We could create a mighty list of APOSTATES:
Jesus was an Apostate from Judaism.
C.T.Russell was an Apostate 1st from Scottish Presbyterianism, 2nd from the Congregational church
J.F. Rutherford was an Apostate from Baptist faith
and so on ....
Posts by Terry
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7Nightmare at Beth Sarim
by Terry innightmare at beth sarim(a one-act play)setting: beth sarim is a ten-bedroom mansion in san diego, california.
________curtain riseswe see the figure of j.f.
(the judge) rutherford.
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Terry
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Nightmare at Beth Sarim
by Terry innightmare at beth sarim(a one-act play)setting: beth sarim is a ten-bedroom mansion in san diego, california.
________curtain riseswe see the figure of j.f.
(the judge) rutherford.
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Terry
I have often imagined a convention in which Russell, Rutherford, Knorr, Franz, etc. etc. appear at a round table discussion in the middle of a hall with onlookers from each generation of witnesses observing the debate. in the grandstands.
The BATTLE for the real TRUTH would be advertised on long banners flapping in the breeze.
Rutherford would, of course, win because his personality was tempestuous and overbearing aggression.
But - oh - what a debate it would be. -
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Nightmare at Beth Sarim
by Terry innightmare at beth sarim(a one-act play)setting: beth sarim is a ten-bedroom mansion in san diego, california.
________curtain riseswe see the figure of j.f.
(the judge) rutherford.
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Terry
Nightmare at Beth Sarim
(a one-act play)
Setting: Beth Sarim is a ten-bedroom mansion in San Diego, California
________
Curtain rises
We see the figure of J.F. (the Judge) Rutherford. (Rutherford heads up a Bible & Tract Society).Night has come to Beth Sarim's mansion as President Joe Rutherford (the "Judge") sits cleaning his pistol and sipping whisky from a flask on the edge of his silk sheets at bedtime.
There is a knock at the bedroom door.
____________"Come!" the Judge growls.
The finely polished door creaks open and into his bed chambers steps a newly resurrected Charles Taze Russell with a full beard (minus mustache).
He is naked as a jaybird.
(Russell is the founder of the Publishing Society. After his death, Rutherford inveigled his way to the Presidency, violating the terms of his Last Will and Testament.)Rutherford glances up. Startled, he spills his flask, dropping the pistol to the floor. The gun hits on the cocked hammer and a bullet whizzes through Russell's beard penetrating the oak door jam.
"Great Zion!, what's going on here?" The Judge roars as he woozily tries to leap to his feet.
"Oh, stifle it, Judge. I'm an Ancient Worthy returning to claim the mansion and I want you out now!"
Russell scratches the hole in his beard and saunters over to the chest of drawers next to Rutherford's bed and begins opening drawers."Ah, pajamas!" Russell grins.
"STOP! You...you zombie apparition...I'll have you arrested!"
The Judge screams but suddenly pauses in mid-breath to appraise the figure before him. It dawns on him quickly----the man really is Charley Russell!
Immediately his legs lose strength and he falls back on the bed. The whiskey flask catapults into the air and clunks him on the forehead with a "ping"."Oh, dear Lord...oh dear Lord..." this is terrible...just terrible..."Russell looks on with disdain, shaking his head.
"What's terrible about me returning, Judge? You told everyone at the assemblies the Ancient Worthies would return."
"No, it's not that", Rutherford groans, "I spilled whiskey all over the sheets. It was my last bottle till the new shipment comes in from Canada. Ohhhh ..."
Russell begins tugging on his pajamas one leg at a time.
"What's so bad about that, J.F.?"
"PROHIBITION, that's what's bad about it!
Congress prohibited alcohol 5 years ago. Those idiots made it illegal to buy or manufacture alcoholic beverages!!"
Rutherford sits up and rubs the bump on his head, then, slyly grins at the sight of Charles Taze Russell wearing his polka dot silk pajamas."You think I'm funny? I'm looking at an alcoholic so-called Saint. Now that's funny."
The Judge curls his lip."Heh heh, you are one scrawny sumbitch and ye always looked anemic to me." (His smile fades.) "Say, why don't you have a Perfect Body? Yer resurrected, aren't ye?"
Russell finds a chair near the bed and scoots it across the fine Turkish carpet and seats himself next to Rutherford's bed, and sits knee to knee.
"Judge, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy".
"Huh?" The Judge is taken aback.
"Shakespeare...I'd have thought a college boy would know it."
Russell begins absent-mindedly weaving the hairs of his beard into little Hassidic braids and then unwinding them as he speaks."Rutherford, listen to me. I speak in the name of our Lord as his Faithful and Wise Servant...."
The Judge interrupts."No, now just hold on a second. That's not kosher anymore. We changed all that. You aren't the mouthpiece of Jah---I AM!"
Russell glares and stands up looking down at Rutherford's bald pate.
He points a bony finger in his eye."You sir---are a common thief! You were NOT designated to take over the corporation in my will!! You are not my APPOINTED successor. By what right do you make any changes?"
The old voice is shrill and raspy and the eyes bulging from their watery sockets.Rutherford jumps to his feet and pushes the bony finger aside and walks past Russell to the doorway. He opens the door and points to the empty space in the hallway.
"Get out you grey-beard loony!"
Russell doesn't budge.He smiles and sits down on the whiskey flask- flinches- pulls it out of his behind and tosses it at Rutherford.
Rutherford closes the door calmly and sits in the chair where Russell had been sitting. He realizes the old man is not going to be bluffed by bluster.
"Now look, Charley, what I did was a sharp LEGAL and pretty damned clever move. I pulled a finesse. I razzled and dazzled.
Do you know what legal finesse is?
(Russell stares motionless). "I'll tell you what it is....it is an indication that I'm the one with the brains to get this religion into the mainstream on a paying basis. We've pretty much used up your personal fortune. Now it is time for the brethren to give back. I've given them work to do that generates some real cash flow!"Russell lies back on the cushy swan's down pillow and crosses his ankles staring up at the canopy over the bed. He purses his lips and then turns his head toward Rutherford.
"Racketeer would be more accurate than a thief.
You are a racketeer, Joe. I sent you away - remember? I gave you a loan so you could start your own law firm in Los Angeles.
You want to make a beautiful bunch of Bible Students into a racket---what did you call it? Ah yes, a 'mainstream" religious sect. Why? Why would you destroy my work like this? Just for the money?"Rutherford stands up and his eyes grow very large. He holds his index finger aloft and shouts, "Bingo!"
He climbs up on the chair and reaches into the light fixture. Pulling out a small flask of whiskey he yanks the cork and chugs back a gulp. "Ahhh."
"Now, what were you blathering about, Russell? I'm a what? A crook? A Racketeer? Pot calling the kettle black, if you ask me."He climbs down off the chair and takes another hit from the whiskey and replaces the cork.
"Follow me, old man!"
Rutherford exits the bedroom without looking back.
_______The two men reach the bottom of the stairs and Rutherford gestures broadly to Russell.
"You see all this? It isn't for you as an Ancient Worthy.
It is really for me. The boys at Bethel wanted to get me out of their hair. Why? Because I'm tough and foul-mouthed? No, because I don't put up with crap like YOU DID! You let your own wife make a fool out of you!"Rutherford leads Russell throughout the mansion stopping now and again to point out the valuables, antiques, carpets, silverware, and crystals as he speaks. Russell peers approvingly each time and nods in appreciation. His mind is busy working quietly.
"Pastor, you poured a King's Ransom into the Bible Students and what good did it do? No, don't answer--I'll tell you. You fed a lot of people a load of pyramid crap and nothing more. But, you did do one thing right. You got people busy. Busy Christians are valuable as an asset to the corporation".
They stroll into the garden area and the men pause in front of the various floral groups and hedges as they chat.
"Now Pastor, it doesn't really matter much that you got them all excited for nothing---I mean, Armageddon didn't come in 1874, did it? In 1914, did it? You thought it would and even insisted God told you it would--don't deny it! Do you know what year it is now?"
Russell shrugs. "Last time I glanced at the calendar - it was ... October, I916."
"Hahaha. No, you bewhiskered old pastor---it is 1929, You've been dead NINE years! And, guess what? There is STILL NO ARMAGEDDON! The Stock Market just crashed. And yet - somehow you managed to crawl out of your grave?? How?"
Russell, truly bewildered, begins to weep but no water comes out of his eyes. He sighs and shrugs.
"That cannot be true, Judge. It cannot be true. I am alive! That means the resurrection has happened if I was dead. No Armageddon? How?"
Rutherford motions for him to sit on a concrete bench in front of a flowing fountain. The evening air is turning brisk in Southern California. The stars begin to show in a clear sky. Somewhere a dog begins yapping at a noisy neighbor.
"Sit here, Pastor. Here, have a snort of rye whiskey. It will put whiskers on your balls!"
Russell turns his head disgustedly. He is a Pilgrim Puritan through and through.
"Fine, more for me then." Rutherford takes a slug of rye and wipes his lips.
"Here is how the cow eats the cabbage. Listen up and be quiet."
Rutherford stands and begins an impromptu lecture, as though he were in front of a jury of tired old businessmen."Your money is the only thing that carried you as far as you went, Pastor Charles. That money - and your wife, Maria! Without her writing, editing, and charisma - how far would you have gone? She exposed you as a phony and everything went downhill. All those lawsuits!"
Russell gives him a poisonous look and grunts in disgust.
"Stings you to hear it? Well, it is true. It was Maria who came up with the doctrine of Faithful and Wise Servant and she applied it to you. It is what made you a Brand Name if you will. You became the Mouthpiece of the Lord. Your money, your publishing company, and your colporteurs advertised the Pyramid nonsense and made it work. Ya got people all stirred up expecting dates that disproved everything. Don't deny it."
Russell opens his mouth to protest, thinks the better of it, and motions for Rutherford to finish with a wave of his hand.
"People love END TIMES. It is deliciously exciting.
They get themselves all in a lather about the coming of the Lord. Ya know why? I"ll tell you and you know in your heart it is true. People love to get worked up over the Armageddon business because it is the only damned thing that can make them actually FEEL something - even though it's FEAR."Russell leaps to his feet in a self-righteous zeal,
"Stop that blasphemy you contemptible cur! Don't speak about our Lord's revealed word in such a venal tone! He will strike you dead on the spot!"Rutherford makes a mocking face and smiles, "Okay, Strike me down now, Lord----if you are up there--out there, over there----umm, where exactly is the Lord this evening, Pastor?"
Russell pulls himself up to full height and tilts his head back in disdain.
"MY Lord is watching you and weighing every word that falls from your blasphemous lips. You have been weighed in the balance and found lacking!"Judge Rutherford pulls back his smoking jacket and points to his cummerbund with the holster.
"See this pistol, Pastor, that is the only word of the Lord that can speak around here."Russell points to the empty holster. "As empty as your soul."
"Oh!" The Judge mutters with surprise. "I forgot I wounded your beard with it. Sorry about that. You startled me."
_______Russell beckons for the Judge to sit beside him in a gazebo near the center of the flowered walkway. The Pastor speaks quietly building up a head of steam as he goes.
_________"I sincerely believed every word I wrote or spoke in my lifetime. You wouldn't understand that, would you? No, you are a lawyer. A lawyer is all about getting a thing done regardless of it being right or wrong. A judge, in fact, is the one who decides what is right and wrong--does he not? You speak it---and it is now a legal truth. That has obviously become a habit in your thinking. Well, showing off doesn't make you anything but a lout."
Rutherford burps.
Russell continues..."Judge, you are an ambitious and ruthless fellow who saw a good thing with certain potential and you found a ... for want of a better word..." legal" way of stealing it. Yes, I said STEALING. I specified in my will who should succeed me and you invalidated my wishes. The corporation was mine, bought with my money and hard work---and you have destroyed my life's creation."
Rutherford sneers at this.
"Ho ho ho, I see you admit it is YOUR creation and none of the Lord's doing. Nothing you predicted was true."Russell turns defiantly.
"Nobody knows - okay? But William Miller and I turned a spotlight on the arrival of our Master. The Lord used me as his instrument to prepare the way for his Kingdom. I prepared people and made certain their attention was on His coming. I pointed the way like John the Baptist did for Christ the first time around.""Ha!"
Rutherford spits the words out of his mouth along with a sip of whiskey.
"Ha! You were wrong about everything you thought you were CERTAIN about and you were right about absolutely nothing. You said 1914 was not the beginning of the end - but the END. Armageddon. That World War in Europe only momentarily made you look plausible."Russell, aghast, can only shake his head painfully. He knows nothing about a World War or its end in Armistice.
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A chill flows through the garden and the gazebo begins to move slightly as a breeze catches the leaves and flowers. Rutherford continues.
_____
"You sponsored the most convincing fanatics with their charts, timelines, chronologies and then copied what you liked and peddled it along with pyramidology. Do you know why? Well, I do. It was because your Mother coddled you too much. She filled your head with Presbyterian Hellfire fears! Right? She then died burning up with a fever and it marked you for life!
Your father's business success taught you how to organize people to work for you. SELLING - SELLING- always selling the "No Hell" brand of Adventist razzle-dazzle."______
Russell is shivering in the cold now, half-distracted.
He sticks out his lower lip and reaches for Rutherford's whiskey bottle.
The Judge passes it approvingly to the old Pastor and watches with a fatherly smile as the old man chokes down a warm glow of Prohibition Booze.
______"You didn't know my mother. She'd had so many miscarried babies and finally - me. Sure, she was over-protective. But it was Victorian times and children were reared strictly as possible. I couldn't swallow Presbyterian hell. I turned Congregational and finally gave up on the Bible for a long while. But the Adventists knew something worth checking out. Sure I paid money for their teachings. I published them. I listened, learned, and took the best of what they offered. Why shouldn't I follow my heart in the matter?"
_____Rutherford takes the bottle back and corks it.
"You smuggled that Pyramid horse dung into all of it. Tomfoolery is sold as God's witness in stone. Shame on you!"
He pauses to gaze up at the night sky that looks now like spilled talcum powder on a black suit. Shaking his head to clear it, he continues in a moderate tone of assured confidence.
_____"You built religion with a Jesus who didn't scare you . The invisible Jesus who rules now is a real twist of genius. But, you fumbled it badly Pastor, you really dropped the ball. You became convinced by that Wife of yours that your writings were
the whispers of God.You didn't know any more than anybody else did. Faithful and Wise Servant was her idea and when you allowed it - you lost your soul."
Russell stood shaking his head miserably."Oh stifle, Judge. Just stifle." The pastor replied meekly. His face was troubled and drawn.
"Ha! Maria figured you out pretty quick. You were not a husband in the bedroom with her and she caught you with that young girl---your adopted daughter--what was the name?"
"Rose Ball. That was Paternal love. That was evil rumor and nothing more."
"Right, Pastor, and I'm not a drunken Judge either. But, I digress ... your mismanagement of the Miracle Wheat fiasco brought you into court and exposed you as a phony scholar on the witness stand. You were unable to read simple Greek sentences - you blew your authenticity. You lost a lot of those Bible Students, right?"
"Well," the Pastor began, "the Lord saw fit to take me unto him. I am resurrected. That must mean something!"
"What?" Rutherford looked mockingly quizzical. "Is this place heaven and am I the Lord?"
"I - I," the Pastor halted. "I... I just don't know."
Rutherford beamed brightly.
"You never did 'Know', you old poseur. You just THOUGHT you knew."
_____The two men slowly rose and walked back into the house out of the night air. They settle in at the vast kitchen area at the dining table. Rutherford pours them each a thick shot glass full of rye and they begin smoking long cigars from Cuba.
Thoughtfully, Russell begins to muse...
"Yes, I was convinced the Lord was speaking directly through me as his mouthpiece. It was the look in the eyes of the brethren when I met with them and spoke to them face to face. They looked at me AS THOUGH the Lord were speaking through me. Do you know what that feels like to a man like me? IT IS EVERYTHING!" He cooed wonderingly.Rutherford snorts dismissively.
"Oh, I see that myself. Those people are idiots. I'd rather do what Machiavelli said. "I'd rather be feared and obeyed than loved." It works better than your method. I wear a pistol and I have bodyguards. I have a chauffeur and a flask of whisky. Do you know who my enemies are? The big-shots with all the fame, glory, and money. I put myself right up there on their level ...You know how? I put myself HIGHER MORALLY than they are. I condemn them! It works, Pastor, it works. They fear me and hate me. I wear the badge of Faithful and Wise Sheriff."Russell shakes his head and tugs his beard causing the few braids to fall out.
"It's all about you, then, Judge? The Lord is nowhere to be found?"Rutherford looks straight into Pastor Russell's watery eyes.
"It is all about POWER!
I'm working on a brand name to top the current bestsellers: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic - no - my idea is better. You have to have a brand name, you see, to advertise and promote your goods. I want people to fear the LORD HIMSELF. I'll have to demote Jesus from the number one spot, of course.""Disgusting!" Russell frowns and closes his eyes in pain. He rubs his temples and heaves a long sigh.
"My new brand name will be revealed eventually when I work out the kinks in the theology of it all. It will contain the divine name. A real attention-getter. We'll get lots of publicity each time our side doesn't salute a flag, don't say the pledge, don't celebrate a birthday, don't go for Christmas and Easter, or serve in the armed forces. We'll get free publicity everywhere because...we'll make everybody mad, we'll be mistreated, arrested, jailed. That will prove to the world we are persecuted for our faith."
Russell can stand no more. He jumps up and pushes the dining chair back away from the table.
"You must be stopped, Judge. You are dangerous. You've wrecked everything I ever stood for. I'm going to stop you."
______
Rutherford scowls craftily and beckons for Russell to follow. They climb the stairs. Re-entering the bedroom, Rutherford reaches down on the floor and picks up his pistol. He checks the cylinder to determine how many bullets remain.
______"Pastor Russell, I misjudged you. Which is ironic for a man called JUDGE, is it not?"
Rutherford chuckles out loud having a good laugh, then continues."I buried you and your faithful and wise servant image. We're in the process of scuttling the Great Pyramid teachings. We are replacing your work with a real campaign of door-to-door work that will bring Christendom to its knees. Paradise and Heaven are the CARROT and Armageddon is the STICK. When the brethren get sluggish or backslide I'll pull out the stick you used inadvertently: DATE SETTING! That will shock and scare them back to the fold. When the date comes and goes without anything happening---well, I'll do what you always did: I'll be humble and show how eager we were for Christ's promises to come now. I'll even turn it back on them if they get surly about it. A certain amount of turnover is to be expected in every business...um, I mean, Religion."
Russell, aghast, reaches for the telephone...but, Rutherford points the pistol at his face and shakes his head from side to side menacingly.
"I wouldn't do that, Pastor. You only live twice, you know."Russell decides the Judge is bluffing and picks up the receiver anyway.
"Last chance, Pastor, I mean it. I don't know how you came back to life or why you are here, but, I can't let you stop my success from happening. I'm a mover and a shaker and things are starting to move. People will believe ANYTHING you tell them if you put fear behind it."
Russell turns to leave.
"I can't listen to any more of this. You are obviously quite insane."As Russell reaches the door, the sound of three loud blasts shakes the windows and echoes against the wood paneling. Russell falls to the floor with a loud thump and groans once ... then twice ... and a death rattle brings only silence.
Rutherford watches impassively as the gun smoke swirls in curlicues around him. He reaches for the tug cord and summons the help. Perhaps his chauffeur can lift this old man into a gunny sack and dump him in the Pacific Ocean before sunrise. After all, it wasn't murder per se. You can't be convicted of killing an already dead man.
Rutherford takes another long swig on the bottle and lays down on the bed to rest for a moment as the sound of footsteps running up the stairs is heard.
"Sir? Sir? Judge, sir? You rang for me, sir?"
The voice wakes Rutherford from a deep and troubled slumber."Huh, the hell you say?" Rutherford's eyes open like a newly born kitten.
"What are you blubbering about?""Sir, you summoned me. Did you have another of your nightmares sir? If I might caution you, sir, Homemade booze has poisoned many people. It is in the papers. Really, sir, you should be more careful. Wait for the shipment to come in from Canada."
Rutherford pushes the man away. "Remove the body, will you? Before sunrise?"
"What body, sir?"
The two men stand for a long while - each staring at an empty spot on the floor.
Rutherford swallows hard and stares at the bootleg moonshine and tosses the bottle out of the window.
"Nevermind. My daddy used to warn me about a guilty conscience when I was a boy. He said to me these words.
"There is a destiny that makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. What we send into the lives of others will come back into our own."
Bootleg hooch just kicked me in the ass."
Curtain falls
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New Discovery at Mt. Ebal: the earliest historical instance of the name of God
by Terry in.
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https://youtu.be/guzbxzdpflo.
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Terry
The only "exciting" part (for Theologians) is that this paleographic document is the EARLIEST provable
writing pre-dating what was thought feasible.
Ho-hum for the rest of us.
The Tower will go bananas celebrating (probably) -
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New Discovery at Mt. Ebal: the earliest historical instance of the name of God
by Terry in.
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https://youtu.be/guzbxzdpflo.
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Ants and Jehovah's Witnesses: The Elite Death Spiral
by Terry inwhat creates an elite death spiral?claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others french élite "selection, choice," "chosen person" define the term privilege.
“rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"question: how are the privileges of the elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?special knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.prophet: "person who speaks for god; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events," test of a claim of special knowledge: what is it?.
conditions: 1. completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. both parties follow the rules2.
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Terry
I can actually remember quite clearly the very first time I heard about "invisible" Jesus and "every eye shall see him" meaning with the "mind's eye." Like all the other stuff I pushed back against again and again - it left my teachers resilient and patient with such protests. I was the frog on low heat (turned up gradually) and
after a while, it begins to normalize - like absorbing a second language.
The socializing places you in a crucible and it all melts together: new friends, jovial atmosphere, love bombing, inside information, drip drop drip drop.
Tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth. -
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Ants and Jehovah's Witnesses: The Elite Death Spiral
by Terry inwhat creates an elite death spiral?claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others french élite "selection, choice," "chosen person" define the term privilege.
“rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"question: how are the privileges of the elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?special knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.prophet: "person who speaks for god; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events," test of a claim of special knowledge: what is it?.
conditions: 1. completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. both parties follow the rules2.
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Terry
WATCHTOWER is comprised of addicts and the addiction is END TIMES CHRONOLOGY.
No matter how often they are proved wrong there is the nagging suggestion of imminent, impending doom to replace the certainty.
World Events have ALWAYS been critical times hard to deal with and the orgasm of deliverance is
coitus interruptus on steroids. "Almost ...almost ...here it comes ....almost...edging ever on the cusp of...of ..."
Nada.
A MAGIC TRICK consists of misdirection by instruction and the hidden subterfuge just out of sight.
The Death Spiral began in 1874 with the idea of invisible Jesus.
That path was recrossed in 1914 and the circle was completed others were treading since William Miller's folly in 1843/44.
1925 circled around the circuit covering the same spiral once more and so on and so on and so on....
The weak ones fall away. Who needs em?
The strong ones make excuses. "Hang in there."
The PIMO hangs tight, treading water while circling the drain in Jehovah's bathtub faster and faster
slowly figuring out that the OVERLAPPING generation is the Death Spiral itself.
Once you go down the drain (Matrix-like) you are FREE and re-enter the world of reality which--while not a paradise - is at least REAL.
EX-J-DUBS have their own spiral, however, starting from scratch and they end up here searching for answers.
EX-J-DUBS either join a mainstream church or become disillusioned semi-atheists. Others become activists of every description (ANGRY, BORING, NATTERING, or sometimes truly effective) but activism easily becomes just another spiral of addiction to being right and lecturing others about "the Truth" about the truth.
It is very rare for an EX-J-DUB to become a healthy and free member of Society undamaged psychologically and a burnt-out cynic thinking there is no "there" there - anywhere.
Some make it. The few. The very few.
Mental health is hard to come by in an age of Covid, Wokeness, and chaotic economic times.
That's where the GB really shines! They "know" the way out. (**SPOILER ALERT**) they're lying :) -
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Ants and Jehovah's Witnesses: The Elite Death Spiral
by Terry inwhat creates an elite death spiral?claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others french élite "selection, choice," "chosen person" define the term privilege.
“rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"question: how are the privileges of the elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?special knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.prophet: "person who speaks for god; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events," test of a claim of special knowledge: what is it?.
conditions: 1. completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. both parties follow the rules2.
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Terry
I was tempted to add a clip from YouTube of Muslims circling the Kaaba but thought the better of it.
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Ants and Jehovah's Witnesses: The Elite Death Spiral
by Terry inwhat creates an elite death spiral?claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others french élite "selection, choice," "chosen person" define the term privilege.
“rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"question: how are the privileges of the elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?special knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.prophet: "person who speaks for god; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events," test of a claim of special knowledge: what is it?.
conditions: 1. completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. both parties follow the rules2.
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Terry
What creates an ELITE DEATH SPIRAL?
Claiming special privileges by virtue of having been selected among others
French élite "selection, choice," "chosen person"
DEFINE the term PRIVILEGE“Rights and priorities over and above others” advantage granted, special right or favor granted to a person or group, a right, immunity, benefit, or advantage enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals"
QUESTION: How are the privileges of the Elite conferred and by what right are they exercised over others?
Special Knowledge (insight into useful secrets and abilities unknown and unavailable to others).
Oracle: "a message from a god expressed by divine inspiration through a priest or priestess," in answer to a human inquiry, usually respecting some future event.
Prophet: "person who speaks for God; one who foretells, inspired preacher," "the function of a prophet; inspired utterance; the prediction of future events,"
TEST of a claim of Special Knowledge: WHAT IS IT?Conditions:
1. Completeness: a. both parties must be honest b. Both parties follow the rules
2. Soundness: requires that the claim itself is true (minimizing the chances of a false claim)
3. Zero-knowledge: If proving a statement requires that the prover possesses some secret information, then the verifier will not be able to prove the statement to anyone else without also possessing the secret information.
TEST of “special” knowledge in a particular case
CLAIM: A Stock Market Analyst claiming 100 percent accuracy in predicting the rise or fall of particular stocks offers his services for a fee of one million dollars to all takers.
TEST: The Analyst offers the following proof of his special insight and accuracy. In four consecutive quarters, he will predict the rise or fall of pre-selected stocks.
The actual outcome at the end of the four quarters will attest or falsified to his claim.
RESULT:
One year later, 250 clients sign on for a fee of one million dollars.
Note: By the end of the next four quarters, only five clients remain.
Deep Dive Analysis: What Happened and Why?
The Stock Analyst mailed out prospective brochures to (ten thousand) extremely wealthy investors with an offer of his service and a proposed Test of his claims.
The “Analyst” selected four stocks for appraisal.
What the prospects did not know was his methodology.
For HALF predicted “UP” and for the other half he predicted “DOWN”
The group with resulting wrong predictions was dropped from his offer, leaving the half with correct predictions (i.e. guesses) for the second quarter test.
This procedure continued each quarter. Half dropped (wrong guesses) and half retained (correct guesses).STRATEGY?
The Analyst only knew one thing worth knowing: people are easily fooled when they don’t know the WHOLE story behind a claim of special knowledge because they have ZERO KNOWLEDGE of the strategy employed in the Game being played.
The one making a claim of special knowledge does not need to be concerned about the failures indicated by tested results. Why? The ones who remain (True Believers) will always offset the losses of the (shattered belief) ones falling away (as measured by profits made measured against losses).
Further, the core of True Believers can be used as references to bolster claims of Special Knowledge for the next group of prospective clients.
(Note: Did he ever outright LIE? No.)
Those who fall away (disabused of the falsified claims) must be treated as crackpots and dangerous enemies or they pose a danger to new converts to the services offered.
True Believers reinforce and double down because they have profited (they think) by association with the Analyst (good guesser but - not -really an oracle).
ORACLES are the oldest category of Con-Men, grifters, Priests, Shaman, Witch Doctors in history by use of magic (mere tricks and not real powers). By a mixture of Fear (warnings of impending doom) and rewards (forgiveness, paradise soon to come) they have remained an important part of historic institutions of Kings, Pharoahs, Czars, Presidents, since time immemorial.
TV MINISTERS
Kenneth Copeland is the highest-paid pastor in the world. With an estimated net worth of $300 million ($300,000,000)
Copeland teaches the Prosperity Gospel. He attracts a mix of very wealthy congregants and poor as well. Using the Strategy of the Analyst (above) he doesn’t concern himself with those who fall away bankrupt because the True Believers (who attribute their prosperity to Copeland) are believable supporters with enthusiastic “proof” for prospective incoming replacements. Those who fall away (apostates) are seen as demonic antagonists and shunned and vilified). No rain on his parade permitted!
PROTECTION RACKET and DIVINE HEALERS
Rome was a mighty empire lasting over a thousand years. Its collective success served as a model for future Crime Syndicates and Organizations.
Here is how it works.
A country, territory, or province can ‘sign on’ with Rome as a client.
Rome will offer their vast army as protection. The client will be allowed to run its daily affairs as before with its own rulers as it pleases BUT a tax will be levied and paid. If any enemy attacks them - Rome will answer on their behalf.
FEAR is instilled followed by an offer of PROTECTION from consequences.
Compare the following instances of this racket throughout history.
Witch Doctor offers protection (for a fee) against unseen diabolical curses and demonic forces. Superstition and ignorance instill the belief (ramped up by the Witch Doctor’s claims of curses and demons). A side business providing amulets, good luck charms, potions, and elixirs ( meaningless rituals) are prescribed in turn. A false sense of protection (Placebo) provides a sense of security and peace of mind in return.
Priests act as a go-between; first terrifying a population with threats by a tribal deity and then offering a solution (sacrifices) administered by the Priests. (Note: Priests themselves kept the sacrifices as payment and/or collected a token fee for their services.) In other instances,
Pronouncements of curses, detection of Sins required Priests to “officiate” rituals for payment. The more sins listed, the more rituals and payments are required. In Catholic Churches, hellfire threats could be thwarted by rituals and contributions. Confessions by politicians and kings could be sold or passed along to merit favors as inside information (and a contribution offering). An imaginary place BETWEEN Heaven and Hell, called Limbo, offered an opportunity for profit for Priests. A wealthy client with a loved one who died could be told a money offering would budge them out of Limbo into Paradise. Indulgences were granted for sins for cash as well.
HEALERS claiming DIVINE power manipulates public perception through selective demonstrations of fraudulent efficacy. Benny Hinn Ministry offers divine healing + Prosperity Gospel doctrine.
His ministry takes in $100 million a year. The IRS raided his offices and his financial records were confiscated..
In an interview Hinn stated:
“You cannot fool all the people all the time, right? ... "I will tell you this. I think that if I was fooling the people over 35 years of it now, I would be caught already fooling them."
Hinn is aware True Believers have made a bargain in their consciences already: no failure on the part of God is possible. What ‘appears” to be a failure is the fault of the individual in lacking Faith.”
In other words, the Protection Racket relies on an untestable foundationTHE LAW
A great opportunity for extorted wealth can be found inside The Law by elite practitioners who serve as mediators between guilty or accused persons who don’t understand how to navigate a deliberately complexified priesthood called The Law.
Look inside any institution or religion and locate its LAWS of do’s and don’s and a need for a Mediator immediately appears.
For a fee or servitude, the Mediator extracts payment and the fear of prosecution or damnation can be negotiated.
Appointments of Judges is particularly relevant. Fortunes hang in the balance when going before a magistrate who holds your fate in his hands.
Most people are unaware that judges do NOT need any acquaintance with Law in the following instance:
POLITICS
Legislatures create laws and legislators can be influenced by money. In America, contributions have been officially terms “free speech.” Billionaires speak very loud and often in this regard.
Legislation, in effect, can make or break Billionaires.
Is it any wonder that as many as 8 out of 10 politicians are attorneys?DOOMSDAY RELIGIONS
All major world religions parlay doomsday warnings because nothing motivates a flock to remain inside the fence better than the FEAR of divine wrath.
Predicting exact dates - it would logically appear - would weed out the false prophets. However, logic and rational thinking is far removed. First we must take a look at the mind of a True Believer and a psychological phenomenon called COGNITIVE DISSONANCE.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE defined:
A good way to understand what happens to a True Believer when he’s proved wrong is to think of the ants in a Death Spiral. Simply described, a Death Spiral is when a colony of ants unwittingly crosses its own path and ends up going in a circle - and cannot escape! They continue until dead from exhaustion.
First off, Ants excrete a hormone from their feet that other ants can detect and follow. Yes! That’s what they do.
A scout goes out and wanders and searches for a food source and returns to the colony using his stinky footprints.
“Hey everybody! I found chocolate cake - come on - let’s go get it!”
But sometimes an ant will cross his own footsteps (when he wandered about searching) and ends up circling into an endless loop (taking the whole colony) on a futile and confidant march toward chocolate cake that ends up destroying the colony through sheer determination and the inability to admit no progress is being made.
Such confidence, determination, and energy will work against them.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE is like that.
What you think you know and truly believe is thwarted by disproof you simply cannot accept.
1. I believe there is X.
2. I believe I should follow this path to X.
3. It is taking longer than I thought - but - God is faithful.
Rinse and Repeat.
Naturally, in the hands of a CULT, such faithful madness is exploited for gain. If True-Believers give up and fall out of the Death Spiral they are labeled as Weak of Faith and even Opposers of God.
If a Cult Religion loses members to Reality it is not counted as a Loss but as proof that prophecy is right: in the last days many will fall away.
Warnings are ignored. The circular march continues.
ELITE who play the game of the PROTECtiON RACKET
1. All prophecy and hypotheses can be tested: does the predicted event come to pass or does it fail?
2. Do the Elite who made the prediction own up to failure and apologize or do they deny and deflect and denounce nay saying?
3. Is FEAR peddled to quiet dissent?
4. Special Claims of special knowledge and abilities denied to others is only as good as its predictions.
5. Intellectual honesty begins and ends by the willingness to accept evidence - even when it disproves your most cherished belief.
6. Cognitive Dissonance means holding 2 contradictory thoughts in your mind at the same time and not allowing the correct conclusion to be acted upon.
7. Look at all those other ants - we can’t ALL BE WRONG!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2HMoznzEo -
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BEHIND the DOOR
by Terry inbehind the doorshe was a small girl wearing an old-fashioned bonnet.
like something out of a victorian painting.
her eyes were cast downward as she spoke to the psychologist; sometimes glancing at the scribbles the doctor made in response to certain words.behind her, in the hall, a tall, stout policeman near retirement age leaned in to catch what the girl was saying.
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Terry
You're welcome; thank you for reading it.
