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Jehovah's Witnesses who leave their religion, do so for many different reasons. Here are seven.
Watchtower prophecies and dates for armageddon have failed repeatedly. Evidence can be found in old Watchtower publications. [1] This proves to many Jehovah's Witnesses that God is not blessing their religion on an exclusive basis. False prophecies also create doubt and questions about other key doctrines.
Some see a discrepancy between what the organization teaches and what Jesus said in the Bible. The Law of the Christ appears to conflict with many church doctrines. The primary reason for this may be because they put Jehovah first and Jesus second. They believe that Jehovah created Jesus and because of this, Jesus came to do Jehovah's will. They believe that the ancient tribal God Jehovah is the same as God the Father of Jesus. Critics disagree and point to this evidence. See Who is Jehovah?
Some Jehovah's Witnesses leave because they feel their freedom and rights to free speech are being violated. They feel controlled and manipulated. See Mind Control. There is very little a Jehovah's Witness can do without consulting with the Watchtower first to make sure it doesn't violate one of the Society's laws. They are not allowed to draw their own conclusions about what the Bible says. They cannot interpret God's will by listening to the messages they are receiving directly from Jehovah. The organization arbitrarily dictates every facet of a member's life and beliefs down to the smallest detail. When we were Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watchtower even tried to control sexual practices within marriage! Violations were to be reported to the elders! [2]
Some Jehovah's Witnesses leave because they disagree with some of the Watchtower's doctrines. JW's are given only two choices. They can believe everything or they can leave. Public disagreement and constructive criticism is not allowed.
Some Jehovah's Witnesses leave because they realize that unity of beliefs and 'speaking in agreement' is far more important in their organization than the search for truth.
Some leave because they have carefully examined their religion from independent sources and no longer wish to be associated.
Some leave because they instinctively know something is wrong but they don't know what. Sometimes reasons are not necessary. The voice of God guides each one of us in the direction we should go.
Other Good Reasons Why Jehovah's Witnesses Are Leaving Their Faith.
The entire organization's sense of reality and truth is grossly distorted. Many Witnesses know there's something wrong, but very little can be done to change doctrines and make the organization better. Anyone who challenges even minor teachings of the Watchtower can be disfellowshipped as an apostate. So when a person can't affect change, all they can do is keep their opinions to themselves or leave. There is no middle ground.
Secondly because they disfellowship so many Jehovah's Witness who challenge Watchtower laws, a sobering number of Jehovah's Witnesses leave their religion because they are forced to! Yes they can attend meetings but all their 'privileges' as a Jehovah's Witness are taken away and no one is allowed to speak with them.
Under these conditions how many people are willing to go through the process of being reinstated? Unbelievably, some do!
Why It's Hard To Leave The Watchtower.
Most Jehovah's Witnesses have nagging doubts about their religion. However they will defend the organization even with their life. This is the power of a cult. What appears real and the 'only true religion' to Jehovah's Witnesses is in fact just as real as Dorothy's world in the Wizard of Oz.
A good example of this is their many failed prophecies for the end of the world in which God slaughters billions of people except Jehovah's Witnesses. Consider what happened to cult members who believed Armageddon was coming in 1975. In spite of the huge disappointment when this didn't happen, most Jehovah's Witnesses didn't leave! Why? Read all the articles on this site and you'll begin to understand the dangers of joining a cult or being born into one.
How Can I Convert A Jehovah's Witness To Christianity.
It's hard to convert a Jehovah's Witness to any religion when they first leave. Why? Because dreams appear very real, until you wake up you realize it was only a dream. A Jehovah's Witness might leave the organization today but still be in a 'sleep' state for the next 20 or 30 years! Deprogramming can take a few months or a life time. Some never fully recover. Why? Because many Witnesses feel guilty that they did something wrong. They feel that they left God's organization or the best religion on the planet. They are ashamed that they are now an 'apostate'. They rationalize that even if their former religion isn't perfect, it's still the best one. They strongly believe all other viewpoints are 'false'. Thus their religious programming fills them with guilt for leaving and forbids them from considering other possibilities as truthful.
What Happens To Jehovah's Witnesses Who Leave?
Even after deprogramming, the emotional wounds inflicted when one tries to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses can take many years to heal. Being dropped into the real world after living your entire life in the Land of Oz can be traumatic. But that's only part of it. Most Jehovah's Witnesses miss friends and close family members who don't speak with them because they believe the Bible requires Christians to treat disfellowshipped persons as literally dead.
1. For an exhaustive list of documented Watchtower predictions that have failed please check out the links on the False Religion page.
2. Watchtower Bible truths can change at any time. Consider oral and anal sex within marriage. In 1974 if a married JW couple did this, it was a disfellowshipping offense. In 1978 it was not a disfellowshipping offense. In 1983 it was a disfellowshipping offense once again. See disfellowshipping See Watchtower Nov 15 1974 page 704, Watchtower Feb 15, 1978, pages 30-32, Watchtower March 15, 1983, page 31
Why Jehovah's Witnesses Are Leaving?
- Apostate Jehovah's Witnesses
- Are Jehovah's Witnesses A Cult?
- Salvation. The Best Religion. Will It Save You?
- Leaving The Jehovah's Witnesses
- Why It's Hard To Leave The Watchtower
- My Experience Leaving The Watchtower Society
- Disfellowshipping
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HHG