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Critics of Jehovah`s Witnesses/How wise are you really, Andrew?
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Question
Hi Andrew,
I have read your expertise. You basically claim that Jehovah's Witnesses are miserable in and by their teachings and that you can help by revealing what causes those problems. Do you realize that your claims are nothing new at all according to the Bible,(the real authority)?
What really can you reveal to us all ("in detail") about the "inner unrest, broken family ties, very extensive rules, absolute conformity" of the following, in case you know?
"INNER UNREST"
"I really delight in the law of God according to the man I am within, but I behold in my members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin's law that is in my members. Miserable man that I am!"
(Romans 7:22,23,24)
"BROKEN FAMILY TIES"
"And everyone that has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will recieve many times more and will inherit ever lasting life."
(Matthew 19:29)
"VERY EXTENSIVE RULES"
"For the time that has passed by is sufficient for you to have woked out the will of the nations when you proceeded in deeds of loose conduct,lusts,excesses with wine,revelries,drinking matches,and illegal idolatries. Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you."
(1Peter 4:3,4)
"Teacher which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" He said to him: "'You must love Jehovah your God with your WHOLE heart and with your WHOLE soul and with your WHOLE mind.' This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second,like it,is this, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments the WHOLE Law hangs,and the prophets."
(Matthew 22:36-40)
"ABSOLUTE CONFORMITY"
"You should put away the old personality which CONFORMS to your FORMER course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; but that YOU should be made new in the force actuating YOUR mind, and should put on the new personality which was created according to God's will in true righteousness and loyalty."
(Ephesians 4:22,23,24)
"So keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise (persons), buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on percieving what the will of Jehovah is."
(Ephesians 5:15-17)
Well there you go Andrew, consider these "defended boundaries".
Joshua
Dear Joshua,
As I have repeatedly stated, I do not discuss theology nor try to reorient the spiritual sensibilities of others. Therefore, your citation of scripture is irrelevant to me. (It is also based on your application of what scriptures are relevant to the topic, which is yours, not God's.) I do not claim to know any exclusive spiritual truth, and do not challenge yours.
Your right to choose spiritual beliefs for yourself, including your right to follow scripture as an absolute authority in your life, is yours.
My interest is in defending the integrity of families and the right of individuals to choose for themselves how to think, for freedom of choice is the reason the US Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization actually undermine freedom of choice by employing mind control tactics, and are therefore not deserving of such Constitutional protection.
Do you believe God or the bible actually advocate the destruction of families? Do you realize that your organizational policies actually do result in huge numbers of broken families and huge numbers of homeless teenagers disowned by judgemental parents? Do you realize that your organizational policies actually do result in huge numbers of suicides by people who could not live up to your human interpretation of scriptural standards? That your organizational policies exaggerate and prolong mental illness among your members?
Do your spiritual beliefs justify destroying families and causing homelessness and suicide and mental illness? Of course not.
I do not challenge your spiritual beliefs, but only your organizational policies, including most notably the organizational policy which prevents you from considering all sides of an argument (including hearing the other side of the story from an accused person). You are missing significant chapters when drawing conclusions, because your organizational policies prohibit you from considering any perspective unless it is biased in favor of your organizational policy.
This makes you blind to a spectrum of deceptions. Only recovered former Witnesses, who have considered all sides of the issues and discovered those deceptions, can have a balanced view of Witness social dynamics and the meaning of spiritual abuse and freedom of mind.
Current Witnesses who are "loyal to God" by blindly following the men they believe are appointed by God and following the doctrines (interpreted from scripture) taught by those men, disregarding the other side of every issue, have only ONE narrow and incomplete perspective.
People who want to have a complete, rounded, balanced point of view must consider more than one narrow perspective.
Believe whatever you are inspired to believe on spiritual matters. But be very careful about believing in a "spiritual" path that gives huge social and political power to men, because power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The human leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses have absolute power over 10 million lives because Witness organizational policy teaches that the organization directly represents God. That is dangerous and false.
Equating God's leadership with leadership by a body of men is blasphemy and reprehensibly exploitive.
In closing, I invite you to consider one simple question: What is the connection between the "invisible part of God's organization" and the "visible part"? If there is a connection, what is it exactly? Do your leaders receive signs from God? Do they cast the Urim and Thummim (the ancient Israelite oracle) to find God's answers to questions? Do they receive inspiration in some way that other people do not receive inspiration?
If there is no real connection, they are different organizations.
This simple reality need not affect one's spiritual sensibilities, unless one's "spiritual sensibilities" are actually socio-political rather than spiritual.
Your spirituality is not defined by intellectual process (including your ability to apply scripture to situations). True spirituality is sublime and inspired and beyond coercion or argument.
I wish for you that you find your true spirituality.
Best wishes,
Andrew
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Andrew
Expertise
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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