Howdy all,
The following article just appeared in the local Boaz, Alabama newspaper:
The Sand Mountain Reporter
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Page 7A
Jehovah’s Witnesses continue aid
By Charlotte Christopher
Lifestyles Editor
Local congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses expect to continue to contribute labor and material support for as long as it takes, according to John Hudson, an overseer of the church.
The Regional Building Committees normally supervise and organize the efforts of skilled volunteers to build Kingdom Halls (houses of worship) within a single weekend. The crews are made up of hundreds of volunteers who travel to complete the projects. They have now coordinated the drive to assist in the Gulf and hope to draw out even more volunteers.
Teams have been joining with Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi to send more than 70 tons of water, fuel, and generators for the victims.
Anyone wishing to assist in their efforts may contact Phillip Bartlett in Albertville, at 878-1322 or 878-5790.
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Following is my response to the editor of the paper:
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Greetings,
I read with interest your news item on page 7A, entitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses continue aid.” I happen to be Brandon Bartlett, the son of Phillip Bartlett, the local coordinator whose contact information was given in the article.
The article gives the somewhat incorrect impression that the aid efforts by Jehovah’s Witnesses are of general benefit to “all” Katrina victims. This is factually incorrect. The aid efforts put forth by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the aftermath of Katrina, as well as a multitude of other natural disasters which have occurred over the last several decades, are solely directed at fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses and the rebuilding of their own places of worship, Kingdom Halls. Any non-Witnesses who receive any form of disaster relief from Jehovah’s Witnesses are by far the exception to the rule. I know, for I was an Assistant Department Head in the local Regional Building Committee in past years, and was involved in disaster relief efforts in the past. I even spent 10 days in Jamaica physically involved in reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Gilbert devastated the island in late 1988. I felt horrible as we had to tell scores of victims in community after community that we were there ONLY to help a particular family and that these others would have to wait on the government for assistance. Many of these poor souls had been living out in the open, under trees, for weeks and months since the hurricane, and were delighted to see our reconstruction crews arrive. The looks on their faces as we brushed aside their requests for aid was heartbreaking.
Whether you personally are a Christian or not, it is quite revealing to ask yourself the question, “Would Jesus himself have only helped his active disciples had a similar disaster occurred during the time of his ministry?” What would today’s Katrina relief efforts look like if other Church groups discriminated in such a way?
Reports have been made from Texas and Louisiana that when applying for aid from the locally organized Witness relief groups, individuals are being asked an extensive list of questions in order to verify their active status as a Witness before being extended any assistance. One family, which had been active in the past, but had been less active in meeting attendance at their Kingdom Hall in recent months, was reportedly given such a hard time that they finally quit asking for assistance from their fellow Witnesses and instead went to other local relief agencies (run by other Church groups) for assistance. If you require proof, I can seek to obtain contact information (if they don’t mind being interviewed) so that you may verify this sad state of affairs for yourself.
Also telling is the current relationship between myself and my father, the local contact listed in your article. For the past few years, neither he nor any family members or life long friends who are Witnesses will have anything to do with me or my family. They will not even acknowledge our presence or say a greeting to us if we run into them in public, say while shopping at Wal Mart for instance. Even if we smile and say “hi”, they will turn and walk away without even acknowledging our existence. Why? Did we commit an unspeakably immoral act, such as theft, adultery, or murder? No. The complete shunning we are subjected to is simply the result of admitting in a personal conversation with my father and mother one night that we no longer believed that Jehovah’s Witnesses were the ONLY TRUE religion, and that as such are the ONLY religious group that has God’s approval. This doctrinal certainty of their sole status as “God’s organization” is the foundation of their beliefs.
As you may already know, one of your fellow Reporter staff members, Xxxxx Xxxxx, is also one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Interestingly, she has also recently been the object of similar shunning – merely because a romantic relationship she entered into did not fit with approved Witness dogma. She was officially “disfellowshipped”, their term for being cast out of the congregation and being considered “spiritually dead” by all active members. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that only active Witnesses in “good standing” with the local congregation will survive the coming global battle of Armageddon, when God will murder more than 6 billion humans for not actively attending the Kingdom Hall and being officially baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This group of 6 billion “walking dead” includes you, your staff, and any other members of the local and global community who have not been baptized as Witnesses.
I know you are a busy person, and as such your time is limited. Therefore I beg your patience for just a few more minutes more in order to make you aware of how Jehovah’s Witnesses truly view you and your newspaper. While they will actively court your attention and use your publication to trumpet activities which they believe will generate “good will” for themselves in the community, behind closed doors from the platform at their places of worship and in the pages of their own publications, they teach their membership to that you and your paper are a tool of the “devil”. Please review for a moment their own words:
The Watchtower, August 1, 2001 – article “Influenced by the Media?”
“Maybe the media have greatly influenced your beliefs. Most people are glad that there is freedom of speech in the media, giving them access to information that can be useful. However, there are powerful forces that can and frequently do manipulate the media. What is often presented is biased information that can insidiously affect your thinking.” [Emphasis added]
1985 Yearbook, p. 175
“In addition to being objects of criticism and attacks through the news media, the Witnesses also became a popular subject for discussion in parliamentary debates.” [Emphasis added]
“Creation” book, 1985, p.249
“9. Thus, in the Paradise to come, the nations, their educational systems and their media will no longer exist.” [Emphasis added]
“Revelation – Its Grand Climax at Hand!” – 1988, p.134
“18. How is this judgment message delivered? Generally, not by the world’s news media, which are part of the world and often reproachful of Gods slave.”
The Watchtower, April 1, 1997, p.17
“16. In the new world, Satan's propaganda media will have been removed.” [Emphasis added]
The Watchtower, May 15, 1998, p.20
“16. At times, the news media and secular authorities pin false labels on Gods people, misrepresenting our Christian beliefs and way of life. This should not surprise us, for Jesus clearly shows that the world would hate us because we are no part of it. (John 17:14) Will we allow those who are blinded by Satan to intimidate and dishearten us and make us feel ashamed of the good news? Will we permit lies about the truth to affect our regular meeting attendance and our preaching activity? Or will we stand fast and be courageous and more determined than ever to continue declaring the truth about Jehovah and his Kingdom?” [Emphasis added]
2000 Yearbook, p.221
“An aggressive mass media constantly attacks Jehovah's Witnesses. This presents tests of faith that are as penetrating as those faced in the crucibles of Nazi and Communist prisons and in the chicanery of those that used these. The large majority of Jehovah's Witnesses stand firm in faith in the face of these tests.” [Emphasis added]
This is merely a sampling, but I think you get the point. Do you personally feel “blinded by Satan?” Regardless of your answer, that is how they view you.
In conclusion, I want to make it clear that I do not hate individual Jehovah’s Witnesses, even my father and other family members who continue to shun me and my family. It is not my intention, in presenting this information to you, to attack any of them personally. I grew up across the street from Xxxxx Xxxxx, and our families were very close. It is the organization that they belong to, and its leadership and bizarre and hurtful teachings that I have a problem with. The individual members are only dependent followers of what many experts in the field consider to be a dangerous high control group, even a cult. Individual members are so heavily indoctrinated in their beliefs and practices that they truly believe they are acting in a “Christian” manner, when most Christians in the community would be appalled to learn of some of their beliefs and practices.
I thank you for taking the time to read this, as my sole intention is to give you additional information so that you may be able to see their “relief” efforts in greater context. If you have any questions, please contact me via return email or give me a call at (256) XXX-XXXX.
Best regards,
Brandon Bartlett
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Contact info for the paper can be found at www.sandmountainreporter.com if you care to add your comments.
Also, please feel free to contact my dad, as noted in published article, at area code (256).
Brandon
PS - Thanks to Quotes website for the quotations used above!!!!!