disbelieve.
This is a repost from another board by Tishie.
"Hi all. I posted this here several months ago. I continue to (for some odd reason) get letters from JWs telling me that I am evil and asking me why I no longer believe. I thought that there may be some new ones here wondering that same thing.
Here is my response to that question. If you've read this before, feel free to skip this post.
(I've edited this post a bit to correct typos, clarify a few statements, and to amend my common usage of WAY too many commas,,,,,,.)
_________
I believe that the JWs are modern-day pharisees. By this I simply refer to how the pharisees of Jesus' time were more concerned with rules, regulations, and works than the spirit of the bible. Jesus tried valiantly to change this, to show that what is needed is simply to love God, love your neighbor, believe in him and that he was raised from the dead. The myriad rules of the JW religion are in complete contradiction to what Jesus taught. The WTS is in fact just another government of men seeking to control the faith of others.
Christianity is supposed to be a deeply personal experience NOT up for inspection or approval of other people. Just as a romantic relationship is the business of only the two people involved, so is the relationship between a person and his or her god. The focusing on specific behavior, such as how many hours you spend in service, filling out time cards, how you dress, what you read, what words you speak, what sort of sex married couples may have, etc, etc, etc... are all pharisaical in nature.
The JW bible, the NWT, changes many words many times. For instance, if you get yourself a copy of the Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, a WTS publication, and read the literal translation along side how they have interpreted it you will see that they consistently translate the verb, "to believe" as "to exercise knowledge." These are very different things. For instance, if you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, that is different from exercising knowledge that he was raised from the dead. Believing is something you feel in your heart; exercising knowledge is something you DO and actually requires no belief. The WTS is trying to make it seem by translating the words this way (with NO reason... the greek word "to believe" in NO WAY can be rightly translated as "to exercise knowledge") that you must not only believe in something, but act in a certain way due to your belief. Normally, your actions would follow your beliefs anyway. There is no need for an outside group to tell you how to go about doing this. But they want you to "exercise" your belief in the way they believe is the right way to do things. (However, even if you do believe they have some things right, there is no reason for you to have to belong to their religion to do this. For instance, any person can go door to door to preach... many other religions do this, contrary to what they would have you believe. I am often contacted at my home by members of many mainstream religions. These religions not only contact people in their homes, but also through outreach programs such as charities, which is something that Jesus stressed as well--charity to all.)
That is but one example of how works are stressed over faith. The JWs wrongly take pride in stressing works over faith; the bible itself stresses faith almost exclusively. Also, the verb that is consistently translated as "worship" when referring to the Father is translated as other lesser things when referring to Jesus. Why the inconsistency? The bible writers clearly said that Jesus should be worshipped. Why does the WTS want to cloud that issue? That seems to be something that should be very clear. If they are misleading people away from worshipping Jesus when it is clearly required in the bible, don't you think that is very serious? VERY serious?
A side note: Most people who hear the name, "Jehovah" think of Jehovah's Witnesses. Most people who think of Jehovah's Witnesses feel negatively about them. Think about that. JWs are actually DEFILING that name. It is hated around the world thanks to the JWs. Many religions have always used that name or another version that is just as correct (actually names like YahWeh are more correct, since there are no J's or V's in Hebrew), yet over the centuries they have managed to not make it a hated name. The JWs have taken that name for THEMSELVES and now most people don't even know it is god's name; they think it is the name of a religion. Do you think God would be happy to know that most people think "Jehovah" refers to a group of hated people rather than to himself?
Also, Jesus said that you cannot get to the father EXCEPT THROUGH HIM. Yet, the WTS clearly says that you cannot get to the father except through THEM. They clearly say that if you are not a JW, you are not in communion with Jehovah. They have set themselves up as the mediator between God and men, which is a place reserved exclusively for Jesus according to the bible. The bible is very clear that one must be a brother of Jesus to receive any sort of salvation, yet the WTS has said that only the annointed can be his true brothers and that the rest of you must only be brothers of them; they are the mediators. You are only Jesus' brother by virtue of being associated with them. This is blasphemous. They have set themselves up as your Jesus -- as your messiah.
So no. I do not in any shape or form believe that the JWs are following the bible correctly at all. To be frank, I believe that almost every other Christian religion is doing a better job of it. Even if they get some small things wrong, they have the major things RIGHT. Namely that they go through Jesus for their salvation, not the WTS. They stress faith rather than works, which is what jesus worked SO HARD to make everyone understand as the point of faith in him. For instance, what do you think would anger God more, the idea that his people must go through other men to get to him, or people having birthday parties? Since he was very clear about Jesus, and said nothing against celebrating birthdays, I would think it should be very simple to see that he is most concerned that you go only through Jesus, not any men, not for any reason, no matter how far they set themselves up as God's mouthpieces on earth. No where in the bible does it say that there would be any sort of mouthpiece such as that. That have taken on the mantle of a prophet and of a mass-messiah with no cause, and they risk great danger according to the bible. So do, I believe, all those associated with them because you are all being denied a personal relationship with Jesus, and therefore you have not reached the Father at all.
My advice to you (if you truly seek to understand the bible) is to read a more accurate translation that does not include the WTS biases against faith, such as the NIV. However, even if you do not wish to do that you can easily read the Interlinear Translation to see what the original Greek said. Read it independently and see what it really says. The bible is not written to be a complex book requiring a whole society to interpret it for you. It is meant to be a personal love letter to you. It is meant to be understood by you. If you read it and find anywhere in it that you are required to associate with the JWs to get salvation or that you are required to fill out time cards to really be a Witness of God or that you must follow their many rules to be a good Christian, I would be surprised. You can still follow the rules that you feel are appropriate and you need not be associated with ANY religion. The unity that is spoken of in the bible refers to the unity of faith, not a unity in rule-following. The idea that the latter is the case is EXACTLY what the Pharisees thought. They thought that if they made many new rules to ensure that the Jews would follow the original rules, that they were helping people get closer to god. They had good intentions, as I'm sure the WTS does as well. That does not change the fact that they are wrong and they have turned the act of worshipping god into a mechanical rule-book situation.
And no, for the record I do not believe what the bible says. Therefore, I read it with an unbiased opinion. I read it without having any religion to defend and I can clearly see that the JWs are twisting the spirit of the scriptures. I can clearly see that you SHOULD be worshipping Jesus as the first century Christians did. I can see that all that is TRULY required of you is that you believe Jesus is Lord, that his father raised him from the dead, that you love God with your whole heart, you love your neighbor as yourself, and you confess your beliefs to others. None of this requires any outside organization, nor is that even hinted at in the bible. In fact the very idea that a group would seek to control your faith is contrary to the bible. The faithful and discreet slave is the entire brotherhood of Christianity. Read that scripture in context.
I realize that all of this completely flies in the face of all you are taught and all you believe, but you are compelled as a Christian, according to the bible, to examine what I am saying and (most importantly) what the WTS is saying. This is YOUR responsibility. The WTS has taken your responsibility from you. They have said, "listen to us, and you need not examine anything for yourself." This is dangerous. You do have to examine it for yourself and I see no where in the bible where, "but they told me to!" is going to be a valid excuse when it comes time to answer for your actions.
I know that according to the JWs I am an apostate and therefore evil, so my words likely carry little to no weight with you. But please, if you truly believe in the bible, examine what it really does say without their "handy" study aids. Nowhere in the bible does it indicate that study aids are required or even desired. In fact, they could be seen as a manner of "adding to" or changing the scriptures.
The safest bet, biblically speaking, is to read the bible for yourself and come to your own conclusions. At least that way when you have to answer for yourself, you will know that you did what YOU believed what right according to scripture, not what you were told to believe -- not what you were threatened to believe according to magazines or other publications.
The most important thing to remember is this: Truth can withstand scrutiny. The fact that the WTS does not want you to question them should be a big red flag. The bible NEVER says that you should blindly follow any group. It clearly says that you should examine what they say closely. Why would a group tell you not to question them if they truly follow the bible?
There is absolutely NO BIBLICAL PUNISHMENT for questioning the JWs or disagreeing with them or leaving them behind. The JWs aren't even mentioned in the bible at all, and there is nowhere in the bible that prophesies a group of men who have such power that you should never question it. NOWHERE does it say that. Not only CAN you question them, but you are REQUIRED to question them according to the bible. Any group that wants to curtail your investigation is trying to control you. Ask yourself why. Are they trying to protect you -- or themselves? If they are trying to protect YOU, they would advise you to follow the bible which says to examine everything closely, critically, and look for errors. Not just in other religions, but especially in your own.
Tishie"
http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/thread?forumid=128637&messageid=1012364384
closer
Solid stone is just sand and water, baby
Sand and water, and a million years gone by - beth nielsen chapman