AboutDerrick Holland Expertise I was raised in the religion known as Jehovah`s Witnesses for 13 years. Since becoming a born-again Christian, I have researched extensively this religion, especially their doctrines and their history. I can answer questions about their doctrines from the perspective of Biblical Christianity.
Experience 23 years of Biblical research into the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and how they differ from the teachings of the Watchtower.
What was the turning point in your life that led you to turn your back on the Watchtower
Answer Hello, and thank you for the question.
My experience with the Jehovah's Witnesses was that of being raised in the religion for all of my childhood, as well as my early teen years. I never became a baptized member of this Organization, however, because of my life-long association with them, I am very familiar with their doctrines and beliefs.
Because of my not ever being a baptized member, there was nothing dramatic that happened in my life, that I would call a "turning point", that is until I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Due to my parent's divorce (my dad was a non-Witness and my mom was a JW), and my mom's subsequent remarriage to a JW man in the congregation, I was allowed some exposure to other churches also, later on. Since my week-ends were split between both parents, I attended both the Kingdom Hall and the church my dad had started going to, which had some beliefs similar to those of the JWs, but many differences.
At about the age of 12, or so, I tried reading the Bible for myself, just to see who was right and who was wrong. Though I didn't get it all figured out then, I could clearly see that the JWs were wrong in their teaching on Hell. There were too many plain Scriptures that simply couldn't be interpreted any other way, and still be true to the context. Finally, as a teenager, I came to the point where I couldn't care less who was right, or who was wrong. I knew that there was a God, but really didn't have time for Him, or a place in my life for Him. I simply had no desire for ANY religion whatsoever.
I am saying all that to say this....I did not leave the Watchtower and go directly into a Christian Church immediately. I, like many people, had a time when I simply wanted to do what I wanted to do.
At the age of 15, I was invited to a gospel music concert by some friends, and I went because I happened to have nothing else to do. It was then that I heard the true gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, and for the first time, I fully realized that I was a sinner separated from God, and that I needed a Savior. Two weeks later, I went back to the same church, and asked Jesus Christ to be my personal Savior, and forgive me of my sins. At that moment, everything changed, and I mean EVERYTHING! It was as if I saw everything in a new light, and my only desire was to do the will of God, and serve Him.
At that point, I still knew little to nothing about Bible doctrine, but as I began to grow in God's Word, I gradually saw where more and more of the Watchtower teachings were false. At that time, I decided that I needed to study this religion, its history, its teachings, etc. because of my family that still belonged to the religion. I read everything I could get my hands on, including many JW publications as well.
And herein lies a major problem....JWs ONLY read what the Society allows them to read, and they are not to read ANYTHING criticial of the religion. Anything that is written which exposes the facts concerning this religion, is simply labelled as "apostate literature", and avoided. Therefore, the JWs do not have a full history of their own religion. I have seen it so many times on this board....Someone will ask a JW about the history of their religion, and they are only given an extremely polished history, with many facts omitted. And when a person exposes some of these facts to a JW, the JW gets extremely defensive, and often lashes out at the person. And this is because many JWs have never studied both sides of the issue.
Anyway, I know this was lengthy, but I felt it was necessary to fully answer your question. I had pretty much come to disbelieve some of the Watchtower teachings, even before becoming a born again Christian. It was at that point that I took an interest in examining this religion to the extent that I have.
If you have any further questions, or if I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.
