by Oubliette 43 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
According to a QFR in the WT, anyone who began partaking of the Memorial emblems after 1935 is either still caught up in their false religious tradition or is likely mentally ill.
None of the present GB were even born by 1935.
Say it all as far as I'm concerned.
Doc
There is a saying, and I'm paraphrasing, "It's no proof of sanity to be well-adjusted to an insane enviroment."
Perhaps we were driven to "crazy" behaviors by the real crazies. That must be good, because it means we are normal.
DD
Is power addiction classed as a mental illness, if so then yes they crazy drunk with power.
Hmmm ... On the surface its a silly question, designed to get impassioned responses and fan flames but you lay out some well reasoned thoughts. Lets frame it this way:
someone comes to you and claims to be gods sole representative. They claim that if you dont accept what they say as comming from god himself then god himself will kill you, and soon, when he kills the resf of the world.
Yes. They are certifiably bat poop crazy. They are functioning, they can pass as mentally stable, but their delusion is deep.
Sorry I think anyone who thinks god of the universe choose a distinct American publishing house as his guiding voice to all mankind is a bit off or a bit mentally off balanced, which could really define beliefs in supernatural beings. The JW religion is one built up on lying opportunistic men seeking their own self empowerment, that self empowerment continues on today by the GB or executive directors of the WTS.
The delusional part comes in where they think God is guiding and directing them and no one else in the world.
Slightly crazy, slightly ignorant by vutue of a minimal education background and self hyped in acknowledgment of their stated position of a very large and rich religious publishing empire.
I don’t think anyone here understand what is being mentally ill, so before any mention of who is mentally ill allow me to explain that nobody has mental disorders or illnesses.
Firstly mental illness is a term used by psychiatrists that shouldn't be used. The mind is something that can't be seen, has no smell or taste. The brain on the other hand does, but there is little neurology can understand about the brain and mind without psychological interpretation. But how can the mind have an illness? This is just as ridiculous as saying that the soul has an illness.
The other problem is that psychiatry has set the line for normality, to determine abnormal psychology, sadly as some tautology of theirs with little evidential support. Saving Normal is a book written by the person responsible for the DSM-IV, a past bible used by all psychiatrists, which (in the book Saving Normal) he explains the issues with normality. Some clinical psychologists (The New Laws of Psychology and The Book of Woe books) have gone so far to explain that there is no such thing as abnormal or normal psychology, just psychology.
The other problem is of what the layperson thinks of mental illnesses and mental disorders. As if irrational behaviours explain some illness. Let me here explain briefly what is going on with JW’s. People are somewhat born as blank slats, and jws implement a system to control and monitor a members level of education and socialisations in such a way that makes it difficult for differentiation dialogue to take place to make way for change. The other problems are human problems, cognitive dissonance (- Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts – is an excellent book on this), cognitive biases (The Art of Thinking Clear) and other cognitive distortions and heurists (my favourite book Thinking, Fast and Slow). All this books explain how we think we are rational beings when in fact we are very irrational.
Your post just gave me a movie or book idea. Imagine a book about a parallel present where, unlike our present, theistic religious behavior and beliefs are regarded as being a delusional psychological disorder and treated as such. Theistic religions are outlawed as a danger to society and theists meet secretly in underground movements.
But the story skillfully strings the reader/viewer along with the false impression that the governments and medical community are the bad guys and they are unjustly stifling people's religious freedoms, playing on themes of suppression of rights. But very gradually over the course of the story, the reader/viewer comes to have an awakening that the government and medical community are actually correct and the good guys and it is the underground religious communities (the leaders of those communities) that are actually the deceptive, manipulative bad guys.
The way this plot trick is pulled off is that the first half of the story focuses on events from the perspective of rank and file religious believers who are only getting their religious leaders' side of the story; and well, you know how religious leaders have a tendency to twist things, to deny reality, to limit their members access to independent information, to demonize those who criticize them, etc. So the viewer gets the story from the perspective of a believer who is being deceived by the religious leader without knowing it and without this fact being apparent. So the reader/viewer genuinely thinks the religious people are the underdog victims being oppressed by the government. During this phase of the story, viewers / readers who are religious will find themselves connecting with the side of the religion and empathizing and rooting for them.
Then about three-quarter way through the story it is dramatically revealed that the religious leaders are not being honest. This fact is now revealed by the story shifting to the government's side of the matter being the focus, showing how the religious leaders are in fact using cult tactics to deceive the members and exploit them. Specific claims made by the religious leaders are exposed as being fabrications. The deceptions of the religious leaders would be very analogous to the deceptions used by the most popular religious leaders today.
So the movie would essentially help religious people today to think carefully about their own beliefs and the people indoctrinating them and to have a light bulb moment and think "OMG! what if..." and hopefully awaken to the deceptions of religions and seriously examine their own religious beliefs to see if it is really rational; to see if evolution really is without evidence as their religious leaders have told them, etc.
The story will end with one religious group having the most zealous believers who put loyalty to the leadership above facts and reason, deteriorating into a dangerous cult and committing mass suicide. In this phase of the story, it becomes painfully obvious to the viewer/reader how religious tactics like unfalsifiable claims, persecution complex, paranoia, us vs them, mistrust of non-members, information control, putting god above family, misplaced loyalty, etc can all conspire to keep people locked in against all reason, facts, logic, etc ultimately leading to disaster. Meanwhile the majority of members of another religion that is less cult-like are aided by the government to escape the mental slavery and delusions.
If done right this could be a powerful drama that will educate people of the dangers of irrational beliefs and manipulative cult-like religions. I'm no writer but if Terry or any writers on the board think it would make a good novel and want to use my idea they're free to do so
Island Man,
Write your story/fiction as a therapy in the form of a bare bones outline and go from there. Script writers are always looking for ideas. Might not make much money but the rewards might come in the form of other benefits.
Not sure on mental illness since I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but in my opinion, it appears that Lett and Morris in particular have personality disorders (ie: narcissism, sociopathy... basically under the antisocial personality disorders category).
i have met and spent time with lett personally. Don't let the wackiness fool you. This man was the most self-centered, domineering person I've ever had the misfortune of being around. His mere presence commands reverence (at least that's how he presents himself). He is actually very intimidating and seemed to jump on every opportunity to call people out publicly (in relaxed social settings--these were not theocratic settings but I cannot go into too much detail. PM for info). He mastered the art of gaslighting and manipulation of people to get his way via passive aggression. I felt as if I was in the presence of Bond villain-level evil; genius evil, that had been tested, refined and sharpened to perfection over decades of experience.
Morris, on the other hand, appears far more sinister. He's relatively new to the "truth" compared to many of us, even. From what I've learned about him, he was successful in the secular sense as well. He joins the bOrg, rapidly accelerates rank while raising a family and became a circuit overseer in no time (most of whom cannot reach that level without some financial security, the ability to hob-nob, and a ruthless spirit to pursue and obtain power). His accension to the GB was super fast and really kind of sketchy if you read his recent article. How did he do all that he did? I know FAR more "qualified" men who have struggled for decades to become a mere circuit overseer. How did Morris get thru so fast only to be tapped for GB within a few years after that? In my opinion, it's his dominating and fearsome personality. Carnegie, Rockefeller, even that bitch who resigned from Reddit recently all seem to have that same ruthless "mojo." They climb because they push and shove others out of the way. Bully elders at local congregations compare at a smaller level. I'd often wondered when every KH had "that one elder with the Napoleon complex who everyone hates" how they GOT that power and how they KEPT that power. These sociopathic people exude an extra perception that entire groups of people can be manipulated by. Morris is a prime example of this and now, he has a TV station and can infect every family home and local KH with his hypnotic control. He's dangerous. He's wicked and he's a cold, calculating motherfucker with absolutely zero empathy.
both Morris and lett do not care about others at all, in my opinion. They've achieved their position & rank even under questionable circumstances (partaking at a time in JW lore when it was highly suspect for anyone born after 1935 to do so). People looked down and said nothing. Their crazy mannerisms and personalities are also observed by even the most loyal JWs, but people look down and say nothing. It's that PERCEPTION of power by their calculating manipulations and dominating prowess that got them where they are and will allow them to continue. Unfortunately, they also appear very healthy. There is such a thing as bad people being too mean to die. They'll live for a very long time and will continue doing more damage and harm to the lives of millions worldwide because sociopaths & evil people like them always do. I wish they'd get leukemia or something, but it's just not gonna happen.
