by metatron 22 Replies latest jw friends
The eruptions of the Governing Body are like fart bubbles in bathwater. The scent seldom varies; it is only the magnitude of the expostulations which differ. That steady diet of "meat in due season" is likely the culprit!
Moderation isn't their problem as much as it is the pungent intrusion of their malodorous funk into the lives of others.
What a lovely mental image you gave me, Terry! The GB naked in a bathtub...farting...and all the JWs sniffing it all up and thanking God for it.
Wow! Of all the threads I’ve parsed here, I like this one the most.
metatron - “ Circumstances must, of necessity, push them towards personal recognition that they are frauds OR push them towards extreme fanaticism. ”
Dude, your logic is scary sharp. Awesome post, man.
sir82 – “The Governing Body is convinced that we are very deep into the last days, and that there is very little time left for this system of things"
I haven’t been to a meeting in over three years, but my devout JW mom has been pushing that POV more and more; I’d already figured out that she was getting it in double doses at the KH…
doinmypart - “The incessant drumming up of this system's end is reaching a fevered pitch. The folks running the show have so much invested, and believe in the Organization as God's tool that they have no other options. There is no moderation, reform, or anything of the like coming any time soon.”
Yeah, at this point if there was any significant reform, they wouldn’t really be Jehovah’s Witnesses anymore.
Mad Sweeney – “This is to be expected. Remember the Marian Keech UFO Cult?”
Damn, you beat me to it.
wobble – “The gambler has more chance of hitting a winning streak, after all the Universe is random…”
Huh. I just realized that no matter what they might be thinking, the GB keeps doubling down to stay in the game.
brotherdan – “I wish people would listen when I say, "THEY BELIEVE IT ALL!!!!" They ask others to pray for them not to make bad decisions because they know that they are only imperfect men. They take their responsibility seriously. Yes, they are DEAD wrong. But they don't think that. They don't think they are frauds. They feel like they have been entrusted with a divine assignment.”
Yeah, even as I was learning about the pedo scandals and the UN NGO thing, I still couldn’t picture the GB as a group of Machiavellian mustache-twirling Enron-types. Sure, they have a Manichaean worldview, but that simply makes one spiritually immature, not evil. I can’t shake the feeling that they feel hopelessly out of place in the 21st Century, but when you refuse to adapt to a radically changing environment, extinction is your only destination.
Mad Sweeney – “We may not have received any 'new light' regarding the GB's day to day operations since Ray left, but if history is any guide, things probably haven't changed much.”
They don’t think it’s broken, why would they wanna fix it?
stuckinamovement - “I think that is a good point that the middle/ moderate ground is rapidly shrinking. With every day that passes, stronger evidence emerges that the foundation of all of their beliefs is eroding…Many of us are realizing that this is so and it must scare the GB that they no longer have the same grip on the publishers as they once did.”
Remember what miseryloveselders said? That the Grand Puba was feeling that his livelihood was threatened.
Three words for you, my friends...
Self. Fulfilling. Prophecy.
I think the governing body knows the religion HAS to turn a corner.
I think they know that not everyone is going to hang on during the turn.
Maybe they know a smaller group or a reorganized religion is the key. Maybe they have a goal in mind and these are the first steps of it.
Maybe the articles are purposely changing language to wake some up and dig some in.
The family I have inside are without a doubt cheering on the stricter language cause they believe it will dig out the bad elements within the organization. I believe the opposite is true.
I dont consider my family typical witnesses cause they haven't completely locked me out. They trust the lion's share of the doctrines but could care less about the backstabbing and chatty members of the congregation. They rely too much on the "food" that is being served to them without critically thinking about it. Sadly I know they are not the only ones.
This religion HAS to change into something else and as much as I would like to see it disolve, most religions don't do that. They SPLINTER. I am hoping when that occurs that alot of folks will have the opportunity to become free; maybe with help from folks on this forum.
That is the point that I am preparing for. Its not here yet but its coming.
I think you're collectively understanding what I'm saying. The worse things get, the more they get driven towards two stark outcomes: it's a fraud or an extreme egotistical fanatical viewpoint. They must choose one of these outlooks.
It is evident that they are choosing fanaticism - and that goes hand in hand with a belief that they are invunerable or invincible collectively. I see no alternative. If the 130 year old Watchtower Society is not a pious fraud, then 'it must be bound for glory'. They cannot admit any real decay or decline because that thought threatens their whole belief system. They can't accept that Jehovah has gathered a 'special people' together and then lost interest, in effect, and that their Theocratic history is meaningless thereby.
So, every sane evidence of decay will be re-interpreted within this irrational 'bound for glory' context. The End is very near because Jehovah is shutting down the preaching work. New elders will miraculously appear as needed, regardless of unreasonable demands.
This mindset will allow and encourage the breakdown of the organization because it excludes reason. It is the very essense of the Gospel account in which Satan encouraged Jesus to jump off the Temple Mount. So be it, the sooner the better.
metatron
Just my 2¢
Jaracz set in motion clampdown 2.0 (at least this is the second in my lifetime)
Present GB might have other feelings but they are going to go ahead and run this course through 2015 maybe into 2016. Yea it is stupid and it sucks but times past prove it can be highly effective in unstable times (though obviously less successful then past ploys due to the internet)
So I suspect we will continue to see heavy handedness and changes being trickled out at a measured pace
This gives them time to weigh several different options to find relevancy and repackage the 'light'.....
I expect to see more 'notes' of Mormonism and urgency to slowly morph into living in expectation (ie 'we don't know but we may receive notice' so keeping paying attention and obeying for the hour is not known)
Indeed, I believe that normal people aren't recruited. It is a two-way street. Obviously, the certainty the Society projects makes the vast majority of Witnesses more comfortable. My father was a Bethelite, a bodyguard to Rutherford and Knorr. My mom's family extends back to Bible Students. Knowing them first-hand, they were not venal. Their world view was very restricted. There was a deep family split within the Bible Students and Rutherford's legitimacy. One side of the family prospered, my side went downhill very fast. The making fun of concrete skills and education hurt me very much. Acquiring an education became my Holy Grail. The Witnesses pull from a tainted pull.
I should read more about cults. Germany was the center of the civilized world yet Hitler rose to power. Good German is the insult. How could a society that had ancient learned universities, that was the center of modern medical research so students learned German, how could these same people worship Hitler and saw the slaughter of the Jews. It has to be more complicated than I realize.
The Witnesses are so off-beat. My peer view them as comical, not any threat. Certainty is comfortable. I truly miss it sometimes.
Just as a further note on this, if they really do believe their own nonsense, then these goofy stories about bunkers and tunnels and sealed envelopes could be true as they expect an immediate attack by Gog of Magog.
metatron
metatron - "Just as a further note on this, if they really do believe their own nonsense, then these goofy stories about bunkers and tunnels and sealed envelopes could be true as they expect an immediate attack by Gog of Magog."
Yeah, my thinking can't help but lean that way...
A make-or-break moment?
The beginning of the end for any authoritarian high-control group is a significant physical withdrawal from society.
