A Russian court has ruled that JW.org should be banned throughout the Federation
A Russian court has ruled that JW.org should be banned throughout the Federation

JW.org has issued a press release warning that it is due to be banned in Russia if Watchtower is unsuccessful in appealing a Russian court’s decision against the website.

According to the report, the decision dates back to August 7, 2013 when the Tsentralniy District Court (100 miles north of Moscow) ruled that the website should be banned throughout the Russian Federation.

An appeal against this decision is scheduled for today, January 22, 2014. If Watchtower fails, promoting their website will become a criminal act in the country.

JW.org is already banned in mainland China.

***UPDATE – since this article was published, JWsurvey has learned that the ban was overturned on appeal. Click here for more details (Russian news article).***

The news comes only days after a Russian newspaper reported that a court in the country had declared several Watchtower brochures “extremist.”

According to the report, “the prosecutor’s office said that analyses by linguistic experts had concluded that the brochures contained propaganda that promoted the superiority of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and denigrated other faiths as false.”

Those like myself who believe Watchtower publications are strewn with propaganda will welcome such findings. However, the labelling of the organization as “extremist” would be far more credible coming from a country whose government is not itself considered extremist by many people due to its perceived corruption and lack of democratic transparency.

Sadly, it seems it takes an extremist to spot an extremist.

A dubious press release

The JW.org press release, apparently designed to draw attention to the website’s impending censorship and stir up opinion against it, enlists the support of a Russian academic in hailing JW.org as a “gift.”

“Commenting on the website, Yekaterina Elbakyan, Doctor of Philosophy and expert in religious studies who serves as a professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations in Moscow, says that jw.org is ‘a gift for anybody who is engaged in religious research. It provides comprehensive and understandable material. Significant spiritual and moral issues are presented in a simple way. When you use the website, you feel like you are being openly welcomed into the home of Jehovah’s Witnesses.'”

Ekaterina Elbakyan has proved to be generous with her endorsements
Ekaterina Elbakyan has proved to be generous with her endorsements

And so, it would seem, a neutral academic and expert on religion has given JW.org her glowing endorsement. But wait, who is Yekaterina Elbakyan? And what other organizations has she been willing to endorse in the recent past?

After a brief search on Google, we find the same “academic” lavishing similar praise on the Church of Scientology, as quoted in the book Ordinary Anti-Cultism by Sergey Ivanenko (Ivanenko being another Russian “scholar” with an inexplicable urge to support cults in Russia for motives best known to himself).

ekaterina-elbakyan-scientolAnd so, in trying to position itself as a legitimate religion worthy of respect, it seems Watchtower is all too willing to run under the same protective umbrella as the Church of Scientology with its blatant quackery and charlatanry.

Whether Dr Elbakyan is motivated by truth or her bank balance in defending cults like Watchtower and Scientology seemingly on demand is a question best answered by her (or her accountant), but she is clearly not an authority to be trusted when appraising the merits of a religion if she is so unscrupulous in throwing around her endorsements.

A “trusted information source?”

As expected, the JW.org press release also features endorsements from Watchtower representatives, who can hardly be considered unbiased.

Speaking at the end of the article, Watchtower’s PR kingpin J.R. Brown has this to say…

“The jw.org website is valued both as a research tool and as a trusted information source for families all over the world. It is so valued that an average of 900,000 people visit the site every day to access positive information available in some 600 languages. Censoring this material is clearly unwarranted.”

Nobody would question whether families of Jehovah’s Witnesses trust the information on JW.org, but whether they are right to do so is another matter entirely.

This website has already exposed a number of misleading statements in the FAQs section of JW.org that paint a picture of the organization that is unrecognizable from reality. As just one example, JW.org’s answer to the question “Do You Feel That You Are The Only People Who Will Be Saved?” begins with the word “No!”

In making his statement, Brown continues his unenviable task of spinning Watchtower to the world’s media as a benign and even beneficial religion when it is anything but.

To see another demonstration of Brown’s impressive ability to spin the organization in a way that is media-friendly, you may find the following video enlightening.

Scrutiny, not censorship

I can’t deny having some sense of relief that a website that lies so blatantly about its practices and manipulates children might suddenly become unavailable to the good people of Russia. Heaven knows many Russians have enough on their plates without being hoodwinked into joining a harmful self-centered cult that ruins so many families, my own included.

But this relief is tinged with a sense of foreboding. I am a believer in the free internet, and any talk of censorship no matter how justified does not sit well with me.

It would be much better if governments could zero in on material that incites hatred and trespasses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights rather than introducing blanket bans on entire websites or the activities of religious organizations. To censor in this way only stirs the persecution complex among cults, and stokes belief among cult followers that Satan’s system is against them and the end of the world must be imminent.

If a certain article or FAQ page is found to contain false or misleading information, of which there are ample examples on JW.org, why not impose penalties or pursue legal avenues aimed at getting the specific material removed or corrected? Censoring an entire website on the assumption that ALL material is false seems draconian and heavy-handed, and threatens free speech for all.

That said, it would be nice if Western governments could pay such close attention to what Watchtower is saying and doing. The likes of Russia and China have their own not-so-noble motives for clamping down on the organization and snuffing out any perceived threat to locally entrenched religious or political authority.

The day when fair and proportionate action is taken against Watchtower by a democratic nation motivated by genuine concern for the welfare of its citizens and the upholding of human rights will be a day worth celebrating, but it is not upon us yet.

 

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Further reading…

221 thoughts on “Russia threatens ban of JW.org – but is it something to celebrate?

  • January 31, 2014 at 9:15 am
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    Rowland,
    the problem is that people take advantage of “ignorance” and use “god” as a weapon to destroy weak minds like does the Governing Body of the Watchtower society.

    “You cannot avoid all contact with people who are not serving God—those at work, at school, or in your neighborhood. (1 Cor. 5:9, 10) You realize, however, that if you choose such ones as friends, you might well compromise your friendship with God.”(jr chap. 5 p. 57 par. 4)!

    Thinking of avoiding your fellow humans or KILLING THEM to please a god is the most stupid a man can do!!

  • January 31, 2014 at 3:41 pm
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    Rowland, I thought about what you said and I think I see your point. I wonder though, if it’s not a tendancy, maybe a convenient way for some people (including me), to think about an anthropomorphic God. It’s indeed such an abstract idea …

  • February 11, 2014 at 6:22 am
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    Frank quoted JW.org’s answer to the question: “Do You Feel That You Are the Only People Who Will Be Saved?”

    “No. Many millions who lived in centuries past and who weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses will have an opportunity for salvation. The Bible explains that in God’s promised new world, “”there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”” (Acts 24:15) Additionally, many now living may yet begin to serve God, and they too will gain salvation. In any case, it’s not our job to judge who will or won’t be saved. That assignment rests squarely in Jesus’ hands.—John 5:22, 27.”

    The spin doctoring is incredible, as Frank also pointed out. Clearly they don’t want to talk about the less savory aspects of their own doctrine, such as the imminent “global holocaust” (that exact phrase has occurred in Watchtower literature).

    HERE is what the honest answer to the question “Do You Feel That You Are the Only People Who Will Be Saved?” might look like:

    “Essentially yes, as far as the living generation is concerned. Sane adult people who are alive when Armageddon soon comes will unquestionably be destroyed forever, unless they have become Jehovah’s Witnesses. We are not entirely certain how Jehovah will deal with small children and the mentally ill; they may or may not be destroyed. People who die before Armageddon comes, including generations long gone, will however normally receive a resurrection and have a second chance to serve God. An unknown number will avail themselves of it and gain eternal life; those who do not will eventually be destroyed. Thus there will ultimately be no human being alive who does not worship our God, and the followers of our religion will indeed be the only ones saved.”

  • February 13, 2014 at 1:03 am
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    sure bro! back then there were powerful people like pharaoh,nebcanneza,herode.where are they?may i ask in this world who is cedar

  • February 13, 2014 at 3:57 am
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    Frida, could you please rephrase that, so that we may actually understand what point you are trying to make and what your question is really about?

    Are you saying that since certain powerful people presented as antagonists in the Bible are now long dead, we should ignore Cedars as well, especially since (unlike Herod, Nebuchadnezzar etc.) he doesn’t even have any political power “in this world” to begin with?

    If you can be bothered to actually read his blog, you will see that he relies on the strength of his arguments, not some kind of royal title.

  • February 13, 2014 at 6:06 am
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    frida,

    I do not understand your comment.

    What point were you trying to make?

    If you read history, you will find that the Babylonians conquered Israel back in the day!

    All the people you mention are now dead, because homo sapiens are mortal. All the righteous people alive at that time are dead too.

    Who in the world is John Cedars?

    He is a decent, honourable human being who is working hard to expose the grave problems and crimes in the WTBTS.

    Peace be with you

    Excelsior!

  • February 27, 2014 at 3:18 am
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    I lived in Russia for 3 years and can tell you that it is not only the site that is under ban, but the cult in question also. Several overseers (American) have already been deported from the HQ near St Petersburg, and the Supreme Court is about to decide on “full ban” on the Witnesses in Russia. They are banned at the moment and cannot go from door to door and can only speak if spoken to, but a full ban is expected when the Supreme Court in Moscow makes its final decision.

    • April 28, 2017 at 11:22 am
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      As with most people who respond to this site the truth is a goal that many seem unwilling to seek.
      With regard to this post, a worldly saying, lie down with dogs and you will get flees. Scriptural principle Bad association spoil useful habits. Hence you need to remove individuals who are a risk to your spirituality. Would it be good for a a recovering from a drink problem, to spend his days in the company of those who drink. I think not !!!
      Get a grip and look at the principle and not the bitter and twisted mindset of those who claim enlightenment and a vocation to teach, but in fact utter the statements of the father of the lie, now theres are real piece of research for you to do

      • April 28, 2017 at 2:43 pm
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        @Steve,
        Thanks for that Steve. And what exactly are you doing commenting at this site?

      • April 28, 2017 at 3:02 pm
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        I have researched the Watchtower organisation thoroughly, its history, doctrines and leading personalities.

        None of its claims stands up to scrutiny. It is a public menace. Time it was wound up.

  • March 7, 2014 at 12:29 pm
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    And if they are right, you are in big trouble just like in the days of Noah! I cannot believe you children are devoting so much time to a group that you believe is wrong. It tells me that they MUST be right because God’s TRUE people would be persecuted for preaching about his KINGDOM and dispensing TRUTH not escapism by “rapture” and all of that hogwash.
    Shouldn’t you be out their doing the work that your leader commanded you to do like, “Go therefore and preach this good news of the Kingdom” instead of spewing your negative garbage from your mouth?

    • April 17, 2017 at 3:59 pm
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      @Gary,
      There are those of us doing what you say, that is going house to house. But we see something wrong. We are in what you would call God’s true organization, and we are being mentally and emotionally traumatised. And we are thinking, “How is this possible from the true religion?” And then we see sites like this and it all falls into place. At last we can understand why. Because it isn’t the true religion.

      But don’t misunderstand. We still do the work of preaching, like you recommended. We go out with our fellow witnesses. But we no longer direct people to the organization, where we have suffered so much. No, now we direct them to the Bible.

      But a question for you, Gary. Paul said we could be doing all sorts of fantastic things for God, but that if we didn’t have love it was all useless, we were like clanging bits of metal. Why is there a culture of bullying in the leadership of the witnesses, causing trauma to the little sheep? Shouldn’t love be the prime quality we see displayed by our leadership? Isn’t this making all their efforts worthless?

  • March 7, 2014 at 12:32 pm
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    If they are wrong then let them be they will go away
    …if they are right you will find yourselves fighters actually against GOD and his Son.

    • March 7, 2014 at 12:45 pm
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      I know JWs are wrong, just as I know Al Quaedr are wrong. Both groups are a menace to civilised society and their horrors need to be exposed. Most non Al Quaedr members know of the cruelty of Al Quaedr. JWs are more subtle. Many imagine them to be just a dotty but harmless bunch of religious enthusiasts.

      Hence their crimes re. deaths from lack of blood transfusion, their terrible track record of broken families through shunning, their institutionalised sheltering of pedophiles, their nightmare inducing Armageddon nonsense, and their stunting of lives through their sneering at higher education are not known widely enough. Hence the campaign, largely by ex JWs, to enlighten the world about this grubby little corner of Christendom and to hasten its reform or its demise.

      • April 17, 2017 at 12:37 pm
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        ” a menace to civilised society ”

        Therein lies the lesson regarding jwsurvey.

        • April 17, 2017 at 4:01 pm
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          @x,
          You certainly had a lot of substance with that comment. Thanks for contributing so much. It was hardly worth reading that.

    • March 7, 2014 at 4:32 pm
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      Gary, your IF …. IF’s, you can apply them to hundreds of religions in the world today, among which several proclaim an upcoming Judgement Day …

      What is going to help you to find which one of those is the right one ?

      Do you really think that people are going to die for chosing the shorter straw ? Is this the image you make yourself of Almighty God, who is Love ?

  • March 7, 2014 at 4:52 pm
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    Gary, by your twisted logic, anything that is decried must be the right thing to do.

    The reason we spend time on this site, is because we are doing what Jesus asked us to do. To show mercy to people. We have come to know that the WTBTS are wrong about many things. They have overseen and condoned behaviour that is immoral. Many rank and file witnesses are unaware of what is going on. The merciful thing to do is attempt to set them free.

    Your reference to us as children is insulting. I am a man. I follow my conscience in attempting to help people by testifying to the wrongs of the WTBTS.

    I do not fear your God or his judgement. I am confident that any God who is Love would find no enemy in me. Indeed, he would find a human being who tries to do what is right.

    Peace be with you

    Excelsior!

  • April 19, 2014 at 7:26 pm
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    I have known the Jehovah Witnesses for 40 years since several of my family members are. You criticize others for being hateful but you seem to be such a hateful and bitter person and it seems that you yourself twist facts. The witnesses I have known are genuinely the most loving people I have ever known. You just spew hatred all over the place. Don’t you have anything better to do?

    • April 19, 2014 at 8:36 pm
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      All the ex Jehovah’s Witnesses I have come across wish those still within the organisation well. Any hatred is directed towards the JW bosses who abuse their authority and seem to enjoy controlling, through the use of fear, every thought and action of the JW flock.

      You are quite right, Debbie. On a personal level most Jehovah’s Witnesses are perfectly decent people. Their minds, however, have been manipulated quite perversely by their controllers.

      Thus they genuinely believe that people like you and me, non Jehovah’s Witnesses, are guilty of a capital crime and deserve an imminent execution at the the hands of Jehovah on Armageddon day.

      That is the Jehovah’s Witness central and ruling obsession. They look forward, Debbie Bishop, to your imminent and deserved execution for your failure to attend the Kingdom Hall regularly and your failure to spend all your available spare time as an unpaid mag. distributor for a corrupt global publishing and property corporation.

      • October 2, 2015 at 2:00 pm
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        I think the key word is ‘EX’ obviously they would be bitter towards any elders who kicked them out of the place.
        It is the responsibility that those who watch over the flock of witnesses.I know Witnesses my sister and grandfather, who have told me that getting kicked out is called being disfellowship. When a witness does something that isn’t in harmony with gods standards or starts to act in a way that can harm the ‘congregation’ they need to be put out in order to protect others in the Flock. BUT its a “strike three thing” meaning they give you a chance to redeem yourself if you are truly sorry and don’t do it again then your fine but if you do your disfellowshipped .They can come back at any time if they repent and when the elders(those who watch over the congregation)feel the sincerity of their repentance,they are welcomed back with open arms.
        This also makes me think about what you said when you said that they are being controlled by ” the JW bosses who abuse their authority and seem to enjoy controlling, through the use of fear, every thought and action of the JW flock.” From me experience I Know that you are not forced to do anything.When I chose to study no one told me, forced me, or scolded me for not wanting to.Also when I decided to stop studying I didn’t get any backlash and I didn’t feel any hostility,in fact from time to time some JW’s come to visit me just to say hi, and see how i’m doing.They even bring me literature every once in a while which I like.They do everything generously and wholeheartedly.
        I also know that to be a JW you have to get baptized, this is something that nobody else can do for you they see how well you know about Jehovah(their god) and they see if you wholeheartedly love Jehovah that is something that you are in control of and if they feel that you don’t love Jehovah with your whole heart then they won’t let you get baptized until they feel that you do.They would never Force you to love Jehovah or give you backlash if they feel that you don’t wholeheartedly love him yet.Also the same goes for those who want to leave JW’s flock.its their choices and consequences.Your not held hostage forced or scolded because you want to leave;they just don’t associate with you anymore. After being baptized and deciding to leave Jehovah you are saying that you are no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
        I have went to A JW place once or twice and they are the most loving honest people I have every meet.Unlike churches who have put priest above everyone and only let privileged members talk and associate with them;JW’s have elders who put themselves in the same level as other.Your able to talk and laugh and enjoy conversations with them and they talk to you as if they were your friend for 5 years.but to get back to what i was saying those friends you say told you they were wrongly put out by men who abused their power are just bitter.It is said that JW’s are no part of the world meaning they don’t get involved with politics and they don’t closely associate with people who are not witnesses,so if they were real JW’s they would not be your friend.
        I’m not a JW but I do love them and I love how they carry themselves.I also feel that they are the only people who really know,understand,and really teaches what the bible says so i”m not against them at all.I think that like most people they’re wonderful,but I think that there is just something so special about them.

    • April 19, 2014 at 11:37 pm
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      Hi Debbie. It seems you are putting words in my mouth. I don’t hate Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have many friends and family members who are still Witnesses and I love them dearly. It is the Watch Tower Society I have an issue with, not Jehovah’s Witnesses in general. I believe the Society has policies and teachings that are actually detrimental to Witnesses, and I seek to draw attention to these.

  • April 28, 2014 at 7:49 am
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    I am sorry i do not feel manipulated. I must say i felt completely mislead by mainstream religion who allows an anything goes mentality. It is ok to be homosexual (Romans 1:25-27) live together I Corinthians 6:9-11) Jesus is God (John 14:28). Not to brag but my IQ is 117 and all i say is people should do research and not just listen to anyone.

    • April 28, 2014 at 8:11 am
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      Laura, the reason people on this website are able to be critical and objective about Watchtower and its policies is not because of a lack of research but BECAUSE of research. When you give yourself permission to undertake a no-holds-barred examination of the history and teachings of Watchtower, what you find is a cult-like organization riddled with scandals and harmful policies that cannot claim to be better than any other religion.

      If you cherish a judgmental approach towards homosexuals and people who live out of wedlock, you will find any number of non-Witness Christian denominations who enthusiastically adopt the same approach – some of which also refute the trinity. Many of these don’t impose shunning of family members and value the preservation of life over clinging to an extremely narrow-minded approach to scriptures dealing with blood.

      But the question should not be “how do Jehovah’s Witnesses compare to other religions.” The question should be “are Jehovah’s Witnesses God’s one true organization on earth, as they claim to be, or not?” I encourage you to approach that question honestly and objectively if you can bring yourself to do so. Hint – if you pursue that question ONLY in Watchtower publications, the answer will of course always be “yes.”

    • April 28, 2014 at 8:50 am
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      Laura- I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. It was the worst part of my childhood by far. The idea that God was due to execute the bulk of the world’s population before the end of the 20th century for the capital crime of non Kingdom Hall attendance and failure to go door knocking with a bag of WT mags., gave me nightmares.

      Regarding research, I know that the authority of the Watchtower Gov. Bod. depends on the veracity of their claim to being the Faithful and Discreet Slave as referred to by Jesus in Matt. 24. I have asked countless JWs to provide evidence to support that claim. None has done so. The reason is simple. There is no evidence.

      Has your research, Laura, provided you with any evidence? If it has, please share it with us.

  • April 28, 2014 at 8:48 am
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    I have news for you I grew up baptist and checked into many many religions before becoming a Jehovah Witness. You will find that most ex Jehovah Witnesses are such because they chose not to live by Bible principals. I have no problem with anyone living any way they want. It is just ashamed that they delude themselves into thinking God approves. Disfellowshiping is a last result after someone has been directed to the Bible to correct something and has blatantly chose not to. Just when you have a child that is incorrigible you discipline them out of love that is what disfellowshiping is. Most people who get disfellowshiped are glad they got themselves together. I know it is the popular thing to just let people do what they want and nothing comes of it,but what does that teach and just as you would not keep turning your back on your childs bad behavior neither does Jehovah.

    • April 28, 2014 at 9:02 am
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      That isn’t ‘news’ at all. I’ve heard your narrow-minded “all former Jehovah’s Witnesses are helpless sinners and sex addicts” vitriol many times before.

      There’s just one problem, it’s a total myth.

      I personally left Jehovah’s Witnesses for no other reason than because I did research and found out it wasn’t “the Truth” after all. “Bible principles” had nothing to do with it. Even so, I am being punished by a religion I am no longer a member of, in direct violation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (which, by the way, Watchtower is so fond of hypocritically running to for protection when it’s convenient).

      Disfellowshipping is far from a loving provision, especially when former members like me who leave for conscientious reasons are punished for doing so by having their family members weaponized against them through coercion. Keeping the congregation clean is one thing, but splitting up families – especially on ideological grounds – is despicable and immoral.

      And before you can claim this has ANYTHING to do with Jehovah, you first have to prove that Watchtower is Jehovah’s organization. Good luck with that.

    • April 29, 2017 at 11:11 am
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      @Laura Taylor

      If you genuinely have an I.Q of 117, then I suggest you start using it. Stop listening to Watchtower propaganda and actually DO some objective research as Ceders says. I can assure you the only thing that changed in my life after I realized that this religion is False is that I stopped going to the meetings and I stopped trying to indoctrinate anyone else. I also refused to shun anyone, which was what led me to leave in the first place. I can assure you I did not turn to drugs or alcohol, nor did I start going raves and sleeping with everyone in sight and I didn’t turn into a homosexual(Though I have no issues with Homosexuals and consider them to be normal people who happen to have different genetics to me).
      I am still married and life continues as it did before except without the WT influence. I didn’t even go out and buy a Christmas tree. I am perfectly capable of living a sensible and productive life without WT (Or any religion)interfering in it. I just learn more and I learn stuff that is true! My guess is most people on this sight are similar to me but with their own personalities, hopes and dreams, which they can now express freely.
      I know that as a JW you desperately need to believe the WT propaganda, that all EX Witnesses left in order to follow a debauched life and are rapidly falling apart because if it. But I am afraid it is just not true. They are lying to you. Sorry.

  • April 28, 2014 at 9:20 am
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    Laura,

    In addition to what other folks said, there are Christian groups who actively use the name Jehovah and identify God by this name (or most frequently Yahve), it’s not something specific to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

    I also would like to comment about not willing to live by the Bible standards. It’s simply not true, a good number ex-JW’s do consider a Christian life as their guidance. The problem is not living according to the Bible or not, the issue is if the WT doctrines reflect the Biblical spirit or not. Some people obviously don’t agree with you on that part and I’m one of them. Others who turned to other beliefs or non-beliefs … some of them live much closer to Jesus’ philosophy than many that pretend following him.

    About the homosexuality, I find the near-homophobic comments as extreme as comments in support of homosexuality. I heard some JW comments on that aspect and it wasn’t really my taste. We may not adopt a certain style of life but we’re nobody to judge other people.

    I’m much more in peace with a homosexual than with a peadophile … Coming back to Paul’s words, I really find that latter “shameful”.

    Lastly, I’m happy for you for not feeling manipulated and I do respect that. I hope you can respect people for their choices too.

  • April 30, 2014 at 8:59 pm
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    Did the apostles really wallow in their misery?? Were they shunned, mocked, ridiculed, jailed, murdered for their extremist views? Hmmmm

  • August 1, 2014 at 1:51 pm
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    How many broken families are their in a debase corrupt society with live in? how many children end up in the custody of the state? how many shooting by gangs kill people? How many people get taken advantage by wall street of their hard saving? I am sure Jehovah’s witnesses are the cause of all these ill in our current moral decadent society with live in. I do know the witnesses on the current governing body use in vain God”s name for their own profit and benefit bur in the end they are accountable to Yahweh for their own misdeeds, just like the nation of Israel priest class apostatize against his laws.

  • August 4, 2014 at 3:21 am
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    Whatever happen to freedom of religion in these two countries ?

  • September 18, 2014 at 2:00 pm
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    A religion banned by a Communist country. Not a surprise.

    However, most westerners do not realize that the JW religion is not the same in the west as it is in Russia. In Russia, JW’s are scary. They hold people against their will and brainwash them until they believe. Some people escaped to tell of abuse and horrible living conditions. When young people want to leave the religion they grew up in, they are held captive. When they escape, they are followed, threatened, and starve in the streets…. I can see why Russia wants to stop this religion.

    • September 18, 2014 at 8:24 pm
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      Are you writing from a POV sometime last century, Mama Joy? Russia has not been Communist for 22 years. There is a Communist Party still but it receives, usually, only about 10% of the vote.

      I met some Jehovah’s Witnesses in Yalta, in Russia’s recently acquired Crimea, earlier this month. There were two ladies sitting with their mag. stall in the main holiday fun street, surrounded by the restaurants and gift shops. I challenged them, in my broken Russian, in the usual fashion, about their murderous flip floppings on blood, their duff prophecies and their extraordinary ‘Faithful Slave’ claims. I reminded them that being a JW was the worst part of my childhood, and, that though they looked forward to Armageddon when God executed me, I wished them freedom from the malign control of the JW bosses.

      Obviously this brief, one off encounter does not tell the full story of JWs in Russia, but at least it shows that, outwardl, the practice is the same as in the UK. The main point though, Mama Joy, is tha Russia has not been Communist since 1992.

      • September 18, 2014 at 8:40 pm
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        RN- The main point of my comment wasn’t to examine the political system of Russia. It was to show that Russia is not like the western countries and still has Communist values; although totalitarian.

        The main point I think is obvious… it was to show that the Russian JW’s are very different than western JW’s. It’s a cult in theory in the USA, but it’s truly a cult in Russia. Just like, orphanages in Russia are very different from orphanages in the US. I hope that clarifies.

        • September 18, 2014 at 9:12 pm
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          Thanks Mama Joy. The RUssia in which I live is rampantly cpaitalist. The current boss, however, certainly has dictatorial tendencies. In the internet age, however, silencing opposition is as difficult for a political as for a religious boss. There is plenty of anti -govt. writing and agitation that does not result in arrest.

          Some evidence or illustration of the different style of Russia’s JW world would be interesting. Do you, Mama Joy, have any?

          • September 19, 2014 at 2:02 pm
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            Read above.
            Girls escaping naked because they weren’t allowed to leave the religion. (The Org. would say that is individuals and not them. Yet individuals run them, make the rules for them, and tell them how to live their life….all with twisting bible scriptures to prove it’s not them saying it, it’s God. Right.) When the stakes are life and death, losing family and life, then I think it’s a safe bet to call it a cult. Cults mutate and are different in different cultures. Some cultures are more inclined to be like “Clockwork Orange” to their young people. That’s all I’m saying.

            Also, most people in the west ignore the JW’s as not a threat and a group to laugh at…. but when you really read what their literature says and what they preach… it is. They preach genocide (then say they want all people saved when clearly they are saying the JW’s will rule the world after Armageddon), having children die and not accept medical treatment (blood)(but calling it a conscious matter even though you would get disfellowshipped for it), and hatred for other religions by name calling and saying they will be destroyed (quickly adding the clause that the righteous and unrighteous will be resurrected and they wouldn’t want that to happen).

            I’m tired of the double talk from that organization. They are the nicest Nazi’s I’ve ever met.

            If you truly are in Russia, then you will be able to provide much more information on them then I could. Would you care to share?

            http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1971

  • January 3, 2016 at 3:41 pm
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    Good Russian communist written work mate.
    I would like to be live some words in this article

  • April 18, 2016 at 9:32 pm
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    Jesus said his followers, whose basic lifestyle was based on love, not hate nor war, would be hated by the world and persecuted. There is no doubt that this applies to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who refuse to engage in war worldwide, including Russia. They will be vindicated by the only true God that they worship, whose name is Jehovah (Psalm 83:18). All of God’s promises for man on earth will definitely take place (Daniel 2:44; Isaiah 11:1-9; Revelation 21:3,4…..their sister in the United States!

    • April 18, 2016 at 10:24 pm
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      What could be more loving, Fran, thatn to to look forward, obsessively, to Armageddon, when the Jehovah monster is due to execute the bulk of the world’s population for their failure to adapt their every move and thought to the diktats of a bunch of guys in New York, (The JW Gov Bod), who claim, with zero evidence, that they are the Bible God’s exclusive earthly representative?

  • May 18, 2016 at 8:45 pm
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    It is a disgrace that Russia will persecute these peace loving people who harm nobody but love their God and provide hope for people. They were the only religion to stand up to Hitler and resist the Nazi war machine. We look forward to a time in the future when this world will be a loving paradise for all humans and when the will of God will be done here on earth.Those who take God’s loving kindness for granted and do wrong things will soon see. God said he created humans in his own image but look at humans now they look like everything but anything like him. What a shame.
    EB

    • May 18, 2016 at 10:24 pm
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      I detest the Jehovah’s WItnesses and their obsession with looking forward to Armageddon when their god is due to execute the bulk of humanity for the capital crime of not living according to the ever changing diktats of a 7 control freaks in New York.

      The way, however, to combat this obscene little mind control cult, is through exposure, enlightenment and education; not an outright ban.

      I believe in free speech; and that includes the freedom to spout the cruel and nightmarish drivel that stems from the Watchtower cult.

  • March 16, 2017 at 6:29 pm
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    If you don’t want us at your door and you differently made your mine up ,Just tell us to remove your name and address from the list. And we will Never come back” I assure you’. Sadly but , We will honor your wish’…

  • March 22, 2017 at 2:18 pm
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    Which side are you with? Anyway J.W’s has help me and my family enormously. And if what J.W’s teach is not truth, why is the Russian goverment so afraid and if Gods kingdom is not true why is it so dangerous that they want to ban it? Isnt it weird to fight against something invisible? Who are they really fighting with?
    They did it before. Big persecución has been the way J.W’s have lived most of their lives anyway. It seems weird to me that a goverment tries the same method that didnt work just a few years ago. And as for kids being manipulated, it is manipulación for better, why dont people want to ban the “Simpsons”? That is what I call manipulación to help kids to be rude. This article lacks coherence.

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