How the Jehovah's Witnesses “Diabolize” Former Members
The following excerpts from a WT article [The Watchtower, July 1, 1994, pp. 11-13] shows the absolute desperation the Watchtower society is facing regarding the worldwide flood of exposure of its lies, false prophecies and inhuman dictatorial treatment of its members:
Beware of the Poisonous Food on the Table of Demons
Comment: Interesting title as the knife cuts both ways! How does one determine the origin of what he is reading/hearing? By the fruitage born by those who follow it.
"Food on the table of demons is poisonous. Consider, for example, the food dispensed by the evil slave class and the apostates. It does not nourish or build up; it is not wholesome. It cannot be, for the apostates have stopped feeding at Jehovah's table.”
Comment: first sentence: “demonic food is poisonous” ? The implication that critics of the Watchtower are demonic is absurd. Just assertion presented as fact. What is false or wrong about what critics of the Witnesses say? It is slander to malign without proof. Who is imitating the “devil” here? (Diabolos = slanderer Greek) An honest inquiry will show that much of what the Watchtower says is in fact poisonous as past errors and direction has caused the break up of families, heartache, financial loss, pain and suffering even death. Also its actions towards former members are reminiscent of the bibles description of the “evil Slave”.
"As a result, whatever they had developed of the new personality is gone."
Comment: What real evidence of the “new personality” exists among JW’s? Most witnesses are lonely, or feel left out, because not everyone can fit into the cliques that exist. There are ongoing feuds between professed brothers; fraud, slander and gossipy back stabbing are rife, and the love, if any, that exists is purely “conditional”. Conditional love is not really love at all. (1 Cor 13:3-8) And there is the pandemic of depression, mental illness and a feeling of worthlessness. The fact is that most ex-witnesses have become more Christ-like even if they do not profess to be Christian or religious. They have humbled themselves like Abraham to leave the relative "mental" comfort and safety of their former community at great personal cost. (Heb 13:13) They have stopped judging who their brothers are based on man-made guidelines such as hours spent distributing literature or attendance records at meetings. They have stopped condemning others and stopped making false statements to their neighbors about the future. They have chosen rather the simpler Gospel of Christ which emphasizes Love, Forgiveness of sins and Salvation through faith in Christ. They have rejected a perverted Gospel that elevates certain classes to lord it over others and had the heavy weight of their pharisaic burdens lifted off of them.
"What motivates them is, not holy spirit, but vitriolic bitterness. They are obsessed with only one aim -- beating their former fellow slaves, as Jesus foretold. -- Matthew 24:48, 49."
Comment: We don't want to beat our former fellow slaves. The Watchtower society has a fabulous infrastructure designed for just that purpose. Gestapo-like Inquisitional Judicial Tribunals do that! In fact the scripture used here to back this statement condemns the Watchtower leaders, as Jesus said that the evil slave first says in his heart “my master is delaying” (vs 48). A prerequisite then for being an evil slave is having a certain expectation or “date” in mind for Christ’s coming. It is the Watchtower that has set unrealized time expectations for this to occur. The resultant disappointment and bitterness is evidenced by the lack of love that exists in the ranks of JW’s and especially among long time members and higher ups such as CO’s, DO’s and Bethelites.
"Yes, apostates publish literature that resorts to distortions, half-truths, and outright falsehood."
Comment: of course the WTS won't give any examples of this assertion. Moreover there are ABUNDANT examples of the WTS' distortions, half-truths and outright falsehoods. However the average Witness is intimidated into avoiding anything critical of their religion or leaders, so it is very hard for them to see for themselves just how error ridden the Watchtower is. Why aren’t JWs even allowed to see if it is true or not? A sincere JW has to ask himself, "if this is so true, then why can't I verify these statements for myself without being excommunicated?"
"They even picket Witness conventions, trying to trap the unwary."
Comment: Did the writer forget that for over a dozen years, Rutherford used to routinely order JWs by the hundreds and even thousands to swarm all over the neighborhood churches wearing sandwich cards which said "Religion is a Snare and a Racket", and to harass the peaceful church-goers with their unwanted tracts and message? I remember doing this as recent as 1969 with my parents at an assembly. This is a form of false argument called Special Pleading. You cannot use the picketing of conventions to prove Apostasy without condemning all who have employed this method.
"Hence, it would be a dangerous thing to allow our curiosity to move us to feed on such writings or to listen to their abusive speech! While we might not think it a risk for us personally, the hazard remains”.
Why? For one thing, some of the apostate literature presents falsehoods by means of "smooth talk" and "counterfeit words." (Romans 16:17, 18; 2 Peter 2:3)
Abusive speech?! It's ok for the WTS to call all other religions "whores" and "spiritual fornicators", but should someone dare say they have evidence that the WTS is not what it claims to be, that is "abusive speech"? Hypocrites! (Luke 11:47,48)
"What would you expect from the table of demons?"
Once again, the WTS has equated critics and former members, many of which merely present their evidence from the WTS literature itself as feeding others "from the table of demons." What are they saying then about such references? Are they not saying that these references from the the WT publications are in reality the table of demons? Only an idiot could not see that this type of circular reasoning insults the common sense of any average person.
"And while the apostates may also present certain facts, these are usually taken out of context with the goal of drawing others away from the table of Jehovah. All their writings simply criticize and tear down! Nothing is upbuilding."
Notice that no examples are given of what is "usually" taken out of context? To the WTS, "up building" means "don't examine, and don't criticize anything we have done or said in the past, even if it is true."
"Jesus said: "By their fruits you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:16) What, now, are the fruits of the apostates and their publications? Four things mark their propaganda. (1) Cleverness. Ephesians says that they are "cunning in contriving error." (2) Prideful intelligence. (3) Lack of love. (4) Dishonesty in various forms. These are the very ingredients of the food that is on the table of demons, all of which is designed to undermine the faith of Jehovah's people."
Again this paragraph cuts both ways! But the Witness is not permitted to look at the cunning, clever and dishonest manner that most of their cherished literature has been put together. Could someone please explain to us what "prideful intelligence" means? It seems to mean something like "if you use your brains and figure out something different than us or we said wrong then you are just too darn proud of your intellect and so shame on you".
"As loyal servants of Jehovah, why would we even want to peek at the propaganda put out by these rejecters of Jehovah's table who now verbally beat those who are helping us take in "healthful words"? -- 2 Timothy 1:13."
Why? Because there is a mountain of TRUTH in that so-called "propaganda", that's why. THAT is the reason the WTS is so desperately and strongly "encouraging" you not to look at that information
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to do it.
Frank75
