Thousands of people in America were the beneficiaries of new inventions in technology in the 1870's.
The typewriter, the telephone, and the light bulb transformed something we may have never considered before.
COMMUNICATION was ramped up seemingly without limit for the first time in human history!
Pastor Russell's customers were simple folks frightened by monumental changes.
WHAT DID THESE RAPID CHANGES REALLY MEAN?
Pastor Russell distilled everything down to the notion everything was understandable as SIGNS OF THE END.
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Studies in the Scriptures, sold door to door like any other product, were said to make the Bible "understandable"
and were
(wait for it . . .) were of greater value than the Bible itself!
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Gradually, cashing in on a public fascination with the Great Pyramid, Russell concocted a terminal theology date: 1914.
What would sell more magazines and books than avoiding DOOMSDAY?
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The number one source of information used by citizens of the world to gain understanding of what was going on; NEWSPAPERS.
by 1913 it was estimated that through 2,000 newspapers Russell’s sermons were reaching 15,000,000 readers!
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Door to door salesmen (colporteurs)
6 Volume commentary
magazine publishing
newspapers
Russell was able to cobble together a CUSTOMER BASE.
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After Russell's death in 1916, J.F.Rutherford sought to gain access to this customer base for purposes of building his own business interests.
1. He sent emissary's with offers of "help" to independent congregations. This fostered venue change, policy adoption
and this successfully re-organized the many into the one.
2. He created us vs them paranoia. The enemy of my enemy is my friend as the saying goes, so, Rutherford finger pointed to ENEMIES everywhere in Government, churches, demons and among their own brethren--who should be resisted, opposed and removed.
3. He replaced Bible study with phony 'study' of the Bible using official Watchtower publications.
4. He rode the coat tails of Pastor Russell admiration by claiming that Russell himself was supervising from heaven itself!
5. He created a sense urgency and life or death immediacy for End Times. The Products he sold were Time-Sensitive!
6. He crafted a personal theology of ONLY true religion in a world of demon controlled false religion.
7. He turned church members into radical contrarians who did the opposite of mainstream Christianity
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The crazier the beliefs were---the easier it was for ordinary Christians to oppose and persecute them.
The PRODUCT of the Watchtower organization became paranoia, fear mongering, and Apocalypse.
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Mankind was seen as customers served by a Central clearing house of the Jehovah channel.
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This was a closed intranet.
Each subsequent President of the Watchtower Society has sought subscribers for this channel of fear mongering.
1. END TIMES (Armageddon) must always be just about to happen.
This made the subscription to the channel one of urgent emergency information of life-saving importance.
2. The subscribers had to have a password to access their account: the word JEHOVAH (which is the brand) and demonstrating that branding by contrarian activities in regard to holidays and theology and lifestyle.
3. Referrals (new customers) must be added through the word of mouth testimonials of current members.
4. Violation of religious policy would lead to termination of account and blacklisting! (Disfellowshipped).
The product had to be New and Improved from time to time (New Light) and old product discarded
Loyal customers were encouraged to see all competitors as liars with bad faith false claims
Disgruntled Ex-customers were to be regarded as untrustworthy mental defectives. It was the only way to explain dissatisfaction with the Watchtower
management and product.
A Mary Kay cult of weird religious activity.
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In any business, Risk is assessed as an ACTUAL NUMBER.
This is evident in the obsession over statistics in preaching and bible study success of salesmen in the field.
Preaching Goals are merely Sales Goals.
The enemy of business is UNCERTAINTY.
Recent lawsuits have cast a long shadow over risk assessment. As in any business, risk management has followed with the compartmentalizing of each tier of leadership from actual liability.
As in any business, risk management has followed with the compartmentalizing of each tier of leadership from actual liability.
Evidence of Leverage is manifest in pleas for money;"profit and loss" is squeezed out of the shadows by downturn in business futures.
Religion is merely business as usual.
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JW.ORG and the TV channel are merely the latest manifestations of MERCHANDIZING by cutting costs
controlling public opinion, and stabilizing customer base.
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The GB now becomes part of the brand and the face of the product BECAUSE THEY ARE THE PRODUCT.
The 'other sheep' of the 'Great Crowd' look to ORGANIZATION as their MEDIATOR and savior.
Converts are baptized into the ORGANIZATION.
Personal conscience is unnecessary, independent study is unnecessary, elective leisure activity becomes a
mere continuation of incessant congregation activity controlled by ORGANIZATION.
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Merchandizing carts have sprung up like vending machines NOT because sales increase in this manner
but because the BRAND becomes more comfortable in the eyes of the PUBLIC. It becomes a 'given' rather
than a novelty or anomaly.
THE END GOAL of all this:
NORMALIZATION.
To become invisible as an oddball cult, to fade into the mainstream.
The Mormon church has done this. The test of Mormon success was in the number of votes
Mormon candidate for President, Mitt Romney acquired. Mitt Romney (48% 59,142,004) He was the test of mainstreaming.
If the weird theology of Mormonism can be overcome in the eyes of the public at large--the lesson is NOT LOST
on the Watchtower Society!
TECHNOLOGY and COMMUNICATION from the Photo Drama of Creation in Pastor Russell's day, through the
phonograph records spouting "Religion is a Snare and a Racket" under Judge Rutherford, to the radio broadcasts
of WBBR, until today's JW.ORG and TV programming, the Watchtower merchandising initiatives march ever onward
into the consciousness and ultimately subconsciousness of the world itself.
WILL THEY SUCCEED?
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There is an old saying: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
The WTS once fought the Internet; now they've joined it with a vengeance.
So certain are the GB leaders that they've terrified rank and file members away from investigating 'apostate' materials
they can swim with the sharks and bask in the warm waters of impunity.
Let us watch the statistics for this next year (if the books aren't cooked) to appraise whatever success may come.
Will the public image of JW's be erased as a people pressuring for conversion?
Look how laid back they are slouching next to those carts!
