MichaelM,
What the Witnesses will teach you will make perfect sense. They seem like they have a lot of valid, logical points. You are probably getting a lot of attention from the brother(s) you are studying with. If you have been to the Kingdom Hall, the warmth and love you are being shown is great. I was a Jehovah's Witness for 38 years. Those examples like wearing a gun around your neck - why would you wear a cross around your neck, they have been using these arguements for decades. There are plenty more you haven't even heard yet. The Trinity arguements are popular to use also. The Witnesses have these types of statements and put some scriptures together to create their beliefs. They do have an answer for everything or a way to get around any objection or question they are challenged with. They have been well trained.
It is not the fault of the brother you are studing with, nor the congregation. It is their headquarters in Brooklyn that tells them exactly what to say and how to say it. They spend a lot of time with literature that teaches them exactly how to talk to people who show interest. You mentioned that the brother said you should go to the Watchtower with questions. The brothers and sisters are told they need the Watchtower and information from Brooklyn to be able to understand the Bible. They are told that the Governing Body is sheparding the congregations and providing for them spiritually. They believe and are never allowed to question. They have been isolated from doing any research or studying except what is approved by Brooklyn. The Governing Body is God's channel to bring spiritual food to his people.
According to the Witnesses, God's chosen people are Jehovah's Witnesses only. They believe that everyone who isn't a strong, committed baptized Witness will die at Armegeddon. This means that your family, your friends, and everyone else you know will die at Armegeddon. Everyone in the entire world will die if they are not one of Jehovah's Witnesses. They use scriptures to explain to the outside world why they preach, but they really feel they are to reach every single person living on the earth before the end comes. When they go from door-to-door they believe people are making a choice to study and become a Witness or die.
Note, if you are studing a "publication" that is taking you to your Bible, you are not really studing the Bible. You are studing what the Governing Body wants you to believe. If you are using your own copy of the Bible now, they will be okay with it, but it won't be long before they convince you to use their New World Translation because it has the correct Greek and Hebrew translation. Unfortunately, what the brothers and sisters in the congregations don't know is that the NWT was really translated by 3 members of the Governing Body in Brooklyn decades ago. You will be shown some great examples of how right the translation is, but there were not Greek or Hebrew experts involved in the translating. They used other texts and fabricated translations from other Bible concordances to fit their beliefs.
It's great that you came here. You seem like an independent thinker who wants to research your decisions. Don't let the Witnesses take that away from you.
