Haven't read 'Crisis of Conscience' although sometime ago I read an overview of it, perhaps I will. As mentioned to OrangeFatCat (in a message sent direct to him), I suppose I hadn't really given enough thought to the fact that now that I no longer believe the WTB&TS are set in their place by God, that this in turn means that I believe the members of the Governing Body are infact self-appointed, and as such have greater culpability for the directions of the org as a whole. I tended to think of them as misguided individuals, but when you're at the top is there really anyone leading you astray?
OPEN LETTER TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
by Outaservice 36 Replies latest jw friends
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diamondblue1974
but when you're at the top is there really anyone leading you astray
Good point; its their own dreams of grandeur and self importance which leads them astray, I dont know how they live with themselves.
DB
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Oroborus21
An Open Reply from an Ex-Jehovah's Witness:
Eleanor Roosevelt said "that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Similarly in the law there is a maxim: "One who consents to an act is not wronged by it."
I place these thoughts before you because although your letter entails a bundle of issues and concerns which are both touching and worthy of discussion, too often when we feel that we have been wronged we overlook the central issue of personal responsibility.
You speak of being beguiled by the slick advertisements for God's paradise and taken in by the kindness of those that in their minds and hearts are sincerely interested in you and who brought this message to your doorstep. But do you not recognize and accept responsibility for yourself?
You were not a child raised as a Witness, of whom one might say had little choice during his formative years, and so was already deeply entrenched and immersed within the Jehovah's Witness theology.
You opened the door. You invited them in. YOU made the choice to study, to associate, to join. And you did all of this as an adult.
Be an adult and take responsibility for your own life.
True, in the law, the granting of consent is only valid if such consent is made "knowingly" that is to say with full disclosure - and there I would heartily agree with you that Jehovah's Witnesses too often fail miserably and shamefully to fully disclose much, including some that might make a difference and turn one from the granting of the consent in light of what is disclosed.
But despite these failings, enough is disclosed to one that eventually becomes baptized before they make that decision that they have enough knowledge of what is expected for them to be considered one of Jehovah's Witnesses. (Admittedly this point is very debatable.)
In any case, although the sadness and yes even anger is resonant in your words, and no doubt without justification from your experience, the fact remains that as adults we must be responsible for ourselves. This is very difficult and our culture is one where we are constantly prodded to shift "blame" upon others and sometimes even rewarded for doing so. The temptation to do this, although strong, must be resisted if one is to ever become a fully actuated person, capable of moral choice, which is the real definiton of being fully human.
Taking responsibility for your own life is absolutely essential to living authentically and is the only path to real freedom and truth. Those that refuse to recognize their personal responsibility in what happens to them in life are condemned to being perpetual victims of circumstance, and that life is a hard one in this tattered world.
Yes, we can be victims, and sometimes we truly have been victimized and injured. And sometimes we wish to cry out against those that we have perceived to have wronged us. Indeed, in a Theocracy, dissent is an act of faith. But there are victims that lie broken and bleeding in the gutter, or who quietly go into the long darkness and there are those that lift themselves up, or perhaps with the help of friends, if they be lucky to have them, are able to come to their feet again. The choice is yours as you lie there. Will you lay back, gazing at the stars and moan about your fate and how someone came along and tricked and tripped you, or will you grit your teeth and brace yourself to rise? Again, the choice is yours.
Personal Responsibility.
Even when others share the blame for our wrongs in our lives, we must never forget that we have Personal Responsibility, especially, especially for the CHOICES that we make and made - and to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses entails a host of choices over the course of a good amount of time.
Finally I would add, the essence of being Christian is foregiveness and love, even for our enemies. Your Open Letter is full of anger and hatred and scorn and well, basically everything that is not very Christlike. Perhaps, you are right and your experience with Jehovah's Witnesses did not teach you how to be Christian. If so, I hope that in time you will learn to foregive those that trespassed against you.
Sincerely,
Eduardo
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tijkmo
Similarly in the law there is a maxim: "One who consents to an act is not wronged by it."
oroborus..........the law is an ass
sng....you are right about the gb. knowing the effects they are having..this letter is similar to one that i wrote to them..but they are not listening...i sometimes wonder if they read the letters or whether they discard them and dismiss the individual as a crank...but they did read mine because they replied to me or at least they got london to reply to me and they sent copies of their letter to the co and the body of elders in coatbridge...they said they were sad to hear i was struggling but that jesus learned obedience thru suffering..(my response to that is that i didnt learn obedience..i learned hostility unkindness revenge disillusion disobedience..things that i would never have dreamed of before)..and they also said that they had considered my suggestions re judicial cases and that they would be helpful for the future...in some ways i wish they hadnt read it cos to read it and do nothing is worse..in much the same way as being continually told 'well j knows what is happening' but his not doing anything about it is worse than his not knowing in the first place...the co and the elders never came to speak to me about it....
i had mentioned earlier this week that i was speaking to someone who has high up connections in brooklyn and he was saying that the gb know the elder arrangement is working and esp judicially..but they dont know what to do about it..some heavenly direction there right
outaservice and gaila...i wish you peace in your attempts to come to terms with what you are experiencing
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Dansk
Eduardo,
You wrote:
You speak of being beguiled by the slick advertisements for God's paradise and taken in by the kindness of those that in their minds and hearts are sincerely interested in you and who brought this message to your doorstep. But do you not recognize and accept responsibility for yourself?
You opened the door. You invited them in. YOU made the choice to study, to associate, to join. And you did all of this as an adult.
Be an adult and take responsibility for your own life.
Even when others share the blame for our wrongs in our lives, we must never forget that we have Personal Responsibility, especially, especially for the CHOICES that we make and made - and to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses entails a host of choices over the course of a good amount of time.Finally I would add, the essence of being Christian is foregiveness and love, even for our enemies. Your Open Letter is full of anger and hatred and scorn and well, basically everything that is not very Christlike.
Gaila, like many (most) of us here, was taken in by the slick marketing of an organisation that is expert at playing with the fears and hopes of people. I can identify with virtually everything in Gaila’s letter. It is an honest appraisal of how she was duped but then later found out the truth about the organisation - and she then had the guts to stand up and be counted! It was a costly decision, but it was an honest one!
Does Gaila need to take responsibility for what happened? NO! Definitely not!
Sure she opened the door to the JWs – a decency. Sure she let them in - a genuine kindness (many would have told them to *"^+ off). Sure she made the choice to study – she wanted to know more about God, get closer to him and save her precious family. Sure she did it all as an adult – but being an adult doesn’t mean we are any less gullible than tiny children!
It has nothing to do with intelligence, either. Many an academic has also been duped into joining the JWs, testified by some of the most wondrous writings ever to appear on this or any other forum – and some have gone on to have their books published and/or papers published in periodicals and/or on the internet.
Yes, the essence of being a Christian IS forgiveness and love – even for our enemies – but even Christ whipped and chased out the money changers in the temple. Even Christ was angered by the show of piety by the so-called religious Jews who yoked the people. The same can be said for Gaila. She has a right to be angry because she took her steps into JWism on promises that have turned out to be lies. She brought her children in because she wanted them, also, to serve the organisation she was led to believe was the only one sanctioned by God. In all matters she behaved with truth in her heart.
If Gaila is guilty of anything it is showing human kindness – and for this she was betrayed.
Eduardo, it doesn’t help with your being so judgemental. Who are you to know Gaila’s circumstances; her innermost hopes and fears? She did what she did for altruistic reasons – she wanted above all to serve God; to feel that she was serving him to the best of her ability. In this SHE was badly let down by wolves in sheep’s clothing. If you still feel Gaila holds responsibility then you’re in the wrong place – because you’ve addressed virtually everyone on this forum.
Ian
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Mary
Frog said: are they [the GB] really any different from anyone else in the faith professing to have the truth by teaching others at whatever level they find themselves? ...when you see them as individuals as we once were it is difficult to place such heavy blame, when you see them collectively it is a different matter, so who is in fact responsible for structure of the org, how far back do we go to figure that out?
You gotta be kidding......the Governing Body is responsible for ALL the doctrinal issues in this religion. The elders, COs, DOs---they do not make the rules, although they like to enforce them on the R&F Witness.
It's the Governing Body members who enforce the rules about no blood, about cutting off family members who are no longer Witnesses, about abandonning life long friends. It's the GB who told people not to get an education, not to plan for the future, save money, buy a home, pay into a pension plan. It's them that told us that the Generation of 1914 would not pass away without the New System being here and then went and changed this doctrine when it became clear that they were full of shit. It's them that have created a Pedophile's Paradise and then lied about it to the media, it's the GB who said Armageddon was coming in '75 and then turned around and blamed US for reading too much into what they said. It's the GB who orders the disfellowshipment of anyone who openly questions their authority or their bizarre interpretations of the scriptures. It's the GB who have "set themselves up in the place of God" and demanded that millions of people obey them. It's the GB who is responsible for thousands of brothers and sisters in Malawi being raped, tortured and murdered because they lost one vote to allow them to carry a party card.......need I go on?
These guys have blood on their hands. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes come Judgement Day.
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kls
That is spectacular and i can feel the hurt.
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love2Bworldly
Well put Mary.
If Eduardo feels the way he does, I think he needs to find another website. He sounds like he is a loyal jdub.
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Bryan
So many of us could have signed on her letter, as the story repeats itself generation after generation.
Bryan
Have You Seen My Mother
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orangefatcat
Amen Bryan.
None of us are responsible for what the Organization has done to its followers. We are not to blame for the atroicities committed by the Society. We are not to blame and take responsiblity for the suicides , murders, pedophiles, liars and innocent lives destroyed.. The GB is cupable to God for what they have done to God's people. Could you imagine Moses being that way or Jesus? Why JC hated the white was graves of the religioius leaders of their day for having heaped upon the congregation of God man made rules and traditions of men. He told them they were like the dead bones in those graves . Didn't he call them Vipers, agents of the Devil and hypocrites? Yes they were evil men, as is the body of the organization is.
We have been lead as if by Master Puppeteers (GB) and we are the puppets on strings being led to a world of falsehood, and lies with empty promises and deciet. How do we take responsibilty for their actions. We have been duped into a false sense of secruity, promises of eternal life only to have it shattered all around us when we come to see how hypocritical this organization is.
Eduardo dont' be so quick to blame us for not being responsible. We have been decieved.
Orangefatcat