Which 5 Books Would You Recommend?

by leavingwt 62 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

leavingwt

bttt
slimboyfat

What do you make of The Blind Watchmaker?
Trumpet of Prophecy is out of print and I don't see any cheap copies online at the moment. I got mine for £15 on Amazon, but I was looking out for it for some time. I first read it at the university library though. Many good large libraries will have it in stock. Beckford also wrote articles on Jehovah's Witnesses for academic journals if you have access to an academic library or online passwords for journal databases.
I disagree with Penton on lots of things. Perhaps the main thing is that I don't think his presentation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany is fair. I also think he got carried away with the narrative that the Bible Student organisation run by Russell was basically benign and essentially corrupted by an unscrupulous power hungry Rutherford. I think Russell was not as saintly as is often made out, nor for that matter was Rutherford all bad as is the impression Penton's presentation tends to leave us with. I also think Penton's interjection of his own theology (particularly his support for the NWT rendering of John 1:1 springing from his Arian views) at various stages is just a bit weird in what is meant to be an academic history. Plus he tends to go a bit easy on Bergman and his poor scholarship evidently because he is a friend. Additionally next Beckford, who presents an excellent short history of JWs in Britain, Penton's range of sources and use of those sources is just a bit disappointing.
boyzone

Best for me was'
1. Crisis of Conscience (of course)
2. In Search of Christian Freedom (finished the job)
3. Gentile times Reconsidered (totally blew away the 607-1914 possibility, then I was really free)
4. More Jesus, Less Religion by Steve Arterburn (taught me how damaging legalistic religion can be and how real christianity should be)
5. Combatting Cult Mind Control. (Saw for the first time how I was controlled and why I fell for it for so long)
leavingwt

Slim -- Thank you for those details. Regarding Dawkins' book, I've only just begun. However, it's painfully obvious, after only reading the Preface and First Chapter, that I'm quite ignorant of the details of the Science of Evolution.
BoyZone -- I really enjoyed The Gentile Times Reconsidered. A must-read for anyone who believes that 1914 is special.
Lady Lee
Toxic Parents by Susan Forward - just substitute parent for WTS - see:
- http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/59414/1/Toxic-Parents-Toxic-Religion and
- http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/59448/1/Toxic-Parents-Toxic-Religion-2
The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by Johnson & VanVonderen - see:
Emotional Blackmail by Susan Forward - see:
- http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/67481/1/Emotional-Blackmail-and-ex-JWs and
- http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/31197/1/Emotional-Blackmail-and-JWs
Addicted to Misery: The Other Side of Co-Dependency by Robert Becker. - see:
- http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/relationships/70569/1/Addicted-to-Misery
While none of the above books were written about JWs and only one was written about spiritual abuse the issues discussed in each book can very easily be adapted to spiritual abuse issues and the WTS.
blacksheep mentioned Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships, Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Madeleine Tobias. We did a discussion of this book a while back. see:
leavingwt

Lady Lee -- Thank you very much. Lots of good stuff, there.
purplesofa

Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Carolyn Myss
While I did not need or take to heart all that was in this book, some of the very basic info concerning humans, their development and their behaviour was most helpful for me.
The Power of Now and A New Earth by Tolle
both books just give you an new way of looking at life and the planet and use of your time and a whole lot of stuff.
Combatting Mind Control, Crisis of Conscience
eat, pray, live by Elizabeth Gilbert
a spiritual journey this woman takes is incredible. I would esp recommend this book for women or men that lose their spouse during this transition time of exiting the JW religion.
God Against the Gods:
The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism
By Jonathan Kirsch
Viking, 2004

God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism (Viking, 2004), by best-selling author Jonathan Kirsch, explores the final struggle between monotheism and polytheism in the ancient world and the roots of religious violence in the modern world.
Kirsch's controversial and illuminating new book demonstrates that, contrary to the conventional wisdom of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, religious liberty and diversity were core values of classical paganism -- and it was monotheism that introduced the terrors of true belief, including holy war, martyrdom, inquisitions, and crusades.
God Against the Gods focuses on the first stirrings of monotheism in ancient Egypt, traces the losing battle that early Judaism and Christianity fought against polytheism, and focuses on the climax of "the war between God and the gods" during the reigns of two charismatic and visionary Roman emperors -- Constantine, who started the Christian revolution that made the modern world, and Julian, who tried to restore paganism, all in the tumultuous period of the fourth century in the Roman Empire. They are a rare example of how two human beings, acting out of their own personal passions, literally changed the history of the world.
The last stand of paganism against monotheism is one of the great "what-if's" in history: how would the modern world look today if the worship of many gods had been tolerated instead of persecuted? Breaking a long-lived taboo, God Against the Gods reveals the dark side of monotheism and the bright side of polytheism, and shows how the world we live in today -- including the horrors of 9/11 and the war against terrorism -- are rooted in the oldest traditions of monotheism. And it tells the tale by focusing on the real lives of men and women, and by illuminating the ancient roots of today's most bloody conflicts as well as the cherished idea of religious liberty.
leavingwt

Purps -- Thank you. You've mentioned some previously unmentioned in this thread.
ablebodiedman

leavingwt,
This is the most profound book regarding the WTS which I have seen:
Jehovah's Witnesses - The Bible Report
It is different because it uses actual scriptures to show how the JW's are in fact fullfilling bible prohecies.
It thoroughly condemns the WTS using scriptures and historical events.
It shows how the disgusting thing enters the holy place.
It reveals the man of lawlessness.
It shows how the number 666 is calculated.
It explains how Jehovah's Witnesses receive the mark of the beast on their forehead or hand due to one of their own doctrines in regard to the baptismal ceremony.
A good place to start is by watching a video where the receving of "the mark" is explained.
http://thebiblereport.blogspot.com/2008/07/jehoavhs-witnesses-forehead-or-hand.html
or where the "millions now living will never die" doctrine is proved to be "the covenant with death" in Isaiah Chapter 28.
http://thebiblereport.blogspot.com/2008/08/video-chapter-covenant-with-death.html
The book is a must read.
regards
abe
leavingwt

bttt

Which 5 Books Would You Recommend?

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