I just want you to listen, Cynthia begged. ET on April 5, 2019. Most importantly, these endeavors just might diminish time and resources that are used for going door-to-door. 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. The groups are handing out copies of The Watchtower from carts outside New Street station. The graph below shoes how the 18-29 crowd have aged up, but new young adults are not replenishing the numbers. 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. The organization of Jehovahs Witnesses is not Gods organization and never ever will be either. They tell you that you need to follow these rules in order to receive salvation and so on. You know what its like to have no hope. They really have no proof of God giving them this high and mighty position of being Gods only spoksperson on Earth. Answer (1 of 10): Well, it's resulted in them having to resort to baptizing children to keep their numbers up (something they used to criticize the Catholic church for). His wife's parents are among the 130,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Ukraine. Jw.org Website For them to stay in the organization and have an approved standing, they will have had to squash their inner self, and adopt an organizationally-created identity. Besides me, at least 75% of the kids I grew up with in the congregation are out for good. Believers honor Jehovah, the God and Creator of all things. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site status, or find something interesting to read. One factor that was discussed at length was the high number of young people who do not stay in the organization. Jehovah's Witnesses do not provide a dignified resignation process for members who wish to leave. Updated at 12:25 p.m. Right away, Andrea recognized that there was nothing Biblical about her grandmothers answer. It is all about their money. Many former friends, including my best friend of 10 years, shunned me. She was convinced shed lost me and that Id be changed for ever now, no longer the daughter shed always loved and cherished. She has never found a discrepancy between what is written in the Bible and the teachings taught in the Church Of Christ. 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. For Ali Millar, the experience of writing her difficult life story wasn't cathartic, it was traumatic. 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. 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. The life of the Jehovah's Witnesses is guided by those forbidden things and more. If a Jehovah's Witness were to break any of the rules they could be spoken to by an elder (the equivalent of a . Sparlock Warrior Wizard / The Real Cause Of Chukwuemeka Akachi, UNN Student Death. 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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. She converted a lot of people to that religion.. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Copyright 2023 Jehovah's Witnesses. 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. 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 Jackson family was raised in the Jehovah's Witness faith, but several of the family members, including sister Janet, no longer practice the religion. Photos of JWfacts.com being Promoted I was born into it which means of course that I completely missed my childhood and early adulthood. First of all, I think the Watchtowers problems with their inability to retain the young people runs very deep. 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. They are not allowed to question the Watchtower leadership or teaching. Brummies happily shopping and going about their day to day business have seen them in their droves. 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. So when Cynthia invited her to meet George and his family at a gathering, she felt obliged to go. By Elizabeth Chuck. Because I love my sister so much, I felt like I had to give her the opportunity to just listen. married a Swedish JW and moved to Sweden.He is pretty much inactive but occasionally attends meetings but is afraid to completely leave bc of being shunned by his wife's family. Is it any wonder that they would seek to fill the void in their life with sex, drugs, and alcohol? 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. 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. While they may appear nice and friendly, once you get into the inner-workings of the organization, you quickly discover that the niceness and friendliness is very short lived unless you follow everything to the letter within the organization. Raymond Victor Franz (May 8, 1922 - June 2, 2010) was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from October 20, 1971, until his removal on May 22, 1980, and served at the organization's world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. I have seen a lot of creativity and progressive thinking when it comes to how they design ministries for young people. Andrea grew up in a family of devout Jehovahs Witnesses. 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. 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. It should be noted that the Soviets used the same methods of argumentation and reasoning claiming that nothing was lacking in Mother Russia. 100 years is a pretty long time to wait. Only ten years ago, every single member, that is 28 members were Jehovah's Witnesses. Was Russell a Freemason? I think the issue is much more serious than they would like to admit. 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. Watch Tower is very upset and concerned about all the leaks coming from their headquarters. Young Korean Witnesses languish in prison for no reason. The family of Jehovah's Witnesses is writing letters instead of knocking on doors to spread their faith. 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. And the more she embraced the truth, the more her family tried to stop her. Andrea sat down. The purpose? These groups are designed to approach the young people where they are at right now not from where someone thinks they should be. 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. Jamie Bamber plays Archie Hughes in Beyond Paradise on BBC One. Meanwhile, Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia have been imprisoned for following Governing Body directives. ITV Dancing On Ice judge Christopher announced Jayne is out of surgery - and it was a success. You have no place in this house. He told me to pack my things and go.. A life of meaningless sex, drugs and alcohol is often woven into this picture. "(We) encourage them to make urgent contact with the Department of Social Services so . 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. - Among all U.S. adults who were raised as Jehovahs Witnesses, two-thirds (66%) no longer identify with the group. 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. In many countries, such meetings would be nothing unusual. Its psychology 101. Examining the total number of people entering and leaving each religion provides the most complete picture of the dynamism of the American religious landscape. "Overseers of Jehovah's People", an article in the group's publication called the Watchtower . 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. And he [my dad] told me that, If you go to that Church, dont come back. Issues such as shunning and adjusting to normal life outside the faith can prove challenging to those wishing to leave. This is an area where I believe the Watchtower leadership shows an astounding lack of insight. Other programs that would make for a much stronger, robust, and enthusiastic membership are pushed aside and dismissed due their possibly interfering with proselytizing. Steps 1 Do personal research. Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult? I can never forgive them for betrayal. 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. Find some websites which you believe are honest and accurate and share them. ITV Coronation Street star announces full-time return to soap - leaving fans delighted. 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. Reportedly, one of the rules is that unless a perpetrator confesses to committing a sin, two people must witness the commission of the sin. 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. Witnesses believe that they are living in . They believe that ony 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will go to heaven. 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. It there is a large turn-over in the congregation, it must mean that Satan is working overtime; not that that anything could ever be wrong with the organization itself. Imagine if Ford was blaming the consumers - saying that consumers had poor judgment for not wanting to buy the Pinto anymore. Clearly, this organization is a satanic religion posing as Christian. They have their little pet scriptures that they have taken out of context of course and they use those to try and convert you to their brand of religion. Just because they make the claim doesnt make it so. But why have they stopped knocking on our doors? Learn how your comment data is processed. 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