STUDY ARTICLE When a Loved One Leaves Jehovah

by RULES & REGULATIONS 34 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  The Watchtower—Study Edition | September 2021

  STUDY ARTICLE 39

  When a Loved One Leaves Jehovah

  
  

  2 Think how heartbroken Jehovah must have been when members of his own angelic family turned their back on him! (Jude 6) And imagine how hurt he was at seeing his beloved people, the Israelites, rebel against him time and again. (Read Psalm 78:40, 41.) Be assured that our loving heavenly Father is also hurt when someone you love leaves him. He understands the grief you are experiencing. He will compassionately provide you with the encouragement and the support you need.

  
  

  5 We need to remember that Jehovah has given each of us the gift of free will. This means that we can choose whether we will obey him or not. Some young ones whose upbringing was far from ideal choose to serve Jehovah, and they make a success of their service. Others whose parents did their very best to bring them up in harmony with Scriptural principles turn their back on the truth once they get older. In the final analysis, we must personally decide whether we will serve Jehovah. (Josh. 24:15) So, grieving parents, fight the tendency to think that this tragedy must be your fault!

  
  

  Supposedly, Jehovah gave everyone a gift of free will. We all are given a choice to obey and serve Jehovah. Angels, the Israelites and billions of humans have decided to not serve or obey Jehovah.

  How does God become ''heartbroken'' when... ''In the final analysis, we must personally decide whether we will serve Jehovah.''

  Why isn't God more heartbroken when babies die at birth, people die of starvation and cancer? If you have free will, why should you be punished if you choose not to serve Jehovah? THAT IS NOT FREE WILL!

  
  

  
  
  
  
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  Overrated

  It is not god who is heartbroken, it's the Org losing someone they had control over. Who saw the man behind the curtain. They lost money.
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  truth_b_known

  It is a sick and twisted coercion tactic.

  co·er·cion

  /kōˈərZHən,kōˈərSHən/

  Learn to pronounce

  noun

  the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.

  Persons who commit crimes under coercion are not held criminally liable under the law.

  First, the Watchtower coerces the parents. The Watchtower makes it known that Witnesses are to raise, that is to say indoctrinate, their children. Witness children have no choice. This is taken all the way to the baptism of the child. Once the child is baptized he or she may now be coerced by the Watchtower. Failure for parents to do this forced indoctrination is met with the label of "unfaithful" or "not exemplary" which results in privileges being withheld or shunning outside the meetings.

  Once the child reaches adult years, but still lives in his or her parents' home the coercion continues. The child must continue to obey the Watchtower under threat of being thrown out of the parents' home. This happens once again due to coercion by using shunning as leverage against the parent.

  Once the child is able to provide for himself and is willing to accept shunning from his parents the child may stop being one of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to this Watchtower article, the parents should not blame themselves. I whole heartedly disagree.

  The parents made a choice. That choice was to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Children are not able to give consent. No child ever consented to being raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. That was imposed on the child. Child baptism is also non-consensual. The child is forced to enter a contract.

  This is no different than a person strapping a remote denoted bomb to a child's chest and telling the child to go into a bank with a stick-up note to give the teller. Then telling the child if they don't do it you will remote denote the bomb. If at some point that child refuses to comply and you remote denote the bomb you don't get to blame the child's death on the child. That blood is on your hands!

  I understand taking your children with you to meetings, assemblies, conventions, and in the ministry when they are too small to supervise themselves. Once the child is capable of caring for themselves for a few hours while the parents are at the meeting and the child doesn't want to go, let them stay home. Don't force your kids to read Watchtower literature. Don't force any of it on to them.
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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  truth_be_known

  That was an excellent post!

  Let's reread paragraph 5 and see what is cleverly written and what is really forced on the parents:

  5 We need to remember that Jehovah has given each of us the gift of free will. This means that we can choose whether we will obey him or not. Some young ones whose upbringing was far from ideal choose to serve Jehovah, and they make a success of their service. Others whose parents did their very best to bring them up in harmony with Scriptural principles turn their back on the truth once they get older. In the final analysis, we must personally decide whether we will serve Jehovah. (Josh. 24:15) So, grieving parents, fight the tendency to think that this tragedy must be your fault!

  Jehovah's Witness parents have a baby. Their young children are made to go to meetings, assemblies, conventions and field service. They are indoctrinated to the point of being ''baptized.'' Now, the child has entered into a ''contract'' with the Watchtower Society. The contract with the Society is now binding until death.

  The Watchtower Society now takes over the parents job when it comes to discipline. The Society can ''mark,'' ''reprove'' and ''disfellowship'' a young child that is not exemplary.. Now, this young child faces shunning the rest of their lives if they never return to the meetings.

  Where is this so-called gift of ''free will?''
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  Longlivetherenegades

  We must personally decides whether we will serve Jehovah. Looooool! Leaving a religious organization by writing a resignation or disassociation letter equates to leaving Jehovah. This Jehovah is a property of a religious establishment headquartered somewhere in North America.
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  Rocketman123

  The truthful reality is when people leave the JWS they are not leaving Jehovah's organization they are leaving an organization that was devised by apostate sinning men (false prophets) who took the power of god upon themselves for themselves, they were the true unloyal opposers of Jehovah and Jesus from the beginning, in spite of the fact they said they were god's solemn chosen ones.
  
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  lriddle80

  We didn't "leave Jehovah" we left a false religion. I am irritated that my family is going to read this and think about me "leaving" God when I left to actually pursue the true God...Oh well! What are ya going to do? We all lose.
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  Phizzy

  A question I would love to throw at a JW who accused me of "leaving" or "turning my back" on Jehovah.

  The question : "How can I "turn my back" on a fictional character ?"
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  truth_b_known

  A question I would love to throw at a JW who accused me of "leaving" or "turning my back" on Jehovah.
  The question : "How can I "turn my back" on a fictional character ?"

  That is a valid point. Another way to put it would be something similar to -

  "The Bible is specific about how one maintains a relationship with Jehovah. Read His Word. Follow his son's example. Love Him, love my neighbor (which is all mankind), care for the sick, the poor, widows, and orphans. If I went into your bank and claimed to have power of attorney for you no doubt the bank would ask for proof. If I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote 'I have power of attorney for John Doe' and said 'Here is my proof' do you think the bank would accept it?"

  That is what the Watchtower did. It published a magazine that said "We are God's appointed representatives on Earth." That's the Watchtower's proof. That is like quoting Amazing Fantasy #15 to prove Spider-Man exists.

  Catholic Bishops can trace their Apostolic Lineage back to the original Apostles. At least they can say "My authority comes from the Apostolic lineage back to St. Peter. Here's the proof."
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  BluesBrother

  They always spin this as "rejecting Jehovah". Truth is many of us learned enough to reject the WTS . That is a big difference.