Every once in a while I pop over to watchtower.org to see if there are any articles crying out to be mocked. Today I found a lovely example of the Watchtower condemning others for doing something that it is also guilty of. The irony is exquisite!
The articles in question are found here: http://watchtower.org/e/19970601/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/19970601/article_02.htm
Here's a sample paragraph (italics mine):
Not all secret groups are secret to the same degree. But those that have "secrets within secrets," as the Encyclopædia Britannica expresses it, pose a particular danger. It explains that "by the use of special names, ordeals or revelations," members of the top ranks manage to "set themselves apart," thereby stimulating "the lower ranks to the effort necessary to reach the exalted degrees." The danger inherent in such groups is obvious. Those in the lower echelons may be completely unaware of the real objectives of the organization, not having as yet progressed to that level of revelation. It is easy to become involved in a group whose goals and methods of achieving them are only partially recognized and, indeed, perhaps not even fully shared. But the person who has been initiated into such a group may later find it difficult to free himself; he is, as it were, bound by chains of secrecy.
The second article describes the "openness" of Jehovah's Witnesses. Which is interesting, since their PR site seriously waters down their stance on shunning, and of course never mentions the secret judicial meetings that you aren't allowed to record. The Wacthtower LOVES secrets, for all the reasons they claim these "dangerous" groups love them.
Dave