JW Chronicles: Your dumb and sick
A sample of one of my fan letters…
Your dumb and sick you don’t know anything about Jehovahs Witnesses there very nice, loving people, and people like you who read and hear what other people who hate jehovahs witnesses say and you hate them! Jehovahs witnesses go door to door to just try to get there religion around to people. If they didn’t do that they wouldn’t have a religion! Jesus went town to town door to door preaching gods good word! Other religions don’t get up and take time out of there day when they could be doing something else, to speece to people about god. And if you would open your eye and see then you could read and see that Jehovah is Gods name its in the bible. Today and in the past the bible has been changed and messed with! The bible could have been foul of gods name but its not its been replaced by “god and lord”. And if you were to read the bible more you would read that Jesus is Jehovahs son! And for your information you would read in the bible the scripture that Jehovahs Witnesses get there name from it says this that gods people are his witnesses! -Wes
Whew, Wes – perhaps you might indicate exactly what set you off? Um, I used to be one, so I am aware of the things you say. I am neither dumb nor sick, and I do not hate Jehovah’s Witnesses – I simply think that the governing body, which members worship more than they do their God, actively manipulates and controls the membership in a destructive way that shows no real evidence of spiritual wisdom or inspiration.
The name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” was a remake since 3/4 of the previous group – International Bible Students – quit once their prophecies were proven false. Perhaps you need to do a little research on the history of your own religion.
Jehovah is not God’s name. YHWH is God’s name, and the proper pronunciation, known only to Levite priests and only to be spoken in the holiest of holies in the temple, has been lost. If we did know the way to say it, then it wouldn’t be proper to do so.
I have no problem with rank and file JWs or their work door to door – if they want to be good sheep (slaves) to a publishing empire in Brooklyn, that is certainly their choice. But to tell people to submit to elders – people with neither training nor education nor wisdom, people who read talks verbatim that are written by people who won’t even take responsibility – people who have no calling at all and who control the lives and divide families without a shred of christian compassion or forgiveness – well, I just don’t believe that is very christian.
One shallow note: I have noticed that there has been a steady decline in the communication abilities of JWs during my lifetime – especially for an organization that used to put a lot of emphasis on literacy and study (even if only the study of their own secondary publications/proclamations).
That last note was hardly a shallow one, friend. It resonates loud and clear to a fellow former JW who has witnessed the intellectual decline within the JW populous; perhaps it is in proportion to the growth of the organization;^) One might have expected it, though, considering members must accept the governing body’s word as truth without investigation. There can be no emotional or intellectual growth in an environment that denies free thought and curiosity. Thus, the organization boots out anyone with a voice of reason and rewards the most submissive sheep (oft times these are the most uneducated among them). Suffice it to say, I admire your careful responses to the irrational! Keep up the good work. (Let me know if I might be of assistance in your endeavor.)
Respectfully, Becca
Nice people…yeah…maybe….as long as you agree to their teachings.
Have you done research on the meanings of the terms “Love Bombings”/ “Communities of Love”…try it…you will probably be scared and hurt…
Cheers, Jess, Copenhagen-DK
im jehovahs witness ok we love evry 1 we dont go looking for war or hate in world war 2 and 1 y do u thnik lots of jehovahs witnes,s were persucuted cos they would not fight ot very culteish huh
y is no 1 else aloud 2 no gods name we all no its jehovah only the holist ppl get know no way jehovah loves all and wants ppl to no his name
I live in a small town & Jehovah witness’s are always out and about. I’m not rude to them but once they told me i was praying to the wrong God, I said i don’t know who your praying to but I pray to Jesus’s Father. they said they did too but that God had a name. I said ..so does my mother but i don’t call her Norma and i really don’t think i’d feel confortable calling God by a name. I respect him-i’m not on a first name basis with God…..
My opinion is that yes, we all have a freedom of religion but no one has the right to knock on my door and tell me “their” religion is the right religion, Once they judge me, it knocks them out of the race anyway, we’re not supposed to think we are right and others are wrong. Most people though don’t consider it judging others. I do. How would those same jahova witness people like other religions knocking on their door early on the weekends and being woke up to being told they are praying to the wrong God ?
If enough people believed like they do – they wouldn’t have to go around knocking on doors trying to convince people they are the “true” religion…these people are not bad people but they judge others very strongly and that is wrong……
I’m not saying they are all wrong either, i have no right to jusdge them any more than they have a right to judge me. I believe a little of all religions will go to Heaven,,,not just a chosen few.
If everyone has a right to their own religion and you are upset with the witnesses for being critical and judgemental, how is judging them going to stop the process or teach the error of ways. By and large everone is critical and judgemental of what they don’t agree with or just don’t understand.Even so, everyone is still entitled to their beliefs and the opportunity to worship how they choose. Most god fearing religious people have chosen a form of worship that they believe to be correct and pleasing to the entity they are worshipping. I can appreciate that you are a former witness and no longer agree, can you explain the advantage of seemingly unpleasant disparaging remarks against something just because you choose not to participate? Did you have a falling out with the elders or the governing body that cause such sweeping generalizations about the education level and motives of all asscoiated with the witnesses? Perhaps you yourself have received harsh words or judgements by such individuals? I think everyone should investigate these claims against the witnesses for themselves. Mean comments to me are like comments by movie critics, the critics rarely make or star in movies themselves but they always know how those trying could do better.
I completely agree with you about the issue of religious freedom. That’s why my site is not aimed at current JWs, but rather to the people who are trying to recover from the treatment they received or the destructiveness of their policies, or who are involved in some way with current JWs and need some strategies, clarification, or information. I do provide some information as a resource for people who want to investigate for themselves.
My remarks are not about my decision not to participate. The reasons that I personally left are historically rather small in comparision to what I have discovered since leaving.
As for disparaging remarks, I suppose that you would have to see the sheer volume of the hate email I get and the very low quality of the content. I’m used to the parrot repetition and dubious arguments proposed, but I suppose what bothers me most is that the JWs used to at least pride themselves on issues of literacy and study. Now even that is gone. Oh, and you also should know that those who write in are acting in contradiction to their own governmental guidance; they aren’t supposed to engage with me at all, nor are they supposed to be reading worldly websites, particularly those of an exJW. It would be strange for me to be too supportive of that double whammy of hate and hypocrisy.
It’s a question of contextual ethics. Yes, in some ways it would be a simple matter (also a relief) to walk away from the whole subject now. My identity is not wrapped up with the Watchtower Bible and Tract corporations or their religious front. I do have wider, and much more compelling, interests. But then I think about how hard it was for me after I left, and the things I wish someone would have told me. I can connect the dots on a number of issues now. So my goal in doing this is to be the sort of person I wish could have befriended me at that time. It’s something I can do.
I just don’t feel that it would be right not to add my own knowledge and voice in a spirit of support and solidarity with those who have been cut off from their families for, say, smoking, while a known pedophile in the same congregation abuses children. I stand with those who have a bigger picture of God than one who would kill off the non-JWs of the world in a looming apocalypse (it’s been looming for a long time now). Would it be compassionate not to notice the psychological problems and violence connected to JWs? Yes, I post the news items to the blog. I tell that new husband that he needs to stand up for his exJW wife, who is all too willing to sit in the car while her JW family comes to visit their grandhild. I’m willing to try to reassure new exJWs that they aren’t being attacked by demons, and that their being raped isn’t punishment from Jehovah for not being perfect. I’m willing to point out that the needs of a religious community might not be served by denying its elders any access to pastoral care resources. My own view is that compassion and forgiveness are closer to God than inflexible heartless (and changing) dictates from some guys in Brooklyn. Why should the JW leadership be above accountability? My criticisms are aimed at the organization and its authoritarian leadership, not the regular well-meaning congregation members. They are mostly decent people who’ve been misled.
When someone comments without addressing anything I’ve actually said, makes assumptions about my own motivations, or attempts (usually incorrectly) to “set me straight,” I don’t usually get a sense that they are offering me “loving guidance” (grin).
I do appreciate your analogy of the movie critic. I am a cultural critic, and an ethicist, so it’s not entirely off-base. I do make judgments. Using compassion, knowledge, whatever insights I can muster, I do my best to state what those judgments are. I don’t know what else anyone could do except be silent, and I’m not really the silent type.
I’d like to respond to Andrew Dolan. Andrew, I hope you are still reading this site.
I just want to commend you on having the courage to read a website which the society would regard as apostate teaching. Even if it’s in a small way, you’re thinking for yourself.
It’s so awful that the society dictates what you are allowed to read, and what you can’t. We should all have the freedom to read everybody’s point of view (even the crazy ones!) and then come to our own conclusions, having all the facts.
So keep it up, and keep visiting.
About God’s name – Jehovah. I also thought that the whole world was misled on this one. Until I found out more information. After I left the Witnesses I started making a more thorough investigation of their beliefs.
Andrew, this may come as a surprise to you, as it did to me – The name of God, Jehovah, is only in the Old Testament. The Witnesses deliberately put the name Jehovah into the New Testament, though it isn’t there in the original transcripts.
Granted, most Bible translations don’t have the name Jehovah in the Old Testament anymore. However, the JW’s are wrong to put the name _into_ the New Testament when it wasn’t there originally.
Try to focus more on Jesus. HE is what the New Testament is all about.
I remember being told that we’re not allowed to worship or pray to Jesus.
That’s not true either. Read Colossians 1. Jesus is worthy of our worship and praise!!!
Pray to Jesus, and see how your heart fills with peace and hope! Jesus, I’ll stand for you!
Give it some thought. Pray for wisdom and direction.
May God bless you.
I LOVE JW’s AND I [HOPE] That your Saved God so loved the world that he gave his only begoten son that he who so ever belived in him would not persish but have eternal life. But in Hebrew it says were suppost to believe [into] how do you believe into Jesus. Well Jesus died so he would send the counselor AKA the HOLY SPIRIT. That’s God seal for those who are saved. How do you know you have the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 10: 15-16 And the Holy Spirit also [testifies to us;] for after saying. “this is the new covenant that i will make with them After those days, says the Lord: i will put MY LAWS upon THIER HEARTS and on there MINDS I WILL WRITE THEM, AND THEIR SINS AND LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEBER NO MORE. You also know you have Gods Spirit by Spiritual Gifts. Everyone who is born of God has spiritual Gifts like; Healing Prophesy, Preaching Teaching Tongues Interpertation of tongues. Anyone Born of the sprit has these. i am a 22 year old boy who loves Jesus and God has used me for over 30 healing from things such as back pains to sickness that people have had for years. GOD has Taken Them away im not bragging because it’s Gods Spirit Thats does this work. Repent of your SINS and ASK JESUS INTO YOUR HEART ASK FOR HIS SPIRIT Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it anyone who loses his life for Jesus will save it. GIVE UP YOUR LIFE FOR GOD. JW’s GOD will lead you to all truth GOD WANTS YOU TO BE SAVED. GOD DOESN”T WANT Religion but a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. Thats why Jesus DIED SO HE WOULD SEND HIS SPIRIT TO LED YOU TO ALL TRUTH. THE WATCH TOWER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LIEING TO YOU one of the Presidents of the Watch Tower was guilty in the court of law for PLAGIARIZING the real Bible. The head man is also suppost speak to GOD HIMSELF i don’t know if you know but how many time did he predict the world to end and it didn’t. Ask Jesus Christ the one mediator 1Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, Man named Jesus Christ. i just want jw’s to find the real christ satan has been mixing the lies with the truth since the begining of time the bible calls lieing his character. and his donig it to the jws. largeris the road to distruction and small is the raod that leds to salvation. Again im not attacking you the whole world needs to be saved. youve been told what to believe by man let God tell you but first turn from your sins even your secret sins and follow Christ let my Lord led you to all Truth he will led you to all truth but you MUST TURN From all forms of evil giving away the old self and recieving a new one. 1step repent and turn from sin 2step ask Christ into you Heart DO IT KNOW THE BIBLE SAYS TODAY IS THE DAY FOR SALVATION
whew.