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It teached me not to accept anything at face value and to question just about anything.
I concluded at early age that anybody and everybody could be wrong. I have benefit all along from such early conclusion, thanks to the jw..
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I can agree with this. But, it is administered with a double standard. You are taught to question whatever you hold as you come into the Borg; but once you are in, continuing the same questioning attitude is anathema. Continue that same level of questioning and YOU ARE TOAST!!!
This is mixed with a precise indoctrination with certain things being unsaid. That is, PART of the truth is stated, but not the WHOLE truth. This "sin of omission" is applied as required, as a prescription might state. This "sin of omission" is quite subtle, but very important to the process.
And there is a feedback as to your reactions. You are constantly watched, spied upon and "shepherded".
I have an example of the "certain things being unsaid" from my ~25 year sojourn w/ JW's. That included pIONEERing & being a sNERVANT. And I saw enough of the "backstage" (literally) and "in the wings" (figurative and literally) conduct of the "higher level managers" to get "a different slant on things" than that to which most were privy.
I have only recently noticed that we were never informed about the whole scenario of the Catholics practice of Infant Baptism/Confirmation. We were merely told that the Catholics Baptized the unknowing infants; the matter was left @ that.
In contrast, JW's required a level of knowledge to be demonstrated before Baptism. Actually, this was not very true in my day: I was Baptized pre-teen, on a whim. There were no questions or pre-examination required. I just walked up to the appropriate table and sNERVANT @ the assembly and signed up: nobody asked anybody else's approval. And a bathing suit appeared, as if by magic.
So, basically JW's pull a "holier than thou" claim without looking at all the facts.
What are the rest of the facts??
I recently was researching Baptism itself. I looked through the Baptismal Vows of 20 or 30 odd churches. I re-discovered the CONFIRMATION phenomenon.
(Any Catholic that wishes to comment, please do so; this is my understanding from reading the Vows.)
It seems that some responsible adult stands in as "guardian" for the infant child being baptized (the spell checker turned that into vaporized; something like poetic justice there). The child is later expected to CONFIRM his entry in the church when they reach an age where understanding of the religion is achieved. So, the Catholic practice is a two-part process and we were left with an incomplete understanding as JW's.
Now, this answers a necessary question: how is the "salvation" of infants and very young children accounted for?
This question is a necessary question for all; so JW's must have an answer for this and indeed must have some similar mechanism, it would seem.
And this is the case: JW's have something that is referred to as the "Family Merit" doctrine. I'm not sure that I ever saw it referred to as such, but it is there, in the substance of the teachings. It means that the parent or guardian is responsible for the spiritual standing of the youngsters and provides an "umbrella", so to speak, of spiritual protection for the youngster. This allows the youngster to come of an age to advance to Baptism on his own, while the adult's spiritual standing shields the youngster.
Shield from what? Well, JW's are in mortal fear of aRMAGEDDON. So, this mechanism answers that requirement.
Well, JW's have the further practice of UNDERAGE BAPTISM. This to me is more reprehensible, since they also practice FAILURE TO DISCLOSE many things. And they are vicious in the administration of these "roads to salvation". It seems to me that the Catholics are much more forgiving and Christ-like, overall; that is, since the Inquisition is over.
Summing up:
Catholics have the joint INFANT BAPTISM, followed by the not highly advertised CONFIRMATION.
JW's have UNDERAGE BAPTISM preceded by the FAMILY MERIT protection.
These two systems are essentially the same, but reversed in order; and the Catholics have a two part ceremony versus the single ceremony of JW's.
JW's have left out details in the Catholic practice in order to demonize their religion.
This subtle "sin of omission" illustrates my point about the "question whatever you hold as you come into the Borg" coupled with "a precise indoctrination with certain things being unsaid" scheme.
On the whole, I found little positive abut the JW's once the veil of NON-DISCLOSURE was lifted. There was certainly not enough positive to offset the negative. And there was enough of strangeness that I held deep reservations during the entire process.
Mustang
