Congratulations Faithful Witness about caring enough to help the elderette to critically think for herself!!
If your elderette is anything like the brother who was willing to "Study the Bible" with me, be prepared for her to skip around and read verses of scriptures and not an entire paragraph nor an entire chapter. Rember she has an agenda to recruit you into the WTBTS and not to just share ideas and opinions about what is written in the Bible. Be prepared for her to change subjects and to use thought-stopping platitudes when she is feeling cognitive dissonance. When your elderette says thought-stopping platitudes, view it as an opportunity to strip away a layer of BITE control by asking her simple questions to overcome her though-stopping platitudes like the ones suggested in the thread As a JW, What statements made you "stop thinking?".
If you haven't read the thread exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed by Billy the Ex-Bethelite, please do. With JWs it may be more important how a simple question is phrased verses what you ask to get past a JW's cult persona.
Your elderate will probably start off with either Mt 24:45 or a scripture in John to prove that Christians need an organization to guide them. Here are some potential counter arguments:
- Why did Jesus Christ say that the first and greatist commandment is " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." and did not mention anything about an organization nor a religion in Mt 22:34-40? How can I love an organization when Jesus Christ said to love God with "ALL" my heart, soul, and mind? When scriptures appear confusing, shouldn't we follow Jesus Christ's teachings in Mt 22:34-40 and pray for guidance from the Holy Spirt like most Christians do, rather than believe in writtings by men about how to interpret the Bible?
- Why does Jesus Christ use the past tense in Mt 24:45? Does that mean that God already selected the FDS ~ 2000 years ago, or was Jesus Christ giving a warning to religious leaders in Mt 24:45-51? Most christians who read Mt 21:28 through Mt 24 interpret them as mostly parables to teach christians how to behave in harmony with Mt 22:34-40 and warn them of potential consequences.
- Ask your elderette simple questions that start with "How should I respond to a christian who would say that interpretation is not in harmony with Jesus Christ's teachings and God's two greatist commandments?"
Best of wishes for you and think about how to overcome thought-stopping platitudes to empower your elderette's authentic persona to become stronger and critically think for herself.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
P.S. - If you have a smartphone, it might be beneficial to have a saved link to Steve Hassan's How Big is the Phenomenon of Undue Influence? (2:01) video to help your elderette to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy conversations. Your elderette shouldn't want to bring reproach on the WTBS by acting like a dangerous cult member to non-JWs.