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Critics of Jehovah`s Witnesses/Why Keep Asking While Ignoring the Response?

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Expert: - 4/22/2007


Question
Hello Andrew,

I asked a dew JWs to give their point of view on some of those rules you said they have and from their answers I would suggest that they are not rules at all as you say.

From your answers to me, I get the feeling you do not hold the Bible as being practical for our day.  Do you actually belive the Bible is the word of God?  Do you belive in God?

Answer
Dear Gordon,

My area of expertise is family integrity and freedom of mind. My skill and interest is exposing methods that Jehovah's Witnesses and other cults use to erode free choice and family ties. My responses in this forum are given accordingly.

You keep asking me about off-topic theological questions and setting aside my on-topic responses. You may perhaps have the wrong expert here.

As I have already repeatedly explained, the list of activities I cited are not official rules. Yet in each and every case, they are used as excuses to expel dissenters. It is quite remarkable to non-Witnesses that members of any organization can ostensibly be expelled for "reasons" that are not even official rules. I explained this fully already in a previous response on this thread. See http://tinyurl.com/2f4fkk

You have also used a leap of logic from a discussion on sociology and politics to draw a conclusion on a supposed theological position held by a participant in the discussion. You are employing the Witness tactic of labelling the source and using such label as a measure of whether the message is valid. As this pseudo-reasoning goes, 'if the source is questionable, then any message that comes from that source must also be questionable', never relying upon the coherent development of the message, nor the weight of the arguments given, nor the evidence provided.

There is no evidence I can see from reviewing the archives of AllExperts.com that you "asked a few JW's to give their point of view".

The evidence which you have repeatedly provided to me, Gordon, indicates that you are a Witness desperately struggling to "prove" me wrong (by using deception) in my area of expertise. This is unsurprising, as Witnesses often use deception to accomplish their aims, because of the cultish belief that the end ("salvation") justifies the means ("deception"). They never admit this, however, because of the contradictory ethic of labelling the source, described above. They realize that, if it became known that they use deception, they could be labelled as a questionable source by applying their own ethics.

Witnesses seek to deny my work on the politics of their organization because the evidence I present is difficult to hear for Witnesses who believe their organization is their mother, the wife of God. The Witness organization is man-made. It's policies result in family destruction and lost freedom of mind, like other cults.

Theology is a private personal matter for each person of faith to discover for himself, in whatever way God inspires him. I am not an expert on theology. The world does not have any experts on theology. The Witness organization is not the wife of God and has received no commission from God of any kind.

Those claiming to be experts on theology, claiming to have authority to teach regarding God, are well-meaning but misguided persons who cause tremendous damage in the lives of others.

Best wishes,
Andrew

Critics of Jehovah`s Witnesses

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

(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 and effort than you may realize. So, unless you have already put in that time and 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. An organization that lies cannot be the exclusive spokesman for the God of Truth. Tell me where you're at. I'll understand. I can show you how to begin or continue your recovery and 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 and social dynamics that are affecting him or her. I can help you put your options into perspective. Keep in mind that people do make their own choices (even though they may sometimes do so under outside influence) and you may not be able to affect this person's choices, even though they impact on you. After all, you do not have the arsenal of tactics that a cult does (and wouldn't want to). A few people manage to save their friend/relative, but don't count on it. What you can count on is navigating the maze more successfully by becoming more informed about your own options.

Experience

I was a Witness for 30 years, and a volunteer at their headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, for a year. I have attended meetings with many Witness congregations across the United States, a thorough cross-section, 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. This includes 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.

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

But I have gained everything, so it was worth it. Only after beginning my recovery did I gain social, psychological, and spiritual healing and growth, peace of mind, and self-respect. Only then did I discover who I am; and--for the first time--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/



Education/Credentials
Like most Cult Recovery Counselors, I am a cult survivor. I have life experience, not professional training. Also I feel no need to apologize for that. People with professional training cannot understand what it is like to survive a cult unless they have been through it themselves, which few professional therapists have. Understanding what really happened and what works in this unusual social context is as important as psychological training. Most professional therapists are not specifically trained to support cult survivors. Those who are represent a rare and precious resource.

I sometimes refer people to professional therapists regarding deep personal issues. But surviving a cult is a broad experience with other dimensions. Professional therapy can be very helpful as part of your recovery process, assuming that you choose the right therapist. When choosing a therapist, remember that you are the client and they are a service provider. You are the one who holds authority about the relationship. You get to interview the therapist and decide which one to employ.

Be sure to ask what specific training and experience they have around recovery from cult mind control. Most therapists do not have relevant training. Some carry serious misunderstandings about what cult mind control is; and therefore will misunderstand your struggle. So it pays to be selective as a consumer of professional therapy services.

Past/Present Clients
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. "Independent thought" is considered their greatest "sin".

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--not religions--but totalitarian governments, who first began to illuminate the problem of religious cults around the world, which employ exactly the same tactics as totalitarian governments. His work remains a cornerstone for Cult Recovery Counselors still today. (This may be why many governments are tolerant of cults, to avoid exposing their own control tactics.)

Witnesses often experience unusually dysfunctional lives and an extensive array of personal problems stemming from broken family ties, stunted social development, inner unrest resulting from repressed doubts, inability to defend boundaries, and an extreme, persistent feeling of irrational shame. 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.

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