"Telling the Truth Shall Set You Free"

Farkel

About 8 years ago, I was approached by a Christian group and asked to write a piece on dubs with a Christian slant to it. They wanted to use it to "witness" to dubs as a tool to try to get them out of their cult.

I tried to write it from the point of view of a typical Christian who was very familiar with the beliefs of dubs. So, because of how I wrote it, I don't want anyone to think I've gone soft on you!

Those of you who've found happiness in another Christian faith might enjoy it more than you hard-core pagans! In any case, it may serve to remind us all sbout what we actually believed and taught when we were dubs. I've edited the original slightly to bring it more up-to-date.

TELLING THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

Brother J. Edgar Elder was a very well read Jehovah's Witness. He had been a Witness for over half a century and was quite familiar with present and past JW doctrine. For the most part, he was also a very devout and sincere man.

One day, as he started out in field service, a blinding light appeared before him. It was the light of an angel. The angel said to him, "I command you in God's name to tell the ABSOLUTE TRUTH to everyone you bear witness to today.

You may not hedge, attempt to conceal, soft-pedal or evade any question which is asked of you. Moreover, I also command you to carefully LISTEN to every word, which a householder may say to you. You are not to ignore, close your ears, or try to change the subject, regardless of what might be said to you.

If you do not obey these words, you will be stripped of your position as an elder and made a ministerial servant."

Brother Elder thought to himself, "THIS IS SERIOUS. I'd better obey. I'd rather DIE than be made a mere ministerial servant."

At the first door, a friendly gentleman answered. After receiving a short witness, the man said to Brother Elder, "I have a very close friend who was once a witness, and he gave me a list of things to discuss, should I ever be visited by one of you."

"Oh, then he is probably an apostate", Elder replied.

"He is certainly not an apostate. He believes the Bible, has confessed all of his sins, taken Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and completely given his life over to Him. He is a very devout Christian."

"I told you he was an apostate", Elder said. "He has rejected the teachings of the Bible as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses."

"Are you telling me that embracing the teachings of The Christ takes a second place to embracing the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses?", the man asked.

"Of course not. It's just that only Jehovah's Witnesses properly understand the meaning of Christ's words."

"What is there about Jehovah's Witnesses that makes them that all-important for someone looking for Salvation?"

"Well, for one, we believe that Jesus began his rule in heaven in 1914, and the generation that saw 1914 would not pass away before Jehovah's great battle of Armageddon is completed", Elder answered.

"Yes, I am aware of that. But what tangible, visible proof is there that Jesus is now "ruling"? I mean we've had two world wars, a holocaust, vast ethnic cleansings", and untold millions of lives lost in other political struggles since then.

It seems to me the world has been WORSE, not better off since 1914. Just what kind of "ruling" has our Lord been doing?", the household inquired.

"He's not dealing with those issues as of yet. Instead, He has been directing his spirit-anointed Christians in the preaching of the Good News of God's Kingdom, since his reign began.", Elder answered.

"I take it this means ALL of Jehovah's Witnesses? Is that right?", the man wanted to know.

Brother Elder heard the Angel whisper in his ear, "remember my words. You must be completely honest with this man".

Elder replied, "Well, not exactly. You see, out of all the untold billions of people who live and have ever lived, only 144,000 have been anointed with the Holy Spirit. Only that number are in the New Covenant with Jesus, may partake of His Blood and Body, and Jehovah only works through and reveals His will through them."

"I see, so all Jehovah's Witness doctrine comes from the remaining ones of this 144,000, is that correct? So I understand that there are only 7,000 or so of these people left, and most are very old. These people, given their very special and sacred responsibilities must be a closely connected group, have all their material needs provided for so that they may direct their full-time attention to regularly discussing Scripture, writing articles, and guiding the rest of the believers, isn't that so?"

"Well, not exactly".

A bead of sweat broke out on Brother Elder's forehead.

"Those of this anointed body who are not serving in the various branches of the Society must be responsible for providing for their own physical and material needs. For some reason we don't offer any free medical plans or pensions to ensure their good health or longevity. As a matter of fact, in over 50 years of my association with Jehovah's Witnesses, I can't recall ONE anointed person in any congregation I ever attended, being asked to contribute any articles, or even any doctrinal thoughts in the Society's publications. And I've known many, many anointed people. You see, that while Jehovah CAN use any or all of these people to reveal His Will to mankind, for some reason he has decided only to use 12 of them to do this work", Elder concluded.

The Angel whispered in Brother Elder's ear, "You are doing pretty good. Continue to be honest with this man."

"I see," said the man. "So out of BILLIONS of Christians who are now alive, and out of MILLIONS of Jehovah's Witnesses who are now alive, and out of 144,000 pirit-anointed Witnesses who have ever lived, and out of THOUSANDS of these spirit-anointed ones who are still living, you are down to 12 men who determine each and every thing you must and must not believe? Am I correct?"

"Yes", Brother Elder answered truthfully.

"What scriptural support do you have for entrusting your entire lives to the decisions of only 12 old men?"

"Allow me to point out to you what the Watchtower magazine says says on page ?"

The householder interrupted, "No. Answer me from the Bible".

"I can't exactly do that without referring to many different scriptures. It's just too deep", Elder meekly replied.

"SOMETHING is very deep, alright", was the reply.

The man continued, "Since all babies who were born in 1914 would now be 90 years old and since that is the MINIMUM age for the generation who "saw" 1914, assuming that a generation is now, as you claim, a person's lifetime, what is going to happen when all those "babies" die, and Armageddon has still not arrived."

"I guess we'll receive New Light on the matter", Elder mumbled.

"I think someone turned off your lights years ago", the man smirked. "But let's stay with this subject for a while longer. Do you really believe for a moment that out of the hundreds of thousands, or possibly even millions of Christians who existed from the time Christ was on earth and for the next one or two hundred years that only a very FEW of them were ever anointed? And furthermore, out of the many tens of millions of Christians who existed for the next 1700 years that only a very few of THEM were ever anointed? You obviously must believe this, because the vast majority of your number of 144,000 have only been "anointed" in the last 100 years."

"It is not up to us to question Jehovah", Elder stated.

"Oh. Where does Jehovah state that this is to be believed?", the man quickly asked.

"Through his Channel." Elder was getting more and more uneasy.

"Well it certainly can't be the 'Discovery Channel'. But seriously, by 'Channel' do you mean those 12 old men you were talking about?"

"Well, yes."

"But Jehovah does not state this belief of yours in His Word, the Holy Bible. Is that right?"

"Well, yes, not directly."

"I see. Let's talk about those 12 old men and their predecessors, shall we? Do they always unanimously agree on policies they end up making and later enforcing?"

"No they do not. They are only mortals. But neither did the first century Christians. Look at all the admonition Paul and others had to give them for decades over disagreements regarding circumcision, and keeping the old Law covenant.", Elder replied.

"Fair enough. Policies and regulations are one thing. Prophesying is quite another. Do they always unanimously agree on predictions?", the man wanted to know.

"No, they do not. But if a majority agrees on a matter, then it is adopted."

"Let me get this straight: it requires only a MAJORITY of 12 men to make decisions that might adversely affect, and even possibly destroy the lives or worse yet, the very SALVATION of millions of human beings if these men turn
out to be wrong? Let me remind you that you claim these men are directly inspired by Holy Spirit. Yet, in our own Country it takes the UNANIMOUS decision of 12 people to determine the life or death of only ONE individual.

And that determination must be made BEYOND ANY REASONABLE DOUBT. Sounds to me like our human American legal system is much more reliable than your "spiritual" legal system."

The householder continued, "I have personally read Raymond Franz's book. As you know, he was a member of the Governing Body for a number of years and knew intimately how the Governing Body reached decisions which were critical to the lives and spiritual health of Jehovah's Witnesses . From what I've read, it sounds like these men sit in their Governing Body meetings and throw out ideas and script out plots as if they were making some made-for-TV movie, instead of being fully united through God's Holy Spirit in order to provide truthful and reliable spiritual food for the believers."

Elder silently pleaded, "Dear Angel. Please get me OUT of this conversation."

The Angel answered, "pay close attention to what this man is saying. You might learn something."

The man asked, "Suppose I decided to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses. What vows must I take at baptism?"

Elder said, "to paraphrase, one must have repented, believe in Christ's ransom, in Jehovah God and identify himself as in association with his Spirit-directed Organization".

"Is giving your life over to Jesus Christ part of the vow?", the man wanted to know.

"No, that's not a part of the vow."

"Is being dedicated to doing God's Will through Jesus Christ, through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit part of the vow?", as taught in the Holy
Scriptures?

"No that is no longer part of the vow, but it once was. That part was replaced in 1987. Reference to the Bible was removed and reference to doing God's Will through Christ was removed, and reference to receiving the Holy Spirit was removed. They were replaced with a vow that our dedication and baptism hereby identified us as in association with God's Spirit Directed organization."

"So, you are saying that being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and through the means of the Holy Spirit has been completely deleted, and replaced with, essentially being baptized into the "Organization".

"Well, I guess you could put it that way."

"Suppose I became a baptised Witness, and then decided being a Witness wasn't for me. How easy is it to leave the Witnesses?"

"It is a very simple matter to get out. All you need to do is write a letter of disassociation and that is it. No one will bother you again." The Angel sternly reminded Brother Elder, "You are only telling PART of the truth. You must tell the WHOLE truth."

Elder continued, "by 'not bothering you again', we REALLY mean than not one Jehovah's Witness in the entire world is permitted to speak to you, to say 'hello' to you or even to acknowledge your existence as a human being. All family members of yours who are Witnesses are to consider you as DEAD. This includes your parents, fleshly brothers and sisters, and even your very own children. If you need help of any sort, or are in a spiritual crises, you will not receive it from anyone who is associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, including the brothers in general, former best friends, and your family. You are considered an apostate against the Holy Spirit, a committer of the worst mortal sin possible, according to the Bible. You are viewed as a liar, a 'sucker', possessed by the Devil, a dog who eats his own vomit, and worse than swine."

The householder is shocked. "You mean to say that by merely writing a letter saying that you no longer want to follow the rules and regulations of Kehovah's Witnesses, that all of that will happen to you?"

"Yes, it will."

"I was asking about voluntarily leaving. I've heard Jehovah's Witnesses also involuntarily force people out of their Church. I assume such people are treated the same way as people who voluntarily leave. Can you give me some examples of what one must do for that to happen?"

"Sincerely questioning ANY belief, especially beliefs which were once thought to be truth, but are now discarded, discussing such questions with others, giving a Christmas present, singing Happy Birthday, saying "Happy Mother's Day", standing up for the National Anthem, saluting the flag, fighting for your Country if it is attacked by another, saying "hi" to any former Witness, taking a blood transfusion to save your life, sending your children candy-collecting on Halloween, questioning an Elder's decision, no matter how
wrong it may be, celebrating our Nation's Day of Thanksgiving, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, asking Jesus to be your personal savior, wearing a Cross, attending your own mother's funeral at another Church, thanking Jesus for your blessings in prayer, joining the YMCA, believing something that was once considered "light", but now isn't, legally remarrying even if your former spouse is in jail for LIFE for having committed murder, and who has not fornicated against you, and even being caught purchasing a pack of cigarettes. Do you want me to go on? There are HUNDREDS more I haven't mentioned. In fact, I don't even know them all, and I've been a Witness for over 50 years."

"No, that is quite enough, thank you. If one has been placed in such a position, and wants to return to the Congregation, what must one do?"

"Such a person must endure humiliation from the entire Congregation by being required to come late to all meetings, sit alone at the back of the room, refrain from speaking or even singing songs, and leave the Congregation immediately after the meetings are over. Such a person must endure the glaring stares and silent judgements of the entire Congregation for a period of time which is only determined by the congregation's Elders. Such Congregational humiliation has lasted up to five years in some cases."

The householder again spoke: "I've heard enough of that. Now tell me, what, exactly is the Good News of God's Kingdom as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses?"

"That Jehovah God will deliver his faithful earthly class of worshippers into a perfect paradise earth where they have the opportunity to live forever."

The Angel reminded him, "keep talking. You must tell the WHOLE truth as to what you've been taught from your very own publications."

"And that, uh, that flesh will rot off the bodies, and eyes will melt in the sockets, and that limbs will be ripped from the torsos of about 6 billion LIVING people, including many undeserving Jehovah's Witnesses. And that birds and wild animals will pick the flesh off the slaughtered and mangled bodies
of even tiny babies, and little children.", Elder sadly replied.

"I see", the man said. "So THAT'S the REST of your 'Good News', huh? Sounds to me like YOU need a Bible study. Would you like me to give you one?"

Brother Elder thought for some time before answering. Then he said, "You know, I think I do", and he agreed to study ONLY the Bible with the man. Then he left the householder.

The householder closed the door. He then gazed his eyes upward and asked, "Well, dear guardian Angel, how did I do?" The Angel replied, "May God continue to bless you."

Brother Elder went directly home, took out a piece of paper and pen and began
writing:

Bible and Tract Society
124 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn, NY

Attention: Governing Body

Dear Brothers,

"After much soul searching and sincere prayer, I must sadly inform you that I have decided to disassociate myself from Jehovah's Witnesses and it's legal
instrument known as the Bible and Tract Society??"

And the guardian Angel smiled.

Farkel

onacruse

Gawd, how I hate these long posts! LOLOL

Elder silently pleaded, "Dear Angel. Please get me OUT of this conversation."

The Angel answered, "pay close attention to what this man is saying. You might learn something."

What's the term for this...the "critical point"?

If you really listen to that inner voice, that little gremlin sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear, saying things to you that you don't want to hear.

It's so hard, simply because we fight against it, and yet it so easy, when we finally take down the Jericho walls of the WTS and be honest with ourselves.

Farkel

onacruse,

I had a perfectly good "no response" thread going (it was about to be my first) and you messed the whole thing up!

Farkel

onacruse

Sorry.

Celia

Farkel, I love that one, read it many times before.... Hiw are you doing ?

Poztate

Another classic FARKEL POST. I got a good chuckle out of it. Has this been added to best of Farkel yet???

Celia

Did I kill the thread ? Well, BTTT then, too good to be missed.

Mysterious

Wow I had missed this evil forum scroll. Poztate made me read it. Some great points in there.

greven

Nice format! It's written in a very disarming, honest way. I'll save it for my files.

Greven

jwfacts

"I see, so all Jehovah's Witness doctrine comes from the remaining ones of this 144,000, is that correct? So I understand that there are only 7,000 or so of these people left, and most are very old. These people, given their very special and sacred responsibilities must be a closely connected group, have all their material needs provided for so that they may direct their full-time attention to regularly discussing Scripture, writing articles, and guiding the rest of the believers, isn't that so?"

Excellent point that I had not really thought too much about before. Jesus said "to the extent you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it to me". I have known several annointed and none received any special treatment at all, either by the WTS or by the congregation. Neither did any of them ever write any articles for the Watchtower.

Let me get this straight: it requires only a MAJORITY of 12 men to make decisions that might adversely affect, and even possibly destroy the lives or worse yet, the very SALVATION of millions of human beings if these men turn out to be wrong? Let me remind you that you claim these men are directly inspired by Holy Spirit. Yet, in our own Country it takes the UNANIMOUS decision of 12 people to determine the life or death of only ONE individual.

Another excellent point

"Telling the Truth Shall Set You Free"

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