1975 & Disassociation: Answers to the prior two posts.
Thanks so much for the prior two submissions. It seems I'm getting a lot of inquiries from the UK these days. Welcome to the blog!
That had to be pretty traumatic for you James. I have very little to do with my mother or the rest of my immediate family as a result of my separation from the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. I feel your pain and know something of what you must be going through even now.
I'll do my best to answer your questions below. If you have anymore please feel free to pose them.
Disassociation vs. Disfellowshipping
Being disassociated is the same thing as being disfellowshipped as far as the Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned. This is simply another way for the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society to keep the rank and file Jehovah's Witness or child of JW's under their thumb. For example: If a child of a JW like you decides not to get baptized and pursues a life outside of the Kingdom Hall that the elders don't necessarily agree with, they can threaten you with the next best thing to disfellowshipping and that is disassociation. As you well know this is a public announcement made to all congregations in the area and it is considered a disgrace upon the person being disassociated as well as the family of that person.
Sadly, while most decisions are made by the "mother ship" with regard to congregations, the decision to disfellowship or disassociate is left entirely up to the body of elders for that specific congregation. They are also the only decision makers for any reinstatement should the dis'd person decide to come back to the meetings.This creates a tough environment where personal politics and personal prejudice prevail. For example, in the American South during the 70's, if a white man committed adultery with a white woman then he might be admitted back into the congregation in the usual six months required. However, if he committed the same act with a black woman (or an elder's wife!) he might not ever have been reinstated. On the other side of that coin, if a son or daughter of an influential elder committed a disfellowshipping offense he or she might just be publicly reproved, if at all. However if a son or daughter of someone considered "weak" or a liability to the congregation did the same thing they would be disfellowshipped out of hand. As you probably well know this process is far from fair and far from being the "spirit led" activity that the rank and file have been led to believe.
1975 And Other Embarrassments To The Watchtower:
You know this is such an easy thing to point at that I have intentionally avoided it. The old analogy of "shooting fish in a barrel" comes to mind. The Watchtower's record of failed prophesy is as long as my arm and yet they continue to maintain that they are "God's prophet" on earth.
Since you asked about this date specifically I'll try to confine my argument to that. I have included a link to other dates should you find that interesting.
With regard to your question on 1975 and if the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society did in fact predict the fall of 1975 as the date for Armageddon in their publications the answer is a resounding YES! During that time prior to 1975 any circuit or district overseer could tell you the number of months, weeks, days and hours until the fall of 1975. I remember well the announcements from the platform at assemblies and local Kingdom Halls about certain ones selling their homes, quitting their jobs, and even taking kids out of school so that they could pioneer for the remaining short time before Armageddon! These announcements were all greeted with applause from the audience. I was twelve years old at the time but I do remember the extreme importance placed on that specific date and how relevant it was in the minds of both the leadership as well as the rank and file.
Obviously they were wrong. Life went on, the Watchtower started playing the "spin game" saying that the reason that it didn't happen in the fall of 1975 was a "differential" in time between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve. The funny thing is that this very same reasoning was used by Charles Taze Russell when his failed 1914 prophecy left him and his organization of bible students the laughing stock of the entire religious world. Eventually, when enough time had passed, the Watchtower started denying the 1975 prediction altogether. When the original 1914 prophecy is pointed out they point at the fact that it was a long time ago, "new light" has since come and that while the physical kingdom didn't come the outbreak of World War I proved that Christ came to His throne in heaven at that time.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and when you get to "make it up as you go along" it becomes merely an exercise in reconstructing the story to fit the facts. The Watchtower leaders are masters at this.
When one examines the massive numbers of "recruits" to the organization prior and up to the fall of 1975 it becomes quite plain that this obsession with prophesying and date setting has been quite "prophetable" to the company. (Excuse the pun!)
Since the advent of the internet, the Watchtower has been much more careful with regard to its publicity on dates. They realize the massive amount of credibility loss generated by such activity is a liability and that anyone critical of their view or organization will jump on it in a heartbeat if they openly talk about specific dates again. I believe that they have learned from their mistakes and are now focusing on a more non-specific approach to the coming of Armageddon.
When you realize the rank and file's motivation in coming back to the organization when a date is set or when world events occur to indicate that Armageddon is at hand, it isn't love for God or love for the organization but merely a need for self preservation that sparks that action. This is no accident. It is by design. This is again one of the many behavioral "loops" that the Watchtower leadership utilizes to initiate a reaction in the rank and file JW. Self preservation is the most powerful psychological trigger there is. The size of the Watchtower organization and the massive number of those knocking on doors to spread "the good news" is a testament to that power!
It is quite funny actually, that while I was a Jehovah's Witness, I was at my mother-in-law's home with my wife. We were watching Jeopardy a very popular, long running American trivia show. One of the categories was "Religions" and the question was: "What religious organization predicted that Armageddon would come in 1975?" I immediately said "What is Jehovah's Witnesses." and got it correct. My mother-in-law had a fit and said that wasn't true. I then showed her in no uncertain terms the failed prediction in the Watchtower publication "Life Everlasting In The Freedom of The Sons of God" written by Fred Franz in the late 1960's. She got mad and didn't want to talk about it anymore. The odd thing is that she lived through the same time period as I had. Her husband was an elder and a substitute circuit overseer! Of all people she should have remembered the mass hysteria generated by this prophecy and yet she had completely blanked it all out. That is the insidious thing about brain-washing. Even when you have facts in hand they simply don't matter to the brainwashed. That is what is so frustrating about trying to help those in cults. They simply look at you with seething hatred or a blank stare and write you off.
I'll list the following link for you should you wish to research the actual dates set by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. There are many more dates than what we have discussed here and there is no shortage of websites out there publishing content about those failed prophesies. I suggest that you do some research and form your own conclusions.
Link To Watchtower Failed Prophecy
If anyone wishes to challenge the validity of any of these references let me know as I can provide copies of the original articles where these were published. I can do so on this blog so if you want to challenge me...remember that once I put this stuff up on this blog it stays there for anyone else to read and form their own conclusions! Choose your battles carefully my JW friends because I speak the truth and I don't pull any punches!
Again the internet is the sworn enemy to any cult that publishes information. (Which is probably why the Watchtower strongly discourages its use by the rank and file!) By allowing any published statement into the realm of public domain they are setting themselves up for criticism. Public record is a tough thing to get around and while human memory may get dimmer as time passes, Google and other search engines never ever forget.
Thank you James for allowing me to answer these questions for you and for letting me "walk down memory lane" with you. I sincerely hope that you enjoy this blog and that it provides some of the answers that you seek. I hope that you can find some healing and recovery here in these pages and that you can put this chapter of life finally behind you as I have.
Remember one thing: Your experience has brought you to this point in your life. You are much stronger than you would have been as a result. You aren't a follower, you are a leader and you live your life on your own terms. You don't allow others to tell you what to think or what to believe. You choose your own path. That is your right as a human and I believe that is what God intended for all of us.
Doug Shields
www.thewatchtowerfiles.com
