The word DOGMA is defined as "a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true."
I began comparative religious studies several years ago, in fact, I am currently attending school with the desire to acquire my degree in this discipline. While studying the Buddhist belief system, I realized how similar the JW's were in their evolution to every other religion. Interestingly, when one's view is directed solely to western Christianity, it is easy to not see the forest for the trees. Our view, with regard to religion is tainted and myopic, particularly due to the indoctrination that many received while with the organization.
In studying the progression of ALL religions, it is apparent that what starts out as a premise or idea, a method or system, is usually hijacked and "organized." An addage I heard recently was quite catchy...it goes something like this:
The devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket.
The friend said to the devil, "what did that man pick up?"
"He picked up a piece of Truth," said the devil.
"That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend.
"Oh, not at all," said the devil, "I am going to let him organize it."
The story is poignant in that it is universally applicable. Every religion may have started out with a gem of wisdom, but ultimately evolved into a organized belief system replete with a hierarchy dedicated to its orthodoxy.
The next time someone tells you how DIFFERENT the Jehovah's Witness organization is, pull out the old index or better still, the CD-ROM of the Watchtower publications. This is their DOGMA. They have morphed into what every other religion has morphed into, an ORGANIZATION.