Thursday, August 27, 2009

Things No Jehovah’s Witness Will Ever Tell You

Things No Jehovah’s Witness Will Ever Tell You

  1. Joining us is a One Way street. We will pretend to intensely love you while you walk in.
  2. We will openly despise you if you ever walk out.
  3. We love to say only we are from God. We love to point out that everyone and everything else is from the Devil.
  4. Every person whom you first loved before you knew us, but who does not share our faith, is 'bad association' for you from now on.
  5. Flattery is one of our favorite tools we use to win you over. We like to make you feel special, so that you continue to feel good about listening to us. When it is your turn to preach, we will expect you to use this same tool on yet others.
  6. We will whole heartedly encourage you to ask tons of questions about and research your old religion and all other religions, which we regard as false. While you do this, we will praise you as being 'an honest hearted person', 'a lover of truth', 'a seeker of Jehovah' and 'God's true sheep.' But beware! Once you become one of us, you can question us and what we teach only at your own peril. We may then label you as 'a person having doubts', 'a spiritually weak brother/sister', 'a questionable associate,' or even 'an apostate', as the case may be.
  7. We don’t want you to realize this, but we subtly and effectively use Fear as an ingredient in many of our teachings. You see, Fear is the ultimate control!
  8. We will only accept you if you ‘disown yourself’ and submit entirely to what we call ‘Jehovah’s Organization’.
  9. You will only be allowed to have friends who are Jehovah’s friends. The Governing Body decides who are Jehovah’s friends. This practice also ensures that if you ever consider leaving the Watchtower, you will have to deal with a terrible social vacuum in your life, because all your Witness friends will have nothing to do with you by then.
  10. We are bearers of mock humility. We have immense pride in saying we are the most humble lot on earth. We want you to be proud and have this humility too.
  11. While we theoretically believe that acts of kindness should not be publicized, you will notice that we actually crave the adulation and praise we chance to receive from the world. That is why, you will notice, not only do we regularly publish our 'godly acts' in our magazines, we also have a habit of announcing them publicly at each of our larger meetings and conventions.
  12. As an extension of the previous point, while we say JWs are not men pleasers, you know better now! We love to point out the hypocrisy in other religions, but we regularly put down the errors in our own to 'human imperfection' and 'progressive refinement'.
  13. We take great pleasure in contemplating the destruction of billions of people who have not responded positively to the message we preach. We honestly feel none of them have the right to live, though if you ask us, we will deny we feel that way. We routinely portray, in pictures, the painful and untimely deaths of unbelievers at Armageddon in our publications, and we find such artwork tasteful. Looking at them fills us with immense gratification, and we feel it is all justified as part of the divine retribution that is coming.
  14. To a sane mind, the previous point may fall into the same genre of hateful destruction which is characteristic of terrorist groups, but of course, we don’t want you to realize that.
  15. Our own congregations, outwardly the symbols of love and harmony, are as full of gossip. slander, distinctions, rivalry, back-biting, prejudice and hate, as any other part of Babylon the Great, the false religions we condemn.
  16. We would have you believe that the brothers love each other. In actuality, rivalry is widespread amongst congregation members, as each tries to out-do and outshine the other. After all, there are 'privileges' on offer, and these will only be yours if you tow the Watchtower line.
  17. The more hours you put into field service, the more 'spiritual' you will be called, and the more admired you will be. Of course, on the face of it we appear to say that even service that is comparable to the widow's mite is precious to Jehovah, but know us for a long enough time and you will know that is not true. Hours, hours, hours.... these are so important to us that we document each and everyone into our 'annual global reports'.
  18. You may not realize it is disparaging, but it is not uncommon of us to categorize believers as Bethelites, Special Pioneer, Auxilliary Pioneer, Elder, Ministerial Servant, Spiritually Weak or a Marked Person. Thus, while we profess we are against the making of 'class distinctions,' we actually think that the afore mentioned labels have biblical support, hence we liberally use them in our conversations.
  19. Naturally, the circuit overseers, elders and other prominent members of the congregation are attracted to those members who are rich. We will never expressly state this, but observe us closely, and you will find that's true. We continuously encourage the flock to lead a simple life, but we don't want you to know that some of us at the helm have a taste for luxury, which we feel is Jehovah's rich blessing on us.
  20. Please say good-bye to a good education, rewarding career etc. You are in the Watchtower now. And if you don't, we have unique ways to make you feel horrible about yourself.
  21. Look closer, and you will discover that we are an MLM organization. The rewards and privileges that you yourself shall enjoy in the organization will be proportional to the ‘value’ you bring into it, in terms of new converts, hours spent etc. And your money is important to us. Please spend less on yourself, so you can drop more in the collection box earmarked Contributions for the Worldwide Work.
  22. You can bequeath any such wealth that you own to us, be that gold, financial securities, property, real estate. Yes, it is all 'worldly' but we welcome it all. We can shun you, but not these.
  23. Our love for you, the esteem and value that we hold for you, all actually comes at a heavy price, and with many strings attached. But we hope you never realize that, as long as we are able to keep pulling your strings (including your purse strings).
  24. We have many organizational secrets and skeletons which we don’t want you to find. Those who have ‘left us’ often know them. That’s why we forbid you from ever speaking with them. Similarly, we will try and do everything possible to convince you that the internet is a Satanic trap, so you never read online the things we don’t want you to read and know.
  25. We loathe people who are self-righteous, and yet, that is not what we are.
  26. We believe that Love, Peace, Happiness, Mercy, Compassion are qualities that cannot exist nor flourish in a person that has proven unfaithful to the Watchtower. Which is why we feel that once you abandon us, you would be devoid of such 'godly' qualities, and this makes you as good as a corpse in our eyes.

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please discontinue the use of the inclusive term "WE". You apparently have no regard for the teachings found in the bible and use this forum to promote an anti-JW agenda without substantiation or balance. The majority of this absolutely false. Those of the WE would appreciate it if you would provide your readers with the full story of each of your viewpoints rather than opinionated ramblings presented as fact.

You seem greatly troubled. Pray to your god that you may have peace. If you want real peace ... pray to the creator by name ... "Jehovah".

FutureMan said...

Anonymous said:
"The majority of this absolutely false. Those of the WE would appreciate it if you would provide your readers with the full story of each of your viewpoints rather than opinionated ramblings presented as fact."

Actually I believe that this post is quite accurate as I have had the same experience within the organization, but there has been exceptions over the years and I have met some very faithful and loving brothers and sisters, unfortunately the way the organization is constructed with it's own man-made policies does prevent it's members from really shining with that Christ like love and that is a real shame.

Burgess said...

To Anonymous, I can say that whatever I have written has been borne from my own personal experience encompassing 20 years. As for my peace of mind, I have plenty of it since I left the Watchtower :)

Ben said...

This is quite accurate - I've observed the negative effects of these on my parents (JWs to death) and my personal family. I also see old friends still JW's, struggling with all of this, but blaming themselves. I do agree with one of the respondents, that there are many sincere, wonderful individuals who are JW's, however the structure of the organization facilitates all of the things mentioned above... Being a "spiritual" person = the amount of work you put into JW land, although the goal is often elusive. The org is set up in a way that everyone needs to "do more," whatever one puts in is never "enough." They claim that whatever one can do is sufficient, but many are pressured to "do more." Hence the guilt, and no real comfort. Everything is measured by "works." One elder on a former JW congregation of mine always lamented, "In the 'world,' when people are discouraged, they go to church. A JW, when they're discouraged, usually stops going to meetings!" Hmm, perhaps because the JW meetings and service do not provide real comfort, and guilt is leaped upon all? A JW typically would not admit to any of this, unless they start to feel the effects of not "towing the line."

Anonymous said...

Burgess - I have to commend you, you are receiving multiple comments on your blogs in fairly short order. This is not the norm in the blogging world so apparently you have a following of ex-JWs that feel as you do.

Now that each of the respondents have established their negative positions/opinions regarding Jehovah's Witnesses, I'd like to ask each of you .. Where is your grass "greener"? Where is it that you have found a group of people truly doing the will of God, yet have little or none of these negatives you have associated with the JWs. Maybe you have determined there is no creator/supreme being that has a right to tell you what to do! If so, tell us how you have achieved your personal peace and happiness.

Burgess said...

Dear Anonymous

Your questions are self-defeating. Your viewpoint is the same as the frog trapped deep inside a well. It feels the well is all and everything, that there is no life outside.

I can imagine why you must be feeling that those 'outside' have no peace and happiness. Please do not be so self-deluded so as to believe that only the Watchtower/JWs have the monopoly on dispensing PEACE and HAPPINESS.

I must emphasize, that I am not lacking in any sort of peace since I left the Watchtower.

Anonymous said...

Burgess - Good for you! Now .. answer the question for us. Or was this simply a rant?

Burgess said...

Anonymous,

If you are a lover of light, why hide? Come out from behind your Anonymous cloak, that I may clearly see and talk to you. Identify yourself and be forthright. Otherwise, you may be perceived as the one doing the 'ranting', not I.

daniel-p said...

You should add a few:

23. You can never question the teachings given by the Governing Body. To do so would be considered apostasy, since, despite the fallibility of the Governing Body, they are to be trusted at all times, by every Witness, under all circumstances, with no questions asked. Why, you ask? Stop asking questions.

24. The Bible is not our authority. If the Governing Body teaches something contrary to what the Bible says, they are to be obeyed, not the Bible. And if you make an issue out of this, you will be condemned for being so presumptuous as to know more about the Bible than they do.

25. The Governing Body is the supreme leading body of the organization. You cannot come to an accurate knowledge of the scriptures without submitting to this body and obeying them in everything. This might mean your own death, the death of your loved ones, having to shun your loved ones, or having your loved ones shun you. To not submit to their authority is to jeopardize your everlasting life.

Burgess said...

Good ones, Daniel, and very valid and true.... thank you! :)

Brian said...

"Pray to your god that you may have peace. If you want real peace ... pray to the creator by name ... "Jehovah"."

Just so you know, "Jehovah" is an invention by 14th century Catholic monks. It takes the Tetragrammaton with the Germanic letters JHVH and interposes the vowels for adonai or "Lord" so as to provide a placeholder for pronouncing the divine name. It is just as "incorrect" as referring to God as "Lord."

I know your canned response is going to be something along the lines of "well, Jehovah is the most well-known and since nobody knows the correct pronunciation it's okay." I guess my response to that is a question: what is more preferable--being popular or being correct? It is true that no one knows for sure the original pronunciation, but that does not mean that forms such as Yahweh--which has grown immensely in popularity over the past few decades--are equally likely to be as "correct" as Jehovah. Yahweh is a possibility, but Jehovah is known for a fact to be incorrect. It is a made-up name, not even the "english translation" of God's name because it isn't a translation at all, it's the consonants of one word transposed onto the vowels of another with the distinct purpose to conceal the divine name.

If God does exist, and he does care about his name being known, then surely referring to him as "Jehovah" would be an insult! Speaking of that point, an interesting thought comes to my mind. You claim that this Jehovah wishes to make his name known throughout the earth. So how could an all-powerful God who--according to your biblical interpretation--believes that the uttering of his personal name is so important, allow his true, personal name to be lost to history? Either God doesn't really care about having his name pronounced out loud, he does care but was utterly powerless to stop the name from disappearing, or he doesn't exist to care either way to begin with.

Unknown said...

For all who still believe one has to "Belong" to a "Religion" to be saved...I say, You have MUCH to learn about where, ALL religion came from and all is "Simularities"! Look how many of them are!...that alone should cause you to wonder about the whole concept of it. Also take a Good long look at ALL the earth and universes "Annolomies", which are found all over this planet! All without any meaningful explanation for their existence!..and Long before the bible was written! Take for example the writings of ancient sumaria depicting the order of the planets rotating around the sun...without a "Telescope"(They didn't have telescopes back then!)One will become shocked at an "Out-Side-the Box" investigation of where "Religion" actually came from!

Anonymous (Jim / Tenessee, U.S.) said...

So... Again I ask ... Do any of you scholars have any direction for all of us poor "lost souls" who have a belief in the bible and a dedication to help those in our communities (no matter how misguided??? To whom should we turn? Help us to turn away from the evil you pronounce as Jehovah's Witnesses ... PLEASE, show us the way !! Substantiate your claims with facts (oh please don't point me to another blog with unsubstantiated drivel. Please ... point the way!

You "experts", as you say of the "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society" are very good at proclamations but very short on proofs.

I can gaurantee that you as a group will exclaim again that JWs are misguided but still will not be able to point "the right way" to other than maybe some drivel like "God is in each one of us and he loves us no matter what we do or say".

Ben said...

Jim, you are looking for someone to provide a viable alternative to the JW org? If we cannot, does that make the JW religion the choice for all, by default?

I do not know the answer, Jim, but am enjoying the journey.

All I know is that I have witnessed pain and hurt at the hands of the JW org, and it is clear to me that the policies (or lack thereof) has contributed to such. So, I choose to not associate.

Now, what is wrong with people defining for themselves how they find joy? Instead, I have found joy by making time for my family. I also find time to contribute to my "community" by volunteering and having part in youth groups, etc. (now here's an area the witnesses are sorely lacking, no programs for their youth, no programs for the needy, etc - but I digress)

Burgess said...

Jim,

Answer me two questions before I can say I'd like to answer yours.

1. Why cannot Jehovah's Witnesses stand criticism of the Watchtower? Why do some of them feel the need to vehemently oppose the writings they stumble upon the web, when I know for a fact that in doing so, you are 'stepping beyond the line' set by the "F&D Slave" of not associating with 'apostates?'

2. How many years have you been a baptized Witness, and in what capacaity? Are you an elder, MS ....?

Moving on, for the sake of simplicity, pick out a numbered point from my list, which you want me to substantiate. I'd be happy to do so.

Does or does not the Watcthower regularly bring up 'exemplary' brothers and sisters on stage to testify on the blessings they have received since they accepted 'the truth'?

If you attend the meetings and conventions regularly, then I am sure you'd answer Yes to the above question. I am also certain that you, as part of the audience, readily believe whatever they said (though you may not have been an eyewitness to a majority of their experiences). But you still were part of the audience who applauded.

If you could readily accept their testimony and believe the words of those who come up on the stage with praises, would you suddenly disbelieve and label as drivel if some of the same ones, years later, came up and said they had reasons to believe the Watchtower is false?

Anonymous said...

Actually many of those experiences recited on the stage at conventions might have been embellished or modified. In some cases even reenacted.

Anonymous said...

anonymous....jim
hi....I'm ninja from scotland...lost all my friends when I started questioning the "truth".....i.e.....why did they say jesus came in 1874 and only changed it in 1943?

yet they would have us believe that they always believed jesus arrived in 1914 and they were expecting it?

here is the quote from a watchtower publication which you can check in the kingdom hall library and not some other website

God's Kingdom Of A Thousand Years Has Approached from pages 209-210 :
"In the year 1943...published the book The Truth Shall Make You
Free...This moved forward the end of six thousand years of man's
existence into the decade of the 1970's. Naturally this did away
with the year 1874 C.E. as the date of the return of the Lord
Jesus Christ"

please try and answer without the stock answer..."the light gets brighter"
thanks
ninja

Tim Kilgore said...

Anonymous said...
"So... Again I ask ... Do any of you scholars have any direction for all of us poor "lost souls" who have a belief in the bible and a dedication to help those in our communities (no matter how misguided??? To whom should we turn?"

Why should we do your work for you. If you're really seeking truth you would be doing this yourself, there are 33,380 different denominations of Christianity, until you've searched them all you can't honestly say there is nothing better.

Peter Kavelin said...

Anonymous,

You say the aforementioned list is full of unsubstantiated claims. Look elsewhere on these posts as well as many places on this website and you will see cold hard facts to back these statements, such as the many predictions about future dates that haven't come true, the standard response of the elders in the case of an accusation of molestation, the facts which show the absurdity of the blood policy, the NGO with the UN, the false chronology, etc.

You've also stated the predictable logical fallacy which says 'because you don't have a THE answer, your argument against our stance has less value. Standard responses from people who are ill equipped to actually argue properly. From fact based reason.

It is so common for Witnesses to comment on these threads armed only with logical fallacies.

How tedious.

daniel-p said...

Jim,

All I ask is that you do what the Bereans did, to "search the scriptures daily" and see if the things the Watchtower organization teaches are actually so. If you can't do that, then you're being led about the nose.

And if, by honest examination of the Bible, you have doubts surface, but do not honestly ponder them in light of God's Word, then you're also just being led about by your nose.

Unknown said...

great post burgess! that troll, anonymous, should realise that he's been blinded by satan and is in satan's org! ^^

may the lord open his eyes to the REAL truth and may it set him free! AMEN!

emilynghiem said...

Dear Tim: RE: best denomination
ANY denomination can work for someone, it depends on the person.

1. For me, I use a combination of Buddhism, Christianity and Constitutionilism. Anything true meets ALL THREE standards. You can be Buddhist and still reconcile with any other denomination. Same with Christianity and Constitutionalism. However, this cannot be said of all ways of teaching. Especially NOT the JW which I have found violate all three, even violating constitutional ethics and standards, while false claiming to respect civil authority.

2. If any of you, pro or ex-JW, wish to join the discussion on this, please see the religion forum at http://www.backpage.com JW members Biblestudy, Anner, and Woofshepherd would be happy to have your support. I posted Burjess' list as a thread on that site. Please join us, no matter what your status of faith or no faith. There are nontheists and Christians there also.

Yours truly,
Emily Nghiem
http://www.ethics-commission.net

Tracy Phillips said...

Dear Burgess,

I was born and raised as a witness. I was the third generation in the family of witnesses. I attended the three weekly meetings, went out in field service and was restricted from any sort of holiday activity. It was not until I was in college that I was able to escape some meetings. When I married at 21, I was able to break my leash from obligated Kingdom Hall visits. I was never baptized, nor was my older sister. My father always has been a non - believer, as my husband and my sister's husband.

My mother is strictly devout in her faith - and that's fine with me if that's what makes her happy. Up until a few years ago – I would still drive my mother to conventions. She has a hard time walking due to bad knees, so I would give up a few weekends a year to take her. I mostly did it for her, not me. I recall the conventions when I was a child – the one in the summer lasting 3 or 4 days. Not only that, but I found an old program and the start time was 8:35 am and it ended at 6:05 pm. Being a kid, it was torture to sit that long. I got so used to the ritual over the years; I just decided it was best to keep my mouth shut because complaining got me no where.

When I turned thirty, I decided it was best not to lie to my mother anymore.

It started as simple conversation, as I was studying up on things I had never been allowed before. I learned that Pagans are “earth dwellers” that watched and recorded the phases of the moon and tracked its path because it assisted in the growing schedule. So they worshipped the moon (amongst other earthly gods) because that’s what they thought was right. The earth provided. It was their savior. What’s wrong with that? The witnesses portrayed them as Satan worshippers and evildoers. To be honest, I felt like everything was “the devil” according to them.

We had it out a couple of times and she would come to me with scripture. She couldn’t comprehend or fathom the idea of me exploring the outwardly. Since I was not baptized, there wasn’t much she could do about it anyway. I know it hurt her – I know she felt like, Where did I go wrong? But it wasn’t her. I appreciate the upbringing I had. Honestly, the witnesses are good people for the most part. There is corruption, like there is in any organization. But the rules are very strict and straight arrow. You either are one of them or you are not. I am not. It’s not for me. If it works for others – I’m glad they found their happiness. My mother did respect my decision after a while and things have been ok.

Now, I am happily agnostic and my mother knows. I don’t have to lie – and she accepts me for who I am. How long have you/were you in the faith? What generation?

Take care,

Tracy

Burgess said...

Hi Tracey

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm always happy to hear accounts of people who escape the Watchtower. According to me, it is an organization that should be stopped.

Unlike you, a Witness "brought the good news" to me. I was 13 then, and started studying with her more because I thought I was obliging her then anything else. In some months, I was completely captured by them.

It was not until I was 33 (4 years ago) that I made good my escape.

Are you on any of the ex-JW forums?

My best
Burgess

Tracy Phillips said...

Dear Burgess,

Your site is the first I came across that actually stated facts about the inside workings of the society. Most anti - witness sites are way out there and I found yours to be educated, insightful, and also a relief. Finally someone seemed to know the hell I went through growing up.

Burgess said...

Hi again, Tracey!

There is a nice bunch of ex-JWs who are generally very humorous and positive about rebuilding their lives after the Watchtower. It is www.jwsupportforum.com

You could visit the site and have a look at the discussions, ...then join the forum if you wish :)

Personally, I found that forum very good for my healing, and I have also made some good friends there in the process.

Wish you happy recovery in 2010~!

James Clarke said...

Anon you said:
"Anonymous said...

Please discontinue the use of the inclusive term "WE". You apparently have no regard for the teachings found in the bible and use this forum to promote an anti-JW agenda without substantiation or balance. The majority of this absolutely false. Those of the WE would appreciate it if you would provide your readers with the full story of each of your viewpoints rather than opinionated ramblings presented as fact.

You seem greatly troubled. Pray to your god that you may have peace. If you want real peace ... pray to the creator by name ... "Jehovah"."

If you are a JW, what are you doing reading an anti-jw blog for? Should you not now go and confess your sins to the elders? All of the author's points are valid and real, i should know I was a JW for a long time

Aju said...

i am never against jehovah witness people...bt i m against their teachings...because its completely nonsense...But i admit Jehovah is the only sovereiign god...bt etrnal happines is only through Jesus...Jesus said i m tha way,the truth and the life...Jesus is the word of god...and the word of god is god....plz read the scriptures...

Burgess said...

Thanks, Aju, for your kind invite to me to read "the Scriptures."

I have read them enough for many, many years, and have learned enough to draw my own conclusions.

My best.

Tita Ortiz said...

Anonymous should shut up really. Isn't there a WashTowel or Asleep magazine you should be reading instead of being on the Satanic Internet? Burgess, THANK YOU! I couldn't have said it better myself. After being born into this CULT I agree wholeheartedly with EVERYTHING you say. Those that are in there still are too brainwashed to see things for what they are. I didn't just decide to become an apostate. No, this was more than 25 yrs in the making and I'm only 33. Ever since I was a child I would see all these points manifested. As of last week when my own mother declared me an apostate, I really didn't know what it meant bc JW definition is totally made up by JWS. But after searching online, I came to the conclusion, Yep! That's me! and I'm owning that. I have NEVER seen such a closed minded group as the JWS.

Gina said...

Interesting, the rest of us aren't afraid to use a name, but the apologist is anonymous. Perhaps that's because they know it's forbidden to come to these sites by the WTS but is here anyway, reading apostate views. Good, maybe their mind will be opened to something they're afraid to admit. I was a JW for 36 years, and finally realized that being a part of this cult was cause me severe emotional problems. I could not live with the cognitive dissonance between what I was being told by them and what reality was demonstrating to me. I had such anxiety that I was in a constant state of panic, the beliefs of this religion gave me no comfort, no compassion and much guilt. I'm now a practicing non-deist Buddhist and have found a peace I had once thought impossible as a Witness. Witnesses are essentially orthodox fundamentalists who cannot see or accept any views other than their own, despise those outside their cult and are looking forward to the death of billions so they can rule this planet in their own fashion, the way they run their faith now. They are willing to sacrifice their lives and the lives of their children by not accepting blood as a medical treatment, the same as fanatics are willing to strap bombs to themselves for their religion. What's the difference? Fanatics are fanatics and dangerous and those of us brave enough to expose them are labeled apostates. To expose fanaticism and falsehood is not apostasy, it's being a whistle-blower. I commend anyone with the courage to do so. Many of us give up our families and friends to have the courage of our convictions because we are now shunned and have to start all over again socially, spiritually and even financially after leaving this cult. And Jehovah's Witnesses believe we deserve all that suffering and more. They believe that every one of you reading this that is not a Witness deserves to die horribly at the hands of their God, Jehovah.

Burgess said...

Hi Tita

I 'm happy I found this post helpful. I was 33 when I moved out (that was 4 years ago), and it was the wisest thing I ever did. I wish you all the best as you go forward to recover your place in the world!

dw said...

I just broke up with my girl and she is jw (not baptized yet and raised by jws) She was not abiding by her views as she was a virgin and met me and we had a beautiful start to our realtionship. she told me briefly about jw and said she was "considering" it when in reality she knew that she would become one because essentially she already was one. I never met a more stubborn human being in myy whole life. Her mother is so brainwashed by these nutjobs and I love her and want her but do not want to have kids with her because it will be her way or no way. any advice on how to get her out of this "cult"? Please email me at wdougwert@yahoo.com thank you

Unknown said...

if you think you are enjoying this life, and you WANT to permanently enjoy this life, there is one belief, that, in near future Jehovah is going to give some of them an everlasting life with full of satisfaction and he just wanted to believe this. but lets assume this belief is not true, and you dont believe this, well, close your eyes and imaging you are going to die tomorrow morning, probably in an accident and you are going to be no more on earth tomorrow! how do you feel about this? even if you dont die tomorrow, you WILL die someday for sure. how do you feel when your body is laid in a box and people seeing around you. now you exist, someday you are not going to exist, and you cannot do what you like, cannot eat what you like, cannot hang out with your boy/girl friend, cannot shop, cannot be creative etc, can you imagine today that you are not going to exist someday? but Jehovah says he will restore all your life on earth if you JUST believe and do a simple thing, that is to tell this news that Jehovah is going to do this. you see, something is better than nothing. when you die, you will feel like you will really want to live. you are not going to lose anything by believing this.

Now, the only organization that helps to do what Jehovah says, is the Jehovah's witnesses,

remember, no matter how much you work and try hard in this life, you CANNOT attain satisfaction for sure, its a fact, if you want to live an effective life, you just need to join the team and support this logical belief and achieve the effective life and live to your fullness, any other belief is not as practical as this, and this is exactly what bible says too.

so, even though all the points said by the author might be true, they are taken in a wrong understanding, the author of this article just did not understand the organization and the core purpose of the creator and has joined the organization expecting something else, probably was looking for better ways to live in current life, BUT its not about it at all,

dont think your life will become great after joining JW, no, its all about the future life on earth, we work hard to get into it, according to JW, we think, why to waste all our time working on this earth for an unsatisfied life? we will never get COMPLETE satisfaction on this earth, and we dont want a partial satisfcation, so now there is a belief that is practical and promises COMPLETE satisfaction, and we will work hard to achieve it. if we ever want to live, we want to live with FULL HAPPINESS AND FULL SATISFACTION, we dont want a live with partials.. period.

if you think a 80 year life is good for you, thats up to you. but we believe an 80 year life is not sufficnet for us, we have many things to do on earth, many things to enjoy so we need everlasting life!

Burgess said...

Sathish - thanks for your note.

From it, I discern that the first reason that attracted you to the Watchtower is not love for Jehovah, but your desire for eternal life in paradise. Your arguments show this -- your note if full of references to the joys of eternal life.

Would you mind telling me how long you have been baptized, and how old you are right now?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this. So true.

Anonymous said...

Please When a Jevoah witness comes to your door SLAM THE DOOR ON THEM THEY ARE EVIL PEOPLE,MISLEAD MY THEIR ELDERS PRAY FOR THEM!!!

Anonymous said...

A witness is "someone who observed or saw something"How does that make you Gods witness?They weren't there.Also if Jehovah isn't really God name why do they use it?I think G is is above a name.My sister is Jehovah witness and she said if I just pray to God I can be praying to other Gods.What other Gods?I have to call him by his name which she said is Jehovah.Also our father molested ME and she says I should forgive him but she brings up petty stuff from her past with her mother and other siblings.She doesn't forgive them so why she pushing me to forgive the evil rapist?

Anonymous said...

I am happy to refer anyone who comes knocking at my door with stories and beliefs that are so far fetched they border on insanity to the District Health board for assessment and treatment ... no need to thank me... my pleasure entirely...

Unknown said...

I was raised JW and know first hand this list is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH. As a young child, suffer the rod for complaining or expressing how I feel. My mother would pull the covers off so we have to get up and preach Saturdays and do meetings on Sundays. As I became a teenager, things got worse. This blog does not permit space to write my experience but I was confused, depressed, unhappy, and unloved and contemplated suicide many times. Having experienced this, I came to realize that those who commit suicide are not weak, for it takes immense inner strength to accomplish this fate. They are not selfish either, instead, they were treated selfishly by others.
I wish I can make a movie for all to learn from my hardships. The organization made my mother an oppressor, the organization being an oppressor itself. I can relate every single moment of my life as it has happened. I was instructed to outwardly put up a smiling face as if all was well to the public. But in my home, that was far from the truth, and all of us children have to obey or suffer. We were punished for embracing the worldly, wicked, ungodly, satan's offspring, ubelievers etc(name calling, labeling people by the organization). Love was missing from my home. My mother, an educated person, a school teacher, has allowed this religion to blind her eyes and feelings for her own children. She was so out of touch with our feelings, and never listened to us. My mom was made into a monster because those in the KH was looking on, and she hand to answer to the elders/overseers. When we became adults and left, she was plainly told that she will have to disown us and leave us behind. Once we stayed under her roof, we suffered unbearable & excruciating hardships for they were putting pressure on her. But we made it out. We are FREE. We are STRONG. We believe in ourselves, our strengths and our abilities. We celebrate our lives, and love it even better!

May no one ever face what I went through in the hands of the so called ' only true religion representing God on earth, doing the work of Jesus, calling themselves the faithful slave of Jesus' parable, labeling themselves good, and appointing themselves over Jesus' belingings, when infact, Jesus has not appointed anyone over his belongings according to the Bible.

May I take the opportunity point out that my mother became a witness after my father died, when I was seven years old. Before then, life was blissful and I enjoyed the innocence of being a child. She actually used to pay more attention to us then. After she became a witness, she became a robot, her life programmed one way, in the same routine for years to come. Anyone reading this should not come to the conclusion that my mother was by her own inclination a bad mother or a psychotic or just plainly a cruel person. No. The religion made her a monster because they were looking on, and she was made to answer to them. My other siblings can attest to this fact, and the rest of my family, for she disowned them too. She was made to become a different person after she became a witness.

Anonymous said...

How can a Jehovah Witness claim to be such a bearer of Faith when he ignores his mother the one who gave him life, a mother whom has diabetes and has both legs amputated and aztimers

susie said...

Everything written here is totally accurate!

susie said...

I have found many religions doing the will of God..helping people.when there is a natural disaster many religions run to help,I have NEVER seen the JWs as a religion help anybody who is not a JW![my parents included]if you are a member of the JWs you have many friends[who are also JWs.you are NOT allowed to have"worldly"people as your friend]if for some reason you leave the JW,you are right away not to be talked to..be shunned unless it's a bible study..i could go on here about millions of things i saw in the congregations,but i'd need 10 pages.!!

Anonymous said...

As one that has been disfellowshipped almost 4 years now and one that has studied with the JW's since 2003, and one that believes he's intelligent enough to know right from wrong, and one that can now see what a farce the organisation is, I can clearly say that I am in total agreement with what the publisher says.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating and crazy conversation you all are having here. Personally, I do consider myself spiritual, but I couldn't begin to imagine having faith in any man-made religion. NewsFlash!!!: They're all man-made! Yes that book thousands have interpreted, every word, page, and gospel was created by humans.

Having said that, I'm grateful for such institutions - or else our planet would be in much worse shape than it is (or would it?). In fact, the values that have shaped the man I am today have been handed down from these ideologies from my parents, and grandparents. I'm half First Nations and I tend to agree more with these beliefs than modern ones, but for those of you that are buried deep in the teachings of any religion, or those that are buried so deep in their distain for their experience in a religion, I say "chill out" - move on. Take what you've learned and enjoy your ride (it's a short one!).

As far as JWs are concerned, I've had many experiences both personal, and business over the years and I can say that the folks in point have been very fair people and I still maintain relationships with these people. The author of this post may want to reorganize his/her list under the headings, "Fanatic" and "Altruistic". Don't get me wrong, JWs still creep me out to some degree, but I'm convinced they're not all fanatical idiots. When they knock on my door, just for fun, I always invite them in for a beer.

I can only hope that the new generation will use these teachings as "guidelines" and not rules.

It's Crap&TheyKnowIt!! said...

I so deeply agree with you. I come from a family of Jdubbs thrived on appearances. Many of the men in my family were elders.... extremely CROOKED elders. My husband and his friends... ALL CROOKED. I, my children, the wives of these CROOKED elders, their children...all, dealt with infidelity, blatant lying, etc. But, because they are all "appointed" by Jehovah, how dare we question their morals and integrity! We do not take the "stories of worldly women" against the word of our brothers. So, I grew tired of this. I am EVERY cruel and evil thing since I decided to stand up against this b.s. My own mother, who barely is a practicing jdubb, has even shunned me. How dare I go against my husband. Although, his sins mount to the heavens...HE STILL attends the meetings and goes out in field service. Doesn't matter that he is a "practicing adulterer". So, I have left this idiotic way of life. And, YES!!! Life is great without having to deal with blatant sinners as your spiritual leader.