The Governing Body’s irrational fear of the Apostate Boogeyman

by Londo111 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Londo111

  http://freeminds2.org/the-theocratic-life-and-times-of-theodore-jaracz/

  I was reading the above article by Barbara Anderson and was struck that, rather than knowing better, the Governing Body actually believes in this shadowy organization of former members who are out to attack them.

  [Jaracz] said that the Governing Body had been preparing for much longer than anybody could guess for an attack by apostates. He said, “Stamping us into the ground brings on Armageddon. Watch Tower is material and when it disappears, the apostates can’t destroy the spiritual. He mentioned an article in the Watchtower magazine written by Fred Franz many years before about what happens when “Ariel” or the Watchtower organization is being stamped into the ground—that it brings on Armageddon. (Isaiah 29:7). Jaracz remarked that because of the “apostate” stamping he perceived was going on that summer, he said Armageddon had started.

  No wonder they are frothing at the mouth in regard to former members. If they really think that we are going to “attack” them, or “stamp” them into the ground, and we are the ones that bring on Armageddon--it is truly paranoid, delusional thinking. They need psychiatric help and lots of it!
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  BluesBrother

  Interesting article from Barb Anderson. Her insider knowledge is a joy to read.

  I guess they want to have a convenient scapegoat to carry all their excuses when things go wrong. "It is not our fault...it is those horrid apostates making things up again!"
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  ABibleStudent

  Dangerous cults behave very predictably. Their bad vs good mentality and desire to promote persecution to keep followers fearful creates a need for a bad character. Enter the characterization of a mentally diseased apostate.

  Has anyone watched the movie "Unbreakable" with Bruce Willis and Samual Jackson? The bad guy (i.e. Samual Jackson) wanted to find his opposite (i.e., Bruce Willis) so he created accidents to find someone who was unbreakable. I wonder if the WTBTS uses similar types of rationalizations to justify their actions.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  Oubliette

  They gotta' have a bad guy! It's part of the paradigm.
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  Londo111

  Unbreakable is one of my favorite movies.

  "They called me...Mr. Glass!"
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  Vidiot

  Here's a hypothetical scenario.

  A formerly successful apocalyptic religious organization falls into decline due to waning revenue flow, plateauing of recruitment, failed predictions, aging membership, justified litigation by its opponents, and overall poor reputation. As a result, its "True Believer" leadership feels more and more threatened and marginilized.

  In response (being authoritarian and thusly unable to respond any other way), they assume an increasingly hard-line stance with regards to their flawed internal policies, and escalate the negative rhetoric against both secular opponents and former members.

  This eventually reaches a point where - having already been considerably disconnected from reality for some time - they endeavor (consciously or otherwise) to induce "worldly" and "apostate" opposition to such a degree that their situation will set in motion a sequence of events in their eschatology that culminate in the Apocalypse (since the miraculous relief from the trials and tribulations of "Satan's World" and the vindication of their beliefs are fundamental components of said eschatology).

  Remember, if they thought they were on the verge of collapse, they'd certainly feel like they had nothing left to lose...

  If they truly believed that they were on the ropes and were desperate enough, this tactic would - for all intents and purposes - amount an all-or-nothing end gambit; after all, if they're right (and everything we know indicates that they're certain they are), the Apocalypse begins and God bails them out.

  However...

  ...in the far more likely event that they're wrong and their situation doesn't kick off a supernatural mass extinction and - even worse - they are not spared the consequences of their flawed policies, it would be the most compelling evidence yet that both their belief system and their claims of legitimacy were fundamentally and irrevocably false.
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  frankiespeakin

  Play on their fears to our advantage.
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  nonjwspouse

  vidiot, I feel you are on the right track of thought.
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  Truth seeker 674

  Vidiot: then what happens?
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  Glander

  They are 98 lb. weaklings that must hide behind every fear tactic they have to avoid being beat up. The longer they go on the harder it is to maintain control and it is the former JW's who are now the "apostates" that threaten them most. Too much new wine put into old wineskins, somethings got to give, and it has.