The Law of Unintended Consequences

by Londo111 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Londo111

  The Governing Body/Watchtower unduly influences millions into extreme beliefs and behaviors. And I suspect folks like Anthony Morris thinks his flock is not obedient or strict enough and there are many rules and teachings the Governing Body would love to enact but do not have the votes, or even they have the sense enough to know it would go too far.

  However, I can’t help thinking how by the time their edicts filter down to the rank and file JW, it causes unintended consequences. The flock picks up the belief system and runs with it in directions or to a degree Watchtower never intended. It’s almost as if there is the JW official religion, found in the pages of Watchtower publications, and then there is an unofficial JW folk religion. The ‘peasants’ can easily get whipped into a hysteria.

  For instance, while finally dropping the charade and declaring that only the Governing Body is the Faithful Slave, they increased their prestige. Now they have more crazed fans than ever. Likely, they did not intend to become rock stars.

  What other things do you think are a result of unintended consequences?
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  Giordano

  By discouraging higher learning the JW's are now listed as the least educated religion in the USA in the Pew Survey.

  Because of jw,org the internet is now being used and probably abused by JW's in all manner of ways. Everything about them is now fair game.
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  Londo111

  Very true. Less education=less donations.
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  sparrowdown

  I would actually propose that there are four WT stories:

  The Secret Official - only to be found or spoken of in hushed tones amongst a select few in a boardroom somewhere.

  The Almost Official - found in the Elders manuals, the Letters to BOEs, Branch office directives etc etc.

  The Public WT - found in the literature and the website.

  The real WT - found in the small- minded, narcissististic, judgemental, intolerant, brainwashed, WT-spiel-quoting-zombies AKA the congregation, the brothers, the friends, etc etc.

  An unintended consequence for WT would be oh I don't know, an abuse victim going to the police and taking them to court because they were discouraged from doing so by a cold BOE.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Likely, they did not intend to become rock stars.
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  sparrowdown

  "By their fruits you will recognize them" WT's "fruits" are rotten to the core.
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  Spiral

  Keeping people in you really don't want in, because they can play the system and keep from being DF'd, or get reinstated shortly.

  The worst part of that is they really don't even see it.
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  Spiral

  oh, and smart people leaving, with their money. They'll do well "in the world" and won't give you a dime.
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  talesin

  DIsfellowshipping is a great anti-witness. All who have become close to me, hate the religion, and spread the word about the sexism, child abuse (including child martyrs) and shunning.
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  jwleaks

  The Grandfather paradox involves a time traveler going back into the past and killing his grandfather before he meets his grandmother. This then creates the situation in which the time travel is never actually born and therefore could not travel in time to kill his grandfather.

  Effectively this is what the current governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses have actually done. Using historical revisionism as the time machine they have traveled back in time and deleted the existence of the faithful and discreet slave class. This has then created a situation in which the faithful and discreet slave class never existed and therefore could never have appointed a representative governing body.