But I will say this each one of us can play a part in sharing what we know with the public. However, it is too late because it is all laid bare for everybody to see online and it will never ever be erased or taken down. By Elizabeth Chuck. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Jehovah's Witnesses, Hendricks said, "fundamentally disagree with the idea of the Holy Trinity." "We believe that Jehovah is the sovereign, the only eternal one, and that Jesus Christ is a created being perhaps living in the heavens for billions of years," Hendricks said. Nothing can be allowed to take any time away from the Watchtowers sole purpose of existence: proselytizing. Jehovah's Witnesses ban comes into force in Russia after appeal fails. - The number of young Jehovah's Witnesses (aged 18-24) has dropped by 6% over the past 7 years. The organization of Jehovahs Witnesses is not Gods organization and never ever will be either. 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. 6 months later in a private seminar, branch officials announced that Letts plea resulted in 30 million extra dollars in donations, but this would not stem their financial issues and would continue with layoffs and cutbacks. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The following is just my opinion and observations based on events from the past year. Feeling deceived by the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses, she confronted her grandmother. The Holy Spirit is . 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 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. The mountain of bullshit has finally gotten high enough that it's starting to collapse on itself. It should be noted that the Soviets used the same methods of argumentation and reasoning claiming that nothing was lacking in Mother Russia. I had to see it, I had to look it up, and I had to read myself. I remember I was getting ready to leave [for worship service in the Church Of Christ], it was early in the morning and it was on a Saturday. BeyondJW - Timothy Campbell My parents chose my brother, my abuser, over me. 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.. Many will have had to cover over passions and talents that would have given their lives much greater meaning. Besides meetings and literature, what is the Watchtower doing, or even attempting to do to truly refresh, uplift, and inspire their young people? Jehovah's Witnesses do not provide a dignified resignation process for members who wish to leave. Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves. 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 . Most congregations have not filed returns for 2 to 4 years, primarily because local elders do not understand how to file returns, and are quite frankly not interested in the business aspect of this religion. What we see from regimes like North Korea is a disregard for many of the societal endeavors that make a nation stronger, such as infrastructure, good universities, economic freedoms, and democratic processes. Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson callously stated in 2015 before the Royal Commission in Australia that he had not even read the details of the victims who had testified before the Commission. Two years later he founded Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society, which was incorpo-rated in 1884 in Pennsylvania. 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. Does a recession/pandemic/war indicate Armageddon? In fact, the July 1st, 1984 issue of Watchtower magazine goes so far as to say that anyone who leaves their religion has decided "to leave the way of truth".. ITV Dancing On Ice judge Christopher announced Jayne is out of surgery - and it was a success. 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/. Witnesses are being approached and asked hard-hitting questions about child abuse, shunning, and other matters. I was also lucky that both my parents encouraged me to get a good education to work hard at school so I could go to university if I wanted. 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. I remember that first year after Id left the Jehovahs Witness faith. Their whole going out to knock on doors sounds commendable, but truth be known, the reason why they do it is because theyre trying to earn their own way into Jehovahs new world; paradise Earth. Theres absolutely no room for error within the organization. We have far more than they realize we have, and there is nothing they can do to stop the flow of information outside of headquarters. There are also members with experiences of Catholicism, Mormonism, the Exclusive Brethren, the Mennonites, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and the Falun Gong movement. And, it doesnt help the organization at all when governing body members like Jeffery Jackson get onto the stand in court and lie about their organization saying that it would be presumptuous to say that theyre the only spoakspeople for God when in fact, it says just that very thing in their literature. Growth is pretty much stagnet in America and other countries like Great Brittan, Austrialia and other English speaking nations. 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. I have been giving a lot of thought to the young people who are leaving the Watchtower organization in recent years. There's a limit on how long you can tell people that the world is about to end for so long before they get sceptical. When curious JWs find communities like this one, they realize they're not alone and there's hope/life for them outside the borg. But now members are heading into the city to try and reach out to more people. "They knocked on our door and caught my mum at a vulnerable time of crisis . In South Africa, over 1400 congregations struggle to file their government mandated tax returns required of each congregation. . It is already collapsing under its own weight. 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. young ones leaving. This is human nature. 10. Most Jehovah's Witnesses - roughly two-thirds (65%) - are . Beginning in 2018, JW.org will implement a program in which every single JW will be assigned a database number and their information will be in JW.orgs global database. Aside from the Bethel layoffs, all non-essential branch projects were either cancelled or put on hold. First of all, I think the Watchtowers problems with their inability to retain the young people runs very deep. But she realized she couldnt help her sister if she remained at a distance. She didnt party, she didnt drink, and she stayed out of politics. I also believe this is an area where they are also profoundly disconnected from reality. She has never found a discrepancy between what is written in the Bible and the teachings taught in the Church Of Christ. Only ten years ago, every single member, that is 28 members were Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the rate of growth has almost certainly also been dependent on child baptism for several years and, with the average age of the membership growing older and decades of discouragement from current members having children, there are also simply fewer children to indoctrinate. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 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. 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. 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. Strangely, their newspapers only had good news to publish about the Soviet government, and only had bad news to report about Western democracies. - Quora Answer (1 of 27): It isn't a religion its a cult. And now with other countries finding out the harshness of their rules and their inhumane practices of shunning, and not turning child sex abuse cases over to the police is really causing a huge problem for Watchtower. Many of us here paid that price, only to wake up to it years later. It is all about their money. The leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses has never admitted that any valid reasons to leave the religion exist. The important thing for us is to show them that there is a great life to be lived after leaving the Watchtower. This has happened in other countries as well. 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. All Witnesses are expected to obey instructions and doctrines that influence every aspect of life: Women are considered subservient to men, higher education is discouraged and homosexuality is not permitted. You know what its like to have no hope. 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. 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. Was Russell a Freemason? This is an area where I believe the Watchtower leadership shows an astounding lack of insight. She tried to push his friendship away, which meant pushing Cynthia away too. This raises the issue of whether any benefits will ever be paid to other full-time JWs across the globe, who deserve them equally. The carts also provide the public with the choice of approaching us or not, which some people appreciate. Moving to Warwick eliminated these costly payments. Everyone has a different "wtf" trigger and access to that information is just a curious click away. Updated at 12:25 p.m. 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. For Ali Millar, the experience of writing her difficult life story wasn't cathartic, it was traumatic. The leader Kim Jong is so deluded that his idea of inspiring his people is to walk out on his balcony with his huge Elvis glasses and clap his hands. 1. 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. You have no place in this house. He told me to pack my things and go.. Nobody at the London HQ would comment on whether the strategy resulted in an increase in followers. In 2017, Russia's Supreme Court declared the group an extremist organization, lumping its. 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. Can baptism be Annulled? *my Opinion * / Nostradamus Predictions For World War in 2020 . Followers famously wont accept blood donations - nor do they celebrate birthdays, claiming such celebrations displease God. Jehovahs Witnesses are taught to welcome doctrinal changes. Jehovah's Witnesses detained in inhumane conditions June 4, 2021 Number of Jehovah's Witnesses on trial in Lipetsk grows June 2, 2021 Christian attorney gives advice for staying on good side of law June 1, 2021 Crimean Pentecostals fined for violating Russia's anti-evangelism law May 31, 2021 American prayer breakfast figure feted by Ukrainian . Jehovah does not mislead us. ITV Dancing On Ice's Christopher Dean issues Jayne Torvill health announcement. The Let God Be True book was written by imperfect men, and imperfect men make mistakes, and it was a mistake. 2010 Elder's Book There is dissent in South Africa right now because of the fixed per capita amount assigned to each publisher who attends a circuit assembly. Jehovah's Witness pervert who got sexual kicks from strangling children jailed despite cover-up by congregation. THE Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination has been accused of selling assets and sending cash offshore to avoid paying Australian child-sex abuse victims. Id been treated badly by as many people who were Witnesses as I had non-Witnesses. . Its hard to say. The purpose? They believe that ony 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will go to heaven. The church shares some traditional views with the Catholic church but holds several unique ones, including the belief that there is one God, not a Trinity. Ria Williams sued the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's. They dont bring salvation to your door when they come but instead, they talk about a paradise Earth and so on. interesting topics> 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 . It made them revered. And, as is human nature, it is much easier for Watchtower leaders to put all of the blame for this on invisible metaphysical characters such as Satan, instead of dealing with the elephant in their own living room.