GB asks every JW to give Putin their home address (page 4)

biblexaminer

Russian Ministry set to reply to all 8,000,000 Jehovah's Witnesses around the world with information packets detailing the reasons for the actions taken. Information packets will include detailed material demonstrating that the Watchtower's "blood policy" is hypocritical and dangerous.

stuckinarut2

Let's just face the facts: Any religion that teaches that EVERYONE except them will be brutally destroyed is extremist!

shepherdless

Russian Ministry set to reply to all 8,000,000 Jehovah's Witnesses around the world with information packets detailing the reasons for the actions taken. Information packets will include detailed material demonstrating that the Watchtower's "blood policy" is hypocritical and dangerous.

...and a small free sample of Polonium, perhaps.

Seriously, that would be a smart move by Putin, if true. It wouldn't fit well with the Watchtower narrative.

BluesBrother

This is nonsense!

Do you really think that Mr Putin is going to write back to them ? 😃 Or care two beans?

I suppose it is the American media to blame for inciting this wave of Putinphobia ( Too much Fox News if you ask me)

StephaneLaliberte

My Dad told me he wrote a letter to Russia and had his personal address at the bottom of it. I asked him why did he sent his personal address to enemies? Why not simply use the address of the local kingdom hall instead?

HIM: I`m not afraid and I want them to know it. That I fully support my brothers and sisters overthere. Surely Jehovah will do something about it. He won't let that be. Putin will not win. The bible says that opposing God`s people will be like touching touching the apple of his eye.

ME: So how did it workout for the brothers and sisters under Adolf Hitler? Or in Malawi?

HIM: These governments are now gone and JWs are still there!

ME: But at what cost? I`m not saying to bow down to persecutors. I`m just saying you could have been a little more careful about this.

HIM: What could he do with my address anyway... come over here to hurt me?

ME: I`m sure imagination is not a problem.

HIM: When the other governments see what is happening, they will react. And something big is gonna happen. It could be the thing that moves us into the great tribulation!

ME: The other governments don't care enough to do something about it. They don't care about entire countries such as Syria, you think they'll care about JWs?

Seriously, that conversation yesterday was hard to swallow. They put faith in several baseless claims and don't see things for what they are. And honestly, its difficult to see my family put their emotions over their reasoning faculties.

stuckinarut2

Oh Stephane! That sounds so sad! So sorry that conversation happened.

Well done in making those points.

It truly is amazing just how manipulated and distorted witnesses are.

biblexaminer

What will be more interesting is an expansion of anit-WT sentiment beyond today's levels. The same opposition is already occurring in other lands and for the same reasons, WT policy and heretical- inflammatory rhetoric.

Read the sentiments as recorded at the UNHRC from ...

Kazakhstan

They site anti-education and inflammatory writing.

Italy

They wont allow the refusal of blood. The government there basically says that the Blood Card needs to be more specific. It needs to say "I chose DEATH"

Soon, more countries will have something to say about WTS lunacy.

UnshackleTheChains

I sent this letter to the GB recently, I wanted to highlight the fact that I gave my address details to Putin, but avoided giving my details to the GB. My letter explains why

Dear Members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses

I wish to write to you to let know that I ‘supported’ my wife to write the following letter to President Vladimir Putin. She asked me to do this and I complied. Why? Well the reason I did so was because I strongly felt it was deeply unfair of the Russian Government to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses and restrict their freedom of worship.

The reason I did so was because I was brought up in a country which at one time was ruled by a very powerful empire for many centuries. Restrictive measures and outright bans were placed on ‘A’ particular religion within this country for lengthy periods of time, despite the fact that the majority of people within that country practiced that particular religion. They often had to practice their religion in secret! Such repression was completely wrong and unjust by the so called ‘civilised authorities’ of this empire. It was the wholesale disregard of a people to practice their faith freely. Repression at its very ugliest! Though Jehovah’s Witnesses are considered a small religion in Russia, I strongly feel that any such bans are an affront to religious freedom. I have very strong feelings about this. It is for this reason I helped my wife write the following letter which you can now read.

……………..

UK

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin

23 Ilyinka Str

Moscow

Russian Federation

103132

28.03.17

Dear President Putin,

My husband and I write this letter with deep respect to ask that you use your influence to avoid banning Jehovah’s Witnesses from worshipping within your country.

We write to you from the UK and are thinking dearly of our fellow Christians in Russia. We deeply respect you as President of Russia and the Russian nation. Our places of worship (Kingdom Halls) are used to worship our God Jehovah and enable us to learn how we can follow closely the fine example of his son Jesus Christ. Our Kingdom Halls are used to read and discuss the bible to help us to love and respect people everywhere.

We are a peaceful loving people who show respect for the rule of law in whichever land we reside in. We respect the Russian Government and the laws of Russia.

We ask that you please prevent action being taken against our Russian brothers, so that they can be allowed to attend their meetings freely, as we need our places of worship to fellowship and encourage one another.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter

Yours sincerely

……………

As you can see from our letter, we are very sincerely appealing to President Putin to prevent action being taken against the witnesses. In that being said, I would like to highlight something which you will have obviously noticed. As you can see, I have taken out our names and address. Yet, in the letter we sent to Vladimir Putin, our names and address are included. So why have I not included our names and addresses to you (the Governing Body).

Well, sadly, in all honesty, I am in more fear of you (the Governing Body) than I am of Vladimir Putin. Why? Well, because it is highly unlikely that Vladimir Putin is going to take any action against us for sending our letter. I don’t expect any repercussions personally from Vladimir Putin.

In contrast however, if I had given you my actual name and address when sending you this letter, it is highly possible that the elders of my hall would eventually get word about my letter to you and hence question me about it, which could lead to consequences in line with your own strict policies. That for me is too high a risk to take. You see, I love my family, I have a strong bond with my relatives and friends who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. It would therefore be fool hardy to give my details. I find it very sad that I cannot be open with you, but that is the kind of fear you have over people like me because of your very own policies and teachings.

So the reason I am writing to you is to point out that I whole heartedly agree that Vladimir Putins injustice toward Jehovah’s Witnesses is wrong and unfair. That we can agree on. But YOUR very own injustice is also wrong and unfair! Your policies which have been developed over the past 100 years are repressive to me AND thousands and thousands of other people world wide.

Some of your policies - including the very strict shunning of family members (particularly those who officially wish to leave – ie disassociate), your very strict policy on blood (not allowing an individual to use their own conscience on such an important medical matter); your very inadequate flawed child safeguarding policy; your teachings against higher education?; your intrusion and high control over peoples lives; not allowing people to use their own conscience when it comes to birthdays or other harmless events of the year such as mothers day without the fear of being pulled up by the elders; the obligatory compliance for every baptized individual to hand in field service reports (feelings of guilt only leads to loss of the volunteer spirit); the restrictions on brothers not being allowed to express their views independently on scripture or question ‘questionable’ teachings emanating from headquarters; your policies on dress and grooming (brothers frowned upon for growing beards/women frowned upon for wearing slacks at the Kingdom Hall); the importance and praise given to the Governing Body - so often mentioned at the meetings, in prayer and in our literature; the very apparent sidelining of Jesus (Yes Jesus our Messiah-our anointed King to which every knee should bend in heaven and on earth)

Like the letter we sent to Mr Putin, this is also a letter of appeal to you (The members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses) to ask that you please stop the repression of thought and intrusive control over millions of people earth wide. Please let us have liberty in Christ as Christians so that we can practice our faith freely and without fear. Please return to the days when Charles Taze Russell originally set up the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society for the production of literature to encourage and build up Christians everywhere, in a spirit of love.

The WTB&TS of pennsylvania was not ‘A’ religious society back then; but just a business organisation! Charles Taze Russell even mentioned this in his magazine.

Firstly, in his 1884 Charter or statement of its purpose when registering as an organisation, he said the following

‘it was for "the mental, moral and religious improvement of men and women, by teaching the Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles, books, papers, pamphlets and other Bible literature, and by providing oral lectures free for the people".

In his magazine, Russell explained that the Watch Tower Society was not a "religious society", but just a business organization with no set of official beliefs. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_Tower_Bible_and_Tract_Society_of_Pennsylvania

Christians could take it or leave it back then, agree to disagree, yet they felt upbuilt in their faith. They were allowed to question and give their views on subjects. The society didn’t use pharisaic style handbooks (elders handbooks) containing endless restrictive rules leading to an atmosphere of repression of thought.

So Brothers, my appeal to you is to bring about some sort of reform that will bring an end to the injustice and repression of thought many of us have been feeling and experiencing for a very long time. Please allow each Congregation a greater measure of autonomy, similar to the autonomy that the Congregations had in the first century. That way Jesus our Messiah and King (the head of the Christian Congregation), the Holy Spirit and Gods inspired word (the bible) will enable the shepherds of each Congregation to lead the flock in a spirit of love, joy and mercy in their worship of Jehovah/Yahweh God.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

GB asks every JW to give Putin their home address

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