Part of the smoke screens and mirrors act the Watchtower Society likes to play with Jehovah’s Witnesses and those not indoctrinated by their organization is having a play on words or concepts. Take for instance this admonishment in the Watchtower from March 15, 1998 on page 19:
"In order to avoid misunderstandings, Jehovah’s Witnesses try to be careful about how they express themselves. Instead of saying, "the Society teaches," many Witnesses prefer to use such expressions as, "the Bible says" or, "I understand the Bible to teach." In this way they emphasize the personal decision that each Witness has made in accepting Bible teachings and also avoid giving the false impression that Witnesses are somehow bound to the dictates of some religious sect. "
Following such directions leave Jehovah’s Witnesses in a quandary for many areas of teaching and doctrine from the Watchtower Society cannot be found by just using the bible. Such problems include but are not exclusive to:
-You cannot open the Bible and show someone that Jesus came to the Temple in 1919 to inspect it.
-You cannot use the Bible to show which blood fractions are allowed, and which ones are not.
-You cannot show the correct meaning of generation using the Bible. According to the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses it has changed over the years. If you had gone to someone's house prior to 1995 and ‘showed’ them the meaning of the generation, you'd have to go back, read the same scriptures, and tell them now it means something different, then go again when the meaning changed again; each time ‘proving’ the meaning with the same Bible.
Furthermore, the logic of the Watchtower Society is so twisted. The above Watchtower quote is telling Jehovah’s Witnesses to tell other that they (The Watchtower Society) are not telling Jehovah’s Witnesses what to do. The control the religion tries to hide from its members and others is sickening. In effect, the Watchtower Society is saying, “Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain”!
The truth is Jehovah’s Witnesses are following what the Watchtower Society says and teaches. Their own literature testifies to this fact. This is proven with such articles as the January 1, 1996 Watchtower under the theme “Handling the Word of the Truth Aright”, on page 30 which dictates:
“Today, a “faithful and discreet slave” has been appointed to supply God’s servants with food at the proper time and to help them understand “the greatly diversified wisdom of God.” Jehovah, by his spirit, reveals deep Scriptural truths by means of this loyal slave, which faithfully publishes spiritual “food at the proper time.”
Therefore, why does Jehovah's Witnesses not say, "the faithful and discreet slave" teaches and instructs us? According to the above Watchtower, that is where each individual is supposed to get their understanding from. The Watchtower Society has made it clear in their publications that individuals do not come to correct conclusions or accurate spiritual knowledge from their own study apart from the ‘spiritual food’ provided by the faithful and discreet slave class.
However, saying "the faithful and discreet slave class teaches" would sound even more cultish than saying "the Society teaches". Ultimately, the end result is the Watchtower Society trying to disguise and hide the true teachers of Jehovah’s Witnesses and who the members are really being led to follow.
