So I've been deciding for the past year or so whether or not I want to stay in this religion, and I have decided that I do not. I plan on telling my grandparents (whom I live with) this very soon, possibly tomorrow. Of course I can't be just like "I don't want to be a Jehovah's Witness anymore", but rather "I don't believe in this anymore, and here are the reasons why". So, some of the reasons I'm thinking about bringing up include the blood issue which I don't agree with as well as the fact that I just don't believe that 1914 is when Jesus came and the Last Days began (for several reasons). Can you guys think of any other good reasons I can throw out there? I don't want the typical apostate answers of "RUTHERFURD WUZ TEH SUK!" or "BECUZ DEY R CRAZEEE!!!". Maybe if someone also had some good and old Watchtower quotes/scans I could print off and show my grandparents as evidence of failed prophecies or contradictions or something. I realize I should probably do most of this research myself, but I'm already having a hard enough time as it is with school and all. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
Breaking it to my grandparents
by AirDuster 29 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
-
gordon d
Hi Airduster...
Welcome to the board!
I assume that your grand-parents have been in the "truth" for a while... Perhaps you could discreetly help them at the same time. Have you consider not "Outing" yourself but simply asking some questions that make them think? There are several questions that no witness can answer without revealing the lies embedded in the "truth".
I'll do a little searching and see if I can post some here for ya.
Good Luck and go slow! -
JWdaughter
Hi Airduster, SLOW DOWN. Please read the boards and find out what you are in for if you simply walk away. I am not talking about Armageddon (biblically) but hell on earth living with JWs that consider you to be apostate. You need to really know and understand what you are in for. PLEASE, please, please don't make your big announcement without a lot more information. Its here on the forum-ask questions, find out what you are in for. Information is your key.
Welcome, good luck, and its nice to meet you! Tell us more about you! We have quite a few young people and many here who are ex JWs or never JWs living with JW family(spouses, parents, etc).
-
AirDuster
I've been reading these forums and other websites for over a year. I know of the false prophesies, and I've slowly been asking my grandparents questions already. I've given it much thought, consideration, and prayer. I am not baptized, but I will probably be marked as bad association. Perhaps I'm not totally grasping the consequences of coming out like this, but dammit I deserve to be happy too. I have an obligation to live my life the best way that I see fit. If I lose 50% of my friends then so be it. I'm just tired of living a lie.
-
vitty
The big issue for me was that they teach Jesus is not my mediator. I was in the org for 20 of my adult years and never really knew this, like many, many witness today dont realize it either. If you asked a JW "who is your mediator" they would answer JC. The org teaches he is not.
There is plenty of information and scriptural proof on this subject if you are interested
-
nelly136
one consequence you need to worry about is whether there is any possibility they'll ask you to leave their house.
are you in a position to support yourself and finish school if you break this to them now? have you got a back up plan if they ask you to find somewhere else to live?
-
Jeffro
AirDuster
First off, you should really decide whether leaving is right for you. If your real reason to leave is just because the rules and regulations are just too hard, a little more thought might be required. Many will disagree, but for some people being a JW really is a protection for them: the strict regulations of the organization provide a moral compass for some who might otherwise lack good judgement on their own - dependence on a religion can be better for some who would otherwise become dependant on drugs or alcohol etc.
However, there are many reasons to leave the organization. Foremost, and this is important, it isn't true, so if you're looking for more than just a happy shiny controlled environment, then leaving really is the best thing.
But I would offer these words of advice:
- Before making any big announcements, it may be wise to make some tentative contingency plans beforehand. For example, depending on your relationship with your grandparents and their personalities, they might tell you that you can't continue to live with them if you don't continue as a 'Witness', (though this isn't as much of an issue as it could be if you were baptised); so it might be a good idea to have somewhere else you can stay if the worst comes to worst.
- It would also be wise to make sure that there are (non-Witness) friends available who you can really talk to about your feelings (even if it sounds lame), as it is usually a major upheaval emotionally to be suddenly shunned or viewed as 'bad association' if all or most of your friends are JWs.
- Don't fall into the trap of thinking that no longer being a Witness equals a sudden free-for-all of all of those 'bad' 'worldly' things. Maintain a distinction between JW 'rules' and a practical balanced view of conduct, particularly during an emotionally difficult period when good judgement often goes out the window.
-
garybuss
Sometimes dependant people living in a host situation negotiate for an acceptable living outcome. Some people use a question and research tactic as a reason to take a "break". It's a bad idea for me to fight with she who I depend on.
-
Honesty
Any of the following questions may help them either see the Light or get you branded as a rebel:
- If Jesus was resurrected as an invisible spirit, like the Watchtower teaches, why did Jesus say he was going to raise his physical body from the dead (John 2:19-22)?
- If Jesus, the man, ceased to exist at his death and was raised from the dead as Michael the Archangel, why did Michael deceive the apostles into believing that they were witnessing Jesus in a resurrected physical body (Luke 24:39)?
- If Jesus is now living in heaven as an invisible spirit creature, like the Watchtower teaches, why did Paul write many years after the ascension of Christ that he is dwelling in heaven in a physical body (Colossians 2:9)? Note: The Greek word, somatikos, means physical, tangible body.
- If Jesus is now Michael the Archangel, why does 1 Timothy 2:5 say that the mediator between God and men is the man, Christ Jesus, and not the spirit, Michael the Archangel?
- Can you show me a verse in the bible that clearly says Jesus is the Archangel Michael? How can Jesus be Michael since Hebrews chapter 1 stresses the superiority of Jesus over the angels and that all the angels worship him? Why would Jehovah command that the entire angelic realm worship another angel? Note: The Watchtower bible changes the word worship, in Hebrews 1:6, to “do obeisance to”. However, see section below on the New World Translation.
- Since the Watchtower was wrong in the past about many of its teachings and the light continues to get brighter (Proverbs 4:18), how do you know that the current teachings are correct and won’t change?
- Why did the Watchtower magazine (Nov 15, 1981, p. 21) say to “come to Jehovah’s organization for salvation” when Jesus never directed us to an organization for salvation but to him?
- When you joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses, did you read information for and against the Watchtower so you could make an educated and well rounded decision based on both points of view?
- Has anyone become a Jehovah’s Witness after reading the bible alone without the aid of Watchtower material?
- If I were to join the Jehovah’s Witnesses, would it be okay for me to do research into the Watchtower’s past by reading non-Watchtower material?
- Since the Watchtower was in error many times in the past, are you obligated to believe that all the current teachings are God’s truth?
- If Jesus’ invisible presence began in 1914, like the Watchtower teaches, why was the Watchtower teaching in 1929 that Jesus’ invisible presence began in 1874? How did they finally figure out that that teaching was false? Reference: Prophecy, 1929, p. 65.
- Since the Watchtower claims to be God’s prophet (The Watchtower, April 1, 1972, p. 197) and have falsely predicted Armageddon to occur in 1914, 1918, 1925 and 1975, do you think they meet the criteria of Deuteronomy 18:20-22?
- Can you show me in the bible where it says to give false prophets a second or third chance to get it right?
- If the Watchtower really is Jehovah’s prophet, like they claim, can you show me anything they predicted that came to pass?
- Why did Hebrews 1:6 in the 1970 version of the New World Translation say, “Let all God’s angels worship him” and not “do obeisance to him” like the new versions say?
- Why does the New World Translation insert the word “other” four times into Colossians chapter 1 when it isn’t in the Greek manuscripts at all? Doesn’t this change the meaning of the text?
- Why does the New World Translation place the comma in Luke 23:43 in a different location than it does every other time when Jesus says, “Truly I tell you”?
- Can you show me a list of Greek scholars who approve of the New World Translation’s New Testament translation?
- Can you show me a list of the people who were on the New World Translation Committee along with their credentials in the ancient Biblical languages?
- If the Watchtower’s teaching that the 144,000 were filled in 1935 is correct, can you explain how Jesus, his apostles and their immediate followers couldn’t get 144,000 converts in 1800 years, but the Watchtower got 6 million converts in 125 years?
- Why does the Watchtower teach that only 144,000 people are born-again when 1 John 5:1 says that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God?
- Why is there only one judgment period from God to test the endurance and worthiness of the 144,000 before they are guaranteed of eternal life, but the other sheep have to endure through this life, the 1000 year millennium plus pass an unknown final test before they are counted worthy of eternal life? Why is salvation so much easier for the 144,000?
- If Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not part of the 144,000 with a heavenly hope, why does Jesus say in Matthew 8:11 that they will be in the kingdom of heaven?
- According to Jesus in John 17:3, how many true Gods are there? Would you say that whatever is not true is false? Doesn’t the New World Translation call Jesus “a god” in John 1:1? Since there is only one true God and all others must be false, is Jesus a true God or a false god?
- If Jesus was God’s Master Worker in creation, why does Jehovah say, in Isaiah 44:24, that He created all things by Himself?
- If Jesus is a created being, why does he get twice as much worship, in Revelation 5:12, as Jehovah gets in Revelation 4:11?
- If Jehovah created Jesus, why does John 1:3 say that all things came into existence through Jesus and apart from him not even one thing was made? Doesn’t this place Jesus outside the realm of created things?
- If everlasting life comes by taking in knowledge (John 17:3), how long do I have to study with the Jehovah’s Witnesses to be assured that I have enough knowledge to live forever? 1 year? 5 years?
- If we pay for our personal sins when we die, like the Watchtower teaches, how will the great crowd who survive Armageddon pay for their sins since they will never die but go right on living into the millennium?
- If Jesus was resurrected as an invisible spirit, like the Watchtower teaches, why did Jesus say he was going to raise his physical body from the dead (John 2:19-22)?
-
inlove
Sorry, but I don't know how to use this site very well yet. But can anyone help with this, it was last Monday, I had just found this site and started reading many of the msg. I read one from parent who's son was planning on joins the Org. One reply had a website link that said it wound be good for learning the "Truth about the Truth" I think I was a video. Of course I did not write it down, now I can't find the msg, so can any help