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Murder of Laree Slack

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  (Redirected from Constance Slack)
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Laree A. Slack (July 4, 1989 – November 11, 2001) was the victim of child abuse that led to her death. She was whipped with "an inch-thick section of rubberized electrical cable filled with strands of wire"[1] repeatedly [2] and died from internal bleeding several hours later.
Her father, Larry Slack Sr., was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 as a result of the beating.[3] He received a life sentence for the murder and a 30-year sentence for aggravated battery of a child.[4] The mother, Constance Slack, received a 25-year sentence after pleading guilty to murder.[5] The beatings of Laree and her eight-year-old brother started because of a claimed failure to properly clear away laundry, leading to difficulty finding a credit card. The father's interpretation of Biblical injunctions regarding the punishment of children were a factor in the severity of the beating. The parents were devout Jehovah's Witnesses who home-schooled their six children. Investigators said the parents decided to administer Biblical discipline in the form of "40 lashes minus one, three times".[1]
The crime was used as an illustration in the 2005 edition of the textbook Delinquency in society that an "intact two parent family" with strong religious values is not so important as having a "loving family" in preventing violence toward children.[6]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Maureen O'Donnell, Ana Mendieta, Annie Sweeney. "Biblical beating kills girl: cops". Chicago Sun-Times; Chicago, Illinois. November 13, 2001.
2.Jump up ^ Kirsten Scharnberg and Eric Ferkenhoff. "Girl died after parents hit her 160 times, court told". Chicago Tribune; Chicago, Illinois. November 14, 2001, News Section, page 1.
3.Jump up ^ Jeff Coen. "Fatal beating by dad called 'torture' ; Father convicted in daughter's murder". Chicago Tribune; Chicago, Illinois. April 28, 2006, Metro Section, page 8.
4.Jump up ^ Esposito, Stefano (June 2, 2006). "Man gets life in prison for whipping death: Judge: 'You beat your own daughter like a slave master hitting a slave'". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
5.Jump up ^ Esposito, Stefano (May 2, 2006). "Mom gets 25 years for helping beat 12-year-old to death". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
6.Jump up ^ Regoli, Robert M.; Hewitt, John D. (2005-06-22). Delinquency in society (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-07-298968-7. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
External links[edit]
Man Convicted in Whipping Death Of Daughter, 12.
  


Categories: Whipping
Corporal punishments
Child abuse resulting in death
Religiously motivated violence in the United States
2001 in Illinois
Murdered American children
People murdered in Illinois
American torture victims
Deaths by person
Deaths by beating in the United States
2001 murders in the United States





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Murder of Laree Slack

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Constance Slack)
Jump to: navigation, search


Wiki letter w.svg
 
Laree A. Slack (July 4, 1989 – November 11, 2001) was the victim of child abuse that led to her death. She was whipped with "an inch-thick section of rubberized electrical cable filled with strands of wire"[1] repeatedly [2] and died from internal bleeding several hours later.
Her father, Larry Slack Sr., was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 as a result of the beating.[3] He received a life sentence for the murder and a 30-year sentence for aggravated battery of a child.[4] The mother, Constance Slack, received a 25-year sentence after pleading guilty to murder.[5] The beatings of Laree and her eight-year-old brother started because of a claimed failure to properly clear away laundry, leading to difficulty finding a credit card. The father's interpretation of Biblical injunctions regarding the punishment of children were a factor in the severity of the beating. The parents were devout Jehovah's Witnesses who home-schooled their six children. Investigators said the parents decided to administer Biblical discipline in the form of "40 lashes minus one, three times".[1]
The crime was used as an illustration in the 2005 edition of the textbook Delinquency in society that an "intact two parent family" with strong religious values is not so important as having a "loving family" in preventing violence toward children.[6]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Maureen O'Donnell, Ana Mendieta, Annie Sweeney. "Biblical beating kills girl: cops". Chicago Sun-Times; Chicago, Illinois. November 13, 2001.
2.Jump up ^ Kirsten Scharnberg and Eric Ferkenhoff. "Girl died after parents hit her 160 times, court told". Chicago Tribune; Chicago, Illinois. November 14, 2001, News Section, page 1.
3.Jump up ^ Jeff Coen. "Fatal beating by dad called 'torture' ; Father convicted in daughter's murder". Chicago Tribune; Chicago, Illinois. April 28, 2006, Metro Section, page 8.
4.Jump up ^ Esposito, Stefano (June 2, 2006). "Man gets life in prison for whipping death: Judge: 'You beat your own daughter like a slave master hitting a slave'". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
5.Jump up ^ Esposito, Stefano (May 2, 2006). "Mom gets 25 years for helping beat 12-year-old to death". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
6.Jump up ^ Regoli, Robert M.; Hewitt, John D. (2005-06-22). Delinquency in society (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-07-298968-7. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
External links[edit]
Man Convicted in Whipping Death Of Daughter, 12.
  


Categories: Whipping
Corporal punishments
Child abuse resulting in death
Religiously motivated violence in the United States
2001 in Illinois
Murdered American children
People murdered in Illinois
American torture victims
Deaths by person
Deaths by beating in the United States
2001 murders in the United States





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Category:American Jehovah's Witnesses

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Pages in category "American Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 24 pages are in this category, out of 24 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).



A
Don Alden Adams

B
George Benson

C
Hayden C. Covington

F
Frederick William Franz

G
Larry Graham
Teresa Graves

H
Milton George Henschel

J
Katherine Jackson
Rebbie Jackson
Jneiro Jarel

K
Nathan Homer Knorr

M
Dave Meyers (basketball)

P
Oracene Price
Prince (musician)

R
Charles Taze Russell
Joseph Franklin Rutherford

S
Selena
Constance Slack
Larry Slack
Mickey Spillane

V
Lark Voorhies

W
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Jason Worilds



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality
American Christians


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Category:American Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
  

Pages in category "American Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 24 pages are in this category, out of 24 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).



A
Don Alden Adams

B
George Benson

C
Hayden C. Covington

F
Frederick William Franz

G
Larry Graham
Teresa Graves

H
Milton George Henschel

J
Katherine Jackson
Rebbie Jackson
Jneiro Jarel

K
Nathan Homer Knorr

M
Dave Meyers (basketball)

P
Oracene Price
Prince (musician)

R
Charles Taze Russell
Joseph Franklin Rutherford

S
Selena
Constance Slack
Larry Slack
Mickey Spillane

V
Lark Voorhies

W
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Jason Worilds



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality
American Christians


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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 14 subcategories, out of 14 total.



A

►  American Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (24 P)



►  Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (3 P)



B

►  British Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C)



C

►  Canadian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (3 P)



►  Czech Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



D

►  Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



G

►  German Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 P)



►  Greek Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



I

►  Irish Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



J

►  Japanese Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



N

►  Nepalese Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



►  Norwegian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



R

►  Romanian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



U

►  Ukrainian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality"
This category contains only the following page. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).


Jehovah's Witnesses by country



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses people
Christians by nationality


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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 14 subcategories, out of 14 total.



A

►  American Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (24 P)



►  Austrian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (3 P)



B

►  British Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C)



C

►  Canadian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (3 P)



►  Czech Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



D

►  Dutch Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



G

►  German Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 P)



►  Greek Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



I

►  Irish Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



J

►  Japanese Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



N

►  Nepalese Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



►  Norwegian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



R

►  Romanian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



U

►  Ukrainian Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality"
This category contains only the following page. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).


Jehovah's Witnesses by country



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses people
Christians by nationality


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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses people

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 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.




►  Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality‎ (14 C, 1 P)


F

►  Former Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 31 P)


L

►  Leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C)





Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses
Christians by denomination
Annihilationists
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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses people

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Jump to: navigation, search

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.




►  Jehovah's Witnesses by nationality‎ (14 C, 1 P)


F

►  Former Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 31 P)


L

►  Leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C)





Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses
Christians by denomination
Annihilationists
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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This category comprises articles pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination.
Christianity Branches without text.svg
Branches within Christianity
This box: view ·
 talk ·
 edit
  
Protestantism
Restoration Movement
Anabaptism
Calvinism
Anglicanism
Lutheranism

(Latin Church)
Catholic Church

(Eastern Catholicism)
Eastern Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy
Assyrian Church
Reformation
(16th century)
Great Schism
(11th century)
Council of Ephesus 431
Council of Chalcedon 451
Early Christianity
Union
Illustration of major branches of Christianity.[1][2] Not all aspects of Christianity are illustrated.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
1.Jump up ^ "Religion Flow Chart: Christianity". Faiths and Freedoms: Religious Diversity in New York City. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
2.Jump up ^ "Branches of Chrisitianity". Waupun Area School District. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.



B

►  Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (20 P)



C

►  Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



►  Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C, 6 P)



L

►  Jehovah's Witnesses literature‎ (2 C, 9 P)



O

►  Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (8 P)



P

►  Jehovah's Witnesses people‎ (3 C)



►  Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 10 P)



Σ

►  Jehovah's Witnesses stubs‎ (23 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).




Jehovah's Witnesses

*
Bibliography of Jehovah's Witnesses

D
Demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses

H
History of Jehovah's Witnesses

J
Jehovah's Witnesses Association of Romania
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups

S
Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden



Categories: Bible Student movement
Christian denominations founded in the United States
Restorationism (Christianity)
Nontrinitarian denominations
Religious abstentions
Christian new religious movements
Hidden categories: Commons category with local link same as on Wikidata
Wikipedia categories named after religious organizations


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jehovah%27s_Witnesses












Help

Category:Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This category comprises articles pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination.
Christianity Branches without text.svg
Branches within Christianity
This box: view ·
 talk ·
 edit
  
Protestantism
Restoration Movement
Anabaptism
Calvinism
Anglicanism
Lutheranism

(Latin Church)
Catholic Church

(Eastern Catholicism)
Eastern Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy
Assyrian Church
Reformation
(16th century)
Great Schism
(11th century)
Council of Ephesus 431
Council of Chalcedon 451
Early Christianity
Union
Illustration of major branches of Christianity.[1][2] Not all aspects of Christianity are illustrated.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
1.Jump up ^ "Religion Flow Chart: Christianity". Faiths and Freedoms: Religious Diversity in New York City. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
2.Jump up ^ "Branches of Chrisitianity". Waupun Area School District. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.



B

►  Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (20 P)



C

►  Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



►  Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C, 6 P)



L

►  Jehovah's Witnesses literature‎ (2 C, 9 P)



O

►  Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (8 P)



P

►  Jehovah's Witnesses people‎ (3 C)



►  Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 10 P)



Σ

►  Jehovah's Witnesses stubs‎ (23 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).




Jehovah's Witnesses

*
Bibliography of Jehovah's Witnesses

D
Demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses

H
History of Jehovah's Witnesses

J
Jehovah's Witnesses Association of Romania
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups

S
Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden



Categories: Bible Student movement
Christian denominations founded in the United States
Restorationism (Christianity)
Nontrinitarian denominations
Religious abstentions
Christian new religious movements
Hidden categories: Commons category with local link same as on Wikidata
Wikipedia categories named after religious organizations


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Category:Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses

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Tulsi Giri
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Jneiro Jarel
Paul S. L. Johnson
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Minos Kokkinakis
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Nazario Moreno González
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Prince (musician)



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Nazario Moreno González

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Nazario Moreno González
Nazario-MORENO-GONZALEZ.jpg
Mug shot of Moreno González

Born
8 March 1970
Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico
Died
9 March 2014 (aged 44)
Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, Mexico

Cause of death
 Two gunshot wounds on his thorax
Other names
El Chayo
El Dulce ('The Candy')
El Doctor
El Más Loco ('The Craziest One')
Víctor Nazario Castrejón Peña
Emiliano Morelos Guervara
Occupation
Drug Lord
Known for
Leader of La Familia Michoacana and the Knights Templar Cartel
Predecessor
Carlos Rosales Mendoza
Successor
José de Jesús Méndez Vargas
Dionicio Loya Plancarte
Servando Gómez Martínez
Enrique Plancarte Solís
Notes
$2.2 million dollar reward was offered.

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is González.
Nazario Moreno González (8 March 1970 – 9 March 2014), commonly referred to by his alias El Chayo ("Nazario" or "The Rosary") and/or El Más Loco ("The Craziest One"), was a Mexican drug lord who headed La Familia Michoacana before heading the Knights Templar Cartel, a drug cartel headquartered in the state of Michoacán. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords.
Very few details are known of Moreno González's early life, but the authorities believe that religion played a major role in his upbringing. Although born in Michoacán, Moreno González moved to the United States as a teenager, but fled back into Mexico about a decade later to avoid prosecution on drug trafficking charges. In 2004, the drug boss Carlos Rosales Mendoza was captured, and Moreno González, alongside José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, took control of La Familia Michoacana. Unlike other traditional drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, his organization also operated like a religious cult, where its own members were given "bibles" with sayings and conduct guidelines. Moreno González reportedly carried out several philanthropic deeds to help the marginalized in Michoacán. Such deeds helped him craft an image of protector, saint, and Christ-like messianic figure among the poor, and gave La Familia Michoacana a level of influence among some natives.
The Mexican government reported that Moreno González was killed during a two-day gunfight with the Mexican federal police in his home state in December 2010. After the shootout, however, no body was recovered. Rumors thus persisted that Moreno González was still alive and leading the Knights Templar Cartel, the split-off group of La Familia Michoacana. Four years later, on 9 March 2014, his survival was confirmed. Mexican authorities located him again, this time in the town of Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, and attempted to apprehend him. A gunfight ensued resulting in Moreno González's death. Subsequent forensic examination confirmed his identity.


Contents  [hide]
1 Criminal career 1.1 Early life
1.2 Organized crime
1.3 Philanthropy
2 Alleged 2010 death 2.1 Background and aftermath
2.2 Allegations of having survived the attempted police capture
3 Veneration
4 Death
5 Personal life and family
6 Published works
7 See also
8 Sources 8.1 Footnotes
8.2 References
8.3 Bibliography
9 External links

Criminal career[edit]
Early life[edit]
Moreno González was born in the ranchería of Guanajuatillo in Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico at around 5:00 a.m. on 8 March 1970.[1][2] There are few details of Moreno González's upbringing, but religion may have played an important role in his early life.[3] His parents had 13 children (including Moreno González). His father Manuel Moreno was reportedly an alcoholic and had several mistresses, and one day he left his family when Moreno González was still very young, forcing his mother to singlehandedly raise the whole family. With their father gone, Moreno González and his siblings lived under the strict discipline of their mother. According to his autobiography, Moreno González had a love-hate relationship with his mother; as a child, he was beaten by his mother for being troublesome and getting into fights. In one occasion, he recalled that his mother once forced him to make his way back to his house by walking on his knees while keeping his arms stretched like a cross throughout the whole day for stealing an animal. Such treatments helped him develop resentment as to partially explain his violent behavior as an adult, he argued. He admitted, however, that he often got into fist fights with other kids from Guanajuatillo and the surrounding rancherías. Moreno González recalled that he would not always win and that he once got into 10 fights in a single day. His violent reputation as a child helped him earn the nickname El Más Loco ("The Craziest One")—which he held onto for the rest of his life—among his siblings and other kids from the area where he grew up.[2][4]
He never attended school and was illiterate for some years of his early life. He learned to read and write reportedly out of curiosity after reading and hearing comic books and stories of Kalimán and Porfirio Cadena, El Ojo del Vidrio on the local radio station.[5] In his autobiography, Moreno González said that as a child he believed he had the superhuman ability of speaking telepathically with animals like Kalimán did in the comics. He said he wanted to be a hero like the comic characters. As a child, he was accustomed to seeing gunmen near his home, and played las guerritas ("war games") for fun. While playing the game, he often pretended to be dead, only to say later on that he had been wounded in the game but that he had managed to survive. At the age of twelve, he moved to Apatzingán and made a living by selling matches, peeling onions, working at a melon field, and throwing out the trash from several booths at a marketplace.[2][6] As a teenager in the late 1980s, Moreno González migrated illegally to the United States, settling in California, where he eventually began selling marijuana.[7][8] After some years, he moved to Texas and in 1994 was arrested for drug trafficking charges in McAllen. Nearly a decade later in 2003, the U.S. government charged him with conspiracy to distribute five tons of narcotics and issued an arrest warrant. Moreno González then fled back to Mexico.[8][9]
Organized crime[edit]
Although raised Catholic, Moreno González became a Jehovah's Witness during his time in the United States.[10][11] In Apatzingán, Moreno González preached to the poor and always carried a bible with him. With time, he won the loyalty of several locals, and many started to see him as a "messiah" for preaching religious principles and forming La Familia Michoacana, a drug cartel that posed as a vigilante group.[3] When Carlos Rosales Mendoza was arrested in 2004, Moreno González ascended to the apex of La Familia Michoacana, a drug trafficking organization based in western Mexico, along with José de Jesús Méndez Vargas.[12] In 2006, La Familia Michoacana broke relations with the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, and Moreno González heralded the organization's independence when several of his gunmen tossed five human heads on a discothèque dance floor in Uruapan. Near the severed heads lay a message that read, "La Familia doesn't kill for money, doesn't kill women, doesn't kill innocents. Only those who deserve to die will die."[8]
In 2009, the Mexican government published a list of its 37 most-wanted drug lords and offered a $2.2 million reward for information that led to Moreno González's capture.[13] His three partners – José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Servando Gómez Martínez and Dionicio Loya Plancarte – were also on the list.[14] In 2010, he was sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act") by the United States Department of the Treasury for his involvement in drug trafficking. The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with Moreno González, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[15]
Los Zetas eventually broke off from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, after serving in the armed wing of the organization for more than a decade. But in opposition to Los Zetas, Moreno González's cartel rejoined with the Gulf Cartel and allied with the Sinaloa Cartel to fight them off.[16] Since then, La Familia Michoacana became one of the fastest-growing cartels involved in Mexico's drug war. It stood out for its promotion of "family values" and religious agenda, unlike traditional cartels.[17][18] Although deeply involved in the methamphetamine business, Moreno González's cartel diversified its criminal agenda by controlling numerous "counterfeiting, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and car dealership" rings in Michoacán and its neighboring states.[12][18] By mid-2009, La Familia had managed to establish a foothold in about 20 to 30 urban areas across the United States.[18]
Moreno González required his men to carry a "spiritual manual" that he wrote himself, "[containing] pseudo-Christian aphorisms for self-improvement."[19][20] In his "bible," Moreno González prohibited his men from consuming alcoholic beverages or other drugs, and stated that he would severely punish those who mistreated women. His writings encouraged the corporal punishment of thieves by beating them and making them walk naked with billboards in the city streets.[21][22] He prohibited members of his cartel from consuming or selling methamphetamines in Michoacán, arguing that the drug was only to be smuggled into the U.S. for American consumers.[23] Moreno González justified drug trafficking by stating that La Familia Michoacana allegedly regulated the drug trade to prevent exploitation of the people.[24] The book, sometimes known as "The Sayings of the Craziest One", also talks about humility, service, wisdom, brotherhood, courage, and God.[22][25] His second book, titled "They Call Me The Craziest One", is 13 chapters long and talks about his life, idealism, the origins of La Familia Michoacana, their battle against Los Zetas, and his rationale behind joining organized crime. The text reads like a diary and justifies his criminal activities under the rationale that just like others in Michoacán, the limited opportunities and his poor financial situation pushed him to get involved in the drug trade. In addition to that, Moreno González blamed the government for the existence of criminals.[26]
As leader of La Familia Michoacana, Moreno González was in charge of forging alliances with other cartels. Reportedly, Moreno González met with several other high-ranking drug lords, including Fernando Sánchez Arellano of the Tijuana Cartel; Juan José Esparragoza Moreno of the Sinaloa Cartel; and Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén of the Gulf Cartel.[27] In these agreements, the cartels allowed La Familia Michoacana to move drugs freely in their territories in exchange for their support in fighting off rival gangs like Los Zetas. In 2008, Moreno González agreed to send armed men to help Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Ismael Zambada García fight off rival cartels, a favor which granted him access to the drug corridors in Sinaloa and Sonora. In addition, his friendship with the Gulf Cartel leader Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez allowed him access to the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.[27]
Philanthropy[edit]
During his tenure as leader of La Familia Michoacana, Moreno González reportedly gave loans to farmers, funded schools and churches, financed drainage projects, and carried out several aid campaigns to help out the disadvantaged in the state of Michoacán. This, along with the manpower of the organization, allowed him get the support of several rural sectors in the state, where many served as informants and collaborators for the cartel.[28][29] His wife was also known for organizing several self-help seminars in Apatzingán.[30] The support of La Familia Michoacana is rooted in family connections and local communities in Michoacán, and in the supposed exploitation of its citizens by the government.[31]
Alleged 2010 death[edit]
On 9 December 2010, the Mexican federal police surrounded the village of El Alcalde in Apatzingán, Michoacán with more than 2,000 officers. Reportedly, Moreno González was at a local festival handing out Christmas presents to the villagers when he was tracked down by the authorities.[32][33]
As the police troops drove into town, gunmen of La Familia Michoacana blocked the entrances with more than 40 burning trucks and cars. La Familia gunmen also surrounded the state capital of Morelia in an attempt to prevent the police from receiving reinforcements.[34] The shootout lasted about two days, and at least 11 deaths were confirmed.[A 1] During the gun battle, the gunmen managed to carry out the bodies of their fallen comrades up the hills. The government reported at the time that Moreno González had been killed, but that the cartel took his body away.[35] This triggered rumors that he was alive and leading his cartel. However, the Mexican government denied such claims. Elías Álvarez, the commander of the 2010 police operation, said González's grave was in the mountains.[36] 2014 reports from the Mexican government stated that Moreno González was possibly injured (but not killed) during the shootout.[37] For four years, the drug lord took advantage of the government's mistake to fall off the authorities's radar and continue to command the cartel behind the scenes.[38]
Background and aftermath[edit]
The alleged death of Moreno González was considered one of the most significant government victories since the start of the drug war in 2006. La Familia Michoacana was the focus of the government because their stronghold, Michoacán state, is just about four hours away from the country's capital, Mexico City. In addition, Michoacán is the homestate of former President Felipe Calderón, who made it a top priority to pacify it.[39]
A few days after the shootout, several people carried out a peace march in Apatzingán expressing their support for the cartel with banners that read "Nazario will always live in our hearts," among others.[40] Others protested against the presence of the federal forces in the state, and argued that the federal government—not the cartels—were responsible for increasing the violence in the country.[40] Through several banners hung on bridges throughout the state of Michoacán, La Familia Michoacana publicly announced that they were open to the possibility of creating a "truce" (ceasefire) with the Mexican government throughout December 2010 and January 2011 to prove that they were not the source of the violence. The Mexican authorities "summarily rejected" the agreement.[39][41]
After Moreno Gonzalez was reported dead, José de Jesús Méndez Vargas took the lead of La Familia Michoacana. The other cartel leader, Servando Gómez Martínez (alias "La Tuta"), fought Méndez Vargas for control of the group and eventually formed the Knights Templar Cartel, a drug cartel and pseudo-religious splinter group.[42] The cartel was headed by Moreno González, followed by Gómez Martínez, Dionisio Loya Plancarte (alias "El Tío"), and Enrique Plancarte Solís (alias "Kike Plancarte"), in that order. However, given that the Mexican government believed that Moreno González had been killed in 2010, Gómez Martínez was regarded as the first-in-command.[43] Since its creation, the Knights Templar Cartel became a greater security concern for the Mexican government; it began to extort lime farmers, cutters, and packers,[44] as well as people who worked in the avocado business in Michoacán.[45] The cartel also stole minerals from the state's reserves to later ship them to China and sell them in the black market.[46] Killings, extortions, kidnappings, and arson attacks against Michoacán residents and local businesses increased.[47] In response to the cartel's activities, autodefensa (vigilante/self-defense) groups began to emerge in Michoacán in 2011,[48] and gained significant momentum in February 2013 when they began to push the cartel outside of the Tierra Caliente region.[44] President Enrique Peña Nieto sent in more federal troops to Michoacán on January 2014 initially with the intent to disarm the informal groups. However, that plan was quickly abandoned following some resistance, and the government decided to sign an agreement that month with the autodefensas to combat insecurity together.[49][50]
Allegations of having survived the attempted police capture[edit]
Given that Moreno González's body was never recovered from the December 2010 shootout where officials said he was killed, there were rumors that he was alive and secretly leading the Knights Templar Cartel, the split-off group of La Familia Michoacana. On June 2011, members of La Familia Michoacana set up several public banners throughout the state of Guerrero with written messages directed to the former President Calderón and his security spokesman Alejandro Poiré. The banners proclaimed that Moreno González was in fact alive and leading the Knights Templar Cartel, and that the government was allegedly covering him up. The rumors were immediately denied by the Mexican government, which stood firm that the drug lord was killed by federal forces on December 9, 2010.[51][52] Rumors sparked again in October 2011 following the arrest of Mario Buenrostro Quiroz, a drug trafficker who headed a Mexico City-based gang known as Los Aboytes. In a videotaped police confession, he told authorities that Moreno González was still alive and heading the cartel. Intelligence agency InSight Crime said the rumors were probably part of a campaign of the Knights Templar Cartel to win prestige from La Familia Michoacana by saying that their leader is in fact alive and still supporting the group.[52] On 27 October 2012, the Mexican Army raided a safe house in Apatzingán where they believed the drug lord Enrique Plancarte Solís was hiding. Though the raid was ultimately unsuccessful because Plancarte Solís managed to avoid capture by sending several gunmen from his inner circle to battle off the soldiers, the authorities discovered several documents written for Moreno González. The Army gave the documents to the intelligence agency SIEDO for further investigation.[53][54]
Many Michoacán natives believed that Moreno González was alive; he was widely believed to have made a public appearance in Morelia in 2012 after his son was killed in a motorcycle accident. According to an unnamed official, his sister went to the morgue to reclaim the body of his son before the autopsy. When the coroner refused to give her the body, Moreno González paid him a visit and convinced him to give up the body. In fears of reprisals, local media outlets self-censored and did not report on the death of his son. Those who wrecked his son were reportedly kidnapped by Moreno González men and killed. In addition, one militia leader from the town of Coalcomán reported seeing him dressed as Saint Francis of Assisi, baptizing people, and leading his henchmen. There was no concrete evidence of Moreno González being alive. However, since no autopsy was performed, there was no evidence of him being dead either.[55] In January 2014, Gregorio López, a priest of Apatzingán, reported that that Moreno González ordered a self-imposed curfew in the city and threatened to burn down businesses that did not comply with the order. That week Michoacán had a series of violent episodes after the state's autodefensa (vigilante) groups—which emerged in February 2013 to fight the Knights Templar Cartel—attempted to move into several municipalities to fight the cartel. The priest said in an interview that there were rumors that the drug lord met with "La Tuta" for lunch in La Cucha, a ranch outside of Apatzingán.[56][57] In an interview with Noticias MVS in February 2014, the former self-defense group leader José Manuel Mireles Valverde stated that Moreno González celebrated Christmas Day (25 December 2013) with the cartel leader Enrique Plancarte Solís and his daughter and banda singer Melissa at the drug lord's house.[58] Mireles claimed in March 2014 that the self-defense groups nearly captured Moreno González at a ranch close to Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, but that he managed to escape 20 minutes before their arrival.[59]
Rumors surrounding these allegations were around since Moreno González was declared dead by the Mexican government in 2010. The mysticism and spiritual teachings of the drug lord have played an important role in the Knights Templar Cartel's propaganda and recruitment in Michoacán. By spreading such rumors, the cartel hoped to gain a level of consensus from the public in their fight against the self-defense militias and state forces in the state.[60][61]
Veneration[edit]
After Moreno González's reported death in 2010, Michoacán natives reportedly began to worship him as a saint, "drawing attention to the links between narco-culture and religion."[62] In the region of Apatzingán, people created altars with statues and photos in honor of him. The figurines are often dressed in tunics similar to the Knights Templar, and had prayers calling him Saint Nazario. Reforma newspaper reported that Moreno González had his own prayer: "Oh Lord Almighty, free me from all sins, give me protection through Saint Nazario."[63] These altars are found in the village of Holanda, on the hill of El Cerrito de la Cruz, and in Apatzingán.[63] Villagers have noted that they had been forced to venerate the criminal under threat of armed force by the gang members.[64]
Throughout his criminal career, Moreno González promoted La Familia Michoacana as an organization that existed to protect the people in Michoacán, where he carried out several campaigns that implemented curfews, punished drinkers, and attacked Los Zetas, whom he claimed had corroded the morality of the state and community. The prayers that are now dedicated to Moreno González now refer to him as the "Representative of God," the "Protector of the poorest," and as the "Knight of the towns."[62] Such behavior proves that La Familia Michoacana's religious campaign influenced the local area.[62]
The area where the altars are located is reportedly patrolled by Los 12 apóstoles ('12 apostles'), the security body that allegedly protected Moreno González.[7]
Death[edit]
At around 7:00 a.m. on 9 March 2014, the Mexican Army and Navy pinpointed Moreno González's whereabouts in Tumbiscatío, Michoacán.[65] When they tried to apprehend him, the drug lord opened fire at the security forces before being killed in the fire exchange.[66] Mexico's Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) officially confirmed his identity through DNA examinations and fingerprint identification. The results were consistent with law enforcement files.[67][68] While investigators conducted the autopsy at a hospital in Apatzingán, more than 150 law enforcement officers from the Army, Navy, Federal Police, and the PGR cordoned the area to prevent organized crime members from attempting to steal his body.[69][70] Post-mortem reports indicated that Moreno González died of two gunshot wounds on his thorax.[71] On 12 March 2014, his corpse was transferred to Morelia under tight security for further testing.[72] At the time of his death, the drug lord was wanted by the Mexican government for charges relating to drug trafficking, organized crime, kidnapping, murder, and theft.[73]
On the evening of 14 March 2014, his corpse was handed over to his sister and two nephews in Morelia by state authorities. As they left the forensic installations, they covered their faces in front of cameras and did not specify if they had plans to carry out a funeral for Moreno González.[74][75] His family and friends, however, held a funeral for him at the Santa Cruz funeral home in Altozano, Morelia.[76] They did not comment where the corpse was to be taken,[77] but unconfirmed reports suggested that there were plans to cremate him and scatter his ashes at a village in the Tierra Caliente region in Michoacán.[78]
Personal life and family[edit]
Moreno González enjoyed watching the Godfather Trilogy and the drama film Braveheart.[79]
He went by several nicknames, including but not limited to El Chayo (hypocorism for "Nazario" or "Rosario", the Spanish word for Rosary),[39] Víctor Nazario Castrejón Peña,[80] El Dulce ("The Candy"), El Doctor ("The Doctor"), and El Más Loco ("The Craziest One"),[28][81][82] In 2014, the Mexican government discovered that the drug lord also held the alias Emiliano Morelos Guevara in reference to revolutionary figures Emiliano Zapata, José María Morelos, and Che Guevara.[83]
His father was reportedly Manuel Moreno, who died on July 2013, according to intelligence reports from Mexican federal agents.[4] The drug lord was the uncle or cousin of Uriel Chávez Mendoza, the municipal president (equivalent of mayor) of Apatzingán.[84][85] He was arrested by Mexican authorities on 15 April 2014 for his alleged ties to organized crime.[86] The city councilman Isidro Villanueva Moreno may also be his cousin too.[87] His half brother and cousin of Plancarte Solís, Antonio Magaña Pantoja, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Apatzingán on 9 February 2014.[88] His half brother Heliodoro Moreno Anguiano (alias "El Yoyo") was arrested by Mexican authorities in Apatzingán, Michoacán on 18 February 2014.[89] His nephew Faustino Andrade González was arrested by the Mexican Federal Police in Apatzingán with four other suspected criminals on 5 June 2014.[90]
Published works[edit]
Pensamientos Del Más Loco (The Sayings of the Craziest One)[26]
Me Dicen: El Más Loco (They Call Me The Craziest One) (2010)[91]
See also[edit]
Jesús Malverde
Sources[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Since the gunmen carried away the bodies of their partners during the firefight, it is impossible to know the exact number of people who were killed.[92] The police commander, Elías Álvarez, who led the 2010 operation in Apatzingán, estimated that more than 50 people were killed.[32]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Veneran a fundador de la Familia Michoacana". El Economista (in Spanish). 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c Becerra Acosta, Juan Pablo (16 March 2014). ""El más loco" jugó a la muerte y la resurrección... desde niño". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Longmire 2011, p. 26.
4.^ Jump up to: a b "Fallece padre de ‘El Chayo’, fundador de los Templarios". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
5.Jump up ^ "El Chayo escribió un libro autobiográfico". Zócalo Saltillo (in Spanish). 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
6.Jump up ^ Herrera Cornejo, Arturo (10 March 2014). "El Chayo". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Castellanos, Francisco J. (4 August 2012). "El Chayo, santo patrono de la tierra caliente". Proceso (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
8.^ Jump up to: a b c Olson, Alexandra (11 December 2010). "Brutal Mexican La Familia cartel chief killed". The Independent. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
9.Jump up ^ Shoichet, Catherine E. (11 December 2010). "Mexican government: Slain drug lord was 'spiritual leader' of cartel". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
10.Jump up ^ "Cartel bosses behind Mexico's violent drug wars". MSNBC. NBC News. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
11.Jump up ^ Rivera, Alicia (13 December 2010). "Preocupa a católicos la conversión de "El Chayo". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
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Bibliography[edit]
Lyman, Michael D. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control (6th ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 1437744508.
Levy, David A. (2011). Echoes of Mind: Thinking Deeply about Humanship (1st ed.). Enso Books. ISBN 0982018576.
Longmire, Sylvia (2011). Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0230111378.
External links[edit]
La Familia: Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate (archive) — Foreign Policy Research Institute


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Categories: 1970 births
2014 deaths
La Familia Cartel traffickers
Mexican mob bosses
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Mexico
Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses
Mexican religious leaders
People from Apatzingán
People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
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Nazario Moreno González

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Nazario Moreno González
Nazario-MORENO-GONZALEZ.jpg
Mug shot of Moreno González

Born
8 March 1970
Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico
Died
9 March 2014 (aged 44)
Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, Mexico

Cause of death
 Two gunshot wounds on his thorax
Other names
El Chayo
El Dulce ('The Candy')
El Doctor
El Más Loco ('The Craziest One')
Víctor Nazario Castrejón Peña
Emiliano Morelos Guervara
Occupation
Drug Lord
Known for
Leader of La Familia Michoacana and the Knights Templar Cartel
Predecessor
Carlos Rosales Mendoza
Successor
José de Jesús Méndez Vargas
Dionicio Loya Plancarte
Servando Gómez Martínez
Enrique Plancarte Solís
Notes
$2.2 million dollar reward was offered.

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Moreno and the second or maternal family name is González.
Nazario Moreno González (8 March 1970 – 9 March 2014), commonly referred to by his alias El Chayo ("Nazario" or "The Rosary") and/or El Más Loco ("The Craziest One"), was a Mexican drug lord who headed La Familia Michoacana before heading the Knights Templar Cartel, a drug cartel headquartered in the state of Michoacán. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords.
Very few details are known of Moreno González's early life, but the authorities believe that religion played a major role in his upbringing. Although born in Michoacán, Moreno González moved to the United States as a teenager, but fled back into Mexico about a decade later to avoid prosecution on drug trafficking charges. In 2004, the drug boss Carlos Rosales Mendoza was captured, and Moreno González, alongside José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, took control of La Familia Michoacana. Unlike other traditional drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, his organization also operated like a religious cult, where its own members were given "bibles" with sayings and conduct guidelines. Moreno González reportedly carried out several philanthropic deeds to help the marginalized in Michoacán. Such deeds helped him craft an image of protector, saint, and Christ-like messianic figure among the poor, and gave La Familia Michoacana a level of influence among some natives.
The Mexican government reported that Moreno González was killed during a two-day gunfight with the Mexican federal police in his home state in December 2010. After the shootout, however, no body was recovered. Rumors thus persisted that Moreno González was still alive and leading the Knights Templar Cartel, the split-off group of La Familia Michoacana. Four years later, on 9 March 2014, his survival was confirmed. Mexican authorities located him again, this time in the town of Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, and attempted to apprehend him. A gunfight ensued resulting in Moreno González's death. Subsequent forensic examination confirmed his identity.


Contents  [hide]
1 Criminal career 1.1 Early life
1.2 Organized crime
1.3 Philanthropy
2 Alleged 2010 death 2.1 Background and aftermath
2.2 Allegations of having survived the attempted police capture
3 Veneration
4 Death
5 Personal life and family
6 Published works
7 See also
8 Sources 8.1 Footnotes
8.2 References
8.3 Bibliography
9 External links

Criminal career[edit]
Early life[edit]
Moreno González was born in the ranchería of Guanajuatillo in Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico at around 5:00 a.m. on 8 March 1970.[1][2] There are few details of Moreno González's upbringing, but religion may have played an important role in his early life.[3] His parents had 13 children (including Moreno González). His father Manuel Moreno was reportedly an alcoholic and had several mistresses, and one day he left his family when Moreno González was still very young, forcing his mother to singlehandedly raise the whole family. With their father gone, Moreno González and his siblings lived under the strict discipline of their mother. According to his autobiography, Moreno González had a love-hate relationship with his mother; as a child, he was beaten by his mother for being troublesome and getting into fights. In one occasion, he recalled that his mother once forced him to make his way back to his house by walking on his knees while keeping his arms stretched like a cross throughout the whole day for stealing an animal. Such treatments helped him develop resentment as to partially explain his violent behavior as an adult, he argued. He admitted, however, that he often got into fist fights with other kids from Guanajuatillo and the surrounding rancherías. Moreno González recalled that he would not always win and that he once got into 10 fights in a single day. His violent reputation as a child helped him earn the nickname El Más Loco ("The Craziest One")—which he held onto for the rest of his life—among his siblings and other kids from the area where he grew up.[2][4]
He never attended school and was illiterate for some years of his early life. He learned to read and write reportedly out of curiosity after reading and hearing comic books and stories of Kalimán and Porfirio Cadena, El Ojo del Vidrio on the local radio station.[5] In his autobiography, Moreno González said that as a child he believed he had the superhuman ability of speaking telepathically with animals like Kalimán did in the comics. He said he wanted to be a hero like the comic characters. As a child, he was accustomed to seeing gunmen near his home, and played las guerritas ("war games") for fun. While playing the game, he often pretended to be dead, only to say later on that he had been wounded in the game but that he had managed to survive. At the age of twelve, he moved to Apatzingán and made a living by selling matches, peeling onions, working at a melon field, and throwing out the trash from several booths at a marketplace.[2][6] As a teenager in the late 1980s, Moreno González migrated illegally to the United States, settling in California, where he eventually began selling marijuana.[7][8] After some years, he moved to Texas and in 1994 was arrested for drug trafficking charges in McAllen. Nearly a decade later in 2003, the U.S. government charged him with conspiracy to distribute five tons of narcotics and issued an arrest warrant. Moreno González then fled back to Mexico.[8][9]
Organized crime[edit]
Although raised Catholic, Moreno González became a Jehovah's Witness during his time in the United States.[10][11] In Apatzingán, Moreno González preached to the poor and always carried a bible with him. With time, he won the loyalty of several locals, and many started to see him as a "messiah" for preaching religious principles and forming La Familia Michoacana, a drug cartel that posed as a vigilante group.[3] When Carlos Rosales Mendoza was arrested in 2004, Moreno González ascended to the apex of La Familia Michoacana, a drug trafficking organization based in western Mexico, along with José de Jesús Méndez Vargas.[12] In 2006, La Familia Michoacana broke relations with the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, and Moreno González heralded the organization's independence when several of his gunmen tossed five human heads on a discothèque dance floor in Uruapan. Near the severed heads lay a message that read, "La Familia doesn't kill for money, doesn't kill women, doesn't kill innocents. Only those who deserve to die will die."[8]
In 2009, the Mexican government published a list of its 37 most-wanted drug lords and offered a $2.2 million reward for information that led to Moreno González's capture.[13] His three partners – José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Servando Gómez Martínez and Dionicio Loya Plancarte – were also on the list.[14] In 2010, he was sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act") by the United States Department of the Treasury for his involvement in drug trafficking. The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with Moreno González, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[15]
Los Zetas eventually broke off from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, after serving in the armed wing of the organization for more than a decade. But in opposition to Los Zetas, Moreno González's cartel rejoined with the Gulf Cartel and allied with the Sinaloa Cartel to fight them off.[16] Since then, La Familia Michoacana became one of the fastest-growing cartels involved in Mexico's drug war. It stood out for its promotion of "family values" and religious agenda, unlike traditional cartels.[17][18] Although deeply involved in the methamphetamine business, Moreno González's cartel diversified its criminal agenda by controlling numerous "counterfeiting, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and car dealership" rings in Michoacán and its neighboring states.[12][18] By mid-2009, La Familia had managed to establish a foothold in about 20 to 30 urban areas across the United States.[18]
Moreno González required his men to carry a "spiritual manual" that he wrote himself, "[containing] pseudo-Christian aphorisms for self-improvement."[19][20] In his "bible," Moreno González prohibited his men from consuming alcoholic beverages or other drugs, and stated that he would severely punish those who mistreated women. His writings encouraged the corporal punishment of thieves by beating them and making them walk naked with billboards in the city streets.[21][22] He prohibited members of his cartel from consuming or selling methamphetamines in Michoacán, arguing that the drug was only to be smuggled into the U.S. for American consumers.[23] Moreno González justified drug trafficking by stating that La Familia Michoacana allegedly regulated the drug trade to prevent exploitation of the people.[24] The book, sometimes known as "The Sayings of the Craziest One", also talks about humility, service, wisdom, brotherhood, courage, and God.[22][25] His second book, titled "They Call Me The Craziest One", is 13 chapters long and talks about his life, idealism, the origins of La Familia Michoacana, their battle against Los Zetas, and his rationale behind joining organized crime. The text reads like a diary and justifies his criminal activities under the rationale that just like others in Michoacán, the limited opportunities and his poor financial situation pushed him to get involved in the drug trade. In addition to that, Moreno González blamed the government for the existence of criminals.[26]
As leader of La Familia Michoacana, Moreno González was in charge of forging alliances with other cartels. Reportedly, Moreno González met with several other high-ranking drug lords, including Fernando Sánchez Arellano of the Tijuana Cartel; Juan José Esparragoza Moreno of the Sinaloa Cartel; and Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén of the Gulf Cartel.[27] In these agreements, the cartels allowed La Familia Michoacana to move drugs freely in their territories in exchange for their support in fighting off rival gangs like Los Zetas. In 2008, Moreno González agreed to send armed men to help Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Ismael Zambada García fight off rival cartels, a favor which granted him access to the drug corridors in Sinaloa and Sonora. In addition, his friendship with the Gulf Cartel leader Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez allowed him access to the northeastern state of Tamaulipas.[27]
Philanthropy[edit]
During his tenure as leader of La Familia Michoacana, Moreno González reportedly gave loans to farmers, funded schools and churches, financed drainage projects, and carried out several aid campaigns to help out the disadvantaged in the state of Michoacán. This, along with the manpower of the organization, allowed him get the support of several rural sectors in the state, where many served as informants and collaborators for the cartel.[28][29] His wife was also known for organizing several self-help seminars in Apatzingán.[30] The support of La Familia Michoacana is rooted in family connections and local communities in Michoacán, and in the supposed exploitation of its citizens by the government.[31]
Alleged 2010 death[edit]
On 9 December 2010, the Mexican federal police surrounded the village of El Alcalde in Apatzingán, Michoacán with more than 2,000 officers. Reportedly, Moreno González was at a local festival handing out Christmas presents to the villagers when he was tracked down by the authorities.[32][33]
As the police troops drove into town, gunmen of La Familia Michoacana blocked the entrances with more than 40 burning trucks and cars. La Familia gunmen also surrounded the state capital of Morelia in an attempt to prevent the police from receiving reinforcements.[34] The shootout lasted about two days, and at least 11 deaths were confirmed.[A 1] During the gun battle, the gunmen managed to carry out the bodies of their fallen comrades up the hills. The government reported at the time that Moreno González had been killed, but that the cartel took his body away.[35] This triggered rumors that he was alive and leading his cartel. However, the Mexican government denied such claims. Elías Álvarez, the commander of the 2010 police operation, said González's grave was in the mountains.[36] 2014 reports from the Mexican government stated that Moreno González was possibly injured (but not killed) during the shootout.[37] For four years, the drug lord took advantage of the government's mistake to fall off the authorities's radar and continue to command the cartel behind the scenes.[38]
Background and aftermath[edit]
The alleged death of Moreno González was considered one of the most significant government victories since the start of the drug war in 2006. La Familia Michoacana was the focus of the government because their stronghold, Michoacán state, is just about four hours away from the country's capital, Mexico City. In addition, Michoacán is the homestate of former President Felipe Calderón, who made it a top priority to pacify it.[39]
A few days after the shootout, several people carried out a peace march in Apatzingán expressing their support for the cartel with banners that read "Nazario will always live in our hearts," among others.[40] Others protested against the presence of the federal forces in the state, and argued that the federal government—not the cartels—were responsible for increasing the violence in the country.[40] Through several banners hung on bridges throughout the state of Michoacán, La Familia Michoacana publicly announced that they were open to the possibility of creating a "truce" (ceasefire) with the Mexican government throughout December 2010 and January 2011 to prove that they were not the source of the violence. The Mexican authorities "summarily rejected" the agreement.[39][41]
After Moreno Gonzalez was reported dead, José de Jesús Méndez Vargas took the lead of La Familia Michoacana. The other cartel leader, Servando Gómez Martínez (alias "La Tuta"), fought Méndez Vargas for control of the group and eventually formed the Knights Templar Cartel, a drug cartel and pseudo-religious splinter group.[42] The cartel was headed by Moreno González, followed by Gómez Martínez, Dionisio Loya Plancarte (alias "El Tío"), and Enrique Plancarte Solís (alias "Kike Plancarte"), in that order. However, given that the Mexican government believed that Moreno González had been killed in 2010, Gómez Martínez was regarded as the first-in-command.[43] Since its creation, the Knights Templar Cartel became a greater security concern for the Mexican government; it began to extort lime farmers, cutters, and packers,[44] as well as people who worked in the avocado business in Michoacán.[45] The cartel also stole minerals from the state's reserves to later ship them to China and sell them in the black market.[46] Killings, extortions, kidnappings, and arson attacks against Michoacán residents and local businesses increased.[47] In response to the cartel's activities, autodefensa (vigilante/self-defense) groups began to emerge in Michoacán in 2011,[48] and gained significant momentum in February 2013 when they began to push the cartel outside of the Tierra Caliente region.[44] President Enrique Peña Nieto sent in more federal troops to Michoacán on January 2014 initially with the intent to disarm the informal groups. However, that plan was quickly abandoned following some resistance, and the government decided to sign an agreement that month with the autodefensas to combat insecurity together.[49][50]
Allegations of having survived the attempted police capture[edit]
Given that Moreno González's body was never recovered from the December 2010 shootout where officials said he was killed, there were rumors that he was alive and secretly leading the Knights Templar Cartel, the split-off group of La Familia Michoacana. On June 2011, members of La Familia Michoacana set up several public banners throughout the state of Guerrero with written messages directed to the former President Calderón and his security spokesman Alejandro Poiré. The banners proclaimed that Moreno González was in fact alive and leading the Knights Templar Cartel, and that the government was allegedly covering him up. The rumors were immediately denied by the Mexican government, which stood firm that the drug lord was killed by federal forces on December 9, 2010.[51][52] Rumors sparked again in October 2011 following the arrest of Mario Buenrostro Quiroz, a drug trafficker who headed a Mexico City-based gang known as Los Aboytes. In a videotaped police confession, he told authorities that Moreno González was still alive and heading the cartel. Intelligence agency InSight Crime said the rumors were probably part of a campaign of the Knights Templar Cartel to win prestige from La Familia Michoacana by saying that their leader is in fact alive and still supporting the group.[52] On 27 October 2012, the Mexican Army raided a safe house in Apatzingán where they believed the drug lord Enrique Plancarte Solís was hiding. Though the raid was ultimately unsuccessful because Plancarte Solís managed to avoid capture by sending several gunmen from his inner circle to battle off the soldiers, the authorities discovered several documents written for Moreno González. The Army gave the documents to the intelligence agency SIEDO for further investigation.[53][54]
Many Michoacán natives believed that Moreno González was alive; he was widely believed to have made a public appearance in Morelia in 2012 after his son was killed in a motorcycle accident. According to an unnamed official, his sister went to the morgue to reclaim the body of his son before the autopsy. When the coroner refused to give her the body, Moreno González paid him a visit and convinced him to give up the body. In fears of reprisals, local media outlets self-censored and did not report on the death of his son. Those who wrecked his son were reportedly kidnapped by Moreno González men and killed. In addition, one militia leader from the town of Coalcomán reported seeing him dressed as Saint Francis of Assisi, baptizing people, and leading his henchmen. There was no concrete evidence of Moreno González being alive. However, since no autopsy was performed, there was no evidence of him being dead either.[55] In January 2014, Gregorio López, a priest of Apatzingán, reported that that Moreno González ordered a self-imposed curfew in the city and threatened to burn down businesses that did not comply with the order. That week Michoacán had a series of violent episodes after the state's autodefensa (vigilante) groups—which emerged in February 2013 to fight the Knights Templar Cartel—attempted to move into several municipalities to fight the cartel. The priest said in an interview that there were rumors that the drug lord met with "La Tuta" for lunch in La Cucha, a ranch outside of Apatzingán.[56][57] In an interview with Noticias MVS in February 2014, the former self-defense group leader José Manuel Mireles Valverde stated that Moreno González celebrated Christmas Day (25 December 2013) with the cartel leader Enrique Plancarte Solís and his daughter and banda singer Melissa at the drug lord's house.[58] Mireles claimed in March 2014 that the self-defense groups nearly captured Moreno González at a ranch close to Tumbiscatío, Michoacán, but that he managed to escape 20 minutes before their arrival.[59]
Rumors surrounding these allegations were around since Moreno González was declared dead by the Mexican government in 2010. The mysticism and spiritual teachings of the drug lord have played an important role in the Knights Templar Cartel's propaganda and recruitment in Michoacán. By spreading such rumors, the cartel hoped to gain a level of consensus from the public in their fight against the self-defense militias and state forces in the state.[60][61]
Veneration[edit]
After Moreno González's reported death in 2010, Michoacán natives reportedly began to worship him as a saint, "drawing attention to the links between narco-culture and religion."[62] In the region of Apatzingán, people created altars with statues and photos in honor of him. The figurines are often dressed in tunics similar to the Knights Templar, and had prayers calling him Saint Nazario. Reforma newspaper reported that Moreno González had his own prayer: "Oh Lord Almighty, free me from all sins, give me protection through Saint Nazario."[63] These altars are found in the village of Holanda, on the hill of El Cerrito de la Cruz, and in Apatzingán.[63] Villagers have noted that they had been forced to venerate the criminal under threat of armed force by the gang members.[64]
Throughout his criminal career, Moreno González promoted La Familia Michoacana as an organization that existed to protect the people in Michoacán, where he carried out several campaigns that implemented curfews, punished drinkers, and attacked Los Zetas, whom he claimed had corroded the morality of the state and community. The prayers that are now dedicated to Moreno González now refer to him as the "Representative of God," the "Protector of the poorest," and as the "Knight of the towns."[62] Such behavior proves that La Familia Michoacana's religious campaign influenced the local area.[62]
The area where the altars are located is reportedly patrolled by Los 12 apóstoles ('12 apostles'), the security body that allegedly protected Moreno González.[7]
Death[edit]
At around 7:00 a.m. on 9 March 2014, the Mexican Army and Navy pinpointed Moreno González's whereabouts in Tumbiscatío, Michoacán.[65] When they tried to apprehend him, the drug lord opened fire at the security forces before being killed in the fire exchange.[66] Mexico's Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) officially confirmed his identity through DNA examinations and fingerprint identification. The results were consistent with law enforcement files.[67][68] While investigators conducted the autopsy at a hospital in Apatzingán, more than 150 law enforcement officers from the Army, Navy, Federal Police, and the PGR cordoned the area to prevent organized crime members from attempting to steal his body.[69][70] Post-mortem reports indicated that Moreno González died of two gunshot wounds on his thorax.[71] On 12 March 2014, his corpse was transferred to Morelia under tight security for further testing.[72] At the time of his death, the drug lord was wanted by the Mexican government for charges relating to drug trafficking, organized crime, kidnapping, murder, and theft.[73]
On the evening of 14 March 2014, his corpse was handed over to his sister and two nephews in Morelia by state authorities. As they left the forensic installations, they covered their faces in front of cameras and did not specify if they had plans to carry out a funeral for Moreno González.[74][75] His family and friends, however, held a funeral for him at the Santa Cruz funeral home in Altozano, Morelia.[76] They did not comment where the corpse was to be taken,[77] but unconfirmed reports suggested that there were plans to cremate him and scatter his ashes at a village in the Tierra Caliente region in Michoacán.[78]
Personal life and family[edit]
Moreno González enjoyed watching the Godfather Trilogy and the drama film Braveheart.[79]
He went by several nicknames, including but not limited to El Chayo (hypocorism for "Nazario" or "Rosario", the Spanish word for Rosary),[39] Víctor Nazario Castrejón Peña,[80] El Dulce ("The Candy"), El Doctor ("The Doctor"), and El Más Loco ("The Craziest One"),[28][81][82] In 2014, the Mexican government discovered that the drug lord also held the alias Emiliano Morelos Guevara in reference to revolutionary figures Emiliano Zapata, José María Morelos, and Che Guevara.[83]
His father was reportedly Manuel Moreno, who died on July 2013, according to intelligence reports from Mexican federal agents.[4] The drug lord was the uncle or cousin of Uriel Chávez Mendoza, the municipal president (equivalent of mayor) of Apatzingán.[84][85] He was arrested by Mexican authorities on 15 April 2014 for his alleged ties to organized crime.[86] The city councilman Isidro Villanueva Moreno may also be his cousin too.[87] His half brother and cousin of Plancarte Solís, Antonio Magaña Pantoja, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Apatzingán on 9 February 2014.[88] His half brother Heliodoro Moreno Anguiano (alias "El Yoyo") was arrested by Mexican authorities in Apatzingán, Michoacán on 18 February 2014.[89] His nephew Faustino Andrade González was arrested by the Mexican Federal Police in Apatzingán with four other suspected criminals on 5 June 2014.[90]
Published works[edit]
Pensamientos Del Más Loco (The Sayings of the Craziest One)[26]
Me Dicen: El Más Loco (They Call Me The Craziest One) (2010)[91]
See also[edit]
Jesús Malverde
Sources[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Since the gunmen carried away the bodies of their partners during the firefight, it is impossible to know the exact number of people who were killed.[92] The police commander, Elías Álvarez, who led the 2010 operation in Apatzingán, estimated that more than 50 people were killed.[32]
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69.Jump up ^ "Refuerzan vigilancia para evitar que roben el cuerpo de El Chayo". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 9 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
70.Jump up ^ "Resguardan por tierra y aire cuerpo de 'El Chayo'". Red Política (in Spanish). El Universal (Mexico City). 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
71.Jump up ^ (subscription required) "Murió 'El Chayo' de dos impactos de bala". Reforma (in Spanish) (Mexico City). 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
72.Jump up ^ "Trasladan cuerpo de "El Chayo" a Morelia". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Agencia Quadratín. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
73.Jump up ^ Alvarado, Noel F. (10 March 2014). ""El Más Loco" gustaba torturar hasta la muerte a sus rivales". La Prensa (in Spanish). Organización Editorial Mexicana. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
74.Jump up ^ (subscription required) García, Adán (14 March 2014). "Entregan cuerpo de 'El Chayo'". El Norte (Monterrey) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
75.Jump up ^ "Entregan cuerpo de "El Chayo" a sus familiares". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Agencia Quadratín. 14 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
76.Jump up ^ "Velan a 'El Chayo' en Morelia sin presencia militar ni policial". Diario de Juárez (in Spanish). 15 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
77.Jump up ^ "Realizan en Morelia funeral de ‘El Chayo’". Milenio (in Spanish). Agencia Quadratín. 15 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
78.Jump up ^ Martínez Elorriaga, Ernesto (15 March 2014). "Reducido grupo vela a Nazario Moreno 'El Chayo' en Morelia". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
79.Jump up ^ Grillo, Ioan (22 June 2011). "Top 10 Notorious Mexican Drug Lords: Nazario Moreno González". TIME. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
80.Jump up ^ Araizaga, Jorge Carrasco (21 June 2011). "La entrega del Chango Méndez" (in Spanish). Proceso (magazine). Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
81.Jump up ^ "Golpe a 'La Familia'; murió "El Chayo", uno de los líderes". Organización Editorial Mexicana (in Spanish). 11 December 2010. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
82.Jump up ^ "Perfil Nazario Moreno González, el adoctrinador". El Universal (in Spanish). 10 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
83.Jump up ^ Becerra Acosta, Juan Pablo (10 March 2014). "Nazario narra la muerte de Nazario". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
84.Jump up ^ Gil Olmos, José (29 January 2014). "Narcopolítica michoacana". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
85.Jump up ^ "Difunden nombres de funcionarios Michoacán presuntamente relacionados con Templarios". Radio Fórmula (in Spanish). Notimex. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
86.Jump up ^ Martínez, Dalia (15 April 2014). "Caen ediles de Tacámbaro y de Apatzingán". El Universal (Mexico City) (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
87.Jump up ^ "Regidor en Apatzingán podría ser primo de Nazario Moreno González alias El Chayo". Radio Fórmula (in Spanish). 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
88.Jump up ^ Mosso, Rubén (9 February 2014). "Capturan a primo de ‘Kike’ Plancarte". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
89.Jump up ^ "Cacería de templarios: caen ‘El Nito’ y medio hermano de ‘El Chayo’". Proceso (magazine) (in Spanish). 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
90.Jump up ^ "Caen familiares de 'El Chayo' y 'El Kike' Plancarte en Apatzingán" (in Spanish). Proceso (magazine). 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
91.Jump up ^ Vargas, J.C. (19 January 2014). "Exhiben excesos de 'templarios'". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
92.Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Tracy (11 December 2012). "La Familia cartel leader believed killed in Michoacan violence". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
Bibliography[edit]
Lyman, Michael D. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control (6th ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 1437744508.
Levy, David A. (2011). Echoes of Mind: Thinking Deeply about Humanship (1st ed.). Enso Books. ISBN 0982018576.
Longmire, Sylvia (2011). Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0230111378.
External links[edit]
La Familia: Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate (archive) — Foreign Policy Research Institute


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Jan Groenveld

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search




[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.




##The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies.
 (September 2014)




##This article may contain improper references to self-published sources.  (September 2014)



Jan Groenveld
Jan Groenveld.jpg
Born
1945
Australia
Died
October 22, 2002 (aged 57)
Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Founder,
Cult Awareness and Information Centre
Spouse(s)
Simon Groenveld
Children
7
Jan Groenveld (1945 – 22 October 2002) was a member of the LDS Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses.[1] She spent fifteen years in these and other organisations before leaving them in 1975 and resolving to make more information about what she saw as "cults" available to the general public.[1][2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Freedom in Christ Ministry
2 Cited as "cult expert"
3 Death
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Freedom in Christ Ministry[edit]
Groenveld first began providing information about groups she referred to as cults to the public and counselling affected individuals in 1979.[1] In 1980, she founded the Freedom in Christ ministry, whose purpose was to counsel former members of controversial groups, and provide information about coercive religious sects.[2]
Jan founded the Cult Awareness and Information Centre (CAIC), in 1990.[1][2] Groenveld's CAIC website was started in 1991.[3]
Groenveld first met Steven Hassan in 1993, when she brought him to Brisbane, Australia from the United States for a seminar. Hassan educated Groenveld as to the "serious potential for doubt and lack of veracity in satanic ritual abuse stories".[2]
Cited as "cult expert"[edit]
In 1999 a Brisbane tabloid, the Sunday Mail interviewed Groenveld on the likelihood that more destructive cults would show up in Australia during 1999 before the new Millennium. The publication titled Groenveld a "cult specialist"[4] two other Australian publications, the Courier Mail, a Brisbane tabloid, and the The Mercury a tabloid in Hobart titled her a "cult expert."[5][6] She warned the publication about a cult called the Twelve Tribes Mission, believing them to possess militant tendencies. She warned: "There are people out there all over the place who would like to be another Jim Jones", referring to the Peoples Temple suicides.[4]
Groenveld's work has also been cited in Snow's Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers.[7]
Death[edit]
Jan Groenveld died in October 2002, and was survived by her husband, 3 sons, 2 daughters and 2 foster daughters.[8]
See also[edit]
Christian countercult movement
Anti-cult movement
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d Groenveld, Jan. "About Jan". Cult Awareness and Information Centre. Retrieved 8 May 2015.[self-published source]
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Guilliatt, Richard (1996). Talk of the devil : repressed memory & the ritual abuse witch-hunt. Melbourne, Australia: Text Publishing. ISBN 9781875847297.
3.Jump up ^ Groenveld, Jan. "Who on Earth is the Cult Awareness & Information Centre??". Cult Awareness & Information Centre. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25.[self-published source]
4.^ Jump up to: a b Griffith, C. (10 January 1999) "Doom Cults Aussie Alert", Sunday Mail Brisbane, Australia, pages 1, 4.
 However, Queensland cult specialist Jan Groenveld said the doomsday merchants were more likely to come to Australia. "If it's a biblical cult, they may go to Israel, but eastern, Nostradamus-based and UFO-based cults believe the southern hemisphere, in particular Australia, may suffer less or later damage as the end approaches."
5.Jump up ^ Twelve Tribes Café in Australia, Griffith, Chris; Watt, Amanda (26 December 2001), Courier Mail, Australia, page 7.
 Brisbane cult expert Jan Groenveld said that the group's commercial operations may look benign, but that the public should be wary if approached by cult members with invitations to visit their community.
6.Jump up ^ Binet, Harriet (2 November 2000) "Cult Alert", The Mercury, (Australia), page 1.
 A Brisbane cult expert Jan Groenveld has worked with the families of members involved with Infinity. She described it as a cult which used subtle mind control to manipulate people for financial gain. "They cut off their family if there is any opposition," Mrs Groenveld said. "People become separated from families and become totally absorbed. "They really get hooked on the leader. No one that's in a cult knows that it's a cult. "It's not until you start to see that things are wrong that you can see what you're in." Mrs Groenveld, who has counselled victims and families of cults for more than 20 years, said isolating people from their family and urging them to "stay away from unbelief" was a common tactic.
7.Jump up ^ Snow, Robert L. (2003). Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 196. ISBN 0-275-98052-9.
8.Jump up ^ Randy Watters (2002-11-02). "In Memory of Jan Groenveld". freeminds.org. Retrieved 2015-05-08.[self-published source]
External links[edit]
Cult Awareness and Information Centre Main page.


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Australian Pentecostals
Former Latter Day Saints
Exit counselors
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
2002 deaths
1945 births
Critics of Mormonism
Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses
Anti-cult organizations and individuals
Former members of New Religious Movements
Christian countercult movement










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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Groenveld













Jan Groenveld

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search




[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.




##The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies.
 (September 2014)




##This article may contain improper references to self-published sources.  (September 2014)



Jan Groenveld
Jan Groenveld.jpg
Born
1945
Australia
Died
October 22, 2002 (aged 57)
Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Founder,
Cult Awareness and Information Centre
Spouse(s)
Simon Groenveld
Children
7
Jan Groenveld (1945 – 22 October 2002) was a member of the LDS Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses.[1] She spent fifteen years in these and other organisations before leaving them in 1975 and resolving to make more information about what she saw as "cults" available to the general public.[1][2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Freedom in Christ Ministry
2 Cited as "cult expert"
3 Death
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Freedom in Christ Ministry[edit]
Groenveld first began providing information about groups she referred to as cults to the public and counselling affected individuals in 1979.[1] In 1980, she founded the Freedom in Christ ministry, whose purpose was to counsel former members of controversial groups, and provide information about coercive religious sects.[2]
Jan founded the Cult Awareness and Information Centre (CAIC), in 1990.[1][2] Groenveld's CAIC website was started in 1991.[3]
Groenveld first met Steven Hassan in 1993, when she brought him to Brisbane, Australia from the United States for a seminar. Hassan educated Groenveld as to the "serious potential for doubt and lack of veracity in satanic ritual abuse stories".[2]
Cited as "cult expert"[edit]
In 1999 a Brisbane tabloid, the Sunday Mail interviewed Groenveld on the likelihood that more destructive cults would show up in Australia during 1999 before the new Millennium. The publication titled Groenveld a "cult specialist"[4] two other Australian publications, the Courier Mail, a Brisbane tabloid, and the The Mercury a tabloid in Hobart titled her a "cult expert."[5][6] She warned the publication about a cult called the Twelve Tribes Mission, believing them to possess militant tendencies. She warned: "There are people out there all over the place who would like to be another Jim Jones", referring to the Peoples Temple suicides.[4]
Groenveld's work has also been cited in Snow's Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers.[7]
Death[edit]
Jan Groenveld died in October 2002, and was survived by her husband, 3 sons, 2 daughters and 2 foster daughters.[8]
See also[edit]
Christian countercult movement
Anti-cult movement
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d Groenveld, Jan. "About Jan". Cult Awareness and Information Centre. Retrieved 8 May 2015.[self-published source]
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d Guilliatt, Richard (1996). Talk of the devil : repressed memory & the ritual abuse witch-hunt. Melbourne, Australia: Text Publishing. ISBN 9781875847297.
3.Jump up ^ Groenveld, Jan. "Who on Earth is the Cult Awareness & Information Centre??". Cult Awareness & Information Centre. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25.[self-published source]
4.^ Jump up to: a b Griffith, C. (10 January 1999) "Doom Cults Aussie Alert", Sunday Mail Brisbane, Australia, pages 1, 4.
 However, Queensland cult specialist Jan Groenveld said the doomsday merchants were more likely to come to Australia. "If it's a biblical cult, they may go to Israel, but eastern, Nostradamus-based and UFO-based cults believe the southern hemisphere, in particular Australia, may suffer less or later damage as the end approaches."
5.Jump up ^ Twelve Tribes Café in Australia, Griffith, Chris; Watt, Amanda (26 December 2001), Courier Mail, Australia, page 7.
 Brisbane cult expert Jan Groenveld said that the group's commercial operations may look benign, but that the public should be wary if approached by cult members with invitations to visit their community.
6.Jump up ^ Binet, Harriet (2 November 2000) "Cult Alert", The Mercury, (Australia), page 1.
 A Brisbane cult expert Jan Groenveld has worked with the families of members involved with Infinity. She described it as a cult which used subtle mind control to manipulate people for financial gain. "They cut off their family if there is any opposition," Mrs Groenveld said. "People become separated from families and become totally absorbed. "They really get hooked on the leader. No one that's in a cult knows that it's a cult. "It's not until you start to see that things are wrong that you can see what you're in." Mrs Groenveld, who has counselled victims and families of cults for more than 20 years, said isolating people from their family and urging them to "stay away from unbelief" was a common tactic.
7.Jump up ^ Snow, Robert L. (2003). Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 196. ISBN 0-275-98052-9.
8.Jump up ^ Randy Watters (2002-11-02). "In Memory of Jan Groenveld". freeminds.org. Retrieved 2015-05-08.[self-published source]
External links[edit]
Cult Awareness and Information Centre Main page.


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Opposition to new religious movements





























































































 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  


Categories: Australian educators
Australian Pentecostals
Former Latter Day Saints
Exit counselors
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
2002 deaths
1945 births
Critics of Mormonism
Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses
Anti-cult organizations and individuals
Former members of New Religious Movements
Christian countercult movement










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Category:Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses

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People or organizations whose criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses or opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses is an identifying characteristic or whose notability is related to it.
  

Pages in category "Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

B
Heather Botting
F
Raymond Franz
G
Jan Groenveld
H
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Anthony A. Hoekema
M
Olin R. Moyle



Categories: Critics of Christianity
Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses


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Category:Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses

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People or organizations whose criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses or opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses is an identifying characteristic or whose notability is related to it.
  

Pages in category "Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

B
Heather Botting
F
Raymond Franz
G
Jan Groenveld
H
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Anthony A. Hoekema
M
Olin R. Moyle



Categories: Critics of Christianity
Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses


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Category:Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.

B

►  Books critical of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)


C

►  Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



Pages in category "Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).


Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses and the United Nations
J
Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of child sex abuse
P
Personal Freedom Outreach
S
Silentlambs
W
Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses
Criticism of Christianity


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Category:Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.

B

►  Books critical of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 P)


C

►  Critics of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



Pages in category "Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).


Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses and the United Nations
J
Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of child sex abuse
P
Personal Freedom Outreach
S
Silentlambs
W
Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions



Categories: Jehovah's Witnesses
Criticism of Christianity


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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses

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Jump to: navigation, search

This category comprises articles pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination.
Christianity Branches without text.svg
Branches within Christianity
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Protestantism
Restoration Movement
Anabaptism
Calvinism
Anglicanism
Lutheranism

(Latin Church)
Catholic Church

(Eastern Catholicism)
Eastern Orthodoxy
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Assyrian Church
Reformation
(16th century)
Great Schism
(11th century)
Council of Ephesus 431
Council of Chalcedon 451
Early Christianity
Union
Illustration of major branches of Christianity.[1][2] Not all aspects of Christianity are illustrated.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
1.Jump up ^ "Religion Flow Chart: Christianity". Faiths and Freedoms: Religious Diversity in New York City. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
2.Jump up ^ "Branches of Chrisitianity". Waupun Area School District. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.



B

►  Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (20 P)



C

►  Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



►  Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C, 6 P)



L

►  Jehovah's Witnesses literature‎ (2 C, 9 P)



O

►  Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (8 P)



P

►  Jehovah's Witnesses people‎ (3 C)



►  Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 10 P)



Σ

►  Jehovah's Witnesses stubs‎ (23 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).




Jehovah's Witnesses

*
Bibliography of Jehovah's Witnesses

D
Demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses

H
History of Jehovah's Witnesses

J
Jehovah's Witnesses Association of Romania
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups

S
Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden



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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This category comprises articles pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination.
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Illustration of major branches of Christianity.[1][2] Not all aspects of Christianity are illustrated.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
1.Jump up ^ "Religion Flow Chart: Christianity". Faiths and Freedoms: Religious Diversity in New York City. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
2.Jump up ^ "Branches of Chrisitianity". Waupun Area School District. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.



B

►  Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (20 P)



C

►  Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



►  Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C, 6 P)



L

►  Jehovah's Witnesses literature‎ (2 C, 9 P)



O

►  Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (8 P)



P

►  Jehovah's Witnesses people‎ (3 C)



►  Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 10 P)



Σ

►  Jehovah's Witnesses stubs‎ (23 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).




Jehovah's Witnesses

*
Bibliography of Jehovah's Witnesses

D
Demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses

H
History of Jehovah's Witnesses

J
Jehovah's Witnesses Association of Romania
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups

S
Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden



Categories: Bible Student movement
Christian denominations founded in the United States
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Category:Jehovah's Witnesses

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This category comprises articles pertaining to Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination.
Christianity Branches without text.svg
Branches within Christianity
This box: view ·
 talk ·
 edit
  
Protestantism
Restoration Movement
Anabaptism
Calvinism
Anglicanism
Lutheranism

(Latin Church)
Catholic Church

(Eastern Catholicism)
Eastern Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy
Assyrian Church
Reformation
(16th century)
Great Schism
(11th century)
Council of Ephesus 431
Council of Chalcedon 451
Early Christianity
Union
Illustration of major branches of Christianity.[1][2] Not all aspects of Christianity are illustrated.
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehovah's Witnesses.
1.Jump up ^ "Religion Flow Chart: Christianity". Faiths and Freedoms: Religious Diversity in New York City. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
2.Jump up ^ "Branches of Chrisitianity". Waupun Area School District. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  

Subcategories
This category has the following 8 subcategories, out of 8 total.



B

►  Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (20 P)



C

►  Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (6 P)



►  Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (2 C, 6 P)



L

►  Jehovah's Witnesses literature‎ (2 C, 9 P)



O

►  Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (8 P)



P

►  Jehovah's Witnesses people‎ (3 C)



►  Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses‎ (1 C, 10 P)



Σ

►  Jehovah's Witnesses stubs‎ (23 P)



Pages in category "Jehovah's Witnesses"
The following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).




Jehovah's Witnesses

*
Bibliography of Jehovah's Witnesses

D
Demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses

H
History of Jehovah's Witnesses

J
Jehovah's Witnesses Association of Romania
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique
Jehovah's Witnesses splinter groups

S
Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden



Categories: Bible Student movement
Christian denominations founded in the United States
Restorationism (Christianity)
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Religious abstentions
Christian new religious movements
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Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Criticism of religion

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v ·
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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


Beliefs ·
 Practices
 
Salvation ·
 Eschatology

The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
Hymns ·
 God's name

Blood ·
 Discipline


Literature

The Watchtower ·
 Awake!

New World Translation
List of publications
Bibliography

Teaching programs

Kingdom Hall ·
 Gilead School


People

Watch Tower presidents

W. H. Conley ·
 C. T. Russell

J. F. Rutherford ·
 N. H. Knorr

F. W. Franz ·
 M. G. Henschel

D. A. Adams

Formative influences

William Miller ·
 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


Notable former members

Raymond Franz ·
 Olin Moyle


Opposition

Criticism ·
 Persecution

Supreme Court cases
 by country

v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Jehovah's Witnesses have attracted criticism from mainstream Christianity, some members of the medical community, some former members and some commentators over their beliefs and practices. The religion has been accused of doctrinal inconsistency and reversals, failed predictions, mistranslation of the Bible, harsh treatment of former members and autocratic and coercive leadership. Criticism has also focused on their rejection of blood transfusions, particularly in life-threatening medical situations, and claims that they have failed to report cases of sexual abuse to the authorities. Many of the claims are denied by Jehovah's Witnesses and some have also been disputed by courts and religious scholars.


Contents  [hide]
1 Doctrinal criticisms 1.1 Failed predictions
1.2 Changes of doctrine
1.3 United Nations association
1.4 Fall of Jerusalem
1.5 Evolution
2 Social criticisms 2.1 Authoritarianism and denial of free speech
2.2 Description as a "cult"
2.3 Coercion
2.4 Shunning
2.5 Blood 2.5.1 Fractions and components
2.5.2 Storing and donation
2.5.3 Legal considerations
2.5.4 Animal blood
2.6 Reporting of sexual abuse
3 Biblical criticisms
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

Doctrinal criticisms[edit]
Failed predictions[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions
See also: Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses
The beliefs unique to Jehovah's Witnesses involve their interpretations of the second coming of Christ, the millennium and the kingdom of God. Watch Tower Society publications have made, and continue to make, predictions about world events they believe were prophesied in the Bible.[1] Some of those early predictions were described as "established truth",[2] and 'beyond a doubt'.[3] Witnesses are told to 'be complete in accepting the visible organization's direction in every aspect' and that there is no need to question what God tells them through his Word and organization, since love "believes all things."[4][5][6] If a member advocates views different to what appears in print, they face expulsion.[7][8][9]
Failed predictions that were either explicitly stated or strongly implied, particularly linked to dates in 1914, 1918, 1925 and 1975, have led to the alteration or abandonment of some teachings. The Society's publications have at times suggested that members had previously "read into the Watch Tower statements that were never intended"[10] or that the beliefs of members were "based on wrong premises."[11] Critic Edmond Gruss claims that other failed predictions were ignored, and replaced with new predictions; for example, in the book, The Finished Mystery (1917), events were applied to the years 1918 to 1925 that earlier had been held to occur prior to 1914. When the new interpretations also did not transpire, the 1926 edition of the book changed the statements and removed the dates.[12]
Raymond Franz, a critic and former member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, has cited publications that claimed God has used Jehovah's Witnesses as a collective prophet.[13] Critics including James A. Beverley have accused the religion of false prophecy for making those predictions, particularly because of assertions in some cases that the predictions were beyond doubt or had been approved by God, but describes its record of telling the future as "pathetic".[14][15][16][17] Beverley says the Watch Tower Society has passed judgment on others who have falsely predicted the end of the world (he cites a 1968 Awake! that says other groups were "guilty of false prophesying" after having "predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date").[18][19]
The Watch Tower Society rejects accusations that it is a false prophet.[20][21] It says its explanations of Bible prophecy are not infallible[22][23][24] and that its predictions are not claimed explicitly as "the words of Jehovah."[20] It states that some of its expectations have needed adjustment because of eagerness for God's kingdom, but that those adjustments are no reason to "call into question the whole body of truth."[25] Raymond Franz claims that the Watch Tower Society tries to evade its responsibility when citing human fallibility as a defense, adding that the Society represents itself as God's appointed spokesman, and that throughout its history has made many emphatic predictions. Franz adds that the organization's eagerness for the Millennium does not give it license to impugn the motives of those who fail to accept its predictions.[6]
George D. Chryssides has suggested widespread claims that Witnesses "keep changing the dates" are a distortion and misunderstanding of Watch Tower Society chronology. He argues that, although there have been failures in prophetic speculation, the changing views and dates of the Jehovah's Witnesses are more largely attributable to changed understandings of biblical chronology than to failed predictions. Chryssides states, "For the Jehovah’s Witnesses prophecy serves more as a way of discerning a divine plan in human history than a means to predicting the future."[26] In 1904 Zion's Watch Tower stated: "We have in the Scriptures what we think is clear testimony respecting that date [1914], but no particulars or dates for the intervening time. It is not our intention to enter upon the role of prophet to any degree, but merely to give below what seems to us rather likely to be the trend of events." [27]
Predictions (by date of publication) include:
##1877: Christ's kingdom would hold full sway over the earth in 1914; the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor; the "saints" would be carried to heaven.[28]
##1891: 1914 would be "the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men."[29]
##1904: "World-wide anarchy" would follow the end of the Gentile Times in 1914.[30]
##1916: World War I would terminate in Armageddon and the rapture of the "saints".[31]
##1917: In 1918, Christendom would go down as a system to oblivion and be succeeded by revolutionary governments. God would "destroy the churches wholesale and the church members by the millions." Church members would "perish by the sword of war, revolution and anarchy." The dead would lie unburied. In 1920 all earthly governments would disappear, with worldwide anarchy prevailing.[32]
##1920: Messiah's kingdom would be established in 1925 and bring worldwide peace. God would begin restoring the earth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful patriarchs would be resurrected to perfect human life and be made princes and rulers, the visible representatives of the New Order on earth. Those who showed themselves obedient to God would never die.[33]
##1922: The anti-typical "jubilee" that would mark God's intervention in earthly affairs would take place "probably the fall" of 1925.[34]
##1924: God's restoration of Earth would begin "shortly after" October 1, 1925. Jerusalem would be made the world's capital. Resurrected "princes" such as Abel, Noah, Moses and John the Baptist would give instructions to their subjects around the world by radio, and airplanes would transport people to and from Jerusalem from all parts of the globe in just "a few hours".[35]
##1938: Armageddon was too close for marriage or child bearing.[36]
##1941: There were only "months" remaining until Armageddon.[37]
##1942: Armageddon was "immediately before us."[38]
##1961: Awake! magazine stated that the heavenly kingdom "will, within the twentieth century, cleanse the entire earth of wickedness."[39]
##1966: It would be 6000 years since man's creation in the fall of 1975 and it would be "appropriate" for Christ's thousand-year reign to begin at that time.[40] Time was "running out, no question about that."[41] The "immediate future" was "certain to be filled with climactic events ... within a few years at most", the final parts of Bible prophecy relating to the "last days" would undergo fulfillment as Christ's reign began.
##1967: The end-time period (beginning in 1914) was claimed to be so far advanced that the time remaining could "be compared, not just to the last day of a week, but rather, to the last part of that day".[42]
##1968: No one could say "with certainty" that the battle of Armageddon would begin in 1975, but time was "running out rapidly" with "earthshaking events" soon to take place.[43] In March 1968 there was a "short period of time left", with "only about ninety months left before 6000 years of man's existence on earth is completed".[44]
##1969: The existing world order would not last long enough for young people to grow old; the world system would end "in a few years." Young Witnesses were told not to bother pursuing tertiary education for this reason.[45]
##1971: The "battle in the day of Jehovah" was described as beginning "[s]hortly, within our twentieth century".[46]
##1974: There was just a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end" and Witnesses were commended for selling their homes and property to "finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service."[47]
##1984: There were "many indications" that "the end" was closer than the end of the 20th century.[48]
##1989: The Watchtower asserted that Christian missionary work begun in the first century would "be completed in our 20th century".[49] When republished in bound volumes, the phrase "in our 20th century" was replaced with the less specific "in our day".
Changes of doctrine[edit]


History of Eschatological Doctrine

Last Days begin
Start of Christ's Presence
Christ made King
Resurrection of 144,000
Judgment of Religion
Separating Sheep & Goats
Great Tribulation
1879–1920 1799 1874 1878 during Millenium 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920
1920–1923 1925
1923–1925 during Christ's presence
1925–1927 1914 1878 1878 within generation of 1914
1927–1930 1918
1930–1933 1919
1933–1966 1914
1966–1975 1975?
1975–1995 within generation of 1914
1995–present during Great Tribulation imminent
See also: Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine
Although Watch Tower Society literature claims the Society's founder, Charles Taze Russell, was directed by God's Holy Spirit, through which he received "flashes of light",[50] it has substantially altered doctrines since its inception and abandoned many of Russell's teachings.[51] Many of the changes have involved biblical chronology that had earlier been claimed as beyond question.[52][53][54][55][56] Watch Tower Society publications state that doctrinal changes result from a process of "progressive revelation", in which God gradually reveals his will.[57][58]
##Date of beginning of Christ's kingdom rule. Russell taught that Jesus had become king in April 1878.[59][60] In 1922, Joseph Rutherford altered the date to 1914.[51]
##Date of resurrection of anointed Christians. After the failure of predictions that Christ's chosen "saints" would be carried away to heaven in 1878,[61] Russell developed the teaching that those "dying in the Lord" from 1878 forward would have an immediate heavenly resurrection.[62] The Watch Tower confirmed the doctrine in 1925,[63] but two years later asserted this date was wrong[64] and that the beginning of the instant resurrection to heaven for faithful Christians was from 1918.[65]
##Great Pyramid as a "stone witness" of God. Russell wrote in 1910 that God had the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt built as a testimony to the truth of the Bible and proof of its chronology identifying the "last days".[66][67] In 1928 Rutherford rejected the doctrine and claimed the Pyramid had been built under the direction of Satan.[68]
##Identity of "faithful and wise servant". Russell initially believed the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45 was "every member of this body of Christ ... the whole body individually and collectively."[69] By 1886 he had altered his view and began explaining it was a person, not the Christian church.[70] Russell accepted claims by Bible Students that he was that "servant"[71][72][73] and in 1909 described as his "opponents" those who would apply the term "faithful and wise servant" to "all the members of the church of Christ" rather than to an individual.[74] By 1927 the Watch Tower Society was teaching that it was "a collective servant."[75]
##Beginning of the "last days". From the earliest issues of the Watch Tower, Russell promoted the belief that the "last days" had begun in 1799 and would end in 1914.[76] As late as 1921 Watch Tower publications were still claiming the last days had begun in 1799.[77] In 1930 that date was abandoned and 1914 was fixed as the beginning of the last days.
##Jews' role in God's Kingdom. Russell followed the view of Nelson H. Barbour, who believed that in 1914 Christ's kingdom would take power over all the earth and the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor.[78] In 1889 Russell wrote that with the completion of the "Gentile Times" in 1914, Israel's "blindness" would subside and they would convert to Christianity.[79] The book Life (1929) noted that the return of Jews to Palestine signaled that the end was very close, because Jews would "have the favors first and thereafter all others who obey the Lord" under God's restoration of his kingdom.[80] In 1932 that belief was abandoned and from that date the Watch Tower Society taught that Witnesses alone were the Israel of God.[81]
##Date of Christ's invisible presence. The Watch Tower Society taught for more than 60 years that this began in 1874, insisting in 1922 that the date was "indisputable".[82][83] In 1943 the society moved the event to 1914.[51][84][85]
##Identity of the "superior authorities". Russell taught that the "superior authorities" of Romans 13:1, to whom Christians had to show subjection and obedience, were governmental authorities. In 1929 The Watchtower discarded this view, stating that the term referred only to God and Christ, and saying the change of doctrine was evidence of "advancing light" of truth shining forth to God's chosen people.[86] In 1952, The Watchtower stated that the words of Romans 13 "could never have applied to the political powers of Caesar’s world as wrongly claimed by the clergy of Christendom,"[87] and in 1960 The Watchtower described the earlier view as a factor that had caused the Bible Student movement to be "unclean" in God's eyes during the 1914–1918 period. Two years later, in 1962, The Watchtower reverted to Russell's initial doctrine.[86]
##Identity and function of the Governing Body. Frequent mentions of the term "Governing Body" began in Watch Tower Society literature in the 1970s.[88] The Governing Body was initially identified as the Watch Tower Society's seven-member board of directors.[89] However, at the time, the board played no role in establishing Watchtower doctrines, and all such decisions since the Society's origins had been made by the Society's president.[90][91] A 1923 Watch Tower noted that Russell alone directed the policy and course of the Society "without regard to any other person on earth"[92] and both his successors, Rutherford and Knorr, also acted alone in establishing Watch Tower doctrines. An organizational change on January 1, 1976, for the first time gave the Governing Body the power to rule on doctrines[93] and become the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses.[94] Despite this, The Watchtower in 1971 claimed that a Governing Body of anointed Christians had existed since the 19th century to govern the affairs of God's anointed people.[95]
##Treatment of disfellowshipped persons. In the 1950s when disfellowshipping became common, Witnesses were to have nothing to do with expelled members, not conversing with or acknowledging them.[96] Family members of expelled individuals were permitted occasional "contacts absolutely necessary in matters pertaining to family interests," but could not discuss spiritual matters with them.[97] In 1974 The Watchtower, acknowledging some unbalanced Witnesses had displayed unkind, inhumane and possibly cruel attitudes to those expelled,[98] relaxed restrictions on family contact, allowing families to choose for themselves the extent of association,[99] including whether or not to discuss some spiritual matters.[100] In 1981, a reversal of policy occurred, with Witnesses instructed to avoid all spiritual interaction with disfellowshipped ones, including with close relatives.[101] Witnesses were instructed not to greet disfellowshipped persons.[101][102][103] Parents were permitted to care for the physical needs of a disfellowshipped minor child; ill parents or physically or emotionally ill child could be accepted back into the home "for a time". Witnesses were instructed not to eat with disfellowshipped relatives and were warned that emotional influence could soften their resolve.[104] In 1980 the Witnesses' Brooklyn headquarters advised traveling overseers that a person need not be promoting "apostate views" to warrant disfellowshipping; it advised that "appropriate judicial action" be taken against a person who "continues to believe the apostate ideas and rejects what he has been provided" through The Watchtower.[105] The rules on shunning were extended in 1981 to include those who had resigned from the religion voluntarily.[106][107]
##Fall of "Babylon the Great". Russell taught that the fall of the "world empire of false religion" had taken place in 1878 and predicted "Babylon's" complete destruction in 1914.[108] Rutherford claimed in 1917 that religion's final destruction would take place in 1918, explaining that God would destroy churches "wholesale" and that "Christendom shall go down as a system to oblivion."[109] In 1988 the Watch Tower Society claimed that release from prison in 1919 of senior Watchtower figures marked the fall of Babylon "as far as having any captive hold on God's people was concerned",[110] with her "final destruction" "into oblivion, never to recover", expected "in the near future."[111]
United Nations association[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and the United Nations
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the United Nations is one of the 'superior authorities' that exist by God's permission, and that it serves a purpose in maintaining order, but do not support it politically and do not consider it to be the means to achieve peace and security. Jehovah's Witnesses also believe that the United Nations is the "image of the wild beast" of Revelation 13:1-18, and the second fulfillment of the "abominable thing that causes desolation" from Matthew 24:15; that it will be the means for the devastation of organized false religion worldwide;[112][113] and that, like all other political powers, it will be destroyed and replaced by God's heavenly kingdom.[114] Jehovah's Witnesses have denounced other religious organizations for having offered political support to the UN.[115]
On October 8, 2001, an article was published in the British Guardian newspaper questioning the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's registration as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the United Nations Department of Public Information and accusing the Watch Tower Society of hypocrisy.[116] Within days of the article's publication, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society submitted a formal request for disassociation, removing all association with the United Nations Department of Public Information,[117] and released a letter stating that the reason for becoming associated with the United Nations Department of Information (DPI) was to access their facilities, and that they had not been aware of the change in language contained in the criteria for NGO association.[118] However, when the Watch Tower Society sought NGO association, "the organization agreed to meet criteria for association, including support and respect of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations", acknowledging that the purpose of membership is to "promote knowledge of the principles and activities of the United Nations."[119] The official UN/DPI website states that "association of NGOs with DPI does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system."[120]
Fall of Jerusalem[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses assert that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 607 BC and completely uninhabited for exactly seventy years. This date is critical to their selection of October 1914 for the arrival of Christ in kingly power—2520 years after October 607 BC.[121][122] Non-Witness scholars do not support 607 BC for the event; most scholars date the destruction of Jerusalem to within a year of 587 BC, twenty years later.[122] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that periods of seventy years mentioned in the books of Jeremiah and Daniel refer to the Babylonian exile of Jews. They also believe that the gathering of Jews in Jerusalem, shortly after their return from Babylon, officially ended the exile in Jewish month of Tishrei (Ezra 3:1). According to the Watch Tower Society, October 607 BC is derived by counting back seventy years from Tishrei of 537 BC, based on their belief that Cyrus' decree to release the Jews during his first regnal year "may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4–5, 537 B.C."[123][124] Non-Witness sources assign the return to either 538 BC or 537 BC.[125][126][127][128][129]
In The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return, Carl O. Jonsson, a former Witness, presents eighteen lines of evidence to support the traditional view of neo-Babylonian chronology. He accuses the Watch Tower Society of deliberately misquoting sources in an effort to bolster their position.[130] The Watch Tower Society claims that biblical chronology is not always compatible with secular sources, and that the Bible is superior. It claims that secular historians make conclusions about 587 BC based on incorrect or inconsistent historical records, but accepts those sources that identify Cyrus' capture of Babylon in 539 BC, claiming it has no evidence of being inconsistent and hence can be used as a pivotal date.[123][131][132]
Rolf Furuli, a Jehovah's Witness and a lecturer in Semitic languages, presents a study of 607 BC in support of the Witnesses' conclusions in Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews.[133] Lester L. Grabbe, professor of theology at the University of Hull, said of Furuli's study: "Once again we have an amateur who wants to rewrite scholarship. ... F. shows little evidence of having put his theories to the test with specialists in Mesopotamian astronomy and Persian history."[134]
The relative positions of the moon, stars and planets indicated in the Babylonian astronomical diary VAT 4956 are used by secular historians to establish 568 BC as the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.[135] The Watch Tower Society claims that unnamed researchers have confirmed that the positions of the moon and stars on the tablet are instead consistent with astronomical calculations for 588 BC; the Society claims that the planets mentioned in the tablet cannot be clearly identified.[136] The Watch Tower Society's article cites David Brown as stating, "some of the signs for the names of the planets and their positions are unclear,"[136] however Brown indicates that the Babylonians also had unique names for the known planets;[137] Jonsson confirms that the unique names are those used in VAT 4956.[138] According to the Watch Tower Society, astronomical calculations based on ancient writings are unreliable and prone to error.[139]
Evolution[edit]
Watch Tower Society publications attempt to refute the theory of evolution, in favor of divine creation.[140][141] The Watch Tower Society's views of evolution have met with criticism typical of objections to evolution. Gary Botting described his own difficulty as a Jehovah's Witness to reconcile creation with simple observations of species diversification, especially after discussions with J.B.S. Haldane in India.[142]
The Society's 1985 publication, Life—How Did it Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? is criticized for its dependency on Francis Hitching, who is cited thirteen times. The book presents Hitching—a TV writer and paranormalist with no scientific credentials—as an evolutionary scientist.[143] Richard Dawkins also criticizes the book for implying that "chance" is the only alternative to deliberate design, stating, "[T]he candidate solutions to the riddle of improbability are not, as falsely implied, design and chance. They are design and natural selection."[144]
The Watch Tower Society teaches a form of day-age creationism.[145] It dismisses Young Earth creationism as "unscriptural and unbelievable",[146] and states that Jehovah's Witnesses "are not creationists", based on the more specific definition of believers in a 'young' earth created in six literal days.[147] According to a 1986 article in The Watchtower, "Jehovah's Witnesses reject the unreasonable theories of 'creationism' in favor of what the Bible really teaches about 'creation'."[148]
Social criticisms[edit]
Authoritarianism and denial of free speech[edit]
The religion's leadership has been described as autocratic and totalitarian, with criticism focusing on the Watch Tower Society's demands for the obedience and loyalty of Witnesses,[149][150] its intolerance of dissent or open discussion of doctrines and practices[151] and the practice of expelling and shunning members who cannot conscientiously agree with all the religion's teachings.[152][153][154]
Raymond Franz has accused the religion's Governing Body of resenting, deprecating and seeking to silence differences of viewpoint within the organization[155] and demanding organizational conformity that overrides personal conscience.[156] He claimed the Watch Tower Society confirmed its position when, in a 1954 court case in Scotland, Watch Tower Society legal counsel Hayden C. Covington said of Jehovah's Witnesses: "We must have unity ... unity at all costs".[157] Sociologist James A. Beckford noted that the Watch Tower movement demands uniformity of beliefs from its members;[158] George D. Chryssides has also reported that Witness publications teach that individuals' consciences are unreliable and need to be subordinated to scripture and to the Watch Tower organization.[159]
Sociologist Andrew Holden said that Witnesses are taught their theology in a highly mechanistic fashion, learning almost by rote.[160] Raymond Franz and others have described Jehovah's Witnesses' religious meetings as "catechistical" question-and-answer sessions in which questions and answers are both provided by the organization, placing pressure on members to reiterate its opinions.[161][162] Former Witnesses Heather and Gary Botting claimed Witnesses "are told what they should feel and think"[163] and members who do voice viewpoints different from those expressed in publications and at meetings are said to be viewed with suspicion.[164] Raymond Franz has claimed most Witnesses would be fearful to voice criticism of the organization for fear of being accused of disloyalty.[156] Authors have drawn attention to frequent Watch Tower warnings against the "dangers" and "infection" of "independent thinking", including questioning any of its published statements or teachings,[165][166][167][168] and instructions that members refrain from engaging in independent Bible research.[169][170][171] The Watch Tower Society also directs that members must not read criticism of the organization by "apostates"[172][173] or material published by other religions.[174][175] Heather and Gary Botting declared: "Jehovah's Witnesses will brook no criticism from within, as many concerned members who have attempted to voice alternative opinions regarding the basic doctrine or application of social pressure have discovered to their chagrin."[176] Beckford observed that the Society denies the legitimacy of all criticisms of itself and that the habit of questioning official doctrine is "strenuously combated at all organizational levels".[177] Witnesses are said to be under constant surveillance within the congregation[178] and are subject to a disciplinary system that encourages informers.[179][180]
Heather and Gary Botting argue that the power of the Watch Tower Society to control members is gained through the acceptance of the Society "quite literally as the voice of Jehovah – God's 'mouthpiece'."[163] Franz claims the concept of loyalty to God's organization has no scriptural support and serves only to reinforce the religion's authority structure, with its strong emphasis on human authority.[181] He has claimed The Watchtower has repeatedly blurred discussions of both Jesus Christ's loyalty to God and the apostles' loyalty to Christ to promote the view that Witnesses should be loyal to the Watch Tower organization.[182] Religion professor James A. Beverley describes the belief that organizational loyalty is equal to divine loyalty[183] as the "central myth" of Jehovah's Witnesses employed to ensure complete obedience.[184] Sociologist Andrew Holden has observed that Witnesses see no distinction between loyalty to Jehovah and to the movement itself;[185] Heather and Gary Botting have claimed that challenging the views of those higher in the hierarchy is regarded as tantamount to challenging God himself.[186]
The Society has described its intolerance of dissident and divergent doctrinal views within its ranks as "strict", but claims its stance is based on the scriptural precedent of 2 Timothy 2:17,18 in which the Apostle Paul condemns heretics Hymenaeus and Philetus who denied the resurrection of Jesus. It said: "Following such Scriptural patterns, if a Christian (who claims belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus) unrepentantly promotes false teachings, it may be necessary for him to be expelled from the congregation ... Hence, the true Christian congregation cannot rightly be accused of being harshly dogmatic."[187] Sociologist Rodney Stark says that Jehovah's Witness leaders are "not always very democratic" and members are expected to conform to "rather strict standards," but says enforcement tends to be informal, sustained by close bonds of friendship and that Jehovah's Witnesses see themselves as "part of the power structure rather than subject to it".[188] In a case involving Jehovah's Witnesses' activities in Russia, the European Court of Human Rights stated that the religion's requirements "are not fundamentally different from similar limitations that other religions impose on their followers' private lives" and that charges of "mind control" in that case were "based on conjecture and uncorroborated by fact."[189] Despite the intolerance of dissident views within the organisation, the Watch Tower Society and its affiliates have, through litigation, been instrumental in establishing civil liberties in many countries, including Canada and the United States.[190]
Description as a "cult"[edit]
Authors Anthony A. Hoekema, Ron Rhodes[191] and Alan W. Gomes,[192] claim Jehovah's Witnesses is a religious cult. Hoekema bases his judgment on a range of what he describes as general characteristics of a cult, including the tendency to elevate peripheral teachings (such as door-to-door witnessing) to great prominence, extra-scriptural source of authority (Hoekema highlights Watch Tower teachings that the Bible may be understood only as it is interpreted by the Governing Body), a view of the group as the exclusive community of the saved (Watch Tower publications teach that Witnesses alone are God's people and only they will survive Armageddon) and the group's central role in eschatology (Hoekema says Witness publications claim the group was called into existence by God to fill in a gap in the truth neglected by existing churches, marking the climax of sacred history).[193]
Jehovah's Witnesses state that they are not a cult[194] and say that although individuals need proper guidance from God, they should do their own thinking.[195][196] Witnesses state that they are saved by the ransom sacrifice of God's Son and undeserved kindness, that there is no one that can earn salvation.[197] American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton,[198] cult deprogrammer John Bowen Brown II,[199] and Knocking producer Joel P. Engardio also reject the claims that Witnesses are a cult.[200][201] The two volume encyclopedia Contemporary American Religion stated: "Various critics and ex-members in recent years have wrongly labeled Jehovah’s Witnesses a 'cult.'"[202]
Coercion[edit]
Since 1920 the Watch Tower Society has required all congregation members participating in the preaching work to turn in written reports of the amount of their activity,[203] explaining that the reports help the Society to plan its activities and identify areas of greater need[204] and help congregation elders to identify those who may need assistance.[205] In 1943 the Society imposed personal quotas, requiring all active Witnesses to spend at least 60 hours of door-to-door preaching per month, claiming these were "directions from the Lord".[206] Although these quotas were subsequently removed, Raymond Franz claims "invisible" quotas remained, obliging Witnesses to meet certain levels of preaching work to remain in good standing in the congregation[164] or to qualify for eldership.[156] Franz describes repeated urging for adherents to "put kingdom interests first" and devote increasing amounts of time to door-to-door preaching efforts as coercive pressure. He says many Witnesses constantly feel guilty that they are not doing more in "field activity".[156]
Former Witnesses Heather and Gary Botting, claiming an emphasis on a personal track record would mean that salvation is effectively being "bought" with "good works", observed: "No matter how long a Witness remains an active distributor of literature, the moment he ceases to be active he is regarded by his peers as good as dead in terms of achieving the ultimate goal of life everlasting in an earthly paradise ... Few realize upon entering the movement that the purchase price is open-ended and that the bill can never be paid in full until death or the advent of Armageddon."[163]
The Watchtower, however, noted that although public preaching is necessary, such works do not "save" a Christian and it urged Witnesses to examine their motive for engaging in preaching activity.[207]
Russian religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko, in a dissenting opinion to a report by a panel of experts to Moscow's Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court in 1999, stated, "It would be a serious mistake to represent the Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses as a religion whose leadership forces its rank and file believers to engage in one form of activity or another, or place upon them strict restrictions or directives." Ivanenko, who based his view on a study of Watch Tower Society literature, concluded: "Jehovah's Witnesses strive to live in accord with Bible principles on the basis of an individual, voluntary choice ... This also applies in full measure to preaching." [208] James A. Beckford, a professor at the University of Warwick, England, who published a study of English Jehovah's Witnesses in 1975,[209] also told the court: "It is important for each of them to exercise free moral agency in choosing to study the Bible and to live in accordance with their interpretation of its message."[210] On June 10, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stated in regards to a charge of coercion of family members, that "Quite often, the opposite is true: it is the resistance and unwillingness of non-religious family members to accept and to respect the [Jehovah's Witnesses] religious relative's freedom to manifest and practise his or her religion that is the source of conflict."[211]
Medical and legal commentators have also noted cases claiming that Witness medical patients were coerced to obey the religion's ban on blood transfusions.[212][213][214] In a case involving a review of a Russian district court decision, however, the ECHR found nothing in the judgments to suggest that any form of improper pressure or undue influence was applied. It noted: "On the contrary, it appears that many Jehovah’s Witnesses have made a deliberate choice to refuse blood transfusions in advance, free from time constraints of an emergency situation." The court said: "The freedom to accept or refuse specific medical treatment, or to select an alternative form of treatment, is vital to the principles of self-determination and personal autonomy. A competent adult patient is free to decide ... not to have a blood transfusion. However, for this freedom to be meaningful, patients must have the right to make choices that accord with their own views and values, regardless of how irrational, unwise or imprudent such choices may appear to others."[215]
Shunning[edit]
Main articles: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline and Shunning
Witnesses practice disfellowshipping of members who unrepentantly engage in "gross sin",[216] (most commonly for breaches of the Witnesses' code of personal morality),[217][218] and "remorseless apostasy".[219] The process of disfellowshipping is said to be carried to uphold God’s standards, preserve the congregation’s spiritual cleanness, and possibly prompt a change of attitude in the wrongdoer.[216] The practice requires that the expelled person be shunned by all members of the religion, including family members who do not live in the same home, unless they qualify for re-admission. A person who dies while disfellowshipped cannot be given a funeral at a Kingdom Hall.[220][221] Members often face difficulties and trauma once expelled because of their previously limited contact with the outside world.[222][223] The Watchtower‍ '​s description of those who leave as being "mentally diseased" has drawn criticism from some current and former members; in Britain some have argued that the description may constitute a breach of laws regarding religious hatred.[224][225]
The Watch Tower Society has attracted criticism for disfellowshipping members who decide they cannot conscientiously agree with all the religion's teachings and practices. Sociologist Andrew Holden says that because the religion provides no valid reason for leaving, those who do choose to leave are regarded as traitors.[226] According to Raymond Franz, those who decide they cannot accept Watch Tower teachings and practices often live in a climate of fear, feeling they must constantly be on guard about what they say, do and read. He says those who do express any disagreement, even in a private conversation with friends, risk investigation and trial by a judicial committee as apostates or heretics[227] and classed as "wicked".[228]
Franz argues that the threat of expulsion for expressing disagreement with the Watch Tower Society's teachings is designed to create a sterile atmosphere in which the organization's teachings and policies can circulate without the risk of confronting serious questioning or adverse evidence.[229] The result, according to Holden, is that individuals may spend most of their lives suppressing doubts for fear of losing their relationships with friends and relatives.[230] Penton describes the system of judicial committees and the threat of expulsion as the ultimate control mechanism among the Witnesses;[231] Holden claims that shunning not only rids the community of defilement, but deters others from dissident behavior.[222] Sociologist Ronald Lawson has also noted that the religion allows little room for independence of thought, and no toleration of doctrinal diversity; he says those who deviate from official teachings are readily expelled and shunned.[232]
Watch Tower Society publications defend the practice of expelling and shunning those who "promote false teaching", claiming such individuals must be quarantined to prevent the spread of their "spiritual infection".[233] They have cited a dictionary definition of apostasy ("renunciation of a religious faith, abandonment of a previous loyalty") to rule that an individual who begins affiliating with another religion has disassociated from the Witnesses, warranting their shunning to protect the spiritual cleanness of the Witness congregation on the basis of the reference in 1 John 2:19 that those who leave Christianity are "not of our sort".[234] An individual's acceptance of a blood transfusion is similarly deemed as evidence of disassociation.[235] They say Witnesses also obey the "strong counsel" at 1 Corinthians 5:11 that Christians should "quit mixing in company" with people who unrepentantly reject certain scriptural standards.[236]
The Witnesses' judicial process has also been criticized. Hearings take place in secret,[231] with judicial committees filling the roles of judge, jury and prosecutor.[221] According to Franz, witnesses may present evidence but are not permitted to remain for the discussion[237] Critics Heather and Gary Botting have claimed that Witnesses accused of an offence warranting expulsion are presumed guilty until found innocent. They say the onus is on the accused to prove their innocence and if they make no attempt to do so—by failing to appear at a hearing set by the judicial committee—they are assumed to be guilty and unrepentant.[238]
When a decision is made regarding disfellowshipping or disassociation, an announcement is made that the person is "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses," at which point shunning is immediate. Members are not told whether the person has disassociated or has been disfellowshipped. Neither testimony nor evidence in support of the judicial decision are provided. Congregation members are told to accept the rulings without question and Witnesses who refuse to abide by a judicial committee decision will themselves suffer expulsion.[231] Members are forbidden to talk with the expelled member, removing any opportunity for the person to discuss or explain their actions.[237][239] Penton claims judicial committee members and the Watch Tower Society frequently ignore established procedures when dealing with troublesome individuals, conspiring to have them expelled in violation of Society rules.[240] Critics claim that Witness policies encourage an informer system to report to elders Witnesses suspected of having committed an act that could warrant expulsion, including deviating from organizational policies and teachings.[241][242]
Criticism has also been directed at the 1981 change of policy[243] that directed that persons who disassociate from (formally leave) the religion were to be treated as though they were disfellowshipped.[244][245] Holden says that as a result, those who do leave the religion are seldom allowed a dignified exit.[222] Heather and Gary Botting claim inactive Witnesses are often pressured to either become active or to disassociate themselves by declaring they no longer accept key Watch Tower Society doctrines.[238]
Blood[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions
Jehovah's Witnesses reject transfusions of whole allogenic blood and its primary components (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma), and transfusions of stored autologous blood or its primary components. As a doctrine, Jehovah's Witnesses do not reject transfusion of whole autologous blood so long as it is not stored prior to surgery (e.g. peri-operative extraction and transfusion of autologous blood). This religious position is due to their belief that blood is sacred and represents life in God's eyes. Jehovah's Witnesses understand scriptures such as Leviticus 17:10-14 (which speaks of not eating blood) and Acts 15:29 ("abstain from blood") to include taking blood into the body via a transfusion.[246] Controversy has stemmed, however, from what critics state are inconsistencies in Witness policies on blood, claims that Witness patients are coerced into refusing blood and that Watch Tower literature distorts facts about transfusions and fails to provide information that would allow Witnesses to make an informed decision on the issue.[154]
Fractions and components[edit]
In the case of minor fractions derived from blood, each individual is directed to follow their own conscience on whether these are acceptable.[247][248] This is because it is difficult to define at what point blood is no longer blood. As a substance is broken down into smaller and smaller parts it may or may not be considered the original substance. Therefore some of Jehovah's Witnesses personally choose to accept the use of blood fractions and some do not. However, if a fraction "makes up a significant portion of that component" or "carries out the key function of a primary component" it may be objectionable to them.[249]
Such a stance of dividing blood into major components and minor fractions rather than either accepting all blood or requiring all blood components to be poured out onto the ground has led to criticism from organizations such as the Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood.[250] Witnesses respond that blood as the fluid per se is not the real issue. They say the real issue is respect and obedience regarding blood, which they perceive as being God's personal property.[251][252] Members are allowed to eat meat that still contains small traces of blood remaining. Once blood is drained from an animal, the respect has been shown to God and then a person can eat the meat. Jehovah's Witnesses view of meat and blood is therefore different from the Jewish view that goes to great lengths to remove even minor traces of blood.[253][254]
According to lawyer Kerry Louderback-Wood, a former Jehovah's Witness,[255] the Watch Tower Society misrepresents the scope of allowed fractions. If taken together, they "total the entire volume of blood they came from".[256] An example of this can be seen in blood plasma, which consists of 90-96% water. The remaining amount consists mainly of albumin, globulins, fibrinogen and coagulation factors. These four fractions are allowable for use, but only if taken separately. Critics have likened this to banning the eating of a ham and cheese sandwich but allowing the eating of bread, ham and cheese separately.[257]
Storing and donation[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that storing blood violates direction from the Bible to 'pour blood out onto the ground'. They do not donate blood except for uses they have individually pre-approved.[258] However, they are told that acceptance of blood fractions from donated blood is a matter of conscience. A 2006 issue of Jehovah's Witnesses' newsletter Our Kingdom Ministry stated, "Although [Jehovah's Witnesses] do not donate or store their own blood for transfusion purposes, some procedures or tests involving an individual’s blood are not so clearly in conflict with Bible principles. Therefore, each individual should make a conscientious decision" [emphasis added].[259] Critics have challenged these policies because acceptable blood fractions can only be derived from stored blood provided by donors.[260]
Legal considerations[edit]
Regardless of the medical considerations, Jehovah Witnesses advocate that physicians should uphold the right of a patient to choose what treatments they do or do not accept (though a Witness is subject to religious sanctions if they exercise their right to choose a blood transfusion).[261] Accordingly, US courts tend not to hold physicians responsible for adverse health effects that a patient incurred out of his or her own requests.[246] However, the point of view that physicians must, in all circumstances, abide by the religious wishes of the patients is not acknowledged by all jurisdictions, such as was determined in a case involving Jehovah's Witnesses in France.
The situation has been controversial, particularly in the case of children. In the United States, many physicians will agree to explore and exhaust all non-blood alternatives in the treatment of children at the request of their legal guardians. Some state laws require physicians to administer blood-based treatment to minors if it is their professional opinion that it is necessary to prevent immediate death or severe permanent damage.[citation needed]
Kerry Louderback-Wood has claimed that Jehovah's Witnesses' legal corporations are potentially liable to significant claims for compensation if the religion misrepresents the medical risks of blood transfusions. Wood claims that constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion do not remove the legal responsibility that every person or organization has regarding misrepresenting secular fact.[262]
Animal blood[edit]
The Watchtower has stated that "Various medical products have been obtained from biological sources, either animal or human ... Such commercialization of ... blood is hardly tempting for true Christians, who guide their thinking by God's perfect law. Our Creator views blood as sacred, representing God-given life ... blood removed from a creature was to be poured out on the ground, disposed of."[263]
Reporting of sexual abuse[edit]
Main articles: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse and Silentlambs
Critics such as Silentlambs have accused Jehovah's Witnesses of employing organizational policies that make the reporting of sexual abuse difficult for members.[264][265] Some victims of sexual abuse have asserted that when reporting abuse they were ordered to maintain silence by their local elders to avoid embarrassment to both the accused and the organization.[266][267][268][269]
The religion's official policy on child protection, which discusses the procedures for reporting child sexual abuse, states that elders obey all legal requirements for reporting sex offenders, including reporting uncorroborated or unsubstantiated allegations where required by law. Elders are to discipline pedophiles in the congregation. Victims are permitted to notify the authorities if they wish to do so.[270]
While a Witness may lose congregation privileges following a single credible accusation of abuse,[271] Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be scripturally obliged to require corroboration ("two witnesses") before applying their severest forms of congregational discipline.[272] If there is not an actual second witness to an incident of abuse, a congregation judicial committee will accept medical or police reports, or a witness to a separate but similar incident as such a second witness against a member accused of sexual abuse.[273]
Biblical criticisms[edit]
The Watch Tower Society has been criticized for its refusal to reveal the names and academic credentials of the translators of its New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT).[274] The Society has claimed members of the NWT's translation committee wished to remain anonymous in order to exalt only the name of God,[275] The Watchtower stating that the educational qualifications of the translators were unimportant and that "the translation itself testifies to their qualifications".[276] Raymond Franz, a former member of the Governing Body, has claimed that of the four men he says constituted the committee, only one—its principal translator, his uncle Frederick Franz—had sufficient knowledge of biblical languages to have attempted the project.[277] Frederick Franz had studied Greek for two years and was self-taught in Hebrew.[278]
Much criticism of the NWT involves the rendering of certain texts considered to be biased towards specific Witness practices and doctrines.[274][279][280][281][282][283] These include the use of "torture stake" instead of "cross" throughout the New Testament;[274] the rendering of John 1:1, with the insertion of the indefinite article ("a") in its rendering to give "the Word was a god";[274][284] Romans 10:10, which uses the term "public declaration", which may reinforce the imperative to engage in public preaching;[274] John 17:3, which used the term "taking in knowledge" rather than "know" to suggest that salvation is dependent on ongoing study,[274] and the placement of the comma in Luke 23:43, which affects the timing of the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to the thief at Calvary.[285]
Also criticized is the NWT's insertion of the name Jehovah 237 times in the New Testament without extant New Testament Greek manuscript evidence that the name existed there.[286][287][288] Watch Tower publications have claimed that the name was "restored" on a sound basis, stating that when New Testament writers quote earlier Old Testament scriptures containing the Tetragrammaton (יהוה), "the translator has the right to render Kyrios ("LORD") as Jehovah."[289] The NWT mentions twenty-seven other translations which have similarly rendered Kyrios as a form of the name Jehovah, stating that there is only one verse where the NWT does so without agreement from other translations.[290]
The Society has claimed its translation "courageously restores God’s name, Jehovah, to its proper place in the Biblical text, is free from the bias of religious traditionalism, and ... gives the literal meaning of God’s Word as accurately as possible."[291] Jason BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, compared major translations for accuracy. He wrote that the NWT's introduction of the name "Jehovah" into the New Testament 237 times was "not accurate translation by the most basic principle of accuracy".[292] BeDuhn also stated that whilst there are "a handful of examples of bias in the [New World Translation (NW)]", that "most of the differences are due to the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament writers." He concluded that "the NW and [another translation] are not bias free, and they are not perfect translations. But they are remarkably good translations ... often better than [the other six translations analyzed]."[293]
See also[edit]
##Anti-cult movement
##Beth Sarim
##Charles Taze Russell controversies
##Christian countercult movement
##Heresy in Christianity
##Heterodoxy
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Crompton, Robert (1996), Counting the Days to Armageddon, Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, pp. 9, 115, ISBN 0-227-67939-3
2.Jump up ^ The Time is at Hand, Watch Tower Society, 1889, pages 99 "In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth, that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the kingdom of God will be accomplished by A.D. 1914."; cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 193.
3.Jump up ^ In 1892 Zion's Watch Tower stated that God's battle, Armageddon, which was believed to be already under way, would end in October 1914, a date "definitely marked in Scripture," (15 January 1892, page 1355 reprint) and Watch Tower editor Charles Taze Russell declared: "We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours." (The Watchtower, 15 July 1894, page 1677). After comparing "unreliable secular chronology" to reliable "Bible chronology" The Watchtower stated, “It was on this line of reckoning [using the chronology of the Bible as an established fact] that the dates 1874, 1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any possibility of erasure....Using this same measuring line, beginning with the entry...of Israel into Canaan, and counting the full 70 cycles...,as clearly indicated by Jehovah's sending of the Jews into Babylon for the full 70 years, it is an easy matter to locate 1925, probably the fall, for the beginning of the antitypical jubilee. There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914.... Looking back we can now easily see that those dates were clearly indicated in Scripture and doubtless intended by the Lord to encourage his people....That all that some expect to see in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the date one whit more than in the other cases.”(The Watch Tower, May 15, 1922, p. 150; Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 224).
4.Jump up ^ "Following Faithful Shepherds with Life in View", The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, page 591, "Make haste to identify the visible theocratic organization of God that represents his king, Jesus Christ. It is essential for life. Doing so, be complete in accepting its every aspect. We cannot claim to love God, yet deny his Word and channel of communication....Jehovah's visible organization is based firmly on the twelvefold foundation of the apostles of the Lamb with Jesus Christ himself being the foundation cornerstone.(Rev. 21:14,19;Eph 2:20-22) Therefore, in submitting to Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, we must be in full and complete agreement with every feature of its apostolic procedure and requirements."
5.Jump up ^ "The Godly Qualities of Love and Hate", The Watchtower, 15 July 1974: 441, "Christians have implicit trust in their heavenly Father; they do not question what he tells them through his written Word and organization."
6.^ Jump up to: a b Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 174, "No less serious is it when a group of men have divided views on predictions related to a certain date and yet present their adherents an outward appearance of united confidence, encouraging those adherents to place unwavering trust in those predictions."
7.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, p. 629 "people certainly ha[ve] the freedom to believe what they chose. But anyone who publicly or privately advocates views that are divergent from what appears in the publications of an organization, and who does so while claiming to represent that organization, causes division."
8.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Atlanta: Commentary Press, pp. 18–28, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
9.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, pp. 66–69, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
10.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Society, 1959, page 52.
11.Jump up ^ "A Solid Basis for Confidence", The Watchtower, July 15, 1976, page 440.
12.Jump up ^ Gruss, Edmond C. (1972), The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, pp. 87–88, ISBN 0-87552-306-4
13.Jump up ^ In Crisis of Conscience, 2002, pg. 173, Franz quotes from "They Shall Know That a Prophet Was Among Them", (The Watchtower, April 1, 1972,) which states that God had raised Jehovah's Witnesses as "a prophet to help [people], to warn them of dangers and declare things to come". He also cites "Identifying the Right Kind of Messenger" (The Watchtower, May 1, 1997, page 8) which identifies the Witnesses as his "true messengers ... by making the messages he delivers through them come true", in contrast to "false messengers", whose predictions fail. In In Search of Christian Freedom, 2007, he quotes The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah - How? (1971, pg 70, 292) which describes Witnesses as the modern Ezekiel class, "a genuine prophet within our generation". The Watch Tower book noted: "Concerning the message faithfully delivered by the Ezekiel class, Jehovah positively states that it 'must come true' ... those who wait undecided until it does 'come true' will also have to know that a prophet himself had proved to be in the midst of them." He also cites "Execution of the Great Harlot Nears", (The Watchtower, October 15, 1980, pg 17) which claims God gives the Witnesses "special knowledge that others do not have ... advance knowledge about this system's end".
14.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 86-91.
15.Jump up ^ Criticisms of statements, such as those found below, are found in a number of books including Penton, M. James (1997) Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press; Franz, Raymond, In Search of Christian Freedom (2007) Commentary Press; Watters, Randall (2004) Thus Saith Jehovah's Witnesses, Common Sense Publications; Reed, David A. (1990) Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989, Baker Books and at websites including Watchtower Information Service; Quotes-Watchtower.co.uk; Reexamine.Quotes.
16.Jump up ^ Waldeck, Val Jehovah's Witnesses: What do they believe?. Pilgrim Publications SA. ISBN 1-920092-08-0.
17.Jump up ^ Buttrey, John M (2004). Let No One Mislead You. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-30710-8.
18.Jump up ^ Awake!, October 8, 1968, p. 23.
19.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, page 87.
20.^ Jump up to: a b "Why So Many False Alarms?", Awake!, March 22, 1993, pages 3-4, footnote.
21.Jump up ^ Reasoning From the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, pg 137.
22.Jump up ^ Revelation - Its Grand Climax, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 9.
23.Jump up ^ "Views From the Watchtower", Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1908, "We are not prophesying; we are merely giving our surmises ... We do not even [assert] that there is no mistake in our interpretation of prophesy and our calculations of chronology. We have merely laid these before you, leaving it for each to exercise his own faith or doubt in respect to them."
24.Jump up ^ "Preaching Christ—Through Envy or Goodwill?", The Watchtower, May 15, 1976, p. 297, "Jehovah’s Witnesses as modern-day Christians are working hard to get this good news preached to every individual. They do not claim infallibility or perfection. Neither are they inspired prophets."
25.Jump up ^ "Allow No Place for the Devil!", The Watchtower, March 15, 1986, page 19, "Some opposers claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses are false prophets. These opponents say that dates have been set, but nothing has happened. ... Yes, Jehovah’s people have had to revise expectations from time to time. Because of our eagerness, we have hoped for the new system earlier than Jehovah’s timetable has called for it. But we display our faith in God’s Word and its sure promises by declaring its message to others. Moreover, the need to revise our understanding somewhat does not make us false prophets or change the fact that we are living in 'the last days,' ... How foolish to take the view that expectations needing some adjustment should call into question the whole body of truth! The evidence is clear that Jehovah has used and is continuing to use his one organization."
26.Jump up ^ George Chryssides, They Keep Changing the Dates, A paper presented at the CESNUR 2010 conference in Torino. How Prophecy Succeeds:The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Expectations
27.Jump up ^ March 1, 1904 Zion's Watch Tower p. 67
28.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell and Nelson H. Barbour, The Three Worlds (1907) as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pages 21-22.
29.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, The Time Is At Hand (1891) as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 44.
30.Jump up ^ Melvin D. Curry, Jehovah's Witnesses: The Millenarian World of the Watch Tower, Garland, 1992, as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 45.
31.Jump up ^ Penton, James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0802079732.
32.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 485, 258, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 206-211.
33.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 212-214.
34.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, May 15, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 224.
35.Jump up ^ The Way to Paradise booklet, Watch Tower Society, 1924, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 230-232.
36.Jump up ^ Face the Facts, 1938, pp. 46-50
37.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1941, p. 288
38.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 1, 1942, p. 139
39.Jump up ^ Awake!, February 22, 1961, p. 7
40.Jump up ^ Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (PDF), Watch Tower Society, 1966, pp. 29–35, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 238-239.
41.Jump up ^ Talk by F. W. Franz, Baltimore, Maryland 1966, cited by Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, and by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 238-239.
42.Jump up ^ Did Man Get Here By Evolution Or By Creation?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1967, pg 161.
43.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 1, 1968, page 273
44.Jump up ^ Kingdom Ministry, Watch Tower Society, March 1968, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 246.
45.Jump up ^ Awake!, May 22, 1969, p. 15
46.Jump up ^ The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah – How?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1971, pg 216.
47.Jump up ^ Kingdom Ministry, Watch Tower Society, May 1974, page 3.
48.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1984, pp. 18-19
49.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, January 1, 1989, pg. 12.
50.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light - Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 17.
51.^ Jump up to: a b c Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 184.
52.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1894: 1677, "We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God’s dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble." Missing or empty |title= (help)
53.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1901: 292, "The culmination of the trouble in October, 1914, is clearly marked in the Scriptures;" Missing or empty |title= (help)
54.Jump up ^ The Time Is at Hand, 1907, p. 101, "The ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced."
55.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1922: 346, "We understand that the jubilee type began to count in 1575 B.C.; and the 3,500 year period embracing the type must end in 1925. It follows, then, that the year 1925 will mark the beginning of the restoration of all things lost by Adam's disobedience." Missing or empty |title= (help)
56.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1922: 333, "Bible prophecy shows that the Lord was due to appear for the second time in 1874. Fulfilled prophecy shows beyond a doubt that he did appear in 1874 ... these facts are indisputable." Missing or empty |title= (help)
57.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 708.
58.Jump up ^ "Impart God’s Progressive Revelation to Mankind", The Watchtower, March 1, 1965, p. 158-159
59.Jump up ^ Studies in the Scriptures Vol. II 1889 p. 239, Studies in the Scriptures Volume III 1891 p. 234, Studies in Scriptures Vol. IV 1897 p. 621.
60.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 632.
61.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pages 20, 23.
62.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 23.
63.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 1, 1925, page 371.
64.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 15, 1927, page 151.
65.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 1, 1927.
66.Jump up ^ "The Corroborative Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, The Great Pyramid in Egypt", Chapter 10, Thy Kingdom Come, third volume of Studies in the Scriptures, 1910.
67.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1922, page 187, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 225, 226.
68.Jump up ^ Watchtower, 1928, pages 339-45, 355-62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 170.
69.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October–November 1881, as cited by Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 142.
70.Jump up ^ The Battle of Armageddon by C. T. Russell, 1886, page 613, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, footnote, page 345.
71.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 1, 1916, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 34.
72.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, pages 68 and 71, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 63.
73.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 626, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 67.
74.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1, 1909, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 67.
75.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 626.
76.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 23.
77.Jump up ^ The Harp of God, (1921), 1924 ed., p. 231.
78.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pages 21, 46.
79.Jump up ^ C.T. Russell, The Time Is At Hand (Watch Tower Society, 1889, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 190, 204.
80.Jump up ^ Life, Watch Tower Society, 1929, page 170, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, page 87.
81.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Vindication - Book II, pages 257-258, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 65.
82.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, page 333, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 228.
83.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1922, "The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the time of the end began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874".
84.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pages 18-22.
85.Jump up ^ "No Spiritual Energy Crisis for Discreet Ones", The Watchtower, August 15, 1974, page 507, footnote.
86.^ Jump up to: a b Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, 2007, page 484.
87.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, June 15, 1952, page 376.
88.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 107, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
89.Jump up ^ Qualified To Be Ministers, Watch Tower Society, 1955, page 381, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 74.
90.Jump up ^ Marley Cole, Jehovah's Witnesses - The New World Society, Vantage Press, New York, 1955, pages 86-89, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 74.
91.Jump up ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 75-76.
92.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, page 68, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 59.
93.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, pages 58-79.
94.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, 1997, page 216.
95.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, December 15, 1971, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 78.
96.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1, 1963, page 412.
97.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1963, page 443.
98.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, pages 467, "It is right to hate the wrong committed by the disfellowshiped one, but it is not right to hate the person nor is it right to treat such ones in an inhumane way."
99.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, pages 471-472.
100.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, page 471, par 19.
101.^ Jump up to: a b "If a Relative Is Disfellowshiped", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 28.
102.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 24-25.
103.Jump up ^ "If a Relative Is Disfellowshiped", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 30.
104.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 20-31, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 299-300.
105.Jump up ^ Letter to all circuit and district overseers from Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, September 1, 1980, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 341.
106.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 23, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 299-300.
107.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 357-359.
108.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 188.
109.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 485, 258, 513 as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 206-211.
110.Jump up ^ Revelation - It's Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Society, 1988, page 209.
111.Jump up ^ Revelation - It's Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Society, 1988, pages 266, 269.
112.Jump up ^ "No Calamity Will Befall Us" (Subheading). (Nov. 15, 2001). The Watchtower, p.19
113.Jump up ^ "Let the Reader Use Discernment", (Subheading "A Modern-Day 'Disgusting Thing'"). (May 1, 1999). The Watchtower, p 14
114.Jump up ^ "A World Without War-When?" Oct.1, 1991, pp.5 The Watchtower
115.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 1 June 1997, p. 17 par. 15: "In the first place, what lies ahead for the world's false religions that have so often been extremely friendly with the UN? They are the offspring of one idolatrous fountainhead, ancient Babylon. Appropriately, they are described at Revelation 17:5 as "Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth". Jeremiah described the doom of this hypocritical conglomerate. Harlotlike, they have seduced earth's politicians, flattering the UN and forming illicit relations with its member political powers."
116.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (Oct. 8, 2001) "Jehovah's Witnesses link to UN queried", The Guardian
117.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (Oct. 15, 2001) "'Hypocrite' Jehovah's Witnesses abandon secret link with UN", The Guardian
118.Jump up ^ Letter to Editor - The Guardian" (Oct. 22, 2001) Office of Public Information
119.Jump up ^ Letter from United Nations DPI/NGO Resource Centre
120.Jump up ^ UN DPI/NGO
121.Jump up ^ Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy! chap. 6 par. 25-29
122.^ Jump up to: a b Edmond C. Gruss, Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, ISBN 0-87552-306-4 Page 42.
123.^ Jump up to: a b "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One" The Watchtower, October 1, 2011, page 26
124.Jump up ^ "Evidences of the Year’s Correctness". The Watchtower: 271–2. May 1, 1952. "It was in this first regnal year of Cyrus that he issued his decree to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. (Ezra 1:1) The decree may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4–5, 537 B.C. In either case this would have given sufficient time for the large party of 49,897 Jews to organize their expedition and to make their long four-month journey from Babylon to Jerusalem to get there by September 29–30, 537 B.C., the first of the seventh Jewish month, to build their altar to Jehovah as recorded at Ezra 3:1-3. Inasmuch as September 29–30, 537 B.C., officially ends the seventy years of desolation as recorded at 2 Chronicles 36:20, 21, so the beginning of the desolation of the land must have officially begun to be counted after September 21–22, 607 B.C., the first of the seventh Jewish month in 607 B.C., which is the beginning point for the counting of the 2,520 years."
125.Jump up ^ [1] "Babylonian Exile." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010.
126.Jump up ^ "Timeline of Judaism after the Babylonian Exile (538 BCE-70 CE)". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
127.Jump up ^ Keller, Werner (1983). The Bible As History. Bantam; 2 Revised edition. p. 352. ISBN 0-553-27943-2.
128.Jump up ^ Dictionary of the Bible: Biographical, Geographical, Historical and Doctrinal by Charles Randall Barnes, Page 247.
129.Jump up ^ Dyer, Charles (2003). Nelson’s Old Testament survey: Discovering essence, Background & Meaning about Every Old Testament book.
130.Jump up ^ The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return by Carl O. Jonsson. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press (July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)
131.Jump up ^ "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two" The Watchtower, November 1, 2011, page 22
132.Jump up ^ Insight from scriptures. Vol.2 page 458, "secular chronologers calculate the 16th day of Tashritu (Tishri) as falling on October 11, Julian calendar, and October 5, Gregorian calendar, in the year 539 B.C.E. Since this date is an accepted one, there being no evidence to the contrary, it is usable as a pivotal date in coordinating secular history with Bible history."
133.Jump up ^ Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews (2003) ISBN 82-994633-3-5
134.Jump up ^ Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p. 42-43
135.Jump up ^ Under One Sky: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East, Münster 2002, pp. 423-428, F. R. Stephenson and D. M. Willis.
136.^ Jump up to: a b "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two" The Watchtower, November 1, 2011, page 25, 28, footnote 18
137.Jump up ^ Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy–Astrology, David Brown, pages 53–56; 2000
138.Jump up ^ When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed, page 21, Carl O. Jonsson.
139.Jump up ^ Insight from scriptures, Vol. I, Astronomical Calculations, page 454
140.Jump up ^ Life — How Did It Get Here? By Evolution Or By Creation?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1985
141.Jump up ^ Was Life Created?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 2010
142.Jump up ^ Gary Botting, "Preface" to The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, pp. xiv-xvi
143.Jump up ^ Hitching is first introduced as an "evolutionist" (p. 15). A Hitching quote on page 71 is repeated on page 73, in the latter case presented as the statement of "a scientist". The 1986 Watchtower book The Bible — God's Word or Man's? likewise refers to Hitching as a scientist (p. 106).
144.Jump up ^ Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion, p. 145. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
145.Jump up ^ Is There a Creator Who Cares About You?. Watch Tower Society. p. 93.
146.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 1, 1986, pp. 12-13
147.Jump up ^ Awake!, May 8, 1997, p. 12
148.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 1986, p. 30
149.Jump up ^ "Following Faithful Shepherds with Life in View", The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, page 591, "Make haste to identify the visible theocratic organization of God that represents his king, Jesus Christ. It is essential for life. Doing so, be complete in accepting its every aspect ... in submitting to Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, we must be in full and complete agreement with every feature of its apostolic procedure and requirements."
150.Jump up ^ "Loyal to Christ and His Faithful Slave", The Watchtower, April 1, 2007, page 24, "When we loyally submit to the direction of the faithful slave and its Governing Body, we are submitting to Christ, the slave's Master."
151.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 89, 95, 103, 120, 204, 221, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
152.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, pp. 22, 32, 150–170, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
153.Jump up ^ Alan Rogerson, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Constable, 1969, page 50.
154.^ Jump up to: a b Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998, Vol 24, Issue 4, page 223-230.
155.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 98–100, 104–107, 113, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
156.^ Jump up to: a b c d R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 6.
157.Jump up ^ Court transcript as cited by Heather & Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1984, page 67-68, also at Pursuer's Proof: Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954.
158.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 103, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
159.Jump up ^ Minority Religions, Social Change, and Freedom of Conscience
160.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 67, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
161.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 419–421, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
162.Jump up ^ Stevenson, W.C. (1967), Year of Doom 1975: The Inside Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, London: Hutchinson & Co, pp. 33–35, "The inevitable result of a person's submitting to (the home Bible study) arrangement is that eventually all his own thoughts will be replaced by the thoughts contained in the book he is studying ... if one were able to watch this person's development ... it would be quite obvious that he was gradually losing all individuality of thought and action ... One of the characteristics of Jehovah's Witnesses is the extraordinary unanimity of thinking on almost every aspect of life ... in view of this there seems to be some justification for the charge that their study methods are in fact a subtle form of indoctrination or brainwashing."
163.^ Jump up to: a b c Botting, Heather & Gary (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 153, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
164.^ Jump up to: a b R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 16.
165.Jump up ^ "Exposing the Devil’s Subtle Designs" and "Armed for the Fight Against Wicked Spirits", Watchtower, January 15, 1983, as cited by Heather and Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1984, page 92.
166.Jump up ^ "Serving Jehovah Shoulder to Shoulder", The Watchtower, August 15, 1981, page 28, "Jehovah's Theocratic Organization Today", The Watchtower, February 1, 1952, pages 79–81.
167.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 25-26, 101, "For every passage in Society literature that urges members to be bold and courageous in critical pursuits, there are many others that warn about independent thinking and the peril of questioning the organization ... Fear of disobedience to the Governing Body keeps Jehovah's Witnesses from carefully checking into biblical doctrine or allegations concerning false prophecy, faulty scholarship, and injustice. Witnesses are told not to read books like this one."
168.Jump up ^ According to Randall Watters, who in 1981 published a pamphlet, "What happened at the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in the spring of 1980?", cited by Heather and Gary Botting, a former Governing Body member is said to have referred Brooklyn headquarters staff to an organizational handbook containing 1,177 policies and regulations, telling them: "If there are some who feel that they cannot subject themselves to the rules and regulations now in operation, such ones ought to be leaving and not be involved here."
169.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, pp. 107–108, 122, 298.
170.Jump up ^ "Walk With Confidence in Jehovah’s Leadership", The Watchtower, June 1, 1985, page 20, "To turn away from Jehovah and his organization, to spurn the direction of “the faithful and discreet slave,” and to rely simply on personal Bible reading and interpretation is to become like a solitary tree in a parched land."
171.Jump up ^ Question box, Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2007.
172.Jump up ^ "Do not be quickly shaken from your reason", Watchtower, March 15, 1986
173.Jump up ^ "At which table are you feeding?" Watchtower, July 1, 1994
174.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 1, 1984, page 31, as cited by R. Franz, "In Search of Christian Freedom", chapter 12
175.Jump up ^ "Firmly uphold godly teaching," Watchtower, May 1, 2000, page 9.
176.Jump up ^ Heather & Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 1984, page 143, 153.
177.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 204, 221, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
178.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 30, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
179.Jump up ^ R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 11.
180.Jump up ^ Muramoto, O. (January 6, 2001), "Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses", BMJ 322 (7277): 37–39, doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7277.37, PMC 1119307, PMID 11141155.
181.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 449–464, ISBN 0-914675-17-6, "Loyalty to the organization becomes the touchstone, the criterion, the "bottom line", when it comes to determining whether one is a faithful Christian or not ... to make any organizational loyalty the criterion for judging anyone's Christianity is, then, clearly a perversion of Scripture ... Read the whole of those Scriptures ... nowhere are we taught to put faith in men or in an earthly organization, unquestioningly following its lead ... the entire Bible record is a continual reminder of the danger inherent in that kind of trust."
182.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, p. 458, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
183.Jump up ^ "You Must Be Holy Because Jehovah Is Holy", The Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 124, "Would not a failure to respond to direction from God through his organization really indicate a rejection of divine rulership?"
184.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 25-26, 101.
185.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 121.
186.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 156, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
187.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers", Watchtower, April 1, 1986.
188.Jump up ^ Stark and Iannoccone (1997), "Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow So Rapidly: A Theoretical Application" (PDF), Journal of Contemporary Religion (PDF), pp. 142–143, retrieved 2008-12-30.
189.Jump up ^ ECHR Point 130, 118
190.Jump up ^ Gary Botting, Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah's Witnesses, (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1993.
191.Jump up ^ Rhodes, Ron (2001), The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, pp. 77–103, ISBN 0-310-23217-1
192.Jump up ^ Gomes, Alan W. (1995), Unmasking the Cults, Zondervan, pp. 22, 23, ISBN 0-310-70441-3
193.Jump up ^ Hoekema, Anthony A. (1963), The Four Major Cults, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, pp. 1–8,223–371, 373–388, ISBN 0-8028-3117-6
194.Jump up ^ "Are Jehovah’s Witnesses a Cult?", The Watchtower, February 15, 1994, pages 5-7
195.Jump up ^ "Do Others Do Your Thinking?", Awake!, August 22, 1978, page 4.
196.Jump up ^ "Who Molds Your Thinking?", The Watchtower, April 1, 1999, page 22, "You have free will. Exercising it, you can choose to respond to Jehovah’s molding influence or deliberately reject it. How much better to listen to Jehovah’s voice instead of arrogantly asserting, 'No one tells me what to do'!"
197.Jump up ^ "Salvation", Reasoning on the Scriptures, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 359, "Is anything more than faith needed in order to gain salvation? Eph. 2:8, 9, RS: “By grace [“undeserved kindness,” NW] you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (The entire provision for salvation is an expression of God’s undeserved kindness. There is no way that a descendant of Adam can gain salvation on his own, no matter how noble his works are. Salvation is a gift from God given to those who put faith in the sin-atoning value of the sacrifice of his Son.)"
198.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Wish You Would Answer The Door" (PDF). The Grand Rapids Press. 2006.
199.Jump up ^ Brown II, John Bowen (2008-04-16), "Cult Watchdog Organizations and Jehovah’s Witnesses", Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality', London School of Economics, London, UK: Center for Studies on New Religions, retrieved 2010-03-03
200.Jump up ^ Engardio, Joel P. (2007-04-17). "Myths & Realities". PBS Independent Lens. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
201.Jump up ^ Brown II, John B. (2005-06-02), "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Anti-cult Movement: A Human Rights Perspective", Religious Movements, Globalization and Conflict: Transnational Perspectives, Palermo, Sicily: Center for Studies on New Religions
202.Jump up ^ Raschke, Carl A. (2013-07-19), "Contemporary American Religion Volume 1", in Catherine L. Albanese, Randall Balmer, Frederick M. Denny, Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, Ana Maria Diaz-Stevens, Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, Ellen M. Umansky, Jehovah's Witnesses, New York: Macmillan Reference USA An Imprint of the Gale Group, p. 343, ISBN 0-02-864926-5
203.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, page 96, as cited by R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 4.
204.Jump up ^ Question Box, Our Kingdom Ministry, September 1979, page 4.
205.Jump up ^ "Do You Contribute to an Accurate Report?", Our Kingdom Ministry, December 2002, page 8.
206.Jump up ^ "Righteous requirements", Watchtower, July 1, 1943, pages 204-206, "Jehovah ... has appointed his 'faithful and wise servant, who is his visible mouthpiece ... These expressions of God's will by his King and through his established agency constitute his law or rule of action ... The Lord breaks down our organization instructions further ... He says the requirements for special pioneers shall be 175 hours and 50 back-calls per month ... and for regular pioneers 150 hours ... And for company publishers he says, 'Let us make a quota of 60 hours and 12 back-calls and at least one study a week for each publisher'. These directions come to us from the Lord through his established agency directing what is required of us ... This expression of the Lord's will should be the end of all controversy ... The Lord through his 'faithful and wise servant' now states to us, Let us cover our territory four times in six months. That becomes our organization instructions and has the same binding force on us that his statement to the Logos had when he said, 'Let us make man in our image'. It is our duty to accept this additional instruction and obey it."
207.Jump up ^ "Saved, Not by Works Alone, But by Undeserved Kindness", The Watchtower, June 1, 2005, pages 17-18.
208.Jump up ^ Expert Opinion by S. I. Ivanenko, p. 10, Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court, in the application of the Moscow Northern Administrative District prosecutor to liquidate the Religious Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow
209.Jump up ^ The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, John Wiley and Sons, 1975, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, 1997. Penton describes Beckford's book as "uneven" and marred by errors and a misunderstanding of certain basic Witness doctrines.
210.Jump up ^ Sworn Expert Opinion, prepared by Professor James Beckford, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, November 1998, Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court, in the application of the Moscow Northern Administrative District prosecutor to liquidate the Religious Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow
211.Jump up ^ ECHR Point number 111
212.Jump up ^ “Jehovah's Witnesses case heads to B.C. court”, Vancouver Sun, April 1, 2007
213.Jump up ^ Medical emergencies in children of orthodox Jehovah's Witness families: Three recent legal cases, ethical issues and proposals for management”, by J Guicho and, I Mitchell, Paediatrics & Child Health, Canadian Pediatric Society, December 2006.
214.Jump up ^ "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 2." Journal of Medical Ethics, October 1998, pages 295-301.
215.Jump up ^ ECHR Point number 136, 139
216.^ Jump up to: a b "Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline", The Watchtower, November 15, 2006, page 26.
217.Jump up ^ "Cultivate Obedience as the End Draws Near", The Watchtower, October 1, 2002, page 21
218.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy, A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 55, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
219.Jump up ^ "Elders, Judge With Righteousness", The Watchtower, July 1, 1992, page 19.
220.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 354, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
221.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 89
222.^ Jump up to: a b c Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 163, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
223.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Recent developments in medical care of Jehovah's Witnesses", Western Journal of Medicine, May 1999, page 298.
224.Jump up ^ Taylor, Jerome (27 September 2011). "War of words breaks out among Jehovah's Witnesses". The Independent.
225.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses church likens defectors to 'contagious, deadly disease'", Sunday Herald Sun, page 39, October 2, 2011.
226.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 150, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
227.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 384, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
228.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 351, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
229.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 359, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
230.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 151, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
231.^ Jump up to: a b c Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 249
232.Jump up ^ Ronald Lawson, "Sect-State Relations: Accounting for the Differing Trajectories of Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses," Sociology of Religion, 1995, 56:4, pg 371.
233.Jump up ^ "Maintain Your Faith and Spiritual Health", The Watchtower, October 1, 1989.
234.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 1986, page 31.
235.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses", British Medical Journal, January 6, 2001, page 37.
236.Jump up ^ Donald T. Ridley, "Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal of blood: Obedience to scripture and religious conscience", Journal of Medical Ethics, 1999:25, page 470.
237.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 38, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
238.^ Jump up to: a b Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 91, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
239.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 371, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
240.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 248
241.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, pages 365-385, citing "A Time to Speak – When?", The Watchtower, September 1, 1987.
242.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998.
243.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.
244.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 319
245.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 357, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
246.^ Jump up to: a b How Can Blood Save Your Life?. Watch Tower Society. p. 22.
247.Jump up ^ "Be guided by the Living God" (Jun. 15, 2004). The Watchtower
248.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers: Do Jehovah's Witnesses accept any minor fractions of blood?" (Jun. 15, 2000). The Watchtower
249.Jump up ^ Awake! August 2006 box on P. 11
250.Jump up ^ Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood
251.Jump up ^ The Watchtower November 1, 1961, p. 669 Questions From Readers
252.Jump up ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? 2005 P.128
253.Jump up ^ "OK Kosher Certification — Salting of Meat". Ok.org. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
254.Jump up ^ "Making Meat Kosher: Between Slaughtering and Cooking". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
255.Jump up ^ "Religion Today", New York Times, January 6, 2006
256.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation, Journal of Church and State Vol 47, Autumn 2005 p. 815
257.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. "In Search of Christian Freedom" - Chapter Nine. Atlanta: Commentary Press, 1991. ISBN 0-914675-16-8. p.732.
258.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 2000, page 31, "Jehovah’s Witnesses...do not donate blood [without preconditions on its use], nor do we store for transfusion our blood that should be ‘poured out.’ That practice conflicts with God’s law. Other procedures or tests involving an individual’s own blood are not so clearly in conflict with God’s stated principles. ...the goal may be to isolate some of a blood component and apply that elsewhere... A Christian must decide for himself how his own blood will be handled... Ahead of time, he should obtain from the doctor or technician the facts about what might be done with his blood during the procedure. Then he must decide according to what his conscience permits."
259.Jump up ^ "How Do I View Blood Fractions and Medical Procedures Involving My Own Blood?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2006, page 4.
260.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. "In Search of Christian Freedom" - Chapter Nine. Atlanta: Commentary Press, 1991. Pbk. ISBN 0-914675-16-8. pp.732.
261.Jump up ^ Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - When Religion and Medicine Collide
262.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation, Journal of Church and State Vol 47, Autumn 2005
263.Jump up ^ The Watchtower (Feb. 1, 1997) p30
264.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses (WTS) Handling of Child Sexual Abuse Cases", Religious Tolerance.org Retrieved Mar 3, 2006.
265.Jump up ^ Tubbs, Sharon (Aug. 22, 2002), "Spiritual shunning", St. Petersburg Times.
266.Jump up ^ "Another Church Sex Scandal" (Apr. 29, 2003). CBS News.
267.Jump up ^ Cutrer, Corrie (Mar. 5, 2001). "Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters", Christianity Today.
268.Jump up ^ Channel 9 Sunday, November 2005.
269.Jump up ^ "Secret database protects paedophiles", BBC Panorama, 2003.
270.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection" (2003). Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information.
271.Jump up ^ “Let All Things Take Place for Upbuilding”, Our Kingdom Ministry, July 2000, page 1
272.Jump up ^ "Comfort for Those With a “Stricken Spirit”", The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, page 28, "If the [lone] accusation is denied [by the accused], the elders should explain to the accuser that nothing more can be done in a judicial way. ...The Bible says that there must be two or three witnesses before judicial action can be taken. (2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19)"
273.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information, Press Release "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection," 2003.
274.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, pp. 174–176
275.Jump up ^ "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures", The Watchtower, September 15, 1950, page 320.
276.Jump up ^ Questions from readers, The Watchtower, December 15, 1974, page 767.
277.Jump up ^ In a 1954 court case, Franz was invited to translate a passage of Genesis from English to Hebrew. (Translator's proof, page 102-103). He declined, saying he would not attempt it. Heather and Gary Botting wrongly claim (page 98) he could make no sense of "an elementary passage of Hebrew from Genesis".
278.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 56, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
279.Jump up ^ Robert M. Bowman Jr, Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses, (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House, 1992); Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, 2003, The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, accessible from this site, which quotes a number of scholars regarding theological bias of the New World Translation.
280.Jump up ^ Samuel Haas,Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 74, No. 4, (Dec. 1955), p. 283, "This work indicates a great deal of effort and thought as well as considerable scholarship, it is to be regretted that religious bias was allowed to colour many passages."
281.Jump up ^ See Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, 2003, The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, accessible online
282.Jump up ^ Rhodes R, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response, Zondervan, 2001, p. 94
283.Jump up ^ Bruce M Metzger, "Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus Christ," Theology Today, (April 1953 p. 74); see also Metzger, "The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," The Bible Translator (July 1964)
284.Jump up ^ C.H. Dodd: "The reason why [the Word was a god] is unacceptable is that it runs counter to the current of Johannine thought, and indeed of Christian thought as a whole." Technical Papers for The Bible Translator, Vol 28, No. 1, January 1977
285.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, pp. 98–101, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
286.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, pp. 494–505, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
287.Jump up ^ G. HÉBERT/EDS, "Jehovah's Witnesses", The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Gale, 20052, Vol. 7, p. 751.
288.Jump up ^ Metzger, Bruce M., The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, The Bible Translator 15/3 (July 1964), pp. 150-153.
289.Jump up ^ "God’s Name and the New Testament", The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1984, pages 23-27
290.Jump up ^ "Appendix 1D The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures", New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures - With References, page 1565
291.Jump up ^ "Your Bible—How It Was Produced", The Watchtower, December 15, 1981, page 15
292.Jump up ^ Jason D. BeDuhn, Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament, 2004, pages 165, 169, 175, 176. BeDuhn compared the King James, the (New) Revised Standard, the New International, the New American Bible, the New American Standard Bible, the Amplified Bible, the Living Bible, Today's English and the NWT versions in Matthew 28:9, Philippians 2:6, Colossians 1:15-20, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8, John 8:58, John 1:1.
293.Jump up ^ Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament by Jason BeDuhn, 2004, pages 165, University Press of America, ISBN 0-7618-2556-8, ISBN 978-0-7618-2556-2
Further reading[edit]
##Botting, Gary and Heather. The Orwellian World of Jehovah`s Witnesses (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984). ISBN 0-8020-6545-7. The Bottings compare the social, cultural and political paradigms of Jehovah's Witnesses to those set out in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both authors were raised Jehovah's Witnesses and are trained scholars (Heather Botting is a professor of anthropology and Gary Botting is a lawyer and legal scholar). The book is based in part on a doctoral dissertation by Heather Botting. Read selections from: The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses (Google book search) University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-0-8020-6545-2
##Botting, Gary. Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah's Witnesses (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1993). ISBN 1-895176-06-9. Botting considers the irony of Jehovah's Witness insisting on a closely regulated society while at the same time fighting for freedom of association, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. It is available on-line at http://www.questia.com/library/102111748/fundamental-freedoms-and-jehovah-s-witnesses.
##Castro, Joy. The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses, adopted as a baby and raised by a devout Jehovah's Witness family. Read selections from: The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses (Google book search) Published 2005 Arcade Publishing, ISBN 1-55970-787-9
##Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience Franz, a former Jehovah's Witness and Governing Body member, and nephew of the fourth president of the Watch Tower Society. This book gives a detailed account of the authority structure, practices, doctrines and decision-making practices Franz experienced while serving on the Governing Body. Sample chapters online: 1, 9, 10, 11, 12. Publisher: Commentary Press. 420 pages. Hardback ISBN 0-914675-24-9. Paperback ISBN 0-914675-23-0. 4th edition (June 2002)
##Franz, Raymond. In Search of Christian Freedom. 2nd ed., 2007. ISBN 0-914675-17-6 (Further critique and analysis by this author)
##Gruss, Edmond C. Apostles of Denial ISBN 0-87552-305-6 / ISBN 978-0-87552-305-7.
##Harrison, Barbara Grizzuti. Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. ISBN 0-7091-8013-6 (An account by an American journalist and essayist of growing up in the JW religion, which she left at age 22)
##Hewitt, Joe. I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness Hewitt gives a frank and compelling account of his life as a Jehovah's Witness and his subsequent persecution and excommunication after he decided to leave the Jehovah's Witness movement. Read selections from: I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness (Google book search) Published 1997, Kregel Publications, ISBN 0-8254-2876-9
##Jonsson, Carl O. The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return Jonsson considers the origin of the belief that the Gentile Times began in 607 B.C. and examines several lines of evidence and the methodology for deriving it. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press (July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)
##King, Robert. Jehovah Himself Has Become King The author considers himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses but was disfellowshipped after publishing his review and criticisms of current Watchtower interpretations related to Bible prophecy, and documentation regarding the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's involvement with the United Nations. He is preparing an updated, second edition. ISBN 1-4208-5498-4 / ISBN 978-1-4208-5498-5 / Publisher: AuthorHouse (September 14, 2005, First Edition) (Available from Amazon.com)
##Kostelniuk, James. Wolves Among Sheep. Harpercollins Trade Sales Dept, ISBN 978-0-00-639107-4
##Penton, M. James. Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2nd ed., 1997. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Scholarly examination of JW history and doctrines)
##Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a former Jehovah's Witness and a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge, examines the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their doctrines. Read selections from: Apocalypse Delayed: the Story of Jehovah's Witnesses University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998) (Google book search)
##Schnell, William J. 30 Years a Watchtower Slave Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1956, 1971, reprinted 2001. ISBN 0-8010-6384-1 (One of the first book-length critiques of the organization to be written by a disaffected former Witness)
##Stafford, Greg. Jehovah's Witnesses Defended and Three Dissertations. The author considers himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses but has renounced affiliation with the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. He now considers himself a Christian Witness of Jah, or one of Jehovah's Witnesses who rejects beliefs specific to Jehovah's Witnesses. These books review and thoroughly explore some of the most common, and/or prevalent, criticisms made about Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. http://www.elihubooks.com/content/books_media.php
External links[edit]
Supportive##Official Jehovah's Witnesses website
##Jehovah's Witnesses response to child abuse allegations (video)
##Jehovah's Witnesses Official Policy on Child Protection
##United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Critical##Apologetics index - Criticisms of Jehovah's Witnesses from a mainstream Christian viewpoint.
##Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood - A site that promotes reform of the Watch Tower Society's blood doctrine.
##Exposé on the Jehovah's Witnesses - From Blue Letter Bible. An examination of the Watch Tower Society. Contains relatively brief explanations of each point.
##Free Minds, Inc - the largest Watchtower dissident site
##Historical Idealism and Jehovah's Witnesses - Documents the historical development of Jehovah's Witness chronology and the claimed "idealized" history of it by the Watch Tower Society
##JW Files--Research on Jehovah's Witnesses - A site "dedicated to research on Jehovah Witnesses".
##jwfacts.com - Information about Jehovah's Witnesses
##JWRecovery Magazine - An ex-JW community contributed magazine / journal which provides information and support assistance to former Jehovah's Witnesses.
##Religious Tolerance.org Jehovah's Witnesses Policies & examples of child sexual abuse.
##Silentlambs.org Silentlamb's official web site.


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Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses

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Part of a series on
Jehovah's Witnesses

Overview

Organizational structure
Governing Body
Watch Tower Bible
 and Tract Society
Corporations

History
Bible Student movement
Leadership dispute
Splinter groups
Doctrinal development
Unfulfilled predictions

Demographics
By country


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The 144,000
Faithful and discreet slave
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 Awake!

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D. A. Adams

Formative influences

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 Henry Grew

George Storrs ·
 N. H. Barbour

John Nelson Darby


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 Olin Moyle


Opposition

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Jehovah's Witnesses have attracted criticism from mainstream Christianity, some members of the medical community, some former members and some commentators over their beliefs and practices. The religion has been accused of doctrinal inconsistency and reversals, failed predictions, mistranslation of the Bible, harsh treatment of former members and autocratic and coercive leadership. Criticism has also focused on their rejection of blood transfusions, particularly in life-threatening medical situations, and claims that they have failed to report cases of sexual abuse to the authorities. Many of the claims are denied by Jehovah's Witnesses and some have also been disputed by courts and religious scholars.


Contents  [hide]
1 Doctrinal criticisms 1.1 Failed predictions
1.2 Changes of doctrine
1.3 United Nations association
1.4 Fall of Jerusalem
1.5 Evolution
2 Social criticisms 2.1 Authoritarianism and denial of free speech
2.2 Description as a "cult"
2.3 Coercion
2.4 Shunning
2.5 Blood 2.5.1 Fractions and components
2.5.2 Storing and donation
2.5.3 Legal considerations
2.5.4 Animal blood
2.6 Reporting of sexual abuse
3 Biblical criticisms
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links

Doctrinal criticisms[edit]
Failed predictions[edit]
Main article: Watch Tower Society unfulfilled predictions
See also: Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses
The beliefs unique to Jehovah's Witnesses involve their interpretations of the second coming of Christ, the millennium and the kingdom of God. Watch Tower Society publications have made, and continue to make, predictions about world events they believe were prophesied in the Bible.[1] Some of those early predictions were described as "established truth",[2] and 'beyond a doubt'.[3] Witnesses are told to 'be complete in accepting the visible organization's direction in every aspect' and that there is no need to question what God tells them through his Word and organization, since love "believes all things."[4][5][6] If a member advocates views different to what appears in print, they face expulsion.[7][8][9]
Failed predictions that were either explicitly stated or strongly implied, particularly linked to dates in 1914, 1918, 1925 and 1975, have led to the alteration or abandonment of some teachings. The Society's publications have at times suggested that members had previously "read into the Watch Tower statements that were never intended"[10] or that the beliefs of members were "based on wrong premises."[11] Critic Edmond Gruss claims that other failed predictions were ignored, and replaced with new predictions; for example, in the book, The Finished Mystery (1917), events were applied to the years 1918 to 1925 that earlier had been held to occur prior to 1914. When the new interpretations also did not transpire, the 1926 edition of the book changed the statements and removed the dates.[12]
Raymond Franz, a critic and former member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, has cited publications that claimed God has used Jehovah's Witnesses as a collective prophet.[13] Critics including James A. Beverley have accused the religion of false prophecy for making those predictions, particularly because of assertions in some cases that the predictions were beyond doubt or had been approved by God, but describes its record of telling the future as "pathetic".[14][15][16][17] Beverley says the Watch Tower Society has passed judgment on others who have falsely predicted the end of the world (he cites a 1968 Awake! that says other groups were "guilty of false prophesying" after having "predicted an 'end to the world', even announcing a specific date").[18][19]
The Watch Tower Society rejects accusations that it is a false prophet.[20][21] It says its explanations of Bible prophecy are not infallible[22][23][24] and that its predictions are not claimed explicitly as "the words of Jehovah."[20] It states that some of its expectations have needed adjustment because of eagerness for God's kingdom, but that those adjustments are no reason to "call into question the whole body of truth."[25] Raymond Franz claims that the Watch Tower Society tries to evade its responsibility when citing human fallibility as a defense, adding that the Society represents itself as God's appointed spokesman, and that throughout its history has made many emphatic predictions. Franz adds that the organization's eagerness for the Millennium does not give it license to impugn the motives of those who fail to accept its predictions.[6]
George D. Chryssides has suggested widespread claims that Witnesses "keep changing the dates" are a distortion and misunderstanding of Watch Tower Society chronology. He argues that, although there have been failures in prophetic speculation, the changing views and dates of the Jehovah's Witnesses are more largely attributable to changed understandings of biblical chronology than to failed predictions. Chryssides states, "For the Jehovah’s Witnesses prophecy serves more as a way of discerning a divine plan in human history than a means to predicting the future."[26] In 1904 Zion's Watch Tower stated: "We have in the Scriptures what we think is clear testimony respecting that date [1914], but no particulars or dates for the intervening time. It is not our intention to enter upon the role of prophet to any degree, but merely to give below what seems to us rather likely to be the trend of events." [27]
Predictions (by date of publication) include:
##1877: Christ's kingdom would hold full sway over the earth in 1914; the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor; the "saints" would be carried to heaven.[28]
##1891: 1914 would be "the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men."[29]
##1904: "World-wide anarchy" would follow the end of the Gentile Times in 1914.[30]
##1916: World War I would terminate in Armageddon and the rapture of the "saints".[31]
##1917: In 1918, Christendom would go down as a system to oblivion and be succeeded by revolutionary governments. God would "destroy the churches wholesale and the church members by the millions." Church members would "perish by the sword of war, revolution and anarchy." The dead would lie unburied. In 1920 all earthly governments would disappear, with worldwide anarchy prevailing.[32]
##1920: Messiah's kingdom would be established in 1925 and bring worldwide peace. God would begin restoring the earth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful patriarchs would be resurrected to perfect human life and be made princes and rulers, the visible representatives of the New Order on earth. Those who showed themselves obedient to God would never die.[33]
##1922: The anti-typical "jubilee" that would mark God's intervention in earthly affairs would take place "probably the fall" of 1925.[34]
##1924: God's restoration of Earth would begin "shortly after" October 1, 1925. Jerusalem would be made the world's capital. Resurrected "princes" such as Abel, Noah, Moses and John the Baptist would give instructions to their subjects around the world by radio, and airplanes would transport people to and from Jerusalem from all parts of the globe in just "a few hours".[35]
##1938: Armageddon was too close for marriage or child bearing.[36]
##1941: There were only "months" remaining until Armageddon.[37]
##1942: Armageddon was "immediately before us."[38]
##1961: Awake! magazine stated that the heavenly kingdom "will, within the twentieth century, cleanse the entire earth of wickedness."[39]
##1966: It would be 6000 years since man's creation in the fall of 1975 and it would be "appropriate" for Christ's thousand-year reign to begin at that time.[40] Time was "running out, no question about that."[41] The "immediate future" was "certain to be filled with climactic events ... within a few years at most", the final parts of Bible prophecy relating to the "last days" would undergo fulfillment as Christ's reign began.
##1967: The end-time period (beginning in 1914) was claimed to be so far advanced that the time remaining could "be compared, not just to the last day of a week, but rather, to the last part of that day".[42]
##1968: No one could say "with certainty" that the battle of Armageddon would begin in 1975, but time was "running out rapidly" with "earthshaking events" soon to take place.[43] In March 1968 there was a "short period of time left", with "only about ninety months left before 6000 years of man's existence on earth is completed".[44]
##1969: The existing world order would not last long enough for young people to grow old; the world system would end "in a few years." Young Witnesses were told not to bother pursuing tertiary education for this reason.[45]
##1971: The "battle in the day of Jehovah" was described as beginning "[s]hortly, within our twentieth century".[46]
##1974: There was just a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end" and Witnesses were commended for selling their homes and property to "finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service."[47]
##1984: There were "many indications" that "the end" was closer than the end of the 20th century.[48]
##1989: The Watchtower asserted that Christian missionary work begun in the first century would "be completed in our 20th century".[49] When republished in bound volumes, the phrase "in our 20th century" was replaced with the less specific "in our day".
Changes of doctrine[edit]


History of Eschatological Doctrine

Last Days begin
Start of Christ's Presence
Christ made King
Resurrection of 144,000
Judgment of Religion
Separating Sheep & Goats
Great Tribulation
1879–1920 1799 1874 1878 during Millenium 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920
1920–1923 1925
1923–1925 during Christ's presence
1925–1927 1914 1878 1878 within generation of 1914
1927–1930 1918
1930–1933 1919
1933–1966 1914
1966–1975 1975?
1975–1995 within generation of 1914
1995–present during Great Tribulation imminent
See also: Development of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine
Although Watch Tower Society literature claims the Society's founder, Charles Taze Russell, was directed by God's Holy Spirit, through which he received "flashes of light",[50] it has substantially altered doctrines since its inception and abandoned many of Russell's teachings.[51] Many of the changes have involved biblical chronology that had earlier been claimed as beyond question.[52][53][54][55][56] Watch Tower Society publications state that doctrinal changes result from a process of "progressive revelation", in which God gradually reveals his will.[57][58]
##Date of beginning of Christ's kingdom rule. Russell taught that Jesus had become king in April 1878.[59][60] In 1922, Joseph Rutherford altered the date to 1914.[51]
##Date of resurrection of anointed Christians. After the failure of predictions that Christ's chosen "saints" would be carried away to heaven in 1878,[61] Russell developed the teaching that those "dying in the Lord" from 1878 forward would have an immediate heavenly resurrection.[62] The Watch Tower confirmed the doctrine in 1925,[63] but two years later asserted this date was wrong[64] and that the beginning of the instant resurrection to heaven for faithful Christians was from 1918.[65]
##Great Pyramid as a "stone witness" of God. Russell wrote in 1910 that God had the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt built as a testimony to the truth of the Bible and proof of its chronology identifying the "last days".[66][67] In 1928 Rutherford rejected the doctrine and claimed the Pyramid had been built under the direction of Satan.[68]
##Identity of "faithful and wise servant". Russell initially believed the "faithful and wise servant" of Matthew 24:45 was "every member of this body of Christ ... the whole body individually and collectively."[69] By 1886 he had altered his view and began explaining it was a person, not the Christian church.[70] Russell accepted claims by Bible Students that he was that "servant"[71][72][73] and in 1909 described as his "opponents" those who would apply the term "faithful and wise servant" to "all the members of the church of Christ" rather than to an individual.[74] By 1927 the Watch Tower Society was teaching that it was "a collective servant."[75]
##Beginning of the "last days". From the earliest issues of the Watch Tower, Russell promoted the belief that the "last days" had begun in 1799 and would end in 1914.[76] As late as 1921 Watch Tower publications were still claiming the last days had begun in 1799.[77] In 1930 that date was abandoned and 1914 was fixed as the beginning of the last days.
##Jews' role in God's Kingdom. Russell followed the view of Nelson H. Barbour, who believed that in 1914 Christ's kingdom would take power over all the earth and the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor.[78] In 1889 Russell wrote that with the completion of the "Gentile Times" in 1914, Israel's "blindness" would subside and they would convert to Christianity.[79] The book Life (1929) noted that the return of Jews to Palestine signaled that the end was very close, because Jews would "have the favors first and thereafter all others who obey the Lord" under God's restoration of his kingdom.[80] In 1932 that belief was abandoned and from that date the Watch Tower Society taught that Witnesses alone were the Israel of God.[81]
##Date of Christ's invisible presence. The Watch Tower Society taught for more than 60 years that this began in 1874, insisting in 1922 that the date was "indisputable".[82][83] In 1943 the society moved the event to 1914.[51][84][85]
##Identity of the "superior authorities". Russell taught that the "superior authorities" of Romans 13:1, to whom Christians had to show subjection and obedience, were governmental authorities. In 1929 The Watchtower discarded this view, stating that the term referred only to God and Christ, and saying the change of doctrine was evidence of "advancing light" of truth shining forth to God's chosen people.[86] In 1952, The Watchtower stated that the words of Romans 13 "could never have applied to the political powers of Caesar’s world as wrongly claimed by the clergy of Christendom,"[87] and in 1960 The Watchtower described the earlier view as a factor that had caused the Bible Student movement to be "unclean" in God's eyes during the 1914–1918 period. Two years later, in 1962, The Watchtower reverted to Russell's initial doctrine.[86]
##Identity and function of the Governing Body. Frequent mentions of the term "Governing Body" began in Watch Tower Society literature in the 1970s.[88] The Governing Body was initially identified as the Watch Tower Society's seven-member board of directors.[89] However, at the time, the board played no role in establishing Watchtower doctrines, and all such decisions since the Society's origins had been made by the Society's president.[90][91] A 1923 Watch Tower noted that Russell alone directed the policy and course of the Society "without regard to any other person on earth"[92] and both his successors, Rutherford and Knorr, also acted alone in establishing Watch Tower doctrines. An organizational change on January 1, 1976, for the first time gave the Governing Body the power to rule on doctrines[93] and become the ruling council of Jehovah's Witnesses.[94] Despite this, The Watchtower in 1971 claimed that a Governing Body of anointed Christians had existed since the 19th century to govern the affairs of God's anointed people.[95]
##Treatment of disfellowshipped persons. In the 1950s when disfellowshipping became common, Witnesses were to have nothing to do with expelled members, not conversing with or acknowledging them.[96] Family members of expelled individuals were permitted occasional "contacts absolutely necessary in matters pertaining to family interests," but could not discuss spiritual matters with them.[97] In 1974 The Watchtower, acknowledging some unbalanced Witnesses had displayed unkind, inhumane and possibly cruel attitudes to those expelled,[98] relaxed restrictions on family contact, allowing families to choose for themselves the extent of association,[99] including whether or not to discuss some spiritual matters.[100] In 1981, a reversal of policy occurred, with Witnesses instructed to avoid all spiritual interaction with disfellowshipped ones, including with close relatives.[101] Witnesses were instructed not to greet disfellowshipped persons.[101][102][103] Parents were permitted to care for the physical needs of a disfellowshipped minor child; ill parents or physically or emotionally ill child could be accepted back into the home "for a time". Witnesses were instructed not to eat with disfellowshipped relatives and were warned that emotional influence could soften their resolve.[104] In 1980 the Witnesses' Brooklyn headquarters advised traveling overseers that a person need not be promoting "apostate views" to warrant disfellowshipping; it advised that "appropriate judicial action" be taken against a person who "continues to believe the apostate ideas and rejects what he has been provided" through The Watchtower.[105] The rules on shunning were extended in 1981 to include those who had resigned from the religion voluntarily.[106][107]
##Fall of "Babylon the Great". Russell taught that the fall of the "world empire of false religion" had taken place in 1878 and predicted "Babylon's" complete destruction in 1914.[108] Rutherford claimed in 1917 that religion's final destruction would take place in 1918, explaining that God would destroy churches "wholesale" and that "Christendom shall go down as a system to oblivion."[109] In 1988 the Watch Tower Society claimed that release from prison in 1919 of senior Watchtower figures marked the fall of Babylon "as far as having any captive hold on God's people was concerned",[110] with her "final destruction" "into oblivion, never to recover", expected "in the near future."[111]
United Nations association[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and the United Nations
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the United Nations is one of the 'superior authorities' that exist by God's permission, and that it serves a purpose in maintaining order, but do not support it politically and do not consider it to be the means to achieve peace and security. Jehovah's Witnesses also believe that the United Nations is the "image of the wild beast" of Revelation 13:1-18, and the second fulfillment of the "abominable thing that causes desolation" from Matthew 24:15; that it will be the means for the devastation of organized false religion worldwide;[112][113] and that, like all other political powers, it will be destroyed and replaced by God's heavenly kingdom.[114] Jehovah's Witnesses have denounced other religious organizations for having offered political support to the UN.[115]
On October 8, 2001, an article was published in the British Guardian newspaper questioning the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's registration as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the United Nations Department of Public Information and accusing the Watch Tower Society of hypocrisy.[116] Within days of the article's publication, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society submitted a formal request for disassociation, removing all association with the United Nations Department of Public Information,[117] and released a letter stating that the reason for becoming associated with the United Nations Department of Information (DPI) was to access their facilities, and that they had not been aware of the change in language contained in the criteria for NGO association.[118] However, when the Watch Tower Society sought NGO association, "the organization agreed to meet criteria for association, including support and respect of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations", acknowledging that the purpose of membership is to "promote knowledge of the principles and activities of the United Nations."[119] The official UN/DPI website states that "association of NGOs with DPI does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system."[120]
Fall of Jerusalem[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses assert that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 607 BC and completely uninhabited for exactly seventy years. This date is critical to their selection of October 1914 for the arrival of Christ in kingly power—2520 years after October 607 BC.[121][122] Non-Witness scholars do not support 607 BC for the event; most scholars date the destruction of Jerusalem to within a year of 587 BC, twenty years later.[122] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that periods of seventy years mentioned in the books of Jeremiah and Daniel refer to the Babylonian exile of Jews. They also believe that the gathering of Jews in Jerusalem, shortly after their return from Babylon, officially ended the exile in Jewish month of Tishrei (Ezra 3:1). According to the Watch Tower Society, October 607 BC is derived by counting back seventy years from Tishrei of 537 BC, based on their belief that Cyrus' decree to release the Jews during his first regnal year "may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4–5, 537 B.C."[123][124] Non-Witness sources assign the return to either 538 BC or 537 BC.[125][126][127][128][129]
In The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return, Carl O. Jonsson, a former Witness, presents eighteen lines of evidence to support the traditional view of neo-Babylonian chronology. He accuses the Watch Tower Society of deliberately misquoting sources in an effort to bolster their position.[130] The Watch Tower Society claims that biblical chronology is not always compatible with secular sources, and that the Bible is superior. It claims that secular historians make conclusions about 587 BC based on incorrect or inconsistent historical records, but accepts those sources that identify Cyrus' capture of Babylon in 539 BC, claiming it has no evidence of being inconsistent and hence can be used as a pivotal date.[123][131][132]
Rolf Furuli, a Jehovah's Witness and a lecturer in Semitic languages, presents a study of 607 BC in support of the Witnesses' conclusions in Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews.[133] Lester L. Grabbe, professor of theology at the University of Hull, said of Furuli's study: "Once again we have an amateur who wants to rewrite scholarship. ... F. shows little evidence of having put his theories to the test with specialists in Mesopotamian astronomy and Persian history."[134]
The relative positions of the moon, stars and planets indicated in the Babylonian astronomical diary VAT 4956 are used by secular historians to establish 568 BC as the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.[135] The Watch Tower Society claims that unnamed researchers have confirmed that the positions of the moon and stars on the tablet are instead consistent with astronomical calculations for 588 BC; the Society claims that the planets mentioned in the tablet cannot be clearly identified.[136] The Watch Tower Society's article cites David Brown as stating, "some of the signs for the names of the planets and their positions are unclear,"[136] however Brown indicates that the Babylonians also had unique names for the known planets;[137] Jonsson confirms that the unique names are those used in VAT 4956.[138] According to the Watch Tower Society, astronomical calculations based on ancient writings are unreliable and prone to error.[139]
Evolution[edit]
Watch Tower Society publications attempt to refute the theory of evolution, in favor of divine creation.[140][141] The Watch Tower Society's views of evolution have met with criticism typical of objections to evolution. Gary Botting described his own difficulty as a Jehovah's Witness to reconcile creation with simple observations of species diversification, especially after discussions with J.B.S. Haldane in India.[142]
The Society's 1985 publication, Life—How Did it Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation? is criticized for its dependency on Francis Hitching, who is cited thirteen times. The book presents Hitching—a TV writer and paranormalist with no scientific credentials—as an evolutionary scientist.[143] Richard Dawkins also criticizes the book for implying that "chance" is the only alternative to deliberate design, stating, "[T]he candidate solutions to the riddle of improbability are not, as falsely implied, design and chance. They are design and natural selection."[144]
The Watch Tower Society teaches a form of day-age creationism.[145] It dismisses Young Earth creationism as "unscriptural and unbelievable",[146] and states that Jehovah's Witnesses "are not creationists", based on the more specific definition of believers in a 'young' earth created in six literal days.[147] According to a 1986 article in The Watchtower, "Jehovah's Witnesses reject the unreasonable theories of 'creationism' in favor of what the Bible really teaches about 'creation'."[148]
Social criticisms[edit]
Authoritarianism and denial of free speech[edit]
The religion's leadership has been described as autocratic and totalitarian, with criticism focusing on the Watch Tower Society's demands for the obedience and loyalty of Witnesses,[149][150] its intolerance of dissent or open discussion of doctrines and practices[151] and the practice of expelling and shunning members who cannot conscientiously agree with all the religion's teachings.[152][153][154]
Raymond Franz has accused the religion's Governing Body of resenting, deprecating and seeking to silence differences of viewpoint within the organization[155] and demanding organizational conformity that overrides personal conscience.[156] He claimed the Watch Tower Society confirmed its position when, in a 1954 court case in Scotland, Watch Tower Society legal counsel Hayden C. Covington said of Jehovah's Witnesses: "We must have unity ... unity at all costs".[157] Sociologist James A. Beckford noted that the Watch Tower movement demands uniformity of beliefs from its members;[158] George D. Chryssides has also reported that Witness publications teach that individuals' consciences are unreliable and need to be subordinated to scripture and to the Watch Tower organization.[159]
Sociologist Andrew Holden said that Witnesses are taught their theology in a highly mechanistic fashion, learning almost by rote.[160] Raymond Franz and others have described Jehovah's Witnesses' religious meetings as "catechistical" question-and-answer sessions in which questions and answers are both provided by the organization, placing pressure on members to reiterate its opinions.[161][162] Former Witnesses Heather and Gary Botting claimed Witnesses "are told what they should feel and think"[163] and members who do voice viewpoints different from those expressed in publications and at meetings are said to be viewed with suspicion.[164] Raymond Franz has claimed most Witnesses would be fearful to voice criticism of the organization for fear of being accused of disloyalty.[156] Authors have drawn attention to frequent Watch Tower warnings against the "dangers" and "infection" of "independent thinking", including questioning any of its published statements or teachings,[165][166][167][168] and instructions that members refrain from engaging in independent Bible research.[169][170][171] The Watch Tower Society also directs that members must not read criticism of the organization by "apostates"[172][173] or material published by other religions.[174][175] Heather and Gary Botting declared: "Jehovah's Witnesses will brook no criticism from within, as many concerned members who have attempted to voice alternative opinions regarding the basic doctrine or application of social pressure have discovered to their chagrin."[176] Beckford observed that the Society denies the legitimacy of all criticisms of itself and that the habit of questioning official doctrine is "strenuously combated at all organizational levels".[177] Witnesses are said to be under constant surveillance within the congregation[178] and are subject to a disciplinary system that encourages informers.[179][180]
Heather and Gary Botting argue that the power of the Watch Tower Society to control members is gained through the acceptance of the Society "quite literally as the voice of Jehovah – God's 'mouthpiece'."[163] Franz claims the concept of loyalty to God's organization has no scriptural support and serves only to reinforce the religion's authority structure, with its strong emphasis on human authority.[181] He has claimed The Watchtower has repeatedly blurred discussions of both Jesus Christ's loyalty to God and the apostles' loyalty to Christ to promote the view that Witnesses should be loyal to the Watch Tower organization.[182] Religion professor James A. Beverley describes the belief that organizational loyalty is equal to divine loyalty[183] as the "central myth" of Jehovah's Witnesses employed to ensure complete obedience.[184] Sociologist Andrew Holden has observed that Witnesses see no distinction between loyalty to Jehovah and to the movement itself;[185] Heather and Gary Botting have claimed that challenging the views of those higher in the hierarchy is regarded as tantamount to challenging God himself.[186]
The Society has described its intolerance of dissident and divergent doctrinal views within its ranks as "strict", but claims its stance is based on the scriptural precedent of 2 Timothy 2:17,18 in which the Apostle Paul condemns heretics Hymenaeus and Philetus who denied the resurrection of Jesus. It said: "Following such Scriptural patterns, if a Christian (who claims belief in God, the Bible, and Jesus) unrepentantly promotes false teachings, it may be necessary for him to be expelled from the congregation ... Hence, the true Christian congregation cannot rightly be accused of being harshly dogmatic."[187] Sociologist Rodney Stark says that Jehovah's Witness leaders are "not always very democratic" and members are expected to conform to "rather strict standards," but says enforcement tends to be informal, sustained by close bonds of friendship and that Jehovah's Witnesses see themselves as "part of the power structure rather than subject to it".[188] In a case involving Jehovah's Witnesses' activities in Russia, the European Court of Human Rights stated that the religion's requirements "are not fundamentally different from similar limitations that other religions impose on their followers' private lives" and that charges of "mind control" in that case were "based on conjecture and uncorroborated by fact."[189] Despite the intolerance of dissident views within the organisation, the Watch Tower Society and its affiliates have, through litigation, been instrumental in establishing civil liberties in many countries, including Canada and the United States.[190]
Description as a "cult"[edit]
Authors Anthony A. Hoekema, Ron Rhodes[191] and Alan W. Gomes,[192] claim Jehovah's Witnesses is a religious cult. Hoekema bases his judgment on a range of what he describes as general characteristics of a cult, including the tendency to elevate peripheral teachings (such as door-to-door witnessing) to great prominence, extra-scriptural source of authority (Hoekema highlights Watch Tower teachings that the Bible may be understood only as it is interpreted by the Governing Body), a view of the group as the exclusive community of the saved (Watch Tower publications teach that Witnesses alone are God's people and only they will survive Armageddon) and the group's central role in eschatology (Hoekema says Witness publications claim the group was called into existence by God to fill in a gap in the truth neglected by existing churches, marking the climax of sacred history).[193]
Jehovah's Witnesses state that they are not a cult[194] and say that although individuals need proper guidance from God, they should do their own thinking.[195][196] Witnesses state that they are saved by the ransom sacrifice of God's Son and undeserved kindness, that there is no one that can earn salvation.[197] American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton,[198] cult deprogrammer John Bowen Brown II,[199] and Knocking producer Joel P. Engardio also reject the claims that Witnesses are a cult.[200][201] The two volume encyclopedia Contemporary American Religion stated: "Various critics and ex-members in recent years have wrongly labeled Jehovah’s Witnesses a 'cult.'"[202]
Coercion[edit]
Since 1920 the Watch Tower Society has required all congregation members participating in the preaching work to turn in written reports of the amount of their activity,[203] explaining that the reports help the Society to plan its activities and identify areas of greater need[204] and help congregation elders to identify those who may need assistance.[205] In 1943 the Society imposed personal quotas, requiring all active Witnesses to spend at least 60 hours of door-to-door preaching per month, claiming these were "directions from the Lord".[206] Although these quotas were subsequently removed, Raymond Franz claims "invisible" quotas remained, obliging Witnesses to meet certain levels of preaching work to remain in good standing in the congregation[164] or to qualify for eldership.[156] Franz describes repeated urging for adherents to "put kingdom interests first" and devote increasing amounts of time to door-to-door preaching efforts as coercive pressure. He says many Witnesses constantly feel guilty that they are not doing more in "field activity".[156]
Former Witnesses Heather and Gary Botting, claiming an emphasis on a personal track record would mean that salvation is effectively being "bought" with "good works", observed: "No matter how long a Witness remains an active distributor of literature, the moment he ceases to be active he is regarded by his peers as good as dead in terms of achieving the ultimate goal of life everlasting in an earthly paradise ... Few realize upon entering the movement that the purchase price is open-ended and that the bill can never be paid in full until death or the advent of Armageddon."[163]
The Watchtower, however, noted that although public preaching is necessary, such works do not "save" a Christian and it urged Witnesses to examine their motive for engaging in preaching activity.[207]
Russian religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko, in a dissenting opinion to a report by a panel of experts to Moscow's Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court in 1999, stated, "It would be a serious mistake to represent the Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses as a religion whose leadership forces its rank and file believers to engage in one form of activity or another, or place upon them strict restrictions or directives." Ivanenko, who based his view on a study of Watch Tower Society literature, concluded: "Jehovah's Witnesses strive to live in accord with Bible principles on the basis of an individual, voluntary choice ... This also applies in full measure to preaching." [208] James A. Beckford, a professor at the University of Warwick, England, who published a study of English Jehovah's Witnesses in 1975,[209] also told the court: "It is important for each of them to exercise free moral agency in choosing to study the Bible and to live in accordance with their interpretation of its message."[210] On June 10, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stated in regards to a charge of coercion of family members, that "Quite often, the opposite is true: it is the resistance and unwillingness of non-religious family members to accept and to respect the [Jehovah's Witnesses] religious relative's freedom to manifest and practise his or her religion that is the source of conflict."[211]
Medical and legal commentators have also noted cases claiming that Witness medical patients were coerced to obey the religion's ban on blood transfusions.[212][213][214] In a case involving a review of a Russian district court decision, however, the ECHR found nothing in the judgments to suggest that any form of improper pressure or undue influence was applied. It noted: "On the contrary, it appears that many Jehovah’s Witnesses have made a deliberate choice to refuse blood transfusions in advance, free from time constraints of an emergency situation." The court said: "The freedom to accept or refuse specific medical treatment, or to select an alternative form of treatment, is vital to the principles of self-determination and personal autonomy. A competent adult patient is free to decide ... not to have a blood transfusion. However, for this freedom to be meaningful, patients must have the right to make choices that accord with their own views and values, regardless of how irrational, unwise or imprudent such choices may appear to others."[215]
Shunning[edit]
Main articles: Jehovah's Witnesses and congregational discipline and Shunning
Witnesses practice disfellowshipping of members who unrepentantly engage in "gross sin",[216] (most commonly for breaches of the Witnesses' code of personal morality),[217][218] and "remorseless apostasy".[219] The process of disfellowshipping is said to be carried to uphold God’s standards, preserve the congregation’s spiritual cleanness, and possibly prompt a change of attitude in the wrongdoer.[216] The practice requires that the expelled person be shunned by all members of the religion, including family members who do not live in the same home, unless they qualify for re-admission. A person who dies while disfellowshipped cannot be given a funeral at a Kingdom Hall.[220][221] Members often face difficulties and trauma once expelled because of their previously limited contact with the outside world.[222][223] The Watchtower‍ '​s description of those who leave as being "mentally diseased" has drawn criticism from some current and former members; in Britain some have argued that the description may constitute a breach of laws regarding religious hatred.[224][225]
The Watch Tower Society has attracted criticism for disfellowshipping members who decide they cannot conscientiously agree with all the religion's teachings and practices. Sociologist Andrew Holden says that because the religion provides no valid reason for leaving, those who do choose to leave are regarded as traitors.[226] According to Raymond Franz, those who decide they cannot accept Watch Tower teachings and practices often live in a climate of fear, feeling they must constantly be on guard about what they say, do and read. He says those who do express any disagreement, even in a private conversation with friends, risk investigation and trial by a judicial committee as apostates or heretics[227] and classed as "wicked".[228]
Franz argues that the threat of expulsion for expressing disagreement with the Watch Tower Society's teachings is designed to create a sterile atmosphere in which the organization's teachings and policies can circulate without the risk of confronting serious questioning or adverse evidence.[229] The result, according to Holden, is that individuals may spend most of their lives suppressing doubts for fear of losing their relationships with friends and relatives.[230] Penton describes the system of judicial committees and the threat of expulsion as the ultimate control mechanism among the Witnesses;[231] Holden claims that shunning not only rids the community of defilement, but deters others from dissident behavior.[222] Sociologist Ronald Lawson has also noted that the religion allows little room for independence of thought, and no toleration of doctrinal diversity; he says those who deviate from official teachings are readily expelled and shunned.[232]
Watch Tower Society publications defend the practice of expelling and shunning those who "promote false teaching", claiming such individuals must be quarantined to prevent the spread of their "spiritual infection".[233] They have cited a dictionary definition of apostasy ("renunciation of a religious faith, abandonment of a previous loyalty") to rule that an individual who begins affiliating with another religion has disassociated from the Witnesses, warranting their shunning to protect the spiritual cleanness of the Witness congregation on the basis of the reference in 1 John 2:19 that those who leave Christianity are "not of our sort".[234] An individual's acceptance of a blood transfusion is similarly deemed as evidence of disassociation.[235] They say Witnesses also obey the "strong counsel" at 1 Corinthians 5:11 that Christians should "quit mixing in company" with people who unrepentantly reject certain scriptural standards.[236]
The Witnesses' judicial process has also been criticized. Hearings take place in secret,[231] with judicial committees filling the roles of judge, jury and prosecutor.[221] According to Franz, witnesses may present evidence but are not permitted to remain for the discussion[237] Critics Heather and Gary Botting have claimed that Witnesses accused of an offence warranting expulsion are presumed guilty until found innocent. They say the onus is on the accused to prove their innocence and if they make no attempt to do so—by failing to appear at a hearing set by the judicial committee—they are assumed to be guilty and unrepentant.[238]
When a decision is made regarding disfellowshipping or disassociation, an announcement is made that the person is "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses," at which point shunning is immediate. Members are not told whether the person has disassociated or has been disfellowshipped. Neither testimony nor evidence in support of the judicial decision are provided. Congregation members are told to accept the rulings without question and Witnesses who refuse to abide by a judicial committee decision will themselves suffer expulsion.[231] Members are forbidden to talk with the expelled member, removing any opportunity for the person to discuss or explain their actions.[237][239] Penton claims judicial committee members and the Watch Tower Society frequently ignore established procedures when dealing with troublesome individuals, conspiring to have them expelled in violation of Society rules.[240] Critics claim that Witness policies encourage an informer system to report to elders Witnesses suspected of having committed an act that could warrant expulsion, including deviating from organizational policies and teachings.[241][242]
Criticism has also been directed at the 1981 change of policy[243] that directed that persons who disassociate from (formally leave) the religion were to be treated as though they were disfellowshipped.[244][245] Holden says that as a result, those who do leave the religion are seldom allowed a dignified exit.[222] Heather and Gary Botting claim inactive Witnesses are often pressured to either become active or to disassociate themselves by declaring they no longer accept key Watch Tower Society doctrines.[238]
Blood[edit]
Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions
Jehovah's Witnesses reject transfusions of whole allogenic blood and its primary components (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma), and transfusions of stored autologous blood or its primary components. As a doctrine, Jehovah's Witnesses do not reject transfusion of whole autologous blood so long as it is not stored prior to surgery (e.g. peri-operative extraction and transfusion of autologous blood). This religious position is due to their belief that blood is sacred and represents life in God's eyes. Jehovah's Witnesses understand scriptures such as Leviticus 17:10-14 (which speaks of not eating blood) and Acts 15:29 ("abstain from blood") to include taking blood into the body via a transfusion.[246] Controversy has stemmed, however, from what critics state are inconsistencies in Witness policies on blood, claims that Witness patients are coerced into refusing blood and that Watch Tower literature distorts facts about transfusions and fails to provide information that would allow Witnesses to make an informed decision on the issue.[154]
Fractions and components[edit]
In the case of minor fractions derived from blood, each individual is directed to follow their own conscience on whether these are acceptable.[247][248] This is because it is difficult to define at what point blood is no longer blood. As a substance is broken down into smaller and smaller parts it may or may not be considered the original substance. Therefore some of Jehovah's Witnesses personally choose to accept the use of blood fractions and some do not. However, if a fraction "makes up a significant portion of that component" or "carries out the key function of a primary component" it may be objectionable to them.[249]
Such a stance of dividing blood into major components and minor fractions rather than either accepting all blood or requiring all blood components to be poured out onto the ground has led to criticism from organizations such as the Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood.[250] Witnesses respond that blood as the fluid per se is not the real issue. They say the real issue is respect and obedience regarding blood, which they perceive as being God's personal property.[251][252] Members are allowed to eat meat that still contains small traces of blood remaining. Once blood is drained from an animal, the respect has been shown to God and then a person can eat the meat. Jehovah's Witnesses view of meat and blood is therefore different from the Jewish view that goes to great lengths to remove even minor traces of blood.[253][254]
According to lawyer Kerry Louderback-Wood, a former Jehovah's Witness,[255] the Watch Tower Society misrepresents the scope of allowed fractions. If taken together, they "total the entire volume of blood they came from".[256] An example of this can be seen in blood plasma, which consists of 90-96% water. The remaining amount consists mainly of albumin, globulins, fibrinogen and coagulation factors. These four fractions are allowable for use, but only if taken separately. Critics have likened this to banning the eating of a ham and cheese sandwich but allowing the eating of bread, ham and cheese separately.[257]
Storing and donation[edit]
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that storing blood violates direction from the Bible to 'pour blood out onto the ground'. They do not donate blood except for uses they have individually pre-approved.[258] However, they are told that acceptance of blood fractions from donated blood is a matter of conscience. A 2006 issue of Jehovah's Witnesses' newsletter Our Kingdom Ministry stated, "Although [Jehovah's Witnesses] do not donate or store their own blood for transfusion purposes, some procedures or tests involving an individual’s blood are not so clearly in conflict with Bible principles. Therefore, each individual should make a conscientious decision" [emphasis added].[259] Critics have challenged these policies because acceptable blood fractions can only be derived from stored blood provided by donors.[260]
Legal considerations[edit]
Regardless of the medical considerations, Jehovah Witnesses advocate that physicians should uphold the right of a patient to choose what treatments they do or do not accept (though a Witness is subject to religious sanctions if they exercise their right to choose a blood transfusion).[261] Accordingly, US courts tend not to hold physicians responsible for adverse health effects that a patient incurred out of his or her own requests.[246] However, the point of view that physicians must, in all circumstances, abide by the religious wishes of the patients is not acknowledged by all jurisdictions, such as was determined in a case involving Jehovah's Witnesses in France.
The situation has been controversial, particularly in the case of children. In the United States, many physicians will agree to explore and exhaust all non-blood alternatives in the treatment of children at the request of their legal guardians. Some state laws require physicians to administer blood-based treatment to minors if it is their professional opinion that it is necessary to prevent immediate death or severe permanent damage.[citation needed]
Kerry Louderback-Wood has claimed that Jehovah's Witnesses' legal corporations are potentially liable to significant claims for compensation if the religion misrepresents the medical risks of blood transfusions. Wood claims that constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion do not remove the legal responsibility that every person or organization has regarding misrepresenting secular fact.[262]
Animal blood[edit]
The Watchtower has stated that "Various medical products have been obtained from biological sources, either animal or human ... Such commercialization of ... blood is hardly tempting for true Christians, who guide their thinking by God's perfect law. Our Creator views blood as sacred, representing God-given life ... blood removed from a creature was to be poured out on the ground, disposed of."[263]
Reporting of sexual abuse[edit]
Main articles: Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse and Silentlambs
Critics such as Silentlambs have accused Jehovah's Witnesses of employing organizational policies that make the reporting of sexual abuse difficult for members.[264][265] Some victims of sexual abuse have asserted that when reporting abuse they were ordered to maintain silence by their local elders to avoid embarrassment to both the accused and the organization.[266][267][268][269]
The religion's official policy on child protection, which discusses the procedures for reporting child sexual abuse, states that elders obey all legal requirements for reporting sex offenders, including reporting uncorroborated or unsubstantiated allegations where required by law. Elders are to discipline pedophiles in the congregation. Victims are permitted to notify the authorities if they wish to do so.[270]
While a Witness may lose congregation privileges following a single credible accusation of abuse,[271] Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be scripturally obliged to require corroboration ("two witnesses") before applying their severest forms of congregational discipline.[272] If there is not an actual second witness to an incident of abuse, a congregation judicial committee will accept medical or police reports, or a witness to a separate but similar incident as such a second witness against a member accused of sexual abuse.[273]
Biblical criticisms[edit]
The Watch Tower Society has been criticized for its refusal to reveal the names and academic credentials of the translators of its New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT).[274] The Society has claimed members of the NWT's translation committee wished to remain anonymous in order to exalt only the name of God,[275] The Watchtower stating that the educational qualifications of the translators were unimportant and that "the translation itself testifies to their qualifications".[276] Raymond Franz, a former member of the Governing Body, has claimed that of the four men he says constituted the committee, only one—its principal translator, his uncle Frederick Franz—had sufficient knowledge of biblical languages to have attempted the project.[277] Frederick Franz had studied Greek for two years and was self-taught in Hebrew.[278]
Much criticism of the NWT involves the rendering of certain texts considered to be biased towards specific Witness practices and doctrines.[274][279][280][281][282][283] These include the use of "torture stake" instead of "cross" throughout the New Testament;[274] the rendering of John 1:1, with the insertion of the indefinite article ("a") in its rendering to give "the Word was a god";[274][284] Romans 10:10, which uses the term "public declaration", which may reinforce the imperative to engage in public preaching;[274] John 17:3, which used the term "taking in knowledge" rather than "know" to suggest that salvation is dependent on ongoing study,[274] and the placement of the comma in Luke 23:43, which affects the timing of the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to the thief at Calvary.[285]
Also criticized is the NWT's insertion of the name Jehovah 237 times in the New Testament without extant New Testament Greek manuscript evidence that the name existed there.[286][287][288] Watch Tower publications have claimed that the name was "restored" on a sound basis, stating that when New Testament writers quote earlier Old Testament scriptures containing the Tetragrammaton (יהוה), "the translator has the right to render Kyrios ("LORD") as Jehovah."[289] The NWT mentions twenty-seven other translations which have similarly rendered Kyrios as a form of the name Jehovah, stating that there is only one verse where the NWT does so without agreement from other translations.[290]
The Society has claimed its translation "courageously restores God’s name, Jehovah, to its proper place in the Biblical text, is free from the bias of religious traditionalism, and ... gives the literal meaning of God’s Word as accurately as possible."[291] Jason BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, compared major translations for accuracy. He wrote that the NWT's introduction of the name "Jehovah" into the New Testament 237 times was "not accurate translation by the most basic principle of accuracy".[292] BeDuhn also stated that whilst there are "a handful of examples of bias in the [New World Translation (NW)]", that "most of the differences are due to the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament writers." He concluded that "the NW and [another translation] are not bias free, and they are not perfect translations. But they are remarkably good translations ... often better than [the other six translations analyzed]."[293]
See also[edit]
##Anti-cult movement
##Beth Sarim
##Charles Taze Russell controversies
##Christian countercult movement
##Heresy in Christianity
##Heterodoxy
##History of Jehovah's Witnesses
##Watch Tower Society presidency dispute (1917)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Crompton, Robert (1996), Counting the Days to Armageddon, Cambridge: James Clarke & Co, pp. 9, 115, ISBN 0-227-67939-3
2.Jump up ^ The Time is at Hand, Watch Tower Society, 1889, pages 99 "In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth, that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the kingdom of God will be accomplished by A.D. 1914."; cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 193.
3.Jump up ^ In 1892 Zion's Watch Tower stated that God's battle, Armageddon, which was believed to be already under way, would end in October 1914, a date "definitely marked in Scripture," (15 January 1892, page 1355 reprint) and Watch Tower editor Charles Taze Russell declared: "We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours." (The Watchtower, 15 July 1894, page 1677). After comparing "unreliable secular chronology" to reliable "Bible chronology" The Watchtower stated, “It was on this line of reckoning [using the chronology of the Bible as an established fact] that the dates 1874, 1914, and 1918 were located; and the Lord has placed the stamp of his seal upon 1914 and 1918 beyond any possibility of erasure....Using this same measuring line, beginning with the entry...of Israel into Canaan, and counting the full 70 cycles...,as clearly indicated by Jehovah's sending of the Jews into Babylon for the full 70 years, it is an easy matter to locate 1925, probably the fall, for the beginning of the antitypical jubilee. There can be no more question about 1925 than there was about 1914.... Looking back we can now easily see that those dates were clearly indicated in Scripture and doubtless intended by the Lord to encourage his people....That all that some expect to see in 1925 may not transpire that year will not alter the date one whit more than in the other cases.”(The Watch Tower, May 15, 1922, p. 150; Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 224).
4.Jump up ^ "Following Faithful Shepherds with Life in View", The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, page 591, "Make haste to identify the visible theocratic organization of God that represents his king, Jesus Christ. It is essential for life. Doing so, be complete in accepting its every aspect. We cannot claim to love God, yet deny his Word and channel of communication....Jehovah's visible organization is based firmly on the twelvefold foundation of the apostles of the Lamb with Jesus Christ himself being the foundation cornerstone.(Rev. 21:14,19;Eph 2:20-22) Therefore, in submitting to Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, we must be in full and complete agreement with every feature of its apostolic procedure and requirements."
5.Jump up ^ "The Godly Qualities of Love and Hate", The Watchtower, 15 July 1974: 441, "Christians have implicit trust in their heavenly Father; they do not question what he tells them through his written Word and organization."
6.^ Jump up to: a b Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 174, "No less serious is it when a group of men have divided views on predictions related to a certain date and yet present their adherents an outward appearance of united confidence, encouraging those adherents to place unwavering trust in those predictions."
7.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, p. 629 "people certainly ha[ve] the freedom to believe what they chose. But anyone who publicly or privately advocates views that are divergent from what appears in the publications of an organization, and who does so while claiming to represent that organization, causes division."
8.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Atlanta: Commentary Press, pp. 18–28, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
9.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, pp. 66–69, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
10.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, Watch Tower Society, 1959, page 52.
11.Jump up ^ "A Solid Basis for Confidence", The Watchtower, July 15, 1976, page 440.
12.Jump up ^ Gruss, Edmond C. (1972), The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, pp. 87–88, ISBN 0-87552-306-4
13.Jump up ^ In Crisis of Conscience, 2002, pg. 173, Franz quotes from "They Shall Know That a Prophet Was Among Them", (The Watchtower, April 1, 1972,) which states that God had raised Jehovah's Witnesses as "a prophet to help [people], to warn them of dangers and declare things to come". He also cites "Identifying the Right Kind of Messenger" (The Watchtower, May 1, 1997, page 8) which identifies the Witnesses as his "true messengers ... by making the messages he delivers through them come true", in contrast to "false messengers", whose predictions fail. In In Search of Christian Freedom, 2007, he quotes The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah - How? (1971, pg 70, 292) which describes Witnesses as the modern Ezekiel class, "a genuine prophet within our generation". The Watch Tower book noted: "Concerning the message faithfully delivered by the Ezekiel class, Jehovah positively states that it 'must come true' ... those who wait undecided until it does 'come true' will also have to know that a prophet himself had proved to be in the midst of them." He also cites "Execution of the Great Harlot Nears", (The Watchtower, October 15, 1980, pg 17) which claims God gives the Witnesses "special knowledge that others do not have ... advance knowledge about this system's end".
14.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 86-91.
15.Jump up ^ Criticisms of statements, such as those found below, are found in a number of books including Penton, M. James (1997) Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press; Franz, Raymond, In Search of Christian Freedom (2007) Commentary Press; Watters, Randall (2004) Thus Saith Jehovah's Witnesses, Common Sense Publications; Reed, David A. (1990) Index of Watchtower Errors, 1879 to 1989, Baker Books and at websites including Watchtower Information Service; Quotes-Watchtower.co.uk; Reexamine.Quotes.
16.Jump up ^ Waldeck, Val Jehovah's Witnesses: What do they believe?. Pilgrim Publications SA. ISBN 1-920092-08-0.
17.Jump up ^ Buttrey, John M (2004). Let No One Mislead You. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-30710-8.
18.Jump up ^ Awake!, October 8, 1968, p. 23.
19.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, page 87.
20.^ Jump up to: a b "Why So Many False Alarms?", Awake!, March 22, 1993, pages 3-4, footnote.
21.Jump up ^ Reasoning From the Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1989, pg 137.
22.Jump up ^ Revelation - Its Grand Climax, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1988, page 9.
23.Jump up ^ "Views From the Watchtower", Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, January 1908, "We are not prophesying; we are merely giving our surmises ... We do not even [assert] that there is no mistake in our interpretation of prophesy and our calculations of chronology. We have merely laid these before you, leaving it for each to exercise his own faith or doubt in respect to them."
24.Jump up ^ "Preaching Christ—Through Envy or Goodwill?", The Watchtower, May 15, 1976, p. 297, "Jehovah’s Witnesses as modern-day Christians are working hard to get this good news preached to every individual. They do not claim infallibility or perfection. Neither are they inspired prophets."
25.Jump up ^ "Allow No Place for the Devil!", The Watchtower, March 15, 1986, page 19, "Some opposers claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses are false prophets. These opponents say that dates have been set, but nothing has happened. ... Yes, Jehovah’s people have had to revise expectations from time to time. Because of our eagerness, we have hoped for the new system earlier than Jehovah’s timetable has called for it. But we display our faith in God’s Word and its sure promises by declaring its message to others. Moreover, the need to revise our understanding somewhat does not make us false prophets or change the fact that we are living in 'the last days,' ... How foolish to take the view that expectations needing some adjustment should call into question the whole body of truth! The evidence is clear that Jehovah has used and is continuing to use his one organization."
26.Jump up ^ George Chryssides, They Keep Changing the Dates, A paper presented at the CESNUR 2010 conference in Torino. How Prophecy Succeeds:The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Expectations
27.Jump up ^ March 1, 1904 Zion's Watch Tower p. 67
28.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell and Nelson H. Barbour, The Three Worlds (1907) as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pages 21-22.
29.Jump up ^ Charles Taze Russell, The Time Is At Hand (1891) as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 44.
30.Jump up ^ Melvin D. Curry, Jehovah's Witnesses: The Millenarian World of the Watch Tower, Garland, 1992, as cited by James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 45.
31.Jump up ^ Penton, James (1997). Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. University of Toronto Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0802079732.
32.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 485, 258, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 206-211.
33.Jump up ^ J. F. Rutherford, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 212-214.
34.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, May 15, 1922, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 224.
35.Jump up ^ The Way to Paradise booklet, Watch Tower Society, 1924, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 230-232.
36.Jump up ^ Face the Facts, 1938, pp. 46-50
37.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1941, p. 288
38.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 1, 1942, p. 139
39.Jump up ^ Awake!, February 22, 1961, p. 7
40.Jump up ^ Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (PDF), Watch Tower Society, 1966, pp. 29–35, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 238-239.
41.Jump up ^ Talk by F. W. Franz, Baltimore, Maryland 1966, cited by Jehovah's Witnesses – Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, and by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 238-239.
42.Jump up ^ Did Man Get Here By Evolution Or By Creation?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1967, pg 161.
43.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, May 1, 1968, page 273
44.Jump up ^ Kingdom Ministry, Watch Tower Society, March 1968, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 246.
45.Jump up ^ Awake!, May 22, 1969, p. 15
46.Jump up ^ The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah – How?, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1971, pg 216.
47.Jump up ^ Kingdom Ministry, Watch Tower Society, May 1974, page 3.
48.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1984, pp. 18-19
49.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, January 1, 1989, pg. 12.
50.Jump up ^ "Flashes of Light - Great and Small", The Watchtower, May 15, 1995, page 17.
51.^ Jump up to: a b c Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 184.
52.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1894: 1677, "We see no reason for changing the figures—nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God’s dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble." Missing or empty |title= (help)
53.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1901: 292, "The culmination of the trouble in October, 1914, is clearly marked in the Scriptures;" Missing or empty |title= (help)
54.Jump up ^ The Time Is at Hand, 1907, p. 101, "The ‘battle of the great day of God Almighty’ (Rev. 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced."
55.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1922: 346, "We understand that the jubilee type began to count in 1575 B.C.; and the 3,500 year period embracing the type must end in 1925. It follows, then, that the year 1925 will mark the beginning of the restoration of all things lost by Adam's disobedience." Missing or empty |title= (help)
56.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, November 1, 1922: 333, "Bible prophecy shows that the Lord was due to appear for the second time in 1874. Fulfilled prophecy shows beyond a doubt that he did appear in 1874 ... these facts are indisputable." Missing or empty |title= (help)
57.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 708.
58.Jump up ^ "Impart God’s Progressive Revelation to Mankind", The Watchtower, March 1, 1965, p. 158-159
59.Jump up ^ Studies in the Scriptures Vol. II 1889 p. 239, Studies in the Scriptures Volume III 1891 p. 234, Studies in Scriptures Vol. IV 1897 p. 621.
60.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 632.
61.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pages 20, 23.
62.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 23.
63.Jump up ^ Watchtower, February 1, 1925, page 371.
64.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 15, 1927, page 151.
65.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 1, 1927.
66.Jump up ^ "The Corroborative Testimony of God's Stone Witness and Prophet, The Great Pyramid in Egypt", Chapter 10, Thy Kingdom Come, third volume of Studies in the Scriptures, 1910.
67.Jump up ^ Watchtower, June 15, 1922, page 187, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 225, 226.
68.Jump up ^ Watchtower, 1928, pages 339-45, 355-62, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 170.
69.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October–November 1881, as cited by Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 142.
70.Jump up ^ The Battle of Armageddon by C. T. Russell, 1886, page 613, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, footnote, page 345.
71.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, December 1, 1916, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 34.
72.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, pages 68 and 71, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 63.
73.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 626, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 67.
74.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, October 1, 1909, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 67.
75.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, Watch Tower Society, 1993, page 626.
76.Jump up ^ Thy Kingdom Come, 1891, page 23.
77.Jump up ^ The Harp of God, (1921), 1924 ed., p. 231.
78.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, pages 21, 46.
79.Jump up ^ C.T. Russell, The Time Is At Hand (Watch Tower Society, 1889, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 190, 204.
80.Jump up ^ Life, Watch Tower Society, 1929, page 170, as cited by Edmond C. Gruss, The Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, page 87.
81.Jump up ^ J.F. Rutherford, Vindication - Book II, pages 257-258, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, page 65.
82.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, November 1, 1922, page 333, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 228.
83.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, March 1, 1922, "The indisputable facts, therefore, show that the time of the end began in 1799; that the Lord's second presence began in 1874".
84.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, pages 18-22.
85.Jump up ^ "No Spiritual Energy Crisis for Discreet Ones", The Watchtower, August 15, 1974, page 507, footnote.
86.^ Jump up to: a b Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, 2007, page 484.
87.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, June 15, 1952, page 376.
88.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 107, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
89.Jump up ^ Qualified To Be Ministers, Watch Tower Society, 1955, page 381, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 74.
90.Jump up ^ Marley Cole, Jehovah's Witnesses - The New World Society, Vantage Press, New York, 1955, pages 86-89, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 74.
91.Jump up ^ Testimony by Fred Franz, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 75-76.
92.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, March 1, 1923, page 68, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 59.
93.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, pages 58-79.
94.Jump up ^ M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, 1997, page 216.
95.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, December 15, 1971, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, 2007, page 78.
96.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 1, 1963, page 412.
97.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, July 15, 1963, page 443.
98.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, pages 467, "It is right to hate the wrong committed by the disfellowshiped one, but it is not right to hate the person nor is it right to treat such ones in an inhumane way."
99.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, pages 471-472.
100.Jump up ^ "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshiped Ones", The Watchtower, August 1, 1974, page 471, par 19.
101.^ Jump up to: a b "If a Relative Is Disfellowshiped", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 28.
102.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 24-25.
103.Jump up ^ "If a Relative Is Disfellowshiped", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 30.
104.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 20-31, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 299-300.
105.Jump up ^ Letter to all circuit and district overseers from Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, September 1, 1980, as reproduced by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 341.
106.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 23, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, page 299-300.
107.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 357-359.
108.Jump up ^ Watch Tower, June 15, 1911, as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, page 188.
109.Jump up ^ The Finished Mystery, 1917, p. 485, 258, 513 as cited by Raymond Franz, Crisis of Conscience, pages 206-211.
110.Jump up ^ Revelation - It's Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Society, 1988, page 209.
111.Jump up ^ Revelation - It's Grand Climax at Hand!, Watch Tower Society, 1988, pages 266, 269.
112.Jump up ^ "No Calamity Will Befall Us" (Subheading). (Nov. 15, 2001). The Watchtower, p.19
113.Jump up ^ "Let the Reader Use Discernment", (Subheading "A Modern-Day 'Disgusting Thing'"). (May 1, 1999). The Watchtower, p 14
114.Jump up ^ "A World Without War-When?" Oct.1, 1991, pp.5 The Watchtower
115.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, 1 June 1997, p. 17 par. 15: "In the first place, what lies ahead for the world's false religions that have so often been extremely friendly with the UN? They are the offspring of one idolatrous fountainhead, ancient Babylon. Appropriately, they are described at Revelation 17:5 as "Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth". Jeremiah described the doom of this hypocritical conglomerate. Harlotlike, they have seduced earth's politicians, flattering the UN and forming illicit relations with its member political powers."
116.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (Oct. 8, 2001) "Jehovah's Witnesses link to UN queried", The Guardian
117.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (Oct. 15, 2001) "'Hypocrite' Jehovah's Witnesses abandon secret link with UN", The Guardian
118.Jump up ^ Letter to Editor - The Guardian" (Oct. 22, 2001) Office of Public Information
119.Jump up ^ Letter from United Nations DPI/NGO Resource Centre
120.Jump up ^ UN DPI/NGO
121.Jump up ^ Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy! chap. 6 par. 25-29
122.^ Jump up to: a b Edmond C. Gruss, Jehovah's Witnesses and Prophetic Speculation, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, 1972, ISBN 0-87552-306-4 Page 42.
123.^ Jump up to: a b "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One" The Watchtower, October 1, 2011, page 26
124.Jump up ^ "Evidences of the Year’s Correctness". The Watchtower: 271–2. May 1, 1952. "It was in this first regnal year of Cyrus that he issued his decree to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. (Ezra 1:1) The decree may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4–5, 537 B.C. In either case this would have given sufficient time for the large party of 49,897 Jews to organize their expedition and to make their long four-month journey from Babylon to Jerusalem to get there by September 29–30, 537 B.C., the first of the seventh Jewish month, to build their altar to Jehovah as recorded at Ezra 3:1-3. Inasmuch as September 29–30, 537 B.C., officially ends the seventy years of desolation as recorded at 2 Chronicles 36:20, 21, so the beginning of the desolation of the land must have officially begun to be counted after September 21–22, 607 B.C., the first of the seventh Jewish month in 607 B.C., which is the beginning point for the counting of the 2,520 years."
125.Jump up ^ [1] "Babylonian Exile." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010.
126.Jump up ^ "Timeline of Judaism after the Babylonian Exile (538 BCE-70 CE)". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
127.Jump up ^ Keller, Werner (1983). The Bible As History. Bantam; 2 Revised edition. p. 352. ISBN 0-553-27943-2.
128.Jump up ^ Dictionary of the Bible: Biographical, Geographical, Historical and Doctrinal by Charles Randall Barnes, Page 247.
129.Jump up ^ Dyer, Charles (2003). Nelson’s Old Testament survey: Discovering essence, Background & Meaning about Every Old Testament book.
130.Jump up ^ The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return by Carl O. Jonsson. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press (July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)
131.Jump up ^ "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two" The Watchtower, November 1, 2011, page 22
132.Jump up ^ Insight from scriptures. Vol.2 page 458, "secular chronologers calculate the 16th day of Tashritu (Tishri) as falling on October 11, Julian calendar, and October 5, Gregorian calendar, in the year 539 B.C.E. Since this date is an accepted one, there being no evidence to the contrary, it is usable as a pivotal date in coordinating secular history with Bible history."
133.Jump up ^ Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible, Volume 1: Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews (2003) ISBN 82-994633-3-5
134.Jump up ^ Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28:5 [2004], p. 42-43
135.Jump up ^ Under One Sky: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient Near East, Münster 2002, pp. 423-428, F. R. Stephenson and D. M. Willis.
136.^ Jump up to: a b "When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two" The Watchtower, November 1, 2011, page 25, 28, footnote 18
137.Jump up ^ Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy–Astrology, David Brown, pages 53–56; 2000
138.Jump up ^ When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed, page 21, Carl O. Jonsson.
139.Jump up ^ Insight from scriptures, Vol. I, Astronomical Calculations, page 454
140.Jump up ^ Life — How Did It Get Here? By Evolution Or By Creation?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 1985
141.Jump up ^ Was Life Created?, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, 2010
142.Jump up ^ Gary Botting, "Preface" to The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, pp. xiv-xvi
143.Jump up ^ Hitching is first introduced as an "evolutionist" (p. 15). A Hitching quote on page 71 is repeated on page 73, in the latter case presented as the statement of "a scientist". The 1986 Watchtower book The Bible — God's Word or Man's? likewise refers to Hitching as a scientist (p. 106).
144.Jump up ^ Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion, p. 145. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
145.Jump up ^ Is There a Creator Who Cares About You?. Watch Tower Society. p. 93.
146.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, April 1, 1986, pp. 12-13
147.Jump up ^ Awake!, May 8, 1997, p. 12
148.Jump up ^ The Watchtower, September 1, 1986, p. 30
149.Jump up ^ "Following Faithful Shepherds with Life in View", The Watchtower, October 1, 1967, page 591, "Make haste to identify the visible theocratic organization of God that represents his king, Jesus Christ. It is essential for life. Doing so, be complete in accepting its every aspect ... in submitting to Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, we must be in full and complete agreement with every feature of its apostolic procedure and requirements."
150.Jump up ^ "Loyal to Christ and His Faithful Slave", The Watchtower, April 1, 2007, page 24, "When we loyally submit to the direction of the faithful slave and its Governing Body, we are submitting to Christ, the slave's Master."
151.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 89, 95, 103, 120, 204, 221, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
152.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, pp. 22, 32, 150–170, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
153.Jump up ^ Alan Rogerson, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Constable, 1969, page 50.
154.^ Jump up to: a b Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998, Vol 24, Issue 4, page 223-230.
155.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 98–100, 104–107, 113, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
156.^ Jump up to: a b c d R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 6.
157.Jump up ^ Court transcript as cited by Heather & Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1984, page 67-68, also at Pursuer's Proof: Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh Transcript, Lord Strachan vs. Douglas Walsh, 1954.
158.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 103, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
159.Jump up ^ Minority Religions, Social Change, and Freedom of Conscience
160.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 67, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
161.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 419–421, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
162.Jump up ^ Stevenson, W.C. (1967), Year of Doom 1975: The Inside Story of Jehovah's Witnesses, London: Hutchinson & Co, pp. 33–35, "The inevitable result of a person's submitting to (the home Bible study) arrangement is that eventually all his own thoughts will be replaced by the thoughts contained in the book he is studying ... if one were able to watch this person's development ... it would be quite obvious that he was gradually losing all individuality of thought and action ... One of the characteristics of Jehovah's Witnesses is the extraordinary unanimity of thinking on almost every aspect of life ... in view of this there seems to be some justification for the charge that their study methods are in fact a subtle form of indoctrination or brainwashing."
163.^ Jump up to: a b c Botting, Heather & Gary (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 153, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
164.^ Jump up to: a b R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 16.
165.Jump up ^ "Exposing the Devil’s Subtle Designs" and "Armed for the Fight Against Wicked Spirits", Watchtower, January 15, 1983, as cited by Heather and Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1984, page 92.
166.Jump up ^ "Serving Jehovah Shoulder to Shoulder", The Watchtower, August 15, 1981, page 28, "Jehovah's Theocratic Organization Today", The Watchtower, February 1, 1952, pages 79–81.
167.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 25-26, 101, "For every passage in Society literature that urges members to be bold and courageous in critical pursuits, there are many others that warn about independent thinking and the peril of questioning the organization ... Fear of disobedience to the Governing Body keeps Jehovah's Witnesses from carefully checking into biblical doctrine or allegations concerning false prophecy, faulty scholarship, and injustice. Witnesses are told not to read books like this one."
168.Jump up ^ According to Randall Watters, who in 1981 published a pamphlet, "What happened at the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in the spring of 1980?", cited by Heather and Gary Botting, a former Governing Body member is said to have referred Brooklyn headquarters staff to an organizational handbook containing 1,177 policies and regulations, telling them: "If there are some who feel that they cannot subject themselves to the rules and regulations now in operation, such ones ought to be leaving and not be involved here."
169.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, pp. 107–108, 122, 298.
170.Jump up ^ "Walk With Confidence in Jehovah’s Leadership", The Watchtower, June 1, 1985, page 20, "To turn away from Jehovah and his organization, to spurn the direction of “the faithful and discreet slave,” and to rely simply on personal Bible reading and interpretation is to become like a solitary tree in a parched land."
171.Jump up ^ Question box, Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2007.
172.Jump up ^ "Do not be quickly shaken from your reason", Watchtower, March 15, 1986
173.Jump up ^ "At which table are you feeding?" Watchtower, July 1, 1994
174.Jump up ^ Watchtower, May 1, 1984, page 31, as cited by R. Franz, "In Search of Christian Freedom", chapter 12
175.Jump up ^ "Firmly uphold godly teaching," Watchtower, May 1, 2000, page 9.
176.Jump up ^ Heather & Gary Botting, The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, 1984, page 143, 153.
177.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 204, 221, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
178.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 30, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
179.Jump up ^ R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 11.
180.Jump up ^ Muramoto, O. (January 6, 2001), "Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses", BMJ 322 (7277): 37–39, doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7277.37, PMC 1119307, PMID 11141155.
181.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, pp. 449–464, ISBN 0-914675-17-6, "Loyalty to the organization becomes the touchstone, the criterion, the "bottom line", when it comes to determining whether one is a faithful Christian or not ... to make any organizational loyalty the criterion for judging anyone's Christianity is, then, clearly a perversion of Scripture ... Read the whole of those Scriptures ... nowhere are we taught to put faith in men or in an earthly organization, unquestioningly following its lead ... the entire Bible record is a continual reminder of the danger inherent in that kind of trust."
182.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom (2nd ed.), Commentary Press, p. 458, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
183.Jump up ^ "You Must Be Holy Because Jehovah Is Holy", The Watchtower, February 15, 1976, page 124, "Would not a failure to respond to direction from God through his organization really indicate a rejection of divine rulership?"
184.Jump up ^ James A. Beverley, Crisis of Allegiance, Welch Publishing Company, Burlington, Ontario, 1986, ISBN 0-920413-37-4, pages 25-26, 101.
185.Jump up ^ Holden 2002, p. 121.
186.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 156, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
187.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers", Watchtower, April 1, 1986.
188.Jump up ^ Stark and Iannoccone (1997), "Why the Jehovah's Witnesses Grow So Rapidly: A Theoretical Application" (PDF), Journal of Contemporary Religion (PDF), pp. 142–143, retrieved 2008-12-30.
189.Jump up ^ ECHR Point 130, 118
190.Jump up ^ Gary Botting, Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah's Witnesses, (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1993.
191.Jump up ^ Rhodes, Ron (2001), The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, pp. 77–103, ISBN 0-310-23217-1
192.Jump up ^ Gomes, Alan W. (1995), Unmasking the Cults, Zondervan, pp. 22, 23, ISBN 0-310-70441-3
193.Jump up ^ Hoekema, Anthony A. (1963), The Four Major Cults, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, pp. 1–8,223–371, 373–388, ISBN 0-8028-3117-6
194.Jump up ^ "Are Jehovah’s Witnesses a Cult?", The Watchtower, February 15, 1994, pages 5-7
195.Jump up ^ "Do Others Do Your Thinking?", Awake!, August 22, 1978, page 4.
196.Jump up ^ "Who Molds Your Thinking?", The Watchtower, April 1, 1999, page 22, "You have free will. Exercising it, you can choose to respond to Jehovah’s molding influence or deliberately reject it. How much better to listen to Jehovah’s voice instead of arrogantly asserting, 'No one tells me what to do'!"
197.Jump up ^ "Salvation", Reasoning on the Scriptures, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 359, "Is anything more than faith needed in order to gain salvation? Eph. 2:8, 9, RS: “By grace [“undeserved kindness,” NW] you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (The entire provision for salvation is an expression of God’s undeserved kindness. There is no way that a descendant of Adam can gain salvation on his own, no matter how noble his works are. Salvation is a gift from God given to those who put faith in the sin-atoning value of the sacrifice of his Son.)"
198.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses Wish You Would Answer The Door" (PDF). The Grand Rapids Press. 2006.
199.Jump up ^ Brown II, John Bowen (2008-04-16), "Cult Watchdog Organizations and Jehovah’s Witnesses", Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality', London School of Economics, London, UK: Center for Studies on New Religions, retrieved 2010-03-03
200.Jump up ^ Engardio, Joel P. (2007-04-17). "Myths & Realities". PBS Independent Lens. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
201.Jump up ^ Brown II, John B. (2005-06-02), "Jehovah's Witnesses and the Anti-cult Movement: A Human Rights Perspective", Religious Movements, Globalization and Conflict: Transnational Perspectives, Palermo, Sicily: Center for Studies on New Religions
202.Jump up ^ Raschke, Carl A. (2013-07-19), "Contemporary American Religion Volume 1", in Catherine L. Albanese, Randall Balmer, Frederick M. Denny, Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, Ana Maria Diaz-Stevens, Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, Ellen M. Umansky, Jehovah's Witnesses, New York: Macmillan Reference USA An Imprint of the Gale Group, p. 343, ISBN 0-02-864926-5
203.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, page 96, as cited by R. Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, chapter 4.
204.Jump up ^ Question Box, Our Kingdom Ministry, September 1979, page 4.
205.Jump up ^ "Do You Contribute to an Accurate Report?", Our Kingdom Ministry, December 2002, page 8.
206.Jump up ^ "Righteous requirements", Watchtower, July 1, 1943, pages 204-206, "Jehovah ... has appointed his 'faithful and wise servant, who is his visible mouthpiece ... These expressions of God's will by his King and through his established agency constitute his law or rule of action ... The Lord breaks down our organization instructions further ... He says the requirements for special pioneers shall be 175 hours and 50 back-calls per month ... and for regular pioneers 150 hours ... And for company publishers he says, 'Let us make a quota of 60 hours and 12 back-calls and at least one study a week for each publisher'. These directions come to us from the Lord through his established agency directing what is required of us ... This expression of the Lord's will should be the end of all controversy ... The Lord through his 'faithful and wise servant' now states to us, Let us cover our territory four times in six months. That becomes our organization instructions and has the same binding force on us that his statement to the Logos had when he said, 'Let us make man in our image'. It is our duty to accept this additional instruction and obey it."
207.Jump up ^ "Saved, Not by Works Alone, But by Undeserved Kindness", The Watchtower, June 1, 2005, pages 17-18.
208.Jump up ^ Expert Opinion by S. I. Ivanenko, p. 10, Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court, in the application of the Moscow Northern Administrative District prosecutor to liquidate the Religious Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow
209.Jump up ^ The Trumpet of Prophecy: A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, John Wiley and Sons, 1975, as cited by M. James Penton, Apocalypse Delayed, University of Toronto Press, 1997. Penton describes Beckford's book as "uneven" and marred by errors and a misunderstanding of certain basic Witness doctrines.
210.Jump up ^ Sworn Expert Opinion, prepared by Professor James Beckford, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, November 1998, Golovinsky Intermunicipal Court, in the application of the Moscow Northern Administrative District prosecutor to liquidate the Religious Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow
211.Jump up ^ ECHR Point number 111
212.Jump up ^ “Jehovah's Witnesses case heads to B.C. court”, Vancouver Sun, April 1, 2007
213.Jump up ^ Medical emergencies in children of orthodox Jehovah's Witness families: Three recent legal cases, ethical issues and proposals for management”, by J Guicho and, I Mitchell, Paediatrics & Child Health, Canadian Pediatric Society, December 2006.
214.Jump up ^ "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses, part 2." Journal of Medical Ethics, October 1998, pages 295-301.
215.Jump up ^ ECHR Point number 136, 139
216.^ Jump up to: a b "Always Accept Jehovah’s Discipline", The Watchtower, November 15, 2006, page 26.
217.Jump up ^ "Cultivate Obedience as the End Draws Near", The Watchtower, October 1, 2002, page 21
218.Jump up ^ Beckford, James A. (1975), The Trumpet of Prophecy, A Sociological Study of Jehovah's Witnesses, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, p. 55, ISBN 0-631-16310-7
219.Jump up ^ "Elders, Judge With Righteousness", The Watchtower, July 1, 1992, page 19.
220.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 354, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
221.^ Jump up to: a b Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 89
222.^ Jump up to: a b c Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 163, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
223.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Recent developments in medical care of Jehovah's Witnesses", Western Journal of Medicine, May 1999, page 298.
224.Jump up ^ Taylor, Jerome (27 September 2011). "War of words breaks out among Jehovah's Witnesses". The Independent.
225.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses church likens defectors to 'contagious, deadly disease'", Sunday Herald Sun, page 39, October 2, 2011.
226.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 150, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
227.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 384, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
228.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 351, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
229.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 359, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
230.Jump up ^ Holden, Andrew (2002), Jehovah's Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement, Routledge, p. 151, ISBN 0-415-26609-2
231.^ Jump up to: a b c Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 249
232.Jump up ^ Ronald Lawson, "Sect-State Relations: Accounting for the Differing Trajectories of Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses," Sociology of Religion, 1995, 56:4, pg 371.
233.Jump up ^ "Maintain Your Faith and Spiritual Health", The Watchtower, October 1, 1989.
234.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 1986, page 31.
235.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses", British Medical Journal, January 6, 2001, page 37.
236.Jump up ^ Donald T. Ridley, "Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal of blood: Obedience to scripture and religious conscience", Journal of Medical Ethics, 1999:25, page 470.
237.^ Jump up to: a b Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 38, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
238.^ Jump up to: a b Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, p. 91, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
239.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, p. 371, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
240.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 248
241.Jump up ^ Raymond Franz, In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, pages 365-385, citing "A Time to Speak – When?", The Watchtower, September 1, 1987.
242.Jump up ^ Osamu Muramoto, "Bioethics of the refusal of blood by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Part 1", Journal of Medical Ethics, August 1998.
243.Jump up ^ "Disfellowshiping—How to View It", The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 23.
244.Jump up ^ Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, p. 319
245.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2002), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 357, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
246.^ Jump up to: a b How Can Blood Save Your Life?. Watch Tower Society. p. 22.
247.Jump up ^ "Be guided by the Living God" (Jun. 15, 2004). The Watchtower
248.Jump up ^ "Questions from readers: Do Jehovah's Witnesses accept any minor fractions of blood?" (Jun. 15, 2000). The Watchtower
249.Jump up ^ Awake! August 2006 box on P. 11
250.Jump up ^ Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood
251.Jump up ^ The Watchtower November 1, 1961, p. 669 Questions From Readers
252.Jump up ^ What Does The Bible Really Teach? 2005 P.128
253.Jump up ^ "OK Kosher Certification — Salting of Meat". Ok.org. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
254.Jump up ^ "Making Meat Kosher: Between Slaughtering and Cooking". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
255.Jump up ^ "Religion Today", New York Times, January 6, 2006
256.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation, Journal of Church and State Vol 47, Autumn 2005 p. 815
257.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. "In Search of Christian Freedom" - Chapter Nine. Atlanta: Commentary Press, 1991. ISBN 0-914675-16-8. p.732.
258.Jump up ^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, October 15, 2000, page 31, "Jehovah’s Witnesses...do not donate blood [without preconditions on its use], nor do we store for transfusion our blood that should be ‘poured out.’ That practice conflicts with God’s law. Other procedures or tests involving an individual’s own blood are not so clearly in conflict with God’s stated principles. ...the goal may be to isolate some of a blood component and apply that elsewhere... A Christian must decide for himself how his own blood will be handled... Ahead of time, he should obtain from the doctor or technician the facts about what might be done with his blood during the procedure. Then he must decide according to what his conscience permits."
259.Jump up ^ "How Do I View Blood Fractions and Medical Procedures Involving My Own Blood?", Our Kingdom Ministry, November 2006, page 4.
260.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond. "In Search of Christian Freedom" - Chapter Nine. Atlanta: Commentary Press, 1991. Pbk. ISBN 0-914675-16-8. pp.732.
261.Jump up ^ Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs - When Religion and Medicine Collide
262.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation, Journal of Church and State Vol 47, Autumn 2005
263.Jump up ^ The Watchtower (Feb. 1, 1997) p30
264.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses (WTS) Handling of Child Sexual Abuse Cases", Religious Tolerance.org Retrieved Mar 3, 2006.
265.Jump up ^ Tubbs, Sharon (Aug. 22, 2002), "Spiritual shunning", St. Petersburg Times.
266.Jump up ^ "Another Church Sex Scandal" (Apr. 29, 2003). CBS News.
267.Jump up ^ Cutrer, Corrie (Mar. 5, 2001). "Witness Leaders Accused of Shielding Molesters", Christianity Today.
268.Jump up ^ Channel 9 Sunday, November 2005.
269.Jump up ^ "Secret database protects paedophiles", BBC Panorama, 2003.
270.Jump up ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection" (2003). Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information.
271.Jump up ^ “Let All Things Take Place for Upbuilding”, Our Kingdom Ministry, July 2000, page 1
272.Jump up ^ "Comfort for Those With a “Stricken Spirit”", The Watchtower, November 1, 1995, page 28, "If the [lone] accusation is denied [by the accused], the elders should explain to the accuser that nothing more can be done in a judicial way. ...The Bible says that there must be two or three witnesses before judicial action can be taken. (2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19)"
273.Jump up ^ Jehovah's Witnesses Office of Public Information, Press Release "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Protection," 2003.
274.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Penton, M. J. (1997), Apocalypse Delayed (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, pp. 174–176
275.Jump up ^ "New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures", The Watchtower, September 15, 1950, page 320.
276.Jump up ^ Questions from readers, The Watchtower, December 15, 1974, page 767.
277.Jump up ^ In a 1954 court case, Franz was invited to translate a passage of Genesis from English to Hebrew. (Translator's proof, page 102-103). He declined, saying he would not attempt it. Heather and Gary Botting wrongly claim (page 98) he could make no sense of "an elementary passage of Hebrew from Genesis".
278.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), Crisis of Conscience, Commentary Press, p. 56, ISBN 0-914675-23-0
279.Jump up ^ Robert M. Bowman Jr, Understanding Jehovah's Witnesses, (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House, 1992); Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, 2003, The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, accessible from this site, which quotes a number of scholars regarding theological bias of the New World Translation.
280.Jump up ^ Samuel Haas,Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 74, No. 4, (Dec. 1955), p. 283, "This work indicates a great deal of effort and thought as well as considerable scholarship, it is to be regretted that religious bias was allowed to colour many passages."
281.Jump up ^ See Ankerberg, John and John Weldon, 2003, The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, accessible online
282.Jump up ^ Rhodes R, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, The Essential Guide to Their History, Their Doctrine, and Our Response, Zondervan, 2001, p. 94
283.Jump up ^ Bruce M Metzger, "Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus Christ," Theology Today, (April 1953 p. 74); see also Metzger, "The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures," The Bible Translator (July 1964)
284.Jump up ^ C.H. Dodd: "The reason why [the Word was a god] is unacceptable is that it runs counter to the current of Johannine thought, and indeed of Christian thought as a whole." Technical Papers for The Bible Translator, Vol 28, No. 1, January 1977
285.Jump up ^ Botting, Heather; Gary Botting (1984), The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses, University of Toronto Press, pp. 98–101, ISBN 0-8020-6545-7
286.Jump up ^ Franz, Raymond (2007), In Search of Christian Freedom, Commentary Press, pp. 494–505, ISBN 0-914675-17-6
287.Jump up ^ G. HÉBERT/EDS, "Jehovah's Witnesses", The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Gale, 20052, Vol. 7, p. 751.
288.Jump up ^ Metzger, Bruce M., The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, The Bible Translator 15/3 (July 1964), pp. 150-153.
289.Jump up ^ "God’s Name and the New Testament", The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 1984, pages 23-27
290.Jump up ^ "Appendix 1D The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures", New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures - With References, page 1565
291.Jump up ^ "Your Bible—How It Was Produced", The Watchtower, December 15, 1981, page 15
292.Jump up ^ Jason D. BeDuhn, Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament, 2004, pages 165, 169, 175, 176. BeDuhn compared the King James, the (New) Revised Standard, the New International, the New American Bible, the New American Standard Bible, the Amplified Bible, the Living Bible, Today's English and the NWT versions in Matthew 28:9, Philippians 2:6, Colossians 1:15-20, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8, John 8:58, John 1:1.
293.Jump up ^ Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament by Jason BeDuhn, 2004, pages 165, University Press of America, ISBN 0-7618-2556-8, ISBN 978-0-7618-2556-2
Further reading[edit]
##Botting, Gary and Heather. The Orwellian World of Jehovah`s Witnesses (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984). ISBN 0-8020-6545-7. The Bottings compare the social, cultural and political paradigms of Jehovah's Witnesses to those set out in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both authors were raised Jehovah's Witnesses and are trained scholars (Heather Botting is a professor of anthropology and Gary Botting is a lawyer and legal scholar). The book is based in part on a doctoral dissertation by Heather Botting. Read selections from: The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses (Google book search) University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-0-8020-6545-2
##Botting, Gary. Fundamental Freedoms and Jehovah's Witnesses (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1993). ISBN 1-895176-06-9. Botting considers the irony of Jehovah's Witness insisting on a closely regulated society while at the same time fighting for freedom of association, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. It is available on-line at http://www.questia.com/library/102111748/fundamental-freedoms-and-jehovah-s-witnesses.
##Castro, Joy. The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses, adopted as a baby and raised by a devout Jehovah's Witness family. Read selections from: The Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah's Witnesses (Google book search) Published 2005 Arcade Publishing, ISBN 1-55970-787-9
##Franz, Raymond. Crisis of Conscience Franz, a former Jehovah's Witness and Governing Body member, and nephew of the fourth president of the Watch Tower Society. This book gives a detailed account of the authority structure, practices, doctrines and decision-making practices Franz experienced while serving on the Governing Body. Sample chapters online: 1, 9, 10, 11, 12. Publisher: Commentary Press. 420 pages. Hardback ISBN 0-914675-24-9. Paperback ISBN 0-914675-23-0. 4th edition (June 2002)
##Franz, Raymond. In Search of Christian Freedom. 2nd ed., 2007. ISBN 0-914675-17-6 (Further critique and analysis by this author)
##Gruss, Edmond C. Apostles of Denial ISBN 0-87552-305-6 / ISBN 978-0-87552-305-7.
##Harrison, Barbara Grizzuti. Visions of Glory: A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. ISBN 0-7091-8013-6 (An account by an American journalist and essayist of growing up in the JW religion, which she left at age 22)
##Hewitt, Joe. I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness Hewitt gives a frank and compelling account of his life as a Jehovah's Witness and his subsequent persecution and excommunication after he decided to leave the Jehovah's Witness movement. Read selections from: I Was Raised a Jehovah's Witness (Google book search) Published 1997, Kregel Publications, ISBN 0-8254-2876-9
##Jonsson, Carl O. The Gentile Times Reconsidered: Chronology & Christ's Return Jonsson considers the origin of the belief that the Gentile Times began in 607 B.C. and examines several lines of evidence and the methodology for deriving it. ISBN 0-914675-06-0 Publisher: Commentary Press (July, 1998, Fourth edition 2004)
##King, Robert. Jehovah Himself Has Become King The author considers himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses but was disfellowshipped after publishing his review and criticisms of current Watchtower interpretations related to Bible prophecy, and documentation regarding the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's involvement with the United Nations. He is preparing an updated, second edition. ISBN 1-4208-5498-4 / ISBN 978-1-4208-5498-5 / Publisher: AuthorHouse (September 14, 2005, First Edition) (Available from Amazon.com)
##Kostelniuk, James. Wolves Among Sheep. Harpercollins Trade Sales Dept, ISBN 978-0-00-639107-4
##Penton, M. James. Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2nd ed., 1997. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Scholarly examination of JW history and doctrines)
##Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses by M. James Penton. Penton, who is a former Jehovah's Witness and a professor emeritus of history at University of Lethbridge, examines the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their doctrines. Read selections from: Apocalypse Delayed: the Story of Jehovah's Witnesses University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-7973-3 (Canada, 1998) (Google book search)
##Schnell, William J. 30 Years a Watchtower Slave Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1956, 1971, reprinted 2001. ISBN 0-8010-6384-1 (One of the first book-length critiques of the organization to be written by a disaffected former Witness)
##Stafford, Greg. Jehovah's Witnesses Defended and Three Dissertations. The author considers himself one of Jehovah's Witnesses but has renounced affiliation with the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. He now considers himself a Christian Witness of Jah, or one of Jehovah's Witnesses who rejects beliefs specific to Jehovah's Witnesses. These books review and thoroughly explore some of the most common, and/or prevalent, criticisms made about Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. http://www.elihubooks.com/content/books_media.php
External links[edit]
Supportive##Official Jehovah's Witnesses website
##Jehovah's Witnesses response to child abuse allegations (video)
##Jehovah's Witnesses Official Policy on Child Protection
##United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Critical##Apologetics index - Criticisms of Jehovah's Witnesses from a mainstream Christian viewpoint.
##Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood - A site that promotes reform of the Watch Tower Society's blood doctrine.
##Exposé on the Jehovah's Witnesses - From Blue Letter Bible. An examination of the Watch Tower Society. Contains relatively brief explanations of each point.
##Free Minds, Inc - the largest Watchtower dissident site
##Historical Idealism and Jehovah's Witnesses - Documents the historical development of Jehovah's Witness chronology and the claimed "idealized" history of it by the Watch Tower Society
##JW Files--Research on Jehovah's Witnesses - A site "dedicated to research on Jehovah Witnesses".
##jwfacts.com - Information about Jehovah's Witnesses
##JWRecovery Magazine - An ex-JW community contributed magazine / journal which provides information and support assistance to former Jehovah's Witnesses.
##Religious Tolerance.org Jehovah's Witnesses Policies & examples of child sexual abuse.
##Silentlambs.org Silentlamb's official web site.


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Categories: Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses
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