The central doctrine
of Jehovah's Witnesses is
their faith in the organization.

Failure to grasp the role of the organization in Jehovah's Witnesses' beliefs is, in most cases, the reason why outsiders find argumentation with a JWs so frustrating.

What is the organization's role? It is spelled out clearly in these quotes from Watchtower publications: "The world is full of Bibles, which Book contains the commandments of God. Why, then, do the people not know which way to go? Because they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light. ...God has not arranged for that Word to speak independently or to shine forth life-giving truths by itself. ...It is through his organization that God provides this light that the proverb says is the teaching or law of the mother. ...we must recognize not only Jehovah God as our Father but his organization as our mother." -- The Watchtower May 1, 1957, page 274

"He wants his earthly servants united, and so he has made understanding the Bible today dependent upon associating with his organization." -- The Watchtower November 1, 1961, page 668

"He [God] does not impart his holy spirit and an understanding and appreciation of his Word apart from his visible organization." -- The Watchtower July 1, 1965, page 391

"Put faith in a victorious organization!" -- The Watchtower March 1, 1979, page 1

"We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the 'faithful and discreet slave' organization." -- The Watchtower February 15, 1981, page 19

Because the proper understanding of the Bible can come only through the organization, this means that all other doctrines must come from that source. The doctrine about the organization is the foundation on which all other JW doctrines rest.

Their beliefs about God and the afterlife all depend on their belief that the organization speaks for God.

Failure to understand this point leaves any effort to change their thinking on theology by discussing theology doomed to failure.

It would be like a primitive jungle tribesman staying as a guest for the first time in a heated apartment, who tries to turn off the heat by pouring a bucket of water on the radiator. He could keep pouring water on the radiator all day to no avail, whereas a single bucket of water properly directed at the fire in the basement furnace would have accomplished his goal.

Similarly, trying to persuade a Jehovah's Witness of the deity of Christ can prove frustrating to the Christian who doesn't see that the JW's theology is turned on or off at the basement furnace; i.e., because he believes that only the Watchtower Society can determine correct theology, the JW will continue to believe Jesus was the first angel created, no matter how much 'cold water' is thrown on that belief.

Only when he discovers that the Watchtower Society is not God's organization, will he feel free to re-examine the theology he received from that source.