Currently, in the US, JW.org has just 40% of their publishers registered in the JW.org database system. None of these religions are the true religion. In Namibia, the government has denied Watch Towers plea to remove itself from employer status, since this forces Watch Tower to pay social security benefits to all full-time workers such as Bethelites. 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. Jehovah's Witnesses will often turn away from any Bible discussion that challenges their beliefs, using the excuse that they cannot listen to apostates. When you take a look at many of the mega-churches for example, it is very impressive how much they put into creating support groups and programs for their young people. 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. Their lackluster growth will only continue; and they will find it harder and harder to recruit new members. Religious fact, faith and delusion, home> It made them revered. Each member carries a "Health Care Proxy" card, declaring his or her desire not to receive a blood transfusion for any reason as stated by Acts 15:28, 29. What would you expect to see if that was a news headline within the coming year? Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves, Never miss breaking news by signing up to our free email updates. 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".. But I will say this each one of us can play a part in sharing what we know with the public. Find some websites which you believe are honest and accurate and share them. Are Watchtower reasons for being the only true religion valid? But the fact that there is such a large turnover of the young people is a major symptom that something is deeply and fundamentally wrong with the Watchtowers model. Authorities have also been accused of failing to look into allegations by whistleblowers that Jehovah's Witnesses may be hiding its money . Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering . 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. Mum, I havent died. 239) In this video I share the story of my transition from believing. In 2015, the court hit Watchtower with a $13.5 million verdict after the organization failed to turn over documents and provide witnesses in a lawsuit filed by Jos Lopez. As she started to lose trust in the unsteady teachings of JW, Andrea turned to the Church Of Christ for doctrinal stability because, in the Church Of Christ, everything that they follow is written in the Bible. I eventually left the faith at 18. Many former friends, including my best friend of 10 years, shunned me. Many elders have questioned this vocally, and have described the amount of money charged to each circuit as an invoice. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. You're taught by the organisation that once you leave you will. I can never forgive them for betrayal. Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson One troubling result is most high control groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientologists, discourage their members from seeking help from mental health care professionals, even when they display troubling signs of acute depression, anxiety, panic disorder, dissociation, suicidal thoughts, autism spectrum disorder or a variety of Meanwhile, Watch Tower purchased four $8,000.00 scanners. It is all about how much you can do in the organization that earns you status and salvation. I would love it if the young ones were leaving in droves, and I believe because of the Internet this will happen, but I don't see a great deal of evidence at present. Well, the reason for the recent increase is simply due to a change in tactics, according to our sister title the Chronicle. I had panic attacks. My grandmother was a pioneer. It is more like Satans group simply because of the harsh and inhumane rules and regulations that they harbor in their midst. Biblically, however, the word "soul" is multifaceted. I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. Elders at a Utah congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses allegedly forced a 15-year-old to listen to a recording of her rape over and over again for hours as part of a religious inquiry, a. I remember that first year after Id left the Jehovahs Witness faith. Its psychology 101. Kings County, New York - On May 18, 2021, in New York City, Robins Kaplan LLP filed three lawsuits against the Jehovah's Witnesses parent-organization, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ("Watchtower"), on behalf of survivors who were sexually abused when they were minor members of two different New York State congregations. (source: Pew Research: https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/jehovahs-witness/) and https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/26/a-closer-look-at-jehovahs-witnesses-living-in-the-u-s/). With multiple documentaries being filmed, protests being organized, news reports being written and lawsuits being filed, Jehovahs Witnesses can choose to buckle up and attempt to survive the crash or they can release that belt and get the hell out of the vehicle which is about to catch fire. Photos of JWfacts.com being Promoted If all of this keeps up, it might not be long before you will see jw.org gone from the scene, as well as other things tied to this diabolical evil religion. 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. Right away, Andrea recognized that there was nothing Biblical about her grandmothers answer. On top of this, many Jehovah's Witness adults expect children to silently sit still through long convention talks on Daniels prophecies or the nuances of the word parousia. In many countries, such meetings would be nothing unusual. A big part of the JW organization's power comes from keeping dissenters isolated until they give in due to loneliness. Jamie Bamber plays Archie Hughes in Beyond Paradise on BBC One. In 2017, Russia banned the denomination, whose members believe in nonviolence and refuse to take up arms in war; Russia . All rights Reserved. 37:2337-Minute Listen. BeyondJW - Timothy Campbell The shorter the expected time left, the higher the growth. Truth Be Told Documentary She was convinced shed lost me and that Id be changed for ever now, no longer the daughter shed always loved and cherished. Within ten years, a Boom Boom Boom! Press J to jump to the feed. Brummies happily shopping and going. Id been treated badly by as many people who were Witnesses as I had non-Witnesses. A life of meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol is often woven into this picture. There is dissent in South Africa right now because of the fixed per capita amount assigned to each publisher who attends a circuit assembly. No more than four-in-ten members of the group belong to any one racial and ethnic background: 36% are white, 32% are Hispanic, 27% are black and 6% are another race or mixed race. And now with other countries finding out the harshness of their rules and their inhumane practices of shunning, and not turning child sex abuse cases over to the police is really causing a huge problem for Watchtower. Theyre currently in damage control which means that theyre trying to wipe away their history in the hope that future Witnesses will never find it out. Website powered & protected by Jehovah's holy spirit. In order to avoid climate passivity, we must redefine Armageddon. And, I think the issue is much broader than what the simple statistics are showing. Feeling deceived by the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses, she confronted her grandmother. They believe that salvation is impossible outside of the Watchtower. And they actually tell you that you cant read the Bible alone that you need these other publications written by them to be able to understand scripture because it comes down from the governing body, and what they say goes. It was these friends who became my support network and showed me that people from the world are just the same as people from the faith there were as many lovely people as there were horrible people, as many happy people as there were sad. But fortunately, after having been out for a number of years, many of us are getting to know who we really are and what gives our lives meaning. The groups are handing out copies of The Watchtower from carts outside New Street station. THE Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination has been accused of selling assets and sending cash offshore to avoid paying Australian child-sex abuse victims. I was lucky enough to have parents who brought me up more loosely than most Jehovahs Witnesses. When youre a convert, you know what its like to be in the world. 100 years is a pretty long time to wait. It is truly a heavily works based religion. When you stand in the public square and represent a religion, its just a matter of time before the public connects the dots, and the carts are sent to the junkyard, one at a time. Updated at 12:25 p.m. Jesus said himself that he was the way, the life and the truth and that nobody comes to the father but through him. Watch Tower is in the process of implementing a new records management program along with a destruction of documents procedure which is designed to ensure that no documents exist which would tie Watch Tower to any legal responsibility or repercussions. First of all, I think the Watchtowers problems with their inability to retain the young people runs very deep. 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. The present study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Those few born-in Jehovah's Witnesses who do stay in will pay an enormous price in that they will never have gotten to know who they really were. The Russian Supreme Court's shocking ban of the Jehovah's Witnesses on 20 April 2017 also violates Russia's own Constitution which, in words, guarantees freedom of religion. -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. magazine which says: "No one should be made to worship in a way they find . Imagine if Ford was blaming the consumers - saying that consumers had poor judgment for not wanting to buy the Pinto anymore. Like all enthusiastic followers, they owned a copy of the Let God Be True, which was written, printed, and distributed by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. Yet, ironically, its clear that their growth is already suffering due in part to this stubbornness. (Immediately prior to dates the end was specifically expected, such as 1914, 1925 and 1975, growth increased to as high as 20%.) 2. These doctrines made perfect sense to me!. The origins of the Jehovah's Witnesses go back to 1879, when a Pittsburgh businessman named Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) began publishing the magazine Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. This is definitely one organization that you need to steer clear of at all costs. Youre taught by the organisation that once you leave you will become corrupted by the outside world and inevitably descend into selfishness, meanness and false happiness. They really have no proof of God giving them this high and mighty position of being Gods only spoksperson on Earth. His wife's parents are among the 130,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine. One would think that relatively simple endeavors like those offered in other churches would be worth it to the Watchtower leaders; when considering their inability to retain the young people. All Witnesses are expected to obey instructions and doctrines that influence every aspect of life: Women are considered subservient to men, higher education is discouraged and homosexuality is not permitted. World. When these programs do address the children directly, it usually only entails an assembly drama about Samuel, or the promise that very soon, they will be able to play with tigers and elephants. I had to see it, I had to look it up, and I had to read myself. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. Brother Eddie San Gabriel challenged Andreas beliefs, and in the process she learned two powerful things that peeled her away from remaining a Jehovahs Witness. Jehovah's Witnesses across the nation moved to letter-writing and phone-calling instead of door-to-door evangelizing when the organization suspended door-knocking in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He grew up in a Strong JW family in the USA but now thinks most of it is BS and Nonsense, By the way he does love Sweden and I need to go visit him. Jehovah's Witnesses with 1.3 million members in the U.S. who hand out brochures on sidewalks and subway platforms and ring doorbells are one of the most visible religious groups in the . 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. Less than 24 hours later, the manual was leaked and seemingly non-stop analysis and comparison to previous versions began. Something went wrong, please try again later. Andrea sat down. Nov. 20, 2019, 9:49 AM PST. Two years ago, JW.org implemented a 5-year cost reduction program in which they asked all branches to cut costs by a minimum of 10%, up to 25% as a preferred number. Coronation Street favourite Julia Goulding has confirmed she's back on the cobbles. No religion can claim that. With all of the new doccumentaries being produced about this organization, YouTube channels and other types of media being produced, Watchtower doesnt stand a chance at survival. Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses has never admitted that any valid reasons to leave the religion exist. The gathering was a Bible study. That our faith is true. 1. I began a life where I could decide what to believe for myself, and I wasnt afraid of someone telling me I couldnt. Much like Kim Jong walking out and clapping his hands, the Watchtowers idea of motivating its people is to deliver talks denouncing college, Watchtower articles ridiculing those who disagree with them, and the repetitive promise that the end is just around the corner. Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that humans have an immaterial nature. Additionally, it has been noted by many of us that when there is a family in which the father does not hold some kind of office, the family is often left out on the periphery without much social support. In March 1997, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the nonprofit organization that oversees the Jehovah's Witnesses, sent a letter to each of its . Being a Witness and following the doctrines didnt automatically mark you as different or better than anyone else. However, it is too late because it is all laid bare for everybody to see online and it will never ever be erased or taken down. As a result, most young Witnesses grow up sequestered in their homes and their congregations, fearful of anything outside those boundaries. I myself was born and raised in the organization. An organization that has established itself as the sole possessor of truth and the single place of refuge from the coming apocalypse cannot divert time and resources to anything that is not related to its recruitment activities. Jehovah does not mislead us. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have the one and only true religion and that their Governing Body is appointed by God himself. Jesus Christ is his firstborn son, is inferior to God, and was created by God. Watch Tower is very upset and concerned about all the leaks coming from their headquarters. ", BBC Beyond Paradise star Jamie Bamber is married to Eastenders actress. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. On the heels of a $35 million jury award to a woman who alleged the congregation mishandled her childhood abuse, other . How long will all of this take? They dont bring salvation to your door when they come but instead, they talk about a paradise Earth and so on. Spare the rod, spoil the child. I have observed that children in families like this most often never thrive, and are swiftly on their way out by the time they reach teenage years. Therefore, if young people are uninspired, bored, or unmotivated to engage in the theocratic treadmill, Jehovah's Witnesses can simply blame it on the influences of MTV, high school, or on their favorite buzzword: the world. 726 Followers. Watch Tower has made it clear these records are to be destroyed according to their new records management and destruction procedures. Sections: politics business autos jobs career education romance computers phones travel sports fashion health . [1] People are waking up and leaving in droves. Most Jehovah's Witnesses - roughly two-thirds (65%) - are . 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. More than that, though, it infuriated me the way my most important reason for leaving was brushed aside because it was the most irrefutable: I simply did not believe in the Bible and God, and by extension any Christian belief. It is all about their money. Andee. The Internet is what is really hurting the Watchtower organization bigtime because in the past, information could be controlled and managed. This religion contains more rules on what you cant do rather than what you can do. In a recent private video for Bethel members only, this war against questionable pants, socks, and tights was restated, with Watch Tower doubling down on matters which would baffle Jesus himself were he to walk the earth today. Evolution & Creation Misrepresentations Every time I . I was also lucky that both my parents encouraged me to get a good education to work hard at school so I could go to university if I wanted. 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. , Productivity Hacks for the Creative Christian, Three (Unexpected) Life Lessons from College, Dear Teenage Self: Finding God Changes You. Found some information I thought you all might be interested in. Jw.org Website However, today, information is in the form of aTsunami which cant be stopped. Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to welcome doctrinal changes. This has happened in other countries as well. The Jehovahs Witnesses have a bunch of rules, regulations and policies much like the religious leaders of Jesus day had. Literature carts are being used not just in the Newcastle area but all over the world and we foresee them being a regular feature of our public preaching for many years to come.. Reportedly, one of the rules is that unless a perpetrator confesses to committing a sin, two people must witness the commission of the sin. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. At that time, a small group of Bible students who lived near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States, began a systematic analysis of the Bible. A key factor to the growth in number of Jehovah's Witnesses is the promise that this system will end at any moment. Change in teachings? Growth is pretty much stagnet in America and other countries like Great Brittan, Austrialia and other English speaking nations. Are you inspired yet? They have been issuing subpoenas from the Southern District of New York to various internet providers in the US, along with Google, Inc., in an attempt to track down the source of the leaks and identify the individuals involved in leaking their literature and videos. In some respects, its very entertaining. Instead, all of the nations human capital is invested in one thing: warfare. The records management overseer related an experience where one hand-written note cost watchtower over $200,000 simply because a JW elder at headquarters was honest and produced a written document which tied Watch Tower to a major litigation case with a prior vendor. Included with this the commissioning of the Last Messenger! The Internet's most comprehensive resource for ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, a community for support, recovery and a few laughs along the way. Just imagine if the Ford Motor Company was still manufacturing and marketing the Ford Pinto. On February 4, 2019, rumors of the release of a new Elders manual, meant only for the eyes of the top leaders in each congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), began to surface on ex-JW forums across the Internet. Jehovah's Witnesses in Newcastle City Centre. This article provides basic information on leaving this faith. Jehovah's Witnesses detained in inhumane conditions June 4, 2021 Number of Jehovah's Witnesses on trial in Lipetsk grows June 2, 2021 Christian attorney gives advice for staying on good side of law June 1, 2021 Crimean Pentecostals fined for violating Russia's anti-evangelism law May 31, 2021 American prayer breakfast figure feted by Ukrainian . Is the Book of Daniel Prophetic or Historical? 2020-06-14 - NATALIE O'BRIEN. For Ali Millar, the experience of writing her difficult life story wasn't cathartic, it was traumatic. When curious JWs find communities like this one, they realize they're not alone and there's hope/life for them outside the borg. Ironically, they cant do that, because the organization has already been identified and branded as a spiritual banquet where nothing is lacking. Is it any wonder that the turnover among the young people is so high? Since then, four Ukrainians from occupied Crimea have been sentenced to six or more years' imprisonment: Serhiy Filatov; Artem Gerasimov; Viktor Stashevsky and Igor Schmidt. In situations such as this, I have often noticed that the kids dont have much in the way of emotional support and guidance. You have no place in this house. He told me to pack my things and go.. So if Jesus said that, then that means all of these cultic religions are not the truth as they claim that they are. But why have they stopped knocking on our doors? We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Last night, I was reading the thread posted by jwfacts a while back in which he provided some statistics and graphs showing the rapidly declining growth in the Watchtower. It isnt Christian and it isnt Gods organization. The Watchtower organizations sole purpose is to proselytize, whereby all of its human capital must be channeled into that goal. "(We) encourage them to make urgent contact with the Department of Social Services so . The Jehovah's Witnesses congregation is a millennialist restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs. Nobody at the London HQ would comment on whether the strategy resulted in an increase in followers.
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