JW.org’s latest activity for young Witness children is to reconstruct the death of the biblical character Lot’s wife
It was the stuff of nightmares for many Witness children over the decades – the Genesis account of Lot’s wife. In the story, related in Genesis chapter 19, Lot and his family flee the doomed city of Sodom and Gomorrah under strict instructions from their angelic messengers to not “look behind” while escaping to the mountains.
As the fireballs of sulphur begin to rain down on the stricken city, Lot’s wife glances back to view the destruction and is turned into a pillar of salt. – Genesis 19:26
It seems an astonishingly heavy-handed punishment by anyone’s standards, but evidently the intended message from the passage is that absolute obedience must be observed when one is given instructions from God or his messengers.
A morbid task
Few would blame the Society for wanting to gloss over this story, particularly given other extremely unsavory details contained in the biblical account. At one point in the narrative, Lot shows an apparent willingness to allow the men of Sodom to gang rape his two daughters if they agree to leave his angelic messengers alone. (Genesis 19:6-11) Later on in the account, after fleeing Sodom, Lot’s daughters have incestuous relations with their father while he is drunk. (Genesis 19:32-36) This is clearly not a Bible account deserving of close scrutiny as far as morals are concerned. Even so, JW.org has astonishingly challenged young visitors to its official website to help recreate the moment of Lot’s wife’s demise in this story. (To see this for yourself, please click here.)
In a downloadable PDF, Witness youngsters are given the morbid task of joining the dots to finish a depiction of Lot’s wife with a look of anguish on her face as her body turns to salt. Apparently the Society feels there is nothing inappropriate in revelling in the death of a person who has been killed by God by making her agonizing execution the subject of a coloring-in exercise.
The death of Lot’s wife as depicted in the Society’s children’s book “My Book of Bible Stories”
Witness parents should be seriously concerned about material such as this, which carries the potential to desensitize children to cruel violence and retribution.
As another example, on the same page on JW.org a comic-book version of the story of Lot’s family is published. The turning of Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt is portrayed in a shockingly graphic way, with her leg first becoming trapped, and then her arm becoming encrusted with salt. All the while there is an expression of horror on her face, and a tear rolls down her cheek as the salt consumes her body. The clear impression is that, rather than dying instantly, Lot’s wife is dying in great pain and trauma – and that this pain is deserved.
A graphic depiction on the JW.org website shows the trauma and agony experienced by Lot’s wife as she turns into a pillar of salt
All of the above only serves to stigmatize disobedient people as being worthy of a cruel and painful death in the minds of loyal worshippers. No mercy should be shown toward those who dare to “disobey.” Witness parents need to ask, do they want their children to grow up as cruel and vindictive people who revel in the suffering of others?
The Society has already ramped up its hate speech towards so-called “apostates” in recent magazine articles, labelling such ones “mentally diseased” (w11 7/15 p.16) and “gangrenous” (w13 4/15 p.11). It would not be a huge stretch to suggest that this new material on JW.org is aimed at portraying precisely the sort of fate it has in mind for those who dare to challenge the directives of the Governing Body, or fail to render it unquestioned obedience.
Out of touch
Amazingly, this is not the only questionable material for children to be found on the new JW.org. Elsewhere on the website, there is another gruesome “connect the dots” challenge featuring the Bible account where King Solomon demonstrates his “wisdom” by ordering a baby to be cut in two to resolve an argument between two women both claiming to be the baby’s mother. Here is the image (to download the PDF, click here)…
Supporters of the Society would argue that the baby wasn’t actually cut in two in this account, because the whole thing was a test to prove the identity of the baby’s true mother. Nonetheless, it was an extremely reckless way to resolve a custody dispute, showing a shocking disregard for human life. Few would disagree that the graphic portrayal of a baby about to be butchered with a knife by a soldier is wholly inappropriate imagery for young children to be exposed to.
Just because an account is mentioned in the Bible, does not necessarily make it appropriate educational material for children. For example, the Bible also mentions David’s adulterous sexual relations with Bathsheba, but this is not depicted in “connect the dot” exercises for children to recreate with their crayons. Despite this, the Society evidently feels there is nothing wrong with graphically exposing young minds to the agonizing death of a women simply for looking in the wrong direction, or the violent threats made toward a defenceless infant.
The portrayal of sex is rightly deemed off limits, but it seems violence is perfectly fine if a point needs to be made. It is almost as though the brothers responsible for producing this material are completely out of touch, or have no parental experience or instincts to tell them what is appropriate for children and what isn’t.
Indoctrinating a new generation
All of this comes less than nine months after the Society released its notorious children’s DVD “Become Jehovah’s Friend: Listen, Obey and Be Blessed,” which featured the exploits of young Caleb and his ill-fated Sparlock wizard toy. The DVD met with widespread condemnation towards the Society’s blatant attempt at controlling the minds of young ones by compromising their logical reasoning ability and stigmatizing such harmless items as magical toys.
These latest apparent attempts at moulding young minds by desensitizing Witness children to brutal justice and the death of disobedient people are just as appalling. It all represents further evidence that there are no depths the Society will not sink to in their efforts to draw total obedience from future generations.
A related Youtube video…
This is a joke right? They haven’t actually gotten to this open level of Jim Jones style propaganda and inculcating indoctrination?
This is desperately serious! As if it wasn’t before, it’s becoming patently obvious in a public and transparent way at this point…
Words fail me. This is just vile. Thanks for sharing as I’d never have found this myself, I mean who wants to visit jw.org anyway?
The ‘joke’ is on the witnesses, the Watchtower knows very well what it is doing.
If only this were April 1 – then I might laugh. But the jws don’t even do April fools.
This connect the dots is wrong on so many levels.
Advertise, advertise, advertise the WTS for what it is – a mind control cult
Why not just teach the little ones hell fire !!
That Bible Stoory Book For children should be rated Adult. The WT made sure they put the grafic pictures in for the little ones that cant read yet.
.
So what are the little ones that cant read seeing ?
> Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden with the animals then being put out never to return with both so very sad ,, the next is a picture of Cain killing his breother Abel then next is the flood , every one, including the lovely animals drown in a flood , except eight humans on the ark, then comes Abraham about to kill his son, who was a OBEDIENT son,, then theres Lot and his Wife who was turned to stone and on -on-on
Tell me is it wise for a 3-4-5- year old to even look at this Childrens book.
Its been said , ” how well trained the JW witness children are.”
Is it any wonder !.
Does this make for a healthy mind. ?
I dont think so. Its mind control, using the weapon of fear.
The fear is DEATH.
After viwing those pictures all the parent has to say to their little one is ” we dont want to make Jehovah angrey. DO we “?
Of course they are going to be obedient, they certainly arent being taught the love of God , but instead a very unhealthy fear of Jehovah. Satan has put them on the path to worship for the wrong reasons .Then to be molested as a child from with in, and be made a liar when they resent this act commited againt them, is unforgivable.. How could they ever learn as a child to love Jehovah withg their whole heart ,soul and mind. They are not beeing given that chice. The governing body know what they are doing.
Silent Lambs indeed.
It is worse than that. The page it connects to is here: http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/family-worship-projects/lot-family/
The pictures of Lot’s wife turning into salt in the story is horrific. I loved the story of Lot and his wife when I was a JW kid. But this ramps up the horror. I am seriously worried about JW kids today. Even the scripture in Psalms refers to those who leave (i.e. apostates). They keep talking and talking about apostates.
It is disturbing on levels I never previously thought possible.
As disturbing as this picture is, it is not as disturbing as the pictures the Mormons had their children coloring in the church history museum across the street from the Mormon temple in downtown Salt Lake City. Would you believe they had PENTAGRAMS for the children to color?
When it comes to showing you have hate in your heart towards others by the way you talk about them, the Watchtower would do well to read Jesus words ……………..”YOU heard that it was said, ‘YOU must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU; that YOU may prove yourselves sons of YOUR Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. For if YOU love those loving YOU, what reward do YOU have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? And if YOU greet YOUR brothers only, what extraordinary thing are YOU doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? YOU must accordingly be perfect, as YOUR heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-47.
If apostates are viewed as enemies of the Watchtower then
the Watchtower has a big problem, …… with Jesus words above.
Great point Willows. That gives me an idea for my Quick Questions For Jehovah’s Witnesses YouTube series.
“Your family can have fun learning about events, people, and places in the Bible!” – jw.org
Hi Cedars. I tried to post a comment on this page but it told me it was ‘invalid’ and would go to the spam bin. Is it because I’m putting URLs in my comments? I do this because I believe that when a claim is made, evidence must be produced. I try to do this.
Frank V
Hi Frank, unfortunately the spam setting are a law unto themselves and need to be in order to keep this website afloat. If you have trouble including a URL in your comment, I suggest you just mention the domain name and give instructions on how to find the page. It’s tiresome but unfortunately we need our tight spam settings in order to protect this site. Your patience is appreciated.
This is a subject many agnostics and atheists feel they need to highlight about religion; do we really get our morals from the Bible?
I’m with Dawkins on this – did this even happen? Probably not.
Publisher: Brother Dick, I’m struggling with whether or not I should get my 5-year-old to join the dots on the picture of Lot’s wife at the time of her execution. Did this even happen?
Elder: We know it did happen because the Bible says it did. This should be all we need to have faith in this truth and that we have a lesson your children should learn about obedience to God.
Publisher: Is there any archaeological evidence for this story?
Elder: Archaeology, if found, merely confirms that the Bible is correct, but they have found large deposits of salt in the district. There’s even a pillar of salt that is called “Lot’s wife.”
Publisher: Has anything been found to show that the Israelites wandered in the desert, for instance? I was looking for the evidence on archaeological sites and there seems to be nothing found directly demonstrating that they were even there.
Elder: Again, the Bible says there were, so there were, but, of course, logically, the sand would have destroyed all vestige of them.
Publisher: I know that the Israelites would break camp and take all their belongings with them, but the Bible says those who died in the Wilderness were buried. Why haven’t they found at least one set of human remains – there were hundreds of thousands who left Egypt, weren’t there?
Elder: Well, the desert is an unforgiving place, and don’t forget that the Bible said it happened.
Publisher: I’ve found this interesting site showing photographs of someone called Egyptian Predynastic Man. It’s a slave who wasn’t mummified and was just thrown into the sand for burial. The body is dated at over 5,000 years ago, so my question is: if the Israelites died 1500 years after this man, why is it that modern archaeologists can’t find anything at all of their remains, seeing as so many would have died in the wilderness?
Elder: ……, but the Bible says…..
Lesson: Beware of teaching young, innocent, and malleable minds ancient cautionary tales.
Yeah Frank, as a history teacher I’ve always wondered why the million people wandering the Sinai Peninsular for 40 years never left a trace of remains, midden heaps from all those quail bones, evidence of their metallurgy, or anything else for that matter.
And on the subject of this dot-to-dot, it reminds me of those whacky fundamentalists who use this sort of thing to frighten people. An old friend of mine who grew up Catholic said the priests used to frighten him with hellfire, and he grew up terrified of God.
Same thing, different name.
And finally, all those who expose these disgusting teachings will be called “Apostates!”. Have look on the programme of the District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses 2013 ‘GOD’S WORD
IS TRUTH!’.
On Saturday’s programme at 11:10 you will find Symposium: Beware of Apostates!
Satan (John 8:44)
HumanApostates (1 John 2:19)
And guess what you will find on Sunday’s programme at 3:20! The Truth Brings “Not Peace,But a Sword” (Matthew10:32-38)
The Truth Brings “Not Peace,But a Sword” so, “The Truth IS IN ACTION, Bringing “Not Peace, But a Sword” in our children’s mind!!! How long will the world keep silent? IT IS HIGH TIME WE ASKED, LIKE Pilate “What is truth?” (John 18:38).
It is disturbing. Is obvious the gb is so out of touch.
What a sick,twisted cult.They seem clueless.
I would never let my kids do the dot connecting or coloring. It’s too morbid. When my children were just 2 and 4, i quit using the bible stories because I could not stomach reading the stories of violent stuff. Page after page were all full of violence and stuff.
Can someone tell me where to find the 2013 convention page.. I want to send it to a friend of mine to let them know that they are talking about us, apostates!
It is sick and twisted and if the GB think these dot to dot activities are suitable for small children then perhaps the authorities will be the only ones to get through to them that they are wholly inappropraite and even quite possibly psychologically damaging.
I disagree with your argument. If any thing leads to a slow groping over-coming result, let it be known. But the Bible doesnt say the salt grew upon her to torture her. In fact nothing in all the science that jehovah creates does salt in volcanism and explosion grow like a slow disease. Even a man in Hawaii who fell thru the Lava crust did not slowly sink down into torturous minutes of dying. Color it if you wish as a warning, but the issue here is TRUTH and did jehovah do that, does he do that. The simple fact of the whole story is that they could have left any time before sunrise (the predicted time) and been far away. She slowed them down the whole way. It is not oh i looked, now i die. The scripture does not say that is what happened on the morn of 1918bc July 18. BUT yes it does say that date, because truth is said between the lines the same way lies are said between the lines. The words dont make the truth; the words are merely an attempt to convey that truth. Some times i think those who publish WatchTower articles are just like you people who merely say anything and everything opposite of what they say or others say. It isnt a search for truth but a search to defy for God, as others defy against God. But defy truth, and youre not with God. WHAT IF: Jesus had his 12 apostles write and publish articles for his 3 1/2 years. Do you think they express Jesus as he is, or in ways they insisted they were hearing him. Would you b.e happy to read an article by Judas approved by Jesus, and be angry to find out it was trash lies? Would you kill Jesus for the trash article Judas the anonymous writer wrote. In the end, it is Judas who will kill his own master when it is Judas who was wrong. Yet all of you guilty saying we did it could face the same result as when Jesus died. He lives, and his LAST armageddon prediction comes true. Tread lightly, because the wickedness you uncover may not be the Governing Body but the Bethel messengers causing all this crap. Even Mordecai said to Esther this is your hour so take it or you will be replaced by Jehovah.
Elijahovah – your arguments are irrational and poorly supported. You say: “She [Lot's wife] slowed them down the whole way.” That is pure supposition and not supported by scripture.
The look on Lot’s wife face, both in the cartoon and the connect-the-dot shows a look of agony. There is even a tear rolling down the cheek in the cartoon. None of this is in the bible. The Society deliberately made this appear a traumatic and painful death to ramp up the indoctrination value of the account, i.e. disobedience = painful death. Listen, obey, and don’t be killed in an excruciating way. If you can’t see that, you’re under a fair bit of mind control yourself. And if you think this is suitable material for children to be coloring in, then I suggest you never become a parent.
You also say: “Tread lightly, because the wickedness you uncover may not be the Governing Body but the Bethel messengers causing all this crap.” The Governing Body is supposed to be in total control of their organization. If they are not in control of the organization in even the slightest sense, then they aren’t the “Faithful Slave” giving spiritual food at the proper time. You can’t excuse them with such a feeble argument and still support them as God’s chosen stewards.
Well said, Cedars. The main achievement of this religion is the use of emotional arguments to keep people with their bums on seats. The use of fear is universal and clearly historical. Whether it’s the fear of eternal torment or being deprived of their family and life from eternal destruction doesn’t matter.
Tell me, Eli…. Do you think God sees life as sacred or not?
Frank V
I had to think about this picture for a few days before I commented, as I’ve only recently discovered the child abuse/WT deception issues. I questioned myself, as a mother of a teen, if I would have noticed how disturbing this children’s activity was when my daughter was younger. I hope I would have. It’s amazing the amount of things we can dismiss or gloss over regarding WT stepping out of their bounds, when we were suffering from cognitive dissonance. Lately, they seem to be pushing non-thinking obedience, extreme shunning and the most excessive amount of donation requests I’ve ever heard as a born-in. Glad I’m on my way out.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts as a parent on this Ann. I’m not a parent myself (yet), but if I were I’m sure I would need to do some soul-searching. So much material for children gets thrown at Witness parents, and such ones simply aren’t programmed to think of any of it as inappropriate. It’s only when you take a step back and try to think objectively from a purely human standpoint that you start to realise just how harmful this stuff is. I’m glad that, for your children’s sake, you as a mother are capable of doing that.
Wow, now that I saw the whole comic strip (I thought JW’s weren’t really supposed to be reading those years ago), the whole thing is inappropriate! Is this really the account with ALL of the details that they have glossed over, that should be producing for children??? Sick. I’ll have to throw some feelers out about this to the mother’s of younger children and get their feedback.
I’m now on a mission (after finding out about the Candace Conti case) of trying to ask pointed questions to get a few to wake up, before I totally fade.
Hi Ann – if you’re looking to fade, I would be careful with your JW friends. There is only so much you can say to them before they start to get suspicious. Remember, they have spent years being indoctrinated to have greater loyalty for the organization than for you. Most of the time it’s best to say nothing and just slip away quietly. If someone expresses their own doubts, you can certainly help them along with their reasoning process. Other than that, there simply isn’t much you can do unless your aim is to leave the organization. I hope this advice helps, even if it isn’t what you want to hear!
Cedars,
This release was very interesting…you make a fair comment when you state…
….potential to desensitize children to cruel violence and retribution…..in my view there are a lot of area’s that customs and traditions of men (generations of JW’s) take a principle too far and stop others for making it a matter of conscience…I do agree that jw.org has glossed over the details
However, what is your view of the actual Bible account?
I believe the account is true and it serves as a lesson….when we are living amoung ones who do not share our practices we need to be kind and careful, if we can’t move anywhere that is better….and we may tell our children what they need to know in an age appropriate way.
What I really disaprove of in the jw.org site is, the fact that we have to use our own printing paper and ink and many are making contributions to the worwide printing work, but the funds are being used for a new site in the US….
Cedars,
Please forgive my impertinence, however when I read this account in the Bible (Gen19:6-11), my glass is half full…..
I see a very scared man, Lot, a city of anarchy and Jehovah. Lot has clearly got torn loyalties and prepared to allow his precious daughter’s to be gang raped in the name of God, but did the turn of events prove this true?
The account here does not say. The rapists went blind and only states that the messenger saved the daughters along with the others.
I have not had the extensive WT theology training you have, but I read the Bible and I love Jehovah, if StillHaveFaith is reading do you have a comment about this WT article and Bible account?
Warm Regards
xxx
stuff like this always bugged me as a kid. i wasn’t a allowed to read comic books becuase they were too “violent”, so back to the bible story book with images of a man about to cut a baby in half with a short sword. much better. Or the story of Dinah rape, good subject for little kids to be accustomed with. their treatment and “inculcation” would be viewed as mental and emotional child abuse by anyone familiar with the subject. Not to mention they encourage physical violence on children.
These “kings and priests” should be drawn and quarted for the damage they’ve caused.
Another Goebbels workout,Lot’s wife was instantly transformed, all the body converted into salt, not in slow motion. No suffering,no agony.
You did it again WTO, disinformation.
Well, if nothing else was accomplished by this article and the violence laced publishing and artwork by the Society that prompted it? It showed the very real propensity and deep seated potential towards violence that the Society and Governing Body has and always had being finally slowly revealed as well as the callousness that they possess towards it! It also shows how they are more than willing to convey and express that to others which I dearly hope will NOT result in a desperate and deadly, final act at some point soon such as was the case with Jim Jones and Heavan’s Gate and other cults who were eventually left with very few options but to concede to their failures! That is my primary concern for those at Bethel and elsewhere as I see more and more desperate, bizzare and outrageous behavior…