If he is a god/son of god and not a fictitious human, then he has done a poor job reigning in his followers who act in his name.
You prove my point. Those that claim to be followers and act in His name are instead following religion and not Him. He never said he would "reign" in his followers or those that claim to follow Him. He gave an open invitation to come to Him to be refreshed. He never forced anyone to come to Him and will not do that today.
As far as my story goes, it's this:
I was raised as a JW from birth. My parents were very strict and were the sort of JWs that believe EVERYTHING the WT says hook line and sinker. I was not allowed to question any of it. Dating, masterbation, facial hair, doctine, etc... None of it was up for discussion. While my parents would say things like, "The GB never claims to be inspired!", the actual reality was that JWs DO view them as being inspired. Whatever they say is law. And anyone that questions it is up for removal.
Anyway, I grew up in it and eventually quit high school to regular pioneer. I was seen as a role model for the congregation. Much like the guy in this video, I was seen as a good JW kid, but at the same time was addicted to things like porn and booze.
I eventually went to Bethel and served there for 3 years. It was a great eye opener. If you think the rules in the congregation are extreme, they are 100X more intense at Bethel. Literally everything you do is governed. From the way you do your laundry to way you walk and dress, to what you can read and watch on tv, it all had a rule behind it. I'm sure someone has posted the new boys bethel handbook on here before. That only gives you a GLIMPSE of what the reality is.
I came back from bethel VERY disillusioned by what I saw there. There was so much hypocrisy. So much lack of any sort of real faith. It was a corporation. Actually it was more than that. It was a religious compound type life headed by a multi-billion dollar corporation. They GB are NOT volunteers. They are extremely wealthy men that drive the best cars, have the most amazing penthouses, and live like kings.
When I was back, I still went to meetings and service. But it was hard. I eventually got married, shoved the doubts down and tried to be a "good" JW. Just as my wife was pregnant with my 2nd son I came across Crises of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom. I devoured those books. It was finally an answer to the things I had seen growing up and especially at bethel. I tried to share what I had read with her, but she completely shut off.
Unfortunately I was not as tactful and skillful as I should have been. I asked her how she just couldn't see this?!? Why did she refuse to research the 1 thing that she believes above all other things? I really turned her off and she began calling me an apostate.
One thing that I turned to during this horrible time was the Bible. I begged God to show me the real truth of His word, and not what men wanted me to see. Suddenly I began to see the Bible in a very different way. The things I had been made to believe from birth were completely not true. And it wasn't something difficult to see. With the right heart condition, they were very simple truths. Salvation through Grace and not works was a HUGE realization.
2 years ago I prayed to Jesus for the first time. I told Him that I realized that I could never be good enough for His righteousness. I could never totally fulfill what was good. But I told Him that I love and accept Him and His sacrifice. I asked Him to be my Lord and to lead me.
It was the single best moment of my life. Ever since then the truths of the Bible have been more real to me. They are things that I deeply adore. And if I come off too much, I apologize. But they have transformed my life, and given me something that I will never lose. Jesus died for my sins. We all said that as JWs. But the truth is that He died for the past sins, the present sins, and the future sins. His sacrifice was good enough for them all. There is no work that I can do to earn salvation. And there is no work that I can do that can lose my salvation either. Also, as JWs, we were never allowed to go directly to Jesus. But I've seen the Bible say something very different. Jesus said to "Come to ME" (Mat 11:28) He even said, " You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39,40)
In my life, now, my wife is still a JW. She is inactive and rarely goes to meetings. So I praise God for that. But we have very different beliefs. Our kids are in the middle a bit. They are not allowed to celebrate holidays. They are taught about Jehovah and nothing about Jesus. They are told about paradise earth, but not heaven.
So it is still a hard road. But the Lord is good enough and and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
