Seattle PI article on Jdubs (page 2)

Phantom Stranger

Already wrote the editor and the reporter my letter.

Keep in mind that most papers won't print letters without real names attached, even if they withold the names.

Okay, well maybe he didn't do that, but I am sure he kept meticulous records on how many hours/minutes he preached and how many holy-writing studies he conducted. Since he traveled by foot (not minivan) to preach to people, he was able to count a lot more time, too.

Swan

"Jesus went door to door?"

I don't think this was possible. There were no Dunkin Donuts back then.

Tammy

Nathan Natas

Here's the email I sent. by the way, you don't have to be in Seattle to write to the reporter - tell her you saw the story on the internet - you can find it with Google News search.

To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Jehovah's Witnesses

I read with interest your article titled, "Changing tactics speed growth of Jehovah's Witnesses."

I was a JW for about 20 years. I left them about 25 years ago. I had served as a "pioneer" like Sheryl Brown and Helen Schwerdtfeger, but when I was a pioneer, the minimum requirement was 100 hours a month, not the present 70. I also served in my congregation as a ministerial servant back then, a position not open to Sheryl and Helen because they are women.

When I read your description: "Jehovah's Witnesses follow a literal reading of the Bible that compels them to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and spread the "good news" about God's earthly paradise." I had a couple of thoughts.

Do JWs follow a "literal reading of the bible"? Consider this, from the WATCHTOWER, April 1, 1986, pages 30 & 31:

"Questions From Readers"

(...)

"Approved association with Jehovah's Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses. What do such beliefs include?

That the great issue before humankind is the rightfulness of Jehovah's sovereignty, which is why he has allowed wickedness so long. (Ezekiel 25:17)

That Jesus Christ had a prehuman existence and is subordinate to his heavenly Father. (John 14:28)

That there is a "faithful and discreet slave" upon earth today 'entrusted with all of Jesus' earthly interests,' which slave is associated with the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. (Matthew
24:45-47)

That 1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the heavens, as well as the time for Christ's foretold presence. (Luke 21:7-24; Revelation 11:15-12:10)

That only 144,000 Christians will receive the heavenly reward. (Revelation 14:1, 3)

That Armageddon, referring to the battle of the great day of God the Almighty, is near. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-21)

That it will be followed by Christ's Millennial Reign, which will restore an earth-wide paradise.

That the first to enjoy it will be the present "great crowd" of Jesus' "other sheep."-John 10:16; Revelation 7:9-17; 21:3, 4.

The JWs assign the role of the "faithful and discreet slave" to their leaders in Brooklyn. Although they quote a scripture, a careful examination of the context will show that Jesus was speaking a parable
here, NOT making a statement about any reality.Likewise, the date of 1914. The first president of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Charles Taze Russell, came up with the date of 1914 by
adding 40 years to his earlier expectation that the time of the end would begin in 1874 - a belief that was borrowed from the Millerite movement and "supported" by flawed chronology and the mystical belief that the measurements of the Great Pyramid in Giza was "God's Stone Witness."

If you were to ask Sheryl and Helen about 1874 and pyramidology, they probably would have no idea what you were talking about, because the Watchtower society used historical revisionism to hide their history from present day members. I wonder if Helen and Sheryl can recall that in 1975 the JWs expected the battle of Armageddon to begin? Although the President and vice-president of the WTS made explicit statements encouraging this expectation, when the date came and passed without
event the WTS blamed "some brothers" for "running ahead of God's Organization" and coming to a false conclusion.

Yes, many JWs are nice people like Helen and Sheryl. Too bad they are the unwitting followers of a dangerous cult.

Dangerous?

How else would you describe the belief that it is better for children and adults to die rather than accept a blood transfusion?

How else would you describe an organization that has more concern for the "rights" of a child molester than for the rights of a child molester's victim?

Have you read about Carl Dennis Mackey, Florida JW who murdered his 12 year old son and then killed himself? That happened this week.

People need to be warned about the dangers of this cult, not softened up to become members of it.

undercover

To outsiders, the group's methods might seem sure to produce failures, but researchers say they're effective.

Which researchers are these? I spent over 20 years using this method and it was never effective for me. I know only a handful of people who came into the "truth" through the door to door work. Considering the several congregations that I was associated with and the hundreds of witnesses that I knew around the country, that's a pretty slim return for all that work.

Maybe someone should take this reporter to task and ask them to produce this research.

blondie

What about this research?

The following article is from Leadership magazine, and is located at:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2003/003/19.7.html

Switched after Birth
We're changing more than churches—also denoms and religions.

If it seems most everyone in your church used to be "something else," they did. More than 33 million adults in the United States reported they had changed their religious identification or preference at some point in their lives, according to a study by the City University of New York. That's 16 percent of the total adult population. Demographers call this faith-shifting phenomenon "religious mobility," and it's on the rise.

The U.S. population remains predominantly Christian. In 2001, 77 percent self-identified as Christian, although that number is down from 86 percent in 1990. The number of people identifying with any religion also declined in the same period, from 90 percent to 81 percent.

While mainline Protestant groups are declining, evangelical and charismatic denominations are on the rise. Of those who identify themselves as "evangelical/born-again," 37 percent "switched" to the faith from another religion.

Who's moving: The shift is greatest among mainliners, smaller faiths and sects. Jehovah's Witnesses are most "mobile." Accounting for less than 1 percent of American adults, one-third of their members leave the group, and two-fifths join from another religion.

Implications for church leaders: Religious mobility means we cannot assume that members understand basic faith tenets, denominational distinctives, or heritage. But, that they've switched brands doesn't mean they'll sign up for history lessons. Heritage and distinctives must be communicated along with vision and goals in existing teaching venues and in church communiqués.

Expect practices from other churches to seep into your system as leaders from other backgrounds join the team.

And we must watch out for acronyms. Insider language creates outsiders and makes newcomers feel like strangers. Besides, who recalls what BYPU is anyway?

—data from American Demographics (March 2003)

Nosferatu

That was a pretty boring article. I skipped most of it. They should do a report on rocks getting stuck in tire treads. That would be interesting!

Yerusalyim

I wrote to her too, though Nathan's letter is much more elequent.

run dont walk

a standing O for Nathan, I think we should all do the same !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well done !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JeffT

I've got a call in to the reporter. I'm going to be out of the office the rest of the day, but I hope to talk to her on Thursday. I'll let you know what happens. I'm already writting a reply that I hope they will take as a guest editorial. Since I have no need of hiding my identity anything I send will have my name and address on it. I'm going to include the fact that some people here might want to respond, but feel the need to do so anonymously. Could be interesting.

Seattle PI article on Jdubs