And 67% of the Buddhists surveyed indicate that they were raised in a . We have hope, and we have a promise that no one else on this Earth has. I eventually left the faith at 18. Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. They compared the doctrines taught by the churches with what the Bible really teaches. , Productivity Hacks for the Creative Christian, Three (Unexpected) Life Lessons from College, Dear Teenage Self: Finding God Changes You. But she realized she couldnt help her sister if she remained at a distance. There is dissent in South Africa right now because of the fixed per capita amount assigned to each publisher who attends a circuit assembly. This is definitely one organization that you need to steer clear of at all costs. It isnt Christian and it isnt Gods organization. The people present were Jehovah's Witnesses -- a Christian religious sect first founded in the United States in the 19th century but now has an estimated 8 million followers around the world. They make up these rules simply because they can. 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. Copyright 2023 Jehovah's Witnesses. 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's Witnesses are among the most racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in America. I just want you to listen to the doctrines. My grandmother was a pioneer. 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 . The truth is, Jehovahs witnesses are taught to welcome doctrinal changes as adjustments or new light, and they have a long list of beliefs and doctrines that have changed since the church was established. 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. Besides me, at least 75% of the kids I grew up with in the congregation are out for good. Franz stated the request for his resignation and his subsequent disfellowshipping resulted from allegations of apostasy. And instead of just forgiving you of your sin, this evil shunning practice is what they do to you until youre reproved and brought back into good standing which by the way can take a very very long time. all because thats THE NEW FOUR DOOR SEDAN BY TOYOTA! As a matter of fact, theres absolutely nowhere in all of scripture that even remotely leads to anything that the Jehovahs Witnesses are the true faith. But now members are heading into the city to try and reach out to more people. They may think they do, but we have seen, we have seen the proof that our God is real. Photos of JWfacts.com being Promoted As always you can unsubscribe at any time. *my Opinion * / Nostradamus Predictions For World War in 2020 . - The number of young Jehovah's Witnesses (aged 18-24) has dropped by 6% over the past 7 years. When a religion starts telling you what to wear, what you can and cant do, whether you can vote, join the military, play sports, read literature from other religions and whether or not you can do certain things within marriage is a religion that is a pure cult. "I would be sick. They dont bring salvation to your door when they come but instead, they talk about a paradise Earth and so on. A moment that changed me: dropping out of university | Anne T Donaghue, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely., remember that first year after Id left the, Former Jehovah's Witness elders call for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, MPsdemand action over Jehovahs Witness abuse allegations, Jehovah's Witnesses accused of silencing victims of child abuse, Child sexual abuse inquiry considers Jehovah's Witnesses UK investigation, Jehovahs Witnesses criticised over handling of child abuse case, Jehovah's Witnesses charity drops attempts to block abuse inquiry, Jehovah's Witnesses did not protect children from abuse, inquiry finds, Jehovah's Witnesses under pressure over handling of sexual abuse claims, Jehovah's Witnesses accused of damaging Otomi religious site in Mexico. How can anyone watch these buffoons and think theyre Gods voice. Originally from Kent, Laetitia says her parents became Jehovah's Witnesses about four years before she was born. I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. At death, that life-force leaves the body. I was one of them. The cart-witnessing program is finally beginning to backfire. This religion is indeed a cult and a terrible one at that. First of all, I think the Watchtowers problems with their inability to retain the young people runs very deep. I have never been able to find anything more true than what is taught by the Church Of Christ. On the heels of a $35 million jury award to a woman who alleged the congregation mishandled her childhood abuse, other . This has happened in other countries as well. Yet Governing Body members like Samuel Herd have publicly stated how beautiful their new surroundings are at Bethel how they hear the birds chirping as they observe the serene landscape of upstate New York. Most Jehovah's Witnesses - roughly two-thirds (65%) - are . Moriah Hughes, 24, filed her lawsuit last month in. Instead, all of the nations human capital is invested in one thing: warfare. Witnesses hold a number of traditional Christian views but also many that are unique to them. Its psychology 101. Meanwhile, Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia have been imprisoned for following Governing Body directives. This is where the Watchtower is at. Meanwhile, Watch Tower purchased four $8,000.00 scanners. "Overseers of Jehovah's People", an article in the group's publication called the Watchtower . Mum, I havent died. It's already a small pool of potential friends and romantic interests in a KH. She didnt party, she didnt drink, and she stayed out of politics. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. Andrea started to panic and pulled Cynthia aside. Jesus said himself that he was the way, the life and the truth and that nobody comes to the father but through him. random musings> 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. -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. Jw.org Website There is a question regarding the longevity of JW.org given the events of the past few years. 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. Watch Tower Headquarters asked branches to sell as much equipment as they could liquidate including heavy equipment, printers, etc. Press J to jump to the feed. Beliefs. Authorities have also been accused of failing to look into allegations by whistleblowers that Jehovah's Witnesses may be hiding its money . The Jehovahs Witnesses have a bunch of rules, regulations and policies much like the religious leaders of Jesus day had. I began a life where I could decide what to believe for myself, and I wasnt afraid of someone telling me I couldnt. She learned she couldnt get that from being a Jehovahs Witness. - Quora Answer (1 of 27): It isn't a religion its a cult. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. When youre a convert, you know what its like to be in the world. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that: God the Father (whose name is Jehovah) is "the only true God". So if Jesus said that, then that means all of these cultic religions are not the truth as they claim that they are. - 63% of current Jehovah's Witnesses are a high school education or less. This just comes in a long line of brutal, evil statements that were made by the governing body over the years, and it also proves that this organization in no way is being backed, or supported by God in any way shape or form. A former Jehovahs Witness shares why she walked away for good, We would have Bible studies, and I even preached from door to door. Watch Tower must pay these benefits. It is all about their money. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. 2010 Elder's Book 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. Eventually (it's a slow process), there will be a tipping point where the individual communities (KHs) are too small to avoid marrying or being friends with non-JWs. I have seen many really good kids in the organization totally get neglected because they didnt have a father who was a Witness. 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. Why Are People Leaving The Jehovah's Witness In Droves. Steps 1 Do personal research. I have just loaded my spiritual cannon, and I am about to fire away! You know what its like to have no hope. 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? 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Watch Tower demands their freedom of speech but attempts to deny it to those sharing their publicly available materials which, by the way, are not being distributed for monetary gain. SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Supreme Court has revived a woman's lawsuit alleging she was forced to listen to a recording of her own rape. Is it any wonder that they would seek to fill the void in their life with sex, drugs, and alcohol? When curious JWs find communities like this one, they realize they're not alone and there's hope/life for them outside the borg. 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. 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. Once more and more world wide governments either ban Watchtower from their nations, or make them pay for all the evil that they have done through their evil practice of shunning and other terrible things not mentioned here, the Watchtower organization may be forced to shut its doors. Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination with an estimated 175,000 followers in Russia. 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. What would you expect to see if that was a news headline within the coming year? 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. The purpose? It is more like Satans group simply because of the harsh and inhumane rules and regulations that they harbor in their midst. Aside from the Bethel layoffs, all non-essential branch projects were either cancelled or put on hold. Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned in Russia since 2017. And at one time their teaching was that Jesus was like God or was a God.. I never once doubted the decision that I made on that day to leave my family and to become a member of the Church Of Christ.. 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. These doctrines made perfect sense to me!. No other religion can do that. Have you lost your mind? Animal Suffering Change in teachings? . Jehovah's Witnesses, a sect formed in the 1870s and eventually incorporated as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, maintained for much of their early history that 1914 would mark the end of . Several people tried to convince me to return to the truth the term they use to refer to anyone in the faith. . They thought the end would be here now with the old generation teaching. World. 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. This is another religion. By Elizabeth Chuck. It isnt about the children. 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 . At what point do they begin to ask themselves if there is something that THEY are doing wrong? 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. One factor that was discussed at length was the high number of young people who do not stay in the organization. They adopted the name Jehovahs Witnesses in 1931. 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 dont have any groups or programs tailored to them as teens, or which meet their needs. 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. Already, members of the Watchtower are already being asked to donate money. A life of meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol is often woven into this picture. I have several observations to add to this. Spare the rod, spoil the child. They worship the organization in which theyre a part of. There is absolutely nowhere in the Bible where Jesus disfellowshipped anyone. Was Russell a Freemason? Are you inspired yet? That takes us to 27. I have my duty. According to the organisation, there are currently more than 70,000 Witnesses in Australia. For what Christian would ever call somebodys baby a little enimy of God? In 2017, Russia banned the denomination, whose members believe in nonviolence and refuse to take up arms in war; Russia . Their lackluster growth will only continue; and they will find it harder and harder to recruit new members. Many of us here paid that price, only to wake up to it years later. Believers honor Jehovah, the God and Creator of all things. Photo courtesy of Jehovah's Witnesses Public Information Desk Mandee Reid and her son, Charles Reid, of Kansas City, Mo., like Jehovah's . Imagine if Ford was blaming the consumers - saying that consumers had poor judgment for not wanting to buy the Pinto anymore. Simple forgiveness isnt in their vocabulary. Shunning seams to be one of their favorite topics and favorite things to do. Just because they make the claim doesnt make it so. 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. 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. 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 important thing for us is to show them that there is a great life to be lived after leaving the Watchtower. And you have no promise. I had panic attacks. The Watchtower organizations sole purpose is to proselytize, whereby all of its human capital must be channeled into that goal. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a member of a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Pierce County recently sued the organization. (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/). There was always an air of mysti'c never seeing them except on occasion at a district convention. And then from that day, I never looked back. Jehovah's Witnesses can now be found in Birmingham city centre. It is all about how much you can do in the organization that earns you status and salvation. https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/jehovahs-witness/, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/26/a-closer-look-at-jehovahs-witnesses-living-in-the-u-s/, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/03/18/jehovahs-witnesses-murder-suicide-keego-harbor/409695002/. Many will have had to cover over passions and talents that would have given their lives much greater meaning. Sparlock Warrior Wizard No immaterial soul. interesting topics> Watch Tower continues to try to plug these leaks like the proverbial dam in Holland, but they are running out of fingers and attorneys to plug these leaks. His wife's parents are among the 130,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine. Evolution & Creation Misrepresentations The Watchtower organization simply has nothing new to offer, and no new ideas. A lack of education is also essential to keep members locked in. 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. 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. Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves. Like Stockholm Syndrome victims, Jehovahs 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. 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. 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. 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 factor how many people are baptized vs. the number of publishers the year before you realize that they . In some respects, its very entertaining. Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely. The Let God Be True book was written by imperfect men, and imperfect men make mistakes, and it was a mistake. Watch Tower has made it clear these records are to be destroyed according to their new records management and destruction procedures. It will be 1 friend out of 6 shunning rather than all of them - not nearly as effective. - About 1% of the entire membership is disfellowshipped every year. 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. 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.

Zomg Value List Bgs, Do Voter Registration Cards Expire In Illinois, Articles J