She has never found a discrepancy between what is written in the Bible and the teachings taught in the Church Of Christ. I was allowed to make friends with people outside my congregation. Jesus Christ is God's agent, through whom sinful humans can be reconciled to God. As education becomes increasingly important to eek out even a meager living, Witnesses are already being forced to become more educated. In most cases of child sexual assault, the pedophile commits the heinous acts when alone with the . Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. "(We) encourage them to make urgent contact with the Department of Social Services so . If the religion continues to have to pay out millions of dollars to the victems of child abuse, and it they continue to loose new converts simply because theyre finding out the real truth about the religion, then theres no way that it will be able to remain standing. I have just loaded my spiritual cannon, and I am about to fire away! Jehovah's Witnesses do not provide a dignified resignation process for members who wish to leave. Is it the sign of the end or just the end of a religion? 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. I eventually left the faith at 18. The Jehovahs Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which was founded by Charles Taz Russell, a Christian Restorationist minister. In the book, they [JW] taught that Jesus Christ is a Mighty God. And you have no promise. Evolution & Creation Misrepresentations 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. 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. Several people tried to convince me to return to the truth the term they use to refer to anyone in the faith. *my Opinion * / Nostradamus Predictions For World War in 2020 . When commenting on the young people who leave the organization, another common tactic that the organization uses is to cynically compare them with the ungrateful Israelites who found Jehovahs manna to be undesirable. I have two beautiful children that I adore, that God blessed me with, and are very active in the Church. 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. All rights Reserved. Copyright 2023 Jehovah's Witnesses. One has since died but had rarely attended before her death. young ones leaving. In 2017, Russia's Supreme Court declared the group an extremist organization, lumping its. 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. The following is just my opinion and observations based on events from the past year. Is the Book of Daniel Prophetic or Historical? And so after learning from the Bible that God commissions or sends people to communicate the truth, Andrea came to the conclusion that those who wrote the Let God be True book could not have been commissioned by God. That is why I believe they will never adopt the very common sense solutions that could be so helpful to their members; especially the young ones. They worship the organization in which theyre a part of. Are Watchtower reasons for being the only true religion valid? 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. Tell your story. But I will say this each one of us can play a part in sharing what we know with the public. While I tried to maintain the utmost respect for their beliefs and not attempt to preach my own, they refused to extend me the same courtesy, and many assumed Id left so I could experience more freedom for worldly things. Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. 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. These doctrines made perfect sense to me!. 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. 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. Their lackluster growth will only continue; and they will find it harder and harder to recruit new members. I was lucky enough to have parents who brought me up more loosely than most Jehovahs Witnesses. They dont bring salvation to your door when they come but instead, they talk about a paradise Earth and so on. As she grew up as a third-generation Jehovah's Witness, there were certain things . 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. I have my duty. He focused on his defense, like a narcissist who believes they are the center of the universe, unable to empathize with real people with real problems. Truth Be Told Documentary On the heels of a $35 million jury award to a woman who alleged the congregation mishandled her childhood abuse, other . When these programs do address the children directly, it usually only entails an assembly drama about Samuel, or the promise that very soon, they will be able to play with tigers and elephants. 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. 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. Moriah Hughes, 24, filed her lawsuit last month in. 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. 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. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. Jesus said himself that he was the way, the life and the truth and that nobody comes to the father but through him. Watch Tower must pay these benefits. When you factor how many people are baptized vs. the number of publishers the year before you realize that they . She listened and protected her faith and the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses until her beliefs could no longer defend her. But now members are heading into the city to try and reach out to more people. Boom Boom Boom! all because thats THE NEW FOUR DOOR SEDAN BY TOYOTA! I myself was born and raised in the organization. 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. There is dissent in South Africa right now because of the fixed per capita amount assigned to each publisher who attends a circuit assembly. Marriage to an unbeliever starts to look a little inevitable. Watch Tower was spending tens of thousands per year to New York City just to maintain their tunnel and air-bridge spaces between buildings. Less than 24 hours later, the manual was leaked and seemingly non-stop analysis and comparison to previous versions began. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. To have no faith. Feeling deceived by the teachings of the Jehovahs Witnesses, she confronted her grandmother. Doomsday images from Jehovah's Witnesses publications. People are finally not afraid to talk, and the very massive Ex-JW community is really having a huge affect on Watchtower and on those still inside of it. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 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. Jehovah does not mislead us. Branches around the world are struggling to keep up with their own accounting procedures. This raises the question: Who is an. She learned she couldnt get that from being a Jehovahs Witness. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site status, or find something interesting to read. It isnt about the children. Left In 1977. By Brendan Cole On 7/28/20 at 11:09 AM EDT News Russia Intensifies Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses with 110 Armed Raids The. . We grew up together. They rely upon the Watchtower more than they rely upon the Bible. - The number of young Jehovah's Witnesses (aged 18-24) has dropped by 6% over the past 7 years. 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. Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely. Not even Watchtowers huge lawyers can stop it. Just imagine if the Ford Motor Company was still manufacturing and marketing the Ford Pinto. One factor that was discussed at length was the high number of young people who do not stay in the organization. Jehovah's Witnesses, a millenarian denomination of Christrianity, follow strict guidelines regarding the use of blood in medical practices. The sect is headed by an all-male governing body and elders adhere to policies laid out in a guidebook that's kept confidential from other followers. 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. The cart-witnessing program is finally beginning to backfire. But why have they stopped knocking on our doors? Statistically, two-thirds of born in members leave, and of those that leave on. Watch Tower has made it clear these records are to be destroyed according to their new records management and destruction procedures. 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 . 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. In the spring of 2015, Stephen Lett asked for donations after stating that JW.org had more money going out than coming in. 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. (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/). Ria Williams sued the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's. There are also members with experiences of Catholicism, Mormonism, the Exclusive Brethren, the Mennonites, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and the Falun Gong movement. 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. Religious fact, faith and delusion, home> And the more she embraced the truth, the more her family tried to stop her. I expect this is partly due to many young ones being DF or DA due to "misconduct" because children and teens are held to the same rigorous standard as fully realized adults. That our faith is true. You dont need to mourn me, I told her once. I Prayed and was met by a Witness Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering . Watch Tower is very upset and concerned about all the leaks coming from their headquarters. Today it has 252 members, with those who have been associated with Pentecostalism, the Anglican and Baptist churches and the Jehovah's Witnesses dominating the group. Jehovah's Witnesses ban comes into force in Russia after appeal fails. 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. If id seen in the 70s or 80s morons like Lett rambling or the arrogance of Tony Morrison or the incredulous lies that Geoffrey Jackson spews, id saved alot of years of headache. Abuse allegations? He lives in Stockholm. 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. I have seen many really good kids in the organization totally get neglected because they didnt have a father who was a Witness. Its not hard to figure out why so many Jehovah's Witness children are conditioned from an early age to associate drudgery with the meetings and assemblies. I had panic attacks. ITV Coronation Street star announces full-time return to soap - leaving fans delighted. This is human nature. Why Are People Leaving The Jehovah's Witness In Droves. They thought the end would be here now with the old generation teaching. However, the Watchtower stubbornly sticks to a one size fits all program for everyone. 2020-06-14 - NATALIE O'BRIEN. No more than four-in-ten members of the group belong to any one racial and ethnic background: 36% are white, 32% are Hispanic, 27% are black and 6% are another race or mixed race. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. With a spacious trunk, with low clearance to fit that pesky literature cart! ET on April 5, 2019. A big part of the JW organization's power comes from keeping dissenters isolated until they give in due to loneliness. -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. Many elders have questioned this vocally, and have described the amount of money charged to each circuit as an invoice. I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. 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. (We already know that growth has become stagnant and more and more people seem to be waking up than previously.). random musings> JWs are leaving in droves, all because of the internet. Clearly, this organization is a satanic religion posing as Christian. By contrast, about two-thirds of those who were raised as evangelical Protestants (65%) and Mormons (64%) still say they are members of those respective groups. 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. 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. No other religion can do that. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. It is all about how much you can do in the organization that earns you status and salvation. Since then, four Ukrainians from occupied Crimea have been sentenced to six or more years' imprisonment: Serhiy Filatov; Artem Gerasimov; Viktor Stashevsky and Igor Schmidt. There was always an air of mysti'c never seeing them except on occasion at a district convention. 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. It made them revered. Sherrie and Naomi were Jehovah's Witnesses. When there has been no specific date set . 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. 10. Sylviane is a relationship coach for women . Currently, in the US, JW.org has just 40% of their publishers registered in the JW.org database system. On February 4, 2019, rumors of the release of a new Elders manual, meant only for the eyes of the top leaders in each congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW), began to surface on ex-JW forums across the Internet. 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. The leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses has never admitted that any valid reasons to leave the religion exist.