Any ex-jehovah's witnesses

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sahara

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Can any former Jehovah’s witness tell me what it was that got you to question what you were taught by the Watchtower. My wife and her family became Jehovah’s witnesses after we got married I don’t think she has any idea about all the false prophecies of the Watchtower. My search for countering Watchtower doctrines lead me hear and I can really use some help in understanding what makes witnesses so hard to reason with. Any advise would be appreciated.
 
I don’t know anything about prophesies but I have read several Watchtower magazines in the past and found that they are anti-Catholic. Almost every Watchtower magazine that I read had something in it that was anti-Catholic. I used to let the Witnesses in and would purchase their book but I finally decided that each person is free to accept or not accept any religion’s teachings but for the Witnesses to constantly belittle the R.C. Church is just too much so I had to tell them not to come here anymore. It’s been a few years since I read the Watchtower but I’m assuming it’s still the same.
I wonder why your wife and her family joined them. Did she join because the rest of her family did?
 
also here is the link for Jeff Schwehm’s Catholic XJW site “conversions” category:

catholicxjw.com/conversions.html

his site is the most comprehensive online and is part of an official Apostolate to XJWs. His apologetics are without reproach.
 
Well, even though I believed in their Governing Body
for a long time, I was always aware and a little perplexed by,
the fact that they kept flip-flopping on their understanding of many things.

For example, for years they would dogmatically teach
that the people of Sodom would NOT be resurrected.
Then later, and for years, they would teach that Scripture
teaches that the people of Sodom WOULD BE resurrected.
And then, years later, they would revert BACK to the
original claim that the Bible says that the people
of Sodom would NOT be resurrected.

That, alone, was the hairline crack in the wall which ultimately
made me willing to at least LOOK at critical arguments against the Watchtower Society. Whatever they taught, they were always extremely dogmatic about it at the time they were teaching it. It was “The Truth” even if they REVERSED IT later.
And you were “an Apostate” if you didn’t believe whatever version they were teaching at any GIVEN time.

Ray Franz’s book CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE was a real eye-opener.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
I can really use some help in understanding what makes witnesses so hard to reason with.
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You have a group of people that have been convinced that the teaching they are receiving is complete and absolute truth. Any other teaching, remarks, or comments from any other source is false and controlled by Satan. To protect the flock from the Devil, reading anything outside what the official organization sanctions is forbidden.

The organization then sets in place an education method to counter any argument that the people in the organization might come into contact within their evangelization efforts. These arguments seem logical because they are well documented and sourced. The problem with that is that the people cannot look up the actual source material because only the hand picked and out of context portions quoted by the leaders of the organization can be used. If one actually looks at the original source material that is being quoted it is all too easy to see the arguments in the education method fall apart.

All social ties to the outside community are severed. Anyone in the organization that steps out of line is threatened with being completely ostracized. Since the relationships of family are based upon other members of the family remaining true to the organization it makes it difficult for people to get out once they are in.

Higher education (critical thinking skills) is strongly discouraged.

Anything that is in conflict with the organization is immediately discarded.

What we have is a cult in the truest sense of the word.

That is the “why” it is so hard to reason with JW’s.
 
b_justb said:
You have a group of people that have been convinced that the teaching they are receiving is complete and absolute truth. Any other teaching, remarks, or comments from any other source is false and controlled by Satan. To protect the flock from the Devil, reading anything outside what the official organization sanctions is forbidden.

The organization then sets in place an education method to counter any argument that the people in the organization might come into contact within their evangelization efforts. These arguments seem logical because they are well documented and sourced. The problem with that is that the people cannot look up the actual source material because only the hand picked and out of context portions quoted by the leaders of the organization can be used. If one actually looks at the original source material that is being quoted it is all too easy to see the arguments in the education method fall apart.

All social ties to the outside community are severed. Anyone in the organization that steps out of line is threatened with being completely ostracized. Since the relationships of family are based upon other members of the family remaining true to the organization it makes it difficult for people to get out once they are in.

Higher education (critical thinking skills) is strongly discouraged.

Anything that is in conflict with the organization is immediately discarded.

What we have is a cult in the truest sense of the word.

That is the “why” it is so hard to reason with JW’s.
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Beautifuly said !!!

One more thing I would like to add.
Jw’s STRONGLY teach that every religion other then watchtower is babylon the great, and by joining them God would be extremely angry.

They also try to use the actions of BAD Catholics to represent the whole church. So even if a Jw came here and learned the truth about watchtower…there minds would be so poisoned against catholosism that they STILL remain jw because they believe the lies the watchtower spread against the catholic church.
 
There are some wonderful responses here, and I hope that you have enough information to get started. But regardless of what the Watchtower has set up to keep people from the Truth, don’t disregard the power of the Holy Spirit to open hearts and tear down walls. Pray, make sacrifices, and let God work in the hearts of your loved ones.

Gertie
 
Gertabelle said:
There are some wonderful responses here, and I hope that you have enough information to get started. But regardless of what the Watchtower has set up to keep people from the Truth, don’t disregard the power of the Holy Spirit to open hearts and tear down walls. Pray, make sacrifices, and let God work in the hearts of your loved ones.

Gertie
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Gertie:

Amen to this!!

I was a 5th generation JW, with a huge extended family in various positions in the organization. I was a full-time minister (called “pioneer”) for a couple of years and was a very active Witness until the mid 1990s.

The interference of congregation elders into private matters involving my children (young teenagers) caused me to become inactive in the door-to-door work, slow down attending meetings, and ultimately stop altogether.

I also began attending college at night while working two jobs. My husband was unemployed at the time due to a plant shut down. He stopped going in ministry when I did, and stopped going to meetings when I did, but claims (a decade later) that he is still a Witness. BTW, my husband was a baptized, confirmed, communing cradle Catholic when he was converted to the JW faith (before I met him, when he was in college).

After about 10 years of inactivity, and after becoming pretty much an “ethical agnostic”, a series of events in my life caused me to become lonesome for God. About the same time, a dear friend of mine (never a JW) who had been a religious skeptic of the first order became interested in Catholicism. She was received into the Church at Easter 2006, and I attended my first Mass in November 2006.

I am presently in RCIA and will be baptized next March.

The Holy Spirit is not limited in what He can accomplish!! Never give up praying for your friends and relatives, that God bring them to His one, Holy, Catholic Church.

As to specific suggestions, I can only recommend that you show your JW family and friends the unconditional love that is a result of true Christianity. It can take a long time for them to be able to hear the wonderful things you would like to tell them about Jesus, but they can feel your love in their lives and that alone can work miracles.

Ave Maria,

Ruth
 
OOOOOOHHHH !!!
nanar you went to colledge!!!

that was a wast of time because the end of the wourld is coming in 1975 !!!

OOOPS I must have slept through the end of the world.
It must have been an invisible end of the world…LOL…LOL
 
I don’t know much about Jehovah Witness doctrine but I gained a respect for the Jehovah Witness people yesterday as I visited the National Holocaust Museum and learned that the Jehovah Witnesses was among the few non-jewish groups targeted by the Nazies for extermination. All that a JW would have had to do to avoid the wrath of the Nazies is to deny their faith but not a single Jehovah Witness denied their faith to save his/her life. Say what you will about their doctrines or organization, but I think that says a lot about their devotion.
 
BCPoulsen said:
I don’t know much about Jehovah Witness doctrine but I gained a respect for the Jehovah Witness people yesterday as I visited the National Holocaust Museum and learned that the Jehovah Witnesses was among the few non-jewish groups targeted by the Nazies for extermination. All that a JW would have had to do to avoid the wrath of the Nazies is to deny their faith but not a single Jehovah Witness denied their faith to save his/her life. Say what you will about their doctrines or organization, but I think that says a lot about their devotion.
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First hand experience of one JW woman during that time:

watchtower.org/e/19980601/article_01.htm
 
this thread has been highjacked by JW trolls–time to wrap it up. They have taken it totally off topic.
 
Well, another very important reason why I was led to Catholicism,
is that
CATHOLICS have been PRAYING for the CONVERSION
and SALVATION of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and members of other authoritarian cults.

Still another reason is that MARY and the OTHER Saints in Heaven are ALSO praying for these people.

And I am too.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
well HI everybody! it took me a little bit to find BIBLE STEVE but I found him. STEVE I left a reply over at the apologetics thread TWO JWs AT MY DOOR TODAY maybe you want to reply maybe you don’t ? any way I am still praying for you!!!:knight1: :irish2:
 
For 33 years as a 3rd generation born Jehovah’s Witness I went door to door with a Bible in my hand and Watchtower society literature.On YOUR door step,convinced in my heart of hearts that unless I recruited you as a Jehovah’s Witness that you and your family would all die a horrible ghastly death.

This is what the Watchtower sect programmed me to believe.

Moreover,this is what I spent all my time,money promoting and this is what all 3 generations of my Haszard clan promoted.

This is what the Watchtower sect indoctrinated us to believe.

At 5 meetings a week,weekend ‘meetings for field service’ pep rallies we would be reminded that we were the world’s only hope.

This is what the Watchtower sect brainwashed us to believe.

Our message that we carried door to door that I had been drilled and knew by heart from hundreds of meetings:
God’s Kingdom by Jesus Christ was established in the year 1914 and this generation (meant to convey the immediacy of the right now in my youthful lifetime) will get to see Armageddon and the paradise.

This is what the Watchtower sect trained me to believe.
It was all a LIE!

For 50 plus years the masthead of the Watchtower,viewed when you opened up to the inside front cover would read as follows:

“This magazine(Watchtower) builds up confidence in the Creators PROMISE of a peaceful and secure “new world” before the generation “that witnessed” the EVENTS OF 1914 passes away”".
By their own admission the Watchtowers has published this dogma in hundreds of millions of pieces of their own literature.

They deleted this false Adventist millerite derived prophecy in 1995 because it had FAILED.

The Watchtower leadership has “purged” hundreds of thousands of followers over the years for failing to uphold the 1914 (Jesus came to power) loyalty oath to this now defunct dogma.

The Bible clearly warns to turn away from false prophets.

Staying Alive Until 1975 Danny Haszard story of growing up Jehovah’s Witnesses with severe ulcerative colitis in the Watchtower cult
dannyhaszard.com/colitis.htm
 
so DANNY HASZARDhow long have you been an ex JW? and what disicpline do you follow now? catholic,prost. muslum ???] I guess you are one of the lucky ones. hope to talk to you more. Gods blessing be upon you.
 
I am an exjw. I’m Catholic Curious 😉
What got me to leave were the lies that the Watchtower has told to cover their butts.
I could write a book about the lies, but why bother when there is Crisis of Conscience.

The problem when dealing with JW’s is there are these little sensers that go off in their heads when they hear anything remotely anti JW. (you’ve probably noticed this)

There ARE ways to get her to think if this is a task you want to undertake.
It’ll take some serious reading and planning.
The first hint I can give you is in regards to the Trinity.
Google Jehovah’s Witnesses and the trinity booklet
And you’ll find some interesting information. You can find the early works of the Church fathers here:
ccel.org/fathers.html

Prayer, prayer and more prayer.
You’re welcome to send me a message.

Ravyn mentioned the catholic xjw thread. Excellent place.
There are some very well versed posters there who are knowledgable with both the RC faith and the JW’s.

take care
 
CuriousM said:
The problem when dealing with JW’s is there are these little sensers that go off in their heads when they hear anything remotely anti JW. (you’ve probably noticed this)

take care
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I am not JW but what you just wrote is perhaps true for anyone who is serious about the faith in which they belong. I know that there are very serious catholics who would have their own sensers go off if anticatholic remarks were made or if a book was anti catholic.I am sure that the JW’s are serious about their religion and take it all very seriously. Hence, the awareness of the anti stuff.

Many catholics are not that serious about their faith. It may be their loss but that is the way it is. Many could care less about anticatholic stuff out there.

At the moment, I see that many on this forum are in the RCIA which I think is a very good thing. However, when that class finishes, the education about the faith may finish also. They will be bapitized and perhaps become sunday catholics. However, being converts they will be very sensitive toward anti catholic stuff. More than the average member.
 
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