Jehovahs Witnesses

JW.ORG Gen. 3:16: “To the woman [God] said: ‘ . . . your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.’” (This declaration after Adam and Eve had sinned was not a statement of what men should do but of what Jehovah foreknew they would do now that selfishness had become part of human life. A number of Bible accounts thereafter tell of the very unhappy situations that developed because of such selfish domination by men. But the Bible does not say that God approved of such conduct or that it is an example for others to follow.) Is the assigning of headship to men demeaning to women? Being under headship is not in itself demeaning. Headship contributes to the handling of matters in an orderly arrangement, and Jehovah is “a God, not of disorder, but of peace.” (1 Cor. 14:33) Jesus Christ is under the headship of Jehovah God, and he finds great satisfaction in that relationship.—John 5:19, 20; 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:27, 28. Please excuse my language but what a load of...

Another day gone and still no Armageddon.  The stomp of military boots echoing off the pavement as squads of armed police round up all the Witnesses is strangely absent.  (If you've seen their recent video's you'll understand)  The clamour to ban all religions isn't even a whisper.  As for throwing money into the streets - well the pound has weakened since Brexit but there's no evidence that it's so worthless people are throwing it away. For my entire life (and for a long time before I was born) Jehovahs Witnesses have been declaring that Armageddon is 'just around the corner' or 'right in front of us!'   When it's pointed out that they have been saying this for over a hundred years they role out the spiritual Elastoplast of; 'a day to Jehovah is as a thousand years to man.'  And that sound bite is a prime example of how Witnesses deal with awkward questions about their beliefs.  When they don't have an adequate a...

Following on from my last blog I have been thinking about the Governing Bodies instruction to Elders to follow the Society’s instructions “whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not.” This gives them a license to do anything they please without any checks and balances.  The argument they use is that all instruction comes from Jehovah and therefore it is perfect.  Of course this explanation ignores the fact that everything they teach supposedly comes from Jehovah yet they have been getting things wrong since the day CT Russell decided to publish the Zion's Watchtower.  If Jehovah God really guided them would they have publicly made so many predictions that did not materialise?   Of course not.   In order to issue an order as arrogant as 'follow our instructions whether you agree with them or not' it must be backed by a track record of faultless instructions.  A track record that the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesse...

I recently visited Sheffield City Centre and came across two groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses gathered around their literature stands.  Since leaving the religion I have never had a discussion with any Witness about the bible or Witness beliefs. Nobody approached the Witnesses nor did anyone show any interest in the Watchtower magazines or the books in both Spanish and English on their stands.  So I walked up and picked up a magazine and started to leaf through it.  Nobody took any notice of me.  I looked around and gained eye contact with a thick set Witness in his fifties.  He nodded at me and went back to talking to the group.  I stayed in place, reading an article and wondering when someone would come over - after all I've rarely seen anyone approach these stands so any interest must be welcome for them.  Finally, after none of them had shown any sign of wanting to talk to me, I walked away, convinced that they wouldn't let a potential bible study...

Do you remember going on field service?  Counting hours, magazines, books, return visits and bible studies?  Today I walked up to one of the city centre stands that JW's occupy.  There were at least five Witnesses talking amongst themselves so I decided to hover for a while and see what happened. Interestingly none of them approached me.  So I took a Watchtower out of the stand and looked at it for a while.  Still nobody approached me though tat least one was looking in my direction. Finally I took a Watchtower and walked away - still not a single Witness showed any interest in me. The episode didn't surprise me in the least because I have observed these stands in cities as diverse as Prague, Edinburgh, Majorca, Sheffield and Berlin.  It is a time counting exercise and nothing more to the 'pioneers' that man the stands.  At the end of the day (or more accurately their shift) they count how many magazines and books have been taken and add them to ...

Jehovah God is a loving Father, so claim Jehovahs Witnesses.  He is a God of justice and the fruits of his Holy Spirit are perfect love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness and self-control. So how does this description of God marry with the following from JW.ORG?; JW.ORG: What will conditions be like during the battle of Armageddon? While we do not know how God will use his power, he will have at his disposal weapons such as those he has used in the past—hail, earthquake, flooding downpour, fire and sulfur, lightning, and disease. ( Job 38:22, 23;  Ezekiel 38:19,  22;  Habakkuk 3:10, 11;  Zechariah 14:12 ) In confusion, at least some of God’s enemies will kill each other, yet they will ultimately realise that it is God who is fighting against them.— Ezekiel 38:21,  23;  Zechariah 14:13 . Most civilised countries have outlawed capital punishment because it is barbaric, even those that still retain it...

I've seen a lot of Facebook posts, blogs and comments on my blog recently that show JW parents basically disowning their kids who are either disfellowshipped, disassociated or simply 'faded' - though I hate that description - it's a Witness term and it basically means they have disappeared from view! Of course the solution they always give is; Come back to Jehovah and we'll welcome you back into our family.  I wouldn't critisise anyone who rejoined the JW's in order to re-establish contact with their friends and family.  The prospect of never being able to have a relationship with those you love unless you conform is evil, nevertheless it's also compelling.  Frankly it begs the question; how many have gone back with loathing in their heart for Jehovah and his band of vile men, but put on a pretence in order to regain their family? My guess is many. Personally I would never do it but the cost of that decision is huge.  My parents are old and neit...

I recently watched a film called A Perfect Day (highly recommend it).  It's a story set in the Bosnian war in the nineties and centres around a group of aid workers who are trying to remove a corpse that is polluting the only useable well in the area. At one point in the film they have almost managed to pull the body out when a UN Peacekeeping Convoy stops them. The Captain explains that the new peace treaty forbids them to touch the body without a local Judge giving them specific permission. Of course this law was not really designed for this type of situation and it's clear to us all that the humanitarian and the most sensible thing to do would be to remove the dead body, sanitise the water and return the well to the local population.  But the UN Captain insists upon the letter of the law being upheld despite the fact that ignoring it would be beneficial to all. And so the locals are forced to buy their water at extortionate prices from local criminals or,...

We can all learn, whether we are 9 months or ninety, we can assimilate new information, build on our knowledge and achieve new skills.  However it is the young who are able to learn at the quickest rate. Young children can learn languages without any formal training and in multi-language families they can quickly assimilate two, three or more with seemingly little effort.  I've known three year old kids who can flip from Spanish to English or Farsi to English, conversing with their mum in English and their dad in his first language all within the same discussion. As parents, our primary objective is to educate our kids, provide them with a solid basis to enable them to become productive members of society and experience happy, fulfilling lives.  We are charged with making the most of those formative years and failure to to carry out that obligation in a way that has anything but the child's best interests at heart would, I'm sure you will agree, be tantamount to ...

Have you ever thought what the word 'persecution' really means? Jehovah's Witnesses regularly recount the persecution many of their members suffered in the second world war and in Malawi, Rwanda, Russia etc.  They are also happy to predict persecution for themselves as anyone who has seen some of their very dark JW.ORG videos will attest to. The Oxford dictionary definition of persecution reads: Hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs; oppression. Does that definition apply to the treatment ex-Witnesses receive from the organisation? Can they be described as hostile to our thinking?  YES Can they be described as giving us ill-treatment by ordering our friends and families to have no contact with us?  YES Is this a direct result to our change of thinking when it comes to religious beliefs? YES Could their vicious, slanderous attacks on ex-Witnesses who speak out against their deceptions and ...

Leaving JW's was the hardest thing I've ever done.  That's the first time I've ever admitted to it.  I had known for years that it wasn't right but I also feared the consequences of turning my back on it.  But this blog isn't about me.  It's about a person who helped me through the worst of it and put into words the stages that all of us go through. It starts with indignation.  You can't believe how badly they've treated you and for weeks and months you go over the same comments, experiences and situations, pulling them apart, re-visiting them and thinking of things you should have, wished, you had said. Then the indignation turns to anger - but now it's not just at the snide comments or the nasty things people in the congregation have done, now it's also about the things you are finding out about the organisation - the lies, the deceit.  It's during this phase that most of us suddenly dare to argue against the teachings ...