I have been corresponding with a group calling itself 'Biblical Unitarians', also 'Spirit and Truth Fellowship'. The doctrine is very similar on many levels with the Jw doctrine, which is, at the same time, familiar and comfortable, and scary too. In an effort to discover the 'roots' of this group I emailed the leadership. It appeared as if they were reluctant to answer at first - but with persistence they answered my basic question about how they got started. In so doing, John Lynn, perhaps the founder of the group [?], linked me to a letter he wrote to his 'brethren' inside the 'Way International' upon the time of his exit from that cult.
http://www.swiftlynx.com/beyondTheWayInternational/
Although some of the terminology was obviously 'inside' language, the basic letter could have been written by thousands of Jw's upon exit. I was taken with the similarity in the way he and others identified the corruption, both personal and doctrinal, within the group. One paragraph describes precisely what Jw's have done with the Governing Body;
First, idolatrous allegiance to men has, in practice, cut believers off from THE SON OF GOD Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the Body. In our zeal to proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is not God, we relegated him to a "seated" position of virtual inactivity. He wasn’t allowed in the "Athletes of the Spirit" production, even at the Gathering Together! Instead, it was "the minister" who was the mediator between God and men, and the believers served and worshipped him. It is only "holding the Head" (Col. 2:19) that will enable believers to live the Mystery, and in The Way, because of this doctrinal error, we’ve never really been able to do so.
I found his letter interesting, and thought that many here might also. I was particularly interested in the view of sex that was being promoted by the founder, Wierville. Interestingly, while the WTS was entering the bedroom with a view to unscriptural restrictions, the Way was opening the marriage doctrine to include sex outside of marriage. Interesting. Seems as though the cults always feel a need to enter into the sexual matters of human life beyond what is needed.
Anyway, thought this might spark interesting discussion here.
Jeff