There is a German word: GESTALT which means that.......... something is more than the sum of its parts.
A diamond seems to be an excellent example of this principle, doesn't it?
Carbon (as in: carbon dioxide) is everywhere and it is "cheap".
But, diamonds are prized as very valuable and expensive.
A diamond, however, consists of almost entirely of : carbon.
What makes carbon become a diamond? The kind of pressure it is under.
The great American naturalist, John Muir, said: "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
We see things as separate and distinct, but, Muir tells us something deeper. You can't ignore how things are attached and connected to everything else. Muir is alluding to the gestalt.
The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is a gestalt.
It is more than the sum of its parts. It, too, largely consists of mostly carbon!
It also consists of people who think a certain way about things. These people also do things. But, what is interesting about this gestalt is that it
is created, like the diamond, under pressure.
Lots of pressure. From all sides.
That these pressures are largely IMAGINARY is quite stunning, if you stop to consider the implications.
Because we are talking about the contents of a person's "mind" we are not dealing with physical realities.
We are dealing with perceptions and interpretations, inward connections which create an INTERNAL GESTALT which does not--in any practical way--mirror or map the known world. But, it is attached to the real world.
Stop and think about what is going on here. Instinct for self-preservation drives our awareness and influences our connections.
Everything external that occurs on planet earth is brain-mapped inside of us with many "tags" of significance and "meaning."
For us individually, that is.
If our personal physician were to inform us we are horribly allergic to peanuts we "map" that into our worldview and react with horror if we are served peanuts in a meal.
Anybody else might smile at a bag of peanuts. Same peanuts; different map and different reactions.
Survival instincts kick in when our life is threatened. Fear is self-preservation at work. Our respiration and heartbeat increase and we are pressured internally by OUR THOUGHTS and PERCEPTIONS of danger.......as though......it is actually attached to the real external world.
But--if we are, in fact, NOT allergic to peanuts.......what then?
We would not be likely to believe a non-doctor who told us to "Go ahead and eat them; they won't hurt you."
The stakes are too high to experiment with our own death!
Jehovah's Witnesses are apprised by their source of trust, the Watchtower, that they have many allergies. Sources of contamination are everywhere!
Internal mapping connects the real world to a FALSE inner map with tags of "danger". Significant "connections" are creatively drawn by study, lectures and indoctinations which create their own personal GESTALT. This world is MORE than the sum of its parts!
It is Satan's domain! And, JW's are warned they are Satan's prey!
The peanut=death.
The Watchtower is their doctor whom they trust. The Great Physician is on their side.
Nothing anybody else says will be heard because it doesn't fit their brain map. The false gestalt is in place.
They cannot touch reality without the attached trip-wire triggering their allergic reactions.
A PRESSURE has been applied.
A hardened attitude has manifested. Carbon has been made into a diamond; the hardest natural substance in nature!
But, these Jehovah's Witness "diamonds" are SYNTHETIC. They are, indeed, man-made diamonds.
The Jehovah's Witness looks exactly like you or me. The world they live in looks exactly like yours or mine.
But, inside their minds the brain-map portrays a GESTALT which is synthetic. Theirs is not natural.
To a J.W. your world is under invisible demonic control.
The are allergic to your peanuts! In fact, your peanuts scare the hell out of them!
No amount of urging will get them to "try one".
The gestalt is attached to every other part of their world.
If you tug at one little doctrine you have pulled the trip-wire that brings all the pressures of fear, warnings and dire consequences down.
You may as well point a loaded gun as to point to errors in their beliefs.
Extreme pressure to conform
Extreme pressure to obey
Extreme pressure to believe
Extreme pressure to fit in and do as the others
has made them into the hardest substance there is. Synthetic diamonds are much harder than natural ones.
Only one thing can change the shape of their brain-map and shatter the gestalt.
A sudden sharp blow at just the right angle! Dramatic TRAUMA.
An unexpected event that doesn't fit.
A false accusation by elders.
A failed prophecy.
A flip-flop and phony explanation.
Disfellowshipping.
Any of a number of sudden PRESSURES at just the right moment can sever the link to the false gestalt
and let the REAL WORLD flooding in like blinding sunlight.
As Muir said: "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
The question remains: "Which world?"
The Jehovah's Witness gestalt is a creepy place where nothing is something and no peanut can be safely eaten.