Hi Undercover,
First of all, sorry for the long post. I wanted to make sure I hit as many of your questions as possible.
Wow. It sounds like you are seeing some of the sad realities of the Watchtower. It sounds like you have many family members and friends in the organization, and if you leave you will experience extreme isolation and pain. For that I am sorry.
I personally am a Conservative Christian and have never been a JW, but I have friends who are JW's. I've read alot, talked to some Ministerial Servants and Elders, etc.
After coming under fire from all of them, and digging through the muck that they tried to drag me through for questioning, I have some words that may help you out.
for your first series of questions beginning with, "does the GB really believe they are God's human channel for all of mankind to learn about his kingdom", I would say the answer is two, or even three-fold. Some of them I guess, yes do believe that they are the only channel of communication between God and the rest of humanity.
Others believe that they are absolutely NOT that channel, but are too deeply entrenched in the organization that they just can't leave. Keep in mind that most GB members are past 70 years of age (some even over 90 years of age!) and have no where else to go. They have spent so many years in the organization, it's been their whole life.
And finally I think some know that it is not the truth, but enjoy the political power too much to leave it. What Randy says (he's the one that runs www.freeminds.org, and lived at Bethel for several years) is that most of the GB members were, for the most part, honest men, but enjoyed playing the political games. Mr. Franz seems to somewhat agree in his book, "Crisis of Conscience".
The GB members obviously do enjoy the power that they experience. Think about the possibilities: if the GB makes a decision, millions of lives will be affected by it. And those millions of people have no choice but to follow suit, lest they be disfellowshipped. Then if the GB comes under fire for it, all they have to say is that their decision was based on the actions of the Holy Spirit, so they have no accountabilty nor responsibility. It's a perfect power setup!!
In my discussions with a Ministerial Servant, I found that in the past few years the org. has undergone a re-organization, shifting some duties from the GB to other groups. I got the feeling that this was an effort to make the GB even more secrative, and out of the the view of the public,and the rest of the "flock". I'm not sure if that rings a bell with you, or if you heard of any kind of a re-organization. That's just what he was telling me.
Next you asked, "The thing about committing yourself to the fact that the WTBS may not be God's organization is if they are not, then who is? Or is there an earthly organiztion at all?"
There actually is no single earthly organization. If you read the scriptures without the Watchtower's influence, you will find that Jesus Christ did not come to start a new religion or organization. He came to spread the Gospel, or "Good News". You will notice that the Pharasees were the leaders of organized religion, and Jesus did not have kind words for them. Now obviously we are going to have organized religion to some degree. Organized religion in itself is not necessarily, inherently, bad. It is just limited in what good it can accomplish. The best thing that organized religion can do is help people get connected in community with eachother, and to provide some gentle shepharding. Organized religion goes bad when it tells you to put the organization ahead of your 1-on-1 relationship with GOD and people, and begins to manipulate.
There is this term in the JW community, "...in good standing". What does that mean? It refers to your status in the organization. It means that if you are in "good standing" the organization sees you as being "good", and a healthy influence. The confusion here is that they are equating the way the organzation views you as being the same way that GOD views you. To the contrary, "Judgement is mine," says the Lord. An earthly, human organization is wrong by judging you this way. Now Paul did say that members could be told to leave the congregation if wrong doing continued, but this was meant for extreme, gross, unrepentant sin. This is vastly different than the way the WT handles it's discipline. But to answer your question, the entire Bible was written to ALL people, and the Holy Spirit can speak to ANYONE, not just the handful of the 144,000. So when it comes to there being an earthly organization, the WT tells you there is only one. This is clearly a false statement. "But the CounselOr, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26. Because of this there is no need for a single earthly organization.
You are correct in believing that religion can be a snare. The Bible also has harsh words to say about people who mislead in teaching: "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" James 3:1.
Your next question, "Are they really that smart? Are they trying to control our very thinking? Or is just because of being no different than the rest of us... and there is more than one man's thoughts going into the writing, that things just get muddled up?" They are trying to control people's thinking. Notice the way they discipline. If you disagree with anything you are taught, you will be "marked", or worse, disfellowshipped. The way I had my first encounter with JWs was due to my dating a girl who was a JW. WOW!! She came under extreme pressure. Her family got incredibly upset with her and began the shunning process. Her elders were calling her every day telling her to STOP seeing me, her parents would not talk to her, and she lost privaledges in the congregation. All because she went on a few dates with a non-JW! In essence, they were telling her that if she did not conform to the way they thought life ought to be, she could not participate. This is control. She had to live and think exactly the way they wanted her to, lest she be disfellowshipped. If this is not mind control, I don't know what is.
Your next question, "...Is it because I'm lazy and don't wanna get dressed up 4 days a week, go to meetings, knock on doors or is it because my mind has been released from some control that was on it?" I can tell you what I think about this, but you have to think for yourself and answer this question on your own. I have met a few other people who have been able to leave the Watchtower, and they have felt the same way you are feeling. As it turned out, they felt free because they were no longer forced to do things they didn't want to do. This is another control tactic. As a JW you are required to go door-to-door, etc. or else they tell you that you are not a good example. Since you have been moving away from that control, you are naturally going to feel good.
Next you asked, "Some of the teachings are correct and have opened the door to people learning about the Bible, while others seem to be contrived, relying on old opinions and dogma. Am I being picky about things that will eventually get straightened out, or am I correct in sensing that something is very wrong?" You are absolutely correct in sesing that something is wrong...drastically wrong. If you look through WT history, you will notice that doctrine after doctrine have changed, sometimes changed so much that they contradict what was taught previously. You are not being picky about things that will be straightened out later. Things will not be straightened out later by the WT. You are beginning to think, beginning to see that there is something that has gone awry. At this point you might even be feeling guilty for having these ideas. That seems to be pretty normal for someone who is thinking about such things. Don't let the guilt get the best of you!! This is the first step in becoming free. The Bible tells us to question and test everything: "Test everything. Hold on to the good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21. In asking the questions you are asking, you are staying true to the Bible's teaching by testing everything. Now contrary to what you have been taught, you can have communication with the Holy Spirit. Try it. Test it. Ask GOD for guideance apart from the Watchtower Society, and HE will lead you! I PROMISE!!
Next, "What convinced you to believe as you do now?" As I said earlier, I have never been a JW. But let's look at what faith and religion is for. Why do we believe what we believe? Do we believe out of fear? Do we believe what we do because we enjoy it and find peace in it? What would you prefer? I am a Christian because I have found peace and joy in Christ. What I have seen is that a lot of JWs believe what the Watchtower teaches them because they are afraid. The WT states that unless you conform preciesely to each of their doctrines, you will be shunned by your family and frineds, and be completely eliminated at the end. WOW!! That's motivation by fear! But let's look at it this way. If Jesus Christ is who he says he is, you can live with a state of CONFIDENCE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE! Read some of the things that Paul wrote:
Romans 5:1
Romans 12:12
Romans 15:13
2 Corinthians 1:24
2 Corinthians 2:3
2 Corinthians 7:4
Galatians 5:22
Just to mention a few!
"...Is that not as hypocritical as some say the GB is?" It is not hypocritical to be afraid of mentioning the questions and concerns you have. After all, you have a lot at stake. But at the same time, don't let any feelings of guilt get the best of you. Test everything without a sense of guilt.
Now some of what I have said might seem like Christian propaganda. But please understand that I am doing my best to sound sincere and lend a helping hand. You are obviously free to believe whatever you want to believe. Conservative Christianity has been dealt a lot of black eyes due to christians being dogmatic and sounding plastic. What I'm trying to do here, Undercover, is lend a helping hand and describe a way of life which is free from guilt, free from fear, and free from control of an organization. Ofcorse any step you take you are going to feel wary and uncomfortable. Take your time, and let GOD lead you. After all, GOD is MUCH BIGGER and all-encompassing than the Watchtower says he is.
If you want to discuss anything further, or just want an ear, feel free to email me: [email protected]
GOD Bless!!
~BornFree~
