‘It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.’ (Tom Paine)
It is impossible to say how many Jehovah’s Witnesses profess to believe what they do not believe. All religions must have an element of their memberships which only ‘profess’ belief. But questions that can be looked at are: to what extent is this dissonant mentality produced by Watchtower doctrines, and how far is this encouraged by Watchtower congregational policies?
Armageddon example:
At the start of this 21st Century, here is little question that the dark clouds of Armageddon are further off than they have ever been in the minds of JWs. Yet they still need to transmit a sense of urgency to people about Armageddon to get them into the 'truth'. They feel good about saving people, they enjoy their status of mentor, and they gain respect from the congregation when they bring new ones along at meetings. Knowing that 'if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call nobody will get ready for battle' they, expediently, often exaggerate their own sense of the imminence of Armageddon. They are taught that their personal beliefs are not important, or are at least subordinate, so this expediency does not bother them greatly because they are leading people to the bigger 'truth' as they see it. In this way, truth is displaced by Truth As Paine would have it, this is infidelity, which makes people unhappy.
Would anyone like to give other examples?
philo
"It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions, and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause." [David Hume]