Repeat thread: Don't you sometimes feel all the changes in doctrine are deliberate attempts at keeping you in fear of the unexpected?

by dgp 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  dgp

  I made the stupid mistake of not adding a title to my previous topic, so I corrected the mistake this time.

  In "The Ayn Rand Lexicon, Objectivism from A to Z"(http://www.amazon.com/Ayn-Rand-Lexicon-Objectivism-Library/dp/0452010519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308711714&sr=8-1, I found this (pages 248 - 249);

  It is a grave error to suppose that a dictatorship rules a nation by means of strict, rigid laws which are obeyed and enforced with rigorous, military precision. Such a rule would be evil, but almost bearable: men could endure the harshest edicts, provided these edicts were known, specific and stable; it is not the known that breaks men's spirits, but the unpredictable. A dictatorship has to be capricious; it has to rule by means of the unexpected, the incomprehensible, the wantonly irrational; it has to deal not in death, but in sudden death; a state of chronic uncertainty is what men are psychologically unable to bear.

  Don't you guys feel that the "tacking in the wind", all the changes in doctrine, and all the extremes elders will go to, and the gossip, are just a way to keep you all in fear of what might happen, just as in the paragraph? My hunch is, perhaps the changes in doctrine are not "tacking in the wind" at all, but a deliberate way to make people not know what to expect, and thus fear the unexpected.

  What do you guys think?
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  Broken Promises

  And I made the stupid mistake of replying to your first thread, lol.

  Very good question (in the original post) and I'll get back to you.
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  Broken Promises

  Back again...

  I think the main fear tactic was Armageddon, and the fear of not gaining entry into the "new system". At least it was for me. The thought that Jehovah could see everything, and could even read your thoughts, was a huge incentive to do the "right" thing. Want to commit fornication? Don't even think of it, because Jehovah can read your heart and will remember that in the future. Better to ask for strength and forgiveness for any improper thoughts now, lest He holds your wicked heart against you when it comes to Judgement Day at Armageddon.

  You were also warned that "once saved always saved" was an incorrect teaching, so it meant that at any time you could stumble and fall out of Jah's favour.

  Witnessing was considered a life-saving work, so if you didn't participate in it, you could be considered blood guilty which would also be held against you at Armageddon.

  The changing doctrines, changing tack in the direction of the Org etc, are overlooked as "new light". If anything, it was to give JWs the feeling that the Org was moving forward and progressing in its spiritual direction.
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  sir82

  I don't know if it is "deliberate".

  I think all authoritarian regimes, be they religious, political, cutural, etc. sort of "naturally fall into" certain patterns.

  I don't think the WTS consciously decides "how can we screw over the publishers' minds this month?"

  Rather, I think they (perhaps with good intentions) see the need to change a doctrine, and that change & the resulting uncertainty has the effect noted above. They (the WTS) subliminally note that the more often things change, the more obedient the "sheep" are, so they are more inclined to make those irrational, incomprehensible, capricious changes.
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  designs

  The Mantra from the early days of Russell to the present has be 'New Light' this traps people into the gullible position of thinking someone really has the ear of God and gets told what's coming next. It plays to the most basic fears we humans have.
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  dgp

  Thanks for your answers. You know, maybe it's not a deliberate thing in the sense of thinking, as Sir82 suggests, "how are we going to screw the publishers this month?". But I do feel that fear is there, and I also feel the effects are such as those Ayn Rand described.
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  wobble

  Dear dgp, I have observed the WT for over sixty years, and they are definately re-active, not pro-active.

  They only respond, and belatedly usually, when a target is obvious, and as I say, usually the target has actually moved before they shoot.

  Yes, they have always used fear as a control, fear of "displeasing Jehovah" being the main one, this in reality means fear of not towing the party (GB) line.

  I do agrre that the speed and frequency of doctrinal and policy changes engenders an attitude in the R&F that they need to "keep up", but this is a bonus to the GB, not something they actually plan for.

  The GB, and the puppeteers who pull their strings, are a lot of bumbling fools who just about keep the WT ship afloat despite its wonderful business set-up and assets, they are quite inept, but shielded from their lack by circumstances.

  7 million people contributing makes them damn nigh immune from becoming bankrupt, despite their lunatic moves regarding doctrine.
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  dgp

  I see. Thank you, wobble, and everyone else.