Just a quick Poll...Do you think the GB is sincere?

by NikL 58 Replies latest jw friends

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  DesirousOfChange

  B. Somewhat sincere. But caught up in the power and money.

  I understand how someone can be a sincere believer. I was. I truly believed it all. But I also saw how being appointed as Elders and appointed to special positions of service, ie, even assigned to giving convention talks also really fueled the egos of many men there. So I can only imagine how it must be when you're on the GB and really, really believe that God is talking via your own lips. What an ego trip these guys must be on. Sure they come across all humble and common like the rest of the flock, but cross them or challenge them or question them and watch the shit it the fan. WTF are you peon? I've seen that in prominent Elders, COs, DOs, Bethel Heavies, etc.

  Still, if all of us here were eventually awakened to TTATT, then surely many of the Head Honchos at Bethel are aware of the Bullshit, too. They can't write this shit and not realize it stinks!

  I hate them for the damage they do to the meek and gullible, and esp the evil they spin towards any learn TTATT and have wasted years or decades of their lives.
  
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  maksutov

  I think they are both sincere and insincere simultaneously. They are intellectually dishonest, and knowingly use falsehoods to convince themselves and others to believe. Thought stoppers and logical fallacies keep the cognitive dissonance in check enough for them to perform the mental gymnastics needed to keep the plates spinning. Being honest would be very uncomfortable, so they just block out the doubts by any means necessary and blame Satan - they are too invested to do anything else.
  
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  stan livedeath

  do they sincerely believe they are gods channel of communication with --who exactly ?
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  Finkelstein

  B. Somewhat sincere. But caught up in the power and money.

  That would be the most accurate in my opinion, I think they are well aware that this organization was founded and grew upon fear mongering commercialism put forth to attract attention to the literature the organization published, which also cultivated power and control toward the top leaders and down.
  

  This game of power and money is supported by the constant reiteration of we are doing this all to appease Jehovah in serving his will and purpose.
  

  Well actually Jehovah wouldn't have a thing to do with false prophesying charlatans exploiting the Gospel of Jesus Christ for money and power but not everyone can see through this pretentious illusion.
  
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  kpop

  My unbiased truthful answer after meeting Gerrit Losche and Mark Sanderson is B: Somewhat Sincere. They may have started out sincere but got jaded by power and money etc.

  
  
  
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  sparky1

  

  I think all religious leaders are 'sincere' in 'their own eyes'. The template was set when the first human declared that they can 'speak for God'.
  
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  slimboyfat

  Depends what you mean by sincere. And I think it varies by individual, and is all relative.

  My take:

  Splane - sincerely convinced, also sincerely full of crap, and very arrogant with it

  Loesch - I have my doubts about him. He may have believed it fully to stsrt with, but now is in too deep to allow himself to deviate from the path, even if he realises it's rubbish

  Morris - perhaps the most likely candidate for insincere hanger on, in my opinion

  Jackson - actually seems quite sincere to me, perhaps the most sincere of the current bunch. He didn't do well at the ARC, but at least he tried

  Sanderson - who knows? Quite young and ambitious. Who knows?

  Lett - this guy is just plain nuts. Who knows what he believes? Does he know? I think yes, I'd put him down as a sincere believer

  Who else is there again? I forget

  Oh yeah Herd

  Herd - I reckon he's a true believer too

  That's my take.

  In historical perspective I reckon the most sincere believer ever on the Governing Body was probably Jack Barr. And the most likely candidates for people who realised it was all nonsense - Nathan Knorr and Lyman Swingle.
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  problemaddict 2

  A - I think they believe they are doing Gods work, and all of their actions are filtered through that premise.
  
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  dubstepped

  I have always held that they're sincere, and probably super zealous, as it is those types that would devote their lives and rise up the ranks. To me they were probably more indoctrinated than anyone.

  Then I see things like that last quote that was taken out of context and deliberately used a certain way in a WT, and it really makes me wonder if those that write or the gb themselves aren't playing some sort of messed up power game.

  So I don't know. I guess I'd go with D. other, as my answer. My heart says totally sincere and delusional, but mu head says what about this or that where it seems like they are leading in a way that almost mocks their followers.
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  ScenicViewer

  C: Completely insincere.

  At one time I thought they were sincere, but Geoffrey Jackson changed my mind when he testified before the Australian Royal Commission.

  He remarked that the Governing Body were simply "Guardians of the Doctrine." Have you ever heard the GB define itself that way? I searched the term 'guardians of doctrine' in the searchable Watchtower CD and got zero hits. I've never heard the term before, nor seen it in the literature.
  

  Yet he said it so easily, as if he has said it before. I have come to believe that it's an inside joke among GB members; they realize they are the entities that Jehovah's Witnesses really worship. The acronym is G.O.Ds.