Does God count it as sin if you leave Jehovah's Witnesses?

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This seems relevant:
Catholic Encyclopedia:
Every substantial error, or indeed every error which is really the cause of making a vow, renders the vow null and void… One who can say sincerely, “if I had known this or that, I would not have made the vow”, is not bound by the vow… no vow must be made to God of any unlawful or indifferent matter. The reason is simple: God is all holy and cannot accept the offering of anything which is bad or less good in its nature… All obligation ceases when the fulfilment of the vow becomes impossible or harmful, or if the reason for the vow ceases to exist.
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FabiusMaximus said:
Dear Katrin,

It is true that that the New Testament is very important to us (of course!). However, the Old Testament is not “less important” to us. We take what God says in the Old Testament very seriously. We do believe the Levitical laws in certain ways have been superseded (especially in terms of diet and cleanliness), but we do not toss out the whole Old Testament.

Actually, if I remember correctly, one of the earliest heresies of the Church rejected the Old Testament entirely, believing that it was incompatible with the New Testament (for a variety of reasons). The Church viciously opposed that movement.

Hope that helps 🙂
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Thank you for your kind (name removed by moderator)ut.
Yes, some things do apply and some don’t, however, something does not apply anymore if Jesus corrected the earlier teaching, no? This is the case here, in my opinion.
 
LennyFL said:
When you made the vow you thought that the Society was the true congregation of God. I see it as this if there is any sin at all in this it would be of making the vow in the first place. It’s like if you mad a vow to murder someone it would be sinful but even more sinful if you actually do it. You can’t do God’s will by being one of “Jehovah’s Witnesses” because you can’t even get a legitimate baptism as a JW (In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) I understand how you must be feeling. I started studding with a Witnesses in my hall when I was 13. I am 16 now. I have already became and unbaptized publisher and have made many close and loving friends. It’s truly a family feeling. I have not told them I am going to convert to Catholic Church and I am really nervous about doing so. I am sorry it has to be so hard. It is worth it though. I always doubted that the Society was teaching the truth but now I know that the Church is truly God’s Church and I have found so many people in the Church that is more than willing to help me through this difficult period. Never give up hope. God is directing you. The Truth will really set you free.
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Dear Lenny,

thank you so much for your encouraging words.
I am glad that you are on your way out of the Watchtower, and that you found a new spiritual home in the Catholic Church. When the time comes for you to tell your friends about your decision, ask God to help you speak. I was so afraid of explaining my beliefs to the elders, but God helped me to overcome my fear. The Holy Spirit led me to speak 2 hours in front of a judicial committee. The elders were not able to falsify any of the my arguments. That was so amazing.
Jesus is our mediator, not the Governing Body! Cling to Him. He loves you. And when there is no friend left on this world, know that Jesus is the best friend you can possibly have! Actually He is all you need.
Love, small sister
 
KathleenGee said:
God bless you, sister…and look for the Catholic television network, EWTN. They have many programs that reflect many times the universality of our faith. They have history programs, others that have guests who share their journey into Catholicism. They have the Mass celebrated on tv, saints’ testimonies, movies, documentaries about Catholic people and church history in specific lands.

Your renunciation of that which is false has purified and renewed you.

I am so sorry about the shunning. I heard of a Protestant Afro American pastor who lost many of his friends by becoming Catholic and now he has many new Catholic friends. If you can, go to the nearest Catholic church, check their Mass time and visit and when Mass has ended stay after and pray before Jesus present in the tabernacle…on the altar with a sanctuary candlelight next to it.

He is there waiting for you and will console you like no person ever can. He will show you in time certain saints who will become your friends as well, along with the Holy Angels. The Rite of Christian Initation begins in parishes in the early fall and they prepare people for baptism and entrance into the Church with others who are also seeking.

It is a great thing at Easter to see the new members of the Church before the assembly, eager to welcome and share their life in Christ with them. I wish the same reality will be yours sooner than you think.

God bless you !
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Dear Kathleen,
thank you so much for your kind words.
Yes the shunning is not something Jesus would have done.

I just had the time to fill in my profile today, so I am sorry that I did not mention that I was raised catholic. I am already visiting my local Catholic Church after asking for allowance via email. I usually don’t watch TV, but I will certainly have a look into EWTN. Thank you for that tip.
For me the most difficult thing is to know that I am Jesus’ friend. As a child I shared my whole life, every thought with Him. But then I rejected to talk to Him anymore, because I learned as a JW that only Jehovah is the hearer of prayers. That was so wrong!
I know that God is love (1. John 4:8), and that He forgives if one truly repents. His mercy is beyond our thinking. It is just so difficult to forgive myself.
May God bless you.
Love, small sister
 
yellowbird said:
Leaving the WT Society was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I loved my brothers and sisters and I loved attending the meetings. But like you, I slowly became convinced that what I had been taught was not true. I didn’t doubt their dedication to serving Jehovah - but unfortunately they had been brainwashed just like me.

It took me years to totally get over them… I’d have moments of panic like what if they were right? As time has gone on, it has become easier because obiviously their prophecies failed.

The generation of 1914 → all through the 1980s and early 1990s that’s all we talked about. I was in my late teens, early 20 and my whole life was based on knowing the system HAD to end because that generation would not pass away. Why bother with college? Why plan for anything… we were most certainly in the very last days. With each new year, we’d say well this is it…

and yet here we are 2013. That generation DID pass away, as did. the millions now living from 1925 who they said would never die → dead. It makes me sad to know that so many good and faithful JWs lived their entire lives for a lie.

Here’s what helped me:
I read my Bible - a lot. Not the NWT - it’s been altered. I bought a regular American Standard Bible - and read it and prayed for Jehovah to give me understanding. I told him all the tme that I loved Him, and asked him to show me the TRUTH. He did.

I found an ex-JW support group. They were wonderful people - former elders and overseers who loved Jehovah but like us, discovered the organization did NOT speak for Him.

I started reading books about the early Church. It looked nothing like the WT Society - nothing at all. It looked like the Catholic Church - which shocked me… the whole whore of babylon thing was hard to overcome. But God was patient and allowed me lots of time to come around.

My spiritual life today is beyond what I could’ve ever imgained as a JW. I truly love God with my whole heart, soul and mind, and I love His son, Jesus. I pray the same for you, my dear sister.
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Dear yellowbird,

Your testimony touched my heart! Thank you so much for sharing your journey!
Yes, the NWT is altered in a way that misleads the reader to the conclusion that Jesus is not God. When you compare the translation in the “Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures” with the English text, you find numerous proofs. I was so astonished to see that the word for worshipping is definitely used in reference to Jesus. It is the same vocabulary used for worshipping Jehovah - see Mat.28:17 and Lk. 4:8, both times ‘prosekynesein’ as verb ( also in other verses).
Humble people are being misled by such seemingly small but essential alterations. Most JWs really want to please God and are so much cheated. They are robbed of the very essence of life, Jesus Christ.
Dear yellowbird, I am so glad that you know God and that you are so much in love with Him.
Thank you so much for your prayers. As you know yourself, after leaving you find yourself in a dark valley, full of depression and doubts. I am trying to face one day at a time. Trusting Jesus. You are in my prayers, too.
Much love, small sister
 
Phil_Marinus said:
I understand the Pain and Confusion you have gone through…
Theres an old Scottish saying I was once told…
When you walk away from things or people you no longer wish to associate with…
Just Wipe your feet and move on , and do not turn around, keep walking to the sunshine away from the darkness…
You have done the right thing,
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Dear Phil,

thank you so much for your reassuring words.
I am trying to come out of the darkness. Imagining Jesus smiling to us out of the sky.
Moving on one day at a time. 🙂
May Jesus never let you alone.
Love, small sister
 
small_sister said:
Dear readers,
I have been a Jehovah’s Witness until I disassociated myself from the Watchtower 3 months ago after intensive research. Consequently I am shunned. Beside the fact that I am now viewed as an apostate who willingly acts against God and that they “handed [me] over to Satan” (see 1.Tim.1:20), I am afraid that God Himself could count it as sin that I did not ‘pay my vow’ which I made at my baptism, namely to follow that organization. Deuteronomy 23:21 reads: “When you make a vow to The Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and The Lord your God will surely require it of you.” (Also verse 23.)

My secret research led me to the conviction that the Watchtower organization is not only a false prophet (see Deut. 19:20-22), but also a misleading teacher who willingly manipulated the Word of God by false translation of key verses. I collected so many evidences of such mistranslations and know how they control the mind of all Witnesses.
Still, I have made a vow " voluntarily", and I can’t see any way of ignoring the verses above.

What is your opinion? Does God want me to return to the Watchtower? What can I do?
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I think you can find your answers by re-examining the Catholic faith.

It’s quite clear that your recent affiliation with another religion has caused doubts.
 
aspirant said:
This seems relevant:
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Dear aspirant,
thanks a lot. This quote gives me peace of mind regarding the vow. Thank you for your effort to find it!
I like your signature.
May God bless you.
Love, small sister
 
I think that if you renounce your involvement with the JW’s, repent, (you were baptized catholic?) and so I assume you made the other sacraments of initiation of the Catholic Church, so make an appointment with a parish priest for confession so your sins are absolved from your soul.
small_sister said:
What is your opinion? Does God want me to return to the Watchtower? What can I do?
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I think you should continue what your doing which from your post is that your seeking answers to the truth. I hope these links help you:

olgcparish.net/education/true_magnificence.html
(scroll down to the “Magnificance of the Mass” video links. They are awesome!

ewtn.com/library/answers/witwatch.htm

ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/CHUANSWR.HTM

There was an article in CatholicAnswersMagazine, the November-December 2011 issue titled, “Ten Key Beliefs of the Watch Tower Society, What You Should Know Before You Invite Them In” by Joel S. Peters, but I can’t find it online. It was very good. If you would like a copy, PM me and I’ll mail you a copy.

Also I just want to point out, that you were obviously prompted by the Holy Spirit and you responded by coming here. That is very important during this stage of conversion that you are going thru. When you want to find out information about the Catholic Church, the best place to find the answers are in the Catholic Church not someone who is in opposition to the Catholic Church. Here are some other good sites:

What I find interesting is perhaps God is speaking to you thru Sacred Scripture? What is He saying to you in today’s Mass Readings?:

universalis.com/mass.htm

livingspace.sacredspace.ie/

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The Profession of Faith

Peace with you.
 
Dear friend,
Certainly you did make this vow in good faith to God. However, are you worse that St. Paul? He too made vows and promises and even persecuted the Church until his conversion. Yet he was both forgiven and became an apostle and martyr.

Here we see God’s wonderful mercy and wisdom, so be not afraid. Once you have converted and come into His Church you may want to confess this, but be sure to listen carefully to that priest’s counsel.

Furthermore, I would question whether the vow is even valid, even though your intentions were good because, as you have already discerned, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a following of false prophets and notice here what the Word of God says about them.

Deuteronomy 18:[21] And if in silent thought thou answer: How shall I know the word that the Lord hath not spoken? [22] Thou shalt have this sign: Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in the name of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass: that thing the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath forged it by the pride of his mind: and therefore thou shalt not fear him.

Oh yeah, and if you are baptized Catholic then you need only go to confession to return home to our most holy faith. May Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ be with you all the way.
 
small_sister said:
I am trying to come out of the darkness. Imagining Jesus smiling to us out of the sky.
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That is exactly what happens when we repent and turn back to Him:

Luke 15:7
“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”
 
504Katrin said:
This is Moses’ book you were quoting. It doesn’t necessarily count for you guys if I understood you correctly as the New Testament has pretty much replaced the “old” Testament. No matter how that pans out I’m pretty sure that Jesus rules. And Jesus said that you’re not even supposed to make a vow. So if you take back that vow you might actually do something good as a (future) Catholic.
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Hallo Katrin,

viele Grüße nach Deutschland. In welcher Gegend wohnen Sie?
Ich lebe nur zeitweise in der Nähe von New York, bin aber am Tegernsee zu Hause.
Danke für den guten Hinweis. Ja, laut Galater 3:23-26 sind Christen nicht mehr unter dem Mosaischen Gesetz.

Ich wünsche Ihnen Gottes Segen.
Herzlichst, small sister
 
small_sister said:
Dear aspirant,
thanks a lot. This quote gives me peace of mind regarding the vow. Thank you for your effort to find it!
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You are most welcome, small sister. I do not want you to be troubled by a vow that good conscience does not permit you to keep. 🙂
 
Read the Church Fathers - don’t try to interpret it all yourself!

For a great introduction to the Church Fathers, the ‘Universalis’ website has them under the Second Reading at the ‘Office of Readings’ for each day. This should introduce you to a number of core doctrines believed by most Christians throughout history. You will find that it is significantly different from the teaching of the Watchtower, but I suspect it might allow you to get to grips with the key concepts.

Hope this helps.
 
Hi small sister.

Like yourself, I was baptised and raised a catholic, and spent 15 years in the Watchtower, as a regular pioneer and ministerial servant, only to return to Rome 7 years ago along with my wife. The day after we disassociated, I bought two catholic bibles, a missal, and what I found valuable was buying the 7 volume ‘Conversations with God’ books. The conversation with god books has a commentary on the daily mass readings, and it was an ideal replacement to the daily text that the witnesses had to read everyday. This helped the two of us, get out from under the watchtower’s controlling mindset. I would also recommend reading the church fathers, and also read the catechism.

It’s not a sin if you leave the witnesses, that’s what the watchtower make you believe. You’re in our prayers.
 
Church_Militant said:
Dear friend,
Certainly you did make this vow in good faith to God. However, are you worse that St. Paul? He too made vows and promises and even persecuted the Church until his conversion. Yet he was both forgiven and became an apostle and martyr.

Here we see God’s wonderful mercy and wisdom, so be not afraid. Once you have converted and come into His Church you may want to confess this, but be sure to listen carefully to that priest’s counsel.

Furthermore, I would question whether the vow is even valid, even though your intentions were good because, as you have already discerned, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a following of false prophets and notice here what the Word of God says about them.

Deuteronomy 18:[21] And if in silent thought thou answer: How shall I know the word that the Lord hath not spoken? [22] Thou shalt have this sign: Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in the name of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass: that thing the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath forged it by the pride of his mind: and therefore thou shalt not fear him.

Oh yeah, and if you are baptized Catholic then you need only go to confession to return home to our most holy faith. May Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ be with you all the way.
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Dear church militant,

thank you for your kind reply.

I have been baptized when I was a child.
So you say that I only have to go to confession and then return to the Catholic Church? That sounds so easy. But when I think about it, it would not be easy at all.

Since my last confession many years ago, so many things have happened. I have committed so many sins! I think I will not have the courage to tell anybody about all my faults. Only Jesus. He knows everything anyway.

I would not even know where to start to confess. I believe that the priest would scold me for being a stewardess, regarding the reputation I had as such in the Watchtower organization. Then the stigma of a shunned JW on top! He very likely would kick me out of the confessional!

But thank you again for your encouragement. I very much appreciate it.
Love, small sister
 
small sister,
I just had to reply. No Catholic Priest should ever scold you for anything you have done. The Sacrament of Reconciliation, aka confession is not about the Priest judging us, but is about the Priest listening, maybe giving some advice and leading us as sinners back into Sanctifying Grace.

Do not be afraid. Fear is of the evil one. God has called you home and I know that he will give you all the Grace you need to make a good contrite confession and that your soul will be at Peace.

My prayers are with you.

In Christ,

Stan
 
Dear Loving Small Sister,

I agree with Skyes here…you are baptized and received into the Catholic Church a long time ago.

How you are restored is by going to your parish priest to confession and seek absolution, and then you are 100 restored as a full fledge member of the Catholic Church!! You can then go to Mass after confession and participate fully by affirming our faith in the Creed and then go to Holy Communion.

You can only look forward to great restoration and peace in the Lord!!!

Hallelui!!!
 
small_sister said:
Dear Lenny,

thank you so much for your encouraging words.
I am glad that you are on your way out of the Watchtower, and that you found a new spiritual home in the Catholic Church. When the time comes for you to tell your friends about your decision, ask God to help you speak. I was so afraid of explaining my beliefs to the elders, but God helped me to overcome my fear. The Holy Spirit led me to speak 2 hours in front of a judicial committee. The elders were not able to falsify any of the my arguments. That was so amazing.
Jesus is our mediator, not the Governing Body! Cling to Him. He loves you. And when there is no friend left on this world, know that Jesus is the best friend you can possibly have! Actually He is all you need.
Love, small sister
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Oh I could not even imagine going through that. I know they would have comebacks with mistranslated scripture left and right. I could only do it with Jesus’ help. Most of the elders in my congregation have become like spiritual fathers sense my parents are not JWs. Would I have to sit in front of a judicial committee if I’m an unbaptized publisher? I don’t remember. Oh, but it is so worth it. I love the Catholic Church so much. I wish I could have acted on what I have always known deep down to be the True Church. I would not have to go through all this mess. The father at my Church is great too, I think he’s going to be hanging out with the youth group on Sunday so I will talk to him about it. Thank you for you encouragement! It is always so encouraging to me to find that former Witnesses came to the true Church despite all the hardships they face with leaving the Society.
 
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