Jehovah's Witness Hermeneutics

From Wayne Shih @ http://acts18910.blogspot.com

Jason Vaughn left a comment asking, "Have you found anything on JW Hermeneutics? The ones I have dealt with out here have a very interesting way of interpreting...." Here's an excerpt from an article that I came across:

With doctrine, the Witness expositors recognize that "on the surface" many Bible verses clearly contradict the teachings of the Society. These verses are therefore "spiritualized" and often interpreted to mean precisely the opposite of what they actually say! With prophecy, this "spiritualized" method enables Watchtower theologians to wrest the application of Biblical prophecies from the people to whom they were originally given (the nation Israel, for example) in order to apply them to "Jehovah's modern-day organization."

Frequent use of this allegorical or "spiritualized" method of interpretation also creates another convenient situation for the Society. If much of Scripture is to be applied "spiritually," or "symbolically," then how are we to know how to interpret the Bible at all? How are we to know which passages are to be understood "spiritually" and which are to be taken literally? Hence arises the need for a special class of Bible interpreters, the "faithful and discreet slave class." The average Witness himself is very careful not to accept the Bible's teachings at face value. He will instead look to the "slave class" to provide all necessary interpretation for him.

Is this a fair assessment? In my experience, I've had Jehovah's Witnesses challenge my interpretation of a passage by saying that it's from Revelation and therefore has to be interpreted symbolically. At that point I question them on why they take the 1000 year reign, the 144,000, and the imprisonment of Satan (which are found only in Revelation) "literally."

Update: Jehovah's Witnesses and Luke 23:43: A Case Study in Watchtower Interpretation by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.