Allow me to begin with a clarification: when I say I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't mean that I am an advocate of the Watchtower Society or a devotee of some of its more controversial false teachings. I mean that I am a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ dedicated to Jehovah God, and who remains in union with my brothers and sisters who make up the Family of Faith that globally refers to itself as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Some totally understand the distinction between the Family of brothers and sisters and the corporate organization known as the Watchtower Society (WTS). Some don't see the distinction. And yet others don't want to admit the distinction because they're too invested in bitterness and the broad-stroaked negativity such bitterness inspires. To such ones, the WTS and all Jehovah's Witnesses are one and the same "organization," and that it is bad, all bad.
But they are quite simply wrong.
Generalizations are easy and convenient. They give place to negative and reactionary impulses, and permit scapegoating, whereby one can lay the abundance of blame upon something or someone as the cause of all their problems.
Of course, nothing is really ever that easy or simple. Life and people are far too complex to attempt fitting into easy generalized categories.
And so why do I remain one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
A member of this forum posed the following question to me a couple days ago . . .
For starters, the preaching work is a commission from Christ, not the Watchtower Society.
Secondly, I'm not an active "WT," by which I mean that while I am a Christian witness of Jehovah, I am not an advocate of the Watchtower Society that has unrightfully imposed itself as an authority over the Family of my brothers and sisters.
Thirdly, it's not all wrong.
When Jesus was on Earth he preached to the nation of Israel, which had been poisoned by the hypocrisy and bad practices of some (though not all) of the religious leaders. And many of the people were misled, which is why John the Baptizer gathered them to repentance in preparation for Jesus. Yet poisoned as Israel was, it was not "all wrong." What Jesus sought was repentance, not retreat.
And so in a similar way I have chosen to remain with my brothers and sisters, in spite of the poison of the "religious leaders" (i.e., the Watchtower Society and the many elders who bow to it).
Because it's not all wrong.
For me it's about choosing to exist in the tension. Others choose to fade or leave, and I fully understand this and I will not criticize such ones, many of whom have endured terrible injustices at the hands of elders and others. I cannot blame them for fleeing to safety. At the same time, the experience of such ones is not universal. Not all Kingdom Halls have bad elders. Not all Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced the injustices that others have. While the Family as a whole has systemic issues that affect it, those issues are not equally felt across all congregations.
In my case, I also know I am not alone, and that there are a great many others of my brothers and sisters -- a good number of them on here -- who also choose to remain and exist in the tension in spite of doubts, misgivings, struggles, and pains. Because, as with God's people Israel, we see in the Family a convincing embrace of Truth (such as the Kingdom, the Oneness of Jehovah, the promise of resurrection to life on Earth and transformation of the world, etc.) and evidence of the "fruit of the spirit," in spite of the distortions borne of the "poison" of hypocrisy and falsehood that has harmed the Family (though not fully overtaken it).
Those immersed in bitterness and negativity will insist that people like me are "Watchtower apologists," or that we are "cult members" or "liars" or "hypocrites" or "blinded" or "misguided" or "brainwashed." Again, easy and convenient generalizations that are, ultimately, untrue. One poster on another thread even insisted recently that all Jehovah's Witnesses are accomplices in a criminal organization and its criminal enterprise. An absurd notion, to be sure.
But the fact is, I and many like me stay for a rather simple reason. We love and trust Jehovah, and we love our Family. In spite of its current dark issues.
Some totally understand the distinction between the Family of brothers and sisters and the corporate organization known as the Watchtower Society (WTS). Some don't see the distinction. And yet others don't want to admit the distinction because they're too invested in bitterness and the broad-stroaked negativity such bitterness inspires. To such ones, the WTS and all Jehovah's Witnesses are one and the same "organization," and that it is bad, all bad.
But they are quite simply wrong.
Generalizations are easy and convenient. They give place to negative and reactionary impulses, and permit scapegoating, whereby one can lay the abundance of blame upon something or someone as the cause of all their problems.
Of course, nothing is really ever that easy or simple. Life and people are far too complex to attempt fitting into easy generalized categories.
And so why do I remain one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
A member of this forum posed the following question to me a couple days ago . . .
So why are you engaging in the preaching work and still an "active" WT if you know it's all wrong.Here's how I answered:
For starters, the preaching work is a commission from Christ, not the Watchtower Society.
Secondly, I'm not an active "WT," by which I mean that while I am a Christian witness of Jehovah, I am not an advocate of the Watchtower Society that has unrightfully imposed itself as an authority over the Family of my brothers and sisters.
Thirdly, it's not all wrong.
When Jesus was on Earth he preached to the nation of Israel, which had been poisoned by the hypocrisy and bad practices of some (though not all) of the religious leaders. And many of the people were misled, which is why John the Baptizer gathered them to repentance in preparation for Jesus. Yet poisoned as Israel was, it was not "all wrong." What Jesus sought was repentance, not retreat.
And so in a similar way I have chosen to remain with my brothers and sisters, in spite of the poison of the "religious leaders" (i.e., the Watchtower Society and the many elders who bow to it).
Because it's not all wrong.
For me it's about choosing to exist in the tension. Others choose to fade or leave, and I fully understand this and I will not criticize such ones, many of whom have endured terrible injustices at the hands of elders and others. I cannot blame them for fleeing to safety. At the same time, the experience of such ones is not universal. Not all Kingdom Halls have bad elders. Not all Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced the injustices that others have. While the Family as a whole has systemic issues that affect it, those issues are not equally felt across all congregations.
In my case, I also know I am not alone, and that there are a great many others of my brothers and sisters -- a good number of them on here -- who also choose to remain and exist in the tension in spite of doubts, misgivings, struggles, and pains. Because, as with God's people Israel, we see in the Family a convincing embrace of Truth (such as the Kingdom, the Oneness of Jehovah, the promise of resurrection to life on Earth and transformation of the world, etc.) and evidence of the "fruit of the spirit," in spite of the distortions borne of the "poison" of hypocrisy and falsehood that has harmed the Family (though not fully overtaken it).
Those immersed in bitterness and negativity will insist that people like me are "Watchtower apologists," or that we are "cult members" or "liars" or "hypocrites" or "blinded" or "misguided" or "brainwashed." Again, easy and convenient generalizations that are, ultimately, untrue. One poster on another thread even insisted recently that all Jehovah's Witnesses are accomplices in a criminal organization and its criminal enterprise. An absurd notion, to be sure.
But the fact is, I and many like me stay for a rather simple reason. We love and trust Jehovah, and we love our Family. In spite of its current dark issues.