Jehovah’s (Hidden) Message Revealed
by Terry Walstrom
from: http://www.freeminds.org/psych/hiddenmessage.htm
What if I asserted the following as true?
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has no interest in an effective evangelical program of conversion.
Would that sound silly? Aren't they all about knocking doors and placing magazines for Bible study? Yes.
However: those two are not one and the same.
We live in an age of technology. As never before in the history of mankind a message can be communicated around the earth in seconds. An event, such as the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11, could be seen AS IT HAPPENED by anybody who was near a television screen. Instant communication has been with us for decades.
So, I ask you this. If Jehovah's Witnesses believe they have the most important and urgent message in all of history; why do they deliberately choose to use the least effective means of delivering that message?
Statistically, (using the Watchtower's own figures) it takes 1,000s of hours of door to door preaching to create one convert! What is wrong with this picture?
How many preaching hours does it take to convert a person to a Jehovah's Witness?
In Japan, it takes about 18,000 hours (!) of preaching to gain one baptism, whereas in Nepal it takes only 2,000 hours.
( http://www.jwic.com/stat.htm )
( http://www.towerwatch.com/Witnesses/statistics/statistics_2004.htm )
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL PURPOSE
BEHIND THE JW MINISTRY?
In 1884 Charles Taze Russell applied for incorporation for his association "Zion's Watch Tower Society." He wanted to make the transition necessary after his death to be a smooth one. He stressed the limitations of the corporation in the following manner: "Zion's Watch Tower Society is not a 'religious society' in the ordinary meaning of the term; for it has no creed or confession of Faith. It is purely a business association, whose mission is to serve in a business manner the wishes of its beneficiaries, who are represented in its officers." (http://www. watchtowerinformationservice.org/reorg.html)
Judge Rutherford, the man who snatched the religious followers of Charles Taze Russell away from the International Bible Students movement, has the answer.
Rutherford piggy-backed his own schemes on top of the work of Russell by a bait-and-switch method of reassurance and pretend revelation.
First, Rutherford used his own personal association with Russell and his knowledge of legal maneuvers to wrest control of the Watchtower Society away from the men Russell had personally named to succeed him. Rutherford stabilized panic in the ranks by the outrageous claim that Russell still managed affairs from heaven!
In 1917 in The Finished Mystery (presented as posthumous by Russell), the view was expressed that Russell was still ruling the headquarters in his resurrected body. How was Russell supervising the work? C. J. Woodworth (the actual author of the book) found the answer in passages of Revelation mentioning the eight angels. Generally seven angels predominate in the book's symbolism, which seven angels Woodworth understood to be St. Paul, St. John, Arius, Peter Waldo, Wycliffe, Luther and Russell. But twice "another angel" appears, which could reasonably be Russell's successor. Both these times (Revelation 8:3; 14:18) Woodworth interprets the eighth angel to be the corporation.
"The corporate body - the WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, which Pastor Russell formed to finish his work. This verse shows that, though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature of the harvest work."
( http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/reorg.html )
Rutherford's next maneuver was swift and sure; he got rid of four corporate board members at the annual meeting on January 4, 1919 and became autocratic president. This was not a legally authorized move. It took advantage of inside information about document processing. The purpose was that of consolidating his personal power to render his "editorial advisors" ineffective. The plan worked.
The first test of total power would demonstrate two things:
1. Rutherford intended to create the idea that the corporate headquarters in Brooklyn, NY was identical with Russell's interpretation of a much-quoted scripture about the "faithful and discreet slave." (Maria Russell convinced her husband that he himself was this mouthpiece of God.)
2. Rutherford would write whatever came into his mind and use the editorial committee as a rubber stamp for his peculiar crackpot ideas to pass them off as the very word of Jehovah himself!
The showdown with the committee came in 1925. Rutherford penned an article of extreme controversy titled “The Birth of The Nation.” The editorial committee would not approve it. Rutherford moved swiftly to remove them! The absent men's names, however, still appeared in the Watchtower magazine as though they were still functioning until 1931.
Now that Rutherford controlled absolutely the "faithful and discreet slave" throne of dictatorial supremacy with the corporation he could now plot the takeover of local congregations (called ecclesias) to wield his will there as well.
On the local level all deacons and elders were elected by voting. Since Russell did not believe in religious organization as such, there existed no lists of membership at all. Slyly, Rutherford moved to change all that. From 1919 onward the local congregations were asked to register as “service organizations” with the Watchtower Society. Nothing drastic, right?
Next, Rutherford appointed a Service Director (not subject to yearly election) as an arm of the Brooklyn oversight to function at the local level. Rutherford's man-on-the-scene could usurp local control in this way by "helpfully" organizing the preaching work, assigning territory and encouraging participation in the field work in the congregation.
Thus, the actual purpose of the door-to-door work was a ruse to link up Judge Rutherford with complete autonomy over local congregations under the pretense of making the preaching work more organized.
This plan carried with it Rutherford's de-emphasis of local public discourses from scripture. These were replaced by studies of Rutherford's organ of propaganda in the form of Watchtower Studies. Instead of referencing the Bible per se, it was the fantasy mindset of one man, Judge Rutherford, who would be indoctrinating the former Bible Students with his own peculiar brand of humbuggery. The purpose of all this, as we have seen, was consolidating personal power. But, to do what?
Interestingly, the system of local elective elders was completely eradicated and replaced by something now called a “service committee.” These men took their marching orders from the throne room in Brooklyn, NY.
The book CONSOLATION (penned by Rutherford) says this: (Consolation 1940 p.25)
"The Theocracy is at present administered by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, of which Judge Rutherford is the president and general manager."
History shows that Rutherford embarked upon a plan which included:
1. Replacing the theology of C.T. Russell (mainly concerned with Adventist demonstrations) with his own.
2. Turning the Watchtower into a personal blog filled with crackpot ideas, schemes, poison-pen fulminations, rants and speculations dressed up as prophecy.
3. Creating a method of churning publicity out of throwing people of conscience willy-nilly into dangerous situations. (Avoiding military service, refusing blood transfusions, ridiculing other religions, railing against political parties, refusals to salute the flag, decrying the cross, etc.)
4. Renaming his Frankenstein monster of a religion to “Jehovah's Witnesses,” revealing his penchant for awkward phraseology.
Rutherford used religion as a bludgeon. Rutherford used people within this religion as weapons and victims to demonstrate the extreme reach of his ID.
How many honest and innocent believers were injured, killed, imprisoned, mocked, persecuted or otherwise maltreated because of Rutherford's mania for spectacle? It is difficult to know. The aim of the Watchtower Society was the purpose of Rutherford: become a famous religion with him at the helm.
Today it is easy for any Hollywood celebrity to capture headlines by engaging in some outrageous act of indecency or personal tragedy. But, in Rutherford's day, he discovered this process and used it for his own personal celebrity by capturing the attention of astonished churchgoers around the globe. He insulted ordinary believers, ridiculed them and flung pretzel-logic scriptures in their faces. He held up his own army of faithful slaves, Jehovah's (i.e. Rutherford's) Witnesses as willing to march into the jaws of hell if he told them to. It was the ultimate high for a megalomaniac drunk on power (and often alcohol)!
With Rutherford's death a change occurred. Nathan Knorr took over the helm of this Society; this Organization called The Watchtower.
A new invention took place not long after this time. A new terminology was introduced as if by magic: THE GOVERNING BODY.
Seven men became a Board of Directors of a Corporation disguised as a religion. This corporation/religion visibly existed for the purpose of making an urgent message available as effectively as possible: Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom as having arrived in 1914 and warning of the impending event Armageddon.
However..........
This corporation was made legal in its already existing powers for another purpose entirely. Corporations acquire legitimacy by earning a profit. In the case of a religious corporation the "profit" must not appear as mere monetary gain. There has to be a public service aspect to generating millions of dollars that will escape taxation! Ordinary corporations must demonstrate to the Board of Directors that cash flow is equitable to investors and a justifiable return on investment has been made. The Watchtower Corporation had to generate a kind of marvelous "machine" you could pour money into and make it disappear in the form of the preaching work.
CONSTANT EXPANSION was the key! This was a kind of maniacal pyramid scheme to grow and grow ahead of the curve of waves of $$$.
Watchtower rank-and-file members would be used as volunteer labor staying very busy appearing to be doing something important.
What they were really doing was generating publicity which served to hide the actual purpose of the Watchtower corporation.
What was the purpose? POWER INVESTMENT!
REAL ESTATE!
The Watchtower was a corporate Donald Trump. It could grow dollars and not have to pay taxes on them. It could point to a worldwide work as evidence of money well spent (which wasn't really "spent" at all.) It could account for the cash flow by pointing to new projects in development and new acquisitions ostensibly for more and more publishing effort.
But, in reality, the goose just kept laying golden eggs in the nest of Governing Body members.
To the rank and file there was no Bill of Rights. They could be worked to death grinding out book and magazine sales. In fact, they had no choice but to comply since their very identity as Jehovah's Witnesses depended on demonstrations of door to door sales and hours devoted.
But, why should they?
Their was a gun placed to the head of every Jehovah's Witness in the form of Armageddon. This threat could only seem real enough if Armageddon was made a fresh threat and not a vague one in the distant future.
Any Jehovah's Witness who didn't fear being slaughtered at Armageddon just wasn't paying attention. Failure to comply with the busy-busy work commanded from Brooklyn headquarters would lead to disfellowshipping. Disfellowshipping would lead to having a big target placed on the ex-JWs back at Armageddon.
It was the perfect "Protection Racket" organized crime had used to intimidate shopkeepers in the Al Capone era.
Further, every once and awhile a GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE would have to be run. This would be in the form of date-setting.
Date-setting (determining when Armageddon was to arrive) was an Investment.
The publicity was golden. The threat level was heightened. The cash flow was extraordinary. The need for more investment property increased. The grip of absolute power was made real.
The downside was practically nil!!
Whatever number of members who balked and left in disgust; the upside was greater! How so?
1.Only the "weaker" members would leave and that is no loss at all.
2.The disfellowshipping would serve as a warning to other members and make threats appear very real.
3.An outside body of “apostates” could be created as a target for vilification that served to drain off anger as a target away from the Governing Body itself. This apostate group would feel the brunt of frustrations and not the actual perpetrator's of date-setting fraud.
4.A mindset of cognitive dissonance would be reinforced because anybody who stayed would have to justify being made a fool of for believing in the Faithful and Discreet Slave nonsense in the first place.
5.Any slowdown in the worldwide conversions would be a bonus since it would "signal the end" of the preaching work was drawing near and that would mean Armageddon really was imminent!
Even outright fraud in the preaching purpose redounded as a benefit!
But, there was a fly in the ointment.
THE MESSAGE could not be made available all at once to everybody or the work would implode!
The only way for Jehovah's Protection Racket to stay healthy would be this:
1. The public at large must have only a vague idea of who Jehovah's Witnesses really are (or the public eye would see through the corporate treadmill and start asking where the money went.)
2. The rank and file must always bear the burden of selling the books and magazines to keep them busy.
3. The use of martyrs has a limited purpose. If the relatives of martyrs start suing in court: the game is up!
The legal situation got out of hand suddenly when people started questioning the backpeddling on delicate issues such as child molestation policy and medical emergency policy.
A buffer of protection was needed to separate the Governing Body from legal responsibility for their hurtful policy-making edicts.
Thus, the re-organization came and went without much publicity reaching the lower ranks and all was well.
Which brings us back to the question: Why no TV ministry?
As we have seen the purpose of the Governing Body is to generate investment capital through real estate ventures. A TV ministry would dry up that money machine quickly by generating a high-profile examination on the part of the newly well-informed public. An actual full-frontal presentation of the weirdness behind JW thinking would kill the vague persona of citizen do-gooders who clean up after themselves at conventions. The scrutiny would become intensely focused on Brooklyn, NY and the actual men who are power brokers on the throne of power.
Publicity has served the corporate purpose when they can frame that publicity as Kingdom Work. Publicity of a different nature could destroy them!
The lawsuits and exposure by internet sites dredging up failed prophecy and policy waffling are a sore point. Governing Body power can only deal with rank and file unrest by clamping down with threats and a tightening grip. It cannot control non-members curiosity. It cannot ignore penetrating questions of authority by threats if the press starts bombarding them with high-profile questions hanging in the air unanswered.
That is why there is no TV ministry for Jehovah's Witnesses. It is a kind of self-fashioned paradox that the Watchtower claims to be heralding an important and urgent message and yet demonstrates an absolute horror of making that message public effectively by using the best technology available.
Follow the money and it leads to a cover up; not a revelation of Christ's presence.
A new generation of leader will emerge soon at the top of the corporate ladder in Brooklyn. A younger and more legally-protected leadership will shift this money machine into high gear once again by protecting its assets and eliminating its liabilities. What changes will this bring to the local congregations?
Not the one they are praying for! The key purpose of new leadership will be to make individual responsibility invisible.
THERE WILL BE A GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ at the helm with fire and smoke and mirrors.
But, for the local Kingdom Halls it will be grunt work as usual. ~
Randy Watters
Net Soup!