Hi everyone
Some of you will have noticed that I've been paying a lot of attention to the Governing Body recently. This is because most Jehovah's Witnesses venerate them collectively (even if they can't name them individually), and I feel this makes it important to understand this group of men properly and expose their mindset as individuals. As the saying goes, I feel it's important to "know your enemy".
I realize it's very convenient to think of the Governing Body as being "evil" when we consider that they are ultimately responsible for all the damaging JW teachings and beliefs. Even if they are not all individually responsible for coming up with these crazy doctrines in the first place, they still support them vociferously and make no efforts to change things for the better.
However, do we need to be more pragmatic? Dare we consider that there may be more to this than meets the eye? I don't ask this question lightly, and I have no fixed answer in mind. It's genuinely something that puzzles me. Do the Governing Body members KNOW that this is all some kind of sick game, or are they genuinely trying to fulfil a role as earthly representatives of God and Christ?
What led to me asking this was my recent project of creating YouTube videos of Anthony Morris III. I've already started listening to other Governing Body members in preparation for when I will be placing them under similar scrutiny, and I've noticed there are huge differences in how likeable some of these individuals are. For example, Anthony Morris III is a pompous buffoon who thinks and acts like he is royalty and comes out with the most obscene and outrageous statements imagineable. He is, as OUTLAW put it, the typical bumbling villain. In contrast, though I know little about Geoffrey Jackson, he strikes me as being altogether more affable. I get the feeling that he is genuinely a nice man who is simply awestruck by the organization he serves, and sincerely feels honoured and privileged to be playing a part in it. I've spoken to others, and they concur (although I believe Jackson isn't universally liked).
Anyway - let's assume for one moment that Geoffrey Jackson IS a nice chap, and he is simply oblivious to the fact that he is perpetuating a cruel and damaging cult. What if he isn't alone in his ignorance? What if, dare I say it, even "Tony the Turd" is completely oblivious to the innate malevolence of his position? What if he's just a poor stupid egomaniac who has bought into his own publicity and genuinely believes he is a special "chosen one" who is serving the Almighty? What if the other members are similarly oblivious and/or deluded?
This is where some of you will say, "Well it doesn't matter whether they're nice or not, because it's not the Governing Body who are pulling the strings - it's the legal department." Yes, I realise this thinking is popular, but I personally don't subscribe to the idea that the Governing Body aren't really the ones in charge. Yes, they have their advisors, or "helpers", but I believe the buck does stop with them. I believe they really are at the top of the tree, no matter what influences they may be subjected to by the various committees.
I have a hunch that, if ANYTHING is "evil" about this organization, it is purely the legacy of similarly delusional men who have long since died and left others to carry the baton. Collectively, all these mistaken and damaging doctrines have amassed into something that IS truly evil (a kind of snowball effect), and we are left with a damaging cult. And yet, this legacy is faceless and soulless. It is a monster that has consumed its master. Those who perpetuate it no longer have any control over it, because they are just as bound under its irresistable spell as anyone else. Some would say this non-human influence is Satanic in origin. Others who are more secular could argue that it is merely the inevitable by-product of men who take themselves (and their predecessors) far too seriously. However, just because one has a giant ego and venerates his forebears, these factors alone do not render one "evil". They merely make one more prone to make terrible decisions that would make life miserable for others - for generation after generation, thus perpetuating the vicious circle.
I know this idea won't sit well with everyone. After all, we all enjoy thinking of the Governing Body as the pantomime villains. I'm not altogether convinced myself either way. Indeed, I've heard horror stories of one current Governing Body member in particular (that cannot be repeated because they are unverifiable). But, even so, however dreadful these men may be, it doesn't preclude the possibility that they are all operating under the false impression that this truly IS God's organization in which they have been privileged to play a prominent role. If that's the case, are they truly evil, or just ignorant?
Cedars