Sherrie and Naomi were Jehovah's Witnesses. Andrea embraced its teachings and followed all of JWs beliefs to a T. She didnt celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, or any other holidays, and she avoided birthday celebrations. Globally there are about eight-and-a-half million Jehovahs Witnesses. I have seen a lot of creativity and progressive thinking when it comes to how they design ministries for young people. I just want you to listen, Cynthia begged. What effect has the Internet had on the religion of the Jehovah's 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. Identifying True Worship, Part 1: What Is Apostasy according to the 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. Utah Supreme Court revives lawsuit of woman who claims church - KSTU "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 Jehovah's Witnesses had changed over the years. But now members are heading into the city to try and reach out to more people. Ali's account of leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses was traumatic to write This was not a tax, it was a fee paid because New York owns the underground and the airspace. They really have no proof of God giving them this high and mighty position of being Gods only spoksperson on Earth. And then from that day, I never looked back. 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. Jehovah's Witnesses and Covid-19 She tried to push his friendship away, which meant pushing Cynthia away too. It is all about how much you can do in the organization that earns you status and salvation. But its a way of thinking that is ingrained in you by the faith, and its this mentality that makes it so difficult to leave. I Prayed and was met by a Witness 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? When there has been no specific date set . Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. If a Jehovah's Witness were to break any of the rules they could be spoken to by an elder (the equivalent of a . Their lackluster growth will only continue; and they will find it harder and harder to recruit new members. Less than 24 hours later, the manual was leaked and seemingly non-stop analysis and comparison to previous versions began. 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. However, the Seventh day Adventists say that theyre the only true religion, the Mormons say it and so do the Catholics and so on. Two thirds of those disfellowshipped never return. 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. Jehovah's Witness - Beliefs | Britannica They have been issuing subpoenas from the Southern District of New York to various internet providers in the US, along with Google, Inc., in an attempt to track down the source of the leaks and identify the individuals involved in leaking their literature and videos. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times - Quora Statistically, two-thirds of born in members leave, and of those that leave on. So if Jesus said that, then that means all of these cultic religions are not the truth as they claim that they are. Is the Book of Daniel Prophetic or Historical? End of the Home Book Study Arrangement Included with this the commissioning of the Last Messenger! I made a concentrated effort to stop using the word, because I knew it wasnt the truth to me, and that its use was just a very 1984 Newspeak method of subtle control. Jehovah's Witnesses - News, views, gossip, pictures, video - mirror Something went wrong, please try again later. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) The pandemic may leave a. She didnt party, she didnt drink, and she stayed out of politics. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. . Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. . 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. 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 . It is just too much even for them to handle. 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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. A closer look at Jehovah's Witnesses living in the U.S. Now if they all say this, surely not all of them could be the truth huh? THE Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination has been accused of selling assets and sending cash offshore to avoid paying Australian child-sex abuse victims. 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. 37:2337-Minute Listen. 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. Attending My Father's Funeral And, I think the issue is much broader than what the simple statistics are showing. It was important for Andrea to have a relationship with God, and to worship Him the right way. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Its hard to say. I was allowed to make friends with people outside my congregation. 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. I believe this with my whole heart. My grandmother was a pioneer. Jehovah's Witness pervert who got sexual kicks from strangling children jailed despite cover-up by congregation. Its old and we dont use it anymore. 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. Jehovah's Witnesses Abandon Key Tenet - Los Angeles Times I have two beautiful children that I adore, that God blessed me with, and are very active in the Church. Conflagration and Catastrophe: On Jehovah's Witnesses and the Doom of The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson When youre a convert, you know what its like to be in the world. Enter the social media - Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube all readily available on your average smart phone. 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. Franz stated the request for his resignation and his subsequent disfellowshipping resulted from allegations of apostasy. Jesus Christ is his firstborn son, is inferior to God, and was created by God. This is why Jehovah's Witnesses have stopped knocking on your door Getty Images 08 . Pandemic forces local Jehovah's Witnesses to reshape door-knocking Church, charity and 'cult' refuse to join sex abuse redress (Immediately prior to dates the end was specifically expected, such as 1914, 1925 and 1975, growth increased to as high as 20%.) No immaterial soul. She learned she couldnt get that from being a Jehovahs Witness. He lives in Stockholm. Strangely, their newspapers only had good news to publish about the Soviet government, and only had bad news to report about Western democracies. BeyondJW - Timothy Campbell Well here goes. These groups are designed to approach the young people where they are at right now not from where someone thinks they should be. Jw.org Website There are also members with experiences of Catholicism, Mormonism, the Exclusive Brethren, the Mennonites, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and the Falun Gong movement. But it's a way of thinking that is ingrained in you by the faith, and it's this mentality that makes it so difficult to leave. Can baptism be Annulled? Many teenagers in the organization have issues that require a little more remedy than sitting with a notepad at the assembly and counting with tally marks the number of times the speaker says Jehovah. 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. Is it the sign of the end or just the end of a religion? Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination with an estimated 175,000 followers in Russia. 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. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. The Jehovah's Witness Religion is Literally Dying Off : r/exjw - reddit Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves, Never miss breaking news by signing up to our free email updates. Meanwhile, Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia have been imprisoned for following Governing Body directives. 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. 12 Outrageous Facts about Jehovah's Witnesses you need to Know This religion contains more rules on what you cant do rather than what you can do. The groups are handing out copies of The Watchtower from carts outside New Street station. Theres absolutely no room for error within the organization. You know I couldnt see my life any other way. Simple forgiveness isnt in their vocabulary. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that: God the Father (whose name is Jehovah) is "the only true God". No other religion can do that. But in another respect, its quite sad, when considering the young people in the organization who desperately need and yearn for something more. 239) In this video I share the story of my transition from believing. I believe this is a huge factor in the turnover of young people leaving the organization. Does this sound familiar? How many schools do you know of, that stick preschoolers, high school students, and graduate students all into the same classroom together? Jehovah's Witnesses Run Away From Bogus Copyright Claims After Judge . They are not allowed to question the Watchtower leadership or teaching. Examining the total number of people entering and leaving each religion provides the most complete picture of the dynamism of the American religious landscape. 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. - Quora Answer (1 of 27): It isn't a religion its a cult. Theres absolutely no evidence of that at all. Jehovah's Witnesses will often turn away from any Bible discussion that challenges their beliefs, using the excuse that they cannot listen to apostates. Kings County, New York - On May 18, 2021, in New York City, Robins Kaplan LLP filed three lawsuits against the Jehovah's Witnesses parent-organization, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ("Watchtower"), on behalf of survivors who were sexually abused when they were minor members of two different New York State congregations. The rules just keep right on getting tighter and tighter due to the fact that theyre in full damage control, and they want to keep as many people in the organization as they possibly can. We grew up together. Are Watchtower reasons for being the only true religion valid? At death, that life-force leaves the body. Jehovah's Witnesses Face the Challenge of the Coronavirus Outbreak No religion can claim that. Tell your story. (source: Detroit Free Press: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/03/18/jehovahs-witnesses-murder-suicide-keego-harbor/409695002/). The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. 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. They believe that salvation is impossible outside of the Watchtower. I knew the Bible back and forth. It is quite funny when the Watchtower wants to shut down somebodys YouTube channel because they said something bad about Watchtower, but at the same time, Watchtower sees absolutely no problem bashing other religions out of their mouths online during their dramas, talks and other programming that they put out. And at one time their teaching was that Jesus was like God or was a God.. The mountain of bullshit has finally gotten high enough that it's starting to collapse on itself. It isnt about the children. Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult? Find some websites which you believe are honest and accurate and share them. My father and i have discussed this. 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 was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. Branches around the world are struggling to keep up with their own accounting procedures. Sparlock Warrior Wizard The cart-witnessing program is finally beginning to backfire. Earlier this year, we wrote about how the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, better known as the Jehovah's Witnesses despite a long history of litigating many, many important 1st. At 18 I turned my back on the cloistered isolation of my familys faith and began a life where I was free to question ideas and beliefs. We have hope, and we have a promise that no one else on this Earth has. A big part of the JW organization's power comes from keeping dissenters isolated until they give in due to loneliness. You have no place in this house. He told me to pack my things and go.. 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. To scan all documents located in Brooklyn, retaining only the hard copies they were required to keep by law. Besides meetings and literature, what is the Watchtower doing, or even attempting to do to truly refresh, uplift, and inspire their young people? "I would be sick. Everyone has a different "wtf" trigger and access to that information is just a curious click away. Yes, money is a problem for Watch Tower. Is it any wonder that they would seek to fill the void in their life with sex, drugs, and alcohol? Russia's mysterious campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses - ABC News Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. As she started to lose trust in the unsteady teachings of JW, Andrea turned to the Church Of Christ for doctrinal stability because, in the Church Of Christ, everything that they follow is written in the Bible. It is truly a heavily works based religion. I went to university, where I made even more friends who showed me that being in the world is completely fine, and that debate and discussion is also OK. Basically it is in the process of imploding. Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to welcome doctrinal changes. I have several observations to add to this. ET on April 5, 2019. Being a Witness and following the doctrines didnt automatically mark you as different or better than anyone else. Photos of JWfacts.com being Promoted If they act up and dont sit still; spankings are usually soon to follow. Animal Suffering 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 . With all of the publically displayed lies and deceptions that this organization has dished out over the years, people are finally waking up to the real truth about the Watchtower organization and its agenda. Im still here, and Im still the same. 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. These elders are being retrained, and have been called disobedient by the branch. It made them revered. Watch Tower was spending tens of thousands per year to New York City just to maintain their tunnel and air-bridge spaces between buildings. Jehovah's Witness 'ordered to renounce faith and join Russian army' Europe. 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. Boom Boom Boom! Lets make it happen. In March 1997, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the nonprofit organization that oversees the Jehovah's Witnesses, sent a letter to each of its . 100 years is a pretty long time to wait. When you take a look at many of the mega-churches for example, it is very impressive how much they put into creating support groups and programs for their young people. Why are you doing this? Andrea was upset. Many will have had to cover over passions and talents that would have given their lives much greater meaning. . 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.