Here is another moron who should either do his lessons or shut up!
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IN THE GOLOVINSKIY INTERMUNICIPAL COURT OF MOSCOW
B E T W E E N:-
THE PROSECUTOR OF THE NORTHERN ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCUIT OF MOSCOW
-and
THE CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW
AFFIDAVIT OF JAMES BECKFORD
I, James Beckford, of the University of Warwick in the city of Coventry, England, University Professor, MAKE OATH and say as follows:-
Insofar as the matters deposed to herein are within my personal knowledge they are true. Insofar as they are matters of which I have become aware, they are true to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.
I am a Professor of the Sociology of Religion and have been a professional researcher into the religious movement of Jehovah's Witnesses since 1967. Exhibited hereto and marked 'JB1' are authenticated copies of my professional qualifications at the University of Warwick. I would like to comment on the remarks made about Jehovah's Witnesses by A.L. Dvorkin. I am referring in particular to the remarks made in his letter addressed to M.N. Makhmutov in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Moscow City Administration of Internal Affairs.
My book, The Trumpet of Prophecy. A Sociological Analysis of Jehovah's Witnesses (Oxford: Blackwell, 1975), is still regarded as the definitive sociological study of this movement. In addition, I have published numerous chapters and articles about Jehovah's Witnesses in scholarly publications in countries as diverse as France, Japan, South Africa and the United States. I have given advice to the Independent Television Commission about Jehovah's Witnesses and have served as President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (1988-89), Vice-President of the International Sociological Association (1994-98) and Vice-President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (1995-99).
The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has never financed or encouraged any of my research. I am completely independent from Jehovah's Witnesses and do not share their distinctive beliefs.
The order of my comments follows the order of Mr Dvorkin's remarks. The majority of his remarks are erroneous, but I have chosen to comment only on those which display egregious ignorance or errors.
Mr Dvorkin's claim that Jehovah's Witnesses believe 'the governments of all countries and all Christian churches to be servants of Satan' is irreconcilable with the Witnesses consistent teaching that they should show due respect for governmental authorities and for the laws of the countries where they live. Witnesses are encouraged to obey established authorities but to avoid involvement in politics.
It is wrong for Mr Dvorkin to say that Jehovah's Witnesses regard their own organisation as 'the only absolute spiritual and political authority'. On the contrary, they proclaim their loyalty to God: not to an organisation.
Mr Dvorkin's statement that 'all members of the sect are obliged to carry out' its decisions is equally erroneous. Jehovah's Witnesses stress that it is important for each of them to exercise free moral agency in choosing to study the Bible and to live in accordance with their interpretation of its message.
There is absolutely no truth at all in Mr Dvorkin's assertion that Jehovah's Witnesses plan to 'kill the "infidels"' while they await the end of the world. In more than thirty years of studying the Watch Tower movement, during which time I have familiarised myself with the accusations of wrong-doing frequently made against Jehovah's Witnesses by their critics, I have never read anything even remotely resembling his assertion. On the contrary, the Witnesses envisage that they will merely be spectators of Armageddon. Even in countries where Jehovah's Witnesses have been violently persecuted and killed there has never been any suggestion that they might attack their opponents.
I know of no statistical evidence to support Mr Dvorkin's argument that 'many' members or ex-members of the Watch Tower movement have committed suicide. Indeed, some psychological and psychiatric studies of suicide have reached the conclusion that membership of an enthusiastic religious movement actually reduces the likelihood of suicide. There are very few reliable studies of people who leave the Watch Tower movement; and none of these studies suggests that such people are disproportionately likely to commit suicide.
It is true that Jehovah's Witnesses devote much of their time to spreading their religious beliefs as widely as possible. It is also true that most Witnesses make regular financial donations to further the work of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (as do virtually all members of Christian churches and denominations). But Mr Dvorkin's statement that Jehovah's Witnesses 'are obliged to donate a significant share (if not all) of their property and income to the sect' is simply wrong. My own research showed that members of the movement are not under an obligation to make donations and that the level of voluntary financial donations tends to be modest. No collections are taken during meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses. Recent investigations in France have also shown that the average per capita donation is roughly US$4 per month.
In the United Kingdom Jehovah's Witnesses are recognised as a religion and accorded appropriate status as such. Their places of worship are approved and registered by the secular authorities. Because they are a recognised charity and so registered they are granted exemption from many taxes. They are not restricted in their preaching work or in the distribution of Bibles or other scriptural material.
SWORN and notarised at Leamington Spa in the County of Warwick England this day of November 1998.
Before me,
......................................................
A Notary Public http://www.jw-russia.org/eng/moscow/aff_beck.htm
Yakki Da
Kent
I need more BOE letters, KMs and other material. Those who can send it to me - please do! The new section will be interesting!!
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