SweetBabyCh, that's a really good question. In fact, it's the fundamental question that we all need to ask ourselves whatever our religion. And to extend it, isn't it true that devout members of every religion under the sun think that theirs is right? If I've understood it correctly, this is the very question that the WTS address at the start of the Bible Teach book, though of course at a very simplistic level and presented in a heavily slanted way, designed to produce agreement.
Well, it's Thursday evening and I didn't go to the meeting with the Ministry School. In fact, this is going to sound silly, it was quite difficult to give myself permission to stay away. Standing outside myself and observing what's going on, I'd say I've definitely been in the early stages of being brainwashed. I've heard many lovely, apparently intelligent witnesses say with a chuckle, "they think we're brainwashed!"
Yes, I think they are brainwashed and it nearly happened to me. Some JW arguments and ways of thinking and reacting have gone in quite deep. I was telling one of my daughters a bit about it and she said" how could you let yourself be taken in by that, it's insane!", And yes, I know it is, and yet a large part of me wanted to come back at her and explain just how it works and why it was right after all, because after all it's in the Bible. I've read my Reasoning book.
JW's aren't allowed to smoke but I've come to the conclusion that becoming a Jehovah's Witness (and I've got alarmingly close) is a lot like smoking. It goes deep into the blood. Like nicotine. It makes you feel good and at peace. And when you stop doing it, although bits of it leave you fairly fast, you find that a great big section of it has soaked in right down deep and is lurking there in unsuuspected places, ready to resurface with an automatic warning or justification of whatever, just like a nicotine addiction that doesn't ever really go away.
It's been an eventful day with several JW conversations, all polite. But I kept repeating George of England's words to myself, quietly, inside. "Run Like Hell!"
Thanks, everyone! Watch this space.