Yeah Blondie I guess I'm showing my age. During my time, it's always been the world empire of false religion which means anybody and everybody thats not a JW. But interesting you mention the Catholic Church was the older interpretation, because in the literature today, you can still pick up on a heavy anti-Catholic mentality. I'd like to ask the younger generation on the Writing Department, what the Catholics ever do to you that Rutherford didn't instigate?
I can't remember much during the campaign with this tract. I do remember the really awkward feeling handing these tracts off to people. There's too many faiths, particulary Christian faiths in my congregations territory. Placing this track isn't the same as placing a WT magazine on smoking. Plus I don't buy the whole exclusive God's channel/Faithful Discreet Slave teaching. To brush off EVERY other Christian faith as moot is too haughty for my liking. Some months ago, in a discussion with a brother, he was really critical of the Amish, the Quakers, and other seperatist like faiths. He essentially considered them cowardly for seperating themselves physically and socially to practice their faith. The irony of it all somehow got past him when considering how we as JWs do the same thing, though mostly socially. But the mentality of criticizing other faiths is such a part of the fabric of JWs that its impossible to be a JW without looking down on other faiths with utter disdain. The worst part of it to me, is when researching Revelation, Rome, Jerusalem, etc., it becomes difficult to still believe Babylon The Great is some world empire of false religion.
