As The Governing Body Tightens its Grip...

by passwordprotected 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  passwordprotected

  Two and a half years ago I predicted that The Governing Body was going to have to tighten its grip on the rank and file Witnesses.

  "It's time to get in the compound, brothers and sisters...." It's classic sleight of hand. Distract your audience. Pull off the trick.
  
  What's the trick the WTS needs to pull off? Not losing their membership through being disillusioned over 100 years of invisible 'presence'. Let's face it, the Dubs have nothing to look forward to now, what with the 1935 reversal being linked to the generation change. My 3 year old son could be of the anointed and hence part of the generation. Their message hasn't changed, the organisation isn't going anywhere. And while they bleat about being soooooo very very very close to the end, they build bigger and bigger Bethels and dormitories while guilt-tripping their adherents into not going to college and not speaking to Uncle Peter because he has 'doubts'.
  
  Is there any end in sight for the Dubs? No. So, it's time to use some sleight of hand; keep 'em sacred. Scream from the rooftops, "Satan is advancing! Quick, get in the compound! And once there, produce more and more works like you've never produced works before! It's the only way to survive his anger!!"
  
  While it appears they're giving the R&F a bit of slack by reducing the number of meetings per week, they're actually mounting more and more pressure through the printed pages of the books and magazines and from the platform.

  I've explored this issue again on my blog*. I'm convinced that the WTBTS is prepared to lose members. Let's face it, it's easier - and cheaper - to maintain a membership roll of 3 million, or less, than it is 7 million. A smaller core group of die-hard acolytes is easier to micro manage than a more sprawled-out-in-terms-of-obedience congregation of wishy-washy part-timers.

  I believe we're starting to see a tightening of the screws once again, much as was evident post-75 and post-Franzgate. Except this time The Governing Body doesn't really have the big stick/carrot of eschatology on its side. After all, the Watchtower barely mentions 1914 these days and we're fast approaching the 100th anniversary of Russell's ebullient dining room declaration about the kings having had their day...What, exactly, does The Governing Body have to keep poking, prodding, and cajoling the rank and file with; not the "generation", that's for sure. They need a new cattle prod.

  At the end of the day, the Witnesses have little reason to stay in the compound. Unless The Governing Body can effectively demonise everyone outside the compound. And I realise this isn't a new trick. They've always done it. However, I believe we're starting to see them crank the fear factor up a few notches.

  The July 1st 2011 Watchtower, particularly in it's dumbed-down format (how much fun are we going to have with the starker language used in that version?), is leaving me in no doubt where the agenda of The Governing Body lies;

  • stay scared of those on the outside
  • stay scared of the Organisation; it holds your eternal future in its fleshy paw
  • obey the faithful and discreet slave; it's the only way God will love you and your children
  • stay terrified of those who leave, the false-teaching-apostes; they only want your discipleship, which is, per your baptism, rightfully ours
  • your loved one, children in particular, will leave the compound; be afraid of them and show us you love us more
  • our terms of service are subject to frequent change; expect this to continue in new and frightening ways. However, this is merely proof of God's love for us, and our dominance of you

  None of this is new, I know that. However, I believe it's been a long, long time since we've seen it put over so plainly.

  Fun times ahead in Watchtower Land as we move ever closer to 2014...

  * extract:

  The most cultish statement, however, preceded this one, again, taken from the Simplified English Watchtower:

  Today, the faithful and discreet slave sometimes helps us to understand a teaching in the Bible in a way that is different from what we thought before. We should be happy about these changes. They show us that Jehovah is using the faithful and discreet slave to teach us the truth. - ibid. Emphasis added.

  Here we see demonstrated pure, cult logic.

  When we’re wrong, we’re right. And when we need to change what we once taught you because we were wrong (even though we were right) you should be happy about this because it proves we’re right.

  Think that through for a moment.

  I’m driving my family to a holiday destination. I have checked the map. I have punched in the address into our car’s sat-nav. I decide, en route, to follow my own series of directions to our destination. The sat-nav says go north. I go north-west. After a few miles I discern that my route needs to be readjusted. I double-back, heading south-east. Then, while the sat-nav instructs us to go east, I decide to go south.

  How should my family feel about these changes in our journey, and the fact that we are no closer to our destination than we were 3 hours earlier?

  Happy, of course!

  Why?

  Because these frequent, and perhaps illogical, changes in direction show that I am, in fact, following the sat-nav.

  My family’s confidence in my abilities to get them to the destination should be bolstered. I am more able to follow the obvious direction of the sat-nav than my family are. They should simply trust that the sat-nav is guiding me in a more accurate way than them. And this is evident by me having to make changes to the route I have decided to venture on.
• 

  alanv

  Everything you say is true, including that there have been particular times in the past when they have tightened the screws.

  However they have made some things easier for witnesses. Remember it used to be five, one hour meetings a week. That has been reduced now quite a lot . Pioneers used to have to spend 150, and 100 hours a month as special and regular pioneers. District assemblies used to be four days, they are now three. Circuit Assemblies used to include Friday evening. Now they just go for two days.

  Now having done all that, they have realized they have given witnesses too much wriggle room. So they are tightening their grip.

  As has been said, they are now demonising the internet, ex witnesses, Facebook and other forums and blogs, repeating again that further education can seriously damage your spiritual health. And the biggest thing they are now pushing, is the unquestioning obediance to the governing body.

  As we have said, these things go in cycles, and the present cycle is to scare the sheep into submission
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  wobble

  Well put as usual Mark, it has been said on here a number of times that Cults go one of two ways, either they go mainstream, and relax the controls a lot, or they retreat to the compound in the hills, and become much more hardline, controlling, and above all, paranoid.

  I think both your prediction, and assesment are spot on. The WT is doing the latter.

  I do not for one moment believe they are actually paranoid, actually believe the fears they are instilling in the Rank and File Witnesses, but they see it as the only way to go to preserve their postion of power and control, and to preserve their comfortable lifestyle.

  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, will they get much more hardline about faders like me, who are in a position to sow a lot of thoughts in active Witnesses minds ? which I do on every possible occasion !

  Certainly I foresee them being harder about the use of Internet, saying something along the lines of anyone reading an "Apostate" site is being disloyal to jehovah, and for that could be DF'd (mind you, you could repent quickly if you are caught reading as a Witness)

  The Internet is their biggest cause of loss of membership, but any harder attitude is going to increase their loss, but, as you say, they are prepared to lose what they would label "Weak" members, to create a nucleus of hardcore, brianwashed zombie dubs who will jump just as high as they are asked to.

  What a silly cult.
• 

  garyneal
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  Aussie Oz

  2014 is going to make a few more remember the 'old 1914' stuff i am sure

  and it will be intersting to see what the WT makes of that date.

  will they do an anniversary edition featuring the wonderful last 100 years since Satan was ousted i wonder?

  or will they limit it to one strangly worded paragraph of double speak?

  oz
• 

  passwordprotected

  I do not for one moment believe they are actually paranoid, actually believe the fears they are instilling in the Rank and File Witnesses, but they see it as the only way to go to preserve their postion of power and control, and to preserve their comfortable lifestyle.

  High-control religious groups (WTBTS, Independent Baptist Church, Westboro Baptist, etc etc) need a raison d'etre. There has to be a line in the sand that the leaders can point to as proof that their group is different, special, better, set apart, holy etc. The line in the sand may merely be doctrinal, it may be the claim that "we're more biblical than everyone else", or it may be because the group holds to a particular annihilationalist eschatology.

  Whatever the raison d'etre is, it must be compelling to the members of the group, something that gives them a sense of having "the truth", something that sets them apart and gives them a reason to do the works the elite tell them to, and to do so with urgency and vigour.

  What, exactly, does The Governing Body offer the rank and file that provides this? Perhaps it used to be the 1874 return of Christ and the "herald of His presence". Maybe it was "millions now living will never die" and the 1925 return of the prophets. Possibly, for a while, it was the persecution during the 30s and 40s.

  Later, it might have been "stay alive 'til '75". Or the 1914 generation that so clearly showed up the 1980s would see the wrap up of "this old system".

  All along they had bold, vibrant prophets and visionaries, men who could point with clarity to world events and paint a picture of absolutely imminent, exclusive salvation for those who have "remained faithful until the end".

  But with the recent eschewing of 1914, the concoction of the overlapping generation and the increasing number of "Memorial partakers", the Watch Tower Society has lost it's line in the sand.

  The Witnesses, if they really examined their doctrines, would see that, not only have their denominational goal posts been moved, they've been completely uprooted from the turf and are no longer to be found in the stadium!

  I'm sure The Governing Body realises that it no longer has any doctrinal hooks in the rank and file. It doesn't have a bold prophet. It doesn't even have ticking, "end of age" clock anymore.

  Therefore, as we approach 2014, it needs to resort to the cult classic: fear.

  The Governing Body doesn't fear apostates, opposers or faders unless their bottom line is affected. Watch the money, always watch the money...If the elite recognise their monetary resources are being impinged upon - or could be impinged upon - expect them to act.

  Losing members doesn't frighten them; they're more than making up for lost membership in the 1st world by the new comers in the 2nd and 3rd worlds. However, it's the 1st world members that were shoring up, financially, the in-roads made in the 2nd and 3rd worlds.

  So, they're prepared for casualties. They don't really need the wishy-washy socialite Witnesses. They want the hard-core, "we will unquestioningly obey, even sacrificing our children", uber-Dubs. These ones will only ask "how much?" when The Governing Body rattles its collection can...

  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, will they get much more hardline about faders like me, who are in a position to sow a lot of thoughts in active Witnesses minds ? which I do on every possible occasion !

  I've no doubt that the faders will be next in their sights, as predicted two years ago
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  TotallyADD

  Here is my 2 cents worth. I think the GB is not paranoid but they are using fear even more to make the R&F paranoid. When they have study articles in the WT that warns everybody not to trust anybody if they say something that sounds off beat to what they think the WT teaches. That creates a very paranoid thinking among the members. If you miss meetings, field service, don't answer at meetings you are getting a higher education on and on and on. It gets the R&F to think you might be a apostate and not to be trusted. If they could they would burn you at the stake. That is the kind of paranoid thinking the GB is creating within the R&F. I feel this up coming July WT will change things alot within the R&F thinking. Its very scary to me. Totally ADD
• 

  Black Sheep

  After all, the Watchtower barely mentions 1914 these days ...

  I see this comment a lot, but ....

  It got a plug in the TMS last month.

  The next mention is in next month's kool-Aid WT

  After that they get a reminder in the June 27 Dazed Text.

  When you are working out how often it is published, don't forget that there are only half as many Asleep! and Botchtowers as there used to be.

  Personally, I wouldn't be suggesting tp anybody, especially a JW, that a doctrine is being phased out while it is still being reinforced in future rags and talks and day texts.
• 

  passwordprotected

  @Black Sheep

  You raise a good point. However, do JWs place the same important on 1914 as they did back, say, in the 1980s or 90s? During my exit an elder told me 1914 was merely the end of the Gentile Times, nothing more.

  Really? Is that all 1914 was?
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  fresia

  The GB are running out of excuses for their 1914 error which was predicted to happen. (2Thess 2:11) They are the stupid prophets. (Ez 13:3)