How do I help my friend?

on the rocks

He has been by buddy since child hood we stayed in the same area and same attended the congregation. He agrees most of the things taught by the WT is rubbish...but says whats the alternative where dose he go from here. Any idea/tips.

Fernando

The powerful map that leads people away from captivity and addiction to religion/ists is called the "unabridged gospel". This is one of the main purposes of the map.

It can be found along with most of its 30-odd markers in the Watchtower library, but by design not on the lips or in the hearts of Watchtower followers.

I was helped by this simple question: "please explain to us what the gospel is in one word"?

Questions work best. Telling is least effective.

Band on the Run

Good point. I despise people preaching to me. It shuts me down. A conversation is very different. The WT doesn't have true answers. Anyone who is literate can find the verbatim sentences in the WT. WT-canned response. Bible-What? I would perhaps mention that I found it instructive to read the Bible in consecutive verses for as long as possible, as though I were reading a normal book. It utterly convinced me. I needed no instruction or commentaries.

I had to read the NT for a college course. Altho I can be so anal and compulsive, I skipped Paul as a primary source. This was long before cell phones. I kept having to get coins to use the public phone to telephone my family with what I found in the Bible. As I recall, I found outright distortions, not just different points of view.

Decades later, I remain shocked. The Bible is precious to me. If it were not for the course, I never would have read it b/c I believed I knew it all from the Witnesses. It is also funny being with nonWitnesses in a faith community. Despite myself, I have strong gut reactions to certain things based on my upbringing. It shocks me when people grounded in a rational view of the Bible see absolutely zero WT influence on scripture. My starting point remains the Witnesses.

It would be nice to freshly encounter the Bible. I believe I am fairly well-read. There is such richness outside the Witnesses whether you believe in Christ or not. How would summarize Witness belief? Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

flipper

ON THE ROCKS- When your friend asks what the alternative is to the Witnesses - just tell him it's " living in reality " within himself and living his life for himself and the REAL truth. Your friend has freedom of mind if he exits the Witnesses, inside it he does not. It's that simple

Black Sheep

most of the things taught by the WT is rubbish

Ask if he is OK with knocking on doors trying to convert the HHs into believing rubbish?

Ask him if he is OK with his converts shunning their children when they leave because they just worked out that he taught their parents a load of rubbish?

What if his convert gets shunned by his own children if he realises he was taught a load of rubbish and his children don't? Would he go and visit him and apologise? or would he shun him too?

Joojoobean

Remind him Peter didn't say to Jesus "where shall we go away to?". He said "WHOM shall we go away to?" He can leave the WT organisation without leaving Christ.

Leaving the WT is like breaking an addiction. Sometimes the pain of trying to free yourself is greater than the pain of living with it. It can take a long time or a unique set of 'things' to coincide before willpower can really kick in reliably.

You could ask him how his conscience is in abiding by 'rubbish' (as he says) and potentially teaching that 'rubbish' to others?

Be patient. Carry on being the excellent friend you are. One day he'll need you even more than now.

Disillusioned Lost-Lamb

Never give up.