People have believed in some pretty dumb stuff in the name of religion. Examples:
This cracker will turn into a piece of Jesus when you eat it ( Catholics)
Your hair top notch is so God has something to grab when he wisks you away ( Hari Krishnas)
God gave me these golden plates - oops, we lost 'em ( Mormons)
A 700 foot tall vision of Christ told me to build a hospital ( Oral Roberts - is there a Anal Roberts?)
I think the critical issue is that they're not all dumb. Mormons and Catholics have good universities and scholars.
There is no effort made to keep them all dumb - that would be counter-productive.
By contrast, I see no evidence that the Watchtower Hierarchy can produce even one scholar of note. Bethel long
covered up their problems with the poor education of their workers - and inability to exploit new technology.
I doubt that the average Witness could even comprehend a Watchtower of a century ago. No more Written Reviews,
no more Evolution books, no more depth on any subject.
It's difficult to find a bottom here but I do wonder if they eventually become incoherent - being unable to explain
- much less defend- any of their peculiar doctrines. In addition, they would have to simplify all arrangements and
structures because few can cope with the skills required - will they ever get tired of answering the phone to handle
Brother Elder's problems in Poduck, Alabama? Will Circuit Overseers always volunteer to waste their time
just to feed their egos? Or could they bail out and get a decent job as a corporate representative? Will they
train more 'home-made' lawyers?
As the world gets more complex, they must get challenged to the breaking point. The loss of a few capable men
could be disastrous for this religion.
metatron