by punkofnice 14 Replies latest jw friends
There always seems to be some New Light(TM) trotted out at the long snorefest a$$emb£ies.
Do they do it to keep the R&F interested?
Feel a smug arrogance of being not only in a ''progressive organization(TM)'' but knowing something the ''world(TM)'' doesn't?
Do it for legal reasons to protect the 8 paedophile loving men in Brooklyn?
....what else have I missed?
Your thoughts?
I think it's an attempt to legitimize the assemblies as more than just a money maker.
wha - Good point!
This is how I see it.
I think they're driven by numbers most of all - the numbers of the almighty dollar, of course, but also the number of publishers and pioneers. The WTBTS is, after all, a publishing corporation and while we're not privy to many of the inside details, much of their tortuous twisting over time has been a response to real or perceived threats to income and head counts.
Publishing costs and legal impediments used to be the biggest concerns, but in the 21st century the information on the Internet represents the single largest threat to their existence. They know it - hence the ever-increasing hysterics about associating with apostates and visiting forbidden sites. Doctrinally, they are again making overtures to change their history: unfortunately for them, they are aware that flip-flops continue to be a matter of record and that we are adding everything they do to the mountain of evidence against their frankly preposterous claims that they are the faithful and discreet slave mentioned in Matthew. The latest attempt seems to be opening moves in an attempt to divorce themselves from Charles Taze Russell. It's a start, but unfortunately the WTBTS has a lot more doctrinal garbage than that to be taken out to the curb, and the GB knows that they must use small steps to avoid scaring away the flock. The tactics may be sound but they no longer have favorable ground, or time, to execute their plans.
They realize they need to harness the Internet, but the same browsers that lead to jw.org also lead to sites like this one. The only winning move I could see for the Society is to design and sell oracles - computer tablets with the NWT and a browser that only goes to jw.org with a beastly bit of code protecting against 'jailbreaking'.
Suraj - LOL a WBT$ tablet. You've given me ideas....
My thoughts! I think they are a cult and they do real well what cults do that is miss with the brains of their flock. Their motto is "Brain control is a terrible thing to waste" Totally ADD
TotallyADD - They certainly are a cult. As THEY said in 1953 ''minds must be cleansed''.
This is why I'm sure the GB know full well what they're doing.
I think part of it just plain old ego.
These guys, after 20, 30, 40 years of unquestioning obedience, have made it to the top. They want to put a little of their "mark" on the voluminous body of JW doctrine. A little tweak here, a little new light there, and instantly 7.5 million people utterly and completely accept your idea as infallibly true.
Take a look at this board - how hard do people struggle to get one person to agree with them?
What if you had the power to get 7.5 million people to buy your ideas, no questions asked?
That is a rush, and is a primary motivator for the GB for many things.
sir82 - The ''mind cleansing(TM)'' certainly is powerful stuff.
Russell said that new light should always be consistent with previous teachings -- additional insights, but consistent with what went before, sort of like adding more and more light sources into a room.
If this is what the GB meant by "new light," it would merely mean additional insights, and that would be a legitimate way to keep JWs interested.
However, that's not what "new light" means today.
Nowadays, "new light" is a euphemism the GB uses when they abandon a previous position or teaching and replace it with something inconsistent with what went before. Likewise, "old light" is a GB euphemism for a previous teaching of the organization that even they consider to be wrong.
It's the GB's way of attributing everything they do to God's leadership and turning their errors into virtues for which God should be thanked and praised.
It's their cultish way of making sure that anyone who criticizes them for their errors is seen as an opponent of God and His plans.
