When I walked away from the Watchtower religion, there were several aspects of the organization that I could finally see accurately. There were things that I had been proud of (refusing blood transfusions, shunning people, obeying the GB in Brooklyn); that I was now embarrassed to look back upon. There were also many things that I had once been ashamed of (critical thinking, questioning, compassion for "worldly people"); that I could now be proud of.
I got to thinking about one of those things that I had been proud of. One of them was the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses have complete "unity"; they all believe the same thing, and there is no disagreement. I was convinced that this was a sign that Jehovah's holy spirit was on the organization. "What other religion has this kind of unity?" I asked.
As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was deeply impressed that I could walk into any Kingdom Hall in the world, and they would be studying the same material, they would all believe the same things that I believed, and we would all "speak in accord". This is what "Christian unity" is all about right?
As I began studying the Bible independently, I was impressed by the fact that this was not the case in the first-century. In reading Paul's writings, I saw that different individuals and congregations did indeed have some differing ideas and practices. When Paul spoke of "unity" and "speaking in accord", he was admonishing Christians to put aside these minor differences and to show love to one another by not insisting upon one's own opinions and feelings. The only bonds of unity that existed back then were the bonds of love. Sure, there were beliefs and doctrines that were essential, but there is no evidence anywhere that there was a centralized organizational structure that micromanaged and controlled congregation affairs and matters of worship. In fact, Paul was quite blunt in his rebuke of various Judaizers who attempted to subjugate others, and to establish a legalistic atmosphere.
One day, I was in Starbuck's (I'm a big Starbuck's fan) and was looking around at the merchandise they had. I got to thinking to myself: "I really like the fact that I can go into any Starbuck's location in the U.S. or in another country and I can order the same drinks or buy the same kind of stuff."
I got to thinking about all of the different Starbuck's that I had been to over the years in places like New York, Washington D.C., Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Colorado, California, and Hawaii. They all have the same menu, the same lingo, the same basic store layout, the same basic style of decor, the same uniforms, the same merchandise; the same music; everything is the same. I got to thinking how impressive it is that a corporation like this can maintain this kind of well-oiled machinery and conformity in thousands upon thousands of locations in several countries.
I began to learn some things about them. I learned that they do not franchise their stores out like chains do. I learned that all aspects of the stores are meticulously designed and planned by the corporate headquarters. There is great care in making sure that all stores are carefully managed so that the coffee tastes the same no matter where you go. I was impressed.
Then, I got to thinking about Jehovah's Witnesses again. There were many puzzle pieces that began to come together in my mind. I started thinking about how all aspects of worship and practices of JWs are carefully and meticulously planned by the headquarters: study materials, meetings procedures, and even the music. Everything is pre-packaged, pre-canned, pre-planned, and pre-approved by a corporate style management structure.
Jehovah’s Witnesses (much like employees of a major corporation) are micromanaged in most areas of life: what to think, how to talk, how to dress, how to do their hair, what kind of religious terminology to use, what kind of books to avoid, and so forth. All of this is carefully crafted and enforced by a well-oiled machinery of management and disciplinary procedures. Any disagreement is quickly eliminated by purging dissenters out of the organization, accompanied with shunning policies. These aspects of course, are always euphemistically termed "theocratic arrangement". With all of this "unity by design" that is enforced within the "world wide brotherhood", Jehovah's Witnesses do indeed experience a unanimity that is unparalleled in other churches. This had lead millions of Jehovah's Witnesses to believe that their "unity" is a sign of holy spirit; when in actuality, it is a sign of very savvy management.
Keeping in mind the first-century Christians; when a religion must maintain "unity" by employing the same methods and management style as that used by commercial corporations; this is not a sign of holy spirit; but a sign of human efficiency. Going a step further, any religious organization that would need to employ the methods of intellectual intimidation, manipulation, coercion, and a legalistic atmosphere to maintain "unity" has some very serious vulnerabilities and weaknesses in it's ideology.
But, the Watchtower Society will continue to blow it's own trumpet; denouncing every church under the sun, while telling everyone that their "Christian Unity" is a sign of God's holy spirit. If this is the case, then I guess that I have not been giving Starbuck's the credit that they deserve. Perhaps the next time I go into Starbuck's and order my Frapaccino; I should compliment the clerk on the fact that their employer clearly has God's holy spirit.