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Governing body a case for psychiatry?

by Eddie

Part 3

In the first two parts, we looked at the WTS Governing Body (GB) from the perspective of two important personalities from psychology / profiling, whose task is to uncover characters (types of people) who are accustomed to a) preserving their power and b) expanding it. Their motivations were also briefly considered.

See there, Part 1 and Part 2.

Today the view of another personality is added, whose own experiences were "enriched" in this area, i.e. made, who once belonged to a religious cult for a certain time: The Unification Church, casually also called "Moonies", since its founder and long-time "chairman" was a certain Sun Myung, a Korean, who raised himself to a kind of Messiah (see also Wikipedia under the same wording).

This personality, referred above, is a man named Steven Hassan and he is an American who also lives in the USA.

Steven Hassan also wrote and published a number of books which were translated and published into other languages, including German. His probably most famous work bears the following title: "Combating Mind & Cult Control", casually translated by me as "Combating thought and brain control". Officially, I think, it has a different title in our (= German) language, which I would have to find out first. In front of me on my desk lies the original English edition of 2018 in the fourth edition, "newly revised and updated", as it is so nicely called there, of the "A Freedom of Mind Press Book", with the ISBN no. 978-0-9670688-2-4. I currently refer to this edition in my remarks. And if it should happen otherwise, I announce it here in this essay.

This man, born 1954 (my generation), is often called "America`s Leading Cult Expert". On many pages of his mentioned book he describes his career to this sect, his whereabouts in it and how and why he could resign and this happened. The rest of his professional life he dedicated himself (and still does) to the great topic "How and why do so many people fall into the hands of such charismatic powers", are they individuals or whole religious communities, also called sects, although this term is only reluctantly heard and used among such people. "Sects" – these are always "the others", never oneself. Of course: one would otherwise have to admit oneself that one also belongs to it and consequently one would see (and feel) one's own house of cards collapsing, completely. Who wants that? The leadership of such a group probably least of all; after all, both one's own spiritual (and/or "spiritual") as well as one's financial foundations went down the drain in the process. It would be a kind of comical suicide if such would be induced / unleashed / caused.

There was a world-shaking incident in South American Guyana: A group of several hundred people (909 exactly) committed a collective suicide at the request of their "chief", i.e. sect leader Jim Jones, which cost the lives of all these people, including (small and very small) children. That was 1978. This true incident went down in South American history, the world and religious insanity under the term "The Jonestown Massacre".

Some time later, after this incident, an article appeared in one of the two well-known magazines of the WTS (either the "Watchtower" or the accompanying magazine "AWAKE!" – no longer knows exactly which of these magazines; but could be ascertained, if necessary) in which the WTS clearly explained what a sect represents and what it does not. It is logical that "the others" are the bad guys, that one would never be or belong to such a sect. Self-made rules were established and presented, which always pointed with the index finger to "the others", but you themselves would be miles away from being such a bad guy. Clearly, the Roman Catholic Church always points the finger at the wicked, who themselves were to blame for having to be burned at the stake.

In their torture cellars, during "the embarrassing questioning", the priests present also knelt on the floor, praying that "the Lord may open the delinquent's mind and heart to tell the truth and confess their sins". To be read in the history books of this world, not least those of Horst Herrmann and Karlheinz Deschner, two theologians, the latter a famous theologian and church critic of our time, among other things also in his ten-volume work "The Criminal History of Christianity".

Exactly that (to tell the "truth") was what many people did, probably most of them. Of course, if the physical pain already drives you mad, then you "confess" everything you want to hear from him. Also the participation as a witch, riding on a broom, during a witch Sabbath on the (Harz) Brocken as well as the copulation with the devil and / or similar nonsense. Whether now the WTS itself, if it had arisen a few centuries earlier, in the sense of a religious institution, would not have acted in exactly the same way as the Roman Catholic Church (by the way: also the Protestant Church, because also Luther affirmed the pyre), about that one can very well speculate. From many personal experiences (also my own!) I tend to the assumption: Probably yes!

However, this cannot be proven for obvious reasons: Let us speak here in and of the subjunctive. Well, we know the grace of "late birth" from other systems as well, be they religious and/or political. Not least also from the "brown past" of our own people.

Back to Steven Hassan

In connection with a certain prehistory, "our" man developed a system known as "BITE". The term "BITE", exceptionally unrelated to the computer byte (and written with "y" there), is an acronym for Behaviour, Information, Thought and Emotional ("Control" as a suffix for this overall term). In English: Behavioural, information, thought and emotional (or: feeling) (control) on the part of a leading squad towards its members, one could also say: their serfs, officially of course never so be- or called, factually but nevertheless true. Because: In all the areas just mentioned, the WTS is so attuned to its own members in all possible shades and eagerly effective that it becomes more than clearly invasive and often interferes in the most intimate personal matters, be they emotional and/or physical in nature, of persons / families. I will only pick out a few influences in this regard here (one per area):

Behavior control

With the JW it is forbidden to have active contacts to so-called "renegades" and these are – only in exceptional cases! – to be reduced to the bare minimum; even in the case of close family members. Violations are punished, up to the own excommunication (probably more suitable is the English expression "Disfellowshipping") the exclusion from the "people of God" with all its consequences in this and in the afterlife.

Information control

It is forbidden to the JW "from above" to read literature of such "renegades" or also articles in the Internet, like this one here. Only the WTS or pleasing literature may be read, under no circumstances critical literature.

Mind control

Negative thoughts that arise about WTS ("ORG") should be suppressed and never continued or even "nourished". In such a case it is best to seek "help" from the elders. Kind regards from Orwell's "1984". Or Scientology. Both are probably true.

Emotional control

In the case of a "renegade" of a ZJ from the WTS, feelings must, of course, stand in the back of the queue or preferably be buried immediately. Loyalty to the WTS as "mouthpiece of God" has absolute priority over feelings towards friends and/or (even close) relatives. See a contribution at www.bruderinfo-aktuell.org concerning a 10-year-old girl who publicly announces on stage during a WTS congress that she is distancing herself from her brother (or sister, I don't remember exactly, in any case a sibling) because this sibling has separated from the WTS, and this behavior / confession (of separation) has been positively received and phrenetically applauded by thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Somewhere on the Internet I have seen a four-color representation representing, each of these four areas in a different color, and also how these areas mesh together, like gears in a gearbox. These four areas also interlock like puzzle pieces – so the graphic – and are accompanied by several arguments and explanations. Specifically, the features that explicitly refer to the WTS (among other sects). The interested reader only needs to search under "BITE" "Steven Hassan" and under "Pictures". Very soon he will find what he is looking for.

Nevertheless – or precisely because of that – so one wonders, do such cults have such great success? Exactly in this sub-theme "Why Do Cults Have So Much Success?" he describes this starting on page 89.

S. Hassan says that we all believe that we are immune to such things. But if we are not, he continues, and – it is true (unfortunately!). SH describes it in other words, however, we refer to the statements and methods given in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we find exactly the hints, arguments and methods which lead to the fact that – at least theoretically, but many also in fact against corresponding trip hazards are not immune, overlook them gladly, do not perceive them and only with the help of God (I take this argument from the Holy Scriptures – more precisely: the Ephesians' Letter chapter 6, verse 12; also 1st Peter, chapter 5 verse 8 (and 9 as supplement)) can be counteracted and overcome.

Ephesians 6,12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1. Peter 5,8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Last but not least, part 4 will be released.

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