Remember encountering Catholics out in field service?
Remember how puzzled you felt about how people could identify themselves as "Catholic" - but still practise birth control,
think that priests should get married, and believe or do whatever they want , as long as they attend a mass occasionally?
Remember how strange it seemed that these people would revere the Pope - but flatly disregard whatever he said?
Remember how you couldn't pry them away from the Catholic church in spite of the above? Remember how Catholic scandals
didn't affect them?
Well, welcome to Jehovah's Witnesses!
It's all going in the same direction. People are calling themselves "Witnesses" while avoiding the meetings, recommending
college, watching internet porn, secretly taking blood when needed, abusing alcohol and prescription pills, and not bothering to
read the latest 'cut n' paste' magazines. Of course, they still speak reverently of the "anointed" or "faithful slave" - and they
don't celebrate the holidays ( at least not outwardly) well, hey! you've gotta have limits!
Don't believe this "6.4 million Witnesses" crap. If this statistic really represents something healthy, why do contributions
keep falling behind expenses? and why is there such a growing gap between publishers and baptisms in countless
countries? (think: a baptism is openly observed and counted - but counting time as a publisher is a private claim - does that
give you any thoughts?)
I'd say the Catholics are in better shape since they maintain an infrastructure to support their faith - while the Watchtower
selfishly tears down what little infrastructure they've had.
The above was driven home to me this weekend when I spoke with an elder's wife , who strongly recommended a college education
for young people!
metatron