As we all know, witnesses have a tremendous duality of thought in the matter of examining one's faith. You do so - we don't thinking. Why bother since we have the 'truth', right?
I am using a compartive to try and draw upon his thinking ability - I use a Catholic as a random choice - no insult intended to any of the good Catholics that may read this.
First the Catholic - then the identical paragraph substituting dubdom terms -
What happens though, if we take the same paragraph and apply it to a witness ‘investigating’ his religion? Let’s see.A Catholic man becomes aware of the suggestion in the Watchtower publications and sets about to ‘investigate’ his religion. When we call back on him to see his result, he tells us he has done as suggested in the Watchtower! He had gone right to the priest and the bishop and asked them about their teachings, and was assured that they had it right - they pointed out from the Catholic Bible the passages he needed to know. He had contacted the Archbishop also with his concerns. Again, he was told to ignore his doubts, read and study Catholic theological materials, attend the Mass regularly, and consult the church’s vast Catholic library to allay any concerns. Not leaving any rock unturned, he wrote the Pope a letter. The Pope replied that he could be sure that he had the one true church, and he pointed out not only scriptures he could use to confirm that, but also passages from several Papal Bulls. He was assured that the Vatican was on top of theological teaching, and that as a parishioner he need not concern himself with anything that seemed out of line, if it was God would make it clear in time. God had appointed certain ones to make sure of that - trust in the church. He had ‘studied’ the Catholic catechism and all the Catholic literature he could find, he had consulted with the ‘spiritual shepherds of the church’, right to the top. He had read the Catholic Bible with vigor. There was no reason to look any further - they, the Catholics, had the ‘truth’. He was convinced by his ‘investigation’. We dismiss such foolishness as ignorance, for we know that an objective investigation must involve more than just confirmation from those who wish to retain him as a Catholic.
A Witnessman becomes aware of the suggestion in the Watchtower publications and sets about to ‘investigate’ his religion. When we call back on him to see his result, he tells us he has done as suggested in the Watchtower! He had gone right to the elders and the circuit overseer and asked them about their teachings, and was assured that they had it right - they pointed out from the New World Bible the passages he needed to know. He had contacted the District Overseer also with his concerns. Again, he was told to ignore his doubts, read and study Watchtower materials, attend the meetings regularly, and consult the organization’s vast Christian library to allay any concerns. Not leaving any rock unturned, he wrote the Governing Body a letter. The Governing Body replied that he could be sure that he had the one true religion , and they pointed out not only scriptures he could use to confirm that, but also passages from several Watchtowers . He was assured that Brooklyn Bethel was on top of theological teaching, and that as a publisher he need not concern himself with anything that seemed out of line, if it was God would make it clear in time. God had appointed certain ones to make sure of that - trust in the organization . He had ‘studied’ the Watchtower and all the Watchtower literature he could find, he had consulted with the ‘spiritual shepherds of the organization’ , right to the top. He had read the New World Bible with vigor. There was no reason to look any further - they, Jehovah‘s Witnesses , had the ‘truth’. He was convinced by his ‘investigation’. We dismiss such foolishness as ignorance, for we know that an objective investigation must involve more than just confirmation from those who wish to retain him as a Jehovah‘s Witness .
Thoughts?
Jeff