Why?

by SuperBoy 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  designs

  Why do any religious people do what they do. Easter is coming up, seriously.
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  The Searcher

  OTWO - As a brother whined the other day to me, "Where else can we go?".

  I took a certain pleasure from telling him that he'd just mis-quoted Peter's words - "it was to whom shall we go away to?", not "where".
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  Pete Zahut

  The organization was started by religious zealots way back when and it has taken on a life of it's own. It's ways have been spread to others and its success lies in it's ability to fill (for some people) the basic human craving to have answers and certainty in an uncertain world. The answers don't always have to make complete sense so long as they are somewhat plausable but more importantly, mask the fears caused by uncertainty.

  People get caught up for decades gladly spending their energies and giving support in return for the distraction from the realities they fear.Many of them stay with it for a lifetime but mostly it's a continuous Circus Carousel of people stepping on and stepping off at different intervals.

  Many were placed on the Circus ride by their well meaning parents or were themselves attracted by the pretty ponies and bright lights of everlasting life in a perfect new world. Each rider pays his fare, clings on to the shiny brass pole and calls out to other potential riders still standing on the sidelines because they truly believe that being on the carousel is the best place to be.

  In time, for one reason or another most start to see the chips in the paint and the dust collecting on the bright lights. They see oddities of the other riders and notice the crazed looks in the eyes of the garish ponies they are riding on. They begin to realize they are only going around in circles. They know they must step of the endlessly spinning ride or be flung off by those who have no time of riders who don't love the Carousel anymore....riders who remind them that they too are getting tired of the merry-go -round they are trapped on.

  Sadly they acknowledge that their fare has long ago been spent by the man in charge of the ride and that he is only interested in finding new customers. They've been reaching for the brass ring for decades keeping themselves busy pulling new ones on board and getting them settled onto pretty ponies of their own. They understand now that although Carousels do serve a purpose in this world, they aren't meant to be ridden on for a lifetime. They also know they've been dazled by it's bright lights for years and are uncertain how to walk in a straight line of their own choosing. Despite this, they return to solid ground but must for a time put up with the spinning sensation that lingers from their years of circular thoughts and movement.

  The Governing Body members are an older more heavily entrenched version of this. They have reached a level where there's no turning back. They are being carried along by the heavy momentum of an already moving machine. They keep changing the colored lights, freshening the paint and updating the music in an effort to make the ride make more sense or seem more interesting to the millions who are being carried along just as they are. One by one, former riders are leaving and fading into the crowd while new ones are climbing on board, neither one noticing as they pass eachother by.
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  GrreatTeacher

  I love this illustration.
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  Heaven

  They think they are 'special'; that they are God's chosen and doing God's work in the hopes of receiving some future prize of everlasting life in 'paradise'.

  They are deluded.
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  bafh

  

  I think it comes down to Maslow. Especially for people born in like me, you tie some of the higher level psychological needs people have into belonging to the organization, and it is very hard to leave it even if you want to. For others who are recruited, the organization meets their need for belonging, and especially for men who are discouraged from gaining status through outside acheivements like work, attaining status inside the organization by becoming an elder, CO, DO, etc is very alluring.

  Once they get to Bethel, they have the adoration of people who don't even know them, and are given money, presents, influence, etc. If someone is a born-in, and dedicated their life to Bethel, even if they thought it was a scam, I could see them staying for the free ride and because making it on their own on the outside is difficult, and once they reach a certain age maybe impossible.

  This is how I explain to myself some of the elders who are so awful. You have men, who are discouraged from gaining status in the usual way (work, education, acheivement) and you give them a title and a little power. This is their only way to meet that natural hunger for esteem. Couple that with their lack of education and training in pastoral care of people and you have....JW Elders who bully or sometimes abuse their flock just because they can and have been divinely appointed to do so.

  Really it meets even the highest level of need, self actualization because that is where morality lives. And JWs are nothing if not moral. So, this is why disfellowshipping has the effect that it does, and also why leaving is so hard, and why staying has such pull. When we talk to "true believers" this is what we are talking to - their need for belonging, esteem, and self-actualization - not just their belief system. This is why it is so hard to get people out...and to leave ourselves if we try.
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  snare&racket

  I think it originated in Russell, his father and the banker (first WT president)...realising how much money there was in religious literature. Back then there were several periodicals and the WT guys wrote for several of them.

  Then came the genius publishing idea.... what is the most popular book ever....the bible. How can we make money? write our own copywrited version.

  Now if only we had a free workforce to make, distribute and eventually pay for this literature production...

  It is a GREAT business model, downside is lots and lots of fibs....
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  DJS

  Bath, excellent, excellent post. I use Maslow's hierarchy of needs a lot in my classes to help explain behaviors. For the leaders I believe narcissism and ego play a huge role. They simply cannot believe all of the tripe they spew. But no one wants to give up power and control, whether its a Boy Scout leader, a preacher, a CEO, the coach of a team, or the Borg's leadership. Power and control are the ultimate aphrodisiacs and ego/narcissism.
• 

  Island Man

  They love having followers.

  "Men will rise up and speak twisted things . . ."

  - "We are the faithful and discreet slave whom christ appointed in 1919"

  ". . . to draw the disciples after themselves"

  - "You must trust us because christ trusts us. Only those in association with our organization have any valid hope of surviving armageddon. The bible is a sealed book to everyone but us. You cannot understand the bible apart from us. If you leave us you leave Jehovah. Listen to Jehovah's direction given through us. We are the only ones Jehovah is using today. Where else will you go?"

  https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20140419162941AAZ2NZD
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  bafh

  I think the Russel and Rutherford, and many of the early leaders of the Bible Students were authentically seeking answers. When I have read the material, it rings true to me - as in this was what they really believed and there was more explaination of how they arrived at their thinking. I don't think they were snake oil salesmen, I think they were seekers, like the rest of the early religious movements of the day.

  As the organization has grown, however, the predictions have failed, and the insiders (GB, Zoner Overseers, Given Ones,) have not displayed the humility to admit where they were wrong or to be transparent about how they arrive at their beliefs. They have had to keep up appearances until they figure it out. They have millions of people hungry for leadership, and someone to tell them they have a right to feel rightous (we are God's Chosen People) and to give them something to blame (Satan, this System of Things, Eve or Sin) for their lives if they don't like how their life is going.

  There are a lot of true believers, but how can the leadership tell them, "yeah, sorry - we are wrong. we're not the chosen ones"? They can't. Can you imagine what shape that would leave people in if they admitted that they were just making shit up? The death toll would be high, and I suspect there would be some litigation and jail time. Plus, they have a huge money maker. I can only imagine that once you get in the groove, there is really no easy way to stop it.

  All of this makes it even more amazing that people leave when you realize how much they are giving up.