I would really appreciate if any could point me to some articles, books or commentaries that wouldn't necessarily be considered "apostate" that would help me compile a letter. I have been skipping around researching for about 1 yr and 1/2. I didn't necessarily stick to one thing...when something made sense, I moved on. It all came to a head and an AH HA moment with the Crisis book. But, compiling a letter similar to what freedomlover just did to her dad, if I decided to do that, I really wouldn't be able to add in the fact of some of the things I read. I hope I am explaining this ok....Thanks!
Need some help....
by EC 5 Replies latest jw friends
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undercover
I would really appreciate if any could point me to some articles, books or commentaries that wouldn't necessarily be considered "apostate"...
I don't want to discourage you, but anything not published by the WTS is not going to be taken seriously by a devout JW. You could reference every history book and encyclopedia about the fall of Jerusalem being in 586 instead of 607 and it will just bounce right off of them. They take what the WTS publishes as if from Jehovah himself and anything that contradicts it will be in error, Satan inspired or apostate influenced.
I too have thought about compiling a lot of my findings in a book report type folder with references and photocopies of all my research to present to those JWs in my family and life that question my "spiritually weak" state. But the conversations that I have had and from reading the experiences related here has shown me that this type of logical reasoning and explanation of fact finding falls on deaf ears and results in more trouble than its worth.
I don't have any reference material handy to share but I'm sure many will give you a comprehensive list to help out. Good luck, I hope it helps, but don't be surprised if it just gets you in deeper hot water.
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jgnat
Letters from the heart are best. Also, try to stick to one topic that would appeal to your reader the most. You may need different letters for different relatives. That way the JW can't pick on one point or another and avoid THE BIG ONE.
A good letter takes time to write well. Try loosely writing down your thoughts and then put them in order later. Then post a draft here for us to critique.
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EC
It is definatly not something that I am going to do spur of the moment. I was born and raised JW so I know how I reacted to all things as being apostate. My friend, who was on her way out but I didn't know it, actually sat me down and started laughing and said something like "I stumbled on to this website the other day doing some research and come here I got to show you.." as she walks me to the computer..."Can you believe these people don't even believe in 1914? They are so crazy! And look someone posted a supposed picture of Charles T Russells grave site...they say it is a pyramid! Yeah right!"
We both started laughing. Well, she knew what she was doing....I wondered about it all the time....It might have taken over a year for me to actually get the courage and research everything myself, but I did. I would have never listened if she sat me down and had a talk. It would have scared me too much. I just would like to start compiling stuff for my own reference if I feel the time is right. -
jaffacake
EC
Welcome.
Your friend was very clever, congratulate her from me please.
For quotations I would stick to 'non-apostate' stuff. There is so much available. I was led to WTS quotes by several books, eg one available online, Captives of a Concept. My friend would not look at that book, but I asked him to look up some watchtower quotes on his CDRom and I supplied the dates, page numbers etc. It made him think as he could not deny they were genuine WTS material.
For example, the current JW charter (not updated since 1945) says they should worship Jesus. This was the subject of another thread a couple of weeks ago.
If you want to see some of the things I use please pm me an email address & I'll forward some of my letters etc.
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TallTexan
You can prove that Jerusalem fell in 586 using the Society's own publications. I saw a post on here recently about how to do it. But if you add up the dates they provide in different publications for different events, it works out to 586. That may be one way.
The issue with the blood is pretty easy to discuss. Use the JW literature that claims "We abstain from blood" and then use scientific reasoning to show that the use of fractions is NOT abstaining, that receiving organ transplants provides significant numbers of both red and white blood cells in the donated organ.
The UN is REAL easy, as the material is available from the UN. You can also write the Society, get their stupid explanation on WBTS letterhead, so at least no one can deny that they actually were a member.
There's quite a bit that can be done. If you haven't done so already, read Franz' other book "In Search of Christian Freedom." He reasons from the scriptures showing how the Society's stance on a number of things is non-Biblical.