this been passing around and thought I would pass it your way for thoughts and comments:
I came across your webpage--and a beautiful one it is--doing a search on somethiong unrelated. It happens that way sometimes.
I am xxxxx, I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses and have been in and around this organization for over 20 years. My children were raised in it also. However, I do not share all my organizations beliefs, and have been quietly working alongside ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and non-Jehovah's Witnesses to change some of the more controversial aspects of our religion.
I noticed you give mention from time to time on your site to Jehovah's Witnesses, and for this I am grateful. Being a woman, I am well aware of the fact that women and children bear the brunt of the most hotly contested practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.
1) As a nurse, I know that when Jehovah's Witnesses adults need a blood transfusion, it is estimated that about half will eventually consent to have it, and many resulting in the mandatory expulsion and shunning, but saving their life.(blood transfusions were banned by the Watchtower in July 1, 1945; expulsion and shunning of adherents to our religion who received blood transfusions began by at least 1974 and it was considered not even appropriate to PRAY for someone expelled for this 'crime against God'-Watchtower 6/15/71) However, when a child needs a similar treatment, far fewer of them get it without court intervention. Sad odds for people too young to make a decision based on a religion, as many courts have decided. Jehovah's Witnesses parents do not want to risk the expulsion and shunning that would go with consent of this kind of treatment for their child, and in fact when their child dies they are often praised publicly as 'martyrs for their faith'. (Awake! - May 22, 1994) This results in a very stacked deck against a sick or injured child of a Jehovah's Witness.
Some progress has been made, however. In the Watchtower of 6/1/74, Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to accept some blood factions without subjection to penalty from our religion. (this occured after some 7 different policy reversals over some 10 years). In the Watchtower of 6/15/78 Jehovah's Witnesses hemophiliacs could now receive lifesaving clotting factors without incurring organizational reprisals. In the Watchtower of 6/1/90, all blood serums and the like were a conscience decision. Finally, in approximately June of 2000, the Watchtower announced in a public statement (but not in any of its publications) that Jehovah's Witnesses who unrepentantly received whole blood, red/white blood cells, plasma and platelets would be spared subjection to a judicial commitee, but would simply be summarily expelled and shunned.
But still, it is estimated that Jehovah's Witnesses world-wide lose 3 members per day to the Watchtower's blood policies, many of them women and children. Much work is still to be done, and those of us trying to implement these changes to 50 year old policies appreciate organizations like yourself drawing attention to Jehovah's Witnmesses in general; this helps us tremendously.
2) Jehovah's witnesses, women and rape. Untill 1964, the Watchtower had no noticeable stand on degree of resistance women should implement when confronted with an attacker. Then in the Watchtower of 1-15-64, suddenly women who were raped and did not forcefully resist her attacker or scream could be expelled and shunned. After a good deal of public and internal uproar, the Awake magazine of 7-8-80 reversed this policy, then reversed it again in the Watchtower of 10/15/80, with several more reversals following until finally in the Watchtower of12/15/98 women were under compulsion by the organization to resist a rape regardless, and that's where it stands today as far as we know.
Which is why we are grateful for any kindness on the part of people like yourselves who draw attention when Jehovah's Witnesses are under governmental ban or persecution. Any kind of external pressure like this means fewer precious resources such as time, money, and research on our part, can be devoted to INTERNAL change. Again, thank you for your mentions of us on your website. Please see www.ajwrb.org for more updates.
3) As far back as 20 years ago, and probably far longer, Jehovah's Witnesses have had a standing policy of allowing child molesters within their organization to continue to molest children, and not be sanctioned. In fact, often the victims themselves who were Jehovah's Witnesses were subjected to expulsion and shunning for reporting the attacks, and even now in most states Watchtower leaders will not report sexual assaults perpetrated by their members unless legally mandated to do so, and sometimes not even then. This has been a hard-fought thorny issue that has begun to receive a good deal of publicity. ( see www.silentlambs.org ) Some members and ex-members of our group have given up on organizational change from the inside and have simply sued the Wathtower Society; some lawsuits are still pending. An episode of Dateline has been made of this issue, and is scheduled to air sometime soon.
Those of us campaigning for change inside our organization appreciate all the help we can get. On top of all these issues, we are confronted with a horrifically rising suicide and murder rate within our organization (For example, in 1995 two brothers murdered their parents and brother with the help of a cousin, all associated with Jehovah's Witnesses; in this same time period a Jehovah's Witness murdered his wife and his three stepchildren; and on November 15, 2001 an 11 year old girl was beaten to death by her Jehovah's Witness parents with the help of her siblings). I wonder if the policies of our organization put too much pressure on too many parents and children, and bad things will continue to happen. I thank you once again for your help.
4) And besides this, our organization recently published (11/8/01 AWAKE)that battered women were to stay with their abusive husbands untill near life-endangerment (what about the mental health of their children?) and more recently our organization published the guidelines for shunning --to a degree even in their own home-expelled CHILDREN within our organization. This now means more fronts on which to fight our internal war, with our resources stretched ever more.
Why do we bother, rather than just 'walk away'? If I may quote James, the brother of Jesus Christ, (I'm sure you know the Scripture well, it is a favorite of mine)
James 2:15-17; If a brother or sister is in a naked state,and lacking the food sufficient for the day, yet a certain one of you says to him "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed," but you do not give them the necessicities for their body,of what benefit is this?
The way we see it, if we are under divine mandate to provide food and clothing for our brothers and sisters, certainly we are similarly mandated to fight for the very LIVES of these same ones, especially I would think children.
Best regards,
xxxxx,
Jehovah's Witness wife and mother.
BITE ME, WATCHTOWER!!!