Kate, what is your religious background and I will find a denomination that is more suited to you?
Thinking of becoming a JW.
by Kate82 231 Replies latest watchtower medical
-
-
Eustace
Don't know if they've mentioned it yet, but in the JW religion you can't throw or go to a birthday party, celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, or any other holiday.
-
Christ Alone
Kate82, it seems to me that you really are searching for something that you can believe in. That's great! I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and also worked at their world headquarters for a few years. So I (as well as ALOT of others on this site) are very well versed in the Watchtower (the JWs controlling corporation) and can answer pretty much any question that you have.
I would recommend reading through some of the life stories here and find out why many of us ended up here. Click on a username and search through some old posts. Most people here tell their reasons for coming in their first posts. That will show you that most did not come in anger, but in sadness that the organization that they thought was God's ONLY true religion proved itself to be false.
The reason why many leave this organization is because of the extreme amount of judgmentalism and unloving attitudes that exist. Let me warn you. When you initially go to the kingdom hall, they will do what is called "love bombing". They will make you feel special and important. They will seem like the most loving people that exist. However, after you get baptized, that all stops. Almost immediately. If you do anything that they view as wrong (i.e. don't go door to door enough, miss meetings, accidentally swear, wear a dress that is too short, say "God bless you" when someone sneezes, talk about Jesus too much (this is the worst one)), they will reject you immediately. Also, if you have family that are not JWs, they will want you to limit your association with them. If you ever leave the JWs, everyone that is a JW will completely shun you (very similar to the Amish).
There are many reasons for staying away from this organization. Many have already been mentioned. They have a VAST history of false prophecy. They have some very unbibilcal rules and doctrines. They practice archaic shunning shame based punishments.
The sad fact is, they are a cult. A cult is a group that forms around a man or a group of men. This man or men have ultimate authority over what you can and can't do and what you can and can't believe. If you ever come to a different conclusion than they do about the Bible, this is cause for them to disfellowship you and shun you forever, condemning you to death by God's hand at Armageddon.
They believe that EVERY other religion is run by Satan the Devil. They believe that ANY DAY NOW the United Nations is going to destroy all relgion. All religion will fall except the Watchtower society. When the UN sees that the Watchtower is stil practicing their religion, they will attempt to step in and destroy it. When that happens, God will step in and destroy everyone that is not a Jehovah's Witness IN GOOD STANDING.
If you take anything away from this post, remember this. What JWs believe, and what they tell you are often two VERY different things. They will tell you that they do not believe that only JWs will be saved. But the facts do not demonstrate this. They will not tell you of their thousands of non biblical rules. They will appear to show true love. Please do your research. Many of us here have found that jwfacts.com is one of the best sites to research the WT organization. This site uses actual WT quotes in order to examine their doctrines and practices.
Another good research tool is youtube. There is alot of junk there about JWs, but there is a lot of good stuff too. Here is a video that helped MANY JWs to wake up to the truth about this religion. It's quite a bit old, but truthfull and to the point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uvp5Q1pd_Q
Also, here is a talk that speaks about their beliefs about what God is going to do to people in the near future. This talk has been taken down many times by youtube as hate speech, but this link still works. This talk was given by a Watchtower representative.
-
Londo111
Dear Kate,
Research mainline Christian denominations and consider going to one of their churches. Quite likely, you will find them very loving people there who would give you friendship and support.
Avoid cults like Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Moonies, Scientology, and so forth. In a cult, you will get love bombed at first, until you've been slowly indoctrinated. Once you are fully joined, you would not receive the same amount of attention.
-
Christ Alone
Oh, Kate, one other thing. If you tell the people that came to your door that you have spoken to JWs on this site, they will condemn us all and call us "apostates". Apostates, to JWs, are the most evil form of life that exists. They prefer murderers over those that were JWs and left. They will say that everything we say is a lie. They will tell you to stay away and not read anything that we write.
The reason? That is something that cults use to control their members. It's called "Information Control". Cults commonly employ 4 strategic points to control their members. It's called the BITE model. The BITE model is this:
B - Behavior Control
I - Information Control
T - Thought Control
E - Emotional Control
Here is a video that breaks BITE down. Nearly every one of these is used by the Watchtower.
-
leavingwt
Kate: You cannot become a JW until *after* you complete a six-month Bible Study, for one hour each week.
-
Vanderhoven7
Kate: Jehovah's Witnesses are a dangerous cult. If you believe in God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, it is important to know that every doctrine which is unique to their religion is extra-biblical. Have you had any prior experience with other churches? Do you have any friends that are involved in a church?
-
-
Chariklo
Kate, seriously, don't get involved with them.
Actually, you already are. They have marked you down for what they call "return visits", and they'll have noted that you are lonely. They will aim to be your friends...but they won't be your real friends. They're interested in only one thing: getting you along to the Kingdom Hall and into line for baptism.
Yes, they'll tell you about God and jesus but it will not be the truth, though they'll confuse you by calling it the Truth. They will screw up your brain by quoting from the Bible to "prove" that they are right.
Do NOT get into a discussion with them. They can easily confuse even the most educated and learned person. They will tell you that jehovah is a loving God, but in reality the God they will teach you about is not loving at all. They blacken his name by teaching that he will willingly kill off most of Earth's population, babies and children too. They teach that God's love is conditional on you doing what the Watchtower says. They will even control how you look after your house, saying Jehovah only "loves clean people".
It is a wicked organisation. It is not a religion. It is a cult. It will suck you in, but ban you and shun you if you think for yourself.
Run away! Tell them you won't see them any more!
-
Heaven
Ask yourself the following questions....
Why do I wish to join an organization that has, for over 130 years, been 100% incorrect in their prophecy for the imminent coming of the end of the world?
Do I wish to die because I feel pressured and obligated to refuse a life-saving blood transfusion?
If I decide to leave this group in the future, will the friends I've made remain my friends?