- 63% of current Jehovah's Witnesses are a high school education or less. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The Let God Be True book was written by imperfect men, and imperfect men make mistakes, and it was a mistake. 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. A lack of education is also essential to keep members locked in. -65% of JWs are women, compared to only 35% men. Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves. It isnt Christian and it isnt Gods organization. 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. Why so many raised as Witnesses leave 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. It is all about how much you can do in the organization that earns you status and salvation. However, the Seventh day Adventists say that theyre the only true religion, the Mormons say it and so do the Catholics and so on. The Internet is what is really hurting the Watchtower organization bigtime because in the past, information could be controlled and managed. It is more like Satans group simply because of the harsh and inhumane rules and regulations that they harbor in their midst. . A former Jehovahs Witness shares why she walked away for good, We would have Bible studies, and I even preached from door to door. Watch Tower is very upset and concerned about all the leaks coming from their headquarters. I have never been able to find anything more true than what is taught by the Church Of Christ. 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. Moving to Warwick eliminated these costly payments. My father and i have discussed this. What would you expect to see if that was a news headline within the coming year? There simply isnt anything designed or built into the programs that work with the attention spans of young children. Sylviane is a relationship coach for women . Does a recession/pandemic/war indicate Armageddon? 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. Imagine if Ford was blaming the consumers - saying that consumers had poor judgment for not wanting to buy the Pinto anymore. 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. 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. Youre taught by the organisation that once you leave you will become corrupted by the outside world and inevitably descend into selfishness, meanness and false happiness. Sections: politics business autos jobs career education romance computers phones travel sports fashion health Instead of engaging in some honest soul searching and introspection about how to help and nurture young people at an organizational level, the Watchtower leadership, writing department, and traveling overseers all attribute the high turnover to their favorite straw man: Satan. They worship the organization in which theyre a part of. The turnover in membership is something that is only going to grow; as is the percentage of the young Jehovah's Witnesses who eventually leave. 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. I was one of them. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Theyre currently in damage control which means that theyre trying to wipe away their history in the hope that future Witnesses will never find it out. Coronation Street favourite Julia Goulding has confirmed she's back on the cobbles. 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. THE Jehovah's Witnesses religious denomination has been accused of selling assets and sending cash offshore to avoid paying Australian child-sex abuse victims. This is where the Watchtower is at. The following is just my opinion and observations based on events from the past year. She tried to push his friendship away, which meant pushing Cynthia away too. They thought the end would be here now with the old generation teaching. By Elizabeth Chuck. Abuse allegations? Several people tried to convince me to return to the truth the term they use to refer to anyone in the faith. That takes us to 27. 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. Tell your story. . Many former friends, including my best friend of 10 years, shunned me. You have no place in this house. He told me to pack my things and go.. 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. This has happened in other countries as well. Nothing can be allowed to take any time away from the Watchtowers sole purpose of existence: proselytizing. The modern-day organisation began at the end of the 19th century. You're taught by the organisation that once you leave you will. It is truly a heavily works based religion. Watchtower Caught Dumping Chemicals Contrast this to the July 2009 issue of Awake! 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. 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 all about the rules and their governing body. Much of their growth from these nations is from people being born into the religion. To have no faith. 2. ITV Dancing On Ice judge Christopher announced Jayne is out of surgery - and it was a success. I was very well versed in the Bible. They tell you that you need to follow these rules in order to receive salvation and so on. 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. Im astonished at the totally creepy nature of the GB Videos I have seen lately. Instead, Andrea spent her time attending meetings at Kingdom Hall, sharing her faith, and being with her family. 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. The gathering was a Bible study. We feel the use of carts allows us to reach people we perhaps wouldnt meet at home due to their work schedules or other factors, said spokesperson Andrew Schofield. There is a question regarding the longevity of JW.org given the events of the past few years. Im still here, and Im still the same. Watch Tower Headquarters asked branches to sell as much equipment as they could liquidate including heavy equipment, printers, etc. She was especially close to her sister Cynthia. Branches around the world are struggling to keep up with their own accounting procedures. Should you Disassociate and Sample Letters, The Hardship of being a Gay Jehovah's Witness. BeyondJW - Timothy Campbell Are you inspired yet? [1] People are waking up and leaving in droves. Its what we dont post. Moriah Hughes, 24, filed her lawsuit last month in. Most people who currently identify as Jehovah's Witnesses (65%) also were raised outside that tradition. Getty Images 08 . 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? Was Russell a Freemason? Why Are People Leaving The Jehovah's Witness In Droves. Its a great field service vehicle with four doors and plenty of ankle length dress room in the back! At death, that life-force leaves the body. When you factor how many people are baptized vs. the number of publishers the year before you realize that they . Beside simple boredom, what we also see in the Watchtower organization are many emotionally troubled people and single parent families who join the religion for the promises of relief that it holds out for them. When you stand in the public square and represent a religion, its just a matter of time before the public connects the dots, and the carts are sent to the junkyard, one at a time. 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. 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. If anyone defected, the leaders simply blamed it on American influence, the defectors lack of gratitude, or on some horrible personal defect of the defector. 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One has since died but had rarely attended before her death. 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. Yes, money is a problem for Watch Tower. It is just too much even for them to handle. I Prayed and was met by a Witness The purpose? A survivor of childhood sexual abuse by a member of a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Pierce County recently sued the organization. It's already a small pool of potential friends and romantic interests in a KH. However, disfellowshipping is. 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. Jehovah's Witnesses are among the most racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in America. Lets make it happen. Steps 1 Do personal research. You know I couldnt see my life any other way. 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. His wife's parents are among the 130,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine. Theres absolutely no room for error within the organization. Again, they continue to enforce a one size fits all education and worship program to both children and adults. "(We) encourage them to make urgent contact with the Department of Social Services so . Find some websites which you believe are honest and accurate and share them. Reportedly, one of the rules is that unless a perpetrator confesses to committing a sin, two people must witness the commission of the sin. Many of these were good kids too. The groups are handing out copies of The Watchtower from carts outside New Street station. 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. 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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. The organization of Jehovahs Witnesses is not Gods organization and never ever will be either. The Jehovah Witness religion is going through some tough times. However, the Watchtower stubbornly sticks to a one size fits all program for everyone. Quick-builds only happen so often, and Bethel just isnt a possibility for everyone. 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. Steven Lett said that when people walk up to admire a little baby, they often would say, Look at that little angel! Steven then went on to say, more accurate, look at that little enimy of God. This statement has circulated round the Internet and has appeared in many YouTube channels and so on. My Story of Leaving Jehovah's Witnesses Lloyd Evans 108K subscribers Subscribe 7.2K 232K views 4 years ago (Cedars' vlog no. There is absolutely nowhere in the Bible where Jesus disfellowshipped anyone. 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.