oompa,
since JW's are supposed to pride themselves on their great REASONING skills, if you could just somehow impress on her the importance of logical criteria.
Any educator has the responsibility to provide truthful and non-misleading information.
An educator should present facts and choices to EMPOWER others to MAKE better decisions. (Notice I didn't say to have the decisions already made for them) There should be freedom of thought and freedom of choice.
To make a REASONABLE decision, you must have:
1) sources of information that are accurate and unbiased
2) have criteria of proof
3) factual scientific methodology
Most of all you should never accept any material (information) in which the sponsorship of the research has a vested interest in the outcome.
Truth should be able to withstand scrutinty.
Another example...go back and read the First Amendment of the Constitution. Here are a few excerpts:
1st Amend. guarantees protection of freedom of conscience and deterrence against official attempts to engage in "thought reform". It gives one the right of private conscience against governmental coercion of expressions of belief and loyalty. One should not compel another to declare a belief and to utter what is not in his mind.
(enforced conformity strangles the free mind at its source)
(No one should posess the awesome power to compel belief)
The purpose of the 1st amendment was precisely to protect from all official control the domain that was "the sphere of intellect and spirit".
It guards against the enclaves of totalitarianism and the use of coercive tactics such as censorship and intimidation.
1st amendment prevents the state from forcing citizens to believe or mouth an officially sanctioned point of view whether political, philosophical, or personal.
FREE INDIVIDUALS disagree about and debate such views and they seek to change each other's beliefs by persuasion and argument NOT by coercion and force!
Too bad, the 1st amendment applies only to governmental powers. That is where church and state are separate. Once you are baptized, you are under the jurisdiction of your church now, and the government cannot and will not intefere. You signed a contract with the church entity to allow them to rule you.