Yes, yes, yes - excellent question Dreamcatcher.
You are already half-way there! maybe moreso. The WT insistance on its own literature instead of the bible is its most telling feature. One important proprety of Jehovah's Witnesses in general is their juvenile understnding of the bible. Oh yes, they can quote scripture snippet after scripture snippet, on a seemingly endless array of topics, augmented with any amount of WatchTower Bible and Tract Society commentary (usually from the magazine). But they cannot apply any mature level of critical thinking to the situation. A JW will take a jigsaw puzzle approach to the bible as though it is encoded with some special message that only a few enlightened can understand. Thats why you get so much of this Ezekial Chapter this, verse that, in harmony with 2Sam #.# means that the greater fullfillment here and then simply take the Daniel-rule of 'a day for a year' and you get "We know everything and you need to listen to us." It sounds like they know what they are talking about. But the logic they use generally fails under the simplest critical analysis.
But I have never met a JW that could speak cogently in a higher context. For instance, what were Paul's ideas of community? Why was the Apostle writing to this congregation? What did he plan to tell them when he sat down to pen the letter?
The WT mode of working in isolated scripture snippets, withouth the benefit of a critical viewpoint, leaves rank-and-file JWs at the mercy of the literature writing committee. Challenge them on the logic they use as they try to connect scripture to scripture. Slow way the hell down and take the time to look up the context for the scriptures they use - all of them. Don't let them snow you with volume. It is reasonable to expect them to go at your pace, is it not? Get ahold of some non-Witness (and I don't mean anti-Witness) commentary - easy and available to all via the web.
You'll drive 'em nuts - but their sanity isn't what's at stake here.
- Buster
