In 2017, Russia banned the denomination, whose members believe in nonviolence and refuse to take up arms in war; Russia . Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering . There is a question regarding the longevity of JW.org given the events of the past few years. Jehovah's Witnesses believe these men are anointed as the voice of God on Earth. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that they have the one and only true religion and that their Governing Body is appointed by God himself. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a member of a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Pierce County recently sued the organization. In situations such as this, I have often noticed that the kids dont have much in the way of emotional support and guidance. I had to see it, I had to look it up, and I had to read myself. Those eight men up in New York are worshipped because they follow every single word they say. The Internet is what is really hurting the Watchtower organization bigtime because in the past, information could be controlled and managed. A typical Jehovahs Witnesss life is basically consisting of work or school and field service along with several weekly meetings and Bible studies, or should I say, Watchtower studies. The Jehovah's Witness Religion is Literally Dying Off : r/exjw - reddit That our faith is true. Its old and we dont use it anymore. A closer look at Jehovah's Witnesses living in the U.S. When commenting on the young people who leave the organization, another common tactic that the organization uses is to cynically compare them with the ungrateful Israelites who found Jehovahs manna to be undesirable. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times - Quora However, the Watchtower stubbornly sticks to a one size fits all program for everyone. 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. 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. And its peppy acceleration will get you far and away from Zeb and his feisty cart crashes!. This is another religion. By Brendan Cole On 7/28/20 at 11:09 AM EDT News Russia Intensifies Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses with 110 Armed Raids The. If they act up and dont sit still; spankings are usually soon to follow. They thought the end would be here now with the old generation teaching. JWs are leaving in droves, all because of the internet. Are you inspired yet? 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. The gathering was a Bible study. Biblically, however, the word "soul" is multifaceted. I was allowed to make friends with people outside my congregation. It is truly a heavily works based religion. In more recent news concerning the Watchtower organization, Steven Lett made a really shocking and quite frankly damning statement concerning babies. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. I remember that first year after Id left the Jehovahs Witness faith. This does not sit well with many elders, particularly those is less than affluent areas. Ukrainian Jehovah's Witness sentenced for talking about the Bible in By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Jamie Bamber plays Archie Hughes in Beyond Paradise on BBC One. Does a recession/pandemic/war indicate Armageddon? Jehovah's Witnesses said in a statement it did not join because it does not have the institutional settings that result in children being separated from their parents, such as youth groups, choirs . Watchtower Caught Dumping Chemicals Religious Switching: Change in America's Religion Landscape | Pew A big part of the JW organization's power comes from keeping dissenters isolated until they give in due to loneliness. Man who raped Jehovah's Witness girls sentenced to 5 years in prison Is the Book of Daniel Prophetic or Historical? [1] People are waking up and leaving in droves. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. Mr. Lopez alleged he was abused by a church elder named Gonzalo Campos. Jehovah's Witness settlement: Are you eligible to file a claim? That takes us to 27. Every time I . Found some information I thought you all might be interested in. Nearly all WT published material does not hold up to even a freshman's college essay in terms of sources cited, strawman arguments, and avoidance of logical fallacies. ITV Dancing On Ice judge Christopher announced Jayne is out of surgery - and it was a success. The Secret Jehovah's Witness Database of Child Molesters - The Atlantic And when youre a member of the Church Of Christ, the peace that you have in knowing that the promise that God has made to you will be fulfilled is everything. The lawsuits are piling up, the fines are compounding, the public awareness of Watch Towers dangerous and controlling cult influence on followers will become a spectacle in 2018. Besides meetings and literature, what is the Watchtower doing, or even attempting to do to truly refresh, uplift, and inspire their young people? ET on April 5, 2019. 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 . Jehovah's Witness Child Abuse Lawsuit - Class Action How long will all of this take? It is law according to the Jehovahs Witness. 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. Woman born into Jehovah's Witnesses says she was raised in a cult Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves. 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. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. Everyone has a different "wtf" trigger and access to that information is just a curious click away. Doomsday images from Jehovah's Witnesses publications. This raises the question: Who is an. ITV Dancing On Ice's Christopher Dean issues Jayne Torvill health announcement. One has since died but had rarely attended before her death. Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult? A lack of education is also essential to keep members locked in. Judging 'sincerely held' religious belief is tricky for employers The mental health of Jehovah's Witnesses - PubMed Have you lost your mind? The Witnesses still experience growth, but at a huge expense. . Nobody at the London HQ would comment on whether the strategy resulted in an increase in followers. For what Christian would ever call somebodys baby a little enimy of God? At what point do they begin to ask themselves if there is something that THEY are doing wrong? 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. 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. She learned she couldnt get that from being a Jehovahs Witness. Jw.org Website 10. The Jehovah's Witnesses - CULTWATCH Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. 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. Reportedly, one of the rules is that unless a perpetrator confesses to committing a sin, two people must witness the commission of the sin. Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned in Russia since 2017. 726 Followers. Does this sound familiar? Spare the rod, spoil the child. Was Russell a Freemason? In some respects, its very entertaining. Two years later he founded Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society, which was incorpo-rated in 1884 in Pennsylvania. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. According to Watchtower's own figures, know the number of Jehovah's Witnesses decreased 0.6% from 2019 - 2020 (this represents 46,823 average publishers, for anyone interested) BUT I found a few other interesting facts that indicate, to me at least, that this cult's days are numbered and you can see you feel about it as well. On the heels of a $35 million jury award to a woman who alleged the congregation mishandled her childhood abuse, other . 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.. In South Africa, over 1400 congregations struggle to file their government mandated tax returns required of each congregation. The reason for this is because theyre on the verge of going totally belly up, and they need money to be able to handle all of the child sex abuse cases that they have under their belts and so on. JWs in Eritrea have been rotting away in prison cells some for decades while the coalition of overweight, business-class-flying governing body members feign tears for the men and women who are effectively their slaves. 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. Boom Boom Boom! Well here goes. 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. Believers honor Jehovah, the God and Creator of all things. Raymond Victor Franz (May 8, 1922 - June 2, 2010) was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from October 20, 1971, until his removal on May 22, 1980, and served at the organization's world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. Now if they all say this, surely not all of them could be the truth huh? She was especially close to her sister Cynthia. Witnesses believe that they are living in . I have my duty. And then from that day, I never looked back. Jehovah's Witness 'ordered to renounce faith and join Russian army' Europe. I just want you to listen to the doctrines. Meanwhile, Watch Tower purchased four $8,000.00 scanners. Im grateful every day for my education and my desire to learn and think independently, a skill that fostered in me those initial doubts about Jehovahs Witnesses, and enabled me to have the strength to search for answers elsewhere in non-biased literature. 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. Now that their arrogance has has gotten the better of them and they mistakingly feel theyre better than anyone else to sit in front of the camera and pontificate, we see how bad they are. I have seen many really good kids in the organization totally get neglected because they didnt have a father who was a Witness. Not even Watchtowers huge lawyers can stop it. And even though it was a challenging journey, she doesnt regret it. Leaked 'Branch' and 'Elders' Manuals Pull Back the Curtain of Inner Included with this the commissioning of the Last Messenger! She met George, his family, and a few others from the Church Of Christ, including Brother Eddie San Gabriel, a Minister of the Gospel. 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. Strangely, their newspapers only had good news to publish about the Soviet government, and only had bad news to report about Western democracies. When curious JWs find communities like this one, they realize they're not alone and there's hope/life for them outside the borg. Jehovah's Witness elders made teen listen recording of her rape for Something went wrong, please try again later. By the time many young Jehovah's Witnesses reach their teen years, not only have they been conditioned to associate worshipping Jehovah with great displeasure; but they still don't have any groups or programs tailored to them as teens, or which meet their needs. 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. All rights Reserved. Watch Tower Headquarters asked branches to sell as much equipment as they could liquidate including heavy equipment, printers, etc. As many of you know, the cutbacks were significant. -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. They may think they do, but we have seen, we have seen the proof that our God is real. He [the minister] handed me the Bible, and he told me, From now on, when we look up a scripture, I want you to look it up, and I want you to read it. And that was the biggest help for me in reaffirming me that what he was telling me was the truth. With all the false end of the world predictions that they have done in the past, theyre still crying that Armageddon is coming soon, and that they will be the only survivors of the battle. "I would be sick. To have no faith. We are so inured to the concept that it has become meaningless. 10 Reasons Why Jehovah's Witnesses Are Unhappy - Medium 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. Like Stockholm Syndrome victims, Jehovah's Witnesses continue to support the only organization they think has the answers, identifying with and revering their captors - men who have little sympathy for the victims of child abuse, shunning, or death by blood policy. The membership is aging out and, I suspect that before all those belonging to the second "Overlapping Generation" pass away, we may have seen the end of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. . Drunk driver smashed into family car on M6 - while sipping cider, Jehovah's Witnesses denies telling abuse victims not to call the police, BBC Breakfast star Charlie Stayt halts show to warn Lenny Henry 'you shouldn't say that', Charlie was hosting BBC Breakfast on Thursday - but warned Lenny: "You really shouldn't say that. 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. Why Is Putin Afraid of Jehovah's Witnesses? - Foreign Policy Yet, ironically, its clear that their growth is already suffering due in part to this stubbornness. Attending My Father's Funeral Jesus Christ is God's agent, through whom sinful humans can be reconciled to God. Its a great field service vehicle with four doors and plenty of ankle length dress room in the back! Truly the Watchtower organization has absolutely nothing good to say about any other religion because theyre too busy puffing themselves up over them. Followers famously wont accept blood donations - nor do they celebrate birthdays, claiming such celebrations displease God. She listened and protected her faith and the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses until her beliefs could no longer defend her. For them to stay in the organization and have an approved standing, they will have had to squash their inner self, and adopt an organizationally-created identity. Church, charity and 'cult' refuse to join sex abuse redress Ironically, they cant do that, because the organization has already been identified and branded as a spiritual banquet where nothing is lacking. I've never showered as much in my life. Robins Kaplan Files Lawsuits Against the Jehovah's Witnesses Parent 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. It is the interpretation given those prophecies by men like Stephen Lett and the other members of the GB over the decades that has caused so many witnesses to lose their faith and even, in the case of many, to turn away from God entirely. I can never forgive them for betrayal. 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. Instead of engaging in some honest soul searching and introspection about how to help and nurture young people at an organizational level, the Watchtower leadership, writing department, and traveling overseers all attribute the high turnover to their favorite straw man: Satan. Everyone has a different "wtf" trigger and access to that information is just a curious click away. Andrea sat down. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. A few weeks later, the Jehovah's Witnesses closed on a $200 million sale of that building to the private equity firm Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors, which plans to turn the property into . About the most exciting thing that most of the young people will get to do is hold up printed signs at conventions that say Please Be Seated, or turn knobs in the Kingdom Hall sound booth. 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. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site status, or find something interesting to read. All Jehovahs Witnesses will be given a number and tracked unless we can stop this invasion of privacy here in the US and around the world. I dont remember feelling that way 30yrs ago, but perhaps I am starting to get back to normal? Animal Suffering I expect this is partly due to many young ones being DF or DA due to "misconduct" because children and teens are held to the same rigorous standard as fully realized adults. It was important for Andrea to have a relationship with God, and to worship Him the right way. (We already know that growth has become stagnant and more and more people seem to be waking up than previously.). JW.org has been spinning the cutbacks as simplification, and have coerced dozens of those who lost their full-time jobs to give testimonials about how happy they were to accept their new assignment in the field. They adopted the name Jehovahs Witnesses in 1931. When Andrea learned that the re-emergence of the Church Of Christ is clearly found in the Bible, she looked into the origins of JW and found that there was no Biblical proof to support JWs establishment. Reasons Why I Left the Jehovah's Witnesses - incmedia.org Jehovah's 'hiding money' - PressReader So when Cynthia invited her to meet George and his family at a gathering, she felt obliged to go. Are Watchtower reasons for being the only true religion valid? Yes, money is a problem for Watch Tower. A man who pleaded guilty to raping two underage girls he met through the Jehovah's Witness congregation they all belonged to has been sentenced to . Problems Facing JW.org - Jehovah's Witnesses 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. It isnt Christian and it isnt Gods organization. The Holy Spirit is . Because I love my sister so much, I felt like I had to give her the opportunity to just listen. Sitting through hours upon hours of talks and Watchtower studies is not going to help them with many of the emotional and social challenges theyre grappling with. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters She has never found a discrepancy between what is written in the Bible and the teachings taught in the Church Of Christ. Find some books which are truthful and sincere and share them. The leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses has never admitted that any valid reasons to leave the religion exist. PDF The Jehovah's Witness Tradition - Advocate Health They put peoples lives in bondage to the religion. In the book, they [JW] taught that Jesus Christ is a Mighty God. We have hope, and we have a promise that no one else on this Earth has. By contrast, about two-thirds of those who were raised as evangelical Protestants (65%) and Mormons (64%) still say they are members of those respective groups. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely. How a former Jehovah's Witness follower is facing the trauma after magazine which says: "No one should be made to worship in a way they find . Im a Choir Member. ", BBC Beyond Paradise star Jamie Bamber is married to Eastenders actress. Getty Images 08 . I also believe this is an area where they are also profoundly disconnected from reality. 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. There are also members with experiences of Catholicism, Mormonism, the Exclusive Brethren, the Mennonites, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and the Falun Gong movement. 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. 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. Steven Lett said that when people walk up to admire a little baby, they often would say, Look at that little angel! Steven then went on to say, more accurate, look at that little enimy of God. This statement has circulated round the Internet and has appeared in many YouTube channels and so on. So if Jesus said that, then that means all of these cultic religions are not the truth as they claim that they are. Besides me, at least 75% of the kids I grew up with in the congregation are out for good. 2020-06-14 - NATALIE O'BRIEN. To scan all documents located in Brooklyn, retaining only the hard copies they were required to keep by law. Were a year and a half apart. Are Watchtower reasons for being the only true religion valid? Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that humans have an immaterial nature. They are not allowed to question the Watchtower leadership or teaching. The following is just my opinion and observations based on events from the past year. All monies were directed at finishing Warwick, then selling off their cranes and millions of dollars worth of vehicles and other high prices tools, right down to a 5 dollar screwdriver. 13 Black Celebrities Who Are Or Were Jehovah's Witnesses "Overseers of Jehovah's People", an article in the group's publication called the Watchtower . How to Leave Jehovah's Witnesses: 4 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow First of all, I think the Watchtowers problems with their inability to retain the young people runs very deep. Are people REALLY leaving??? - Jehovah's Witness It made them revered. A life of meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol is often woven into this picture. Im astonished at the totally creepy nature of the GB Videos I have seen lately. Can baptism be Annulled? Truth Be Told Documentary Jehovah's Witnesses to join redress scheme | 7NEWS Examining the total number of people entering and leaving each religion provides the most complete picture of the dynamism of the American religious landscape. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 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. . What are you doing? When youre a convert, you know what its like to be in the world. 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. Today it has 252 members, with those who have been associated with Pentecostalism, the Anglican and Baptist churches and the Jehovah's Witnesses dominating the group.