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PBS show “Knocking” (JWs)

PBS show “Knocking” (JWs)

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The upcoming PBS movie (and later, full-length DVD) called “Knocking” looks as though it will present JWs in a very flattering light. That’s a little bit astounding to me – the director’s mother is a JW, but the son isn’t. Judging by many of his published articles, he’s gay – so it’s a little strange that he would promote the JWs – and that they would work with him as they obviously have. I’m not sure how they could have gotten cooperation for the film without some involvement or approval from Brooklyn, although they say not. There’s nothing wrong with making a documentary of JWs and their lives, of course, but it would a shame if there were no discussion at all of some of their dark aspects. To me, it is a measure of how this country has changed that this kind of film is now being funded – is it just me, or do the far right fundamentalists bear more and more of a resemblence to Jehovah’s Witnesses? If only they shared that prohibition on voting!

They won’t pledge allegiance. They won’t go to war. They won’t accept blood transfusions. Civil Libertarians? Holocaust martyrs? Medical revolutionaries? Chronicling the unpopular stands of three Jehovah’s Witnesses, KNOCKING reveals how this misunderstood and often derided Christian group has contributed to society in ways far greater and more surprising than a knock on the door.

My gut feeling is that it will be something very close to a PR piece/witnessing tool. I read a terrific letter by Alan Feuerbacher to http://www.knocking.org, the website of the PBS film in the making. I’ve taken some nuggets from the Feuerbacher letter, but it is really worth the read:

Children who are baptized as JWs — even as young as 7 or 8 years — are treated exactly the same as adults in terms of shunning. There are many stories of young teenagers doing the normal teenage stupid things, and ending up being shunned for life by their entire families.

In the early 1950s, the long-standing teaching that God lives on the star Alcyone in the Pleiades constellation was formally jettisoned. In the early 1950s, the long-standing claim that vaccinations are a work of the devil was abandoned. This was to facilitate travel by Watchtower officials, who had to have certificates of vaccination for international travel. In 1945, the notion that vaccinations violate “the everlasting covenant between God and Noah” was applied to blood transfusions, and over the next decade this was gradually built into a complete ban on transfusions.

In 1877, Russell predicted the complete end of all nations by 1914. This became a staple of Bible Student teaching. When that failed to occur, Russell’s followers gradually decided that the end had occurred, but invisibly. In 1877, Russell predicted that the long-awaited “resurrection of the saints” would occur in 1878. In 1878, when “the saints” failed to appear, Russell predicted that they’d appear in 1881. When that failed, he claimed that they were indeed resurrected, but invisibly. When “the end” failed to appear in 1914 but WWI began, Russell claimed that Armageddon had begun, and predicted it would end in 1918. In 1918, Joseph Rutherford, second president of the Watchtower Society, began an advertising campaign called “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”. He predicted that Armageddon would occur in 1925. Between 1918 and 1925, many Bible Students prepared for “the end” by selling their property and engaging in preaching for the “Millions” campaign. When 1925 rolled past uneventfully, nearly 3/4 of the Bible Students quit. ..

In 1966, the Society began predicting that “big things” would come not later than 1975. By the next year, this had grown into a nearly definite prediction that the battle of Armageddon would come by 1975. When that failed to happen, the rapid growth of the JWs in the years between 1967 and 1975 reversed. In 1993 to 1995, upon realizing that its teachings about “the generation of 1914” were about to go down the tubes, the Society drastically revised its ideas, and made the idea virtually meaningless. Most JWs barely noticed.

Thank you Alan! You inspired me to write a brief note of my own to the makers of this film:

To whom it may concern-

I grew up a JW – and now that I’m 41, my family and I are only now recovering. They can be very destructive to families. I hope that you have taken the time to find out about some of the negative aspects and basic cruelties of this group. They are extremely apocalyptic in tone, and while the rank and file JW is a decent person, the leadership is extremely controlling and authoritarian. I get heartbreaking emails from people who are dealing with JWs and are desperate for any kind of advice about what to do about situations such as JW grandparents who convince their disfellowshipped daughter to sit outside while they come into her house to visit their grandchild, grandparents not allowed to see their grandchildren because the grandparent is a non-JW and a “worldly influence” on the child, children and teenagers given the silent treatment and shunned from the only people they really know – rather than being offered spiritual healing or guidance – when they make mistakes (they don’t use the word “sin” very often, and they use the word “grace” even less).

The mindset created is that the elders and especially the “governing body” are really God’s chosen and can do no wrong. The God that is portrayed is a cruel taskmaster who can never be pleased with anything less than perfection, which no-one can achieve. They feel surrounded by an evil “worldly system of things” that is going to be destroyed very soon, and they devoutly believe that no-one but JWs will survive. They are paranoid and separatist and thrive on stories of persecution of their members as evidence that they are correct. In America, what counts as persecution can be quite microscopic in scale.

The faith that manages to grow in such an environment is not a healthy one, and in fact there is a high incidence of psychological problems in the group. On the one hand, they teach their members to courageously stand up to “worldly powers of Satan” but on the other hand they demand total submission to their authority, no matter how many times they change their predictions, policies, and rules. They have completely missed any message of Christianity that would advocate for compassion, forgiveness, or charity.

I still agree with a few things that I learned – I still don’t salute the flag for example. But as for lionizing them… the only thing they ever did for America was to fight for certain kinds of religious freedom. I suppose I am grateful for the small mercy that they don’t vote. I don’t find fear and hatred and scapegoating to be particularly Christian values.

All baptised JWs are considered ministers (although they somehow don’t use that title for the women…), but the elders of the congregation must be obeyed totally, immediately and without question. These men have no calling, have gone to no school, have no divinity degrees or psychological training. They read their “public talks” from scripts mailed to them from New York. They lack education, training, or wisdom – and yet they control the lives of everyone in their congregations. There is no forum for discussion or questioning of anything at all. It is a theocratic kingdom, and they meet in Kingdom Halls.

My website has several blog posts, some advice to newly recovering JWs, recommended books, and a list of other online resources.

As a former Jehovah’s Witness, I am considered to be a member of what they call the “evil slave class” – basically a slave of Satan.

So while you’re presenting them as a heroic, civic-minded and tolerant group, I do pray that you keep these other niggling details in mind….

The PBS version of the letter began with “I understand that PBS will be showing a film called “Knocking” about Jehovah’s Witnesses. From what I can tell from the site, it would almost have to be made by JWs themselves in order for permissions and access to take place. I ask you to consider the possibility that you are being used as a mouthpiece of the governing organization / publishing empire in Brooklyn.” – and ended with “So while you’re giving them a public space to present as a heroic, civic-minded and tolerant group, I do pray that you keep these other niggling details in mind. Perhaps some commentary will be in order if this film goes forward?”

Might be worth an email to CPB or to PBS. There are other funders, including http://www.filmarts.org/
http://itvs.org/producers/recentlyfunded.html

See also:
Exchange at Free Minds
Article by director at SF Weeklyl
NewDay

Engardio, Joel P. “Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Untold Story of Resistance to Nazis.” The Christian Science Monitor, 6 November 1996, 88:240, pp. 1&13.

Update August 31, 2005: A response from PBS!

Thank you for taking the time to write to PBS about our programming. We value and appreciate receiving viewer comments. However, there seems to be some misinformation about this program. It has not yet been submitted to or reviewed by PBS, so we are unable at this time to respond to your specific concerns. Should the program be submitted to PBS for broadcast consideration, it will be reviewed subject to our editorial standards. You can access these standards at http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/aboutpbs_standards.html.

This program is being produced in association with the Independent Television Service. The Director of Communications for ITVS is Jim Sommers and ITVS’ Director of Production is Mary Ann Thyken. At this stage in the film’s production, please direct comments and inquiries to Mr. Sommers (who can be reached at 415-356-8383 x242) or Ms. Thyken (who can be reached at 415-356-8383 x249). For your additional information, the ITVS offices are located at 501 York
Street, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Again, thank you for your letter to PBS. We appreciate your concern for our programming. We hope you continue to enjoy and support the wide variety of programs available on your local PBS member station.

Sincerely, Jennifer
PBS Viewer Services

Well, a quick look back at the “Knocking” site confirms that they have taken off any reference to PBS. Interesting.

Scriptural to trim nose hair?

Scriptural to trim nose hair?

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Here is another parody of JW reasoning written by Subir Kaunds and published here with his permission. Thank you so much!

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Is it scriptural to trim nose hair?

A Christian is governed by conscience. And some Christians may feel, in the absence of any specific prohibition in the Bible, that trimming nose hair does not go against their conscience. But is that the correct view?

Since we hold the scripture as our unfailing guide, we want to be “full grown in our powers of understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:20), and understand “the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

To understand the issue under discussion, three things have to be taken into consideration. The meaning of ‘nose’ in the scriptures; the figurative use of ‘hair’; and scriptural principles that have a bearing on the matter.

First the nose or nostrils.

When God created Adam, he proceeded to “blow into his nostrils the breath [form of nesha·mah’ in Hebrew] of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) This “breath of life” not only filled the lungs with air but also imparted to the body the life-force that is sustained by breathing. The breath being drawn into the body through the nostrils is essential to life; it sustains the life-force. At the Flood, “everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died.” (Genesis 7:22).

The Hebrew word for nose or nostrils (´aph) is frequently used to refer to the entire face. Adam was sentenced to earn his livelihood from the ground ‘in the sweat of his face [literally, “nose” or “nostrils”].’ (Gensis 3:19) Lot bowed down with his face (nose) to the ground before the visiting angels.(Genesis) 19:1.1

So it is clear from the above that when the Bible speaks of the nose it actually refers to the entire face and that the nose is the fundamental organ that keep us alive since it is the genesis of the life-force. Keeping this point in mind we now have to see what the word ‘hair’ means in scripture.

One may be forgiven for thinking that all hair in the human body is the same. It is the same as saying that the toes are the same as the fingers (both being digits) or that the elbow is the same as the knee (both being joints) or that the scalp is the same as the soles of the feet (both being skin).

The hairs of the head, facial hair and pubic hair though fundamentally the same in substance, have different textures and uses. This dissimilarity becomes more pronounced when we consider the other hairs on the body like those which are found in our ear or inside the nostrils. About the hair in our ears consider the following information that appear in The Awake magazine issue of January 22, 1990 (published by the Watchtower Society).

“[In one of the walls in the inner ear known as] the basilar membrane, is the highly sensitive organ of Corti, named after Alfonso Corti, who in 1851 discovered this true center of hearing. Its key part consists of rows of sensory hair cells, some 15,000 or more. From these hair cells, thousands of nerve fibers carry information about the frequency, intensity, and timbre of the sound to the brain, where the sensation of hearing occurs… thus sound of a specific frequency produces waves that flex the basilar membrane at a specific spot, causing the hair cells there to react and send signals to the brain. The location of hair cells would correspond to the frequency, and the number of hair cells triggered would correspond to the intensity.”

In the light of this scientific fact can we conclude that the hairs inside the ear are the same as those on the head?2 A ear specialist would laugh at the suggestion. The same is the case with hair inside the nose. Consider the following facts:

“The olfactory area is located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, where the olfactory nerves terminate in hairlike endings; also fine endings of the trigeminal nerve are found in this area. The sense of smell in humans is very acute. According to an article in the Scientific American (February 1964, p. 42): “The sense of smell obviously is a chemical sense, and its sensitivity is proverbial; to a chemist the ability of the nose to sort out and characterize substances is almost beyond belief. It deals with complex compounds that might take a chemist months to analyze in the laboratory; the nose identifies them instantly, even in an amount so small (as little as a ten-millionth of a gram) that the most sensitive modern laboratory instruments often cannot detect the substance, let alone analyze and label it.” The nose also plays a large part in taste. There are four primary tastes: sweet, salt, sour, and bitter. These the taste buds in the mouth recognize. But much of the flavor in food is enjoyed because of the sense of smell. For example, a person whose nostrils are stopped up finds difficulty in distinguishing between two kinds of food, as most things then taste more or less flat. 1

These facts prove that the hairs in the ears and in the nose are actually nerves and not hairs at all. Can you imagine pubic hair helping us to smell and taste? But nasal hair does. We smell and taste due to the “hairlike endings” which are actually nerves.

This is also proved by the fact that some of us may even find that bright sunlight is enough to cause sneezing. This is because the eye nerves are closely connected with the nerve endings in the nose. (Awake 90 6/8)

In fact nasal hair may also have a part to play in digestion. Awake of February 8, 1987 (page 30) had this to say: “According to Dr. Volker Schusdziarra from the University of Munich, peptides (chemical compounds) that control digestion and arouse feelings of hunger and satiety and that are normally found in the stomach and intestine have recently been detected not only in the brain but also in the nerve cells of the retina. The German medical magazine Zeitschrift für Allgemeinmedizin reports that new variations of these substances are discovered continually. It appears that they carry messages between the sensory organs (eyes, nose, tongue, and so forth), the brain, and the digestive system.”

To sum up, we see that the nose often refers to the face and nasal hair is not hair at all but nerves. Hence, trimming nasal hair is actually like cutting the nerves of ones face. In the light of this let us turn to the Bible to understand the scriptural principles.

Christians are aware of scriptures like 1 Corinthians 11:14: “Does not nature itself teach YOU that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him.” And Leviticus 19:27: “YOU must not cut YOUR sidelocks short around, and you must not destroy the extremity of your beard.” However these commands cannot be applied to nasal hair since we have seen that nasal hair is actually nerve.

However two scriptures have a bearing on the matter under discussion. God’s law to the Israelites stated: “YOU must not make cuts in your flesh.” (Leviticus 19:28). As we have seen trimming nasal hair is tantamount to cutting the nerves of one face.

Moreover wise King Solomon observed: “For the churning of milk is what brings forth butter, and the squeezing of the nose is what brings forth blood, and the squeezing out of anger is what brings forth quarreling.” (Proverbs 30: 33). Here tampering with the nose is equated with provocative wrath. Remember that the Bible repeatedly warns against wrath and anger (Colossians 3:6).

In view of the foregoing, mature Christians may take a dim view of trimming nasal hair. In fact trimming of such hair could only be allowed as part of an emergency surgical procedure. Cosmetic trimming of such hair may not be proper. The principle found at 1Timothy 2:9 would apply: “Not with styles of hair braiding.” Here it is the principle of avoiding cosmetic procedures that is important, rather than the type of hair. Also as Matthew 10:30 assures us: “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Obviously the hair here is used figuratively and includes all hair not just on the head.

An important point to keep in mind is that God’s law prohibited certain ones from the assembly. We read at Leviticus 21:18, “In case there is any man in whom there is a defect, he may not come near: a man blind or lame or with his nose slit or with one member too long.” Since the scriptures show that trimming nose hair is like maiming the face one who indulges in such practices cannot be appointed to privileges in the congregation.

FOOTNOTES

1 Insight on the Scriptures, vol ll, pg 509-510, (published by the Watchtower Society).

2 Hair on the head is also a marvelous product of intelligent design. Awake of August 22, 1989 (pg 31) reported: “Drugs such as cocaine and heroin, for example, will not be found in the urine even a few days after use. Yet these drugs will show up in a hair analysis months later. This is because drug residues remain embedded in the hair as it grows. Bernard Gropper of the National Institute of Justice observes: “Hair has the advantage of long-term memory. It’s a permanent record, like tree rings.” A three-inch [8 cm] strand of hair will give a six-month history, since head hair grows at a rate of about a half inch [1 cm] a month.”

And this passage from Awake of November 22, 1972: “Your hair actually can indicate the condition of your health. This is due to the fact that hair is one of the fastest growing tissues in the body, and any abnormalities in the chemistry of your body will show up in the growth structure of your hair. Some doctors are even beginning to think that it is possible to diagnose a person’s illnesses by examining a strand of hair.”

More JW humor

JW Doctrine of Complete Submission to Leadership

JW Doctrine of Complete Submission to Leadership

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It’s Assembly Season for the Jehovah’s Witnesses – they are gathering all over the world to hear an identical program on obedience and submission. So I thought I’d mention a new book available about the JW doctrine of complete submission and obedience to the “Governing Body” rather than to God.

Six Million Jehovah’s Witnesses Held Captive
Don Cameron

A former JW elder explains how the Watchtower interpretation of the “faithful and discreet slave” as the Governing Body holds millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses captive and obedient. Not only is this book a great resource for understanding why and how JWs behave and think, but it may help those who are still involved but instinctively realize that something is wrong. It’s not so much what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about biblical teachings, but what they believe about their own leadership that keeps them loyal subjects despite all evidence. Focusing on this teaching at the heart of all JW obedience and comparing the disjunction between this doctrine and the organization’s own words, actions and history is an original and very constructive approach. Pdf download only $5 – also available in print.

Early JW Black Skin Prejudice

Early JW Black Skin Prejudice

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Black Skin

I’ve learned something new today about early JW doctrine. They believed that God would turn everyone’s skin white in Paradise so that they would be perfect! Something really obvious – just as a sidenote to this – is that despite its worldwide pseudo-liberationist appeal, the “Governing Body” (the “annointed”) has always been composed of white males – with the recent addition of Samuel Herd as the first (and only) person of color.

Check out these quotes from jwfacts.com

Watch Tower July 15, 1902, p.216 “Noah declared, prophetically, that Ham’s characteristics which had led him to unseemly conduct disrespectful to his father, would be found cropping out later, inherited by his son, and prophetically he foretold that this degeneracy would mark the posterity of Canaan, degrading him, making him servile. We are not able to determine to a certainty that the sons of Ham and Canaan are the negroes; but we consider that general view as probable as any other.”

Watchtower 1904 February 15 pp.52-53 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin?” “What the Ethiopian cannot do for himself God could readily do for him. The difference between the races of men and the differences between their languages have long been arguments against the solidarity of the human family. The doctrine of restitution has also raised the question. How could all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was the original? The answer is now provided. God can change the Ethiopian’s skin in his own due time. Prof. H. A. Edwards, Supt. of Schools in Slater, Mo., has written for the public press an elaborate description of how Julius Jackson, of New Frankfurt, Mo., a negro boy of nine years, began to grow white in September, 1901, and is now fully nine-tenths white. He assures us that this is no whitish skin disease; but that the new white skin is as healthy as that of any white boy, and that the changed boy has never been sick and never has taken medicines”

Watchtower July 15 1902 The Negro Not A Beast pp. 215-216. “While it is true that the white race exhibits some qualities of superiority over any other, we are to remember that there are wide differences in the same Caucasian (Semitic and Aryan) family; and also we should remember that some of the qualities which have given this branch of the human family its preeminence in the world are not such as can be pointed to as in all respects admirable….The secret of the greater intelligence and aptitude of the Caucasian undoubtedly in great measure is to be attributed to the commingling of blood amongst its various branches; and this was evidently forced in large measure by circumstances under divine control.”

The Bible versus Evolution p.30 “(God) has specially blessed and favored certain branches of the Aryan race in Europe and America. But the fact, that the white race has been more abundantly blessed with the light of the Gospel than others, is not to be understood to signify that when members of other races heard and appreciated the Gospel, they were repulsed or rejected by the Lord. … While the elect Church will probably be composed chiefly of the highly favored white race, nevertheless, it will probably have in it representatives out of “every kindred, people and tongue.”

Ancient history, of course, and not at all uncommon in Euro-American religious groups. Still…

JW Chronicles: DF Woman and Teens

JW Chronicles: DF Woman and Teens

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I got a question from a woman who was leaving/being disfellowshipped because she had chosen to become romantically involved, and with a non-JW. Her note is edited somewhat to protect her privacy:

Please help with the guilt of leaving my teenages behind while I get DF. First let me say that I’m not out to get or make life hard for anyone who choose to continue to be a witness, that’s their decision but not mine. Emotionally, I’m a wreak…I’m leaving the cong because I’m involved with a worldly man. My two teenage children are very hurt and upset that I have chosen to leave. After all it is what I’ve brought them up to be……how do I first learn to be at peace with my decision- I’m guilt ridden daily. Second how if at all possible to help the kids to help them deal better with my decision.

Well, that’s a tough one. Here was my stab at it:

Of course you’re a wreck and of course you feel guilty – I would be more worried if you weren’t. If you could just walk away from years of training you’d probably be a sociopath, and I feel underqualified to deal with those.

Do your kids live with you? If so, how have you negotiated a space for you and your love? The more threatening thing to your kids is simply going to be the intrusion of a stranger into their space, sharing you with someone else. Believe it or not, that is probably the bigger issue. Have they met? Can you arrange something low-key and somewhat fun to do together where they could get to know one another – maybe a concert/movie in the park or something like that?

Teenagers are just probably going to be difficult with regard to any change. They want you to be the same as you always have so that they can be the ones experimenting with who they are. Basically, I would advice that you stay very calm and don’t allow yourself to be manipulated in any way. The bottom line that they have to understand is that you are an adult and they need to respect your decisions about your own life even if they don’t agree. I would reinforce the idea that this is not “about” them or your love for them.

Try to positively model what love is all about – and keep things respectful in all directions. Unfortunately, that’s going to be your job, and it will be quite a challenge at times. But if everyone involved maintains respect for one another, and you exhibit loving and caring behavior, they might eventually understand your choice. It will take time, I’m afraid, and it really depends a lot on how good your relationship is with each of your kids to start with. Every situation is different, and the only one who can really have a basis upon which to judge your heart and your relationships is you. The JWs make it difficult for people to trust in their own judgment – so I urge you, strongly urge you, to have the courage to think things through very seriously for yourself.

Sit somewhere quiet and think about your love interest as objectively as you can. Is this love, is it just sexual infatuation? Does he show respect for you and your kids? What do you think of his family? Is he someone that you respect – really and truly? What is your decision based on? If you are satisfied that your decision is the right one, then ask yourself why is it the right one? Ask yourself very honestly about the best way to handle the situation. Sometimes it takes a little sorting out, but if you are sure that your decision is right, and you list the reasons why it is right for yourself, then it is easier to come to a point where you can naturally handle whatever comes up, and where you can be at peace with the decision – not torn apart. When you have it really settled in your mind and heart, you can also explain it to others – like your kids (maybe an edited version, depending – giggle).

Don’t avoid thinking it through because the only way you’ll get through this period without significant psychological injury is to be really super clear and honest with yourself. Ultimately, that is how
you can navigate this new terrain. It doesn’t matter so much whether others approve, but you have to make sure deep down inside that you approve.

I’m a little worried, if they are still JWs themselves, that your kids will be pressured to cut off contact with you. You haven’t said whether they live with you or not. Again, you’ll have to think through what it is that you are really rejecting about the JWS. If it is simply – and only – that you know you will be ejected for this choice, then it is a priority of this relationship over the belief system and community. If you have other issues with the JWs, then it’s a little more tricky and you’ll have to be clear with yourself about that too. You’ll have to assess how much of your personal journey might be appropriate to share with your kids. Maybe some, maybe none. It really depends on where they are themselves. All anyone can do is act on their best judgment given the time, the circumstances, and where they are personally.

Ask yourself if you still feel ok about having raised them in this religious group. It’s a tough one, since it all depends on how you feel about their continued involvement. If you still feel that it’s “the truth” then you can assure them that you will support their continued involvement and so on. If not, then you can still assure them that you will always respect their own decisions with regard to their relationship to God (as they must also respect yours), even if you disagree with the group’s priorities and beliefs now. This is an issue that comes up with other religions sometimes too, so therapists might be able to help you mediate.

At some point, and I would suggest waiting for them to initiate a conversation on these topics, you’ll probably have to walk through some of the actual repercussions in terms of what you can and cannot share together if you are divided on faith issues having to do with instructions from Bethel. It’s a volatile time generally, so it would probably be best to respond to their questions and concerns as they have them rather than making a big issue when there are more urgent things on the table.

Keep telling them that you love them and that nothing will change that.

It’s twice as hard to deal with things when you feel isolated – and although your love is there for you in so many ways, he may not completely understand the JW issues side of things. I hope some of this may help – sometimes words from someone else do help. And again, sometimes they don’t – so feel free to take or leave any of this. Even just knowing that there is someone out there who might understand at least some of what you’re dealing with can be a comfort (it’s one I wished I had, and that’s basically the reason I do this).

Anyway – I’m not a professional therapist (if things get really sticky you might consider family counselling). I just know that sometimes a kind or understanding word or a different perspective can really help. Hugs and healing – H

If anyone else has words of support or wisdom for J, please comment.

Jehovah’s Witness Elders

Jehovah’s Witness Elders

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This short article by Victoria Cater gives another common example of what the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) does to families. This is typical of the kinds of situations I remember and hear about from people who write to me for advice.

The first claim – that her father was kicked out for not giving up weekends with his family in order to pioneer (go out door to door for a specified number of hours per month) – is unlikely. You can’t really be disfellowshipped for that. Probably she wasn’t told the real reason – so that’s forgivable.

However, the example of her grandmother rings true:

Not only was my family not invited to attend my 97-year-old grandmother’s funeral, but Brothers and Sisters from the Kingdom Hall contacted my family to say we were not welcome and would not be allowed in if we showed up – all because we were not of their faith! After her death, we discovered that for the last year of her life, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were telling her she would not go to the “new world” (equivalent of heaven) if she continued contact with her family.

The “new world” isn’t really heaven, of course, but the promise of everlasting life with other JWs (and no-one else) on a paradise earth after the apocalypse. As for the funeral – Crater’s family must really have been in deep doo-doo to be prohibited from attending. Normally they are more concerned that their “sheep” keep away from sacraments of other churches – no attending services, weddings or funerals!

The more tragic and common theme is simply that the grandmother was prohibited (using methods of appeal to authority) from contact with her son and the rest of the non-JW family. There is a deeper problem with those who have been disfellowshipped than with non-JWs who could conceivably be converted. These separations are one of the top issues for people who contact me.

When I was a JW, family were still allowed to spend at least some time with each other – but it seems that there has been a drift into more serious tinkering with family dynamics since then. Then, it was a matter of conscience – and since we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, we missed out on a lot of occasions that kin networks use to gather themselves together. There was also the sense of taint – that it was just better to minimize contact. The result of this is that I am only beginning to get to know most of my father’s extended family – I have 19 cousins on that side!

To get back to the article, I really did want to mention something else. This is something that outsiders don’t really know about:

From what I have experienced, the “elders” who oversee the individual Kingdom Halls are not trained faith leaders. All other religions I am familiar with have a leader who has extensive training for this position. The Jehovah’s Witness elders have no right to guide individuals or families.

The only “training” that elders and “ministerial servants” and “pioneers” get is the same dreary fare as that of the general congregation: endless repetitious mind-numbingly dull meetings, the “theocratic ministry school” meeting once a week – really more of a public speaking class – and the derivative highly interpreted and predigested materials from Bethel in New York. The hour-long “talks” (they don’t call them “sermons”) are read aloud from a script – their ministers are not even trusted to follow their own calling or relationship with God.

While there is a certain kind of appeal to the idea of spiritual leaders that arise spontaneously from the flock, the fact remains that none of their ministers have, or are allowed to have, any training or education at all outside the group. They have not studied Greek or Hebrew or Latin. They do not have divinity degrees, or educational background in sociology, psychology, religion, literature, acheology, history or philosophy/theology. Most of them have never attended even one college class.

They are elders because 1) they do what they are told to do and, 2) because they are likely the only males in the congregation who have reached a certain age and are sufficiently involved with the group. The other elders decide who gets awarded different kinds of rank. There is some lip-service paid to the idea of “serving” the congregation, but it’s pretty clearly a position of power – and a power often abused. The JW rules and regs are very strict and authoritarian to begin with – add any personal corruption to that and you start to hear even more heartbreaking narratives.

Members of the congregation are told over and over to humble themselves before the elders, to submit to the elders. They believe, since they have no access to the actual interpreters and decision-makers, that God wants them to trust utterly in these flawed, untrained, uneducated and often staggeringly unwise men.

Incidentally, because sexual issues are one of the top reasons that people leave or are kicked out of the JWs, these elders – like the hard right – are obsessed with sexual issues. Of course, they are in no way prepared to deal with these issues in any healthy way and create enormous damage. They also discourage any kind of professional counselling or the intervention of “worldly authorities” in any way. I remember there was a period when married couples were encouraged to report their spouse to the elders if they got adventuresome sexually (or in a few specific ways – oral sex seemed to be the big obsession). The goal at the time seemed to be to target women who might possibly enjoy sex – I don’t remember any discussion of pedophilia or sadism, for example, although there were people in my own congregation who had to deal with those issues. It was simply inconceivable that any of “God’s people” would be involved with those sorts of things.

When there is a matter of personal conscience to confront, most Jehovah’s Witnesses will capitulate to the decision of the elders or the guidance of the organization’s publications. They are fearful of even writing a letter to headquarters to ask a question. Such communications might end up in their file, and many JWs have a fine-tuned paranoia. If they present a difficult situation to their local elders, they draw attention to themselves, and “spiritual guidance” as an idea is so tangled up with reprimand and danger that most questions are simply never asked. A person with questions is automatically regarded as “rebellious youth” or “in danger of straying from the truth” or being too close to “worldly influences.” The best thing to do is remain attentive at meetings, parrot back the expected rote answers, and be seen going out in service as much as possible. Independent thought, any of them will tell you, is against their religion.

How is any of that conducive to spiritual growth?