It's interesting to speculate about the fact that legal authority may have been removed from the Governing Body
with the intent of protecting them from appearing in court. When they announced that the organization was to be led
by 9 or more different corporations, a long term Bethelite told me about how they cringed at the thought of some of those
old men forced on to a witness stand in court.
The Watchtower depends upon a superstitious fear of opposing "God's Annointed". However, you have to wonder about the
hidden progress of 'apostasy' within the organization. I tend to agree that many long time Bethelites probably are familiar
with Ray Franz's books - as well as the day to day insults to one's intelligence that pass for 'spiritual food' in the organization,
presently. I continue to think that, as with the Soviet Union, the 'rot' in this authoritarian cult likely infects its leadership
more than the common ( eagerly ignorant) masses.
The organization can't be effectively administrated without somebody (s) deliberating over what deception should be fashioned
to conceal the real truth. Some committee has to invent thoughts like 'the Awake is going monthly to emphasize the Bible'
or ' let's dump food service at assemblies and call it unity with our brothers in other nations'. Eventually, this must get corrosive.
Corrosive too, is a sense that any doctrine is malleable - new truth today,maybe old "truth' tomorrow.
Add to this various admissions in the publications and it becomes obvious that someone in the Society still has a working
brain - they fear being 'assimilated' ( YRBK '04) or being viewed as 'mainstream' ( Feb WT). What made you think that, brother?
I can assure you that, people do get 'stuck' in the Society! Just because you've been in Bethel for decades, doesn't mean
you still believe all of it - or even any of it. But what are going to do if you leave? Say good bye to your position? your
"friends" in the "truth"? Your relatives? You don't want to end up like Ed Dunlap, do you? Some of you may have had the
experience of seeing this first hand - after a few drinks ( in vino, veritas) with an old-timer at headquarters. How else do
think some brothers concealed their homosexuality for decades in Bethel?
The danger is, that some event or mistake could suddenly cause these hidden doubts and disbeliefs to surface all at
once - not unlike pulling back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. They can't afford another Ray Franz to emerge - no, not
with the internet in existence! One well paced defector could bring the whole sorry edifice crashing down, with their lawyers
weeping and gnashing their teeth over exposed liabilities. Take notice of the fact that talks given at district assemblies
are carefully monitored, word for word, by brothers appointed by Bethel as monitors. You gotta wonder if some of this
downsizing is also motivated by fears within the leadership who might want to reduce a 'leaky' headcount.
Alternatively, it could simply be a matter of reminding the GB who signs the checks. That's a lot more peaceful
than pushing someone down the stairs or having a kangaroo Judicial Committee DF some stubborn old coot over a weekend.
In any case, I doubt that their continuing diet of platitudes, manifest in their publications , can sustain their facade of unity indefinitely.
That ambiguity tells you that things aren't what they appear to be.
metatron