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About Andrew
Expertise
I don't object to Witness theology, but rather their use of social pressure & deceptive manipulations to undermine family ties & control minds. (This may seem contradictory to Witnesses, who draw no distinction between spiritual belief & organizational policy.) I do not engage in theological debate. I support persons impacted by an experience with the Witnesses & advocate early education for everyone so that they can protect themselves from cults by understanding what to watch out for.

(Ex-)Witnesses: I know how upsetting it is to experience doubts (or anger) about your experience. Time does not heal this wound until you first remove the splinter, which takes more time & effort than you may realize. So unless you have already put in that time & effort, don't be surprised if you are deeply affected long after the experience. But there is good news! You're NOT an enemy of God for doubting or for failing to meet the requirements of a human organization. People who lie cannot represent a God of Truth. Tell me where you're at. I'll understand. I can show you how to begin or continue your recovery & make a life for yourself worth living.

Non-Witnesses: Describe your experience with your friend/relative who is (becoming) a Witness. I can help you understand the Witness indoctrination & social dynamics that are affecting him or her (which are probably not apparent to you). I can help you put your options into perspective. Keep in mind that people make their own choices, & you may not be able to affect this person's choices, no matter how much they impact on you. A few people manage to do so, but don't count on it.

Despite my struggle to recover from my experience with the Witnesses, it was worth it. I will never let anyone cloud my clarity of mind again. Let me use that clarity to help you gain clarity. You deserve it. Every living thing deserves truth, compassion, discovery, and wonder; not manipulation, judgementalism, dogma, or control.

Experience

I was a Witness for 30 years, and a volunteer at their headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, for a year. I have attended many congregations across the United States, carefully observing patterns of behavior. Although being a Witness was difficult and I gradually had more and more doubts about Witness teachings, I was a true believer, so I kept trying to make it work somehow. I stopped attending meetings in 1997 only after receiving an answer to a prayer about doing so, and have since been actively involved in recovery, both my own, and supporting others in theirs. Recovery can include reading books, communicating with others in recovery, and participating in support groups and/or therapy. It always involves reclaiming one's own mind and discovering the other sides of the issues that you have been blinded to in the past.

The Witness organization is not like other churches. Most non-Witnesses really cannot imagine what it is like to be a Witness. The organization has unimaginably extensive rules and monitoring that affect every aspect of life (so there is no privacy and no sense of personal independence).

The organization insists on absolute conformity, and claims to directly represent God; so dissent is not tolerated, and authority is totalitarian. Being a Witness is more like living in China or the former Soviet Union than being a member of a religion as you know it. It was the research of Robert J. Lifton, WHO WAS STUDYING TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENT BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN, that first began to illuminate the problem of totalitarian cult religions around the world.

Witnesses often experience extremely dysfunctional lives and problems including broken family ties, stunted social development, inner unrest resulting from repressed doubts, inability to defend boundaries, and an extreme, persistent feeling of shame for no apparent reason. I can help people impacted by an experience with the Witnesses by revealing in detail the policies and social dynamics in the Witness organization that cause these problems.

My gradual awakening was socially, psychologically, and spiritually tumultuous. I lost everything from my former life. My suffering was epic.

But I have gained everything, so it was worth it. Only after beginning my recovery, I gained social, psychological, and spiritual healing and growth; I gained peace of mind; I gained self-respect; I discovered who I am; and for the first time I discovered the meaning of real brotherly love.

For more resources on this topic, try these web sites:
http://freeminds.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freedomofmind/

You are here: Experts > Religion/Spirituality > Jehovah's Witnesses > Critics of Jehovah`s Witnesses > Surrounded by Witnesses

Critics of Jehovah`s Witnesses - Surrounded by Witnesses

Expert: Andrew - 10/31/2009

Question
I recently started working at a place that has several JW employees. They are not being agressive with their teaching and generally fairly nice. Should I take any precautions while socializing during lunch times with them? Thank you.

Answer
Dear Carry,

You are in a situation where your intellectual certainty about what seems wrong with the Witness lifestyle will probably come into conflict with your perceptions about what nice people they are. Many people exposed to the Witnesses over time gradually have their resolve eroded and start to reason, "Any people who are so nice must be doing something right..." and then begin to open their minds to Witness teachings.

They are taught to put on this pleasant demeanor as a means of gaining new recruits. They receive hundreds of hours a year of training which reinforces them on how to use that very opening to gain new recruits.

The "nice" is only skin deep. The deceptions and manipulations are epic.

I recommend to you what I recommend to everyone, but it is especially urgent in your case: Educate yourself in advance about what cult mind control is. What are the specific tactics of cult mind control? How are these tactics used? These questions can be answered in specific and finite ways. Do not settle for a nebulous answer.

If you understand the dynamics in advance, then you will empower yourself to see the tactics in use, and that will help enable you in the moment to recognize how you are being influenced and therefore make a conscious choice about how to respond to that influence. If you don't do this, no matter how firmly resolved you may be at the outset, you are at risk of having that resolve eroded.

Many current Witnesses once said to themselves, "I will never become one", but they did. Let that be your motivation to learn what you need to learn to protect yourself: Learn to identify and clearly understand the tactics of cult mind control. This will serve to protect you and those close to you from the Witnesses and other cults too.

Best wishes,
AndrewXJW

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