The Catholic Church or Jehovah's Witnesses? Too close to call

There was a court case a couple of years ago concerning Menlo Park Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in California, the details of which I couldn't quite fathom. It seemed that a member of the congregation who had been removed as an elder was contesting the decision in court. (This link will serve as a jumping off point if you want to find out more about the case itself.) While representing one of the defendants during a trial held in San Mateo County Court in Redwood City, California, on February 22, 2012, Calvin Rouse, who described himself as "general counsel for the National Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses out of Brooklyn, New York," made this astonishing admission:

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't be here, but this is one our 13,000 congregations in the United States. We are a hierarchical religion structured just like the Catholic Church. And when the order from the Pope comes down defrocking a priest and kicking him out, he no longer has any say in any matter in the local parish."

He added,

"We brought our organizational bylaws book, our rule book here, and we are prepared to present witnesses that this is a hierarchical organization. It is governed from the top down."

There was a time when I used to think that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses was the Catholic Church done right. Now I think Jehovah's Witnesses are just the Catholic Church done the same...and sometimes worse.

Charles Davis was a prominent theologian in the Catholic Church. In 1967 he wrote A Question of Conscience. It documents his decision to leave the Church. It remains a remarkable piece of work, and anyone with a knowledge of the Watch Tower Societ would not be able to ignore the obvious parallels between the Catholic Church and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Aside from the fact that both consider themselves to be the only true Church, here are some further similarities.

CHURCH HIERARCHY
On July 18, 1870, the First Vatican Council included this statement about the Church's authority:

Therefore, if anyone says that blessed Peter the apostle was not appointed by Christ the lord as prince of all the apostles and visible head of the whole church militant; or that it was a primacy of honour only and not one of true and proper jurisdiction that he directly and immediately received from our lord Jesus Christ himself: let him be anathema.

Therefore, if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the lord himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole church; or that the Roman pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema.

So, then, if anyone says that the Roman pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole church, and this not only in matters of
faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the church dispersed throughout the whole world; or that he has only the principal part, but not the absolute fullness, of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful: let him be anathema.

Such is the official stance against anyone that might contradict the hierarchy of the Catholic Church: Let him be anathema. Similarly, if any one of Jehovah's Witnesses rejects the authority structure of the Watch Tower Society, they could soon find themselves on the wrong end of a judicial committee, and have themselves thrown out of the congregation - excommunicated. In other words: Let him be anathema.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe only a limited number - 144,000 - are anointed with the holy spirit. This select number began with the 120 in the upper room, spoken about in Acts chapter 2. All Christians in the first century would have been of this number. The Witnesses believe a period of spiritual darkness was allowed to engulf the earth from the time of the apostle John's death. This darkness existed until Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Watch Tower Society, once again rekindled the spark of true Bible understanding. There are only a few thousand of the anointed left. These are known as "the faithful and discrete slave" after the designation alluded to at Matthew 24:45. However, oversight of the organisation is really in the hands of only a few men, known collectively as the Governing Body. At present they number seven. These seven men have authority to interpret the scriptures. The Governing Body, with perhaps a handful of other men, constitutes the organisation's very own Magesterium.

Although the Catholic Church maintains there is a direct line of authority between the apostle Peter and the papacy, in fact it faces a real challenge in trying to fill in the gap of two centuries until the first Pope was appointed in 232AD. Jehovah's Witnesses also claim a direct line to the faithful and discreet slave mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:45. However, they too come unstuck when asked to present evidence of such an unbroken line. On the one hand, on page 344 of God's Kingdom Of A Thousand Years Has Approached (published by the Watch Tower Society), they claim, "As to just how the 'faithful and discreet slave' class existed and served down through the centuries after the death of the apostles of the Master Jesus Christ, we do not have a distinct historical picture. Apparently one generation of the 'slave' class fed the next succeeding generation thereof." And yet, earlier, the very same book states on page 185, "Thirty years later found a small group of men, not associated with the Adventists or affiliated with any of the religious sects of Christendom, studying the Holy Scriptures at Pittsburgh (Allegheny), Pennsylvania, U.S.A. They studied independently so as to avoid looking at the Bible through sectarian spectacles. Among these men was one Charles Taze Russell, just entered into his twenties."

As with the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses can only look back and claim divine authority in retrospect by pointing at all the wonderful works the organisation has been able to accomplish. Often it is claimed, "the organisation would not have been able to accomplish thus-and-so if it did not have God's backing."

The hierarchy of the organisation continues down through the ranks. Bishops and Archbishops find their equivalency in the offices of Circuit and (soon-to-be-defunct) District Overseers. The former have jurisdiction over twenty or more congregations, making sure that preaching targets continue to be met. The latter have jurisdiction over a handful of circuits, making sure that Circuit Overseer's are correctly carrying out their responsibilities. Further down the hierarchical chain, each congregation has its own appointed men making up "the body of elders". There is an unmistakable clergy/laity divide, whether the every-day Witness would like to admit it or not.

INFALLIBILITY
Although Jehovah's Witnesses would cry foul on anyone who suggests that they think they are infallible, their own writings, and the attitude they expect from their adherents would seem to belie this claim. Whatever Jehovah's Witnesses offer as their doctrine must be considered to be what has been referred to as "present truth". Even when this changes, the new doctrine will be exchanged for the old, and continue to be referred to as "the truth". This is very much the same as the position adopted by the Catholic Church, as documented by Charles Davis in A Question of Conscience:

Monsignor Vallainc, the head of the Vatican Press Office, when asked how the Pope could say there was no doubt about the official teaching on birth control despite the fact that the Commision had been appointed to study the question said, as widely reported in the Press, that the Church was in a state of certainty, but when the Pope made his decision the Church would pass from one state of certainty to another.

There could be no better way of expressing the position of Jehovah's Witnesses. They consider themselves to be in a permanent state of certainty, and when the Governing Body changes its position on something, the organisation simply passes from one state of certainty to another. As Davis himself states, "Occasionally the manipulation of language to hide truth and protect the prestige of authority reaches the point of absurdity."

ADVICE FOR THOSE THAT WISH TO LEAVE
It was fascinating to see that when Charles Davis moved to leave the Catholic Church he face very much the same advice that doubting Witnesses do today. Catholics are reminded that the Church is only human. Jehovah's Witnesses, too, are reminded that the organisation is made up of imperfect men who are bound to make mistakes. "Remain where you are," Davis was encouraged, and this is usually accompanied by the suggestion that things could change. A section from A Question of Conscience perfectly mirrors the attitude encouraged among Jehovah's Witnesses:

Revelation keeps its transcendence over all attempts to express it. A better understanding of this transcendence may bring a greater stress upon the relative value of all dogmatic statements. In brief, while many problems remain intractable at present, it is best to hold them in suspense. We should not allow ourselves to be overcome by difficulties and apparent contradictions, but continue to work patiently with the confident hope that time will eventually lead to the solution of what now troubles us.

In the same vein, Jehovah's Witnesses are fond of quoting Proverbs 4:18, "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established."

In the end, Davis found that his loyalty was called into question.

Many of the comments I received, both publicly and privately, even from theologians, invoked the question of loyalty to the Church. The image most frequently used was that of the bark of Peter buffeted by storms. The crew should remain on board, not abandon the ship. I was failing in my duty, ijn the trust reposed in me, at a time when every hand was needed to battle with the tempest. My departure was a betrayal of the Church I should love despite its defects.

Jehovah's Witnesses also find their loyalty called into question. They are reminded about who it was that led them to "the truth", that freed them from unscriptural teachings. A constant cry is, "Where else is there to go to?" in reference to Peter's words to Jesus at John 6:68, "Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life."

CONFESSION AND PENANCE
Just as the Catholic Church encourages the confession of sins, so do Jehovah's Witnesses. Along with this confession comes the need to do penance for any wrongdoing. Whereas a Catholic might need to say several Our Fathers and a Hail Mary, or go through the rosary, one of Jehovah's Witnesses who confesses to wrongdoing might be removed from an appointed position, or put under certain restrictions, not being allowed to comment at meetings, or have the privilege of being used on the platform. This will continue for as long as the body of elders deem necessary. It is up to them to decide when a period of penance has been fulfilled.

EXCOMMUNICATION
Expulsion from the congregation is practised by the Catholic Church, but this is a rare occurrence. Jehovah's Witnesses are far more liberal with the execution of this discipline, which they call "disfellowshipping". Over the past few centuries relatively few Catholics have been excommunicated. Among Jehovah's Witnesses the number runs into the thousands each year. And, although there will be tears shed in their families for both Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses who are forcibly removed from the Church, only one of these two will follow it up with a determination to drastically curtail any association with the expelled one.

CATECHISM
The Catholic catechism is a collection of questions on the Christian faith. Jehovah's Witnesses also have a book containing over a hundred questions which a baptism candidate must go through and answer to the satisfaction of several elders.

We could go on:

• The monastic tradition of referring to each other as "brother" and "sister".
• The organisation takes delight in declaring, "The women telling the good news are a large army." It could be argued that these women are the brides of Christ, married to the organisation. In this way they constitute a sisterhood of nuns, often putting religion first before family. The lines can become blurred as to whether they carry out their commitments out of love, or because the organisation tells them to.
• The Watchtower facilities being built in New York state are taking on the form of the Society's very own Vatican City.

These are just a few of the many similarities, and we haven't even begun to talk about the doctrinal affinity. Chief among these is a belief in the Trinity. Paradoxically, Jehovah's Witnesses argue strenuously that their belief that "Jesus Christ is not part of a Trinitarian godhead but is the only-begotten Son of God", sets them apart from other Christian faiths. However, they find it impossible to separate the holy spirit from Jehovah, and they agree that faith in God can only be maintained by accepting Jesus Christ as the Saviour. They cannot disagree that the fullness of God can only be experienced by including the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit. What else is this but the Trinity doctrine under a different guise? Furthermore, their eschatology is essentially the same - a vague future hope that a new heavens and a new earth will replace the old.

So it is that while Jehovah's Witnesses try very hard to promote their differences between their organisation and that of the Catholic Church, in reality it becomes increasingly difficult to tell the two religions apart. It appears that a relatively high percentage of converts to Jehovah's Witnesses come from the Catholic Church. This is because all they have really done is pass through a door from one room to another, but stayed within the same house.