Dear Readers,
Hi. I want to say that when I created that post about Sk8ey Cat's autistic Jehovah's Witness sister creating that caption that makes fun of LDS temple garments, I did not mean or intend it to used as an insult to autistic persons. I do not support prejudice against autistic persons or people with other mental or physical disabilities. Some close loved ones of mine are autistic and are smarter than me. They have careers, are college-educated, drive cars, have families and, raise children with their spouses or partners and are fine, upstanding members of the community. They are much more stronger than any limitations they may have and I admire and appreciate them so much for that. Sk8ey Cat's sister cannot help it that she has disabilities, that is not her fault. There's nothing wrong with it, that's just the way she was born. Unfortunately she cannot take care of herself and has had to live with her atheistic sister for her entire life. Both are very old women. I just think it is hypocritical for a JW to go around a make fun of Orthodox Mormon beliefs and act irate whenever someone criticizes the JW denomination. The Jehovah's Witnesses need to understand this: you can believe what you want, but nobody is required or should be expected to agree with any of your denominational beliefs or practices for whatever reason they may have. That is not "persecution" as you may like or want to think. " The Watchtower" magazine frequently criticizes all non-JW religious groups and sometimes shows outrageous displays of emotional intolerance towards the fact that some people in this world have different beliefs than the JW's.
You are free to do this, but you shouldn't expect to not be criticized back. Just because you believe that your particular denomination is the "truth" does NOT mean that anyone else has to accept that claim. I'm an ex-JW and I obviously don't believe that claim, I believe that you believe that your particular fundamentalist Christian denomination is the "truth", but I do not believe that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is the "standard bearer for truth". I don't believe that secular society is " morally corrupt". People have their problems and it is up to individual to learn from their mistakes. I disagreed with so much of the JW worldview growing up and realized that the best decision for me was to leave the denomination. It wasn't the easiest choice to make, but it was a necessary one that didn't do me any lasting damage. I don't think that the WBTS is an "unbiased" religious institution. For one thing, they don't even list the names of the people who wrote the " New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures" and include the credentials of these persons, so we can see how accurate the translation is in language and style. That is pretty biased. You are NOT in any way, allowed to question or change any beliefs and practices of the JW denomination at all, you must constantly resort to reading only WBTS-approved literature and come to the same conclusions that the denomination already holds to. That sounds pretty biased to me.
I can research any topic that I choose from any resources that I want. I get to come to my own conclusions about what I think and can always change my opinion later if I need to. I don't have someone telling me that if I dare use my independent thinking skills, I may face annihilation at a later date by a "loving" god and miss out on becoming an immortal being living on some reformed Edenic-type of earthly paradise. As an atheist, I may obey the laws of secular society, just like you. However, if I feel that a certain law is unjust or does harm to me or other people, I can disagree with it and petition to change it. As a Jehovah's Witness, you cannot do that. You cannot be involved in politics and you certainly CANNOT get the Governing Body to change their minds about anything because these men believe that they are Yahweh's "representatives" on earth and to question their authority is like questioning Yahweh himself in their eyes. Therefore, you must always do what the GB and the Elders at your Kingdom Hall (JW Church congregation building) tell you, whether you like it or not. I don't believe that the world or earthly governments are under the influence of " Satan". Life is not perfect, people are not perfect. Some people just don't learn from their mistakes and don't want to better themselves, well there are consequences for their behavior. I don't believe that the U.N. is "the scarlet-colored wild beast", "evil" or is willing to persecute Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't believe that the religious organizations associated with the U.N. are "Babylon the Great" or "whores". I think they do many good things in regards to social justice, well most of them anyways. The U.N. does work hard to secure religious freedom worldwide for everyone, including Jehovah's Witnesses. What about the JW's involvement with the U.N. and that "library card" excuse that they gave? I thought it was very manipulative and hypocritical and exploitative.
The U.N. had it flaws, but it does do many good things despite it's flaws. The Jehovah's Witnesses as individuals, many of them are good people and do the best they can. They claim to be doing what they believe the Bible "commands" them to do. I don't think the JW's do everything that the Bible "commands" them to do. In fact, I think the JW's cherry-pick the Bible just like every other Christian group does. I think in a way that this is a good thing. Why? Well, I wouldn't want you to go around stoning disobedient children to death, murdering sexually-active gay male couples, killing people who practice "witchcraft", killing people who worship other deities than Yahweh, burning the prostitute daughters of rabbis to death or holding and beating slaved when they disobey you. Such behavior is outrageous and immorally wrong because these actions hurt people and do severe damage to our society. I believe that most JW's are good people, despite holding some very wrong ideas about life, the world and other people. I think most JW individuals are good people and try to act morally, not because of their religious beliefs ( even though I'm sure they believe their religion is what motivates their good intentions), but because that is just who they are. This is just my own personal perspective on the matter. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
B.W.
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