I was thinking last night while working at the bookstore what the essential issue might be that everything else rests upon.
The purpose (they say) of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was from the beginning: HERALDING CHRIST'S PRESENCE.
At first this meant pointing to when Jesus would return and scoop up his faithful into heaven before Armageddon.
This was, you might say, the PRODUCT they were selling to any who would buy it. It was a trip to heaven BEFORE destruction.
Consequently, the efforts of Pastor Russell and his crew of fellow constituents was toward providing support to prop up this PRODUCT.
And we all know what fanciful and often ludicrous ends and means were employed toward that purpose. (The Great Pyramid measurements, bible "chronology", parallelism, etc.)
Whatever problems were faced by the International Bible Students actually stemmed from the abrasive absolutism of their messege. They were not mainstream by any means; yet, they were much closer back then than they are today.
Under the transitional presidency of Judge Rutherford a reshaping of a radical nature changed the messege and the means of the Watchtower. The thrust of what it meant on a day to day basis to be a faithful member of this religion drastically morphed. It was a drumbeat of publicity that was sought to focus on the contrasts between so-called CHRISTENDOM and the "Truth". Rutherford appears to have been a ruthlessly relentless policy maker who pushed the envelope of self-definition by his constant inventions of conceptual identity. Persecution was invited by the chip-on-the-shoulder attitude adopted as a persona by each door to door preacher. The central messege consequently became shrill and harsh and freakish.
"RELIGION IS A SNARE AND A RACKET." That is a pretty broad attack and intended to start an argument.
'MILLIONS NOW LIVING WILL NEVER DIE". That is catchy and smacks of false advertising.
In other words, when the International Bible Students morphed from Christians announcing the Presence of Jesus Christ into Jehovah's Witnesses announcing Jehovah's Kingdom their split personality became manic and masochistic. It was publicity they were seeking!
This craving for publicity was a two-edged sword. Jehovah's Witnesses could be the center of attention inviting the ill-will of otherwise ordinary Christians. When these insulted Christians retaliated the reaction served to prop up their own theories of persecution. This, in turn, by weird logic convinced them they were the True Faith. They would pick a fight and take a blow and point to the "bully" as the aggressor.
I don't see that the Watchtower has changed it's tactics in picking a fight this time.
What is the nature of this religion now?
Jehovah's Witnesses have now become a kind of insular and hermetic society of naysayers trying to shut out modernity like the Muslims. They have radicalized like certain Muslim groups. Their focus and thrust is a diversion, of course, to deflect critics from noticing how much of a shambles their central ideology has proved to be. The new enemy isn't really Christendom anymore; it is the ex-member who blows the whistle on how unclean the skirts are of this confused group of pretenders.
The fundamental purpose of Jehovah's Witnesses today is shutting out reality! They call themselves a latter-day Ark of salvation, but, the Ark has sprung many leaks and it is raining bad publicity in the form of Pedophile issues, blood issues, date-setting issues, shunning issues and elder abuse issues.
There is no reason to expect the average Kingdom Hall publisher has any idea what is REALLY going on at Brooklyn Headquarters anymore than they actually know what is going on in the world at large. All information is CONTROLLED. All viewpoints are CONTROLLED. All opinions are CONTROLLED. All thinking is CONTROLLED.
Everything in the mind of a Jehovah's Witness is filtered through END TIMES thinking! Absolutely every mundane event that would normally occur in day to day life serves to PROVE to be a SIGN of Armageddon. This Pavlovian response triggers more and more effort which drains the individual member's resources, stamina and sense of unreality ever more.
From the standpoint of those governing such a religion it is absolutely vital that no hint of their feckless stewardship find its way into the consciousness of the rank and file publisher!
The Governing Body of the Jehovah's Witnesses is solely dedicated to clamping down on the mind of the membership to keep out even one single ray of light that would illuminate them as to the failure of this religion to benefit any part of mankind.
This religion doesn't even amount to a "feelgood" program of cheerleading and self-praise anymore as much as it is all about instilling fear and uncertainty about losing family members through shunning. Armageddon is the cancer that eats away at the subconscious mind.
Jehovah's Witnesses don't live in Hope; they live in FEAR. It flows from the top down.
This current attempt to litigate away bad publicity is all about FEAR and intimidation.
In its entire history the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has only gotten one thing right. RELIGION IS A SNARE AND A RACKET.......THIS RELIGION!
Terry
