A new book is being released at the 2014 “Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom” series of conventions. Entitled “God’s Kingdom Rules!,” it marks the centenary of 1914 with a heavily sanitized version of Jehovah’s Witness history over the past 100 years or more.
Prior to this release, “Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom” was Watchtower’s primary authorized history book. Despite presenting a similarly white-washed perspective of Witness history, at least somewhere in its 750-pages there were hints at some of the skeletons from Watchtower’s past.
For example, page 76 featured a grey box on Beth Sarim, the “House of the Princes.” The fact that it was principally earmarked by Rutherford as a residence for the likes of Abraham, Joseph and David on their resurrection was relegated to a mere footnote – but at least something was there in print.
Every bit as wacky as Rutherford’s notions of bible characters suddenly emerging in suburban San Diego was Russell’s insistence that the Great Pyramid of Gizeh was “God’s Stone Witness.” So convinced was he that every inch in the internal chambers corresponded to years of bible history that he dedicated books, charts and magazine articles to this bizarre theory, which remained official Watchtower dogma until 1928.
The Proclaimers book didn’t explore the pyramid teaching at length, but it at least allowed it a grudging mention on page 201 – enough to provide a basis for further research for those so inclined.
The new God’s Kingdom Rules! book, on the other hand, dispenses with Beth Sarim entirely. And any clue that Russell once indulged in elaborate pyramid fantasies must now be deciphered from a sepia photo of a horsedrawn cart on page 19 with the “divine plan” chart discernible on its side.
Modern Witnesses are thus left with no hint of just how ludicrous the teachings of their prized organization’s former leaders actually were.
With this in mind, consider the following words of David Splane in his concluding talk at the 2014 East Rutherford International Convention in New Jersey…
As Splane acknowledged, there are many countries deprived of any reasonable grasp of Watchtower history because the Proclaimers book is only available in a limited number of languages.
Apparently Christ’s words at Matthew 19:26, “with God all things are possible,” do not stretch to translating a 750-page book into the tongues of all God’s people. Conveniently, the Governing Body would rather throw in the towel and instead release an entirely new, slimmer volume that just so happens to omit almost all unsavory aspects of the organization’s history.
This may not seem like such a big deal if you are reading this article from an English-speaking country. However, I happen to live in one of those countries where the Proclaimers book isn’t available in the local language – which in my case is Croatian.
I have experienced firsthand the frustration of trying to reason with indoctrinated relatives on basic flaws in Watchtower history to which they are completely oblivious because they have never been able to read the Proclaimers book.
Now my plight is made even worse, because my relatives will assume they know everything about Watchtower history thanks to this new book. In truth, they will know only what Watchtower has allowed them to know – with a dash of spin, trickery and willful omission thrown into the mix.
But all is not lost. An elder friend from the United States has gone to quite some expense to mail me my own personal copy of the God’s Kingdom Rules! book so that I can dissect it for myself. After going through it, I have found a number of areas that clearly demonstrate the flawed logic behind Watchtower theology and its omission or white-washing of historical details.
This article will attempt to summarize my findings as succinctly as possible. (Edit: and with a final word-count of over 6,000 words will clearly fail! My apologies!)
“Attractive publications” or style over substance?
As is increasingly becoming customary for Watchtower books, a letter from the Governing Body adorns the introductory pages.
Noteworthy in this latest letter is a paragraph that begins with the words: “With Jehovah’s blessing on the work, we are now able to publish our attractive Bible literature in more than 670 languages and to offer it to everyone without charge.” (page 3)
Firstly, as Splane admitted in the above video, not ALL Watchtower publications are available in 670 languages. It seems Jehovah’s organization will, to quote Splane, “never have the resources” to make certain books available in every tongue. Apparently spiritual food from the faithful slave doesn’t have a passport for certain language borders. So the writers have barely begun their 240-page ramble before foisting a clear exaggeration on the reader.
Secondly, my eyebrows were raised by the term “attractive literature” being coined by the Governing Body. Surely whether literature is visually appealing or not is irrelevant compared to whether it is truthful and informative. To my mind, this Freudian slip speaks volumes about Watchtower’s “style over substance” approach, where aesthetics are paramount and producing factual, honest information falls lower down the pecking order.
“Ample proof,” or ample exaggeration?
Of further interest is the certainty and frequency with which unsupportable claims are made throughout the publication.
Page 11 announces: “We have ample proof that Jesus’ prophecy [at Matthew 24 and 25] has been undergoing fulfillment since 1914.”
“Without question,” we are told on page 77, “the King has blessed the methods we have used to advertize the Kingdom.”
“Our legal victories prove that we walk in the sight of God and in company with Christ,” is the conclusion on page 145.
“All these theocratic schools are powerful proof that our King has fully equipped his followers to accomplish their ministry,” page 185 insists.
Page 208 asserts that the “scores of branch office buildings, hundreds of Assembly Halls, and tens of thousands of Kingdom Halls around the world provide tangible proof that God’s Kingdom is real and is now ruling.”
And page 235, in the final chapter, declares: “Each chapter of this book contains powerful evidence that Christ has brought his followers into a genuine spiritual paradise in this time of the end.”
When invoked for such ludicrous claims, words like “proof” and “evidence” quickly lose all meaning. If ministerial training programs, legal victories or an abundance of buildings are evidence that Jesus Christ is involved in the Watchtower organization, then the same must be said of Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, the Church of England, or almost any significant Christian denomination.
The propensity for exaggeration and outlandish claims in this publication knows almost no limits, and led to my reading it with an almost-constant smirk or face-palm. No opportunity for self-congratulation is bypassed.
Take for example page 78 where a footnote declares: “In the past decade alone, Jehovah’s people have produced more than 20 billion Bible-based publications. In addition, our Web site, jw.org, is now available to the more than 2.7 billion people worldwide who access the internet.”
And so, in the scramble for impressive stats, the web’s audience of 2.7 billion is annexed by Watchtower without hesitation for the purpose of “bigging up” its achievements. The fact that the likes of JWfacts.com, AAWA.co, JWstruggle.com and indeed this website could make exactly the same claim regarding the internet’s audience is an afterthought.
Then on page 83 a graph is shown in which Watchtower compares the publishing figures for its various publications with those of ‘the world’.
I let out an audible giggle when I glanced at the heading “other books” in which the Bible Teach book’s publication figure of over 201 million is held up against the more than 1 billion copies of Chairman Mao’s “little red book” (or “Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-tung”).
The irony appears to be completely lost on Watchtower that it has now sunk to measuring its success in propaganda distribution against that of a communist dictator.
New light, and the Governing Body’s “humility”
When reading this book you also can’t help but notice the way key “new light” interpretations are rammed home for emphasis at every opportunity.
Page 12 gets the ball rolling with an image showing the “overlapping generations” teaching, which has been met with considerable derision by thinking Witnesses since its introduction in 2010.
As you may be aware, the “generation” that “will not pass away” referred to by Jesus at Matthew 24:3 has been conveniently sliced into two different groups, one of which lives on into our time. Why? Because the generation that witnessed the events of 1914 has, well, passed away.
What about evidence that Jesus had two groups in mind when speaking to his disciples? Apparently none is needed. Simply switch off your critical thinking faculties and embrace the notion that the “two groups form one generation because their lives as anointed Christians overlapped for a time.”
The latest interpretation of the “faithful slave” teaching is similarly aired in this book, although far more frequently. Page 23 reminds us that, in 1919, Jesus “appointed the ‘faithful and discreet slave’, a small group of anointed men who would take the lead among his people.”
“Especially from that time onward,” we are assured on pages 61 and 62, “that slave began dispensing spiritual food – by means of convention discourses and printed publications – that repeatedly emphasized the responsibility of all Christians to have a personal share in preaching.”
A brief disclaimer regarding the false pronouncements and doctrinal U-turns made by this “slave” features on page 37, but like many things in this book it is heavily spun to make the organization appear saint-like.
“As Chapters 4 and 5 of this book will show, over the past 100 years, God’s people have had to adjust their understanding on a number of occasions. Does that fact mean that they do not have Jehovah’s backing? On the contrary! He supports them. Why? Because those who fear Jehovah have displayed two qualities that he loves – faith and humility. (Heb. 11:6; Jas. 4:6) Jehovah’s servants have faith that all the promises in God’s Word will come true. They show humility when they admit that they misunderstood exactly how those promises would be fulfilled.” – God’s Kingdom Rules, page 37.
“Humility” is an attribute notably absent in the Governing Body’s brutal policy of disfellowshipping any who voice disagreement with their transient “understandings” of scripture, and severing such ones from their families.
If the Governing Body were to publish their “understandings” on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, that would be one thing. The above professions of humility might then hold some water.
But the simple truth is that a person who stands up and voices an understanding of scripture that does not accord with their contemporary teachings is punished in the worst possible means – by family estrangement, including demonization as a “mentally-diseased” apostate.
To illustrate just how crazy this policy is: a publisher could have insisted in 2011 that the Governing Body alone are the “faithful slave,” and not the broader 144,000 spirit-anointed ones, and he would need to be disfellowshipped by his elders on grounds of apostasy. Refuse to make the exact same acknowledgement when pressed on the matter only two years later, and another person meets the same fate.
Such willingness on the part of the Governing Body to mete out punishments for refusing to yield to their latest doctrinal whims renders any professions of humility not only laughable but deeply insulting to those like myself who are victims of their delusional arrogance.
It also renders entirely hypocritical the accounts related on pages 147 and 153 where Watchtower boasts of successfully appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion” of its affiliates.
Anyone familiar with Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights will note that, in addition to guaranteeing freedom of religious observance, it also protects the “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion” of anyone who decides to “change his religion or belief” – something you are not allowed to do as a Witness without facing the prospect of permanent family ostracism. (For more information, see this video.)
But as objectionable as Watchtower’s claims regarding new light are, there are some notable areas in this new book where the teaching is demonstrably ludicrous. Hopefully an overview of these may be of use to those seeking ways of reasoning with indoctrinated relatives.
Organizational refinements – finite or indefinite?
One confusing element of the ‘new light’ surrounding the faithful slave is the notion that Christ visited Earth in 1914 and oversaw a cleansing of the early Bible Students over the period to 1919. This teaching is spelled out on page 100…
“From 1914 to early 1919, the Refiner, Jehovah, allowed his people to go through various trials and hardships that served to refine and cleanse them. Happily, those anointed ones emerged from the fiery tests in a cleaner condition, eager to show their support for the Messianic King!” – God’s Kingdom Rules!, page 100
With such a specific period, and with five years for God and Christ to work with, you would assume all the required cleaning would be complete by the 1919 passed. But that is not what we see in the very next paragraph.
“Was that the end of the refining and cleaning for God’s people? No. Throughout the last days, Jehovah by means of the Messianic King has continued to help his followers be clean so that they might remain in the spiritual temple.” – God’s Kingdom Rules!, page 101
It shouldn’t be too hard to see the problem here. If God’s people were indeed cleansed between 1914 and 1919, why have they required decades upon decades of cleansing since that period? Is the cleansing period finite, or indefinite? The Governing Body doesn’t seem to want to make up its mind, and won’t even recognize the need to.
Allow me to illustrate how ludicrous this teaching is.
Last month my wife and I hired a local laborer to install drywall in our bathroom. The laborer told us the job would be done in 2 to 3 days. He turned up with some colleagues and, sure enough, after 2 to 3 days the work was done to our satisfaction and we paid him. He did not cover only one or two walls with drywall and then say, “You can pay me now and I will do the remaining walls progressively over the next few years.” Had he told us that, we would have refused to pay until the work was finished.
For some reason, Watchtower refuses to explain why Christ’s cleansing work is both for a 5-year period and ongoing, or why an Almighty God requires a century or more to whip his one true religion into shape.
The only hint of an explanation is offered on page 108, where we are told that continual refinement is needed because “Satan never stops trying to draw [Christ’s followers] back into the mire of immorality.” But morals are one thing, organizational refinements are another. Take, for example, the elder arrangement.
Going backwards to go forwards
Page 119 discusses organizational refinements regarding elders by referring to Isaiah 60:17: “Instead of the copper I will bring in gold, and instead of the iron I will bring in silver, instead of the wood, copper, and instead of the stones, iron; and I will appoint peace as your overseers and righteousness as your task assigners.”
Notice the very next paragraph after this scripture is quoted (bold is mine)…
“Isaiah’s prophecy states that one material would be replaced by another. But note that the replacements are changes, not from bad to good, but from good to better. Replacing copper with gold is an improvement, and the same is true of the other materials here mentioned. Thus, with this word picture, Jehovah foretold that the condition of his people would improve step-by-step.” – God’s Kingdom Rules, page 119
The message here couldn’t be clearer. Organizational adjustments only go in one direction, and that is forwards – not backwards.
With this in mind, consider what the same chapter reveals regarding the elder arrangement in the preceding paragraphs…
“[The November 15, 1895 Watch Tower] announced a far reaching change. It directed that starting immediately, “in every company, elders be chosen” to ‘take the oversight of the flock’.”- God’s Kingdom Rules, pp.118-119
And so, under Russell’s direction, an arrangement was brought in whereby there would be bodies of elders rather than a single leader for each “company,” or congregation.
But Rutherford was to have other ideas, as revealed by Ray Franz in his book Crisis of Conscience (bold is mine)…
“The Scriptural arrangement of bodies of elders had been summarily ended in 1932 by Judge Rutherford due to a lack of cooperation on the part of some elders with the Society’s programs and policies. His position as President gave Rutherford the necessary authority to take such a stand and all congregations were invited to vote for the disbanding of bodies of elders and their replacement by a Society-appointed ‘Service Director.’ For the next forty years there were no bodies of elders in the congregations. That is why the New World Translation of the Bible published by the Society in the 1950s regularly used the rendering ‘older men’ rather than ‘elders,’ a then officially discredited term.” – Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz, pp.26-27
This version of events corresponds precisely with the narrative presented in the new God’s Kingdom Rules! book, where it says…
“From 1932 to 1972, congregation oversight had been carried out mainly by one brother. Until 1936, such an appointed brother was called the service director. Thereafter, the name was changed to company servant, then to congregation servant, and finally to congregation overseer. Those appointed brothers cared zealously for the spiritual welfare of the flock. The congregation overseer usually made decisions for the congregation without consulting other servants in the congregation.” – God’s Kingdom Rules, pp.122
Hopefully by now you have spotted the problem, which is as-good-as admitted in this new book. The organization went from having a ‘theocratic’ elder arrangement under Russell, to a non-theocratic “congregation servant” arrangement under Rutherford, and then back to the original elder arrangement under Knorr.
How, precisely, does this clear flip-flop show organizational refinements only going “from good to better” as page 119 explained?
Misrepresenting history
Related to this issue is the way Watchtower seems perfectly content to re-write its history in such a way as to claim for itself the contributions made by a man it ousted and condemned as an “apostate.”
In Crisis of Conscience, Ray Franz explains meticulously how he was asked by Nathan Knorr, not by any “Governing Body” (for the Governing Body arrangement only formally began in 1971) to do research on a new book Aid to Bible Understanding under the supervision of Karl Adams, who was neither a Governing Body member nor, indeed, of the anointed.
Two of the subjects assigned to Franz were “older man [elder]” and “overseer.” It was his research that would prompt the changes to the elder arrangement that were previously mentioned.
But notice how the God’s Kingdom Rules! book describes the above episode…
“From 1964 to 1971, the governing body supervised an extensive Bible study project that examined, among many other subjects, how the first-century Christian congregation functioned. As to organizational structure, it was learned that the oversight of congregations in the first century was carried out by a body of elders instead of just by one elder, or overseer.” – God’s Kingdom Rules, pp.120
Thus Watchtower not only writes Ray Franz out of history – it also takes the credit for his contribution, which it accepts as an organizational improvement.
Further attempts to rewrite history or gloss over unflattering details can be seen on the following pages…
- Page 14 – It is mentioned that Henry Grew, George Stetson, and George Storrs “had a profound impact on C.T. Russell and his close associates,” but no mention is made of Nelson Barbour, who had a major influence on Russell’s fascination with date-setting, or William Miller (the founder of adventism on which Russell’s teachings were loosely based) who receives at least some mention in the Proclaimers book.
- Pages 22 and 23 – The death of Russell is mentioned, but the leadership coup in which Rutherford swept to power (by effectively tearing up Russell’s will and scuppering what would have been something much closer to a “governing body” arrangement of shared power as early as 1917) receives no acknowledgment. Instead, an “outbreak of apostasy” is blamed on “creature worship” of Russell and a bitter resistance of “efforts to move forward.” (For more information on this period in Watchtower’s history, read this article under the heading “A Questionable Character.”)
- Page 23 – Pre-1914 expectations are characterized thus: “They thought that in 1914, Christ would take his anointed bride class to heaven to rule with him there.” No mention is made of the fact that this ‘rapture’ had also been the expectation for 1878 when Russell and Barbour were working together, or that Russell expected 1914 to mark the END of Armageddon. (For more information, click here) Mention is also made of Rutherford being “unjustly sentenced” in 1918, without any explanation of what prompted his incarceration. Likely his publication of fiercely political anti-war material in pages 247 to 253 of The Finished Mystery would be a little much for the average Witness to stomach.
- Page 62 – The Golden Age magazine (forerunner to the Awake!) is referred to as “directing people to the Kingdom as mankind’s only hope.” Some who are more familiar with actual Golden Age articles may struggle with this premise, particularly after reading that black people were considered a “race of servants,” that the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin is the “work of Satan” (see here), or that “in the future man will get his food directly from the sun.” (The Golden Age 1927 Oct 5 p.10)
- Page 70 – The Photodrama of Creation is acclaimed as having been shown in “packed auditoriums” during 1914. No mention is made that in one of these auditoriums in New York black audience members were segregated. (see here)
- Page 72 – We are reminded that “an estimated 50,000 people heard [Rutherford’s] talk ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die'” in 1922. Some would argue that this achievement is rather overshadowed by the sad irony that most if not all of those 50,000 are likely now deceased, as will be a significant remainder of the immortal “millions” alluded to by Rutherford.
Rare honesty and some helpful features
Some rare honesty IS to be found on page 50 regarding pre-1914 expectations of Russell…
“As we saw in Chapter 2 of this book, the Bible Students spent decades pointing out that the year 1914 would be significant in fulfilling Bible prophecy. However, at that time they believed that Christ’s presence had begun in 1874, that he had begun to rule in heaven in 1878, and that the Kingdom would not be fully set up until October 1914. The harvest would extend from 1874 to 1914 and would culminate in the gathering of the anointed to heaven.” – God’s Kingdom Rules, page 50
But like most hiccups in Watchtower’s history this is blamed on ‘increasing light’, with a bizarre choice of scripture used to support the idea of God’s people being “blessed with more and more flashes of spiritual light.”
“Light has flashed up for the righteous and rejoicing for those upright in heart.” – Psalm 97:11, New World Translation
It seems that almost any scripture in the Bible featuring the word “light” can now be used to justify the increased light doctrine.
All that aside, the uncharacteristic honesty on this page regarding pre-1914 expectations is refreshing, and may prove to be a useful tool for those who seek to better inform their indoctrinated relatives about Watchtower’s history.
Other parts of the book that might be helpful when reasoning with believing loved ones include…
- Page 63 – A photograph is shown of the landmark 1922 “Advertize, advertize, advertize!” convention at Cedar Point, Ohio. Look carefully and you will notice American flags draped prominently to the left and right of the stage, and hanging either side of the “ADV” on the stage itself. Not only is the nationalism among “God’s people” at that time worthy of note, it is also interesting to compare the scene with how it is depicted in Watchtower’s 2010 DVD “Faith In Action – Part 1.” In the digital re-enactment, the flags either side of the stage are removed and replaced with rectangular wooden boards. (For more information, click here)
- Page 74 – A strange confession is made, namely that Watchtower was forced to retreat from using commercial radio stations to publish its message during the 1930’s due to “opposition” to this method. Precisely what form did this opposition take? Who instigated it? And why wasn’t God’s backing enough to help the organization overcome it? We are not told.
- Page 114 – As this website has already stated, it wasn’t until 1952 that the disfellowshipping procedure was implemented by Watchtower. Only 5 years previously the practice of excommunication, admitted by Watchtower as being equal to disfellowshipping (w96 4/15 p.15 par.18), was blasted in a 1947 Awake! article as being a “weapon” that is “altogether foreign to Bible teachings.” (Awake! scans: Page 1 | Page 2) Page 114 admits to the 1952 date for when the practice was fully introduced – 33 years after Christ supposedly chose the organization. It would not be until 1981 that the rules were further changed to make it impossible to disassociate as a Witness without being punished, but curiously this isn’t mentioned.
- Page 130-131 – A two-page section focuses attention on the Governing Body, who are depicted seated around a large conference table with a map of the world in the background. The photograph has a rather phoney feel about it, because rather than looking directly into the camera the group of men are posing while involved in a discussion. The six Governing Body “committees” are listed, including the Coordinator’s committee, whose remit includes “use of the media when it is necessary to convey an accurate picture of our beliefs.” Precisely how is it possible to “use” the media if the media is under Satan’s control? (w97 4/1 p.17 par.16)
Misrepresenting the present… and future
As you’ve probably surmised by this point, God’s Kingdom Rules! is just as much about the present and future of the Witnesses as it is about their past. And as you might expect, the writers are just as prone to exaggeration and drawing mistaken conclusions when discussing the modern organization.
Here are a few examples…
Preaching
Though Jehovah’s Witnesses are spread throughout an impressive number of countries, they cannot be truly said to be present “earth wide,” yet this is precisely how page 67 characterizes their preaching work.
As has already been revealed by a bethel representative, there are at least three countries (with a total population of some 65 million people) where Jehovah’s Witnesses are not present at all due to safety fears. (see this video, time marker 03:20) A Somali, Afghan or North Korean would give you a very strange look if you tried to tell him or her that the Witnesses are everywhere in the world.
It is also inadvisable to suggest that numerical increase is evidence of divine favor and blessing, yet the book falls into this trap repeatedly. On page 89 we are told that “Jehovah’s spirit and the power of his Word” are responsible for the “great world-wide harvest.” And on page 96 Keith Gaydon, a circuit overseer from Britain, suggests the increase in his country from 1948 to the present would be “impossible” by human power.
It should go without saying that if you are going to attribute growth in numbers in your own religion to divine backing, you also need to make the same claim regarding the growth and prosperity of other denominations.
Contributions
In light of the increasing use of credit cards by Watchtower and the recent changes in the way kingdom hall construction is financed, page 100 makes for a humorous read when it reviews Christ’s brusque treatment of the temple money changers. His views on money and worship were made abundantly clear according to the account found in Matthew 21.
94 pages later we are reminded of Charles Taze Russell’s approach to funding his efforts. “I am telling you the plain truth,” Russell reportedly tells a skeptical inquirer, “They [interested ones] do ask me this very question, ‘How can I get a little money into this cause?’ When one gets a blessing and has any means, he wants to use it for the Lord. If he has no means, why should we prod him for it?”
It should go without saying that the recent developments with regards to pledged donations by each congregation, as determined on the basis of “confidential surveys,” bear the distinct feel of “prodding.” No doubt this prodding will intensify if congregations fail to send through to Watchtower the fixed amounts they have been forced to pledge.
Many like myself see Watchtower’s increasing eagerness to solicit funds as indicative that all is not well with the organization’s finances – but this is not something they seem likely to admit any time soon. 130 years after Russell claimed Watchtower would “never beg nor petition men for support,” the writers of this new book bullishly insist the organization is “still going strong.” (pages 195, 196)
For those unfortunate enough to feel compelled to ease the financial worries that Watchtower apparently does not have, a chart is prepared on page 200 entitled “Where Do Our Donations Go?” Needless to say, child abuse lawsuit settlements and other legal expenses connected with the organization’s defense of its out-dated and grossly negligent policies in that area are notable by their absence.
Child abuse
Considering the growing media attention surrounding Jehovah’s Witnesses and child abuse, you would assume that the matter was worthy of at least some mention in a book that sets out to cover Watchtower’s past and present. Instead we get a short paragraph on page 117 that says the following…
“Jesus also wants children to be protected from harm. As this morally degraded world has sunk deeper into depravity, the plague of child abuse has become more prevalent. Therefore, clear and direct material has been published to help parents keep their children safe from this vicious practice.” – God’s Kingdom Rules!, page 117
It is not enough for a religious organization with millions of members to simply “publish material.” It must enact policies that treat child abuse as the heinous crime that it is, and urge the deferring of all reported instances to the police accordingly. Instead, Watchtower orders elders to dabble in these complex matters and insists on all reported cases being managed by the branch office.
This has resulted in the organization defending itself in lawsuits where the authorities have been kept out of the picture altogether, with the abuse covered up. Unsurprisingly, none of this gets even the slightest mention in this new book.
As examples of the “clear and direct material” published by the organization, the children’s book Learn From the Great Teacher and the October 2007 Awake! are listed in a footnote. Both offer only preventative advice to parents and children. Certainly neither urge parents to go to the police whenever abuse is uncovered.
When will Watchtower realize that teaching children to say, “Stop that! I’m going to tell on you!” isn’t enough to keep them out of harm’s way?
Inactive ones
Worthy of a mention on page 128 is a box entitled “Fruitful Weekly Visits.” It tells of how elders in a US congregation have made a concerted effort to visit the 30 inactive ones in their territory. Inactive ones are told of how “the congregation has not forgotten the fine work the person did in behalf of Jehovah’s Kingdom.”
The elders in question, and indeed the organization, seem oblivious to the fact that becoming inactive is now the only option available to Witnesses who wish to leave their religion while keeping family ties. Far from being “lost sheep” as they are here characterized, many inactive ones are simply victims of a cruel cult who have awakened from their indoctrination and want their personal beliefs to be respected.
Blood transfusions
Pages 161 to 164 offer three experiences from Japan, Argentina and Canada of Witnesses who have legally defended their right to refuse blood. Conveniently, two of these experiences have “recovered fully” or are in “good health.” The third person mentioned died a month after appearing in court in an ultimately successful attempt to sue her doctor and hospital for a forced transfusion.
Predictably, no mention is made of the exact number of Witnesses, including children, who have died out of mistaken allegiance to Watchtower’s obscene and immoral blood teaching. Neither is any credit given to the various doctors and judges who have intervened to save countless children whose lives have been imperiled by their indoctrinated Witness parents.
Child custody
As with defenses over blood treatment, pages 164 to 166 provide examples of Witness parents who have successfully defeated unbelieving former spouses in legal battles over child custody.
“Some allege that being raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses is harmful,” the reader is told with an air of disbelief. We are then regaled with some resounding victories against parents who tried to argue that 24/7 indoctrination and refusal of certain medical treatments might not be in their child’s best interests.
What the book neglects to point out is that Watchtower issues a special pack to assist lawyers in getting custody for Witness clients. Among its advice can be found the following…
Likely the above material didn’t make the final cut for the God’s Kingdom Rules! book because most Witnesses won’t want to see evidence of “God’s organization” encouraging young people to knowingly misrepresent their beliefs and aspirations.
Branch reductions
It has been intriguing to observe the reduction in the number of Watchtower branches over the past few years, resulting in a huge decrease in the organization’s global footprint. Coupled with the slashing of printing operations, it would seem to represent clear evidence of Watchtower’s financial woes, especially since the organization used to pride itself in the opening up of branches in new territories.
It certainly seems inconceivable that a Watchtower organization flushed with money would be closing branches down rather than setting up new ones.
In their attempts to downplay the “consolidation,” Watchtower has previously offered the rather fanciful retort that the branch reductions are “proof” that Jesus is “breaking down human barriers.” (w12 12/15 p.28 par.18)
Sticking with a slightly more down-to-earth explanation, the new book broaches the subject in a box on page 205 by suggesting that the downsizing has been caused by “improvements in communications and printing technology.”
What the future holds
Not content with spinning and misrepresenting the organization’s past and present, the future of Jehovah’s Witnesses is also made the subject of the writer’s overactive imagination.
A very sombre-looking chart on pages 224 and 225 confidently predicts events leading up to Armageddon, including an attack on religion by the United Nations, Watchtower’s former bosom buddy. The chain of events climaxes with Armageddon, when “Jehovah sends his King to defend all loyal ones.”
To drive home the ‘reality’ of this future development, a rather psychedelic image appears on page 229 showing a giant Jesus (with a striking resemblance to Kenny Rogers) descending from the heavens, bow in hand, ready to do some unspeakable things to a group of flailing soldiers.
A similar image is shown earlier on in the book on page 20 when giant Jesus is shown appearing invisibly (if that makes any sense) in 1914. But that was 100 years ago, and on page 229 it seems he has unfinished business to attend to.
Once the utter annihilation of all non-Witnesses is complete, the stage is set for the numerous promises surrounding the paradise to come to fruition. These promises are neatly detailed for us in the final chapter.
In reference to one such promise, the resurrection, page 221 has this to say…
“You pluck a luscious apple from the branch. You take in its aroma before adding it to the growing mound in the basket. You have been working for hours, but you feel fine and ready for a bit of work. Your mother is at a tree nearby, happily working and chatting with other family members and friends who are helping with the harvest. She looks so young – the way you remember her when you were just a child all those years ago. It is hard to believe that you saw her grow old in the world that is now long gone. You saw her waste away with illness, you held her hand as she breathed her last, and you wept at her graveside. Yet, here she is, along with so many others, alive and healthy again! Such days will come; we know it.” – God’s Kingdom Rules!, page 221
As someone who DID see his mother “waste away with illness” and DID hold her hand “as she breathed her last” but has since woken up from his indoctrination, I can now look upon the above words and see them for what they are: utterly distasteful and abhorrent propaganda aimed at hijacking the grieving process, and the memory of dead loved ones, for the furtherance of a cruel cult.
Clinging to 1914
Without question the most notable feature of this book is the way it stubbornly clings to 1914 throughout, even though the passage of time has unmistakeably revealed this relic of a doctrine to be deeply flawed.
In pinning everything on this increasingly discredited teaching, the God’s Kingdom Rules! book commits the same mistake as the latest “Silver Sword” edition of the New World Translation – it gives itself a very brief shelf-life.
Banging on about 1914 may seem prudent to most Witnesses on the centenary of that year. But as more decades roll by, this book (along with all other books that point to 1914) will become just as embarrassing to Watchtower as the dusty old works of Russell that tout years like 1874 and 1878 as having biblical significance.
The Governing Body desperately needs to divorce itself from this teaching before they are exposed as fools in their own lifetimes (especially in the case of the relatively young Sanderson), but their inability to do so indicates to my mind that they are just as delusional as most of their followers.
It is not that they lack creativity, this they have clearly demonstrated in some of their outrageous teachings and policy changes in recent years. It is simply that they are dyed-in-the-wool Witnesses, and 1914 is in their DNA.
How the fact that they are so chained to such an obviously flawed date will play out in the decades to come remains to be seen, but don’t expect any radical deviations in understanding any time soon. Not if this book is anything to go by.
Related video…
They’re also skipping about the house singing…”listen, obey or be ….blasted!”
Hypocrisy over blood, Highlighting the laws decision to
allow witnesses freedom of conscience, But what if one
decides the right thing to do is to accept blood, What allowance for conscience is made then what justice is
dispensed, : “NONE”.
To my shame, I was on a committee that disfellowshipped
A man who had Hemophllia, he had refused blood several
times but was told by the doctors, he would be dead within
hours without a transfusion, He had a wife and three very
young children, So he made what I now believe to be the
right decision , not only for himself but for his family also.
Sadly about two years later the man died, His wife, a member of the congregation asked if a brother could take
the funeral service, No, was the reply, We don’t want to give the impression he died in good. standing (This was
the policy at the time). So much for widows an orphans. She
was left to cope the best way she could, A very short time
later a Watchtower article ALLOWED brothers freedom of
conscience in the matter of funerals for the disfellowshipped.
I watched a BBC programme , “A Warning. from History”
about the Holocaust, It made the point that ordinary people
could do terrible things when the mind is controlled by
propaganda, But the court judged, that conscience took
precedence over inhuman commands from a ruling power.
A very helpful review. It is so important to confront JWs with their past because they have always claimed to be “God’s sole channel of communication”. If they got it wrong then, how sure are they that what they believe now is the truth?
Perhaps ‘Michael’ might give a touch of irony.
Wow! I love your review of this book!
Not that I was ever going to read it, but you gave me everything that I needed to know. I had no idea about the racism in the ‘Society’s’ past. Thank you very much.
It is very satisfying to see this cult wind down but unfortunately they have done their damage to me and many others.
first off , [mr] cedars, im amazed at the speed of which you read comprehended and commented on that book. well written article . and
wow, i just watched that video clip, he said we cant translate the proclaimers book too many pages, but we can the kingdom rules book? say what? ok, then can they translate half the proclaimers book and do the other half later? haha.
gee, then they did not translate any of their other literature with over say 300 pages including a bible? in any other language? as if they dont have all the literal words in the procalimers book and ever other peice of liturature already translated and stored on a computer?
im so confused!
Hypocrisy over blood, Highlighting the laws decision to
allow witnesses freedom of conscience, But what if one
decides the right thing to do is to accept blood, What allowance for conscience is made then what justice is
dispensed, : “NONE”.
To my shame, I was on a committee that disfellowshipped
A man who had Hemophllia, he had refused blood several
times but was told by the doctors, he would be dead within
hours without a transfusion, He had a wife and three very
young children, So he made what I now believe to be the
right decision , not only for himself but for his family also.
Sadly about two years later the man died, His wife, a member of the congregation asked if a brother could take
the funeral service, No, was the reply, We don’t want to give the impression he died in good. standing (This was
the policy at the time). So much for widows an orphans. She
was left to cope the best way she could, A very short time
later a Watchtower article ALLOWED brothers freedom of
conscience in the matter of funerals for the disfellowshipped.
I watched a BBC programme , “A Warning. from History”
about the Holocaust, It made the point that ordinary people
could do terrible things when the mind is controlled by
propaganda, But the Nuremberg court judged that conscience
took precedence over inhuman commands from a ruling power.
Hypocrisy over blood, Highlighting the laws decision to
allow witnesses freedom of conscience, But what if one
decides the right thing to do is to accept blood, What allowance for conscience is made then what justice is
dispensed, : “NONE”.
To my shame, I was on a committee that disfellowshipped
A man who had Hemophllia, he had refused blood several
times but was told by the doctors, he would be dead within
hours without a transfusion, He had a wife and three very
young children, So he made what I now believe to be the
right decision , not only for himself but for his family also.
Sadly about two years later the man died, His wife, a member of the congregation asked if a brother could take
the funeral service, No, was the reply, We don’t want to give the impression he died in good. standing (This was
the policy at the time). So much for widows an orphans. She
was left to cope the best way she could, A very short time
later a Watchtower article ALLOWED brothers freedom of
conscience in the matter of funerals for the disfellowshipped.
I watched a BBC programme , “A Warning. from History”
about the Holocaust, It made the point that ordinary people
could do terrible things when the mind is controlled by
propaganda, But the Nuremberg court judged that conscience
took precedence over inhuman commands from a ruling power.
I’m always left with the ONE thing that sent me over the edge:
If they, in fact, EVER admit even a SMALL error…..what have they done or doing to find each and every single soul they taught that garbage to and correct it??????
Nothing. End of discussion.
They are evil. And for any JW to support an organization that apologetically remains silent regarding the MILLIONS of lives they’ve damaged, tells you all you need to know about all of them.
Here are some things that you fell to mentioned:
1. That 750 page book is STILL being published by JW’s. So, there is nothing to hide about how we view things in the past.
2. The racial situation regarding the blacks viewing the Photo Drama of Creation was caused by whites who were NOT Bible Students that was not use to blacks and the brothers try to handled that situation the best as possible.
Plus, NO blacks were not kicked out of the stadium and they have the best seats and that was in the balcony. I love balcony seats! Also, the audiance consists of 25% of blacks and that was a much higher ratio of 5% blacks that live in the city at that time.
I familiar with the history of JW’s and it is no differance of God’s people in the Bible times. So Cedar, if YOU have a problem of the history of modern day of God’s people. Then you need to toss out the Bible.
Cedar, your work as informer of JW’s activities and Watchtower’s hidden business through this years, is being a landmark fro many of us in different languages and other places. Thank you for all your efforts and documented evidence presented in objective tone.
This summary of this new Book is the first overview that I have to address the re-told of History for new generations.
“God Kingdom rules” is just an adaptation that makes sense in a scenario where all their predictions about 1914, have no sense anymore.
Thank you.
miker
Thanks for the write-up. I find it interesting that growth is seen as a sign of jehovah’s blessing, but when it comes to the branch offices, consolidation is what proves it.
@ Cedars
I think you missed a trick in the review RE translation ability. If the WT says it is “impossible” to translate the proclaimers book (all 750 pages of it) as a task too great….um, er…why does it not have a problem translating the Bible (1000 pages plus) into any language it chooses? Also, if WT can translate 3 books of 250 pages long into any language, surely do not those 3 books total the 750 pages of the Proclaimers book?
The one question I wished any of the Governing Body could answer for me is this: If the Organization is “Spirit directed” then how can it make mistakes unless it’s working against God’s Holy Spirit? Thus NOT SPIRIT DIRECTED.
Grateful thanks Cedars for your interesting analysis of this latest propaganda vehicle.Why do we stay with this belief system? Speaking as a still active ( just ) JW I dont want to give up something that has been a significant part of my life for over forty years. Something inside wants me to believe that the problem is human, GB, and that the god I believe in will step in and rectify this as he did with bad kings and judges in bible times.Waking up to the fact that policy choices made deliberately by the GB are just wrong happens every time I read and listen to what you and others say. The difficult awakening is to accept that God will not do anything that we need to do things for ourselves and make positive contributions to our community.
This is fantastic, Cedars! Thank you for your thorough review. I appreciate that it’s a draining exercise; reading the literature myself makes me cry at times.
Minor: about the 6000 words, the “will clearly fail!”, mustn’t that be “have clearly failed!”, since the 6000 is only known afterwards?
It hits me when they write “Jesus appointed the ‘faithful and discreet slave’, a small group of anointed men who would take the lead among his people.”
a) nowhere in the bible is this prediction made
b) no evidence that Jesus did so (the facts prove it at least it could not have been the watchtower), as you yourself also have pointed out repeatedly
c) apparantly they don’t dare to say, “Jesus appointed the Watchtower society to dispense spiritual food” …. why not?
What shocked me was the item about preparing children for custody cases part: “Be careful that they don’t get the impression that they are in a demonstration at the circuit assembly, when they would show that the first things in life are service and going to the Kingdom Hall.”
a) preparing children to have “two faces”??
b) assuming that children will see service and meetings as “first in life”. Are children really thinking this consciously about life?
And also “Be careful they don’t all say that they’re going to be pioneers.” while in literature or at conventions there are no “life experiences” about people *not* being pioneer or elder (and usually both).
Thank you for posting. Keep up this nice site.
God’s Kingdom rules, Watchtower version purely and simply
a con game and like most con’s the object is hard cash,
Let’s move on from Russell’s miracle wheat, and cancer cures and come to the 1920’s.
The heavenly journey of 144000 well over booked (But maybe there’ll be a few cancellations allowing some younger
guy’s to book a ticket, and in the meantime serve on the governing body,). : A new come on urgently needed,
Everlasting life on a paradise earth, and within this generation, The fountain of youth, (What an offer, let’s see
em beat that).
1960’s , No sign of promised dividend, No wonder growth
rate falling, Another come on needed, Let’s give em
another deadline it’s worked before.
1975 the new deadline came and went, Still no return on
your investment, (Well it’s not our fault if you sold your house and cashed in your pension, in order to pioneer, we
only said this is what many brother’s are doing, It may have
sounded positive, But we didn’t say definitely,Did we?).
1990’s, Generation scam played out, (quick some one,come
up with an idea, what about “Overlapping generations” crazy
I know but there’s got to be something in the bible to make
It fly, Here’s one, 1st,Peter 3,9, it says that God’s not slow
Just patient he wants more to be saved.)
And it just goes on doesn’t it, But judging by the numbers
leaving, people are are becoming wise to to the con,
As Abe, Lincoln said “You can’t fool all the people all of the
time”
I was in Atlanta for the international assembly where this book was released. During one of brother Splaine’s talks he spoke about how the organization has always been “on the cutting edge”. He bragged about this for close to 30 mins. I thought to myself what about all those times I was grounded because a watchtower article said that the Internet was a snare and should be avoided? Why was the Internet such a terrible thing and then 2 decades later a useful and wonderful tool? Also, (please correct me if im wrong) in my opinion using a technology decades after after it’s release isn’t cutting edge.
I was also very disappointed in the way a new movie was released. During this convention there were large monitors on each side of the stadium. On these monitors there were quite a few videos played through out the weekend. One of these videos was an actual trailer of the movie to be released that day. During this trailer I almost forgot I was watching clips of a JW video. I’m not really sure were I’m going with this but it just seemed like something you’d fine on CBN(Christian broadcasting). I guess the point I’m trying to make in regards to the movie is how far the society is straying from its original ideals. It simply feels like another religion now, but I’m young so I’m not familiar with what it was like 30 years ago.
With cutting edge they probably mean the “Photo drama” by Russell in 1914 or so. And they were using radio to broadcast their message back in the 1920s. More recently they used to brag about their “MEPS”; a multi language typesetting tool (subtle differences in character width between different languages and therefore sentence width as you can imagine), and later a translation helper.
For the website I indeed don’t understand, they used to be very cautious about copyright… the CD-ROM e.g. was a very personal copy, not to be lent to others. Never expected them to publish their Bible online for example. Also the website appearance until a few years ago was quite ugly, and not multi-language friendly (quickly fell back to english). This has been improved a lot, but cutting edge it certainly is not.
FAT CHANCE. i,ve been a witness for 30yrs and yes it is a very different set up to how it was.whats taught and what’s practiced are 2totally different things. FREE THINKER i couldn’t have said it better. Am very confused.
Fat chance,
It was very different thirty years ago! It was a much less slick media operation than it is now.
Motion pictures! (I’m British and I can’t say movie) They are becoming another slick, stylish American religion. They are mimicking more successful competitors, a smart business move!
The thing to remember, sir, is that you have been taught about Jesus of Nazereth and his teachings. You can’t go far wrong following what he said, in context, than what the Governing Body thinks he meant to say in their various and sundry media. They are by no means synonimous, although the WTBTS would very much urge you to think so.
From your reading of the Gospels, train your conscience to recognise the humanity of everyone. You will be fine if you follow your conscience and think for yourself.
I remember watching the Prodigal Son film a while back and being amazed at how the JWs had evolved! Slick movies (there, I said it, just for you) with very subtle touches.
If you have it, go to the interviews section and listen to what they say. I’ll paraphrase…
Anyone who is not following Bible principles is a bad association. Think of that! Anyone who is not a JW is a bad association!!
The term “bad association” comes from the scripture that says do not be misled, bad associations spoil useful habits.
That verse, in context, is referring to ones inside the congregation!!
The GB wants to tell you that the opposite is true. Everyone OUTSIDE the congregation is a bad association!!
So your class mates? Bad associations. Your non Witness family? Bad associations. Any member of any other Christian sect? Bad associations. You get the point.
I know, it’s crazy, isn’t it? When it’s laid out logically it all looks so stupid and obviously wrong.
You seem to me to be a good person who is honestly confused by your emerging doubts. Don’t panic. You are going to be just fine.
There are many of us out here that want to help you. Some of us are with faith, some are not. Nevertheless, we are united in our determination to bring to notice the actions of the GB and their organisation. There are very harrowing truths for you to face, but we are here to give you comfort and support.
You have an individual journey to make. You must decide what you feel is right and wrong. You have a pretty decent model in Jesus to set you on your way.
Peace be with you
Excelsior!
To accept their ‘light’ doctrine, you would have to accept that the Holy Spirit provides incorrect information over a period of time only to provide correct information later, and sometimes corrections and adjustments to previously corrected information with anticipation of more corrections incoming (but don’t voice that anticipation unless you desire to get DF’d).
There is no precedence for this in Christian scripture. The early Jewish and Greek congregations were not given bad info by Paul only to have Paul write follow up letters saying that he had been given more light and Timothy write follow up letters correcting Paul’s corrections on new light and providing new light of his own. Completely ridiculous.
I really have to wonder how many logically minded Witnesses are growing more uncomfortable with this by the day. Some of the older Witnesses have volumes and shelves filled with publications that are no longer valid, and using those same publications in spiritual teaching can get them disfellowshipped for teaching incorrect and outdated doctrine.
Certainly an eye opener for all but the most fanatical JWs.
God’s Kingdom rules, Watchtower version purely and simply
a con game and like most con’s the object is hard cash,
Let’s move on from Russell’s miracle wheat, and cancer cures and come to the 1920’s.
The heavenly journey of 144000 well over booked (But maybe there’ll be a few cancellations allowing some younger
guy’s to book a ticket, and in the meantime serve on the governing body,). : A new come on urgently needed,
Everlasting life on a paradise earth, and within this generation, The fountain of youth, (What an offer, let’s see
em beat that).
1960’s , No sign of promised dividend, No wonder growth
rate falling, Another come on needed, Let’s give em
another deadline it’s worked before.
1975 the new deadline came and went, Still no return on
your investment, (Well it’s not our fault if you sold your house and cashed in your pension, in order to pioneer, we
only said this is what many brother’s are doing, It may have
sounded positive, But we didn’t say definitely,Did we?).
1990’s, Generation scam played out, (quick some one,come
up with an idea, what about “Overlapping generations” crazy
I know but there’s got to be something in the bible to make
It fly, Here’s one, 1st,Peter 3,9, it says that God’s not slow
Just patient he wants more to be saved.)
And it just goes on doesn’t it, But judging by the numbers
leaving, people are are becoming wise to to the con,
As Abe, Lincoln said “You can’t fool all the people all of the
time”
Freethinker,
A very true comment!
Fundamentally, we must act as individuals to improve our world.
I, too, felt anger and sadness at my “lost years”. I was comforted by the words of Nietzsche, when he said: everything done out of love is done beyond good and evil.
In other words, the ones who “brought us into the Truth” were doing so out of love for us, because they genuinely believed it was what was best for us. They are not evil, but neither are they good.
As far as we know, we get one life. We are finite animals and so we cannot waste our time living badly. When we find our path is wrong, we must change and love our lives anew.
It’s never too late to change our minds unless we never do. Truth is always better than a lie.
Your next challenge is your very belief in God. No one can tell you for sure whether there is or there isn’t. So, find a path that makes you the best person you can be and follow that. If it includes God, then that’s wonderful, but if it doesn’t, then that is good too.
Peace be with you
Excelsior!
Also as a side note he didn’t go into great detail about translating the proclaimers book. He simply skimmed over that and tried to drive home about how those in countries like Ukraine would now have a history of the organization in their language. In other words he didn’t make as many excuses. I hope this is of interest to some one.
For some reason this past assembly was the most heart breaking yet. Perhaps it is because it was my first international. I see all these lovely people from other countries who save and save for years to come to this event. They are so passionate and so happy and I simply can’t understand why they are so happy. Why can’t they see the truth about the “truth” like I do. I got a little choked up about it and just had to just sit in the bathroom. It was quite embarrassing, but I digress. I sometimes wish I could remain blissfully ignorant like others but I know this isn’t the best idea. I’ve always seen JW’s in the USA as hypocrites and overly critical, etc. I just couldn’t feel this way about the delegates. Still trying to figure it all out.
I also felt sorry for the delegates as well. It was as if they were characters at Disney every one was waiting in line to get their picture with them. My wife and I wanted to introduce ourselves and I was hoping to use a little of the Japanese I learned, but it was such a mission. People of all ages, genders, and races would cut in line or butt in. We could barely get a word in and you could forget taking a picture. I just gave up on speaking Japanese and my wife just wanted to finish passing out her gifts(so none were wasted) and we just stayed at our seat after that.
TED a very true yet slightly cynical analysis of the last 100 years. The difficulty that sincere JWs have including myself is accepting that this religion just boils down to the mighty dollar. Its almost as if we are hoping for a massive scandal to hit the worlds news which will make it easier for us to leave. Maybe it boils down to us playing the percentages game where we still believe slightly more than we don’t believe.
Excelsior : thank you for your words of insight very thought provoking. The lifetime believers problem in changing to non belief is an intense desire to think that there has to be more to this life than this life.Maybe we are clutching at straws but these are deeply rooted straws.
” lost years” at this moment in time I feel glad to have had my christian education so far but the human GB element is too dominant and only serves to spoil what could be a good thing.Why do we as humans have such a strong desire to live even under the most horrendous of circumstances if we like the animals were born to die?
Would just like to thank all the contributors to this site especially Cedars for giving active JW’s somewhere to discuss our thoughts and concerns, something we don’t have the luxury of doing with JW.ORG!
Fat chance,
This is a personal question, so feel free to ignore it.
How does your wife feel about the WTBTS? Have you many family members who are JWs?
The answers to these questions will define how you move on. I’m not giving you any advice, the decisions are yours.
Whatever you decide, you have my sympathy and respect.
I’m lucky, only my dear old Mum is a JW in my family. Still, this fact stops me from posting under my real name, and makes me careful to avoid trouble for my Mum. I know it’s selfish, but that’s the way it is.
My primary concern is my family, just as it should be. I do as much as I feel I can to assist in this noble cause.
I hope that I am of some small assistance to all the good people who post here. I want to be.
Life is so fleetingly wonderful, and I wish you, fat chance, and all those who read the articles and comment, a Bravo for caring about other people, an act that would make Jesus of Nazereth truly proud.
Peace be with you
Excelsior!
@fatchance
I too experienced the same feelings at our international. I realized the power of emotions the organization uses, like never before. The sad, heartbreaking video of the young lady sister dying had most in tears. I refused to give into the hype, because I realized that’s what they wanted me to do… One video showed the old transforming to young overnight, yet in another talk the next day, the speaker said these changes to perfection would be gradual… Strange…
I loved this bit – “Secondly, my eyebrows were raised by the term “attractive literature” being coined by the Governing Body. Surely whether literature is visually appealing or not is irrelevant compared to whether it is truthful and informative.”
An ex-friend who is still a JW tried to use this “logic” on me about the JW website when I sent her a long, detailed letter about why I’m not convinced the JWs have anything to offer. I said almost exactly the same thing to her! I think my exact words were, “The attractiveness of the website was not my issue with the Witnesses. Any organization with enough money can pay a good web designer to make them a ‘well-done website.’ Really? ‘It’s very well done.’? That’s your argument?”
Strangely, I never heard back from her.
Where does one find the license to ferret a verse or a few verses out of their context and assume that the message applies to 1914, 1975, or today? I can find NOTHING that allows a person to take the messages of “this generation shall not pass away….” to apply to anyone not among the crowd Jesus was speaking to AT THAT TIME. Jesus didn’t return while any of those in his audience were still alive, it is a false prophecy. We have no idea who wrote the gospels as they were passed back and forth before being put to paper or other media, or what requirements were employed to decide which “gospels” were making the cut. Gregory said: “we have four winds, four directions, then we will have four gospels”. Was this man inspired? Who were the men who picked 27 books (of hundreds or thousands of documents claiming to be inspired) and no more and what evidence did they have hundreds of years later as to authorship or even if Christ uttered the words he was credited. We know from other historians that frauds were wide spread, what we don’t know is if any frauds make it to the finished project. Yet we make war, decide on spouses, set rules for life based on a source that could be much less reliable than we think. Study some of the books written by Bart Erhmann, at least consider the evidence, he and other authors have uncovered. Nobody is out to destroy your faith, look at all sides then decide.
Cedars : Can you explain why my last comment is under moderation what that means please?
It means something in your comment has triggered our spam filter, so I need to check it before approving it.
I’ve just approved it.
Cedars : Thank You.
Excelsior,
My entire family(excluding my homosexual father) and some of my wife’s family are JW. My wife hears my side of things but that is all she just hears. She has admitted her preference to stay in the dark about the “truth”. In other words I would be 100% alone if I became inactive. My father and I are not on speaking terms.
What a wonderful exegesis of the Society’s latest book God’s Kingdom Rules! Personally I loved the Proclaimers’ Book for its frankness and honesty and have read it 24 times. I particularly liked the references to C.T.Russell’s little known dabbling in pyramidology and Rutherford’s ideas about Beth Sarim. Of course, these ideas prove that JWs have been barking up the wrong tree for years. If they were God’s people they wouldn’t have made these hilarious howlers. That is undeniable fact, and it was easy to prove with Proclaimers, not so with the Rules! I like to point out when they come to my door that they have made so many mistakes in the past (1922,1923,1924,1926,1927,1965, 1996,2012,2013 – to name but a few!) that they can’t be God’s people. They usually say something really stupid and imbecilic like, ‘Well, God’s people have always made mistakes and we have never claimed infallibility.’ I ask you!
The Ultimate Free Thinking Absolutely Liberated Apostate
Great article Cedars. Thank you for dissecting all this release for us, it’s saved us the bother!
So Watchtower are still sticking to 1914 – Why? Well they are still propping up Russell’s pyramid ideology. The prophecy of 2520 years was hijacked and made to fit in order to maintain the integrity of Russell. 607 was NOT the true historical date for the destruction of Jerusalem, as they have made us believe. IT’S A LIE.
Maybe they believe Charles is still in charge in some way, getting messages through to his followers from his heavenly abode.
Anyway, 100 years of Christ’s supposed rule already gone, only 900 left! When you think about what he achieved in just three and half years as Messiah on earth, it is quite ridiculous to believe that he is taking so long to put things right now.
Sorry, Watchtower, your credibility is going fast. The writing is on the wall. Your whitewashed walls are sure to fall.
Excellent comments
@Freethinker, Thanks for your response, If my comments
were cynical it comes from seeing how good people have
been have been cynically used by the organization, in far too many ways than it’s possible to go into,
I think there have been good men with honest motives even
in the Governing Body, Ray Franz, I feel is an example of
this, He pointed out needful changes, But the comfort of the
status quo was preferred, They couldn’t disfellowship him
legitimately, So they brought out a new rule, making it an
offence to be friendly with a disassociated person.
Leaving the organization does not have to be the end of
faith, the end of hope, I left 35 years ago, and feel closer
to God and Jesus than I did back then, Now there are no
fallible men inserting themselves between me and my
Mediator, Telling me what I must do to get God’s approval
taking over my conscience, What I do now is out of free will
that’s got to be more acceptable.
The late Peter OToole, had little time for organised religion
and said “But they can’t take Jesus away from me”, — My
thoughts exactly.
Ted
Just a note about ‘the generation’. I found a tape of a talk given by Gerrit Losch before he became a GB member. He spoke about the generation as the people who see the start of the tribulation not passing away before the end came. Seems simple enough. Perhaps he had his brain removed when he joined the GB. Tow the party line or else!!
A number of people have asked if a PDF download of the book is available. I’m pleased to tell you that a link is now included near the start of the article.
@Freethinker, Thanks for your response, If my comments
were cynical it comes from seeing how good people have
been have been cynically used by the organization, in far too many ways than it’s possible to go into,
I think there have been good men with honest motives even
in the Governing Body, Ray Franz, I feel is an example of
this, He pointed out needful changes, But the comfort of the
status quo was preferred, They couldn’t disfellowship him
legitimately, So they brought out a new rule, making it an
offence to be friendly with a disassociated person.
The despotic king, Henry V111, employed the same tactic,
When the law wouldn’t allow him to marry Anne Boleyn, He
just changed the law.
Leaving a religion that’s dissappointed us does not have to
be the end of belief, I left 34 years ago, and feel closer to
God, and Jesus, than I did back then, Now that there’s no
fallible human organisation inserting itself between me and
my mediator, Telling me what I must do to have Gods
approval, Anything I do now is out of free will, That’s got
To be more acceptable.
The late Peter O,Toole had little time for organised religion
and said, “But they can’t take Jesus away from me”, – My
thoughts exactly.