Governing body deceiving members on purpose?

by wwjdnwt 58 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TerryWalstrom

  Ray Franz described the Watchtower leaders as "Captives" of a particular "concept" and that concept was that JW's have the TRUE religion.

  That's enough to justify (in one's mind in a self-assuaging manner) most actions required to keep the "ark" afloat.

  They are all mind-fucked. For most of us, we accepted and self-justified--did we not?

  You do it until you cannot do it any longer.

  I compare the mind-control to an addiction of substance abuse or alcoholism.

  You simply have to hit rock bottom before you break free enough (self-preservation) to seek help or else you totally succumb.
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  HBH

  IMO, the short answer is that they believe it. I have not, however, read Captives of a concept, nor Steve Hassan’s book, but from what I have read, I think he would agree.
  I agree on the comments of major cognitive dissidence too. In short, I think they are a group that all have Narcissistic personality disorder, that have a natural ability to manipulate (using propaganda, logical fallacies, etc.) and would deny any reality put before them.
  Chris Hedges has observed the concept that many “people are not moved by facts or reason, but by the skillful manipulation of emotion.” After all, that is the cause of so much of the bad in the world. GB included.
  HBH
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  John Aquila

  CalebInFloroda

  When ideologies began to spin out of control—and they all do, because they are not only destructive to the world around them, they are self-destructive—more than a few members begin to act like they did in Jonestown before that mass murder/suicide at the Guyana commune in 1978.

  Caleb, do you think that the WT is heading in that direction? Especially with all the news coming out.
  
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  Israel Ricky Gonzales

  With their sneaky propaganda that WT promotes, knowing full well their own history, and still printing the exact opposite, as well as the dishonest journalism, the GB and any members of the writing committee know exactly what they are doing. But the concept of "theocratic warfare" allows the JWs to lie and at the same time justify that God is OK with them lying. Once the conscience is seared and numbed, lying becomes routine. pathological liars believe in their own web of tangled lies.
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  Island Man

  "@ calebinFloroda:...your comparisons to imperial Japan, isis and nazism would ring truer if it were not for the governing body/fds conjuring ' new light ' which nullifies their previous ideologically held belief systems. Your comparitive examples strictly held or hold to their ideologies to the death."

  I disagree. "New Light" not withstanding, the JWs do have a core unchanging ideology which may be summarized as this:

  The JW organization is God's organization which one must always be loyal and obedient to. To disagree with or criticize the organization is to disagree with or criticize Jehovah. To leave the organization is to leave Jehovah. Only members of the organization are true christians approved by God. Association with the organization is essential to having God's approval and any valid hope of escaping destruction at Armageddon.

  There might be a few other core, unchanging aspects of the JW theology that I missed, but what I've written above is the essence of it. The "new light" changes are minor secondary teachings that aren't really part of the core ideology of JWism.
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  Vidiot

  TerryWalstrom - "I compare the mind-control to an addiction of substance abuse or alcoholism."

  Feels good, but is actually bad for you, huh?

  Never thought of it that way.
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  Lee Elder

  The expression Ray Franz coined was "victims of victims". Individuals who have a "crisis of conscience" find themselves in a very precarious spot. I stayed for a few years as a "reformer" but eventually it becomes too heavy of a burden. I would guess that most members sincerely believe their own malarkey.
  
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  CalebInFloroda

  @John Aquila

  It's hard to say when and exactly how, but yes. They will come crashing down and hard. They will either self-destruct or push somebody too far that will push them back to their doom or they will assimilate to the point that they will become mainstream like the Worldwide Church of God.

  This whole child sexual abuse problem is "pushing somebody too far," and it might be that the survivors will "push them back" in such a way that the Watchtower cannot recover. I don't know for sure, but if not them someone else will or one of the other two things will happen.
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  CalebInFloroda

  @Island Man

  I gather you are talking to galaxie and not me since you are quoting the words he directed at me? I actually stated the same you did in reply to his comment earlier...
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  galaxie

  @.caleb..@island man...the op asks the question of deliberate deception by the governing body, as the gb consists of more than one person we would have to assume the possibility that all members use deception simultaneously which imo is highly unlikely, or certain members are persuaded or possibly coerced into agreeing that a ' new understanding ' of a previously held belief should be presented to the jws as the spiritual food from jehovah gained through them by means of the holy spirit. It is this second scenario where I believe there is deliberate deception..eg the understanding of ' the generation ' notice the gb aka fds did not change their understanding of matt.24:34 until the realisation that their then teaching ( supposedly gained by jehovahs holy spirit direction ) did not 'add up ' to subsequently then change to a different understanding involves not only wilfully or unknowingly deceiving themselves as a whole or by majority binding decision ( and would we ever know if there was dissent ) but also as a result deceives the so called domestics.

  As for ideologies (bodies or ideas of a group religious or otherwise ) imo there can be no more a fundamental ideology than the whole basis of jws believing that the fds/ gb is directed by jehovahs holy spirit to provide their spiritual nourishment, the fact that they use the deception of ' new light ' to justify their beliefs is built in to the construct of their continuing existence, otherwise they would be a much reduced religion or exist at all to the present. They are imo a religion which exists entirely through deception.

  Best wishes.