by Kevin 34 Replies latest jw friends
Almost forgot...
check out www.brci.org.
My wife found their info, in all places, in a used bookstore, in an old WT book, which was left there for those trying to make sense out of the lies and deception of the WTS. They have a telephone help-line with trained counselors (toll free) as well as their website. Check these people out.
I am an active but very disillusioned JW. I believe that the primary doctrines taught by the WTBTS' are the truth (i.e. Mortal Soul, Hell is grave, no trinity, etc.). All organized religions teach both truth and error and the WTBTS is no exception. I always accepted the imperfection of the organization as being due to human imperfection. I believed the GB to be who they said they are and also believed they did their best to act in the best interest of Christ's sheep (us). My realization the something was not right began about 12 years ago when it became evident to me that the organization was not really concerned with justice and fairness with regard to it's members. I saw so many discrepancies between what the organization taught about adhering to Bible standards and what they themselves practiced in the interest of themselves that I began thinking for myself.
The fact that you have men who say they are not in direct contact with Jehovah. They say they are not inspired prophets. Yet they expect us to allow them to make almost all of our decisions for us. They make life and death decisions for millions of people when they are coming up with these ideas themselves. They take a majority vote over those decisions by the way.
Then all the lack of love in that they practice survival of the strong. Survival of the fittest: unlike Jesus who was very caring toward the weak, infirm and fragile whether they were christians, jews or not.
Them disfellowshipping mentally ill people.
The things that went beyond the Bible like oral sex and masterbation never being mentioned but being under ban. Just two examples. Birthdays is another one. Oh yeah and smoking. Nowhere in the Bible does it say you cannot do those things. That is the start of a very long list of rules they made up that are not stated in scripture.
Jesus saying his yoke is kindly and light. Them demanding that you make five meetings a week. Study for them. Pressuring you to make field service as much as possible. They want you to do this no matter how extenuating your circumstances are. Whether you are sick or your family is sick or depressed or have horrible things you are going through, they demand you not falter. They don't give you any excuses. They withdraw any support if you can't measure up. If you falter they say it's your fault. You did something wrong and are spirtually weak or sick.
The fact that you cannot question them once you are baptized. That they spend so much time looking for a student, years even but will drop them in a second if they get baptized and then cool off for any reason.
Big one: conditional friendship and love.
Flyin'
With me it was a series of events that took over ten years to occur but it started with my year at Bethel. Its where I saw so much materilism, corporationism, polictics, and racism. Then when I was Disfellowshipped I couldn't understand why I had to attend meetings and write a letter to get reinstated. Where in the bible are these instructions present? Finally after reading In search of Christian freedom by Ray Franz the deal was done.
I realized that this was not the truth but a controlling cult that destroy's families and lives.
The book Crisis of Conscience!!!!!!!!!!
Hearing Garrett Losch at Morning Worship talking about how true Christians shouldn't watch American Football because of the violence. And then hearing all of the Bethelites talk about it. Nobody stopped watching it or playing it. Guess they're all going to die. After all, it was direction from a Governing Body member.
Hello everyone. It's been awhile! I'm back for a bit - hope all is well.
-Jason
I couldn't understand how the WTS could teach that things were so wrong doctrinally in 1918 that Jehovah sent his people off to "captivity to Babylon the Great." Yet, at that very same time, those doctrines were judged by Jesus to be such "healthy spiritual food" that he appointed the WTS over "all his belongings".
Hi Kevin, in answer to your question, I stopped going to any meetings in 1994, I was sure that armageddon was coming and it was pointless for me to try to live a witness life,i just figured i would be destroyed.3 years later after coming online I found out that in 1995 that the society changed its view on the 1914 generation and had even stricken the reference to it in the declaration page of the watchtower. From then on I knew it was a lie. their prophecy had failed to pass and now they were trying to revise it. But it was too late!!! I had many doubts about it when growing up, but when it finally occurred to me that they had revised their cornerstone doctrine because of failed prophecy, I knew that I could never look back. I was told and made to believe by my dad and the articles in the mags that armageddon would happen in the 20th century. The bible defines a generation as 70 maybe 80 years, however the 1914 generation is now 90 and nearly gone.
The Watchtower claims that there is an unbroken line of Witnesses of Jehovah from Abel up to the present. However, they are hard pressed to tell us exactly who these Witnesses (minus a Watchtower Society) were after the Great Apostasy in the 4th century and up to Charles Taze Russell, who began the WT Society. They can't identify them and all they can say is that they were there. It reminds me a little bit of the 1914 invisible presence.
