hi all this is josephus here and im posting my disassociation letter minus any identifying details which ill leave blank. i would like thoughts on it if poss, but not spelling tips as my girl will check it 2morrow i just wanted to see if i struck the right balence . or maybe if i put something wrong.

thanks all josephus

 

  

Well its kinda threaputic really and it gets me away from them once and for all, but i allso dont want my name linked with theirs anywhere even in my old freinds heads. BUUUUT  ive messed this up a bit and i havent posted the letter so ill fix it then get thoughts.

 

josephus

here goes ill try again................

The governing body of Jehovah?s witnesses

Brooklyn New York

United States of America

Dear Sirs

I am writing for the first and last time as a member of the Jehovah?s Witness religion. I was raised in this faith and was baptized at the age of twelve in the congregation in xxxxxxxx. I remained a part of that congregation till about 1999/2000 when I stopped going, mainly because of the cruel treatment I received from several ?elders?.

During the last 4 years I have had no visits from the shepherds of my hall. No? one has tried to encourage me back into association with Jehovah?s one religion. During that time i looked into your religion very deeply, and as i am sure you will know, found you lacking. I discovered the broken promises, the half-truths and lies you?ve told for one hundred years. I learned the things you try so desperately to hide from the witnesses, to many to go into in this letter.

I have learned that many elders know these things. My circuit overseer xxxxx has said on the platform ?there are many things I don?t believe, but I still teach them?. All my local elders know the things mentioned in the various publications outlining the wrong teachings and wrong practices of your religion, but they continue to persist in this great lie.

What hurts the most is not your lies, but the results those lies have had on so many millions of people. I think of the parents who refused to inoculate their children because you said they were ?filthy animal puss? I think about the men and women left with no provision for old age and no children to provide for them because of your emphasis on ?the end of this system of things?, and not ?wanting to bring children into this sick old system? finally I think of the people who have died because of your wrong policy on blood transfusions, my own sister nearly being one of your victims.

I have seen so many good people in your religion, however I have seen cruel and evil ones too. Your claim to be uniquely clean is as false as the worship you offer to our god. I won?t go into the things I or my family have suffered because of your teachings. But before I end my letter I wanted to say a few things.

You were not picked out in 1914 to oversee all gods? possessions on earth. God does not choose you. God does not deal with selfish arrogant men who hide in ivory towers while ordering good people to live under burdens they will not touch.

You are not protecting Jehovah?s name by hiding the abusers of children in your church. By doing this you only insult him and allow abuses to continue for longer.

You are not helping men become Christians by making them get out on the service once a week. While ignoring the old and sick. My own presiding overseer (a man in his late seventies) once said, ?I don?t like visiting the elderly?. An old women in my hall was so long ignored in her home, she asked the sisters who eventually saw her ?have I been disfellowshipped?.

You are a wonderful example of straining the gnat while swallowing the camel. You worry about the colour of shirts brothers wear on the platform or whether they should have a beard or not, but you ignore the most important things in a Christian life namely love of fellow man and not judging him. You have spent so long telling the world how evil cristendom is, but they would shudder at things you do everyday. And while I know of the despicable acts of some churchs, I also know that they understand the concept of asking for forgiveness. You have never said sorry for your sins, you?ve only blamed others.

I continue to hold warm feelings for many men and women in my hall and I am aware of the consequences of my actions, but I cannot be associated with this thoroughly unchristian group any longer.

Please make known this to my local congregation as soon as possible.

xxxxxxx

phew its posted and edited cause i forgot to remove my name!!!! what a spaz!.

anyway thoughts are welcome.

josephus

Very good letter.  Hopefully it will make an impression.

I like it.  I like that you don't waste your breath trying to tell them the things they already know, but get your feelings off your chest. If I ever need to write a DA letter, I'd like to use yours as a template.  KISS principle--Keep It Simple Stupid.

Congrats on the letter!

Now that you've written it, remember that they don't give a hoot about you leaving.  You're just one more number that leaves the 'flock'.  In essence, they don't want you, because you don't want them.

I thought of sending in a letter and making it official; but why?  For me, it came down to, with encouragement from others, that I was still under they're control and they only wanted me to write that letter. 

In any event, good luck on your decision.  Tons have DA'd officially here, and there's nothing wrong with it.  It can be a great part of healing. 

awwwww im all pleased. thanks so far.

 

josephus, ps once i post it this week im changing my name to my real one.

It's good , straight to the point of how you feel and how you were treated. I hope this letter gives you closure.

GREAT letter!  To the point, and not a wordy theological argument.  One thing the spell checker might not catch is the "to many" at the bottom of the second paragraph: should be "too many" (two o's).

I like the thoughts, but in my opinion - and this is just my take on the situation.  These guys are probably hit all the time by "apostates".  As soon as you mention their false teachings, you may lose your audience.  "Oh, another misguided apostate, blah, blah, blah, file this one away".

But, you have some good points about how they hurt people.  If the guys reading this have any heart, it may touch them, make them feel guilty for how they've handled their flock.  (Probably more at the local level than the society).

If you leave out the "wrong teachings" stuff and stick to the other ways they've hurt people, they may read it all the way through without dismissing it.

That's just my opinion.  There's something great about the way it is now too.