As we move toward 2014 one of the most noteable occurrences has to do with the young people in the Watchtower Society: WHY YOUNG PEOPLE AREQUITTINGTHE WATCHTOWERSOCIETY It's no secret that young Jehovah's Witnesses are quitting the Watchtower Society organization over them as fast as possible. Ask and they say the main reason is that it’s become intolerable, so restrictive as to be unlivable. And h ow so? Well, young people are made to feel guilty by Watchtower because they are unable to attain the unattainable, that is what Watchtower deems to be perfection. Besides the in-built guilt-tripping, they feel deprived of countless opportunities to enjoy a normal life with normal fun activities. They don’t get to go out to non-JW dances, bowling parties, attend a school-sponsored summer leadership conference, join a YMCA for non-religious recreation etc. Nor can they join Scouts, be a cheerleader, participate in birthday celebrations, go to the prom, enjoy Christmas, Valentines Day etc.
In short, most normal events for enjoyment are outlawed, mislabeled unChristian, worldly or Satanic. Even things they can do they are discouraged from doing, for example, they are told to avoid internet usage and to consider any negative news about JWs even in reputable newspapers as lies and propaganda from Satan. They are also discouraged from higher education. Young Jehovah's Witnesses have their entire lives ahead of them. The sooner they can make the break the sooner they can start enjoying normal lives with joy. Even when JW young people have married they have been irked to find that Watchtower bedroom laws are applied, a perverting by outsiders even of their state of matrimony. True, JW family and any friends who stay JWs will shun them, but the Watchtower way of life is too rigid, harsh and unnatural, so they see they must get out and the sooner the better. Instead of constantly be reminded of impending Armageddon and preaching at door after door, they would rather be making friends, having some normal fun and normal lives. Happily, many, and no doubt more than many with the passing of time, rightly blame the Watchtower for its fruit-cakey, hypocrisy of rules and regulations, not God who has caused Galatians 5:22 to state that the fruits of the Holy Spirit include love and joy. The highly respect Pew Forum report said, speaking generally without reference to a particular age group, "Jehovah’s Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses."
This is far more so the case among the youth. The Watchtower Society is bleeding youths as well as Elders, not exploding but imploding, not suddenly flying into pieces but slowly strangling to death. |