The best advice we can give you before you take that dip is RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!
P.S. And I mean real research, not just stuff that it spoon fed from the watchtower...independant sources. Being here is a good start.
My first time in the Kingdom Hall
by leslieUsry 34 Replies latest jw friends
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journey-on
You say you have the same ideas as JWs and share their values. What ideas and values are you specifically referring to? The practice of disfellowshipping and shunning those who decide to leave their teachings after being baptized? The practice of allowing their child or spouse to die rather than receive a blood transfusion? The practice of reporting hours you spend knocking doors and distributing their literature and having your spiritual strength judged on the basis of those numbers? Oh, man, I could go on and on about JW ideas and values!
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mrsjones5
Break it down JO
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zoiks
Hi! I like that your randomly generated avatar looks like a dead person....
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mrsjones5
Well, don't the jws call worldly folks "walking corpses"?
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garyneal
Hi leslie,
Welcome to the board. I can relate to the frustration you have with the Baptists. I wasn't raised in any religion but have been attending Baptist churches (Southern Baptist and Independent Fundamental Baptist) for a while. My wife was 'around the truth' all her life, meaning that she was raised a witness and believed in the religion but is not currently baptized. I started studying with her and attending meetings with them over the last six years of our marraige. I have to admit that I was fascinated with their unique view of the Bible and its teaching. I even liked how they stated that a lot of the traditions of 'christendom' came original from Constantine. I had already learned this in my philosophy class I took while in college. That and the fact that they were right on with the idea that Jesus was not born on 12-25 made me believe that these people are truly on to something. I also like how their meetings were interracial, being in an interracial marraige myself made me appreciate this aspect of them. Also, who can argue with the fact that all of their meetings all over the world went in the same fashion, teaching the same thing everywhere, etc.. They even don't make a big deal out of making their Kingdom Halls look all glamoruous with murials and crosses, etc.. Keeping it simple is something I truly found fascinating. I was beginning to think that perhaps these people really did have the truth.
But something in my mind keep telling me that something wasn't quite right. They would claim that they alone had the truth and dogmatically proclaimed that no other religion had the truth. Something about that did not sit well with me. You see, by the time I started studying, I learned that basically all christian religions were off from one another to a greater or lesser degree and all translations of the Bible were different from one another to a greater or lesser degree. Considering that the christian religion is 2000 years old and has come under the influence of a lot of people over those years, it was difficult for me to accept that any one group had all of the truths about the Bible. Besides, even if the witnesses were right if another group believed similarly to them, their whole basis for them alone having the 'truth' falls apart. I believe this is called the Black Swan problem. The truth is, indeed there are other religions that believe as the witnesses do and some are even more careful about how they apply the Bible than the witnesses are.
Needless to say, when my wife decided to go full throttle into become a witness I found myself trying to determine what the truth really is. What I found was startling. I learned that their translation of the Bible was off a great deal when compared to other accepted translations of the Bible, and in fact, when I compared their new testament to the original greek I learned that their Bible translation was VERY off. Concerning the deity of Jesus Christ especially. I knew then something was very wrong with this religion and upon further research I discovered that they have a rather interesting history of false predictions for Armagheddon and a lot of covering up of their old beliefs.
I implore you to do your research on this religion before you get too deep into it. The witness who you are studying will may try to tell you that Satan is trying to stop you from learning the truth and becoming a jehovah's witness. But since you have been associated with Southern Baptist churches I can assume that you believe in God and want to find the right way to follow Him. The one thing you have to remember is the one thing I realized when I found myself not know what religion is right, your everlasting life is at stake. Best you do what the Bible says and make sure of all things before you dive into this religion, eternity is a long time to be wrong.
For more information, go to http://www.4jehovah.org and http://www.gotquestions.org. Then go to http://www.freeminds.org to learn more about how this religion has hurt so many people. May God bless you and help you discover the real truth about Him.
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no more kool aid
I can guarantee, I didn't knock at you door. This is what I was afraid of. BTW, I hear prison has a great routine too! NMKA
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moshe
Well leslie, getting a knock on the door is no sign of God's direction. Suppose a Mormon missionary had called on you first? Would you be trotting of to the LDS meeting tonight? Or maybe a Scientologist ran into you on the street and ofered you "help", would that a sign, too? The law of averages says that on any certain day, a JW will find somebody who is praying for help. 99.9% of the world sees problems with JW's and that might just be a reason to take some time to hang out here. Welcome!
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dgp
Leslie Usry, I had my time at a Kingdom Hall as well. I decided NOT to become a witness, with good reason, in my humble opinion. I know full well that all we can tell you is to do your research, and, as someone said, to do real RESEARCH, not just taking what the witnesses will give you and accept it as truth. That is not real faith, but mere credulity, you know?
It is true that the witnesses do tell you a few things that are correct. However, they are not the only ones who would tell you that. Atheists have always said Jesus was not born on December 25, and it seems to me that this is not reason enough to become an atheist, is it?
I'm happy, however, that you came to JWN. Real research is never done by asking an interested party what he thinks about himself, or by hearing only one group say the things it holds true. Real research is done by including those who are against the organization, because it is them who will let you know what's wrong with it. You can't expect an elder to tell you anything is the matter with his own organization.
I suggest that you read Crisis of Conscience, In Search of Christian Freedom, by Ray Franz, and Releasing the Bonds, by Steven Hassan. I also suggest that you spend some time in this forum, www.freeminds.org and jwfacts.com. If you are really into research, buy yourself The Gentile Times reconsidered, by Carl Olof Jolsson. It will give you a different perspective on things.
In here you will read lots of stories about how and why the organization damages people and how and why it does not have the truth. I was where you are now, and I know what I'm talking about. But I know you have to find out by yourself. Do it.
Have you tried looking at Gary Neal's channel on You Tube? It has very good information.
It is easy to like the simplicity and the cleanness of a Kingdom Hall. My understanding, however, is that the people in the congregation pay for it. I read somewhere that a congregation built a Kingdom Hall on a loan from the organization, which they dutifully paid back, just to find that the Hall was then the property of the organization. That is to say, the organization earned money as interest on the credit, and then it also kept the hall. When I think that, then a Kingdom Hall does not seem like a good thing to look at. By the way, is the value of a religion to be determined by their houses of worship? If it is, then I will be a fervent Catholic because I haven't seen any house of worship better than St. Peters. Just imagine... it was made by Michaelangelo...
Have these friendly people told you that they expect you to give up all your non-JW friends and relatives?
If you can get yourself "The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses" you will get a hands-on description of how the organization works. Ever heard about Stalinist Russia? East Germany? That's exactly how the religion works.
But, don't take my word for it. Check by yourself.
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garyneal
Thanks for the endorsement, dgp. My you tube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/garynealjr. Check the favorites section and watch the video, "Witnesses of Jehovah." You can also order it on VHS and DVD at http://www.goodnewsdefenders.com/.