The writing committee doesn't have time to "believe" or "disbelieve"... they barely have time enough to copy/paste information from whacky Freddy's repertoir.
Do The Writing Committee Believe?
by jw07 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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BackseatDevil
I'm going to simplify this a bit. It's always easier with questions like this if you take the “religion” out of the religion. In this case, when you take religion out of Jehovah's Witnesses you are left with a publishing company.
The writing committee works months to a half a year ahead of time and a good portion of their time is spent perfecting ambiguous wording of “information” that will excite bottom-tier witnesses without scaring away those who are not witnesses. And realize they have to do this in a way that puts zero responsibility on the shoulders of the WTBTS should something go viral (i.e. 1975 or 'this is the last memorial').
With that, they do an incredible amount of research that is whittled down to just a few toothpicks over the course of a year's timeframe, giving more dramatics to talks at assemblies and such. All this is SO far in the future, because after the wording is perfected, they still need photo shoots or illustrations, graphics, etc.
As I've mentioned a million times before NO ONE at Bethel is preparing for Armageddon. They are preparing for the next print run. There is no “in case of Armageddon” contingency emergency plan in place or anything. For that, the writing committee does their job. They do it well. Do they believe what they write? Yes, but they don't honestly have time to believe... they have to sculpt statues from shit and sell it as porcelain six months from now.
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Vidiot
Backseat Devil - "As I've mentioned a million times before NO ONE at Bethel is preparing for Armageddon...."
...Let alone expecting it.
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frankiespeakin
"As I've mentioned a million times before NO ONE at Bethel is preparing for Armageddon...."
The Watchtower's aquisition and sale of real estate definately betrays a lack of prepareing for armegedon to come any time soon. They may be useing Compartmentalization to avoid cognitive dissonance as their actions are out of harmony with their beleifs in God's new whatever.
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Vidiot
frankiespeakin - "They may be useing compartmentalization to avoid cognitive dissonance..."
Interesting that you put it that way.
I thought about that, too, at one point, and wondered how the leadership level could possibly function through all the cognitive dissonance that it must be experiencing... it really had me scratching my head.
Then I remembered a Bush II-era GOP House rep and rabid born-again Christian named Tom Delay; who was - by all credible indications - a full-on True Believer that completely and thoroughly subscribed to his religion's tenets...
...and was indicted for money laundering during the Bush II years.
I couldn't figure out how he could reconcile so many significant aspects of his chosen belief system that seemed to be in direct conflict with his political ideology and actions. I did some reading, and learned that he seems able to - as you said - successfully compartmentalize his beliefs, goals, and methods; i.e. the inherent conflicts don't cause him the kind of emotional and intellectual discomfort it would for you and me.
Take that line of reasoning to it's next logical stage, and one could reasonably conclude that authoritarian personalities - particularly those in leadership positions - simply don't experience cognitive dissonance the way the rest of us do, if at all.
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BackseatDevil
@frankiespeakin Not only that, their new move to Warwick can give an implication of separation from the world, but in all logic they rely on the outside entirely way too much. They make proud proclamations about making their own ink or having their own fruit grown (there is a Watchtower Bible and Tact Society of Florida for example), but they purchase some foods, spices, mixes, machines, and ovens and the vehicles that transports all of this to where it needs to go.
If we are going to take JUST the issue or writing and publication, they are not self-sustaining. They do not mill, process, and manufacture their own rolls of paper, they produce none of their computers nor the programs used to write, layout, and design the magazines. They do not produce the cameras, lights, photography equipment, etc. They use the same infrastructure that all of us use for electricity, water, garbage removal, and internet. EMAIL is the life-blood of this organization, it seems. In fact, their LAN line between the three Bethels is not owned by them, neither is the method of delivery of literature to street-level Witnesses (via United States Postal Service).
Construction means they can create their own concrete plant, but they do not quarry the aggregate, limestone, or the cement. They may own the equipment, but all of them work off gasoline that they do not extract from the earth, refine, and distribute. Everything from the injured, medication, machines, utensils, etc., etc., and even more etc. they are NOT self-sustaining. In fact (I have seen this) they don't even know what to do during a brief power outage. Without millions of SATANIC WORLDLY PEOPLE OUT THERE the eloquently worded arrogance of the writing committee could never reach the hands of the almost 8 million lost souls worldwide.
And they are making no plans to change any of this.
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Acluetofindtheuser
The Mormons are ready for the Armageddon event. The Church even has special stores that sell emergency supplies. After learning about Guy Pierce's former affiliation with the Mormons and the adoption of Family Worship Night I wonder why Armageddon preparedness wasn't hightlighted more. They did get the publishers of the congregations to fill out disaster contact forms. They also recomended getting emergency supplies to last 3 days. This idea became realistic due to natural disasters already happening around the world.
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pontoon
Back when I was in and researching publications working up talks I was always impressed with how much they don't write. Same stuff over and over. Identify 4 or 5 Wat publication sources that have to do with your topic and they all say the same thing, sometimes word for word. My guess is someone on the writing staff is assigned an article to write so he or his researchers compile what has already been published, tie it all together, pass it all around for the GB to sign off on it...done deal. "New Light" is probably more involved, but really how much new stuff comes out of Patterson and is the new stuff coming from the writing staff or the imagination of the GB? Hard to believe they believe stuff like overlapping generations, but with their chronology all screwed up and their monthly dribble of stale information they must feel some stress to get something published to carry on the myth no matter how ridiculous it sounds.
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snare&racket
Did Jim Henson believe in muppets? NOPE! But I did?
Why didn't he?
He was the dude sticking his hand up their muppet hole.....
The GB remind me pf generals in a losing battle, blood and bodies laid everywhere. They refuse to accept they have lost, they got it wrong, chose and defended the wrong side....they refuse to surrender snd are going over the trenches and tsking everyone following down with them!
They know it's b.s. because they are WT 2014, there is no voice, magic feeling, special powers... they fart, burp and don't know much beyond window cleaning and avoiding tax.
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frankiespeakin
I think those in the writting department are stuck into believeing because of thier investment of effort. I'm mean think of the pain they can keep from from feeling as long as they believe to the end.
Belief Disconfirmation Paradigm:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance#Belief_disconfirmation_paradigm
Belief disconfirmation paradigm [ edit ]
Dissonance is aroused when people are confronted with information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. If the dissonance is not reduced by changing one's belief, the dissonance can result in restoring consonance through misperception, rejection or refutation of the information, seeking support from others who share the beliefs, and attempting to persuade others. [4]
An early version of cognitive dissonance theory appeared in Leon Festinger's 1956 book, When Prophecy Fails. This book gives an account of the deepening of cult members' faith following the failure of a cult's prophecy that a UFO landing was imminent. The believers met at a pre-determined place and time, believing they alone would survive the Earth's destruction. The appointed time came and passed without incident. They faced acute cognitive dissonance: had they been the victim of a hoax? Had they donated their worldly possessions in vain? Most members chose to believe something less dissonant to resolve reality not meeting their expectations: they believed that the aliens had given Earth a second chance, and the group was now empowered to spread the word that earth-spoiling must stop. The group dramatically increased theirproselytism despite the failed prophecy. [5]
...
Effort justification paradigm [ edit ]
Further information: Effort justification
Dissonance is aroused whenever individuals voluntarily engage in an unpleasant activity to achieve some desired goal. Dissonance can be reduced by exaggerating the desirability of the goal. Aronson & Mills [14] had individuals undergo a severe or mild "initiation" in order to become a member of a group. In the severe-initiation condition, the individuals engaged in an embarrassing activity. The group they joined turned out to be very dull and boring. The individuals in the severe-initiation condition evaluated the group as more interesting than the individuals in the mild-initiation condition.
All of the above paradigms continue to be used in fruitful research.
Washing one's hands has been shown to eliminate post-decisional dissonance, presumably because the dissonance is often caused by moral disgust (with oneself), which is related to disgust from unsanitary conditions. [15] [16]