The Watchtower and thought control

The following are quotes from Watchtower literature, better known as the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. After reading the quotes below, it is possible to say that the Watchtower discourages individual thinking among Jehovah's Witnesses and forces them to teach their organization.

Romans 14:5 dice: “One estimate a more than another day; another esteems every day alike; Let each be fully convinced in his own mind“. The Bible wants us to think and reflect, to be convinced in our minds about problems that are questionable (Rom. 14:1-12). however, the Watchtower does not want its people to be convinced in their own minds and wants to impose what it teaches.

1. The Bible can only be understood through the organization of the Watchtower.

   Quote: “Solo this organization serves for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. Only to it the Sacred Word of God , the Bible, it is not a hermetic book” (Watchtower , 1 July 1973 , p. 402).

   Comment: This is an amazing quote. Only the Watchtower organization can correctly interpret the Bible. The Bible says the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, it can give the Christian a correct understanding of the Bible, it is Jesus who opens the mind for the understanding of Scripture (Luca 24:45: “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures ...”). This effectively prevents the Jehovah's Witness from thinking and interpreting the Bible for themselves apart from their organization.

2. Individuals are unable to interpret the Bible correctly apart from the Watchtower organization.

   Quote: “Thus the Bible is a book of the organization and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how they may sincerely believe they can interpret the Bible” (Watchtower, 1 October 1967 , p. 587) .

   Comment: The Watchtower restricts its followers by preventing them from reading the Bible for themselves, without the input guide of the organization. This is not freedom of thought and is a surefire way to keep Jehovah's Witnesses intellectually in line with the Watchtower teachings..

   Furthermore, in contrast to the previous quotation the following quotation from the Watchtower says: “The Vatican minimizes the study of the Bible, arguing that it is the only organization authorized and qualified to interpret the Bible” (Watchtower, 1 July 1943 , p. 201). The funny thing is, that's exactly what the Watchtower does. And it claims to be the only source of true spiritual knowledge.

3. If you don't understand something, humbly wait for the Watchtower to tell you what the truth is , if you don't, you are stupid.

   Quote: “We should eat and digest and assimilate what's in front of us, without intimidating us away from the food parts, because they cannot satisfy our mental tastes… We must humbly move forward to the theocratic organization of the Lord and await further clarification, rather than hesitating at the first mention of an unpleasant thought to us and proceed against our views in favor of those of the organization as if they were of a higher value made available to the slave of spiritual food. The righteous will appreciate the visible organization of the Lord and will not be so foolish as to go against the “channel” of Jehovah because of their human reasoning and personal feeling and feelings” (Watchtower, 1 Feb 1952 , p. 79-80).

   Comment: here, the Watchtower tells us that it is submission to God's will to submit to the theocratic organization of the Watchtower, and that this argument must be completely accepted and mild. Undoubtedly this is clearly the teaching that independent thinking is not welcome within the Organization.

4. Magazine “Watchtower” it is the means of communication with God.

   Quote: “The Lord can be expected to have a means of communication with his people on earth, and he has clearly shown that the magazine called “The Watchtower” is used for this purpose” (1939 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, P. 85).

   Comment: the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses would be the means that God uses to communicate with today's world. But the Bible says that God speaks to us through His Son: Eb. 1:1-2 says it's Jesus: “It gave, after having spoken anciently many times and in many ways to the fathers through the prophets, in these last days he has spoken to us through the Son, that he has made heir of all things, through which he also created the universe“.

5. Unable to understand the Bible outside the Watchtower organization.

   Quote: “We all need help understanding the Bible as well we can't find scripture guidance on our own because we, Which “faithful and discreet slaves”, we need organization“(Watchtower, 15 February 1981 ).

   Comment: the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses has emerged as the only means of understanding the Bible. Unlike, Jesus opens the mind to the understanding of the Scriptures (Luca 24:45). It is not the Watchtower organization that does this, but God. sure, we have confessional differences. But the differences are not on the essential doctrines and one can certainly understand one another among us Protestants. The Watchtower, not allowing free examination and free thinking instead, he manages to keep all followers on his line of thought.

6. Whoever is against the Watchtower is like Satan.

   Quote: “Occasionally, those who have arisen among the ranks of Jehovah's people, like Satan, they have adopted an independent line of thinking, a quirky attitude… Lot of they say that it is enough to read only the Bible, alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, for example through the reading of the Bible, they went back to the apostate doctrines that the Christian clergy taught 100 Years ago … ” (Watchtower, 15 August 1981).

   Comment: Then, if you think independently and find fault with something Watchtower says, you are like Satan. This is freedom of thought? This is how Christ works in the Church? hardly.

   Furthermore, what are the apostate doctrines mentioned in the above quotation? Naturally, this would be the Trinity , the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, the physical resurrection of Christ, etc ., all of which the Watchtower organization denies. Then, if you have read the Bible by yourself, literally, without the Watchtower as a guide, and understand those doctrines – that the Watchtower says is not true - you are like Satan.

7. Love yourself Dio, then you need to accept the Watchtower.

   Quote: “We cannot pretend to love God and deny his word and his channel of communication“(Watchtower, 1 October 1967 , p. 591).

   Comment: In other words, if you love God then you must also love the human organization of the Watchtower. If the organization refuses, then God also refuses. Funny! So, Jehovah's Witness is invited to leave the organization because he is told that he is rejecting God. This is freedom of thought ? No.

8. God's truth can only be known through the organization of the Watchtower.

   Quote: “Anyone who wants to understand the Bible should appreciate that the ” the wisdom of God is distinguished ” it can only be known through the Watchtower communication channel “(Watchtower, 1 October 1994 , p. 8).

   Comment: here , The Watchtower states that the only way to understand the word of God is through the organization of the Watchtower. In other words, your thinking must be in submission to the Watchtower teachings.

These few quotes should be more than enough to show that the Watchtower not only retains the thought control of its followers., but in fact it discourages independent thinking. This is certainly one of the hallmarks of a sect.