Hey folks. I've been on this board for just under seven months and I thank all of you who have contributed so generously to my education on things Watchtower, and quite a few other things too. Not all of it was on here but it was through this board I've been directed to sites like freeminds and jwfacts. I think it was OnTheWayOut who recommended a few books to me, including Combatting Cult Mind Control by Hassan and Captives of a Concept by Cameron. I read Hassan a few months ago and I'm halfway through Captives and wonder how much more convinced I'm going to be in the months ahead that the Watchtower, to put it mildly, is not what it represents itself to be.
The Society says that it represents Truth. In secular Western society there is only one test for truth, and that is evidence. When society is offended by something someone has done, it seeks redress from that person and quite often the accused person proclaims his innocence. Society gives the accused the benefit of the doubt but nevertheless seeks the truth through evidence. Same goes for scientific theories. They are also subject to scrutiny based on the evidence in support or not in support of the theory. It all comes down to evidence.
I haven't even got to reading Crisis of Conscience yet (on its way from freeminds.org) but the evidence I have already seen weighted against the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is more than a little compelling. It's damning. And most of it isn't even new evidence. I was totally ignorant of all these things when I started studying with the Witnesses in 1974 and it was the failure of 1975 that got my attention and precipitated my adios in 1976. But had I known half of the stuff I know now I wouldn't have come near the Witnesses in the first place. But it also leaves me just a little incredulous that intelligent people who are not otherwise blackmailed by the threat of disfellowshipping and shunning stay in. The only reason could be the Society simply forbids their membership either from seeing the evidence in a logical light or from seeing it at all. I don't know which is scarier.
People who are not yet baptised are visiting this board, in addition to many who are baptised. Maybe there are those who are considering getting involved with the Watchtower, but I haven't met any of those. Regardless, those who are not yet convinced that fleeing from the Watchtower is the right thing to do maybe just haven't seen enough evidence. There's no shortage.