donbodo
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Will There Be Anything Left? - 2005/03/22 14:52
I've received a couple of emails over at jwreform.org and heard a few comments to the effect that, without the WT, there really wouldn't be a religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, that if you take away the "organization," there would be nothing left. The religion would lose its uniqueness and not be any different from any other Christian group.
Not so.
Let's take a look at what makes Jehovah's Witnesses who they are (apart from the organizational aspect):
No trinity
No hellfire
No immortal soul
No predestination
Teaching about a paradise earth.
Emphasis on God's kingdom as the solution to mankind's problems.
Emphasis on Bible education among its members and to the public.
Anti-nationalist
Anti-war
Iconoclast
No clergy class (after the reform, of course)
Lack of ritual and pomp at meetings
No collection plate passed at meetings
These are just to name a few. Now, of course, some religions hold to one or more of these, but I can't think of another religious group that takes all of these positions. Can you? If someone was searching to worship with a group of people who held all of these positions, and we did not exist, would they have somewhere to go? I think they would have to settle. Whether or not you agree with all of these points is not at issue here. The issue is whether the Witnesses can maintain a distinct identity without its institutional form of government. I think it can.
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