I recently put up a thread which discussed the fact that the WTS does not hesitate to promote and sell books containing "old light" to its membership and the public. Well, that thread was about material things and to a lesser extent spiritual things.
How does the WTS feel about spiritual things? Let's take a peek. When are visits most often made on the ailing ones in flock? That's an easy question. Everyone knows the answer. It's right before the Local Area Sales Manager's Circuit Overseer's visit, isn't it? At that time the wounded and discouraged "weak" ones are visited. How often are those same people visited when the Circuit Overseer is NOT due to come and check the stats and books in the congregation? What is the purpose of the visit? To give aid and comfort? NO! It's to try to get the wounded ones to again begin producing fruits for the Printing Corporation.
These calls are called "shepherding" calls. How do they compare to what a real shepherd does to a real flock of sheep?
When a sheep succombs to an illness, the shepherd goes to the sheep and does whatever he can to help the sheep get well, even if this means staying with the sheep night and day. This is called "shepherding" and indeed that is what it is.
When a dub succombs to an illness, how many dubs visit and do what the shepherd did in my example above? How many elders visit and do the same thing? How many Circuit Overseers visit and do the same thing? How many publishers come and cook and clean and bring food and do whatever is possible to aid the sick one?
If a sheep is hungry, what does a real shepherd do. He provides food, doesn't he?
If a dub is hungry or otherwise in need of financial assistance, what do the elders do? What does the Circuit Overseer do? What do the "ultimate shepherds" of the entire flock of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Governing Body do?
If a sheep is lost, a real shepherd leaves the rest of the sheep and searches and searches until the sheep is found. If the sheep had become wounded or hungry during the time it was lost, the shepherd would attend to its needs.
If a dub is "lost", what do the elders do at their perfunctory semi-annual visit? Do they listen to the reasons WHY the dub is lost and disillusioned? Do they show understanding and compassion for those reasons?
Or do they in ALL examples above tell the sheep to do the following:
1) Pray more. This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.
2) Study more. This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.
3) Attend the meetings more: This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.
4) Go out in field service more: This takes NO effort on the part of the elders, but does take effort on the part of the lost sheep.
In effect, these elders are saying, "heal yourself. We won't help you at all."
If the lost sheep does all of those 4 steps, which takes great effort, does this bring that lost sheep back to good spiritual health, or does it merely help the statistics for Watchtower Leaders?
The Watchtower calls this "shepherding", and of course it is all Bible-Based.
I call it bullshit.
Farkel