However, the Seventh day Adventists say that theyre the only true religion, the Mormons say it and so do the Catholics and so on. The "soul" is simply the life-force within a person. Given the choice between what this media has to offer, versus reading a Kingdom Ministry insert, where do you think a bored and uninspired teenager is going to go? Realistically, though, its a threat to the organisation because education could broaden an individuals mind and open them up to a world of opinions outside the faith. The groups are handing out copies of The Watchtower from carts outside New Street station. I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. You know what its like to have no hope. The verdict has since been overturned, but the case is still being litigated. That our faith is true. However, the rate of growth has almost certainly also been dependent on child baptism for several years and, with the average age of the membership growing older and decades of discouragement from current members having children, there are also simply fewer children to indoctrinate. I have been giving a lot of thought to the young people who are leaving the Watchtower organization in recent years. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters Im still here, and Im still the same. I myself was born and raised in the organization. Attending My Father's Funeral The family of Jehovah's Witnesses is writing letters instead of knocking on doors to spread their faith. Meanwhile, Watch Tower purchased four $8,000.00 scanners. I have seen a lot of creativity and progressive thinking when it comes to how they design ministries for young people. BeyondJW - Timothy Campbell Many churches offer separate classes, services, or groups for children that are compatible with their maturity level and that get them acclimated to going to church. Theres absolutely no evidence of that at all. Sherrie and Naomi were Jehovah's Witnesses. I have seen many really good kids in the organization totally get neglected because they didnt have a father who was a Witness. . That takes us to 27. We have hope, and we have a promise that no one else on this Earth has. The leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses has never admitted that any valid reasons to leave the religion exist. He focused on his defense, like a narcissist who believes they are the center of the universe, unable to empathize with real people with real problems. Andee. Its psychology 101. If at any point you do have doubts and want to leave, your forced isolation up to that point makes the decision inevitably intimidating and potentially overwhelming because of the prospect of being alone and without a support network to guide you through the process. For Ali Millar, the experience of writing her difficult life story wasn't cathartic, it was traumatic. Woman born into Jehovah's Witnesses says she was raised in a cult The Watchtower organizations sole purpose is to proselytize, whereby all of its human capital must be channeled into that goal. 100 years is a pretty long time to wait. The leader Kim Jong is so deluded that his idea of inspiring his people is to walk out on his balcony with his huge Elvis glasses and clap his hands. How many schools do you know of, that stick preschoolers, high school students, and graduate students all into the same classroom together? 2. All rights Reserved. The church shares some traditional views with the Catholic church but holds several unique ones, including the belief that there is one God, not a Trinity. I have just loaded my spiritual cannon, and I am about to fire away! Tony Morris declared on multiple occasions that he was incensed with European trousers for men, designed by the homosexuals he hates so passionately and followed this tirade by producing a side by side photo of what proper trousers look like versus tight pants. If anyone defected, the leaders simply blamed it on American influence, the defectors lack of gratitude, or on some horrible personal defect of the defector. The purpose? Jehovah's Witnesses 'use the Bible to victim-shame,' sex abuse survivor says. They put peoples lives in bondage to the religion. When Cynthia became friends with George, who was a member of the Church Of Christ, Andrea had her guard up because she refused to let someone from another religion influence their faith. Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely. It is all about the rules and their governing body. It is just too much even for them to handle. There are millions trapped inside a mental prison, but we can help them. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Because I love my sister so much, I felt like I had to give her the opportunity to just listen. They are not allowed to question the Watchtower leadership or teaching. She learned she couldnt get that from being a Jehovahs Witness. And, it doesnt help the organization at all when governing body members like Jeffery Jackson get onto the stand in court and lie about their organization saying that it would be presumptuous to say that theyre the only spoakspeople for God when in fact, it says just that very thing in their literature. The minister who was teaching my Bible lessons (in the Church Of Christ) mentioned the Let God Be True book in my studies, and he asked me if I knew that the doctrines of the Jehovahs Witnesses had changed over the years. Sawyer and many others like her are now denouncing the church's shunning practices in the wake of a recent murder-suicide in Keego Harbor that killed a family of four ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who . -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. The Jehovahs Witnesses have a bunch of rules, regulations and policies much like the religious leaders of Jesus day had. In fact, the July 1st, 1984 issue of Watchtower magazine goes so far as to say that anyone who leaves their religion has decided "to leave the way of truth".. You're taught by the organisation that once you leave you will. I Prayed and was met by a Witness Its this picture of the world the word they use to refer to anything outside the faith that was painted for me as a child, and I was warned away from cultivating any close friendships with non-Jehovahs Witnesses for this reason. Not even Watchtowers huge lawyers can stop it. Witnesses are being approached and asked hard-hitting questions about child abuse, shunning, and other matters. Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson callously stated in 2015 before the Royal Commission in Australia that he had not even read the details of the victims who had testified before the Commission. A big part of the JW organization's power comes from keeping dissenters isolated until they give in due to loneliness. Marriage to an unbeliever starts to look a little inevitable. When you factor how many people are baptized vs. the number of publishers the year before you realize that they . Its the reason they emphasise the dangers and repercussions of searching for answers to faith-related questions in any place except their own literature, calling anything outside this apostasy. They govern every aspect of your life from cradle to grave. You can get shunned just by reading literature from another church, and you can even get shunned for smoking a cigarette. In situations such as this, I have often noticed that the kids dont have much in the way of emotional support and guidance. There is a question regarding the longevity of JW.org given the events of the past few years. Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. Andrea sat down. The cart-witnessing program is finally beginning to backfire. I had panic attacks. Leaked 'Branch' and 'Elders' Manuals Pull Back the Curtain of Inner And then from that day, I never looked back. 726 Followers. A lack of education is also essential to keep members locked in. Raymond Franz - Wikipedia Followers famously wont accept blood donations - nor do they celebrate birthdays, claiming such celebrations displease God. This religion contains more rules on what you cant do rather than what you can do. Beginning in 2018, JW.org will implement a program in which every single JW will be assigned a database number and their information will be in JW.orgs global database. Many of them not only help the young people with their unique issues, but also really inspire them enough to get active and pay it forward. With the recent crack-downs on college education, the Watchtower is looking less and less like a spiritual paradise, and is looking more like North Korea. Watch Tower must pay these benefits. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Being a Witness and following the doctrines didnt automatically mark you as different or better than anyone else. To scan all documents located in Brooklyn, retaining only the hard copies they were required to keep by law. Why are you doing this? Andrea was upset. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times - Quora The following is just my opinion and observations based on events from the past year. Less than 24 hours later, the manual was leaked and seemingly non-stop analysis and comparison to previous versions began. married a Swedish JW and moved to Sweden.He is pretty much inactive but occasionally attends meetings but is afraid to completely leave bc of being shunned by his wife's family. It is more like Satans group simply because of the harsh and inhumane rules and regulations that they harbor in their midst. We are in a great position to be a source of strength and compassion for those younger people who are wandering out and stumbling into forums like this. I went to university, where I made even more friends who showed me that being in the world is completely fine, and that debate and discussion is also OK. That is why I believe they will never adopt the very common sense solutions that could be so helpful to their members; especially the young ones. JWs are leaving in droves, all because of the internet. Other churches give single parents some relief by offering activities and programs for their children to get involved in and bond with other young people. Earlier this year, we wrote about how the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, better known as the Jehovah's Witnesses despite a long history of litigating many, many important 1st. I made a concentrated effort to stop using the word, because I knew it wasnt the truth to me, and that its use was just a very 1984 Newspeak method of subtle control. Is the Book of Daniel Prophetic or Historical?