at times. The father (and often the mother too) feels that their children are nothing but subjects. Clean slates you might say. Therefore it is the parents responsiblity to instill their core values into their children. It doesn't matter if that means teaching children that the Men Behind the Curtain in Brooklyn's words are law, it's simply the parents "legitimate role" as the leader of the pack.
Which leads me to religious leaders of all types.
The Bible advocates regulated slavery. This means that the slaves have "rights" but only to a point. The Free Man has superior rights to the Slave. The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses refer to themselves as "Slaves" and in their theology they definitely are slaves. But they are the "Head Slaves." The rank and file of the Witness organization are lower on the totum pole so-to-speak. They have a different position in the scheme of things and are treated as such.
So when the Governing Body outlaws organ transplants or oral sex within the marriage and the Rank and File suffer from it... it is just the way of things. The Governing Body are merely exercising their legitimate role in the grand scheme of things. Sure they are going to make mistakes, no one would expect them not to.
So they sleep well at night because they feel they are doing the best they can while exercising their role.
The reason I bring up Slavery in the Bible is because I feel that this Biblical concept is what drove all these teachings in the first place (in part). It's a hierarchy of power. And, according to the Bible, hierarchies of power are the best form of government since it's predominantly displayed within the pages of the Bible itself. This breathes life into the age old human characteristic of the Pursuit of Power.
It's basically an excuse to step on the human rights of anyone you want to. "It's just the way of things" or "Who are you to question who God puts in authority?"
Without Slavery being advocated in the Bible the Watchtower and many others would have less credibility when treating their members like slaves.
-Sab