Understandably, there are times when a caring JW family member may question us as to why we have turned away from Jehovah. Why do we no longer love and follow him as they still do. Here is an honest and sincere way that I answer. A way that hopefully will motivate them to delve into their heart and question their own deepest sense of kindness and love towards others, and the bearing that may have on their own desires.
I am going to copy here a bit of a letter -- that I am still working on -- that is going to be sent to a JW family member. Let me preface it by saying that I no longer believe in Jehovah's existence in anyway. Yet, I speak in the letter as if Jehovah is the paramount concern. It has to be this way in order to reach them and make sense...as you will see.
Here goes. Following is a bit of the letter:
Please let me begin by saying -- as I'm certain you agree -- that an honest heartfelt worship of Jehovah should be the most serious of all things! We can not just follow others blindly. Rather, we should look very closely at all the Biblical information that Jehovah reveals to us about His commandments and actions towards us, and only THEN should we examine our deepest heart to see if we can sincerely love, follow and worship accordingly.
With this in mind, here is my heartfelt conclusion:
In the early books of the Bible, Jehovah, commands his people to stone or kill specific people, or at times He commands his people to exterminate entire cities of all men, women, children (and even animals). Certainly, that was then, and this is now. However, as a sincere follower of Jehovah, I must ask myself: is my belief and love for Jehovah limited just to today, or is it for all time? Had I lived in those past times, would I have obeyed Jehovah? Would I have stoned my neighbor or child? Would I take up the sword and thrust it through the living bodies of women, men, children, babies and animals, at Jehovah's command? Would I?
In the deepest examination of my mind and heart, there is no question that I could not, would not!
I am too caring, too empathetic and compassionate of others to obey Jehovah's orders to kill a kitten, let alone slaughter a man, a woman, or a child.
So, it comes down to this: Jehovah is perfect and eternal! He does not change! He is the same God, yesterday and today. The same God always! Certainly, Jehovah asks and commands differently from us today than He did yesterday. However, if I could not follow Jehovah in the past, how can I honestly and wholeheartedly follow him now? So, in my sincere and honest heart of hearts I must admit that I am not a follower of Jehovah. Not then, and so -- not now.
In the Watchtowers we can find pictures of smiling Jehovah's Witnesses marching away from the destruction and slaughter of billions of men, women and children at Armageddon. Happy are they that they can now live their dreams. Honestly, this makes me sick. How I ever did count myself as one of them, is beyond me. Presently, I could never, ever, live happily with such a cost. Perhaps I am now too weak in Jehovah's eyes, and so then I am evil and worthy only of death. A death that He has proven time and again to easily oblige.
So be it. I'm not ashamed. My heart has spoken.
You already know my answer, but here is a question for you: At Armageddon when the death of men, women and children reach an unimaginable amount, we expect Jehovah and his angels to do all the killing for us. In this way we can hide our head in the sand, ignore it, remain pure in our own eyes, and hide away. But what if the death toll is going to be so great that Jehovah commands you to take a stand along side the angles? What if Jehovah commands you to take up a sword and kill your neighbor, his wife, his children, including even a baby in the crib? What would you do? Would you obey? Would you cut the throats of your neighbors? Is killing others worth your personal desires? Could you honestly live happily ever after?
Very often there are people that give their lives to save complete strangers from harm or death. My death by the hands of Jehovah, is my way of saying that His way, is the wrong way. His way is the antithesis of the real and pure love that would do no harm to others; a love so great, or rather so simple, it would rather die than let others come to harm and death.
I can no longer follow a path that demands the death of others so that I may gain. I can not sincerely and honestly worship a god with morals less than my own.
A Way That May Reach Our JW Friends And Family
by JamesThomas 5 Replies latest jw friends
-
JamesThomas
-
DesirousOfChange
It makes a good point. And it is clearly sincere.
I don't think most JWs would get past the first couple of paragraphs. But you can hope.
Doc
-
aposta-Z
It reminds me of that quote from Richard Dawkins, in God Delusion:
"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochisti c, capriciously malevolent bully."
-
OnTheWayOut
Many ex-JW's object to how you are revealing the God of the Bible. JW's I know would be prepared to object and say how people will have every opportunity to learn "the Truth" before they are destroyed.
Yours is an already-enlightened view. You might be able to sell your view to some who are leaning that way.
-
WuzLovesDubs
ApostaZ I love that quote! Does he have one about who God becomes in the NT? Like...overnight He becomes this wonderful loving forgiving compassionate...mass of gas or...... :)
Reaching our families IMHO cant come with any kind of reasoning. Something has to happen to shake the ground underneath their individual feet and it cant come from anybody who left. For me it was the GBoobies changing the definition of the Generation again...in 1994 or 1995 I forget now...taking away the hope of the end coming when their generation died. It was the straw. It was the opening of the floodgates. And then everything else I heard or read after that until I DAd in 1997 was seen through jaded glasses.
-
snare&racket
Why not, instead of using your words, swap every descriptive paragraph for just a scripture reference, or a page number in the literature.
E.g. These scriptures have ben troubling me...[incest,genocide, slavery, rape, racism etc] .. and this image in the literature pains my conscience....[image of smiley JWs at armageddon]
At the moment, mys pirtuality is in turmoil and as my loving family I felt I ought to share it with you, though it is a personal matter and therefore one I myself must reconcile. I hope our love remains,
X
This way its not your intepretation or description of the verses, or anything they can call apostate. Just reference scriptures and page numbers. Nothing more.
Snare x