mgmelkat: I have read Keith's blog also! It is so enlightening. I love his approach. He just started a new book study with a different pioneer (elder), as the first one finally ditched him. Anyone who is not familiar with his ministry, and who has compassion for people trapped in cults, should check it out! Thanks!
Phaedra: That is sort of what happened our first time around with the JW's. We studied, and it came to the point where I was trying to convince myself. It would have been wonderful to find out that the Watchtower really DID have the truth, and that they were following the teachings of Jesus and that their works and preaching WERE pleasing to God. I could never become convinced, especially after seeing the evidence that we saw (it was the tip of the iceberg). After that, we had to stop going to meetings. We were just going for the fellowship at that point, and I'm not someone who is able to keep my true feelings a secret for long. Why lie to people, just so they will be your friends? We realized we were being deceptive, by going to meetings every week, just so we could enjoy the company of a couple of families that my husband and I really did love. Of course, after we stopped going to meetings, the friendships all ended.
The people from that KH will still greet us in public, except for a few, who seem to have a strange fear and almost hatred toward me.
sarahsmile: What is the "Make Sure?" I have never heard of that.
Oubliette said: Sign of a Cult: "Never talk to former members. They lie." -- EXACTLY!! This is what I realized, when my sister (out of naivety and I think she thought she was actually going to help me somehow), sent me an emailed scan of an article they studied about 6 months after we stopped going to meetings. She said, "I'm not saying that you are a bad person, or anything..." The article was about avoiding anyone who had left the organization. "Mentally diseased... Ravenous wolves... They want to draw you away from the organization that they once loved!"
It was SHOCKING to me to read that article. When she sent it, it was about 2 weeks after her husband had cornered me (ALONE) and accused me of "turning my back on Jehovah." I cried, and told him what had happened, and how our teacher would not answer our questions. I was sobbing and telling him the story. They were so new (but already baptized), and this was the first time they even heard that there was any evidence against the JW's. His reaction was to tell me "You should go to your dad. He'd love to answer your questions..." That's not the kind of relationship I have with my dad, so I ended up retreating. I had already been programmed far enough, that I did not want to "stumble" anyone else in their faith.
OH! What a terrible mistake I made, in not sharing the evidence we had found. We were so stunned by the stories we heard, and then by the reaction of our teacher, we ended up dropping the whole issue and trying to forget about it. Then I had surgery, and my mom came for a visit (she was not yet baptized). I was on some heavy narcotic pain meds, and proceeded to tell her about my sister sending me that article. I remember I was crying and saying how things look so much clearer, after you stop going to the meetings. I said, "Only a CULT will tell you not to listen to outside information! Why do they need to control what you read, and why are you not even allowed to CONSIDER any other information?" I think I scared her, but she didn't say anything. I know my mouth was on autopilot, because of the Percocet. The physical pain I was feeling was overwhelming, and I was very emotional. It was very cathartic to finally spill my guts... hahaha. Too little, too late, I'm afraid! :'( I wonder if my mom thought that Satan himself had come upon me that evening. LOL!
leaving_quietly: Thank you for that reference! My other Christian friend found this interesting also. She said, "The Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible either, but it is clearly a Bible principle that is being taught." Not to start a debate about that hot topic, but I thought that was a good point also.
Bob: Great reference in Acts! Thanks!
About your previous comment, with me on stage at a convention: I have already given speeches about the JW's and the way they "almost" got me. I had a ladies' bible fellowship group ask me to come and share my story once, and it was interesting to see the reactions that I got from these so-called "mature" Christian women. When I share my story with Christians, I usually try to put it in a nut shell. "I almost became a Jehovah's Witness." Of course, this is really not true. I never even got to the point where I knew what was required to become a member. Since most people in America have had a JW at their door at some point in their lives, many find my experiences and inside information interesting. I am still working on a more concise way to spread the message (and warning) to people who are willing to listen.
JW's are not just a harmless little sect. Those nice people that come to your door are under dangerous mind control, and they are spreading false teachings. It took me a long time to realize that this false religion makes a BUSINESS out of denying Christ. They do it every day, and they make a big show of it once a year, when they MOCK the ceremony of the Last Supper. They lure in people who are lonely, and promise you happiness and security. After they convince you that the world is a terrible place, and that every religion (except theirs) is false, you start to believe there really is "nowhere else to go." They keep you so busy with meetings and fruitless work in the fields, that you don't have time to realize what is happening to you. One day, you wake up and wonder, "How did this happen? How did we get HERE?" Whenever I meet a JW, I really feel compassion for that person. I have been hurt by the way the religion has torn my sister from me, and has caused this big rift in our family. "Jehovah's Witnesses divide families," was a statement my mother made, when she first learned that we were studying with them. She even approached my evangelical cousin, and asked her to pray for me to stop talking to the JW's. Look how the tables have turned! Now I am the outcast in my family, because I did not follow the organization. If more people would respond with kindness and compasion for the JW's who come knocking, if more people were willing to give these innocent souls the message of hope and freedom, their field service work could actually be their salvation. If more householders were informed and cared enough to react, there might be a chance of rescuing some people. I think too many of them really think there is "nowhere else to go."
