Brooklyn has really developed manipulation into a fine art. An excellent example of this can be found in the December 1. 1995 Issue of the Watchtower in an article with the title “Do not give up”
For many years the Watchtower magazine has addressed the phenomenon and problem that a large number of Jehovah's Witnesses feels extremely inadequate, burned out, disheartened, depressed and pressured. The genius of these articles is that they contain all the necessary information needed to clearly identify the problem, but every time the article with unerring certainty draws the direct opposite conclusion. Instead of providing help for the victims of these emotions it is only a hopeless pretended, mock search for the cause of the problems. Let us take a look at how this is done.
True to style the article do identify the real causes of the problems facing so many of the Jehovah's Witnesses population, but already in the beginning it moves on and proceed to lay out a “smokescreen” by bringing the ever popular Satan into the equation. The mock “search” has commenced:
*** w95 12/1 9 Do Not Give Up! ***
Knowing that his remaining time is short, Satan is exerting ever greater pressure on humans to keep them from serving Jehovah. However, this “roaring lion” is especially interested in preying upon Jehovah’s servants.
What the Watchtower in reality is saying is that yes, all these “serving Jehovah” activity because the time is supposed to be so short is actually causing all the problems for many Jehovah's Witnesses, but somehow it is the Devil who is responsible. Now let us get this straight. Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to put their life on hold, no education, no career, no pursuing of talent in sports, music etc. In short no life. The only thing that matters is pushing Watchtower literature down peoples throats because the “time” is so incredibly short:
*** w95 12/1 11 Do Not Give Up! ***
When We Feel That We Are Not Doing Enough
11 The Kingdom-preaching work plays an important part in the life of a Christian, and sharing in it brings joy. (Psalm 40:8) Some Christians, though, feel very guilty about not being able to do more in the ministry. Such guilt could even erode our joy and cause us to give up, imagining that Jehovah feels that we never do enough. Consider the feelings that some struggle with.
Peddling this literature is called “Kingdom preaching work”. Now let us ask ourselves a question. Why do the average Jehovah's Witness feel guilty about not “doing enough”? Is it Satan that causes this feeling? The quote above suggest that some “Christians” are “imagining” that Jehovah feels that they never do enough. So apparently they feel guilty because of Jehovah, not Satan. It seems as though the Watchtower has identified the main cause of the problems, namely guilt.
What we have to find out next is what causes that guilt or more precisely who is responsible for making people feel guilty if they don’t spend as much time as possible going door to door peddling Watchtower literature?
Let us first take a look at some really twisted reasoning and shrewd manipulation:
*** w95 12/1 11-12 Do Not Give Up! ***
“Do you know how time-consuming poverty is?” wrote one Christian sister who with her husband is raising three children. “I must conserve wherever I can. This means spending time searching through thrift shops, clearance racks, or even sewing clothes. I also spend an hour or two each week working on [discount food] coupons—cutting, filing, and trading them. At times I feel very guilty doing these things, thinking that I should be spending that time out in the field service.”
Here we have an example of a person who has more than enough to deal with in her life already. Instead of worrying about peddling worthless literature, this energy should have been spent of getting some kind of education which would help her out of the grip of poverty. But of course the “time is so short” so she will have to work until she drop. Will the Watchtower Society have any use for her when she stops “distributing magazines”? Will they remember her when she dies old and lonely in poverty? Will Jehovah help her?
Who do you think have put it into her head that the “Kingdom preaching work” is more important than having a decent life? Here is another example:
*** w95 12/1 12 Do Not Give Up! ***
“I thought I must not really love Jehovah enough,” explained a sister with four children and an unbelieving husband. “So I struggled with my serving Jehovah. I tried really hard, but I never felt that it was enough. You see, I didn’t have any feeling of self-worth, so I could not imagine how Jehovah could ever accept my service to him.”
Did you notice that both of these last examples were women? What do you think is the standard set for women in the Watchtower?:
*** w89 5/15 20 Showing Love and Respect as a Wife ***
Likewise today, many of our sisters, married or single, are outstanding missionaries, pioneers, and publishers. At the same time, such godly women keep clean, orderly homes and never neglect their families. Because of their numbers and circumstances, they often do the greater part of the preaching work.—Psalm 68:11.
Do you think this is written by a woman? Do you think the person who wrote it has ever had any experience in being a mother, wife, had any responsibility for children?
As we can see from these quote the consequences of them is obviously a strong feeling of guilt and loss of self worth. Again who and what caused such feelings?
*** w95 12/1 12 Do Not Give Up! ***
A Christian who found it necessary to leave the full-time service said: “I couldn’t stand the idea that I was failing in my commitment to serve Jehovah full-time. You can’t imagine how disappointed I was! I cry now remembering.”
When we look at the 3 quotes from the Watchtower relating the personal effects and emotions of those presumably ordinary rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses, they make it abundantly clear that being a Jehovah's Witnesses isn’t easy but it is downright depressing and extremely difficult for many people. Do you think it help those who are struggling with such problems to read statements like this is the Watchtower?:
*** w69 5/1 272 "Taking Pleasure in the House of My God" ***
Jehovah’s witnesses of today are not guilty of neglecting the house of God. For one thing, they contribute, as they are able, toward the maintenance of their Kingdom Halls and toward the furtherance of the work of preaching the good news of the Kingdom. (Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10) This they do cheerfully, thus showing that they take pleasure in the house of their God, while acting in harmony with Paul’s words: “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Cor. 9:7.
Anyway, the cause for the problems is now thoroughly identified but still the article goes on in it’s mock search:
*** w95 12/1 12-13 Do Not Give Up! ***
12 It is only natural to want to serve Jehovah as fully as possible. (Psalm 86:12) Why, though, do some feel very guilty about not being able to do more? For some, it appears to be related to a general feeling of worthlessness, perhaps resulting from unpleasant experiences in life. In other cases, inappropriate guilt may result from an unrealistic view of what Jehovah expects of us. “I had felt that unless it hurts, you must not be doing enough,” admitted one Christian. As a result, she set excessively high standards for herself—and then felt even guiltier when she was unable to reach them.
Here we are presented with a lot of strange premises. First of all, why is it “natural” to want to serve “Jehovah”? Why do people feel worthless because they can’t distribute Watchtower literature? Can it be because the Bible and the Watchtower tell them they are? Could it be because they hear that over and over again at the meetings? Where do they get the idea of what “Jehovah expect”? Why is it so important for Jehovah, supposedly the greatest being in the universe that his “servants” should live in misery and poverty like these poor people which the Watchtower tell us about? Aren’t we told that Jehovah has all he needs, nothing is impossible for him, why is he dependent upon a two bit puny organization of half wits in Brooklyn to get his “plan” for mankind carried out? Why would he have to make his “chosen” ones life such a living hell? Who is responsible for getting such insane ideas into people’s heads? Could it be something like this:
*** w98 7/15 12 Beware of a Lack of Faith ***
Today, we have God’s complete inspired Word, the Holy Bible. We also have “the faithful and discreet slave,” appointed by Jesus to provide spiritual “food at the proper time.” (Matthew 24:45-47) Thus, God is still speaking. But are we listening? For example, how do we respond to counsel about dress and grooming or choice of entertainment and music? Do we “listen,” that is, pay attention to and obey what is being heard? If we have the habit of making excuses or taking exception to the counsel, we are opening ourselves to the subtle danger of hardening our hearts.***w94 10/1 8 Time is fast running out for this wicked world, and it is imperative for all who want to survive this world’s end to learn what is involved in ‘obeying the good news’ and thus escape destruction. The next time Jehovah’s Witnesses call at your home, why not accept the invitation to have a weekly Bible study? Better yet, why not ask them to study the Bible with you because you want to understand it?”
*** km 4/91 4 Reaping in Proportion to Our Personal Effort ***
14 If we continually measure our personal effort, our worship of Jehovah will never become token service. What does that mean? It means that we will not become halfhearted in complying with God’s will, rendering only an appearance of service to him or a minimum amount without genuine heartfelt devotion and effort. Our service to Jehovah must be wholehearted.
Do you think statements like the ones above will help people like those who lamented their problems further above? Do you think the next quote will make it any better?:
*** w95 12/1 12 Do Not Give Up! ***
13 What does Jehovah expect of us? Put simply, Jehovah expects us to serve him whole-souled, doing what our circumstances allow. (Colossians 3:23) There may, however, be a big difference between what we would like to do and what we realistically can do. We may be limited by such factors as age, health, physical stamina, or family responsibilities. Nevertheless, when we do all we can, we may feel assured that our service to Jehovah is whole-souled—no more and no less whole-souled than that of someone whose health and circumstances allow him to be in the full-time ministry.—Matthew 13:18-23.
When did the Watchtower Society and the Watchtower magazine care about what people “realistically” can do? Why do you think the Watchtower magazine print stories of 80 year old witnesses who walk for a couple of weeks through dangerous countryside, swim crocodile infested rivers to get to an assembly? Is that the kind of realism they want?
*** w95 12/1 12 Do Not Give Up! ***
14 How, then, can you determine what you can realistically expect of yourself? You may wish to talk over the matter with a trusted, mature Christian friend, perhaps an elder or an experienced sister, who knows your abilities, your limitations, and your family responsibilities. (Proverbs 15:22) Remember that in God’s eyes your worth as a person is not measured by how much you do in the field ministry. All of Jehovah’s servants are precious to him. (Haggai 2:7; Malachi 3:16, 17) What you do in the preaching work may be more or less than what others do, but as long as it represents your best, Jehovah is pleased, and there is no need for you to feel guilty.—Galatians 6:4.
Doesn’t this sound great folks? Is there any Jehovah's Witnesses alive that can truly say they are doing ALL they can in the “field ministry”? Why do you think that the people above who’s last worry should be the “field service” was raked by guilt because they didn’t “do enough”? Don’t you think the Watchtower Society know this very well, when they write crap like the quote above?
Then it is time again for the all time, never failing con act. Here we have an organization which probably holds the world record for failed end time predictions, an organization that constantly throughout it’s history screamed “wolf” and always been wrong, pulling up the same worn out sorry cliché for the umpteenth time. Read and weep:
*** w95 12/1 13 Do Not Give Up! ***
Because the End Has Not Yet Come
18 When a runner knows that he is near the end of a long race, he does not give up. His body may be at the limit of its endurance—exhausted, overheated, and dehydrated—but so near to the finish is no time to stop running. Similarly, as Christians we are in a race for the prize of life, and we are very near the finish line. Now is not the time for us to stop running!—Compare 1 Corinthians 9:24; Philippians 2:16; 3:13, 14.
19 Christians in the first century faced a similar situation. About 61 C.E., the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Jerusalem. Time was running out—the wicked “generation,” the apostate Jewish system of things, was about to “pass away.” Especially did the Christians in Jerusalem have to be alert and faithful; they would need to flee from the city when they saw it surrounded by encamped armies. (Luke 21:20-24, 32) Timely, then, was Paul’s inspired advice: ‘Do not get tired and give out in your souls.’ (Hebrews 12:3) The apostle Paul here used two vivid verbs: “get tired” (ka'mno) and “give out” (e•kly'o•mai). According to one Bible scholar, these Greek words were “used by Aristotle of runners who relax and collapse after they have passed the finishing post. The readers [of Paul’s letter] were still in the race. They must not give way prematurely. They must not allow themselves to faint and collapse through weariness. Once again there is the call to perseverance in the face of hardship.”
What can it possibly take to make such idiots learn anything, ever? Here they quote Paul, making his false prophecy a couple of thousand years ago. Predicting an end that never came. In the above quote we can also se an example of a fantastic manipulation of the Bible. The Watchtower actually claim that PAUL wrote the Christians in Jerusalem about the impending doom! Where? Paul and all the other idiots that couldn’t have a life because of the lack of “time” are now dead. In a few years all the idiots in the GB will be dead, and a good number of the idiots who listened to them also. The world will go on as always and new idiots will take the place of the dead ones. Idiots that because of extreme superstition will actually believe that because an old book talk about some doom that was said to be coming “soon” a couple of thousand years ago, is now imminent, again!
In the mean time the old con game continues and new generations of con artists continue to prey upon new generations of idiots, willing to believe whatever they are told as long as it is presumably written in the “Word of God”. Well, now we have identified the source of the guilt and all the troubles of those poor people quoted above, those who shouldn’t “give up”. Have you learned anything, or are you still chasing the rainbow?
Norm.