I was reading some quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson just now, and one really stuck out in my mind. It made me think of the WTS and what it has become in the last 130 years or so.
" Every great institution is the lengthened shadow of a single man. His character determines the character of the organization. "
For me, when Emerson says, "His character determines the character of the organization", I see that the WTS doesn't reflect faith and obedience to God or Jehovah or whatever they want to call their "Supreme Being" (call me weird, I like to call Him "God", thanks), I see that the WTS is merely the product of men, nothing more, nothing higher than that, and it reflects the values and morals, or lack thereof, of the men in charge in Brooklyn. It reflects what they want and who they are and nothing else, contrary to what they might claim, and that's why the WTS messes up the lives of so many people. (Of course, this is all probably really clear to everyone here, but it still made me think about that aspect of the WTS.) I've never even been involved with the WTS, I just happen to be dating a JW, however inactive he may be, and I've developed quite a strong distaste for the WTS. Maybe it's not a direct influence in my life - there aren't even any JWs in my family, we're 100% Anglican, both sides of my family - but the WTS is certainly making my life more difficult.
Heh, I disagree with the first part of the quote, though, when I relate it to the WTS - "great institution" is not how I'd describe the WTS, not even close. I could probably think of some choice words to describe it, but that would be both rude and inappropriate here, so I'll keep those to myself.
Hmm, any comments?? What do you think of this quote?? How do you think it relates to the WTS?? Maybe I've just been spending too much time hanging out at JWD (OK, yes, I definitely spend too much time here, no question!! ), but when I read this, I immediately thought of this forum and the organization that we're all here to discuss and debate, so I figured I'l post this up here and see what other people thought about it.
-Becka :)