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. And, I think the issue is much broader than what the simple statistics are showing. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. Was Russell a Freemason? The fact that the [Church Of Christ minister] can go to the Bible and prove when, where, and how the Church was established in these last days is the reason I am a member of the Church Of Christ! Less than 24 hours later, the manual was leaked and seemingly non-stop analysis and comparison to previous versions began. 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. - Among all U.S. adults who were raised as Jehovahs Witnesses, two-thirds (66%) no longer identify with the group. 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 . Church, charity and 'cult' refuse to join sex abuse redress This religion contains more rules on what you cant do rather than what you can do. I believe this is a huge factor in the turnover of young people leaving the organization. These doctrines made perfect sense to me!. Nothing is added, subtracted, or changed to conform to societys standards because, in the Church Of Christ, the Bible is the basis of their faith. I was lucky enough to have parents who brought me up more loosely than most Jehovahs Witnesses. Andrea started to panic and pulled Cynthia aside. 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. Being a Witness and following the doctrines didnt automatically mark you as different or better than anyone else. Growth is pretty much stagnet in America and other countries like Great Brittan, Austrialia and other English speaking nations. The more the doctrines made sense, the more she wanted to keep learning. Animal Suffering I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness Andrea sat down. Have you lost your mind? I also believe this is an area where they are also profoundly disconnected from reality. This is an area where I believe the Watchtower leadership shows an astounding lack of insight. 1. The more that they grit their teeth, lash out at dissenters, and shake their fists at the internet, the more they motivate their disenchanted young people to satisfy their curiosities about what is on the net. According to the organisation, there are currently more than 70,000 Witnesses in Australia. 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. One troubling result is most high control groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientologists, discourage their members from seeking help from mental health care professionals, even when they display troubling signs of acute depression, anxiety, panic disorder, dissociation, suicidal thoughts, autism spectrum disorder or a variety of Internal rules and philosophies among the Jehovah's Witnesses seem to allow abuse to easily be covered up. That our faith is true. Several people tried to convince me to return to the truth the term they use to refer to anyone in the faith. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. 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. Within ten years, a We are in a great position to be a source of strength and compassion for those younger people who are wandering out and stumbling into forums like this. Imagine if Ford was blaming the consumers - saying that consumers had poor judgment for not wanting to buy the Pinto anymore. Religious Switching: Change in America's Religion Landscape | Pew No immaterial soul. it is one to really be avoided at all costs and it is really dangerous. Two years later he founded Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society, which was incorpo-rated in 1884 in Pennsylvania. It is more like Satans group simply because of the harsh and inhumane rules and regulations that they harbor in their midst. Ria Williams sued the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's. Leaked 'Branch' and 'Elders' Manuals Pull Back the Curtain of Inner Watch Tower is watching its assets in Russia vanish while paying settlements in the US and elsewhere for child abuse mishandling and other legal cases. Its what we dont post. On top of this, many Jehovah's Witness adults expect children to silently sit still through long convention talks on Daniels prophecies or the nuances of the word parousia. For Ali Millar, the experience of writing her difficult life story wasn't cathartic, it was traumatic. They put peoples lives in bondage to the religion. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters Ali's account of leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses was traumatic to write 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. She met George, his family, and a few others from the Church Of Christ, including Brother Eddie San Gabriel, a Minister of the Gospel. 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. Theres absolutely no evidence of that at all. There are now 11 of us that are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, and that is in ten years. This article provides basic information on leaving this faith. 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. BBC - Religions - Witnesses: Beliefs Woman born into Jehovah's Witnesses says she was raised in a cult Watch Tower continues to try to plug these leaks like the proverbial dam in Holland, but they are running out of fingers and attorneys to plug these leaks. The gathering was a Bible study. Everyone has a different "wtf" trigger and access to that information is just a curious click away. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The truth is, Jehovahs witnesses are taught to welcome doctrinal changes as adjustments or new light, and they have a long list of beliefs and doctrines that have changed since the church was established. 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. Instead, Andrea spent her time attending meetings at Kingdom Hall, sharing her faith, and being with her family. Meanwhile, Watch Tower purchased four $8,000.00 scanners. Why so many raised as Jehovah's witnesses leave - JWfacts In most cases of child sexual assault, the pedophile commits the heinous acts when alone with the . Its not what we post on AvoidJW.org that should worry Watch Tower. This is human nature. 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. [1] People are waking up and leaving in droves. Truth Be Told Documentary Jehovah's Witnesses, a millenarian denomination of Christrianity, follow strict guidelines regarding the use of blood in medical practices. And you have no promise. The Secret Jehovah's Witness Database of Child Molesters - The Atlantic If all of this keeps up, it might not be long before you will see jw.org gone from the scene, as well as other things tied to this diabolical evil religion. Personally, what this all adds up to for me is this: Young people, and most especially men, are leaving this religion in droves. Abuse allegations? "They knocked on our door and caught my mum at a vulnerable time of crisis . Each member carries a "Health Care Proxy" card, declaring his or her desire not to receive a blood transfusion for any reason as stated by Acts 15:28, 29. A moment that changed me: quitting the Jehovah's Witnesses JWs are leaving in droves, all because of the internet. The Jehovahs Witnesses have a bunch of rules, regulations and policies much like the religious leaders of Jesus day had. Sherrie and Naomi were Jehovah's Witnesses. Examining the total number of people entering and leaving each religion provides the most complete picture of the dynamism of the American religious landscape. 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. So if Jesus said that, then that means all of these cultic religions are not the truth as they claim that they are. I have just loaded my spiritual cannon, and I am about to fire away! The Supreme Court of Canada will rule this year in a case involving shunning and discrimination, and if Watch Tower loses this case, the repercussions will be felt worldwide. How a former Jehovah's Witness follower is facing the trauma after Enter the social media - Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube all readily available on your average smart phone. Jehovah's Witnesses ban comes into force in Russia after appeal fails. I have seen many really good kids in the organization totally get neglected because they didnt have a father who was a Witness. 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 . Many of these were good kids too. Many of them had some very deep emotional issues that never got resolved. 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, a Christian denomination with an estimated 175,000 followers in Russia. She didnt party, she didnt drink, and she stayed out of politics. Does a recession/pandemic/war indicate Armageddon? Ironically, they cant do that, because the organization has already been identified and branded as a spiritual banquet where nothing is lacking. Instead of adjusting the menu, or admitting that the chef isnt as good as he thinks he is, the owner simply blames the customers, and claims that the patrons taste buds must not be working properly. Now if they all say this, surely not all of them could be the truth huh? When Cynthia became friends with George, who was a member of the Church Of Christ, Andrea had her guard up because she refused to let someone from another religion influence their faith. Nothing can be allowed to take any time away from the Watchtowers sole purpose of existence: proselytizing. Well, the reason for the recent increase is simply due to a change in tactics, according to our sister title the Chronicle. It is law according to the Jehovahs Witness. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. A moment that changed me: dropping out of university | Anne T Donaghue, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Leaving the faith at 18 changed my life completely., remember that first year after Id left the, Former Jehovah's Witness elders call for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, MPsdemand action over Jehovahs Witness abuse allegations, Jehovah's Witnesses accused of silencing victims of child abuse, Child sexual abuse inquiry considers Jehovah's Witnesses UK investigation, Jehovahs Witnesses criticised over handling of child abuse case, Jehovah's Witnesses charity drops attempts to block abuse inquiry, Jehovah's Witnesses did not protect children from abuse, inquiry finds, Jehovah's Witnesses under pressure over handling of sexual abuse claims, Jehovah's Witnesses accused of damaging Otomi religious site in Mexico. . 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. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times. The shorter the expected time left, the higher the growth. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Judging 'sincerely held' religious belief is tricky for employers With the recent crack-downs on college education, the Watchtower is looking less and less like a spiritual paradise, and is looking more like North Korea. At what point do they begin to ask themselves if there is something that THEY are doing wrong? You know what its like to have no hope. 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. It isnt Christian and it isnt Gods organization. I had to see it, I had to look it up, and I had to read myself. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) The pandemic may leave a. Tony Morris declared on multiple occasions that he was incensed with European trousers for men, designed by the homosexuals he hates so passionately and followed this tirade by producing a side by side photo of what proper trousers look like versus tight pants. I eventually left the faith at 18. What effect has the Internet had on the religion of the Jehovah's I have a loving husband that I adore. It's already a small pool of potential friends and romantic interests in a KH. Jw.org Website In more recent news concerning the Watchtower organization, Steven Lett made a really shocking and quite frankly damning statement concerning babies. How can anyone watch these buffoons and think theyre Gods voice. He lives in Stockholm. Show your compassion for those still trapped. There was always an air of mysti'c never seeing them except on occasion at a district convention. Steps 1 Do personal research. Jehovah does not mislead us. (We already know that growth has become stagnant and more and more people seem to be waking up than previously.). And when youre a member of the Church Of Christ, the peace that you have in knowing that the promise that God has made to you will be fulfilled is everything. 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. He grew up in a Strong JW family in the USA but now thinks most of it is BS and Nonsense, By the way he does love Sweden and I need to go visit him. 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. Quick-builds only happen so often, and Bethel just isnt a possibility for everyone. - About 1% of the entire membership is disfellowshipped every year. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times - Quora Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witnesses congregation is a millennialist restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs. Witnesses are being approached and asked hard-hitting questions about child abuse, shunning, and other matters. In some respects, its very entertaining. 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. They believe that salvation is impossible outside of the Watchtower. Andee. End of the Home Book Study Arrangement Meanwhile, Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia have been imprisoned for following Governing Body directives. You know I couldnt see my life any other way. Im still here, and Im still the same. How many schools do you know of, that stick preschoolers, high school students, and graduate students all into the same classroom together? But now members are heading into the city to try and reach out to more people. Many of them not only help the young people with their unique issues, but also really inspire them enough to get active and pay it forward. The reason for this is because theyre on the verge of going totally belly up, and they need money to be able to handle all of the child sex abuse cases that they have under their belts and so on. 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. You know what its like to not have the spiritual substance that you can grab on to. Conflagration and Catastrophe: On Jehovah's Witnesses and the Doom of . Every time I . At that time, a small group of Bible students who lived near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States, began a systematic analysis of the Bible. Does this sound familiar? More and more people each day are posting YouTube videos about their terrible experiences with this organization. . The Jehovahs Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which was founded by Charles Taz Russell, a Christian Restorationist minister. Witnesses hold a number of traditional Christian views but also many that are unique to them. If they act up and dont sit still; spankings are usually soon to follow. Watchtower Caught Dumping Chemicals However, none of that is really working and people are still waking up from this brutal North Korean type religion. This has happened in other countries as well. 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. Other programs that would make for a much stronger, robust, and enthusiastic membership are pushed aside and dismissed due their possibly interfering with proselytizing. Jehovah's Witnesses' bad blood with COVID-19 vaccines "Jehovah's Witnesses believe that it is their responsibility before God to respect and co-operate with the authorities." A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has welcomed the statement but implored the organisation to contact authorities. Watch Tower has taken over responsibility of all kingdom halls worldwide, but many sit in disrepair awaiting renovations in excess of what congregations can afford. I remember that first year after Id left the Jehovahs Witness faith. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as 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 .