Mainstreaming and the Greatest Mystery

by metatron 23 Replies latest jw friends

metatron

What is the future of the Watchtower Society?
This subject is the greatest mystery of my life. I've
been in the Borg since infancy - my parents and
grandparents go 'way back ('came in
the truth' on Studies in the Scriptures?????). I've
studied sociology and history but still can't form
a clear answer to the question:
How does the story end?
Clearly, the Watchtower has come under great pressure
to change - and is being pushed, kicking and screaming,
into conformity with the zeitgeist of the 21st century.
(I recall that Immanuel Velikovsky, of Worlds In
Collision fame, once referred to the "Watchtower
movement" as "rebels against the twentieth century",
which I thought was very astute). Over the long term,
they will not survive except as a pale, worn-out
version of their former selves. This will take place
because of the ALL POWERFUL GENERATIONAL CHANGE!
How so? Consider some history:
The mighty, fear-inspiring, monolithic Soviet Union
fell apart - in particular BECAUSE THE DOMINANT
GENERATION OF 70 - 80 YEAR OLD BOLSHEVIKS DIED!
The country came to be ruled by aging commisars
who let everything quietly rot. Meanwhile, the young
people wanted cars, drugs, jeans, and pop music.
It should have been obvious to the Governing Body
OOOPS! I mean "Politboro"! that the next generation was
lost - and their political culture with it. The
same thing happened in Red China. The old veterans
of "The Long March" died off - young people started
using Mao's Little Red Book to prop up uneven table
legs!
And so, we find the organization suffering a crushing
loss of young people. My wife noticed that everyone she
talks to, near and far in the borg, has a tale of woe
about Witness kids getting DF'd, rebelling, leading
a 'double life' - it's an epidemic the impotent old
men can't deal with. Worse, it WORRIES THEM THAT
THIS IS UNDERMINING THEIR AUTHORITY! The Society
is scared that with so many kids getting into trouble
and being df'd, the whole cruel system of shunning
may break down. Of course, they are worried about
LOSING THEIR ABILITY TO PUNISH!
Going to college too, helps to 'crack the tower'.
I gotta laugh about putting the 'genie back into
the bottle' on this one! One rich brother's daughter
is getting a doctorate on musical theory. Of course,
this will make her well-qualified to be in the
Society's orchestra, doing recordings (ha-ha). Another
sister works to gain a professorship - "so
she can pioneer" (!!!ha - ha, again!).
The Borg have only the foggiest notion of how deep the problem
is. How many Witness parents go to the elders/C.O. or call the
Society in tears because of their kids, only to be 'blown off'
with a prayer and general advice to 'read your Bible daily'?!!
The kids have been taught to be hypocrites, why is anyone surprised
about their secret 'double lives'?
Here the subject of pornography tells you SOMETHING POWERFUL
ABOUT THE PATH THE SOCIETY REJECTED. In my day, we had to put forth
great effort - just to get a copy of Playboy! Today, anything
you can imagine is easily and quickly available, for free, on the
internet. Did the Society prepare for this moment with Divine
inspiration by building up a brotherhood with deep, individual
consciences? NO! Instead they booted Ray Franz and his emphasis
on "a law written on hearts" - out the door! Guys like Karl Klein
praised RULES, RULES, RULES. And now they want to disfellowship
brothers who masturbate while looking at the internet! (the latest
rule).
They just don't get it!
Besides the loss of Witness kids, the future is filled with 'wild
cards' - extension of human life span?, a cure for cancer, maybe?,
life on Mars? the end of all genetic defects? Only time will tell,
but for a religion that feeds on negativity, a bright future
doesn't bode well for the Borg.
As to the future of the Borg leadership, the guys I wonder about
are the circuit overseers. These circuit-riding inspector-generals
seem like an anachronism (but this is the Flat Earth Society, isn't
it?). I gotta think that the whole legal system is breathing down
their necks as a liability because they are the critical link
in the chain of hierarchy ( you are the weakest link, goodbye!).
If that wasn't enough, they cost the Society money ---AND how
the heck do the Borg ever get anyone (including WIVES, remember?)
to VOLUNTEER for such an awful job? Fifty years old, maybe no kids
or job skills, living in a trailer trying to force the rules
of a calcified command on publishers drifting away! How can they
do this without going crazy? ---which brings me to the chilling
conclusion:
Suicide. Maximus is absolutely right about being sensitive to this
issue. So many Witnesses are already depressed - what will happen
when scandal and the tidal forces of change hit them , full force,
over the next few years?
I don't know.
Today your Witness relatives may wallow in their unearned superiority.
Tomorrow they may be knocked to the ground.
It is truly an interesting time to be alive
Compassion always,
metatron
LDH

Another good reason my husband isn't a JW, ha ha ha ha. And NO I haven't caught him, but GIMME A BREAK, you're right Metatron.
And now they want to disfellowship
brothers who masturbate while looking at the internet! (the latest
rule).
Copernicus

Metatron:
I picked this up from your earlier post on this subject.
Add to this situation the enormous 'dumbing down' of the organization. I dare anyone to compare at random any Watchtower volume from the sixties to the platitude laden, eight grade reading level mess that they crank out now. You think computers make things better. Not if all you do is 'cut and paste'!
While I like where you’re going with this topic, I did think the above was rather unfair. If the Tower is “dumbing down,” it’s because the bottom has fallen out of the IQ of its target audience (eg: society in general). I mean really, pick up any generic periodical from the sixties (The New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, etc) and compare them to one of today’s issues. What do you see? The same decline in editorial content.
Imagine trying to write an article that had to be translated into 100 different languages, to be understood by an equivalent range of educational levels. No easy task, in my opinion. As far as the eighth grade reference goes, my own word processing software TELLS me to dumb down my letters to an 8th grade Flesh-Kincaid reading level, if I want them to be comprehended by most people. What’s that tell you?
I can’t even count the number of times I conducted a book study where I realized that half the publishers had no idea of the meaning of most of the polysyllabic words. Nor had they made any effort to find out. In other words, they were answering rote questions from the paragraph, without ever understanding the question or the answer itself. The “deep” books (like the recent Daniel book, LOL) were impossible to get through for that reason. So what would be the point of cranking out scholarly tomes, even if they could?
The door to door work was just as bad. Could you imagine presenting a book such as “Babylon Has Fallen” at the doors today? They average person doesn’t read much more then the cartoons in Sunday’s paper. They simply have no use for the complex written word.
I’m not one to defend the Tower, but in all fairness, what choice do they have? And just so you know, my Word software tells me I pulled this post off at a measly 7.6
MDS

Hi Metatron:
What is the future of the Watchtower Society?
This subject is the greatest mystery of my life. I've
been in the Borg since infancy - my parents and
grandparents go 'way back ('came in
the truth' on Studies in the Scriptures?????). I've
studied sociology and history but still can't form
a clear answer to the question:...How does the story end?
...So many Witnesses are already depressed - what will happen
when scandal and the tidal forces of change hit them , full force,
over the next few years?
I think you have asked a great question. It is deep and your thoughts searching. Ardent students of the Bible, all should be asking the same question that you are at this time...Especially Jehovah's Witnesses because of our present day situation.
If there ever was a time to "search the scriptures," ... it would be now! And all JWs, should be thinking as you are, and searching for answers.
Perhaps, this "situation" has developed for this very reason and cause...the situation has been allowed to develop, so that we can now "show what we are made out of," show our "fabric of faith," is it genuine? Our faith, is it an undying faith in in God's Written Word, or not? This may need to be demonstrated of all of us, to God, the real judge.
Perhaps, God expects us to sense the difficult situation we are placed in, with some serious urgency about it, and "Search for Him," indeed in such difficult times..."grope for Him", even as one "gropes" for the light switch when he walks into a pitch black room with no light present, when he is totally "in the dark." -- Acts 17:27
Maybe God expects that of us...are we "groping" for Him, as Acts 17:27 says?
As you have said above, the Jehovah's witnesses are in a terrible, terrible situation, really indeed, as you has eloquently explained above. A "catch 22" really.
What do they do now?
Surely the WTS is intrically involved...have the brotherhood placed too much faith in the WTS, the presumed FD&S, and now, this powerful entity has failed them, let them down... Now, they must demonstrate real Faith in God now. A test. ... a point that "You Know" has embraced recently.
Still, with all of the failings to their credit, evidence is clearly suggesting, if not demanding, that they WTS IS NOT spirit-directed. The brotherhood cannot proceed with that confidence nor luxury, anymore. With all of the flip-flops, should we go to college, or not...the direction is not clear from WTS headquarters, especially with the July 2001 kingdom ministry's instructions.
Is the organization on "Auto-Pilot"...with no one with any sense of direction, or insight at the helm? Is this the case?
Is all of this foreseen in the scriptures? Where can we find "answers" ...Real answers about the future?
So then, based upon your question posed above perhaps, ...it seems we are driven to a critical point, driven to ask maybe about the greatest Mystery of them all..."where is God, in all of this? How does God fit into all of this? Is He involved at all?"
I know most on the discussion board have little belief or faith that that Jehovah God has anything to do with such a mess going in the organization or whether He is aware of it, or if He is, whether really cares one way or the other. They think He is not concerned at all where this is leading the organization, future wise...to what climactic finish. Or, how the organization will evolve or will it even crash totally.
No man, no one among mankind really sees where this particular "situation" we are faced with today, could bring about a real cause, a real reason for Divine Intervention, the Hand of God.
But I'm sure you remember these words, (which was the title to one of the WTS books back in 1969)
"In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the MYSTERY OF GOD, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets." -- Revelation 10:7, American Standard Version.
Really, isn't it amazing, here we are now in the year of 2001, and the Bible is just as much as "mystery" to us, as all before. And since the Bible is supposed to be the "principal" tool of the WTS, the organization itself who now know, also does not understand it, as we all suspect, proving they are not "spirit-directed" either. All of this simply means, when it comes to the future, for all practical purposes, we are left "in the dark," so far as how we are to understand God Purposes and His Word,...its a "great mystery" to mankind.
My comment then on what you've said above is: Perhaps, your "mystery" is one in the same as the one the Bible spoke of. Sure. It is a great "mystery" to you to know where this organization is headed. A great mystery. Perhaps, this is so because the future of this organization is also tied up with God's Unrevealed Purposes for the future. It is linked with the Great Mystery of God. And if that is the case, then He must "reveal" it. And the answer must come from His Word, the real answer as to what the future holds, for the organization itself, since it could be intricately connected with God's Purposes for mankind. This could be the case, as to why this particular "situation" is such a great mystery, why the JW organization is in effect, "On Autopilot" and where this all ends. No one knows...but God. The why "answers" are not readily apparent.

If we want to know then, we must do as Jesus recommended,
Jesus said to: "keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you." -- Matt. 7:7
Proverbs 2:4,5 says: "If you keep seeking for it as for silver, and as for hid treasures you keep searching for it, in that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God."
If we "keep" searching, keep knocking...we will find the "knowledge of God." God Himself will unlock this Great Mystery for us.
The "spirit of truth" will "guide us into ALL Truth," as promised by Jesus. It will even "declare to us the things coming," such as the future. -- John 16:13
The answers are to be found in the Bible. All of them.
The "Great Mystery of God," can be answered by the use of God's Word, answers proceeding from God, as He reveals them to us...to "Israel."
MDS
He is TELLING HIS WORD TO JACOB, His regulations and his judicial decisions to Israel. He has NOT done that way to any other nation; and as for his judicial decisions, they have not known them..." -- Psalms 147:19, 20
metatron

Copernicus, it's a fair point that society in general
doesn't read like they used to. Yet, I feel the Watchtower
has transcended even the general 'dumbing down' of
the surrounding culture. Beyond reading ability, they
seem almost determined to discourage thinking at all.
I recall a very rare incident where a disfellowshipping
was reversed and an announcement had to be made. The Society's
official representative told the audience not to ask
questions about it or question it! If you're forced to
listen to any talks at the convention, you find yourself
asking "how does anyone buy into this stuff?".
Does anyone ever notice that the obvious requirement
for being a 'faithful and discreet slave' is that you
must be faithful and discreet? - and that if you're
not , you have no scriptural right to authority?
I'll bet that thought will never occur to a single loyal
Witness molestation defender when scandal comes. Duh!
The decline of reading is part of the decline of cultural
literacy that includes the Bible - just another societal
force pushing them towards the mainstream.
Heck, if they got all this holy spirit and Almighty
backing they talk about, how come their reading and
thinking is so pathetic? I guess they just can't fight
those 'worldly trends!
Thanks,
metatron
waiting

Hey Jerry,
I can’t even count the number of times I conducted a book study where I realized that half the publishers had no idea of the meaning of most of the polysyllabic words. Nor had they made any effort to find out. In other words, they were answering rote questions from the paragraph, without ever understanding the question or the answer itself. The “deep” books (like the recent Daniel book, LOL) were impossible to get through for that reason. So what would be the point of cranking out scholarly tomes, even if they could?
Good point - but that would be the reason to constantly urge people to get an education - so that they could understand complex thoughts, tri-sylable words, and then express them in their own words.
That's one of the things that education does - teaches people to think. And perhaps that's one more reason the WTBTS has traditionally been down on education. If they teach people to think for themselves - they most likely will question their beliefs.
So, if the people are not taught to think, it's easier to control them. Thus - the water-downed material. They got what they wanted, the uneducated masses. As a conductor - you've seen the results.
You mentioned newspapers, etc. and their reading level going down over the years. True, but they haven't been demanding that their readers stay uneducated.
It would seem that the WTBTS purposely created the paradox they now have. Children leaving, leading double lives. Parents with little retirement. Aged pioneers depending on the mercy of their families.
Fighting education, yet having to appear to accept it. The WTBTS created their own problems.
Btw, how're you doing with all this? Hope things are going ok.
waiting
voltaire

Interesting observations! Several of your previous posts have gotten me thinking about these
very subjects. Many on this board seem to be expecting the Society's collapse, or as in
your case, at least a thorough restructuring. It's difficult for me to come up with any cogent
analysis about what to expect of the Society in the future. I'm sure that the internet(as well
as other societal changes)will have an impact both on policy and publisher peaks(couldn't
resist the alliteration). I don't think, however, that the Society will ever suffer a serious shortfall
of persons who are fed up with the world we live in or who need the kind of structure the
Society offers. I do firmly believe that the society will never again exercise the kind of firm
control over the hearts and minds of its flock as it once did. I am a good example of this.
I am still in good standing in my congregation even though I would describe myself as an
agnostic who believes firmly in evolution. In the past, I imagine I would have probably been DF'ed
or would have drifted away. Very possibly, the feelings and questions that were surfacing
would never have found expression or led to a thorough investigation of the WTS. I probably
would have ended up talking to my elders in order to assuage my feelings of guilt. I suspect that more
and more witnesses will be sharing my experience. There will be more and more of us who
simply will not conform, and no amount of guilt-generating articles will faze us. We will
simply have quite believing that the Society has any legitimite authority.
What effect will we have on the society? I'm (fairly) certain that their will be a relaxation of standards.
Maybe their will even be some apologies. In the end, I expect that the society will respond any way it
has to in order to survive. Despite my uncertainty about the Society's future course, I do agree that
it will be very interesting to watch.(BTW-Are you still a witness? I assumed you were DF'ed of DA'ed,
but you say that you've been a dub your whole life)
Copernicus

Heck, if they got all this holy spirit and Almighty backing they talk about, how come their reading and thinking is so pathetic? I guess they just can't fight those 'worldly trends!

ROTFL!!! Touché, metatron.
I’m glad that so far this thread has stirred up some thought provoking responses. It deserved too. It also felt good to be challenged on my observations. All of you made some fine points. The idea that they SHOULD be striving to educate people, is an idea whose time has come. . .
On the other hand, if the average pub would spend just a few minutes during his constant deep “study” with a dictionary in his hand, he’d be much better off for the effort.
Very sad in a way, yes?
Pathofthorns

I enjoyed your comments Metatron. I think they are right on the money. These are trends that I've been watching for a long time. When I was still a Witness, I wondered why they seemed to be "holding the course" when I could see huge "cracks" forming in the organization.
I always figured the people at the top only had a small idea of just what was going on at the "grassroots" level. Young people covered for each other, parents covered for the young people, elder's swept stuff under the carpet so they could look good for the CO. By the time information gets to the top, alot of what really is going on is filtered out along the way.
Plus, how many are thinking "independantly" and keeping it all to themselves? Only a small fraction are "die hards" these days. I think the people are waiting for something, and they will shed serious numbers leaving the hardcore and the ultra dumb.
Path
Moxy

good comments meta, tho i find your 'suicidal' conclusions disturbing. actually i dont think a wholesale disillusionment of the kind that might lead to such a crisis of faith is likely. i think (and hope) that people will continue, as they have been, to leave pretty much when they are ready to. There is a rocky road in doing so for a while but i think it will only get easier to traverse as more people, upon coming to the road, will look up that individual they knew who started to tell them of the reasons why they conscientiously had to leave the Truth before being cut off in mid-sentence, never to be heard from again.
"so, what was that you were saying?" they will ask.
mox

Mainstreaming and the Greatest Mystery

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