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A Burkean Analysis of Jehovah's Witness Apocalyptic Rhetoric

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A Burkean Analysis of Jehovah's Witness Apocalyptic Rhetoric California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library 2011 A Burkean analysis of Jehovah's Witness apocalyptic rhetoric Katherine Elizabeth Kacarab Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Kacarab, Katherine Elizabeth, "A Burkean analysis of Jehovah's Witness apocalyptic rhetoric" (2011). Theses Digitization Project. 3315. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3315 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A BURKEAN ANALYSIS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESS APOCALYPTIC RHETORIC A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English Composition by Katherine Elizabeth Kacarab March 2011 A BURKEAN ANALYSIS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESS APOCALYPTIC RHETORIC A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino by Katherine Elizabeth Kacarab March 2011 Approved by: ABSTRACT According to theorist Kenneth Burke, a relationship exists between human culture and the language symbols that associate with it. Burke's Rhetoric of Identification operates off of ideas that humankind functions as the symbol using and responding animal and that persuasion can occur as a result of identifying one's cause with another's interests, which results in the ultimate goal of cooperation. My thesis uses principles from Burke's Rhetoric of Identification to examine how apocalyptic prophecies foster and maintain an apocalyptic group identity. I chose to use the Jehovah's Witnesses as a sample apocalyptic group because they comprise a group with a heavy textual and symbolic focus on the apocalypse. My thesis seeks to examine how Jehovah's Witnesses foster and maintain their identity, despite incurring multiple failed prophecies. I hope to expand understandings about how apocalyptic rhetoric promotes the formation of apocalyptic group identities through the use of the Rhetoric of Identification. My focus on the Witnesses helps reveal how group power structures, evident in the group's language, function to maintain self and group identity. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks goes first and foremost to my reading committee, Dr. Jacqueline Rhodes and Dr. David Carlson. I sincerely appreciate the time you both devoted to reading and commenting on this extensive work and for your support in my research.and writing. Dr. Rhodes - I am a better thinker, reader, and writer thanks to your instruction and wisdom. I also would like to thank my dear colleagues Chet Franklin/ Robert Nickey, Marie Juliano, and Hal Glick not only for taking an interest in my endeavor, but also for supporting me through the entire process. I am blessed to have your encouragement and interest in my development as a person, specifically as a thinker and writer. Finally, I would like to thank my dear friends Heather Hubbard and Frances Suderman. 'Heather - thank you so much for taking the time to read my preliminary work (and for the engaging and entertaining commentary). Fran - I greatly appreciate your moral support, patience, and advice as I took the time to grow through this work. Sincere thanks to you all. iv To David B. Baclian TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..............................................lii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................... iv LIST OF TABLES................................ ' . .viii LIST OF FIGURES.........................................ix CHAPTER ONE: THE RHETORIC OF IDENTIFICATION AND ITS MOTIVE: RETURN TO PARADISE Introduction .................................... 1 The Fundamentals of Burkean Rhetoric ............ 8 Burke's Identification Rhetoric Principles in General Religious Language ...................... 22 CHAPTER TWO: THE HISTORY AND FUNCTION OF APOCALYPTIC RHETORIC AND ITS USERS Apocalypse and Truth...............................39 The Definitions and History of Apocalyptic Rhetoric . ..................................... 43 The Features and Power of Apocalyptic Rhetoric...........................................55 CHAPTER THREE: JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BELIEFS AND SYMBOLS AND THEIR TIE TO IDENTIFICATION RHETORIC The Witness Foundation .......................... 90 The Personal Name of God: Jehovah................ 94 Divine Texts ..................................... 100 The Collective Versus the Individual ............ 118 The Authority of the Divine Human............... 12 4 vi The Rhetoric of Division..........................144 Paradise on Earth: Unity ........................ 157 CHAPTER FOUR: A BURKEAN ANALYSIS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESS APOCALYPTIC RHETORIC AND IMAGERY Choosing Sides in the Apocalyptic War........... 161 Language of War and Politics......................163 Recruiting for the Divine Army....................171 Unity and Purity..................................186 The Darkest of Days . ............................ 200 It's Only a Matter of Time....................... 223 CHAPTER FIVE: SUCCESSFUL APOCALYPTIC GROUPS WITH FAILED PROPHECIES: AREAS FOR EXPANDED RESEARCH Humanity's Focus on the End..................... 233 A Marked Date: 1975 237 Re-Interpretation in Retrospect . 242 No More Dates................................... 253 The End - A New Beginning....................... 255 Areas for Expanded Research..................... 256 The Ever Present End............................ 2 62 REFERENCES............................................265 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Examples of Witness Theocratic Language .................................... 117 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. A Record of Names and Dates.................. 78 Figure 2. Depictions of Witnesses and Their Relationship to Their Bible and Society- Literature ................................. 108 Figure 3. A Symbolic Representation of the Witness Bible Expanding Over the Earth............ 10 9 Figure 4. A Sample Page from The Watchtower........... 114 Figure 5. The Witness Depiction of Jesus' Crucifixion..................................138 Figure 6. The Witnesses' Negative Depiction of a Catholic Priest ............................ 139 Figure 7. The Way the Witnesses Depict the Current World........................................150 Figure 8. Witness Imagery Depicting the Emotional State of the World and the Emotional State of Being a Witness..........................152 Figure 9. The Witness Hierarchy ...................... 168 Figure 10. The Design of the Title for The Watchtower................................. 193 Figure 11. Punishment for Acts of War and Violence....................................199 Figure 12. Happiness and Peace as Reward ............. 200 Figure 13. A Sense of Happiness and Belonging for a Witness................................... 217 Figure 14. Despair and Annihilation as Depicted in Witness Literature ........................ 218 ix CHAPTER ONE THE RHETORIC OF IDENTIFICATION AND ITS MOTIVE: RETURN TO PARADISE •Introduction A knock at the door and a Watchtower magazine both bring the promise of an earthly paradise as long as one becomes a Jehovah's Witness (hereafter referred to as Witness or Witnesses). If one does not, personal annihilation will result at the time of Armageddon, the site of an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. Current events, such as the Iraq war, the development of nuclear weaponry, famine, and natural disasters portray the consequences of human evil and inspire fearful questions about humanity's fate. Moreover, the main source of authority on these issues used by the Witnesses, The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT), and its supporting texts, such as The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, evidences not only the ultimate voice of authority, Jehovah God, but also the apocalyptic events currently occurring and apocalyptic events projected to occur. 1 This textual evidence comprises Kenneth Burke's logology, or "words about words." In religious contexts, such words have moral connotations, because they either induce or purge guilt (Carter "Logology and Religion" 3). Burke focuses on how these words about words are symbols that encourage cooperation and identification by appealing to symbol users (humanity). Such word symbols induce identification and cooperation further because words, according to Burke, foster both division and unity. Division and unity have significance for the Witnesses as they regularly distinguish between those of Satan's world and those in "the truth" within their literature. My thesis will explore how Witnesses establish division and identification by using apocalyptic words and images that reinforce their words' moral connotations. I will also examine the extent to which the group sees "Jehovah's favor" coming only through adherence to the group's moral mandates; this adherence (Burke's "unity") is vigorously maintained by the cycle of guilt, fear, -and a necessary hope induced by apocalyptic language. I hope to expand understandings about how apocalyptic rhetoric promotes group identity in religious contexts and demonstrate how religious discourse can promote a feeling 2 of safety and hope in a real - or fostered - sense of despair. My focus on the Witnesses expands scholarship on such a textually focused
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