Jehovahs Witnesses

I used to be beaten as a kid. (I'm not looking for - and don't want any - sympathy.  It was a hell of a long time ago and I'm not brain damaged or permanently scarred).  Today my dad would be described as having 'anger issues' but back then it was 'not sparing the rod'.  The beatings were fairly regular and very violent but pain, I soon discovered, is a momentary.  By the time I reached about nine or ten he realised that I was becoming impervious to pain and his tactic changed.  He 'invented' a home for boys who were disobedient, a place run by tough guards who employed a strict, harsh regime with little food, early morning starts and no contact with family. It sounds ridiculous but trust me, he would threaten to take me there every time I did something wrong and I was terrified.  I believed him, I trusted him and I was scared that he would take me to it. On a couple of occasions he even put me in the car with a suitcase, ready to dump me ...

When you get to a certain age you start to think about death.  It's as natural as birth and as inevitable as the sunrise.  Fearing it is instinctual but in so many ways pointless.  As a young man I would happily walk on high roofs, ride motorbikes at ridiculous speeds, climb cliffs with no safety gear and dive into the sea from heights that now make me feel nauseous.  Today I hate heights, never climb cliffs and I haven't ridden a motorbike since my last accident a couple of years ago (though I intend to get my bike out again soon but I will be a lot more careful in future). Everyday we all get twenty four hours closer to our eventual demise.  It might be a day, a week, a month or years away but it will come.  Of course Witnesses believe that they will live forever and even if they die at some point they will be resurrected to everlasting life. We all know that is sheer fantasy but we could fall into the same trap as them.  They don'...

Is it just me or does everyone hate the softly spoken, eager earnestness of younger elders as they tell you that you're in grave danger if you don't return to 'the fold'? I find myself wanting to shake them awake, desperately wishing they could see that they are pissing their lives away - just like I did.  But of course you smile and nod and wish them well as they walk out the door - after all we're British, we don't do emotional outbursts. And there is the issue.  We are all being emotionally beaten by an Organisation that cares for nothing other than it's own ego and it's own wealth.  We are forcibly divorced from our family and friends, shunned as if we had done something unforgivably evil and our only choice to alleviate this pain and suffering is to rejoin the bastards who have created the position in the first place.  Yet we sit and tolerate it, accepting our plight without any dissent except for blogs and Facebook sites amongst ours...

Remember those talks where the JW's would take a few verses of scripture and break it down piece by piece to fit their way of thinking? Heres my example of how 2 Tim 3: 1 - 5 should be interpreted; 2 Tim 3 (NWT) But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.   2   For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal,   3   having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness,   4   betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God,   5   having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power; and from these turn away.   1. But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. In the last few days I have been very criti...

I am experiencing and witnessing first hand the effects of the Governing Body's instructions to shun anyone who has left the religion.  It is deeply sad to see grandparents keeping their own grandchildren at arms length because they have lost all faith in an organisation that preaches love and truth yet practises cruelty and dishonesty. None of my own family have been disfellowshipped or disassociated yet they are treated as though they don't exist.  JW's seem to believe that anyone who leaves the organisation automatically enters a life of debauchery and excess.  Maybe this perception is perpetuated by the experiences relayed in their literature of people who have left and then returned years later.  Normally the experience involves a decline into meaningless sex or drugs and it is only a 'return' to Jehovah that enables them to regain control of their life again.  There is the inevitable reference to their 'spiritual need' and ...

Do you remember; S8's?  Little forms that you had to fill out while on field service.  Those little forms were full of code. For instance; NH meant 'not home'. DNC (Do Not Call) meant someone was really pissed that you woke them up. RV was of course a Return Visit - someone didn't kick you off the doorstep. W/A - you placed some magazines with someone who took them in the mistaken belief you would now leave them alone - little did they know they would now become an RV!   BK - wow you placed a book - of course the BK would then be followed by the book title. TTTLTEL was my favourite (The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life).  It was my favourite because, at the time, it was in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling non-fiction book.   Non-Fiction?  Really? Sometimes, back in the seventies and early eighties, when a publisher met a particularly non-responsive householder they would write the abbreviation GT on the S8.  Thi...

My parents are not in the best of health and are in the twilight of their lives.  They have both spent their entire lives in the service of Jehovahs Witnesses, giving both time and money along the way. They have both remained loyal, faithful and hardworking members of the congregation and the sad fact is they will probably both go to their graves believing the lies they have been told. Sooner or later one or even both of them will need nursing care.  They may develop alzheimer's, cancer or dementia, they could suffer a stroke or heart attack or just become too weak and tired to care for themselves.  Will the Governing Body look after them?  Will they pay for their care?  Will they even send them a message of support as they lay bed - ridden? Or will they turn a blind eye as the 'shunned' family members look after them in the final years, months and weeks of their life? And afterwards - when the 'shunned' family members have made that sacrifice - ...

Something struck me today.  Something so obvious and yet so simple that it has been hidden in plain sight (in my case) for all my life.  Being bought up as a JW you are taught from an early age that the theme of the bible and the whole purpose of the religion revolves around the issue of Universal Sovereignty.  In simple terms it is Satan's challenge to God that He doesn't have the exclusive right to worship from all of mankind and man can govern themselves without Gods help. But it is not true; that is not the issue at all.  The issue is actually betrayal.  Here's the explanation;  What is it that man is incapable of without Gods help? Everlasting life? - No God apparently took that away from us because some distant relative of ours ate a fruit they were not supposed to touch.  He didn't have to do that, he chose to. Perfection? - He took that away at the same time. The reality is that if you accept the Bible and specificall...

The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses would like me and all the ex-Witnesses who post blogs, operate websites and create YouTube presentations that openly challenge their beliefs and rules to simply shut up and go away.  We are all portrayed as 'apostates with diseased minds' that should be shunned by our friends and families because we won't submit ourselves to the authority of a group of fools who have no concept of humility, truth or decency.  Of course they feel that they should be allowed to carry out their own criticism of all other religions. They bleat about their 'rights' if any Government tries to curtail their freedom of speech. They openly spout homophobic and chauvinistic views.  They ridicule science that doesn't conform to their views and they have no qualms about lying to the press or even their own believers. Just like radical Muslim organisations the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses are planning for a world where only their...

Some recent press articles regarding JW's reveal the extent to which the organisation is misleading the authorities and fighting hard to keep their dirty secrets well hidden. The Hartlepool Mail 15th Aug 2016 - Campaigners 'grave concerns' over new directives for Jehovahs Witnesses ; A spokesman for the Jehovahs Witnesses said it did not comment on leaked documents but said; "As we have said before the protection of children is so important and we are constantly trying to improve ways in which we can safe guard our children." Constantly trying to improve ways in which we can safeguard our children?  And where can we find even the slightest shred of evidence of this never-ending improvement?  Is it by being open and honest about the completely inadequate safeguarding of children in the past which has lead to wide scale sexual abuse? According to the next article apparently not; The Guardian 12th Aug 2016 - JW's under pressure over handli...

Today I am continuing to question the JW's booklet:  THE ORIGIN OF LIFE,  FIVE QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING,  but this time, instead of concentrating on the numerous misquotes and deliberate misdirection, I want to highlight just how their arguments are self-defeatist. Page 7 of this booklet;  What do you think? All scientific evidence to date indicates that life can come only from previously existing life. To believe that even a “simple” living cell arose by chance from nonliving chemicals requires a huge leap of faith. Is God a simple living life form?  Because JW's believe that the single most powerful being in the universe, Jehovah, did not come from previously existing life .  They believe he has always been and will always be.  Really?  So they don't believe in evolution but they do believe in a being who had no beginning, ever? Remember that JW's believe mankind has only been on this planet for six thousand years.  Darwin...

I have been reading the 'Was Life Created' booklet on JW.ORG.  Yet again they use numerous quotes to either back up their theory of Creation or cast doubts on the science of evolution.  Just as they did in the 'Creation' book they have twisted many of these 'quotes' to mislead the reader.  Let me take you through a few; 'Was Life Created'  3. The fossil record documents macroevolutionary changes. The previously mentioned NAS brochure leaves the reader with the impression that the fossils found by scientists more than adequately document macroevolution. It declares: “So many intermediate forms have been discovered between fish and amphibians, between amphibians and reptiles, between reptiles and mammals, and along the primate lines of descent that it often is difficult to identify categorically when the transition occurs from one to another particular species.”28 The facts. The confident statement made by the NAS brochure is quite surprisin...

Do you remember when JW's dismissed intellectuals critiquing their beliefs, claiming the 'Truth' attracted simple people with good hearts? I've just listened to David Splanes explanation of the new '1914' generation explanation and I've come to the conclusion that it is so complicated and convoluted that you need a University education to understand it - and of course JW's are discouraged from getting one of those! I'm not going to try and explain it here because it will change again anyway at some point - it always does. (Sorry, I sound so cynical today for some reason!) In my last blog I briefly mentioned Judge Rutherford.  As any Witness (and ex-Witness) will know, Rutherford is a key figure in JW history.  He was the second President of the organisation (though he was not one of CT Russell's preferred choices as his replacement).  He was reportedly a charismatic orator and a strong leader. Obviously it is easy to pick f...