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Jehovah Witnesses brings apocalyptic topic to West Palm Beach's 'leaky teepee'
Palm Beach Post/May 24, 2009
By Andrew Abramson
West Palm Beach - It's the start of the Jehovah Witnesses' convention season, and this year they'll be preparing for the end of the world.
Starting Friday, the Witnesses will host 14 consecutive weeks of conventions at the Christian Convention Center on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
This year's theme, "Keep on the Watch!" is designed to discuss world events and how they relate to the Bible's prophecy of the apocalypse.
While all conventions are open to the public, the Witnesses are specifically inviting the public to a discussion with the provocative title, "How to Survive the End of the World," which will be at 11 a.m. Sunday.
"We feel it is imminent," spokesman Richard Ferris said. "We can't really put a date on it, and the scriptures tell us that nobody knows days or hours, but we'll look at the signs as a theme of our convention and keep on the watch."
Jehovah Witnesses believe that while the apocalypse will be terrible for many, it will be the beginning of a better world for the faithful.
"The fighting against nations, we're seeing more earthquakes, you can look at the swine flu, all this, and it just points to the things that shows we are getting very close to what we feel is the end," Ferris said.
Going door-to-door with Bibles and informational packets has become a trademark for the Witnesses', and Ferris said there's a reason recruiting is such a major part of their religion.
"While we don't relish the thought of destruction that's going to take place, that's why we feel so strongly about door-to-door work and warning people," Ferris said. "If you knew a hurricane was coming, and you were the only one and you didn't tell anybody, it would be on your shoulders."
The Christian Convention Center, formerly the West Palm Beach Convention Center nicknamed the Leaky Teepee, is the Witnesses' largest enclosed gathering place in the world.
There are an estimated 1 million Witnesses in the United States.
Of the 14 conventions during the summer, seven are in Spanish, six in English, and one in French.
Mario Beltrami, the spokesman for this weekend's convention, said it is about more than just discussing the apocalypse - it's also about preparing for it.
"We take Jesus' warning seriously and try to take note of world events that indicate that Jesus's prophecy is being fulfilled regarding the last day," Beltrami said.
If you go:
"Keep on the Watch!"
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Jehovah Witnesses brings apocalyptic topic to West Palm Beach's 'leaky teepee'
Palm Beach Post/May 24, 2009
By Andrew Abramson
West Palm Beach - It's the start of the Jehovah Witnesses' convention season, and this year they'll be preparing for the end of the world.
Starting Friday, the Witnesses will host 14 consecutive weeks of conventions at the Christian Convention Center on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
This year's theme, "Keep on the Watch!" is designed to discuss world events and how they relate to the Bible's prophecy of the apocalypse.
While all conventions are open to the public, the Witnesses are specifically inviting the public to a discussion with the provocative title, "How to Survive the End of the World," which will be at 11 a.m. Sunday.
"We feel it is imminent," spokesman Richard Ferris said. "We can't really put a date on it, and the scriptures tell us that nobody knows days or hours, but we'll look at the signs as a theme of our convention and keep on the watch."
Jehovah Witnesses believe that while the apocalypse will be terrible for many, it will be the beginning of a better world for the faithful.
"The fighting against nations, we're seeing more earthquakes, you can look at the swine flu, all this, and it just points to the things that shows we are getting very close to what we feel is the end," Ferris said.
Going door-to-door with Bibles and informational packets has become a trademark for the Witnesses', and Ferris said there's a reason recruiting is such a major part of their religion.
"While we don't relish the thought of destruction that's going to take place, that's why we feel so strongly about door-to-door work and warning people," Ferris said. "If you knew a hurricane was coming, and you were the only one and you didn't tell anybody, it would be on your shoulders."
The Christian Convention Center, formerly the West Palm Beach Convention Center nicknamed the Leaky Teepee, is the Witnesses' largest enclosed gathering place in the world.
There are an estimated 1 million Witnesses in the United States.
Of the 14 conventions during the summer, seven are in Spanish, six in English, and one in French.
Mario Beltrami, the spokesman for this weekend's convention, said it is about more than just discussing the apocalypse - it's also about preparing for it.
"We take Jesus' warning seriously and try to take note of world events that indicate that Jesus's prophecy is being fulfilled regarding the last day," Beltrami said.
If you go:
"Keep on the Watch!"
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witness Leader Lets Loose on Tight Attire From 'Homosexual Designers'
A member of the church's Governing Body proscribed tight-fitting attire for both men and women and suggested that gay fashion designers were to blame for the "metrosexual" look for men.
Advocate/November 11, 2014
By Stevie St. John
A Jehovah’s Witness leader this weekend blamed gay fashion designers for what he considers immodest attire, ranting against tight pants and suggesting that the “metrosexual look” was engineered by gay fashion designers.
Anthony Morris III, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, let loose on tight-fitting attire for women and men during a meeting for the church’s U.S. branch Saturday, reports JW Survey, a website for dissident Witnesses and former Witnesses.
Here are some highlights from Morris’s rant:
“Worldly women … even some of our sisters now … what it is is this spanx, this skin-tight stuff they wear ... when they exercise. They leave their home and they’re jogging in this stuff … is that appropriate? To wear skin-tight spanx, or whatever they call it? It’s not modest … It’s really not appropriate….
“For these young fellas … it’s the metrosexual look … Metrosexual — that’s the tight suit jacket and the tight pants … and they are tight, I mean tight, all the way down to the ankles and that is not modest, brothers …
“This is a fact. The homosexuals that are designing these clothes—they like you in tight pants. That’s who likes it — not spiritual people.”
Although Morris uses the word “spanx,” he seems to be referring to spandex workout attire rather than the undergarments that bear the brand name Spanx.
Audio of Morri's anti–tight pants rant was posted to YouTube.
Morris previously sounded off on tight pants and the gay fashion designers he blames for creating them in a speech he delivered at the church branch office in Rome, according to a blog post published on JW Survey in January.
JW Survey blogger John Cedars, a former Jehovah’s Witness, summarized that the speech,which included a denunciation of flashy clothing that “enters the room before [you] do” and an admonishment of families that don’t eat daily meals together that “the devil has attacked you.”
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Jehovah's Witness Leader Lets Loose on Tight Attire From 'Homosexual Designers'
A member of the church's Governing Body proscribed tight-fitting attire for both men and women and suggested that gay fashion designers were to blame for the "metrosexual" look for men.
Advocate/November 11, 2014
By Stevie St. John
A Jehovah’s Witness leader this weekend blamed gay fashion designers for what he considers immodest attire, ranting against tight pants and suggesting that the “metrosexual look” was engineered by gay fashion designers.
Anthony Morris III, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, let loose on tight-fitting attire for women and men during a meeting for the church’s U.S. branch Saturday, reports JW Survey, a website for dissident Witnesses and former Witnesses.
Here are some highlights from Morris’s rant:
“Worldly women … even some of our sisters now … what it is is this spanx, this skin-tight stuff they wear ... when they exercise. They leave their home and they’re jogging in this stuff … is that appropriate? To wear skin-tight spanx, or whatever they call it? It’s not modest … It’s really not appropriate….
“For these young fellas … it’s the metrosexual look … Metrosexual — that’s the tight suit jacket and the tight pants … and they are tight, I mean tight, all the way down to the ankles and that is not modest, brothers …
“This is a fact. The homosexuals that are designing these clothes—they like you in tight pants. That’s who likes it — not spiritual people.”
Although Morris uses the word “spanx,” he seems to be referring to spandex workout attire rather than the undergarments that bear the brand name Spanx.
Audio of Morri's anti–tight pants rant was posted to YouTube.
Morris previously sounded off on tight pants and the gay fashion designers he blames for creating them in a speech he delivered at the church branch office in Rome, according to a blog post published on JW Survey in January.
JW Survey blogger John Cedars, a former Jehovah’s Witness, summarized that the speech,which included a denunciation of flashy clothing that “enters the room before [you] do” and an admonishment of families that don’t eat daily meals together that “the devil has attacked you.”
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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The Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the Mental Health of Its Members
Social Compass, 1977/1, 235-147
By Havor Montague
An extensive study of the influence of the religion known as Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) on the mental health* of its members clearly finds both positive and negative influences present. Involvement with the Witnesses as involvement with any other social group, exposes the adherent to factors that both facilities and hinder emotional adjustment. The effect of the Watchtower (Witness) Society's teachings on its members is difficult to study because most members are converts and the Witness. Movement tends to attract certain types of persons. Even of those raised in the movement, only certain types of individuals elect to remain in the sphere of the Witness' influence. It is also difficult to separate the influence of the Witness From the pervasive tendency for members to be recruited from, and remain in, the lower socio-economic being tend to be the indicator used to measure spiritual well-being. Emotional growth, too, is considered, although it is not stressed as such and the "growth" is not always in a positive direction. For example, increased commitment and identity with the Witnesses cause the student to identify with them emotionally and, as expected, become defensive against ideas which are considered "non-Witness" or seen as incompatible with Witness theology. The result is often a mistrust of all non-Witness sources of information, even though most of the information published by the Witness Society is from non-Witness sources.
Practical activities, at least practical relative to religious requirements are also stressed. At least one meeting per week is devoted to the practical aspects of becoming a better Witness, including improving one's door-to-door presentation, one's incidental witnessing, and, more recently, improving one's family life, budgeting one's money, time, etc. Even here Witnesses are highly goal-oriented. They, as the Witness Society stresses, should, and often do, have a definite purpose in life. Even in achievement is difficult and tangible rewards are few, the dominant concern of JW's is with convincing outsiders of the validity of Witness theology; although with many, proselytizing is somewhat perfunctorily performed, it is an important part of their general goal-oriented behavior. The Witness theology too, is such where one's purpose is very specific and defined - true, defined by the Wt Society, but nevertheless defined.
The exact rate of mental illness among JW's is difficult to determine, but it is clear that it is significantly higher than the rate for the population as a whole. There have been relatively few published studies which document this level. One of the most recent was done by Spencer (197). During the 36 month period from January 1971 to December, 1973, Spencer examined the records of all 7,546 in-patient admission to all West Australian Psychiatric Hospitals. Utilizing the patients' self-reported religious affiliation, Spencer found 50 cases that stated they were active JW's. Utilizing the Witnesses' statistics of approximately 4,000 members in West Australia and a population of 1,068,469 the ratio of general admissions to the ratio of JW admissions was determined. Spencer found for all diagnosis a ratio of 2.54 per 1,000 for the population as a whole compared to 4.17 per 1,000 for JW's. The rate for schizophrenia s .38 for the population compared to 1.4 for the JW's. Thus, according to these figures, the incidence of schizophrenia among the Witnesses is about 3 times as high as for the rest of the population and paranoia schizophrenia is about 4 times as high.
There are several reasons to believe even these high rates for JW's are significantly underreported. Spencer had to rely on self-reporting. It was possible that a patient could state he was an active member when he was not, but this is unlikely. The reverse is much more probable. Of the many religions, one would want falsely to claim to belong to one of the lowest on the list would be the JW's. This writer, in about 10 years experience working in a research capacity for both a large mental hospital and a large circuit court, had never seen even one case where a non-Witness claimed to be a Witness.* Possibly in criminal cases a person may want to claim he is a JW, feeling this religious claim would cause he court to look more favorable upon his case. But considering the Witness teaching that "we are the most hated of all religions," and their general reputation for being "crack-pots," religious fanatics, etc., it would seem that even this in unlikely. As the Witnesses play up greatly their persecution, one endeavoring to present a martyr complex may blindly identify with JW's, but would not commonly do so in an effort to make his person appear better. The opposite distortion, though, is quite common. This writer had worked with numerous cases whom he knew from his work in the community to be active JW's (or raised as Witnesses) and who tried to hide their religious affiliation. Especially Witnesses who were committed to a mental hospital, or were charged with felonies, tended to deny their affiliation with the Witnesses. In the writer's work as a therapist, a significant number of Witness patients clearly would never have sought psychotherapy if the writer had not been seen as an active Witness. Witnesses are often ashamed of the fact they have emotional problems, and will commonly not consult medical help due to the concern of "bringing reproach on Jehovah's organization," The feeling that just being in "Jehovah's organization" should prevent emotional problems is common: its presents is actually a frightening contradiction of the JW faith. This reluctance to seek out professional help does not just include Witnesses with neurotic problems. The writer has worked with a large number of JW's who were clearly psychotic - some in a "catatonic state," suffering from severe depression or even brain damage, who would not consult a psychiatrist because of the fear of tarnishing the Witness Society's image. Further, many of the hundreds of thousands of persons raised in a Witness environment, active in youth, who later disassociated themselves from the Society (although many later reassociate), often fail to identify themselves as Witnesses. Many of these cases, even though they had a Witness upbringing and were highly influenced by Witness theology often still accepting the basic Witness belief structure, are not reported in the literature.
Using the same technique that Spencer utilized, this writer estimates that the mental illness rate of JW's is approximately 10 to 16 times higher than the rate for the general, non-Witness population. About 10% of the publishers in the average congregation are in serious need of professional help, even though many Witnesses are able to hide this fact quite well, especially from outsiders. It is a common experience to hear hours of verbalizations, expressing severe hopelessness, hostility towards both insiders and outsiders, regret and serious doubt from a Witness who 20 minutes later can effectively convince a householder that "JW's are marvelously happy people, happy in God's organization."
Another study which examined the mental health of JW's was done by Pescor (1949). He found, of the total group of Witnesses he examined, all of whom were imprisoned because of conscientious objection to the Selective Service law in the USA, 16% were on hospital status, and, of these, 44% were diagnosed as psychotic and 50% were chronic medical patients. Thus, 8% of the total number of Witnesses imprisoned were classified as psychotic. This is about 40 times higher than the rate for non-Witness population using a psychosis rate of about .2% for any one year. His sample would be a good cross section of all young male Witnesses, considering that the majority of draft age Witness who were drafted went to prison at the time the study was done in the late 1940's. As some JW's took alternative service, contrary to the Witness Society's instructions, and possibly those who accepted alternative service were better adjusted, the rate Pescor found is likely to be higher than is actually the case among JW's as a whole. Unfortunately, Pescor does not give the percent who were imprisoned compared to the percent who took alternative service, but the number is probably quite small. It is also possible that some JW's feigned psychotic states in a desire to be released from prison; but the fact that this action did not serve to release one from prison, but simply resulted in prison hospital status, would reduce this possibility. It is quite possible, though, that hospital status was more desirable status within the prison and the Witnesses feigned illness so as to improve the conditions during their prison stay, but this factor would be more likely to increase the number of medical diagnoses not the number of psychiatric diagnoses.
The only other psychiatric study done on JW's is that by Janner (1962). Janner examined100 random cases of Swiss citizens who object to military service and were imprisoned in a Swiss prison. About 85% of the C.O.'s were JW's. Of this 85% Janner found a significant number who had a high level of fear anxiety, were severely introverted were loners. Or severely neurotic. Of his group, one third were unskilled workers and more than half were involved in some type of semi-skilled trade. Only 3 could be considered semi-professional or professional workers (one technician, one teacher and one college student). Of the JW's 10.4% had been previously convicted of a crime. Of these, about half were sexual offenses (including pedophiliacs and exhibitionists) and the rest were offenses against private property or persons. As a whole Janner found the JW's "quite colorless persons, and somewhat removed from reality, although some JW's demonstrated intense religious feelings." Thus, all past studies demonstrate the level of mental illness is well above that of the population. The staff of most large mental hospitals are usually quite familiar with the JW's. One hospital, a doctor told this writer, is "clogged with them" Another mental hospital is even nick-named "The Watchtower House" because it has so many Witness patients.
The fact that JW's are overwhelmingly lower class is a very important factor influencing the mental illness rate. Upper-middle-class and upper-class members are almost totally unknown.* One branch overseer stated, "of 40,000 Witnesses, I know of only 2 families that might be termed upper-middle class, but no one else. University professors are almost totally unknown." There are very few medical doctors - very few - and probably a fair number of chiropractors. But to be a chiropractor a few years ago required as little as 3 years schooling beyond high school. Even the few JW's with a high school diploma tend to be less serious about the Witnesses. A large number quit high school in the 10th grade or so. Witnesses also tend to marry quite young partly because marriage is one of the few acceptable pursuits open to young Witnesses besides pioneering that do not result in social pressure to conform.
Very few intelligent or well-educated people join the Witnesses, and those few who do involve themselves with the Witnesses generally do not stay. It is difficult for an active, intelligent, aware person to remain a Witness - not because their beliefs are unfounded, but because Witness Hierarchy tends to want to control the belief structure of its members in even minor areas. Even a Witness endeavoring to serve as an apologist is not tolerated. The authoritarian Witness Hierarchy prohibits religious publishing among members and even discourages most theological research and discussion. JW's are constantly encouraged not to "run ahead of the Society" as though this was even possible according to the Society's own teachings. Many Witnesses, through their independent Bible research, have anticipated major changes that the Society later brought out. Until that time, those who have the audacity to mention the results of their own research have often been severely reprimanded, even if the Society may later on confirm the results of their research. One prominent Witness stated:
"One of the things that bothers me most about the Society is the incredibly arrogant attitude of those at Bethel - refusing to listen to reason or even give credit for the individual members having a mind . Although eventually I feel the Witnesses may become an upper-class religion and will tend to attract the more intellectually oriented at present it is predominantly a lower-class religion with extremely few college graduates. Actually, virtually everyone I know that is fairly well educated has left them, even though there were a few bright members who were, at one time, in the movement."
Witnesses are encouraged to give up a wide variety of things when they become a Witness, often including their careers, whether it be an artist, a journalist or an executive, and take on menial occupations. Thus the more intelligent or better educated have more to give up. Many avocations not directly connected with their Witness work are dropped, under pressure. Witnesses are commonly discouraged from involvement in a wide variety of things. This researcher has worked with a number of cases where a Witness has, in time, become disillusioned and extremely bitter as a result of what he was persuaded to give up when he accepted Witness teachings. Even if the Witness does not leave the moment, what he gives up is often later a source of conflict. For example, the Witnesses glamorize pioneering - and those who become pioneers often become disillusioned, wishing they had pursued their previous goals, often feeling that it is too late to resume them.
The more intelligent JW's are less likely to rely on the defense mechanisms which the typical Witness overuses. Further, the value system of the average Witness is often quite antagonistic to the more intelligent members, including their tendency to listen to opposing arguments, to be less suspicious of statements perceived to have their source from "big government, big business or big religion," and especially general intellectual pursuits. Even efforts to find support for the "faith that is within you" are, in effect, squelched. One psychiatrist (who was raised a Witness) stated:
"In my clinical work with Witnesses I have noticed there is a distinct tendency for the better educated, more intelligent, more conscientious Witnesses to have emotional problems.5 This is the opposite of that many studies indicate is true among non-Witnesses. This is partially because the more intelligent Witnesses are more aware of the contradictions and problems in JW teachings. This awareness causes them to question and doubt , and this doubt in influential in developing their mental illness. The more naïve Witnesses 'accept everything' (or almost everything) and thus live with less dissonance. And, importantly, there is a lack of acceptance of, and in some cases actually a strong prejudice against, better educated or more intelligent Witnesses on the part of the typical Witness. About the only way one can be fully accepted is if he in essence, ensconces his education and fully adopts the Witness' essentially lower class culture, including obtaining work which is, more or less, unskilled.
The typical Witness tends to be highly defensive,6 relying totally upon the Witness Society and its explanations, even if it is somewhat foolish and founded on little fact (such as the teaching that the literal heart is the real source of human feelings, emotions, attitudes and values; something which cannot be explained by the fact that a patient with a transplanted plastic heart still has feelings, emotions and attitudes) and even a strong tendency not to read non-or older Society publications.
Another important causal element in the high mental illness rate is the Society's practice of discouraging Witnesses from consulting or seeking professional help (Salisbury, 1965, p. 202). Among the quotes from the Witness Publications which illustrate the attitude of JW's towards psychiatrists and psychologists is one which, after citing an experiment where psychologists were to diagnose emotional problems from drawings supposedly done by children (but actually done by chimpanzees) stated: "Without doubt psychologists do know a little about human and animal personalities, but also without doubt they have a lot to learn and they think they know more than they actually do, or they would not have let two chimpanzees make such monkeys out of them" (Awake! 1954). In answering the question: Should a Christian consult a psychiatrist?" the Awake! Of March, 1960, p. 27 said:
"…as a rule, for a Christian to go to a worldly psychiatrist is an admission of defeat, it amounts to 'going down to Egypt for help.' - Isaiah 31:1. Often when a Witness of Jehovah goes to a psychiatrist, the psychiatrist will try to persuade him that his troubles are caused by his religion, entirely overlooking the fact that the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are the best-oriented, happiest and most contented group of people on the face of the earth…They have the least need for psychiatrists. Also, more and more psychiatrists are resorting to hypnosis, which is a demonic form of worldly wisdom." (sic.)
Interestingly, although comments to the effect that "JW's are the happiest…" were at one time commonly made, they have not appeared in Witness Publications, to this writer's knowledge, in a number of years. Evidently, the Witness Society is more aware of the high mental illness rate among Witnesses. This is not surprising in view of the fact that a number of very prominent Witness Officials have become severely mentally ill, including several branch servants, many members of the Society's former legal staff, and even several members of the board of directors. The above article concluded, "Yes, what is need at such times is not worldly psychiatrists who may wholly ignore the change that the truth and God's holy spirit have made in one's life and who know nothing of their power to help one put on a new Christian personality. Rather, what is needed at such times is a mature Christian in whom one has confidence and who is vitally interested in one's welfare and who will not shrink back from administering needed reproof or counsel so that one may get healed." The advice is much the same in later publications in spite of recent statements such as "whether a Christian will consult a psychiatrist or any other doctor, is a matter for personal decision" (The Watchtower, 1975, p. 255). Yet the typical Witness is still quite hostile to consulting any mental health person because of statements such as the one found in the August 22, 1975 Awake ! page 25 (which is effect reversed the ruling in the 1975 Witness, p. 255)7 "…Is the turning of people from the clergy to the psychiatrists a healthy phenomenon? No, for it really is a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. They are (the psychiatrists' clients) worse off than they were before… That they (psychologists and psychiatrists) are not the ones to go to for help when one is depressed and beset with all manner of problems is to be seen from the fact that suicides among them are twice as frequent as among the population in general."8 "…Instead of turning to psychiatrists and psychologists who likewise, for the most part, are without such faith, let lovers of righteousness turn to the Bible for wisdom, comfort and hope…" Thus, while The Watchtower of 1975 (p. 255) states it is up to the Witness' individual conscience whether or not he consult a psychiatrist, this article is written in such a way that it would be difficult for most Witnesses to do so. Thus Witnesses nearly always consult the Elders, who, unfortunately, as will be discussed, are very poorly equipped to deal with emotional problems.9
The JW Elders tend to apply one solution for all emotional problems, namely: study and pray more, in short live up, more firmly to the dictates of the Witness Society. Instead of trying to dissipate the intensive guilt that the Witnesses have be channeling it into constructive action and trying to work on whatever the Witnesses are being troubled by, the Elders tend to create more guilt. They often behave in a disapproving manner toward the Witnesses, tending to feel that their role is that of a disciplinarian. Having no training in dealing with people or emotional problems, they typically offer very poor advice.
Elders tend to feel that mental illness is caused by one of two things, sin and demonism, and thus commonly probe the Witness for sins he may have committed (which usually results in intensifying any guilt feelings). Elders often, but clearly not always, threaten to disfellowship or put the Witness on probation in spite of the fact that the Witness is often submissively seeking help. Often the very mention of "demons" is quite frightening to a Witness. Instead of receiving reassurance, comfort and positive helpful feedback, the Witness tends to be frightened and, at least later, resentful. This researcher has worked with many cases where the suggestion of "demon influence" has been the factor that caused a neurotic Witness to become completely psychotic. The concern over demonism is partially the result of the Witnesses' lower class background and the tendency for JW's to come from the more fundamental religious, and not necessarily a result of the Witness's explicit teaching, although the Witness Does little to counteract it. The most tragic result of the concern over demonism is a tendency to focus away from the true problem and on to such things as finding the "source" of the demons.
The Elders tend to have little insight into inter-personal dynamics. They recognize the needs of eating and sleeping (but even here they tend to glamorize sacrifices Witnesses make for their religion), but refuse to accept the validity of other basic needs, especially ego needs. As Witnesses are discouraged from seeking satisfaction of these needs outside of the congregation, they seek them within the congregation. This typically creates power struggle, constant verbal battles and personally conflicts. JW's tend to be both highly critical of the world, which they clearly see does not follow their set of rules, and highly critical of fellow Witnesses, who also fail to live up to the ideal picture of a Witness painted by the Witness Society. One Witness stated to the writer that "95% of the Witnesses are very corrupt people - but that still does not mean it is not God's organization, Israel was also very corrupt, but that still did not change the fact that they were God's people." As a result of the frustration in satisfying their ego needs in the congregation (especially the need to be accepted, looked up to, respected, etc.) Witnesses typically withdraw into themselves channeling inward the hostility which results from their frustrated attempts to satisfy these needs, creating depression and hostility which sometimes erupts into very violent, aggressive behavior. This is one crimes against persons found among the Witnesses.
JW's are required to follow strictly all dictates, however minor, from the Witness Headquarters. Love and acceptance tend to be conditional upon rigid adherence to rules established by a few. Little consideration is given to the necessity for children to learn from their own decisions in view of the fact that growth requires learning from one's failures as well as success. Witnesses are pressured to do things correctly the first time. If indeed, they are expected to do something a first time. More recently the Witness Society has stressed the need to examine the sinner's attitude, but for the past 20 years. In many congregations, if certain sins were committed - especially sexual sins - disfellowshiping was automatic, no matter what the sinner's attitude was. True, evidence of repentance is supposed to be taken into consideration, but it would normally be expected that at a disfellowshiping hearing the accused would be defensive, and any signs of defensiveness hearing the accused would be defensive, and any signs of defensiveness - a common reaction in this situation, especially when someone is being confronted with three Elders - tends to be misinterpreted as "displaying an unrepentant attitude," or even "attempting to justify the sin." Thus, a normal and expected reaction is misconstrued, and an expected and necessary attempt to maintain one's own ego intact is seen as "evil, selfish, and unrepentant." Only those who have a talent for turning most of their hostility inwards have, at least in the past, a good chance of escaping disfellowship.
Another common assumption is that a Witness who is mentally ill has displeased his Creator and thus has incurred the wrath of God, similar to medieval idea. The Witnesses rarely phrase their belief in this way, but normally verbalize that the one mentally ill has displeased Jehovah and as a result of Jehovah's holy spirit "has been removed, from the person. One who is a Witness presumably has Jehovah's holy spirit, and doing something to displease Jehovah merits the removal of His spirit, and doing something to displease Jehovah merits the removal of His spirit. This concept often leads to a general lack of sympathy or concern on the part of most Witnesses towards their mentally ill brethren. One manifesting any symptoms of mental illness or emotional disorder is thus often seen as having "done something wrong" is poor association, and thus one to be avoided. Both the belief that human frailties can cause the removal of God's holy spirit and the resultant social withdrawing (or social aloofness) tend to intensify the mentally ill Witnesses' adjustment. Often, Witnesses who become mentally ill and seek out professional help are most intelligent than the average Witness and yet more conscientious, endeavoring conscientiously to live up to the Witness Society's high standards, standards that few Witnesses can live up to. Criticism elicits guilt which is seriously intensified when the symptoms that result from the guilt are construed to result from withdrawal of God's holy spirit because of one's personal shortcomings.
Summary
It is a common observation among mental health personnel, supported by all published studies, that the mental illness rate among JW's far surpasses that of the population as a whole. Many factors are found to contribute to this - JW's tend to recruit individuals with emotional problems; there is a great deal of pressure to conform within the congregation, and there is a belief structure which clearly causes emotional turmoil. The fact that JW's are recruited from the lower socio-economic statuses of society and tend to seriously alienate and often force out of the movement the more intelligent and better educated members is also highly instruments in contribution to the mental illness rate. Once a JW develops emotional problems he is actively encouraged to avoid accepting "worldly advice" either from secular books or secular mental health personnel. The psychiatric profession as a whole is severely criticized, and Witnesses are encouraged to consult only their Elders, most of whom are poorly equipped to deal with most normal interpersonal relation frictions let alone what be termed neurotic and psychotic maladjustment. In dealing with members, Elders tend to offer poor advice and rely on punitive criticism or threats ("If you do not….you will not survive Armageddon…") to change behavior. This approach typically elicits increased guilt and/or a high level of aggression in the Witnesses. This factor is probably influential in the high rate of aggression crimes found among Witnesses.
Reference
Awake !
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Pennsylvania
CHESEN, Eli S., M.D.
1972 Religion may be Hazardous to Your Health, New York: Collier Books.
COHN, Werner
1955 "Jehovah's Witnesses as a Preletarian Movement" The American Scholar, 24: 281-
298
Detroit Free Press
1975 "Two girls battle Mom's Religion," Dec. 1, p. 3B.
HARRISON, Barbara Grizzuti
1975 "Life with Jehovah," Ms. Magazine, Dec., pp. 56-59, 89-92
JANNER, Von J.
1963 Die forensisch-psychiatrische and sanitatsdienstliche Beurteilung von
Dienstuerweigerern (The forensic-psychiatric and military medical assessment of
conscientious objectors), Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift, Vol 93, No.
23, pp. 819-826.
MASSERMAN, Jules H., M.D.
1953 "Faiths and Delusion in Psychotherapy," American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 110,
pp. 324-333.
MOXON, C.
1921 "Religion in the Light of Psychoanalysis," The Psychoanalytic Review, January,
pp. 92-98
PESCOR, M.J., M.D.
1949 "A Study of Selective Service Law Violators," The American Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol. 105, No. 9, pp. 641-652
SALISBURY, W. Seward
1964 Religion in American Culture: A sociological interpretation, Homewood, Illinois:
Dorsey Press
SPENCER, John
1975 "The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses," British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.
126, pp. 556-559
The Watchtower, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Pennsylvania
ZYGMENT, Joseph F.
1970 "Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity: The case of Jehovah's Witnesses," American Journal of Scientology, Vol 75, No. 6, pp. 926-948.
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The Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the Mental Health of Its Members
Social Compass, 1977/1, 235-147
By Havor Montague
An extensive study of the influence of the religion known as Jehovah's Witnesses (JW's) on the mental health* of its members clearly finds both positive and negative influences present. Involvement with the Witnesses as involvement with any other social group, exposes the adherent to factors that both facilities and hinder emotional adjustment. The effect of the Watchtower (Witness) Society's teachings on its members is difficult to study because most members are converts and the Witness. Movement tends to attract certain types of persons. Even of those raised in the movement, only certain types of individuals elect to remain in the sphere of the Witness' influence. It is also difficult to separate the influence of the Witness From the pervasive tendency for members to be recruited from, and remain in, the lower socio-economic being tend to be the indicator used to measure spiritual well-being. Emotional growth, too, is considered, although it is not stressed as such and the "growth" is not always in a positive direction. For example, increased commitment and identity with the Witnesses cause the student to identify with them emotionally and, as expected, become defensive against ideas which are considered "non-Witness" or seen as incompatible with Witness theology. The result is often a mistrust of all non-Witness sources of information, even though most of the information published by the Witness Society is from non-Witness sources.
Practical activities, at least practical relative to religious requirements are also stressed. At least one meeting per week is devoted to the practical aspects of becoming a better Witness, including improving one's door-to-door presentation, one's incidental witnessing, and, more recently, improving one's family life, budgeting one's money, time, etc. Even here Witnesses are highly goal-oriented. They, as the Witness Society stresses, should, and often do, have a definite purpose in life. Even in achievement is difficult and tangible rewards are few, the dominant concern of JW's is with convincing outsiders of the validity of Witness theology; although with many, proselytizing is somewhat perfunctorily performed, it is an important part of their general goal-oriented behavior. The Witness theology too, is such where one's purpose is very specific and defined - true, defined by the Wt Society, but nevertheless defined.
The exact rate of mental illness among JW's is difficult to determine, but it is clear that it is significantly higher than the rate for the population as a whole. There have been relatively few published studies which document this level. One of the most recent was done by Spencer (197). During the 36 month period from January 1971 to December, 1973, Spencer examined the records of all 7,546 in-patient admission to all West Australian Psychiatric Hospitals. Utilizing the patients' self-reported religious affiliation, Spencer found 50 cases that stated they were active JW's. Utilizing the Witnesses' statistics of approximately 4,000 members in West Australia and a population of 1,068,469 the ratio of general admissions to the ratio of JW admissions was determined. Spencer found for all diagnosis a ratio of 2.54 per 1,000 for the population as a whole compared to 4.17 per 1,000 for JW's. The rate for schizophrenia s .38 for the population compared to 1.4 for the JW's. Thus, according to these figures, the incidence of schizophrenia among the Witnesses is about 3 times as high as for the rest of the population and paranoia schizophrenia is about 4 times as high.
There are several reasons to believe even these high rates for JW's are significantly underreported. Spencer had to rely on self-reporting. It was possible that a patient could state he was an active member when he was not, but this is unlikely. The reverse is much more probable. Of the many religions, one would want falsely to claim to belong to one of the lowest on the list would be the JW's. This writer, in about 10 years experience working in a research capacity for both a large mental hospital and a large circuit court, had never seen even one case where a non-Witness claimed to be a Witness.* Possibly in criminal cases a person may want to claim he is a JW, feeling this religious claim would cause he court to look more favorable upon his case. But considering the Witness teaching that "we are the most hated of all religions," and their general reputation for being "crack-pots," religious fanatics, etc., it would seem that even this in unlikely. As the Witnesses play up greatly their persecution, one endeavoring to present a martyr complex may blindly identify with JW's, but would not commonly do so in an effort to make his person appear better. The opposite distortion, though, is quite common. This writer had worked with numerous cases whom he knew from his work in the community to be active JW's (or raised as Witnesses) and who tried to hide their religious affiliation. Especially Witnesses who were committed to a mental hospital, or were charged with felonies, tended to deny their affiliation with the Witnesses. In the writer's work as a therapist, a significant number of Witness patients clearly would never have sought psychotherapy if the writer had not been seen as an active Witness. Witnesses are often ashamed of the fact they have emotional problems, and will commonly not consult medical help due to the concern of "bringing reproach on Jehovah's organization," The feeling that just being in "Jehovah's organization" should prevent emotional problems is common: its presents is actually a frightening contradiction of the JW faith. This reluctance to seek out professional help does not just include Witnesses with neurotic problems. The writer has worked with a large number of JW's who were clearly psychotic - some in a "catatonic state," suffering from severe depression or even brain damage, who would not consult a psychiatrist because of the fear of tarnishing the Witness Society's image. Further, many of the hundreds of thousands of persons raised in a Witness environment, active in youth, who later disassociated themselves from the Society (although many later reassociate), often fail to identify themselves as Witnesses. Many of these cases, even though they had a Witness upbringing and were highly influenced by Witness theology often still accepting the basic Witness belief structure, are not reported in the literature.
Using the same technique that Spencer utilized, this writer estimates that the mental illness rate of JW's is approximately 10 to 16 times higher than the rate for the general, non-Witness population. About 10% of the publishers in the average congregation are in serious need of professional help, even though many Witnesses are able to hide this fact quite well, especially from outsiders. It is a common experience to hear hours of verbalizations, expressing severe hopelessness, hostility towards both insiders and outsiders, regret and serious doubt from a Witness who 20 minutes later can effectively convince a householder that "JW's are marvelously happy people, happy in God's organization."
Another study which examined the mental health of JW's was done by Pescor (1949). He found, of the total group of Witnesses he examined, all of whom were imprisoned because of conscientious objection to the Selective Service law in the USA, 16% were on hospital status, and, of these, 44% were diagnosed as psychotic and 50% were chronic medical patients. Thus, 8% of the total number of Witnesses imprisoned were classified as psychotic. This is about 40 times higher than the rate for non-Witness population using a psychosis rate of about .2% for any one year. His sample would be a good cross section of all young male Witnesses, considering that the majority of draft age Witness who were drafted went to prison at the time the study was done in the late 1940's. As some JW's took alternative service, contrary to the Witness Society's instructions, and possibly those who accepted alternative service were better adjusted, the rate Pescor found is likely to be higher than is actually the case among JW's as a whole. Unfortunately, Pescor does not give the percent who were imprisoned compared to the percent who took alternative service, but the number is probably quite small. It is also possible that some JW's feigned psychotic states in a desire to be released from prison; but the fact that this action did not serve to release one from prison, but simply resulted in prison hospital status, would reduce this possibility. It is quite possible, though, that hospital status was more desirable status within the prison and the Witnesses feigned illness so as to improve the conditions during their prison stay, but this factor would be more likely to increase the number of medical diagnoses not the number of psychiatric diagnoses.
The only other psychiatric study done on JW's is that by Janner (1962). Janner examined100 random cases of Swiss citizens who object to military service and were imprisoned in a Swiss prison. About 85% of the C.O.'s were JW's. Of this 85% Janner found a significant number who had a high level of fear anxiety, were severely introverted were loners. Or severely neurotic. Of his group, one third were unskilled workers and more than half were involved in some type of semi-skilled trade. Only 3 could be considered semi-professional or professional workers (one technician, one teacher and one college student). Of the JW's 10.4% had been previously convicted of a crime. Of these, about half were sexual offenses (including pedophiliacs and exhibitionists) and the rest were offenses against private property or persons. As a whole Janner found the JW's "quite colorless persons, and somewhat removed from reality, although some JW's demonstrated intense religious feelings." Thus, all past studies demonstrate the level of mental illness is well above that of the population. The staff of most large mental hospitals are usually quite familiar with the JW's. One hospital, a doctor told this writer, is "clogged with them" Another mental hospital is even nick-named "The Watchtower House" because it has so many Witness patients.
The fact that JW's are overwhelmingly lower class is a very important factor influencing the mental illness rate. Upper-middle-class and upper-class members are almost totally unknown.* One branch overseer stated, "of 40,000 Witnesses, I know of only 2 families that might be termed upper-middle class, but no one else. University professors are almost totally unknown." There are very few medical doctors - very few - and probably a fair number of chiropractors. But to be a chiropractor a few years ago required as little as 3 years schooling beyond high school. Even the few JW's with a high school diploma tend to be less serious about the Witnesses. A large number quit high school in the 10th grade or so. Witnesses also tend to marry quite young partly because marriage is one of the few acceptable pursuits open to young Witnesses besides pioneering that do not result in social pressure to conform.
Very few intelligent or well-educated people join the Witnesses, and those few who do involve themselves with the Witnesses generally do not stay. It is difficult for an active, intelligent, aware person to remain a Witness - not because their beliefs are unfounded, but because Witness Hierarchy tends to want to control the belief structure of its members in even minor areas. Even a Witness endeavoring to serve as an apologist is not tolerated. The authoritarian Witness Hierarchy prohibits religious publishing among members and even discourages most theological research and discussion. JW's are constantly encouraged not to "run ahead of the Society" as though this was even possible according to the Society's own teachings. Many Witnesses, through their independent Bible research, have anticipated major changes that the Society later brought out. Until that time, those who have the audacity to mention the results of their own research have often been severely reprimanded, even if the Society may later on confirm the results of their research. One prominent Witness stated:
"One of the things that bothers me most about the Society is the incredibly arrogant attitude of those at Bethel - refusing to listen to reason or even give credit for the individual members having a mind . Although eventually I feel the Witnesses may become an upper-class religion and will tend to attract the more intellectually oriented at present it is predominantly a lower-class religion with extremely few college graduates. Actually, virtually everyone I know that is fairly well educated has left them, even though there were a few bright members who were, at one time, in the movement."
Witnesses are encouraged to give up a wide variety of things when they become a Witness, often including their careers, whether it be an artist, a journalist or an executive, and take on menial occupations. Thus the more intelligent or better educated have more to give up. Many avocations not directly connected with their Witness work are dropped, under pressure. Witnesses are commonly discouraged from involvement in a wide variety of things. This researcher has worked with a number of cases where a Witness has, in time, become disillusioned and extremely bitter as a result of what he was persuaded to give up when he accepted Witness teachings. Even if the Witness does not leave the moment, what he gives up is often later a source of conflict. For example, the Witnesses glamorize pioneering - and those who become pioneers often become disillusioned, wishing they had pursued their previous goals, often feeling that it is too late to resume them.
The more intelligent JW's are less likely to rely on the defense mechanisms which the typical Witness overuses. Further, the value system of the average Witness is often quite antagonistic to the more intelligent members, including their tendency to listen to opposing arguments, to be less suspicious of statements perceived to have their source from "big government, big business or big religion," and especially general intellectual pursuits. Even efforts to find support for the "faith that is within you" are, in effect, squelched. One psychiatrist (who was raised a Witness) stated:
"In my clinical work with Witnesses I have noticed there is a distinct tendency for the better educated, more intelligent, more conscientious Witnesses to have emotional problems.5 This is the opposite of that many studies indicate is true among non-Witnesses. This is partially because the more intelligent Witnesses are more aware of the contradictions and problems in JW teachings. This awareness causes them to question and doubt , and this doubt in influential in developing their mental illness. The more naïve Witnesses 'accept everything' (or almost everything) and thus live with less dissonance. And, importantly, there is a lack of acceptance of, and in some cases actually a strong prejudice against, better educated or more intelligent Witnesses on the part of the typical Witness. About the only way one can be fully accepted is if he in essence, ensconces his education and fully adopts the Witness' essentially lower class culture, including obtaining work which is, more or less, unskilled.
The typical Witness tends to be highly defensive,6 relying totally upon the Witness Society and its explanations, even if it is somewhat foolish and founded on little fact (such as the teaching that the literal heart is the real source of human feelings, emotions, attitudes and values; something which cannot be explained by the fact that a patient with a transplanted plastic heart still has feelings, emotions and attitudes) and even a strong tendency not to read non-or older Society publications.
Another important causal element in the high mental illness rate is the Society's practice of discouraging Witnesses from consulting or seeking professional help (Salisbury, 1965, p. 202). Among the quotes from the Witness Publications which illustrate the attitude of JW's towards psychiatrists and psychologists is one which, after citing an experiment where psychologists were to diagnose emotional problems from drawings supposedly done by children (but actually done by chimpanzees) stated: "Without doubt psychologists do know a little about human and animal personalities, but also without doubt they have a lot to learn and they think they know more than they actually do, or they would not have let two chimpanzees make such monkeys out of them" (Awake! 1954). In answering the question: Should a Christian consult a psychiatrist?" the Awake! Of March, 1960, p. 27 said:
"…as a rule, for a Christian to go to a worldly psychiatrist is an admission of defeat, it amounts to 'going down to Egypt for help.' - Isaiah 31:1. Often when a Witness of Jehovah goes to a psychiatrist, the psychiatrist will try to persuade him that his troubles are caused by his religion, entirely overlooking the fact that the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are the best-oriented, happiest and most contented group of people on the face of the earth…They have the least need for psychiatrists. Also, more and more psychiatrists are resorting to hypnosis, which is a demonic form of worldly wisdom." (sic.)
Interestingly, although comments to the effect that "JW's are the happiest…" were at one time commonly made, they have not appeared in Witness Publications, to this writer's knowledge, in a number of years. Evidently, the Witness Society is more aware of the high mental illness rate among Witnesses. This is not surprising in view of the fact that a number of very prominent Witness Officials have become severely mentally ill, including several branch servants, many members of the Society's former legal staff, and even several members of the board of directors. The above article concluded, "Yes, what is need at such times is not worldly psychiatrists who may wholly ignore the change that the truth and God's holy spirit have made in one's life and who know nothing of their power to help one put on a new Christian personality. Rather, what is needed at such times is a mature Christian in whom one has confidence and who is vitally interested in one's welfare and who will not shrink back from administering needed reproof or counsel so that one may get healed." The advice is much the same in later publications in spite of recent statements such as "whether a Christian will consult a psychiatrist or any other doctor, is a matter for personal decision" (The Watchtower, 1975, p. 255). Yet the typical Witness is still quite hostile to consulting any mental health person because of statements such as the one found in the August 22, 1975 Awake ! page 25 (which is effect reversed the ruling in the 1975 Witness, p. 255)7 "…Is the turning of people from the clergy to the psychiatrists a healthy phenomenon? No, for it really is a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. They are (the psychiatrists' clients) worse off than they were before… That they (psychologists and psychiatrists) are not the ones to go to for help when one is depressed and beset with all manner of problems is to be seen from the fact that suicides among them are twice as frequent as among the population in general."8 "…Instead of turning to psychiatrists and psychologists who likewise, for the most part, are without such faith, let lovers of righteousness turn to the Bible for wisdom, comfort and hope…" Thus, while The Watchtower of 1975 (p. 255) states it is up to the Witness' individual conscience whether or not he consult a psychiatrist, this article is written in such a way that it would be difficult for most Witnesses to do so. Thus Witnesses nearly always consult the Elders, who, unfortunately, as will be discussed, are very poorly equipped to deal with emotional problems.9
The JW Elders tend to apply one solution for all emotional problems, namely: study and pray more, in short live up, more firmly to the dictates of the Witness Society. Instead of trying to dissipate the intensive guilt that the Witnesses have be channeling it into constructive action and trying to work on whatever the Witnesses are being troubled by, the Elders tend to create more guilt. They often behave in a disapproving manner toward the Witnesses, tending to feel that their role is that of a disciplinarian. Having no training in dealing with people or emotional problems, they typically offer very poor advice.
Elders tend to feel that mental illness is caused by one of two things, sin and demonism, and thus commonly probe the Witness for sins he may have committed (which usually results in intensifying any guilt feelings). Elders often, but clearly not always, threaten to disfellowship or put the Witness on probation in spite of the fact that the Witness is often submissively seeking help. Often the very mention of "demons" is quite frightening to a Witness. Instead of receiving reassurance, comfort and positive helpful feedback, the Witness tends to be frightened and, at least later, resentful. This researcher has worked with many cases where the suggestion of "demon influence" has been the factor that caused a neurotic Witness to become completely psychotic. The concern over demonism is partially the result of the Witnesses' lower class background and the tendency for JW's to come from the more fundamental religious, and not necessarily a result of the Witness's explicit teaching, although the Witness Does little to counteract it. The most tragic result of the concern over demonism is a tendency to focus away from the true problem and on to such things as finding the "source" of the demons.
The Elders tend to have little insight into inter-personal dynamics. They recognize the needs of eating and sleeping (but even here they tend to glamorize sacrifices Witnesses make for their religion), but refuse to accept the validity of other basic needs, especially ego needs. As Witnesses are discouraged from seeking satisfaction of these needs outside of the congregation, they seek them within the congregation. This typically creates power struggle, constant verbal battles and personally conflicts. JW's tend to be both highly critical of the world, which they clearly see does not follow their set of rules, and highly critical of fellow Witnesses, who also fail to live up to the ideal picture of a Witness painted by the Witness Society. One Witness stated to the writer that "95% of the Witnesses are very corrupt people - but that still does not mean it is not God's organization, Israel was also very corrupt, but that still did not change the fact that they were God's people." As a result of the frustration in satisfying their ego needs in the congregation (especially the need to be accepted, looked up to, respected, etc.) Witnesses typically withdraw into themselves channeling inward the hostility which results from their frustrated attempts to satisfy these needs, creating depression and hostility which sometimes erupts into very violent, aggressive behavior. This is one crimes against persons found among the Witnesses.
JW's are required to follow strictly all dictates, however minor, from the Witness Headquarters. Love and acceptance tend to be conditional upon rigid adherence to rules established by a few. Little consideration is given to the necessity for children to learn from their own decisions in view of the fact that growth requires learning from one's failures as well as success. Witnesses are pressured to do things correctly the first time. If indeed, they are expected to do something a first time. More recently the Witness Society has stressed the need to examine the sinner's attitude, but for the past 20 years. In many congregations, if certain sins were committed - especially sexual sins - disfellowshiping was automatic, no matter what the sinner's attitude was. True, evidence of repentance is supposed to be taken into consideration, but it would normally be expected that at a disfellowshiping hearing the accused would be defensive, and any signs of defensiveness hearing the accused would be defensive, and any signs of defensiveness - a common reaction in this situation, especially when someone is being confronted with three Elders - tends to be misinterpreted as "displaying an unrepentant attitude," or even "attempting to justify the sin." Thus, a normal and expected reaction is misconstrued, and an expected and necessary attempt to maintain one's own ego intact is seen as "evil, selfish, and unrepentant." Only those who have a talent for turning most of their hostility inwards have, at least in the past, a good chance of escaping disfellowship.
Another common assumption is that a Witness who is mentally ill has displeased his Creator and thus has incurred the wrath of God, similar to medieval idea. The Witnesses rarely phrase their belief in this way, but normally verbalize that the one mentally ill has displeased Jehovah and as a result of Jehovah's holy spirit "has been removed, from the person. One who is a Witness presumably has Jehovah's holy spirit, and doing something to displease Jehovah merits the removal of His spirit, and doing something to displease Jehovah merits the removal of His spirit. This concept often leads to a general lack of sympathy or concern on the part of most Witnesses towards their mentally ill brethren. One manifesting any symptoms of mental illness or emotional disorder is thus often seen as having "done something wrong" is poor association, and thus one to be avoided. Both the belief that human frailties can cause the removal of God's holy spirit and the resultant social withdrawing (or social aloofness) tend to intensify the mentally ill Witnesses' adjustment. Often, Witnesses who become mentally ill and seek out professional help are most intelligent than the average Witness and yet more conscientious, endeavoring conscientiously to live up to the Witness Society's high standards, standards that few Witnesses can live up to. Criticism elicits guilt which is seriously intensified when the symptoms that result from the guilt are construed to result from withdrawal of God's holy spirit because of one's personal shortcomings.
Summary
It is a common observation among mental health personnel, supported by all published studies, that the mental illness rate among JW's far surpasses that of the population as a whole. Many factors are found to contribute to this - JW's tend to recruit individuals with emotional problems; there is a great deal of pressure to conform within the congregation, and there is a belief structure which clearly causes emotional turmoil. The fact that JW's are recruited from the lower socio-economic statuses of society and tend to seriously alienate and often force out of the movement the more intelligent and better educated members is also highly instruments in contribution to the mental illness rate. Once a JW develops emotional problems he is actively encouraged to avoid accepting "worldly advice" either from secular books or secular mental health personnel. The psychiatric profession as a whole is severely criticized, and Witnesses are encouraged to consult only their Elders, most of whom are poorly equipped to deal with most normal interpersonal relation frictions let alone what be termed neurotic and psychotic maladjustment. In dealing with members, Elders tend to offer poor advice and rely on punitive criticism or threats ("If you do not….you will not survive Armageddon…") to change behavior. This approach typically elicits increased guilt and/or a high level of aggression in the Witnesses. This factor is probably influential in the high rate of aggression crimes found among Witnesses.
Reference
Awake !
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Pennsylvania
CHESEN, Eli S., M.D.
1972 Religion may be Hazardous to Your Health, New York: Collier Books.
COHN, Werner
1955 "Jehovah's Witnesses as a Preletarian Movement" The American Scholar, 24: 281-
298
Detroit Free Press
1975 "Two girls battle Mom's Religion," Dec. 1, p. 3B.
HARRISON, Barbara Grizzuti
1975 "Life with Jehovah," Ms. Magazine, Dec., pp. 56-59, 89-92
JANNER, Von J.
1963 Die forensisch-psychiatrische and sanitatsdienstliche Beurteilung von
Dienstuerweigerern (The forensic-psychiatric and military medical assessment of
conscientious objectors), Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift, Vol 93, No.
23, pp. 819-826.
MASSERMAN, Jules H., M.D.
1953 "Faiths and Delusion in Psychotherapy," American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 110,
pp. 324-333.
MOXON, C.
1921 "Religion in the Light of Psychoanalysis," The Psychoanalytic Review, January,
pp. 92-98
PESCOR, M.J., M.D.
1949 "A Study of Selective Service Law Violators," The American Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol. 105, No. 9, pp. 641-652
SALISBURY, W. Seward
1964 Religion in American Culture: A sociological interpretation, Homewood, Illinois:
Dorsey Press
SPENCER, John
1975 "The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses," British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.
126, pp. 556-559
The Watchtower, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Pennsylvania
ZYGMENT, Joseph F.
1970 "Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity: The case of Jehovah's Witnesses," American Journal of Scientology, Vol 75, No. 6, pp. 926-948.
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The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses
By John Spencer
Summary
The function of religion in human society is complex. The part played by religion in psychiatric disorders is even more obscure. Previous literature and theories are divided into two groups: one school believes that intense religiosity is a symptom-complex indicative of psychiatric disorder, while the opposing view is that religious belief in some way acts as a defense mechanism protecting the individual and his psyche.
The present study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and nearly four times more likely from paranoid schizophrenia than the rest of the population at risk.
These findings suggest that being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith may be a risk factor predisposing to a schizophrenic illness. Further studies would be interesting in investigating whether pre-psychotic people are more likely to join the sect than normal people and what part (if any) membership has in bringing about such a breakdown.
Many of us have an occasion surprised ourselves at our rather impulsive, discourteous behavior when faced with the persistent insistence of members of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect. The firm conviction with which they not only adhere to their beliefs but also incriminate us, the unrequested listener, is rather disquieting. Any attempt to dissuade them logically is frequently met with a further monologue of their inflexible belief system.
Many sociologists have turned their attention to the phenomena associated with religion and religious factors, but there have been remarkably few studies correlating choice of religious belief with personality or mental disorder.
Sargant (1957-70) states that sudden dramatic conversions are most likely to occur in simple stable extraverts, while Clark (1929) found that 55 per cent of individuals experiencing a sudden conversion suffered a sense of guilt compared to 8 ½ per cent of his total sample under study.
Roberts (1965) in a further study found that those whose conversion was sudden and towards the faith of their parents had high scores on the EPI neuroticism scale. Graff and Ladd (1970)m administering the Personal Orientation Inventory and Dimensions of Religious Commitment forms to 163 male students, found an inverse relationship between 'self-actualization' and religiosity.
Freud (1913) saw religion as an attempt to gain control over the sensory world by means of the wish world and as an attempt to place upon God that dependence which had originally been upon the father. Thus he saw it as a symptom of neurosis. Other analysts, however, have extended this approach to include psychotic disorders. Fenichel (1946) states that religious delusions as a rule are rooted in longings for salvation together with attempts to master overwhelming indestructible, schizophrenic sensations by verbalizing them. Fromm (1960) supports this theory and postulates that religious ideas fulfill at least four economic functions:
1. A symbolic means of communications;
2. Self-preservation;
3. To silence the individual's anxiety;
4. As a positive creative function.
As a result of his searching studies, Jung (1933) felt that man possessed a natural religious function and that his psychic health and stability depended on the proper expression of this, just as much as on the expression of the instincts. It was an essential feature of religion to give conscious expression of the archetypes. Consequently the nature of the religious expression indicated that disturbance the individual was experiencing with the unconscious. Jung thus differed from the classifical analysts in pointing out that one could not generalize about religiosity, as this in itself was a very varied phenomenon.
Doubt has been cast on analytical theory by several workers. Thus Lane (1968), in a study of go patients, attempted to measure the 'Degree of Concern for Religion', and correlated this with the results on the Edwards Personal Preference schedule. He concluded: 'It now appears that it is more promising conceptually to regard religious concern as being related to various functional psychological needs than it is to cast it aside as being a symptom of psychopathology or as being a negative prognostic sign of recovery.'
Boison (1952) puts forward a convincing argument that religion is highly personalized affair, and he provides clinical evidence that even bizarre types of religiosity can be converted into constructive channels when such an intense religious experience is successfully related to unmet psychological needs.
Lloyd (1973) states categorically that religion is a coping device and can be regarded as normal or symptomatic. In the latter situation the individual 's normal devices fail or their integration is threatened and the change is usually towards the more enthusiastic, irrational, fundamental and emotive sects where the psychotic patient may well be supported, protected and hidden from society. However, he fails to explain how he has reached this conclusion.
The principal problem seems to be to decide whether extreme religiosity such as is seen in the so-called 'neurotic sects' (Northridge, 1968) is a symptom of an overt psychiatric disorder, or whether it is a complex defense mechanism against an underlying disorder.
The Jehovah's Witnesses sect was started by Charles Tage Russell in 1872. He proved to be a man of doubtful integrity, but the movement has spread around the world. It is not necessary for the purpose of this paper to describe the organization's structure, but its members ardently believe that the world as we know it is shortly to cease and that only those few who have rigorously obeyed their creed will gain eternal salvation with Jehovah. Each Witness believes it is his personal duty and responsibility to bring these facts to the notice of everyone he comes in contact with, and to make an attempt to save them from eternal earthly existence.
Their principles and ideas are inferred from what conventional Christians would regard as an arbitrary selection of texts from the Bible. Some of these selections are so oblique and tangential that they seem best understood as misinterpretations or even false ideas of reference.
The sect does not appear to place much emphasis on sex or guilt, and it denies the existence of Hell. If this belief system has a psychiatric parallel, Northcott's adjective 'neurotic' is inaccurate and the terms 'psychotic' or 'paranoid' would appear to be more appropriate. It seemed of interest to investigate and attempt to clarify some of these hypotheses by a study of psychiatric disorder among members of this - or of any other - extreme religious sect.
During the period of 36 months from January 1971 to December 1973 there were 7,546 inpatient admissions to the West Australian Mental Health Service Psychiatric Hospitals. Of these 50 were reported to be active members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement. It was not known what proportion of these were respectively converts or second generation members.
The number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Western Australia was stated by their official agency, Kingdom Hall, to be approximately 4,000. The total population of Western Australia on 1 January 1973 was 1,068,469, the majority (750,000) living in the greater Metropolitan area of Perth City. As in most Australian cities, the population consists principally of native-born Australians and of a large group of immigrants, mainly from Europe, but with minorities from other areas also. Western Australia also has approximately 20,000 Aborigines.
Of the 50 admitted 22 were diagnosed as schizophrenic, 17 as paranoid schizophrenic, to as neurotic and one as alcoholic.
Table I
Admissions for schizophrenia 1973
Annual
Annual
Total
rate per
Jehovah's
rate per
admission
1,000
Witnesses
1,000
population
admissions
population
All diagnosis
7,546
2.54
50
4.17
Schizophrenia
(295)
1,826
.61
22
1.83
Paranoid
Schizophrenia
(195.3)
1,154
.38
17
1.4
Neurosis (300)
1,182
.39
10
.76
Discussion
From the figures gathered in the Table it is clear that members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement are over-represented in admissions to the Mental Health Services of this State. Furthermore, it is clear from the Table that the incidence of schizophrenia amongst them is about three times as high as for the rest of the general population. (These figures are all statistically significant at the .001 level by x2 test.)
A further finding that has come to light is that the admission rate for paranoid schizophrenia appears to be higher in Western Australia than in a comparable English area (Plymouth, 1972). This finding has been noted before in areas where there has been
Table II
Comparative admissions for schizophrenia 1973
Admissions for schizophrenia and paranoid
schizophrenia as a percentage
of all admissions for 1973
Western Australia
Plymouth (England)
(n = 2,635)
(n = 1,246)
Schizophrenia
675 (25%)
249 (20%)
Paranoid schizophrenia
448 (17%)
84 (6.7%)
immigration from different cultures Kraus (1969). The mechanism underlying this finding are presumably of a complex psychosocial nature and need not be discussed here. However, they are of some interest as in the English area there is also a lower reported following of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement.
If it is argued correctly that the function of religion is preservation of the ego and the silencing of anxiety, and that conventional religiosity is an expression of a healthy psyche, then extreme religious views may represent a form of expression of a psychotic disorder.
As mentioned earlier, the experience of guilt in religious behavior other than in sudden conversion has not been studied to the knowledge of the writer and could also be a subject for further investigation.
Also illuminating would be comparison of the data for converted Jehovah's Witnesses with those for subjects who have derived their faith from their parents. The study does not shed light on the question of symptom or defense mechanism, but suggests that either the Jehovah's Witnesses sect tends to attract an excess of pre-psychotic individuals who may then break down, or else being a Jehovah's Witness is itself a stress which may precipitate a psychosis. Possibly both of these factors may operate together.
Karl Marx once remarked that religion was the opiate of the people. Is it possible that the schizophrenic, with his thoughts in a turmoil and plagued with doubts about his identity and ideas of reference, is able to gain the support of a non-pharmacological tranquilizer from membership of a sect such as Jehovah's Witnesses? If so, mental health workers and religious leaders should perhaps take a fresh look at the structure and function of these and other related groups.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express his thanks to Dr. John Gilroy, of Moorhaven Hospital, Plymouth, for his advice and to Mrs. Sheila Lawry of the same hospital for assisting with the collection of figures. I am also grateful to Professor Alan German of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Australia, for his constructive criticism of the text.
References
BOLSON, A. (1952) Exploration of the Inner World, New York: Hauber.
CLARK, E.T. (1929) The Psychology of Religious Awakening. New York: Macmillan.
FENICHEL, O. (1946) The Psychoanalytical Theory of Neurosis. London Routledge and Kegan Paul.
FROMM, E. (1960) Psychoanalysis and Religion. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston,
Inc.
GRAFF, R.W. & LADD, C.E. (1970) POI Correlates of a Religious Commitment
Inventory. Southern Illinois University Press.
JUNO, C.G. (1933) Modern Man in Search of a Soul. New York: Harcourt and Brace &
Co.
KRAUS, J. (1969) Some social factors and rates of psychiatric hospital admissions of
immigrants in New South Wales. Medical Journal of Australia, ii. 17.
LANE, M. (1968) Journal of Social Psychology, 75, 261-8.
LLOYD, J.H. (1973) Religion and insanity. Australian and New Zealand Journal of
Psychiatry. 7, 193.
NORTHRIDGE (1968) Psychiatry in Pastoral Practice.
PLYMOUTH (1972) Moorhaven Hospital Diagnostic Index. Personal communication.
ROBERTS, F.J. (1965) British Journal of Social Psychology. 4, 185-7.
SARGANT, W. (1957) Battle for the Mind. London: Heinemann (reprinted in Pan Books
1970).
WEST AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT, Department of Statistics, Perty (1973)
Also of relevance:
ALLPORT, G.W. & MACMILLAN (1959) The Individual and his Religion.
HAEKEMA, A.A. (1963) The Four Major Cults.
John Spencer, M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C. Psych., Consultant Psychiatrist, Heathcote Hospital, Applecross 6153, Western Australia.
(Received to June 1974)
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The Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses
By John Spencer
Summary
The function of religion in human society is complex. The part played by religion in psychiatric disorders is even more obscure. Previous literature and theories are divided into two groups: one school believes that intense religiosity is a symptom-complex indicative of psychiatric disorder, while the opposing view is that religious belief in some way acts as a defense mechanism protecting the individual and his psyche.
The present study of 50 Jehovah's Witnesses admitted to the Mental Health Service facilities of Western Australia suggests that members of this section of the community are more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than the general population. Furthermore, followers of the sect are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and nearly four times more likely from paranoid schizophrenia than the rest of the population at risk.
These findings suggest that being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith may be a risk factor predisposing to a schizophrenic illness. Further studies would be interesting in investigating whether pre-psychotic people are more likely to join the sect than normal people and what part (if any) membership has in bringing about such a breakdown.
Many of us have an occasion surprised ourselves at our rather impulsive, discourteous behavior when faced with the persistent insistence of members of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect. The firm conviction with which they not only adhere to their beliefs but also incriminate us, the unrequested listener, is rather disquieting. Any attempt to dissuade them logically is frequently met with a further monologue of their inflexible belief system.
Many sociologists have turned their attention to the phenomena associated with religion and religious factors, but there have been remarkably few studies correlating choice of religious belief with personality or mental disorder.
Sargant (1957-70) states that sudden dramatic conversions are most likely to occur in simple stable extraverts, while Clark (1929) found that 55 per cent of individuals experiencing a sudden conversion suffered a sense of guilt compared to 8 ½ per cent of his total sample under study.
Roberts (1965) in a further study found that those whose conversion was sudden and towards the faith of their parents had high scores on the EPI neuroticism scale. Graff and Ladd (1970)m administering the Personal Orientation Inventory and Dimensions of Religious Commitment forms to 163 male students, found an inverse relationship between 'self-actualization' and religiosity.
Freud (1913) saw religion as an attempt to gain control over the sensory world by means of the wish world and as an attempt to place upon God that dependence which had originally been upon the father. Thus he saw it as a symptom of neurosis. Other analysts, however, have extended this approach to include psychotic disorders. Fenichel (1946) states that religious delusions as a rule are rooted in longings for salvation together with attempts to master overwhelming indestructible, schizophrenic sensations by verbalizing them. Fromm (1960) supports this theory and postulates that religious ideas fulfill at least four economic functions:
1. A symbolic means of communications;
2. Self-preservation;
3. To silence the individual's anxiety;
4. As a positive creative function.
As a result of his searching studies, Jung (1933) felt that man possessed a natural religious function and that his psychic health and stability depended on the proper expression of this, just as much as on the expression of the instincts. It was an essential feature of religion to give conscious expression of the archetypes. Consequently the nature of the religious expression indicated that disturbance the individual was experiencing with the unconscious. Jung thus differed from the classifical analysts in pointing out that one could not generalize about religiosity, as this in itself was a very varied phenomenon.
Doubt has been cast on analytical theory by several workers. Thus Lane (1968), in a study of go patients, attempted to measure the 'Degree of Concern for Religion', and correlated this with the results on the Edwards Personal Preference schedule. He concluded: 'It now appears that it is more promising conceptually to regard religious concern as being related to various functional psychological needs than it is to cast it aside as being a symptom of psychopathology or as being a negative prognostic sign of recovery.'
Boison (1952) puts forward a convincing argument that religion is highly personalized affair, and he provides clinical evidence that even bizarre types of religiosity can be converted into constructive channels when such an intense religious experience is successfully related to unmet psychological needs.
Lloyd (1973) states categorically that religion is a coping device and can be regarded as normal or symptomatic. In the latter situation the individual 's normal devices fail or their integration is threatened and the change is usually towards the more enthusiastic, irrational, fundamental and emotive sects where the psychotic patient may well be supported, protected and hidden from society. However, he fails to explain how he has reached this conclusion.
The principal problem seems to be to decide whether extreme religiosity such as is seen in the so-called 'neurotic sects' (Northridge, 1968) is a symptom of an overt psychiatric disorder, or whether it is a complex defense mechanism against an underlying disorder.
The Jehovah's Witnesses sect was started by Charles Tage Russell in 1872. He proved to be a man of doubtful integrity, but the movement has spread around the world. It is not necessary for the purpose of this paper to describe the organization's structure, but its members ardently believe that the world as we know it is shortly to cease and that only those few who have rigorously obeyed their creed will gain eternal salvation with Jehovah. Each Witness believes it is his personal duty and responsibility to bring these facts to the notice of everyone he comes in contact with, and to make an attempt to save them from eternal earthly existence.
Their principles and ideas are inferred from what conventional Christians would regard as an arbitrary selection of texts from the Bible. Some of these selections are so oblique and tangential that they seem best understood as misinterpretations or even false ideas of reference.
The sect does not appear to place much emphasis on sex or guilt, and it denies the existence of Hell. If this belief system has a psychiatric parallel, Northcott's adjective 'neurotic' is inaccurate and the terms 'psychotic' or 'paranoid' would appear to be more appropriate. It seemed of interest to investigate and attempt to clarify some of these hypotheses by a study of psychiatric disorder among members of this - or of any other - extreme religious sect.
During the period of 36 months from January 1971 to December 1973 there were 7,546 inpatient admissions to the West Australian Mental Health Service Psychiatric Hospitals. Of these 50 were reported to be active members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement. It was not known what proportion of these were respectively converts or second generation members.
The number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Western Australia was stated by their official agency, Kingdom Hall, to be approximately 4,000. The total population of Western Australia on 1 January 1973 was 1,068,469, the majority (750,000) living in the greater Metropolitan area of Perth City. As in most Australian cities, the population consists principally of native-born Australians and of a large group of immigrants, mainly from Europe, but with minorities from other areas also. Western Australia also has approximately 20,000 Aborigines.
Of the 50 admitted 22 were diagnosed as schizophrenic, 17 as paranoid schizophrenic, to as neurotic and one as alcoholic.
Table I
Admissions for schizophrenia 1973
Annual
Annual
Total
rate per
Jehovah's
rate per
admission
1,000
Witnesses
1,000
population
admissions
population
All diagnosis
7,546
2.54
50
4.17
Schizophrenia
(295)
1,826
.61
22
1.83
Paranoid
Schizophrenia
(195.3)
1,154
.38
17
1.4
Neurosis (300)
1,182
.39
10
.76
Discussion
From the figures gathered in the Table it is clear that members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement are over-represented in admissions to the Mental Health Services of this State. Furthermore, it is clear from the Table that the incidence of schizophrenia amongst them is about three times as high as for the rest of the general population. (These figures are all statistically significant at the .001 level by x2 test.)
A further finding that has come to light is that the admission rate for paranoid schizophrenia appears to be higher in Western Australia than in a comparable English area (Plymouth, 1972). This finding has been noted before in areas where there has been
Table II
Comparative admissions for schizophrenia 1973
Admissions for schizophrenia and paranoid
schizophrenia as a percentage
of all admissions for 1973
Western Australia
Plymouth (England)
(n = 2,635)
(n = 1,246)
Schizophrenia
675 (25%)
249 (20%)
Paranoid schizophrenia
448 (17%)
84 (6.7%)
immigration from different cultures Kraus (1969). The mechanism underlying this finding are presumably of a complex psychosocial nature and need not be discussed here. However, they are of some interest as in the English area there is also a lower reported following of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement.
If it is argued correctly that the function of religion is preservation of the ego and the silencing of anxiety, and that conventional religiosity is an expression of a healthy psyche, then extreme religious views may represent a form of expression of a psychotic disorder.
As mentioned earlier, the experience of guilt in religious behavior other than in sudden conversion has not been studied to the knowledge of the writer and could also be a subject for further investigation.
Also illuminating would be comparison of the data for converted Jehovah's Witnesses with those for subjects who have derived their faith from their parents. The study does not shed light on the question of symptom or defense mechanism, but suggests that either the Jehovah's Witnesses sect tends to attract an excess of pre-psychotic individuals who may then break down, or else being a Jehovah's Witness is itself a stress which may precipitate a psychosis. Possibly both of these factors may operate together.
Karl Marx once remarked that religion was the opiate of the people. Is it possible that the schizophrenic, with his thoughts in a turmoil and plagued with doubts about his identity and ideas of reference, is able to gain the support of a non-pharmacological tranquilizer from membership of a sect such as Jehovah's Witnesses? If so, mental health workers and religious leaders should perhaps take a fresh look at the structure and function of these and other related groups.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to express his thanks to Dr. John Gilroy, of Moorhaven Hospital, Plymouth, for his advice and to Mrs. Sheila Lawry of the same hospital for assisting with the collection of figures. I am also grateful to Professor Alan German of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Australia, for his constructive criticism of the text.
References
BOLSON, A. (1952) Exploration of the Inner World, New York: Hauber.
CLARK, E.T. (1929) The Psychology of Religious Awakening. New York: Macmillan.
FENICHEL, O. (1946) The Psychoanalytical Theory of Neurosis. London Routledge and Kegan Paul.
FROMM, E. (1960) Psychoanalysis and Religion. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston,
Inc.
GRAFF, R.W. & LADD, C.E. (1970) POI Correlates of a Religious Commitment
Inventory. Southern Illinois University Press.
JUNO, C.G. (1933) Modern Man in Search of a Soul. New York: Harcourt and Brace &
Co.
KRAUS, J. (1969) Some social factors and rates of psychiatric hospital admissions of
immigrants in New South Wales. Medical Journal of Australia, ii. 17.
LANE, M. (1968) Journal of Social Psychology, 75, 261-8.
LLOYD, J.H. (1973) Religion and insanity. Australian and New Zealand Journal of
Psychiatry. 7, 193.
NORTHRIDGE (1968) Psychiatry in Pastoral Practice.
PLYMOUTH (1972) Moorhaven Hospital Diagnostic Index. Personal communication.
ROBERTS, F.J. (1965) British Journal of Social Psychology. 4, 185-7.
SARGANT, W. (1957) Battle for the Mind. London: Heinemann (reprinted in Pan Books
1970).
WEST AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT, Department of Statistics, Perty (1973)
Also of relevance:
ALLPORT, G.W. & MACMILLAN (1959) The Individual and his Religion.
HAEKEMA, A.A. (1963) The Four Major Cults.
John Spencer, M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C. Psych., Consultant Psychiatrist, Heathcote Hospital, Applecross 6153, Western Australia.
(Received to June 1974)
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witnesses: A growing phenomenon
Times of Zambia, September 21, 1999
Lusaka (Times of Zambia, September 21, 1999) - There's a loud knock at the front door in one of Lusaka's residential areas. A man opens the door slowly as he waits for an immaculately dressed man carrying a briefcase and brochures to state his business. The smiling young man introduces himself as one of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Before his introduction is over the owner of the house retorts, "I am not interested. I also have my own religion so please leave me alone," as he bangs the door.
This scene is typical of the reception that normally greets many Jehovah's Witnesses as they preach. They are viewed by many as a controversial, argumentative lot and as such are often given a cold shoulder by society in general.
Jehovah's Witnesses have endured rebuke in homes, places of work and learning institutions. According to recorded history, they are one single group of people that has experienced persecution because of their religious beliefs.
Thousands upon thousands have lost their lives on account of being associated with the organisation. Historian Johns Conway of a Canadian university observed that in the Adolf Hitler days, of the millions who died in the Nazi holocaust, some were Jehovah's Witnesses. In some countries, their activities had been banished for several years, their activities declared criminal and illegal by any means. Malawi, Russia, Poland, Nazi Germany were such countries whereas in the US some eight senior members of the organisation had to be rescued from jail by a supreme court order. However, despite all this opposition, invigorated by other more powerful religious organisations, the Jehovah's Witnesses have grown. They have been to about every home and no one can say they have not met one or been approached by a witness.
Who are these people? What makes them so unique or stand out from other religious organisations? According to one of their publications Jehovah's Witnesses are a world wide association of brothers and sisters united in love and actively bear witness regarding (their) true God, Jehovah, and His purposes regarding mankind. Its history is traced back to Pennsylvania US in the 1870s when Charles Taze Russell gave up business and founded the modern day Jehovah's Witnesses religious organisation that has remarkably grown over the years. They are neither a sect (break away from another established religion or off-set of some other church), nor are they a cult (a religion said to be unorthodox).
The stand for what is orthodox or doctrinal, according to them, is purely, that which is based on the Bible. At first they were known as Bible students, with the founder Russell elected its first president and succeeded at his death by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, but in 1931 adopted the scriptural name Jehovah's Witnesses, as they are known today. They operate under the legal name of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS), incorporated as a non-profit making corporation in 1884 with its world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, with branch offices established in many parts of the world.
Presently, it is estimated that there are six million members of Jehovah's Witnesses in 210 places and islands of the world, with Zambia reported to have over 300, 000. The number is increasing as the dedicated witnesses zealously carry round-the-clock preaching work, their main commission as "servants" of God.
They do vigorous preaching work through door-to-door visitations on the streets, at places of work, schools and markets using the Bible and Bible-based publications, mainly The Watchtower and Awake magazines including booklets produced by the Society. In recent years, a publication called Knowledge that leads to everlasting life has become the most widely-used material. Many who have read this booklet have come to admit that it is the proper synopsis of the Bible and personality of its author, God our Creator.
The WBTS operates systematically. It has a governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses (with headquarters in New York) with 10 Christians. At local or branch level, experienced and mature men are designated as elders or overseers. These with assistance of faithful men known as ministerial servants, supervise their various congregations and look after their spiritual needs, on purely voluntary basis.
The congregations have regular meetings - three times a week apart from the main Sunday meeting at a local Kingdom hall as their meeting structures are called. Once a year, three to four-day conventions, called district conventions, are arranged in each country, where thousands of people from all walks of life, some of them families, gather at one place and enjoy a spiritual banquets for their faith strengthening. Because of the magnitude of their activity - making the kingdom message available to an even greater number of people - the society has had to do its own printing work using volunteer workers, to ensure constant production of Bible literature at the lowest cost, using modern state-of-the-art technology.
The Society has also had to establish intensive training programmes for those wanting to be full-time ministers. These programmes are done at places called Bethel homes. Zambia's Bethel home and society branch office is located in Makeni in Lusaka.
Why are Jehovah's Witnesses considered controversial? They do not believe in the Trinity which is defined as the central doctrine of many other religious groupings where it is believed that there are three divine persons - the father, Son and the Holy Spirit - each said to be eternal, mighty, none greater or less than the other, yet being put as one. Arguments have been advanced both for and against, to support reasoning behind, and it has continued to show one major difference with the rest of the religious organisations.
The witnesses have however, apart from several Bible verses, also relied on some authorities that have been issued at various fora. For instance, the Encyclopedia Brittanica says: "Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Old Testament where it says "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. . . (Deuteronomy 6:4) - see 1976 Micropedia Vol X page 126. The New Catholic Encyclopedia also states: "The formulation 'one God' in three persons was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith.
Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective" - (1967) Vol.XIV, page 299. The Encyclopaedia Americana, in its 1956 Vol. XXVII production on page 294L, further says, " Fourth century Trinitarian did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God, it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching." Another controversial issue is on blood transfusions. Several times Jehovah's Witnesses have been called murderers, even taken to court for refusing their children to have a blood transfusion when faced with a health crisis, but have been resolute in their stand to "abstain" from blood, for doing otherwise would violate God's law.
To show how serious their stand is on the matter, adult dedicated witnesses move with cards in their pockets and handbags so that even in case of an emergency there is no blood transfused. "If it means dying because of lack of blood, better that than violate God's laws", they say! However, recent scientific developments have made surgeons adhere to the witnesses' wishes, as it has been proved that "all types of surgery can be performed successfully without blood transfusions".
This includes, according to one medical journal in New York, brain surgery, amputation of limbs, and total removal of cancerous organs. Jehovah's Witnesses, in line with the Bible principles they believe in, do not participate in what they call worldly issues like gambling, smoking, spiritism, faith-healing, drugs at cetera and are choosy on entertainment - immoral and violent films.
They are against their Bible-trained consciences, as much as abortions, object or image veneration. As much as possible, Jehovah's Witnesses avoid the snares of materialism, especially to the point where spiritual matters would suffer negation.
This can be either in secular employment or self-employment. They do not participate in all political activities neither do they take sides with or give support to either of two or more contending parties. They do not interfere with what others do in matters like joining a political party as seen in their neutrality in all wars of the world. They do not, as much as possible, allow themselves to be overwhelmed or weighed down by problems of the world like economic difficulties, increasing crime et cetera.
They do not actually believe in dealing with problems of the world in a worldly way! Some of their identical marks are zeal and diligence in their ministry, determination to advertise the kingdom of (their) God, discipline and strong faith. They are a peaceful people and endeavour to be humble at all times no matter what opposition or persecution they face. A witness during the Nazi days was humiliated by being made to stand naked in front of 12 men who ended up raping her! That was not the end; she was sentenced to several years imprisonment because of her unwavering beauty! Today, still alive but old and free, she is more vigorous in her preaching work and does not harbour hard feelings for that experience.
She even managed to convert one of her rapists, he became a witness! Over the years, more and more people have begun to accept Jehovah's Witnesses and respect their choice of worship. There's calm and harmony where initially there was acrimony. Marriages that were on the verge of collapse have stabilised, with some spouses even won over.
Prejudices are now rare, as more speak well of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Jehovah's Witnesses are more or less to be admired." says Seher Grubler, Enthusiasten (Visionaries, Ponderers, Enthusiasts) of 1982, a German book. Though somewhat critical of the witnesses, the book admits: "In general, they live blameless, middle-class lives. They are diligent and conscientious in their work, are quiet citizens and honest tax payers.
"Their discipline is praise worthy. Their self-sacrificing spirit is one par with any religious group; as regards the ministry they top others", says the book.
Recently in Spain, the mayor of a seaport city presented a plaque to the local Jehovah's Witnesses in "appreciation for their collaboration and efforts on behalf of the city for the well-being of the citizenry". When all else is considered, the Jehovah's Witnesses are indeed a growing phenomenon world wide. As one Catholic nun in Italy said of them, "wherever they are, the Jehovah's Witnesses reveal signatures of humility, sound-mind, kindness, peace and integrity as regards the word of God".
Are you still going to slam your door in the face of a Jehovah's Witness?
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witnesses: A growing phenomenon
Times of Zambia, September 21, 1999
Lusaka (Times of Zambia, September 21, 1999) - There's a loud knock at the front door in one of Lusaka's residential areas. A man opens the door slowly as he waits for an immaculately dressed man carrying a briefcase and brochures to state his business. The smiling young man introduces himself as one of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Before his introduction is over the owner of the house retorts, "I am not interested. I also have my own religion so please leave me alone," as he bangs the door.
This scene is typical of the reception that normally greets many Jehovah's Witnesses as they preach. They are viewed by many as a controversial, argumentative lot and as such are often given a cold shoulder by society in general.
Jehovah's Witnesses have endured rebuke in homes, places of work and learning institutions. According to recorded history, they are one single group of people that has experienced persecution because of their religious beliefs.
Thousands upon thousands have lost their lives on account of being associated with the organisation. Historian Johns Conway of a Canadian university observed that in the Adolf Hitler days, of the millions who died in the Nazi holocaust, some were Jehovah's Witnesses. In some countries, their activities had been banished for several years, their activities declared criminal and illegal by any means. Malawi, Russia, Poland, Nazi Germany were such countries whereas in the US some eight senior members of the organisation had to be rescued from jail by a supreme court order. However, despite all this opposition, invigorated by other more powerful religious organisations, the Jehovah's Witnesses have grown. They have been to about every home and no one can say they have not met one or been approached by a witness.
Who are these people? What makes them so unique or stand out from other religious organisations? According to one of their publications Jehovah's Witnesses are a world wide association of brothers and sisters united in love and actively bear witness regarding (their) true God, Jehovah, and His purposes regarding mankind. Its history is traced back to Pennsylvania US in the 1870s when Charles Taze Russell gave up business and founded the modern day Jehovah's Witnesses religious organisation that has remarkably grown over the years. They are neither a sect (break away from another established religion or off-set of some other church), nor are they a cult (a religion said to be unorthodox).
The stand for what is orthodox or doctrinal, according to them, is purely, that which is based on the Bible. At first they were known as Bible students, with the founder Russell elected its first president and succeeded at his death by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, but in 1931 adopted the scriptural name Jehovah's Witnesses, as they are known today. They operate under the legal name of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS), incorporated as a non-profit making corporation in 1884 with its world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, with branch offices established in many parts of the world.
Presently, it is estimated that there are six million members of Jehovah's Witnesses in 210 places and islands of the world, with Zambia reported to have over 300, 000. The number is increasing as the dedicated witnesses zealously carry round-the-clock preaching work, their main commission as "servants" of God.
They do vigorous preaching work through door-to-door visitations on the streets, at places of work, schools and markets using the Bible and Bible-based publications, mainly The Watchtower and Awake magazines including booklets produced by the Society. In recent years, a publication called Knowledge that leads to everlasting life has become the most widely-used material. Many who have read this booklet have come to admit that it is the proper synopsis of the Bible and personality of its author, God our Creator.
The WBTS operates systematically. It has a governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses (with headquarters in New York) with 10 Christians. At local or branch level, experienced and mature men are designated as elders or overseers. These with assistance of faithful men known as ministerial servants, supervise their various congregations and look after their spiritual needs, on purely voluntary basis.
The congregations have regular meetings - three times a week apart from the main Sunday meeting at a local Kingdom hall as their meeting structures are called. Once a year, three to four-day conventions, called district conventions, are arranged in each country, where thousands of people from all walks of life, some of them families, gather at one place and enjoy a spiritual banquets for their faith strengthening. Because of the magnitude of their activity - making the kingdom message available to an even greater number of people - the society has had to do its own printing work using volunteer workers, to ensure constant production of Bible literature at the lowest cost, using modern state-of-the-art technology.
The Society has also had to establish intensive training programmes for those wanting to be full-time ministers. These programmes are done at places called Bethel homes. Zambia's Bethel home and society branch office is located in Makeni in Lusaka.
Why are Jehovah's Witnesses considered controversial? They do not believe in the Trinity which is defined as the central doctrine of many other religious groupings where it is believed that there are three divine persons - the father, Son and the Holy Spirit - each said to be eternal, mighty, none greater or less than the other, yet being put as one. Arguments have been advanced both for and against, to support reasoning behind, and it has continued to show one major difference with the rest of the religious organisations.
The witnesses have however, apart from several Bible verses, also relied on some authorities that have been issued at various fora. For instance, the Encyclopedia Brittanica says: "Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Old Testament where it says "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. . . (Deuteronomy 6:4) - see 1976 Micropedia Vol X page 126. The New Catholic Encyclopedia also states: "The formulation 'one God' in three persons was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith.
Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective" - (1967) Vol.XIV, page 299. The Encyclopaedia Americana, in its 1956 Vol. XXVII production on page 294L, further says, " Fourth century Trinitarian did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God, it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching." Another controversial issue is on blood transfusions. Several times Jehovah's Witnesses have been called murderers, even taken to court for refusing their children to have a blood transfusion when faced with a health crisis, but have been resolute in their stand to "abstain" from blood, for doing otherwise would violate God's law.
To show how serious their stand is on the matter, adult dedicated witnesses move with cards in their pockets and handbags so that even in case of an emergency there is no blood transfused. "If it means dying because of lack of blood, better that than violate God's laws", they say! However, recent scientific developments have made surgeons adhere to the witnesses' wishes, as it has been proved that "all types of surgery can be performed successfully without blood transfusions".
This includes, according to one medical journal in New York, brain surgery, amputation of limbs, and total removal of cancerous organs. Jehovah's Witnesses, in line with the Bible principles they believe in, do not participate in what they call worldly issues like gambling, smoking, spiritism, faith-healing, drugs at cetera and are choosy on entertainment - immoral and violent films.
They are against their Bible-trained consciences, as much as abortions, object or image veneration. As much as possible, Jehovah's Witnesses avoid the snares of materialism, especially to the point where spiritual matters would suffer negation.
This can be either in secular employment or self-employment. They do not participate in all political activities neither do they take sides with or give support to either of two or more contending parties. They do not interfere with what others do in matters like joining a political party as seen in their neutrality in all wars of the world. They do not, as much as possible, allow themselves to be overwhelmed or weighed down by problems of the world like economic difficulties, increasing crime et cetera.
They do not actually believe in dealing with problems of the world in a worldly way! Some of their identical marks are zeal and diligence in their ministry, determination to advertise the kingdom of (their) God, discipline and strong faith. They are a peaceful people and endeavour to be humble at all times no matter what opposition or persecution they face. A witness during the Nazi days was humiliated by being made to stand naked in front of 12 men who ended up raping her! That was not the end; she was sentenced to several years imprisonment because of her unwavering beauty! Today, still alive but old and free, she is more vigorous in her preaching work and does not harbour hard feelings for that experience.
She even managed to convert one of her rapists, he became a witness! Over the years, more and more people have begun to accept Jehovah's Witnesses and respect their choice of worship. There's calm and harmony where initially there was acrimony. Marriages that were on the verge of collapse have stabilised, with some spouses even won over.
Prejudices are now rare, as more speak well of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Jehovah's Witnesses are more or less to be admired." says Seher Grubler, Enthusiasten (Visionaries, Ponderers, Enthusiasts) of 1982, a German book. Though somewhat critical of the witnesses, the book admits: "In general, they live blameless, middle-class lives. They are diligent and conscientious in their work, are quiet citizens and honest tax payers.
"Their discipline is praise worthy. Their self-sacrificing spirit is one par with any religious group; as regards the ministry they top others", says the book.
Recently in Spain, the mayor of a seaport city presented a plaque to the local Jehovah's Witnesses in "appreciation for their collaboration and efforts on behalf of the city for the well-being of the citizenry". When all else is considered, the Jehovah's Witnesses are indeed a growing phenomenon world wide. As one Catholic nun in Italy said of them, "wherever they are, the Jehovah's Witnesses reveal signatures of humility, sound-mind, kindness, peace and integrity as regards the word of God".
Are you still going to slam your door in the face of a Jehovah's Witness?
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Cap Convention With Baptism
Omaha World-Herald, July 9, 2000
About 7,650 Jehovah's Witnesses from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota met in Lincoln on Saturday for the second day of their three-day district convention. Saturday's agenda at the Bob Devaney Sports Center included the usual Bible studies, symposiums, talks and singing. It was distinguished by the baptism of 75 people.
Baptism is a big step.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the act of baptism ordains the believer as a minister of God. In being baptized, the believer pledges to live according to the teachings of the Bible and to minister to family, friends and the public by preaching under the direction of the local congregation.
The newly baptized thus become, as the convention's theme said, "Doers of God's Word."
Daniel Cukar of Norfolk reminded the candidates in a speech beforehand that baptism, like a wedding, is a first step.
"Baptism is only the beginning of dedicated sacred service, not the final goal," said Cukar, circuit supervisor for northeast Nebraska.
The baptisms took place in the Devaney Center's swimming pool. Family members and friends looked on from the bleachers.
Most of the candidates entered the water by twos. They were gently dunked by five male elders.
The baptism of Jon Bower of Columbus, however, was more complicated. Bower, 40, severed his spinal cord in a stock car accident 14 years ago. It took the elders several minutes to maneuver Bower's wheelchair into the water, float him free of it and submerge him.
Back in his wheelchair and up on the deck, the dripping Bower was a happy man.
"It's wonderful," he said of his baptism.
Arunies Williams Jr., 18, of Omaha also wore a big smile.
"This is the most important thing in my life," he said. "It's not easy, but it's right to do. It's the best way to live. It's the only option for me." The meeting of the Lincoln District, which began Friday and ends today, is the second-largest religious gathering in the state this year.
Only the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln's June 11 confirmation of 1,185 youngsters at Pershing Auditorium was larger.
The Lincoln District meeting is one of 181 district conventions that will be held in 63 U.S. cities from May through September.
The denomination says it has 5.9million members in 234 countries. More than 1 million members are in the United States. Its 89,900 congregations work under the direction of a central governing body in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Unlike members of other denominations, Witnesses do not conduct business at their conventions.
Instead, they attend symposiums and Bible studies, worship together and renew friendships.
Conventions are family affairs. Lonzo Harbour, 12, of Omaha, was one of scores of children in attendance Saturday.
The convention also drew Andrei Zorine, 21, a college student from Siberia who is working at an Easter Seals camp in Des Moines this summer.
Zorine is an example of the denomination's worldwide reach.
Russia already has more than 100,000 Witnesses, he said. The ranks there continue to grow "because we talk to people," Zorine said.
As denominations go, Jehovah's Witnesses are relatively young at 128 years. Like another fast-growing group, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it originated in the United States.
The Witnesses are widely known for their proselytizing and their refusal of blood transfusions, which is based on Bible verses that prohibit the consumption of blood.
They regard civil government as necessary but refuse to bear arms, salute the flag or celebrate holidays believed to have non-Christian origins.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witnesses Cap Convention With Baptism
Omaha World-Herald, July 9, 2000
About 7,650 Jehovah's Witnesses from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota met in Lincoln on Saturday for the second day of their three-day district convention. Saturday's agenda at the Bob Devaney Sports Center included the usual Bible studies, symposiums, talks and singing. It was distinguished by the baptism of 75 people.
Baptism is a big step.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the act of baptism ordains the believer as a minister of God. In being baptized, the believer pledges to live according to the teachings of the Bible and to minister to family, friends and the public by preaching under the direction of the local congregation.
The newly baptized thus become, as the convention's theme said, "Doers of God's Word."
Daniel Cukar of Norfolk reminded the candidates in a speech beforehand that baptism, like a wedding, is a first step.
"Baptism is only the beginning of dedicated sacred service, not the final goal," said Cukar, circuit supervisor for northeast Nebraska.
The baptisms took place in the Devaney Center's swimming pool. Family members and friends looked on from the bleachers.
Most of the candidates entered the water by twos. They were gently dunked by five male elders.
The baptism of Jon Bower of Columbus, however, was more complicated. Bower, 40, severed his spinal cord in a stock car accident 14 years ago. It took the elders several minutes to maneuver Bower's wheelchair into the water, float him free of it and submerge him.
Back in his wheelchair and up on the deck, the dripping Bower was a happy man.
"It's wonderful," he said of his baptism.
Arunies Williams Jr., 18, of Omaha also wore a big smile.
"This is the most important thing in my life," he said. "It's not easy, but it's right to do. It's the best way to live. It's the only option for me." The meeting of the Lincoln District, which began Friday and ends today, is the second-largest religious gathering in the state this year.
Only the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln's June 11 confirmation of 1,185 youngsters at Pershing Auditorium was larger.
The Lincoln District meeting is one of 181 district conventions that will be held in 63 U.S. cities from May through September.
The denomination says it has 5.9million members in 234 countries. More than 1 million members are in the United States. Its 89,900 congregations work under the direction of a central governing body in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Unlike members of other denominations, Witnesses do not conduct business at their conventions.
Instead, they attend symposiums and Bible studies, worship together and renew friendships.
Conventions are family affairs. Lonzo Harbour, 12, of Omaha, was one of scores of children in attendance Saturday.
The convention also drew Andrei Zorine, 21, a college student from Siberia who is working at an Easter Seals camp in Des Moines this summer.
Zorine is an example of the denomination's worldwide reach.
Russia already has more than 100,000 Witnesses, he said. The ranks there continue to grow "because we talk to people," Zorine said.
As denominations go, Jehovah's Witnesses are relatively young at 128 years. Like another fast-growing group, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it originated in the United States.
The Witnesses are widely known for their proselytizing and their refusal of blood transfusions, which is based on Bible verses that prohibit the consumption of blood.
They regard civil government as necessary but refuse to bear arms, salute the flag or celebrate holidays believed to have non-Christian origins.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Preaching "the good news" - door to door to door
Philadelphia Inquirer / August 4, 2000
By David O'Reilly
Jehovah's Witnesses: A century of knocks, a lifetime of certainty The doorbell lets go a zin-n-n-g outside a brick twin on Cedarbrook's Sydney Street. Footsteps thump inside, and a woman's friendly voice sings out, "Hell-ohhh-oh, who is it?" from an upstairs window.
"It's Michelle Kellum," a young woman on the front steps says."What do you want?" the unseen homeowner asks."We're with Jehovah's Witnesses," Kellum, 33, calls out. "Can we speak with you?""This is not a good time," the resident says, hesitating."We'll leave some information for you," Charles Duncan replies, tucking a copy of Awake! magazine and a "What Does God Require of Us?" pamphlet in the screen door.
It is said every front door in America has been knocked on by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a worldwide denomination of nearly six million clannish, Bible-quoting fundamentalists who believe they know the truth of God's - Jehovah's - plan for mankind.
There are about one million Witnesses in the United States, and each one healthy and old enough to knock on doors is expected to "preach the good news" a few times a week.
Young Witnesses start in grammar school. And it's year-round, all-weather work. With so many Witnesses using vacation time to spread the word, summer is the season to expect a knock on the door.
"We believe there's one God, one faith, one baptism, not a multitude of different ways of reading the Bible," Bob Shaughnessy said as he worked the other side of Sydney Street on a rainy Friday morning.
"We go door to door because we are obedient [to the injunction in Matthew to] go forth and preach unto the nations," said the retired pharmaceutical worker, who converted from Roman Catholicism 20 years ago when a Witness knocked on his door.
Witnesses believe that Jehovah will soon raise the dead, condemn the wicked to annihilation, call His 144,000 anointed ones to heaven, and establish His everlasting kingdom on Earth for the righteous.
But the sight of these polite, neatly dressed men and women strolling up the path, the Watchtower in hand, has been known to make otherwise sensible people squirmy or rude and send them ducking for cover.
"Most people know who we are," Kellum, a science teacher at IMHOTEP Charter High School, says as the group continues along the 1200 block of Sydney.
On this day, they are having a hard time getting past the door."I'm not interested," one woman calls out sternly.As a baby wails inside another house, a woman says, "I can't come to the door.""I'm a little busy," says a third, a white wireless phone pressed to her ear."Can we come back later?" Duncan asks."I'm just about to go out," the woman replies.
The Witnesses sometimes give their names before saying, "Jehovah's Witnesses," says Duncan, a Springfield Township school bus driver, "because people are sometimes a little more pliable if we can engage in conversation first."
On this day, they get answers at only about half of the 20 homes they visit.And no one invites them in.Witnesses average 740 random calls for each convert.
"It doesn't hurt our feelings when they say no," Kellum says. "We're here to give them an opportunity to learn the truth. When people are ready, they listen."
The truth is a favorite term of the Witnesses, who believe that only those who share their understanding of the Bible have a chance of receiving everlasting life.
The Witnesses began in the 1870s when Curtis T. Russell, a young Pittsburgh Presbyterian disturbed by the thought that a loving God would create hell, started his own reading of Scripture.
Based on several biblical and extra-biblical calculations - including measurements of the Great Pyramid - Russell concluded that Christ had returned to Earth in 1874 in nonbodily form.
Russell also declared that in 1914 - a number found in Revelation 14:1 - Jehovah would overthrow man's rule on Earth and call 144,000 chosen humans to share paradise with Him.
What separates Russell's teachings from mainstream Christianity is his conclusion that Jehovah, the God of the Bible, is not a trinity. Jesus is Jehovah's unique son and messenger, Russell said, but not divine, and the Holy Spirit is not a person but Jehovah's "active force."
Russell also taught that humans have no eternal soul and that there is no hell. All bodies will be resurrected at Armageddon, he said, but Jehovah will simply annihilate those He does not call to paradise.
Calling themselves the Dawn Bible Students' Society, Russell and several companions began to preach and, in 1879, began publishing a pamphlet called Zion's Watch Tower, the precursor of the Watchtower magazine. The organization moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1909.
In 1914, Russell reset the date for Armageddon to 1915. Later, he said it would come in 1918. After he died in 1916, his successor, Joseph Rutherford, declared that Christ's reign had indeed begun in 1914 but was not yet visibly manifest.
In 1923, Rutherford and the Governing Body in Brooklyn expanded their understanding of who would be saved to include the millions who abide by Jehovah's teachings, as understood by the Witnesses: that after Armageddon, they will live in God's peaceful kingdom, ruled over by Jehovah, Jesus and the 144,000.
The denomination changed its name to Jehovah's Witness in 1931 and no longer predicts a date for Armageddon, saying only that these are "the last days."
Living fully as a Witness can be a challenge. Witnesses are strictly traditional on sexual morality, do not celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter or national holidays, and have only recently eased their ban on attending college or participating in school sports.
Witnesses do not participate in politics, do not vote, do not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and do not serve in the military - beliefs for which they have fought and won landmark First Amendment battles in the Supreme Court.
And Witnesses read Paul's admonition, in Acts 21:25, to "abstain . . . from blood" to include a ban on transfusions - even if death seems certain. (The infusion of synthetic blood products and certain blood derivatives is now permitted.)
Committing to being a Witness is, in fact, so life-changing that if someone answering the knock on the door were to cry, "Sign me up," the answer would be a polite no. The Witnesses spend months guiding a prospect through studies before the subject of baptism even arises.
"To become a Jehovah's Witness, one has to become a Bible student," said James Bush, city overseer to Philadelphia's 91 congregations and an elder in the Erlin Congregation, based in the 6700 block of Ogontz Avenue.
Because the Witnesses so vigorously assert that they alone will be saved, socialize mostly among themselves, and expel and shun members who consistently violate church teachings, the group has been described as a cult.
"They tell you how to dress, how to walk, who you talk to, what you can read," said Randy Watters, 48, of Los Angeles, a former congregational elder and former employee of the Watchtower publishing house in Brooklyn. "They make you report violations by any other Witness. And they can be very abusive of anyone who challenges them."
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Preaching "the good news" - door to door to door
Philadelphia Inquirer / August 4, 2000
By David O'Reilly
Jehovah's Witnesses: A century of knocks, a lifetime of certainty The doorbell lets go a zin-n-n-g outside a brick twin on Cedarbrook's Sydney Street. Footsteps thump inside, and a woman's friendly voice sings out, "Hell-ohhh-oh, who is it?" from an upstairs window.
"It's Michelle Kellum," a young woman on the front steps says."What do you want?" the unseen homeowner asks."We're with Jehovah's Witnesses," Kellum, 33, calls out. "Can we speak with you?""This is not a good time," the resident says, hesitating."We'll leave some information for you," Charles Duncan replies, tucking a copy of Awake! magazine and a "What Does God Require of Us?" pamphlet in the screen door.
It is said every front door in America has been knocked on by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a worldwide denomination of nearly six million clannish, Bible-quoting fundamentalists who believe they know the truth of God's - Jehovah's - plan for mankind.
There are about one million Witnesses in the United States, and each one healthy and old enough to knock on doors is expected to "preach the good news" a few times a week.
Young Witnesses start in grammar school. And it's year-round, all-weather work. With so many Witnesses using vacation time to spread the word, summer is the season to expect a knock on the door.
"We believe there's one God, one faith, one baptism, not a multitude of different ways of reading the Bible," Bob Shaughnessy said as he worked the other side of Sydney Street on a rainy Friday morning.
"We go door to door because we are obedient [to the injunction in Matthew to] go forth and preach unto the nations," said the retired pharmaceutical worker, who converted from Roman Catholicism 20 years ago when a Witness knocked on his door.
Witnesses believe that Jehovah will soon raise the dead, condemn the wicked to annihilation, call His 144,000 anointed ones to heaven, and establish His everlasting kingdom on Earth for the righteous.
But the sight of these polite, neatly dressed men and women strolling up the path, the Watchtower in hand, has been known to make otherwise sensible people squirmy or rude and send them ducking for cover.
"Most people know who we are," Kellum, a science teacher at IMHOTEP Charter High School, says as the group continues along the 1200 block of Sydney.
On this day, they are having a hard time getting past the door."I'm not interested," one woman calls out sternly.As a baby wails inside another house, a woman says, "I can't come to the door.""I'm a little busy," says a third, a white wireless phone pressed to her ear."Can we come back later?" Duncan asks."I'm just about to go out," the woman replies.
The Witnesses sometimes give their names before saying, "Jehovah's Witnesses," says Duncan, a Springfield Township school bus driver, "because people are sometimes a little more pliable if we can engage in conversation first."
On this day, they get answers at only about half of the 20 homes they visit.And no one invites them in.Witnesses average 740 random calls for each convert.
"It doesn't hurt our feelings when they say no," Kellum says. "We're here to give them an opportunity to learn the truth. When people are ready, they listen."
The truth is a favorite term of the Witnesses, who believe that only those who share their understanding of the Bible have a chance of receiving everlasting life.
The Witnesses began in the 1870s when Curtis T. Russell, a young Pittsburgh Presbyterian disturbed by the thought that a loving God would create hell, started his own reading of Scripture.
Based on several biblical and extra-biblical calculations - including measurements of the Great Pyramid - Russell concluded that Christ had returned to Earth in 1874 in nonbodily form.
Russell also declared that in 1914 - a number found in Revelation 14:1 - Jehovah would overthrow man's rule on Earth and call 144,000 chosen humans to share paradise with Him.
What separates Russell's teachings from mainstream Christianity is his conclusion that Jehovah, the God of the Bible, is not a trinity. Jesus is Jehovah's unique son and messenger, Russell said, but not divine, and the Holy Spirit is not a person but Jehovah's "active force."
Russell also taught that humans have no eternal soul and that there is no hell. All bodies will be resurrected at Armageddon, he said, but Jehovah will simply annihilate those He does not call to paradise.
Calling themselves the Dawn Bible Students' Society, Russell and several companions began to preach and, in 1879, began publishing a pamphlet called Zion's Watch Tower, the precursor of the Watchtower magazine. The organization moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1909.
In 1914, Russell reset the date for Armageddon to 1915. Later, he said it would come in 1918. After he died in 1916, his successor, Joseph Rutherford, declared that Christ's reign had indeed begun in 1914 but was not yet visibly manifest.
In 1923, Rutherford and the Governing Body in Brooklyn expanded their understanding of who would be saved to include the millions who abide by Jehovah's teachings, as understood by the Witnesses: that after Armageddon, they will live in God's peaceful kingdom, ruled over by Jehovah, Jesus and the 144,000.
The denomination changed its name to Jehovah's Witness in 1931 and no longer predicts a date for Armageddon, saying only that these are "the last days."
Living fully as a Witness can be a challenge. Witnesses are strictly traditional on sexual morality, do not celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter or national holidays, and have only recently eased their ban on attending college or participating in school sports.
Witnesses do not participate in politics, do not vote, do not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and do not serve in the military - beliefs for which they have fought and won landmark First Amendment battles in the Supreme Court.
And Witnesses read Paul's admonition, in Acts 21:25, to "abstain . . . from blood" to include a ban on transfusions - even if death seems certain. (The infusion of synthetic blood products and certain blood derivatives is now permitted.)
Committing to being a Witness is, in fact, so life-changing that if someone answering the knock on the door were to cry, "Sign me up," the answer would be a polite no. The Witnesses spend months guiding a prospect through studies before the subject of baptism even arises.
"To become a Jehovah's Witness, one has to become a Bible student," said James Bush, city overseer to Philadelphia's 91 congregations and an elder in the Erlin Congregation, based in the 6700 block of Ogontz Avenue.
Because the Witnesses so vigorously assert that they alone will be saved, socialize mostly among themselves, and expel and shun members who consistently violate church teachings, the group has been described as a cult.
"They tell you how to dress, how to walk, who you talk to, what you can read," said Randy Watters, 48, of Los Angeles, a former congregational elder and former employee of the Watchtower publishing house in Brooklyn. "They make you report violations by any other Witness. And they can be very abusive of anyone who challenges them."
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Believing Armageddon is imminent, Jehovah's Witnesses go on a mission
San Jose Mercury News/June 16, 2006
By Kim Vo
After a quick huddle, the Jehovah's Witnesses divvied up San Jose's leafy streets: That duo will take north Laurinda Drive, another will head south. Door-to-door they knock, smile, invite until the block was done. Then it was off to Leigh Avenue to do it again.
In an unprecedented campaign, Jehovah's Witnesses, renowned and sometimes shunned for their zealous evangelism, want to personally invite as many people as possible to their annual convention, and they're doing it in their signature style: by knocking on strangers' doors.
The Northern California push launches a series of conventions spreading across the United States this summer and then around the globe. Each three-day convention will spur Witnesses to knock on the door of every house, apartment, condo and hut in the region.
'The reason we're so concerned is the times we're living in. No one can deny the times are critical,' said Ray E. Vaden Sr., 74, an amiable man from San Jose who became a Witness 43 years ago, after someone came to his door. 'What we're interested in is getting the word out to our neighbors.'
It's a tall order. There are 70,000 to 90,000 Witnesses in Northern California determined to reach out to the 4.9 million households between Salinas and the Oregon border. Witnesses have just three weeks before each convention -- there are nine conventions in Northern California alone -- to invite everyone in their territory. To reach everyone in time, Witnesses have been making an extra push in neighborhoods -- working longer hours, walking longer distances and talking faster.
Witnesses, who claim 6.6 million members worldwide and growing, believe that Armageddon -- the final battle between good and evil -- is imminent, though they don't have an exact date. Believers say the event will lead to the destruction of wickedness and the Earth's restoration as a perfect Eden, where the faithful will flourish.
Hence, this year's invitation blitz. They want to give everyone a shot at salvation.
Instructed to evangelize
Every Jehovah's Witness is responsible for personally evangelizing -- heeding Jesus' instructions that his followers preach the Gospel. Their journal, The Watchtower, has found its way to millions of doorsteps. Witnesses regularly visit homes and businesses, offering publications in myriad languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Punjabi.
Witnesses believe that God's word is above all others', and the Bible is central to their faith, offering ultimate guidance on how to live. Witnesses draw a clear distinction between Christian concerns and secular ones. For instance, Witnesses don't celebrate any holidays, like Independence Day, and remain neutral on political matters, including voting.
The adherents relish long biblical discussions, whether it's in living rooms or doorways. If someone is interested, Witnesses will call again or invite them to Bible study. If no one answers the door, they'll typically try again later.
Consequently, it usually takes months to cover a territory.
Take Evangeline Flores, who tailors her talks to each house she approaches. If she spots toys on the lawn, she might chat with the homeowner about family life. If she sees a mezuzah -- the doorway emblem on Jewish homes -- she'll discuss peace. 'Despite the difference in religion,' the San Jose receptionist noted, 'we'd all like to see peace.'
But for this lightning campaign, Flores and her Hillsdale congregation have just three weeks to blanket the turf that runs from the ranch homes stacked side-by-side in San Jose to the cottages tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains down to Highway 17. To complete the task, Flores said, 'we're being a bit briefer.'
Doors stay closed
Not everyone appreciates their approach. People have threatened Witnesses and cursed at them. Recently, when one approached a house, a motion-sensitive recording announced that no solicitors were welcome. (Witnesses don't consider themselves solicitors.)
Often, people cut short friendly conversations when they realize they are talking with a Witness. Sometimes, no one answers the door, though Witnesses can hear them scurrying inside.
Nicholas Garrett, a Witness for 70 years, blames it on crime. 'It's a sign of the times,' said Garrett, a member of the Hillsdale Congregation. 'My wife wouldn't go to the door if I wasn't home.'
Alan Mobley, a member of the Edenvale Congregation in South San Jose, says society is uncomfortable discussing God.
'People have learned from their youth to not talk about religion,' he said. 'And here you are, an uninvited visitor, talking about a topic they've been taught not to discuss.'
Marion Balster explained why she turned down an invitation to the convention. 'I don't see any reason for it,' said Balster, who converted to Catholicism 50-plus years ago, 'because I have my own church to attend.'
Still, Vaden kept trying. For the convention campaign, he's stretched his days until 2:30 p.m. Typically, he works from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., hitting every doughnut shop and doorbell in a neighborhood.
'This is not easy work -- long days walking on the pavement,' Vaden said. 'And in summer, it's hot.'
Still, he wore a suit, a tie and tasseled loafers. Female Witnesses chose skirts and sensible sandals. It's important, they said, to look respectable when you're representing God. Besides, people are even less likely to open their door if you look shady.
On a recent morning, Vaden and a group of Witnesses fanned out near Leigh High School in San Jose. Consulting index cards depicting sections of the city, they split up the lushly landscaped streets and began knocking.
The first house had a barking dog, a stuffed animal lynched in the tree and no one home. At another house, women in pajamas told Vaden: 'We're Christians, actually.' Witnesses say they are, too, but Vaden simply wished them a good day and kept walking.
If someone wasn't home, Vaden left a flier depicting the peaceful kingdom to come under the doormat. Few were home in the morning, and even fewer were receptive.
His daughter-in-law Patricia Vaden and fellow Witness Evelyn Thomas, who split the streets with him, had more luck: People at about 10 houses spoke with them. Some apologized that they had weddings or graduations to attend so couldn't make it to the convention. No one said they would come.
Vaden was undaunted. The great-grandfather planned to take a break -- sciatic legs and a bad back required rest -- and head out again in the evening. There was still much to do, and time was short.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Believing Armageddon is imminent, Jehovah's Witnesses go on a mission
San Jose Mercury News/June 16, 2006
By Kim Vo
After a quick huddle, the Jehovah's Witnesses divvied up San Jose's leafy streets: That duo will take north Laurinda Drive, another will head south. Door-to-door they knock, smile, invite until the block was done. Then it was off to Leigh Avenue to do it again.
In an unprecedented campaign, Jehovah's Witnesses, renowned and sometimes shunned for their zealous evangelism, want to personally invite as many people as possible to their annual convention, and they're doing it in their signature style: by knocking on strangers' doors.
The Northern California push launches a series of conventions spreading across the United States this summer and then around the globe. Each three-day convention will spur Witnesses to knock on the door of every house, apartment, condo and hut in the region.
'The reason we're so concerned is the times we're living in. No one can deny the times are critical,' said Ray E. Vaden Sr., 74, an amiable man from San Jose who became a Witness 43 years ago, after someone came to his door. 'What we're interested in is getting the word out to our neighbors.'
It's a tall order. There are 70,000 to 90,000 Witnesses in Northern California determined to reach out to the 4.9 million households between Salinas and the Oregon border. Witnesses have just three weeks before each convention -- there are nine conventions in Northern California alone -- to invite everyone in their territory. To reach everyone in time, Witnesses have been making an extra push in neighborhoods -- working longer hours, walking longer distances and talking faster.
Witnesses, who claim 6.6 million members worldwide and growing, believe that Armageddon -- the final battle between good and evil -- is imminent, though they don't have an exact date. Believers say the event will lead to the destruction of wickedness and the Earth's restoration as a perfect Eden, where the faithful will flourish.
Hence, this year's invitation blitz. They want to give everyone a shot at salvation.
Instructed to evangelize
Every Jehovah's Witness is responsible for personally evangelizing -- heeding Jesus' instructions that his followers preach the Gospel. Their journal, The Watchtower, has found its way to millions of doorsteps. Witnesses regularly visit homes and businesses, offering publications in myriad languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Punjabi.
Witnesses believe that God's word is above all others', and the Bible is central to their faith, offering ultimate guidance on how to live. Witnesses draw a clear distinction between Christian concerns and secular ones. For instance, Witnesses don't celebrate any holidays, like Independence Day, and remain neutral on political matters, including voting.
The adherents relish long biblical discussions, whether it's in living rooms or doorways. If someone is interested, Witnesses will call again or invite them to Bible study. If no one answers the door, they'll typically try again later.
Consequently, it usually takes months to cover a territory.
Take Evangeline Flores, who tailors her talks to each house she approaches. If she spots toys on the lawn, she might chat with the homeowner about family life. If she sees a mezuzah -- the doorway emblem on Jewish homes -- she'll discuss peace. 'Despite the difference in religion,' the San Jose receptionist noted, 'we'd all like to see peace.'
But for this lightning campaign, Flores and her Hillsdale congregation have just three weeks to blanket the turf that runs from the ranch homes stacked side-by-side in San Jose to the cottages tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains down to Highway 17. To complete the task, Flores said, 'we're being a bit briefer.'
Doors stay closed
Not everyone appreciates their approach. People have threatened Witnesses and cursed at them. Recently, when one approached a house, a motion-sensitive recording announced that no solicitors were welcome. (Witnesses don't consider themselves solicitors.)
Often, people cut short friendly conversations when they realize they are talking with a Witness. Sometimes, no one answers the door, though Witnesses can hear them scurrying inside.
Nicholas Garrett, a Witness for 70 years, blames it on crime. 'It's a sign of the times,' said Garrett, a member of the Hillsdale Congregation. 'My wife wouldn't go to the door if I wasn't home.'
Alan Mobley, a member of the Edenvale Congregation in South San Jose, says society is uncomfortable discussing God.
'People have learned from their youth to not talk about religion,' he said. 'And here you are, an uninvited visitor, talking about a topic they've been taught not to discuss.'
Marion Balster explained why she turned down an invitation to the convention. 'I don't see any reason for it,' said Balster, who converted to Catholicism 50-plus years ago, 'because I have my own church to attend.'
Still, Vaden kept trying. For the convention campaign, he's stretched his days until 2:30 p.m. Typically, he works from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., hitting every doughnut shop and doorbell in a neighborhood.
'This is not easy work -- long days walking on the pavement,' Vaden said. 'And in summer, it's hot.'
Still, he wore a suit, a tie and tasseled loafers. Female Witnesses chose skirts and sensible sandals. It's important, they said, to look respectable when you're representing God. Besides, people are even less likely to open their door if you look shady.
On a recent morning, Vaden and a group of Witnesses fanned out near Leigh High School in San Jose. Consulting index cards depicting sections of the city, they split up the lushly landscaped streets and began knocking.
The first house had a barking dog, a stuffed animal lynched in the tree and no one home. At another house, women in pajamas told Vaden: 'We're Christians, actually.' Witnesses say they are, too, but Vaden simply wished them a good day and kept walking.
If someone wasn't home, Vaden left a flier depicting the peaceful kingdom to come under the doormat. Few were home in the morning, and even fewer were receptive.
His daughter-in-law Patricia Vaden and fellow Witness Evelyn Thomas, who split the streets with him, had more luck: People at about 10 houses spoke with them. Some apologized that they had weddings or graduations to attend so couldn't make it to the convention. No one said they would come.
Vaden was undaunted. The great-grandfather planned to take a break -- sciatic legs and a bad back required rest -- and head out again in the evening. There was still much to do, and time was short.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Who is at Your Door?
Jehovah's Witnesses are well known for their tracts and door-to-door preaching, but what exactly do they believe?
Sunday Vision, Uganda/February 17, 2007
By Moses Mulondo
Jehovah’s Witnesses are an international Christian denomination whose members believe that their faith is the restoration of 1st century Christianity. In areas where they are active, they are commonly known for their door-to-door preaching, their objection to blood transfusion and for not celebrating birthdays and most holidays.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, also known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York), was officially founded in 1884. They adopted the name of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931, under the leadership of Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916).
They reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell, and the end of the world.
Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Uganda and other parts of the world gathered for the first time in Nakivubo Stadium on January 20. The main speaker and preacher was Anthony Morris, who is on the committee of the global governing body of the Jehovah’s Witness group, based in New York, US.
Fred Nyende, one of Uganda’s overseers for Jehovah’s Witnesses, says the denomination was started in 1870 by Bible students in the US who had been disappointed by the existing religious groups. Another Ugandan overseer of Swedish origin, Urban Mattsson, says the major difference between them and other Christian denominations is on the issue of the Trinity. Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that the Trinity is satanic. They teach that the Trinity is a belief in three gods, and thereby, satan-inspired polytheism.
“Sincere persons who want to know the true God and serve him find it a bit difficult to love and worship a complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God. The clergy who teach such ideas will contradict themselves in the very next breath by stating that God made man in his own image; for certainly no one has ever seen a three-headed human creature.
“We don’t believe that Jesus is God. Rather, we believe he is the most outstanding of all creations,” Nyende explains.
They use Bible verses to support their view that Jesus is not God.
“If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17).
“The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3).
“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.”
(1 Corinthians 15:28).
Those who believe Jesus to be God also refer to the Bible. “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God.” (John 1:1). John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one”, while John 14:9 says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Reverend Elly Wasswa of Kiteezi Church of Uganda says, “The Bible clearly teaches that Christ is God.
The teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning Jesus Christ clearly contradict the teachings of the Bible. Passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 tell us that Jesus Christ, who existed as God, took the bodily form of a humble servant so that He could die on the cross in our place. “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (kurios), to the glory of God the Father.”
Wasswa says any religious group that denies that Jesus is God is not Christian and that it is a cult [sic]. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus’ second coming happened in 1914. They believe the first created son of God was known as Michael the Archangel. This angel was recreated as a perfect man on earth and named ‘Jesus’. This Jesus died on a torture stake (not a cross), so that men could work their way into God’s Kingdom.
Then angel Michael/Jesus turned his attention to the affairs of earth in 1914 by establishing an invisible heavenly kingdom. This is what is meant by “second coming”. He will never return visibly to the earth, but will rule through his “anointed” or “remnant” group of Jehovah’s Witnesses on earth.
According to Witness theology, a person has one of three possible destinies. The Anointed (144,000) will be in heaven to reign with Jehovah God. The rest of the faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses (not of the 144,000) will live forever on an earthly paradise. Both of these classifications are determined to a great extent on membership in the Watchtower organisation, as well as going door-to-door spreading the message of the Watchtower.
Those people who are not members of the Watchtower organisation will be destroyed by Jehovah God and cease to exist. There is no concept of eternal punishment or hell in Watchtower theology. They also believe that men will have a second chance, after death, to be saved.
They don’t have a clergy class and there are no titles like pastor, apostle, reverend, or bishop. They all call themselves brothers and sisters, with no one above the other in the hierarchy. In support of this position, Witnesses refer to these verses: “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.” Matthew 23:8-10.
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Matthew 20:25-27.
Mattsson says according to last year’s counting report, the active Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country have reached 43,000, with over 150 kingdom halls (churches). Globally, they now have 6.7 million believers.
A Witness will tell you that:
•Christ died on an upright stake (pole), not a cross
•Christ was raised from the dead as an immortal spirit person
•The earth will never be destroyed or depopulated
•Prayers are to be directed only to Jehovah through Christ
•Only Israel was meant to observe the Sabbath
•Satan is the invisible ruler of the world
•Heaven is limited only to 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses
•There is no Hell
•Salvation is by good works
•You cannot be sure of salvation
•All pastors are the Antichrist
•All churches and governments are of satan
•You cannot take a blood transfusion
•You cannot be a police officer or serve in the military
•You cannot salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, or own a flag
•Jesus’ second coming occurred in 1914
•You cannot run for political office or vote
•You are discouraged from giving to charity (except Watchtower causes)
•You cannot accept Christmas gifts
•Only Jehovah’s Witnesses can understand the Bible
•Angels direct the Watchtower organisation
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Who is at Your Door?
Jehovah's Witnesses are well known for their tracts and door-to-door preaching, but what exactly do they believe?
Sunday Vision, Uganda/February 17, 2007
By Moses Mulondo
Jehovah’s Witnesses are an international Christian denomination whose members believe that their faith is the restoration of 1st century Christianity. In areas where they are active, they are commonly known for their door-to-door preaching, their objection to blood transfusion and for not celebrating birthdays and most holidays.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, also known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York), was officially founded in 1884. They adopted the name of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931, under the leadership of Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916).
They reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell, and the end of the world.
Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Uganda and other parts of the world gathered for the first time in Nakivubo Stadium on January 20. The main speaker and preacher was Anthony Morris, who is on the committee of the global governing body of the Jehovah’s Witness group, based in New York, US.
Fred Nyende, one of Uganda’s overseers for Jehovah’s Witnesses, says the denomination was started in 1870 by Bible students in the US who had been disappointed by the existing religious groups. Another Ugandan overseer of Swedish origin, Urban Mattsson, says the major difference between them and other Christian denominations is on the issue of the Trinity. Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that the Trinity is satanic. They teach that the Trinity is a belief in three gods, and thereby, satan-inspired polytheism.
“Sincere persons who want to know the true God and serve him find it a bit difficult to love and worship a complicated, freakish-looking, three-headed God. The clergy who teach such ideas will contradict themselves in the very next breath by stating that God made man in his own image; for certainly no one has ever seen a three-headed human creature.
“We don’t believe that Jesus is God. Rather, we believe he is the most outstanding of all creations,” Nyende explains.
They use Bible verses to support their view that Jesus is not God.
“If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17).
“The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3).
“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.”
(1 Corinthians 15:28).
Those who believe Jesus to be God also refer to the Bible. “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God.” (John 1:1). John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one”, while John 14:9 says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
Reverend Elly Wasswa of Kiteezi Church of Uganda says, “The Bible clearly teaches that Christ is God.
The teachings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning Jesus Christ clearly contradict the teachings of the Bible. Passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 tell us that Jesus Christ, who existed as God, took the bodily form of a humble servant so that He could die on the cross in our place. “Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (kurios), to the glory of God the Father.”
Wasswa says any religious group that denies that Jesus is God is not Christian and that it is a cult [sic]. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus’ second coming happened in 1914. They believe the first created son of God was known as Michael the Archangel. This angel was recreated as a perfect man on earth and named ‘Jesus’. This Jesus died on a torture stake (not a cross), so that men could work their way into God’s Kingdom.
Then angel Michael/Jesus turned his attention to the affairs of earth in 1914 by establishing an invisible heavenly kingdom. This is what is meant by “second coming”. He will never return visibly to the earth, but will rule through his “anointed” or “remnant” group of Jehovah’s Witnesses on earth.
According to Witness theology, a person has one of three possible destinies. The Anointed (144,000) will be in heaven to reign with Jehovah God. The rest of the faithful Jehovah’s Witnesses (not of the 144,000) will live forever on an earthly paradise. Both of these classifications are determined to a great extent on membership in the Watchtower organisation, as well as going door-to-door spreading the message of the Watchtower.
Those people who are not members of the Watchtower organisation will be destroyed by Jehovah God and cease to exist. There is no concept of eternal punishment or hell in Watchtower theology. They also believe that men will have a second chance, after death, to be saved.
They don’t have a clergy class and there are no titles like pastor, apostle, reverend, or bishop. They all call themselves brothers and sisters, with no one above the other in the hierarchy. In support of this position, Witnesses refer to these verses: “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.” Matthew 23:8-10.
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.” Matthew 20:25-27.
Mattsson says according to last year’s counting report, the active Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country have reached 43,000, with over 150 kingdom halls (churches). Globally, they now have 6.7 million believers.
A Witness will tell you that:
•Christ died on an upright stake (pole), not a cross
•Christ was raised from the dead as an immortal spirit person
•The earth will never be destroyed or depopulated
•Prayers are to be directed only to Jehovah through Christ
•Only Israel was meant to observe the Sabbath
•Satan is the invisible ruler of the world
•Heaven is limited only to 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses
•There is no Hell
•Salvation is by good works
•You cannot be sure of salvation
•All pastors are the Antichrist
•All churches and governments are of satan
•You cannot take a blood transfusion
•You cannot be a police officer or serve in the military
•You cannot salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, or own a flag
•Jesus’ second coming occurred in 1914
•You cannot run for political office or vote
•You are discouraged from giving to charity (except Watchtower causes)
•You cannot accept Christmas gifts
•Only Jehovah’s Witnesses can understand the Bible
•Angels direct the Watchtower organisation
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Famous former neighbors - celbrity gravesites
San Diego Reader/September 28, 2008
By Jay Allen Sanford
Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) was a member of a religious group called "International Bible Students," sometimes derisively referred to as Russellites by people who considered them heretics -- they eventually were known as Jehovah's Witnesses. He rose in the ranks to lead the group after the death of founder Charles T. Russell in 1916, becoming the second president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
"When Pastor Russell died, Rutherford became the president of the Bible Society which Russell had founded," says Eric D. Patterson, webmaster Pastor-Russell.com, the official CT Russell/Bible Student website. "This act resulted in a schism wherein seventy-five percent of the Bible Students had left by 1928 because he was instituting significant changes in the doctrinal and organizational platform that Russell was in favor of. It is very important that people understand the group now known as 'Jehovah's Witnesses' have no connection with Pastor Russell, and that they formed after the schism because it was Rutherford's intention to draw a clear line between those who supported Russell, and those who supported him. At that time, it was the minority, but over time the Witnesses have become the larger of the two groups, even though we Bible Students still exist."
Rutherford moved to San Diego in 1919 after contracting pneumonia, hoping the climate would improve his delicate health. Along the way, he decided to give himself the title of "judge."
In 1929, he commissioned construction of a lavish ten-room mansion on Braeburn Road in Kensington called Beth Sarim ("House of Princes" in Hebrew), deeded to none other than King David of Israel, Moses, Abraham, Gideon, Isaac, Barak, Joseph, Samson, Jacob, Jephthae, Samuel, and various other ancient Biblical figures mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, all of whom Rutherford insisted would return from the dead to live at Beth Sarim.
The deed specified that Rutherford could live in the house until they arrived. Of course, the ancient prophets never showed up, and so Judge Rutherford resided in the mansion until his death, while his followers lived in poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Jehovah's Witnesses quietly ceased teaching of the imminent return of their Hebrew heroes after the house was sold in 1948. According to some accounts, Judge Rutherford is said to have been illegally buried on the property, though this has frequently been disproven.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Famous former neighbors - celbrity gravesites
San Diego Reader/September 28, 2008
By Jay Allen Sanford
Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942) was a member of a religious group called "International Bible Students," sometimes derisively referred to as Russellites by people who considered them heretics -- they eventually were known as Jehovah's Witnesses. He rose in the ranks to lead the group after the death of founder Charles T. Russell in 1916, becoming the second president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
"When Pastor Russell died, Rutherford became the president of the Bible Society which Russell had founded," says Eric D. Patterson, webmaster Pastor-Russell.com, the official CT Russell/Bible Student website. "This act resulted in a schism wherein seventy-five percent of the Bible Students had left by 1928 because he was instituting significant changes in the doctrinal and organizational platform that Russell was in favor of. It is very important that people understand the group now known as 'Jehovah's Witnesses' have no connection with Pastor Russell, and that they formed after the schism because it was Rutherford's intention to draw a clear line between those who supported Russell, and those who supported him. At that time, it was the minority, but over time the Witnesses have become the larger of the two groups, even though we Bible Students still exist."
Rutherford moved to San Diego in 1919 after contracting pneumonia, hoping the climate would improve his delicate health. Along the way, he decided to give himself the title of "judge."
In 1929, he commissioned construction of a lavish ten-room mansion on Braeburn Road in Kensington called Beth Sarim ("House of Princes" in Hebrew), deeded to none other than King David of Israel, Moses, Abraham, Gideon, Isaac, Barak, Joseph, Samson, Jacob, Jephthae, Samuel, and various other ancient Biblical figures mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, all of whom Rutherford insisted would return from the dead to live at Beth Sarim.
The deed specified that Rutherford could live in the house until they arrived. Of course, the ancient prophets never showed up, and so Judge Rutherford resided in the mansion until his death, while his followers lived in poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Jehovah's Witnesses quietly ceased teaching of the imminent return of their Hebrew heroes after the house was sold in 1948. According to some accounts, Judge Rutherford is said to have been illegally buried on the property, though this has frequently been disproven.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Jehovah's Witnesses transform West Palm Beach's 'leaky teepee' auditorium Listen to this article or download
Palm Beach Post/October 1, 2008
By Andrew Abramson
West Palm Beach - It has been 10 years since the city transferred its auditorium to the Jehovah's Witnesses in a controversial $12.5 million sale.
Although most of the public hasn't set foot this decade in the building that once housed the county's major concerts and events, the crumbling structure known derisively as the "leaky tepee" has been transformed into a state-of-the-art beacon for a religion that is 1 million strong in the United States.
The Jehovah's Witnesses "have done a beautiful job, and they're very good stakeholders with the city, so I have no misgivings about that at all," Mayor Lois Frankel said. "But we gave up the ball field, the city lost an opportunity for development rights, and it was not a good economic deal for the city in retrospect."
It was a great deal for the Witnesses, who have converted the auditorium on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard into the Christian Convention Center.
The Witnesses bought the land for $12.5 million, then sold much of the property, including the baseball field, recouping a good portion of the initial cost.
Since then, the building has been completely remodeled at a cost of about $13 million.
Evelyn Ellison, who became a Jehovah's Witness as an adult, spent her youth in the old West Palm Beach Auditorium and remembers appearances by James Brown, Gladys Knight, Peaches and Herb, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Sesame Street Productions.
She also remembers how the auditorium was in shambles in the 1990s.
"It was a sore thumb that stuck out to the community and it was in such disrepair that one of the commissioners called it an albatross," Ellison said. "But we saw the potential beauty in it."
Frankel said the city's finances made it "a reasonable decision for the time."
Attorney Bob Sanders, the key orchestrator of the deal as assistant city administrator, said selling the auditorium was in the best interests of the city.
The "leaky tepee," so named because of the shape of its roof and the fact that it leaked, would have needed massive repairs before the city could have considered selling it, and the county wasn't interested in helping with the cost.
"If I had to do it all over again today, I'd do the same thing," Sanders said.
Religion was another point of controversy.
"A lot of (the negativity) had to do with the religious factor," Sanders said. "Several key people didn't very much hide their real feelings" that they opposed the deal because the Jehovah's Witnesses were the buyers.
Sanders defends the deal as giving the city an economic boost during the summer, when many of the Witnesses' conventions are held.
The building itself had problems from the time it opened in 1967. The roof began leaking the first year and never stopped. Jimmy Buffett and other performers complained of poor acoustics and upkeep.
It was hard to imagine that the auditorium not only would still exist in 2008, but it would be a modern convention center hosting dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses events annually.
In 1998, the Jehovah's Witnesses were looking to buy a building that would become their largest enclosed gathering place in the world. West Palm Beach was a logical location because Florida has a sizable Jehovah's Witnesses community, and the group was already the auditorium's top tenant.
Some doubted the Witnesses would be able to raise enough money to turn the structure around.
"I think the concern was that we would keep up the inside of it, but we weren't going to go to the expense of taking care of the outside," said Mike Berrier, assistant assembly hall overseer. "I think a lot of people didn't realize that we wanted it to stand out.
"Yes, we wanted it nice for the Jehovah's Witnesses, but we're not trying to hide things. We're a part of the community and we want to be a presence in the community."
The outside of the old auditorium included a moat that became an eyesore. It was torn apart and drainage pipes were added. Massive amounts of vegetation were planted around the building to obscure the tepee-style roof from the street.
The inside of the auditorium was gutted to add a new air-conditioning system, more comfortable seats and a large baptism pool. Plants surround the altar.
Berrier believes the cost of improvements would have been at least double if volunteers had not done much of the work.
During the summer, the center hosts religious conventions in English, Spanish and French, drawing an estimated 70,000 visitors from around the country. Various groups have approached the Witnesses about renting the convention center, but that's not something they're willing to do.
"It's not about trying to make money," Berrier said. "To us, it's a house of worship and it's not something we would want for any type of other event."
Frankel's main regret is that the city no longer has an all-purpose indoor facility.
Several miles south of the tepee, county commissioners are starting from scratch on a plan to build a hotel and condo complex next to the county's underused convention center. The Kravis Center has better acoustics than the leaky tepee ever had, and the Cruzan Amphitheatre seats up to 19,000, triple the capacity of the old auditorium.
"We used to bring in the (Harlem) Globetrotters, arena football, the circus, and there's nothing indoors where we can do that anymore," Frankel said.
Although Frankel might miss the auditorium, for the most part it has become a part of West Palm Beach lore, remembered as much for its shortcomings as it successes.
"Knowing how we are busy as ants and busy as a team working together, I had an idea it would turn out to be a beautiful place," Ellison said. "But to see it come to fruition is just outstanding."
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Jehovah's Witnesses transform West Palm Beach's 'leaky teepee' auditorium Listen to this article or download
Palm Beach Post/October 1, 2008
By Andrew Abramson
West Palm Beach - It has been 10 years since the city transferred its auditorium to the Jehovah's Witnesses in a controversial $12.5 million sale.
Although most of the public hasn't set foot this decade in the building that once housed the county's major concerts and events, the crumbling structure known derisively as the "leaky tepee" has been transformed into a state-of-the-art beacon for a religion that is 1 million strong in the United States.
The Jehovah's Witnesses "have done a beautiful job, and they're very good stakeholders with the city, so I have no misgivings about that at all," Mayor Lois Frankel said. "But we gave up the ball field, the city lost an opportunity for development rights, and it was not a good economic deal for the city in retrospect."
It was a great deal for the Witnesses, who have converted the auditorium on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard into the Christian Convention Center.
The Witnesses bought the land for $12.5 million, then sold much of the property, including the baseball field, recouping a good portion of the initial cost.
Since then, the building has been completely remodeled at a cost of about $13 million.
Evelyn Ellison, who became a Jehovah's Witness as an adult, spent her youth in the old West Palm Beach Auditorium and remembers appearances by James Brown, Gladys Knight, Peaches and Herb, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Sesame Street Productions.
She also remembers how the auditorium was in shambles in the 1990s.
"It was a sore thumb that stuck out to the community and it was in such disrepair that one of the commissioners called it an albatross," Ellison said. "But we saw the potential beauty in it."
Frankel said the city's finances made it "a reasonable decision for the time."
Attorney Bob Sanders, the key orchestrator of the deal as assistant city administrator, said selling the auditorium was in the best interests of the city.
The "leaky tepee," so named because of the shape of its roof and the fact that it leaked, would have needed massive repairs before the city could have considered selling it, and the county wasn't interested in helping with the cost.
"If I had to do it all over again today, I'd do the same thing," Sanders said.
Religion was another point of controversy.
"A lot of (the negativity) had to do with the religious factor," Sanders said. "Several key people didn't very much hide their real feelings" that they opposed the deal because the Jehovah's Witnesses were the buyers.
Sanders defends the deal as giving the city an economic boost during the summer, when many of the Witnesses' conventions are held.
The building itself had problems from the time it opened in 1967. The roof began leaking the first year and never stopped. Jimmy Buffett and other performers complained of poor acoustics and upkeep.
It was hard to imagine that the auditorium not only would still exist in 2008, but it would be a modern convention center hosting dozens of Jehovah's Witnesses events annually.
In 1998, the Jehovah's Witnesses were looking to buy a building that would become their largest enclosed gathering place in the world. West Palm Beach was a logical location because Florida has a sizable Jehovah's Witnesses community, and the group was already the auditorium's top tenant.
Some doubted the Witnesses would be able to raise enough money to turn the structure around.
"I think the concern was that we would keep up the inside of it, but we weren't going to go to the expense of taking care of the outside," said Mike Berrier, assistant assembly hall overseer. "I think a lot of people didn't realize that we wanted it to stand out.
"Yes, we wanted it nice for the Jehovah's Witnesses, but we're not trying to hide things. We're a part of the community and we want to be a presence in the community."
The outside of the old auditorium included a moat that became an eyesore. It was torn apart and drainage pipes were added. Massive amounts of vegetation were planted around the building to obscure the tepee-style roof from the street.
The inside of the auditorium was gutted to add a new air-conditioning system, more comfortable seats and a large baptism pool. Plants surround the altar.
Berrier believes the cost of improvements would have been at least double if volunteers had not done much of the work.
During the summer, the center hosts religious conventions in English, Spanish and French, drawing an estimated 70,000 visitors from around the country. Various groups have approached the Witnesses about renting the convention center, but that's not something they're willing to do.
"It's not about trying to make money," Berrier said. "To us, it's a house of worship and it's not something we would want for any type of other event."
Frankel's main regret is that the city no longer has an all-purpose indoor facility.
Several miles south of the tepee, county commissioners are starting from scratch on a plan to build a hotel and condo complex next to the county's underused convention center. The Kravis Center has better acoustics than the leaky tepee ever had, and the Cruzan Amphitheatre seats up to 19,000, triple the capacity of the old auditorium.
"We used to bring in the (Harlem) Globetrotters, arena football, the circus, and there's nothing indoors where we can do that anymore," Frankel said.
Although Frankel might miss the auditorium, for the most part it has become a part of West Palm Beach lore, remembered as much for its shortcomings as it successes.
"Knowing how we are busy as ants and busy as a team working together, I had an idea it would turn out to be a beautiful place," Ellison said. "But to see it come to fruition is just outstanding."
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Controversial film to screen in Alton
The Telegraph, UK/Novmeber 9, 2014
By Cory Davenport
Alton -- A film being screened in Alton Nov. 15 claims to show the truth behind the Jehovah’s Witness religion.
The film, titled Truth Be Told, features candid interviews with former Jehovah’s Witnesses who recount tales of door-to-door proselytizing, shunning those who do not share in the faith, the suspension of critical thinking and the discouragement of the pursuit for higher education. It will be shown at the Riverbender Community Center at 6 p.m. A cocktail hour will begin at 4 p.m. until the film starts. The event is free and open to the public.
“I wasn’t allowed to hang out with my fellow classmates or consider them my friends outside of school,” former Jehovah’s Witness, John Curtright said.
Curtright is part of the social media group that brought the screening to Alton, Life After Watchtower: Ex JWs of the Greater St. Louis Area. The group claims 18 members, among them are Curtright and his friend, Brad Jarrett.
Curtright was born into the faith and remained a part of it until his mid-20s.
“I wanted to make friends, but then I said to myself ‘hey, wait, I don’t even know how to make friends,’” Curtright said.
Jarrett joined the faith with his mother when he was two years old. He remained in it for 42 years. He has been gone from it for seven years. He said he still has a son and daughter in the group and fears that he will not speak to them anymore.
Jarrett is very outspoken about the flaws in the faith. He told the Telegraph in a phone interview that, after leaving the faith, he began to see lies in their doctrines.
“They’ve done everything they can to discard their old publications,” he said.
According to Jarrett and Curtright, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God will soon bring Armageddon to the Earth. According to the belief structure, which Jarrett said was stolen from the Seven-Day Adventists in 1914, only 144,000 souls will reach heaven. Curtright said that those left on Earth will be purged in the final days, only leaving those who are a part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Earth.
“Your whole mindset is centered around this whole Armageddon happening soon,” Curtright said. “You don’t live for the long-term, you live for the short term.”
Curtright said that sort of short-term mentality is part of the reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not encourage students to continue to higher education. He said the other reason was because they do not want their followers gaining critical thinking skills.
“You were taught that college was not a goal and that college was a waste of time,” Curtright said.
Curtright said that getting good grades was not a high priority for him when he attended public school. He was banned from any extracurricular activities and spent most of his time outside of school doing chores, studying for Kingdom Hall meetings and going door-to-door as a missionary.
Former Jehovah’s Witness and local author, Anthony Mathenia, said he was unaware of the film, but was willing to discuss aspects of the faith with the Telegraph via email correspondence.
“JW’s have weekly training at the Kingdom Hall and at home on how to present their literature at the doors,” he said. “We were trained to overcome common ‘conversation stoppers’ like ‘I have my own religion’ or ‘I’m busy.’ Each month we would receive pitches for the current magazines or books we were distributing. Detailed records are kept of people showing interest, placements, residents who aren’t home and more. It’s very systematic.”
Mathenia has been estranged from the faith for seven years and has written a novel called Paradise Earth: Day Zero, a fictional account about a Jehovah’s Witness questioning his faith during the apocalypse.
Jarrett said that anyone who leaves or goes against the faith is to be shunned by those still in it. Jarrett and Curtwright agreed that the friends and families they left behind in the faith may never speak to them again. Mathenia echoed the same sentiment.
“It’s pretty insidious,” Mathenia said. “Your only social ties are within the JW community. So if you are disfellowshipped, or leave the faith, you lose everyone. It’s pretty traumatic to lose family, friends and loved one in one fell swoop just because you disagree with something the JW leadership teaches.”
Jarrett said the current Jehovah’s Witness leadership is preparing for something big in the near future.
“They’ve made a major swing in just the last couple months,” he said. “It’s imploding. It’s absolutely imploding at a rate I’d never thought I’d see happen.”
The Telegraph reached out to both the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Alton as well as their Office of Public Information in New York. One member in their education department forwarded any questions to the FAQ section of their website, www.jw.org.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Controversial film to screen in Alton
The Telegraph, UK/Novmeber 9, 2014
By Cory Davenport
Alton -- A film being screened in Alton Nov. 15 claims to show the truth behind the Jehovah’s Witness religion.
The film, titled Truth Be Told, features candid interviews with former Jehovah’s Witnesses who recount tales of door-to-door proselytizing, shunning those who do not share in the faith, the suspension of critical thinking and the discouragement of the pursuit for higher education. It will be shown at the Riverbender Community Center at 6 p.m. A cocktail hour will begin at 4 p.m. until the film starts. The event is free and open to the public.
“I wasn’t allowed to hang out with my fellow classmates or consider them my friends outside of school,” former Jehovah’s Witness, John Curtright said.
Curtright is part of the social media group that brought the screening to Alton, Life After Watchtower: Ex JWs of the Greater St. Louis Area. The group claims 18 members, among them are Curtright and his friend, Brad Jarrett.
Curtright was born into the faith and remained a part of it until his mid-20s.
“I wanted to make friends, but then I said to myself ‘hey, wait, I don’t even know how to make friends,’” Curtright said.
Jarrett joined the faith with his mother when he was two years old. He remained in it for 42 years. He has been gone from it for seven years. He said he still has a son and daughter in the group and fears that he will not speak to them anymore.
Jarrett is very outspoken about the flaws in the faith. He told the Telegraph in a phone interview that, after leaving the faith, he began to see lies in their doctrines.
“They’ve done everything they can to discard their old publications,” he said.
According to Jarrett and Curtright, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God will soon bring Armageddon to the Earth. According to the belief structure, which Jarrett said was stolen from the Seven-Day Adventists in 1914, only 144,000 souls will reach heaven. Curtright said that those left on Earth will be purged in the final days, only leaving those who are a part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Earth.
“Your whole mindset is centered around this whole Armageddon happening soon,” Curtright said. “You don’t live for the long-term, you live for the short term.”
Curtright said that sort of short-term mentality is part of the reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not encourage students to continue to higher education. He said the other reason was because they do not want their followers gaining critical thinking skills.
“You were taught that college was not a goal and that college was a waste of time,” Curtright said.
Curtright said that getting good grades was not a high priority for him when he attended public school. He was banned from any extracurricular activities and spent most of his time outside of school doing chores, studying for Kingdom Hall meetings and going door-to-door as a missionary.
Former Jehovah’s Witness and local author, Anthony Mathenia, said he was unaware of the film, but was willing to discuss aspects of the faith with the Telegraph via email correspondence.
“JW’s have weekly training at the Kingdom Hall and at home on how to present their literature at the doors,” he said. “We were trained to overcome common ‘conversation stoppers’ like ‘I have my own religion’ or ‘I’m busy.’ Each month we would receive pitches for the current magazines or books we were distributing. Detailed records are kept of people showing interest, placements, residents who aren’t home and more. It’s very systematic.”
Mathenia has been estranged from the faith for seven years and has written a novel called Paradise Earth: Day Zero, a fictional account about a Jehovah’s Witness questioning his faith during the apocalypse.
Jarrett said that anyone who leaves or goes against the faith is to be shunned by those still in it. Jarrett and Curtwright agreed that the friends and families they left behind in the faith may never speak to them again. Mathenia echoed the same sentiment.
“It’s pretty insidious,” Mathenia said. “Your only social ties are within the JW community. So if you are disfellowshipped, or leave the faith, you lose everyone. It’s pretty traumatic to lose family, friends and loved one in one fell swoop just because you disagree with something the JW leadership teaches.”
Jarrett said the current Jehovah’s Witness leadership is preparing for something big in the near future.
“They’ve made a major swing in just the last couple months,” he said. “It’s imploding. It’s absolutely imploding at a rate I’d never thought I’d see happen.”
The Telegraph reached out to both the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Alton as well as their Office of Public Information in New York. One member in their education department forwarded any questions to the FAQ section of their website, www.jw.org.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Ex-Jehovah's Witness schoolgirl exposes organisation as a religion that 'destroys lives'
The Indendent, UK/May 24, 2015
By Ben Tufft
A schoolgirl who left the Jehovah’s Witnesses after learning of its alleged failure to protect vulnerable women has blasted the organisation in a powerful speech to her classmates.
Holding back tears, she recalled her personal experiences as a member of the church and how she was taught everyone outside the religion, including her father, would be sent to Armageddon.
She also highlighted women’s lowly position in the hierarchy of the organisation and how they are viewed as inferior to men.
“They cannot teach men. They cannot even speak at a podium in front of men as I am doing now,” she said. “They are not to question any decision made by a men. That is slander.”
Dissenting from the orthodoxy on church doctrine and practices is forbidden as a Jehovah's Witness and those who do are shunned by religious leaders. Independent thought is discouraged and is thought to have been introduced by the devil.
The most shocking allegations relate to women the girl spoke to, who were members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and wished to remain anonymous.
One, she called Jane, was allegedly interrogated by the church elders after she was raped, while at work as insurance salesperson.
The elders apparently said she tempted men by the way she dressed and that men were “only human”.
In order to be forgiven and not be excommunicated, or “disfellowshipped,” Jane was forced to dress more conservatively, quit her job and worst of all drop the charges against her attacker.
Another, called Donna, was allegedly molested by a man in her congregation when she was a young girl, but did not tell anyone because she knew nothing would be done.
It is claimed Donna was then abused physically and emotionally throughout 14 years of marriage and when she went to the church elders for support she was told it was her fault and should be a better wife.
Eventually Donna secured a divorce from her husband, but her torment did not end there. She was “disfellowshipped” from the organisation, which meant she was unable to speak to her friends or family members in the church.
“To make matters worse her children were taught not to speak to her because she was evil, they were isolated by her ex-husband and know nothing other than this religion. They are also terrified of disappointing their father and their god,” the girl said.
“The religion is separating a capable and loving mother from her children. Nothing could be more devastating for a mother.”
The church has battled with previous allegations of silencing victims of sexual abuse, to avoid embarrassing the church, but have always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
In 2015 a Californian court ordered the Watch Tower Society, the company which runs the Jehovah's Witnesses, to pay $2.8m in damages after failing to disclosure the past abuse of a congregation member, which led to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl.
After learning all the religion has hid from its members the girl finished her speech by saying she wanted “no part in it”.
“It is a religion that preaches love and acceptance, but the reality is everything is conditional. Love and acceptance is only extended as long as members practise absolute obedience and question nothing, ever,” she said.
“This religion destroys lives, destroys families and they do it largely unchecked… because they are really good at silencing the people who leave.”
The Jehovah's Witnesses were not immediately available for comment.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Print M Email
Ex-Jehovah's Witness schoolgirl exposes organisation as a religion that 'destroys lives'
The Indendent, UK/May 24, 2015
By Ben Tufft
A schoolgirl who left the Jehovah’s Witnesses after learning of its alleged failure to protect vulnerable women has blasted the organisation in a powerful speech to her classmates.
Holding back tears, she recalled her personal experiences as a member of the church and how she was taught everyone outside the religion, including her father, would be sent to Armageddon.
She also highlighted women’s lowly position in the hierarchy of the organisation and how they are viewed as inferior to men.
“They cannot teach men. They cannot even speak at a podium in front of men as I am doing now,” she said. “They are not to question any decision made by a men. That is slander.”
Dissenting from the orthodoxy on church doctrine and practices is forbidden as a Jehovah's Witness and those who do are shunned by religious leaders. Independent thought is discouraged and is thought to have been introduced by the devil.
The most shocking allegations relate to women the girl spoke to, who were members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and wished to remain anonymous.
One, she called Jane, was allegedly interrogated by the church elders after she was raped, while at work as insurance salesperson.
The elders apparently said she tempted men by the way she dressed and that men were “only human”.
In order to be forgiven and not be excommunicated, or “disfellowshipped,” Jane was forced to dress more conservatively, quit her job and worst of all drop the charges against her attacker.
Another, called Donna, was allegedly molested by a man in her congregation when she was a young girl, but did not tell anyone because she knew nothing would be done.
It is claimed Donna was then abused physically and emotionally throughout 14 years of marriage and when she went to the church elders for support she was told it was her fault and should be a better wife.
Eventually Donna secured a divorce from her husband, but her torment did not end there. She was “disfellowshipped” from the organisation, which meant she was unable to speak to her friends or family members in the church.
“To make matters worse her children were taught not to speak to her because she was evil, they were isolated by her ex-husband and know nothing other than this religion. They are also terrified of disappointing their father and their god,” the girl said.
“The religion is separating a capable and loving mother from her children. Nothing could be more devastating for a mother.”
The church has battled with previous allegations of silencing victims of sexual abuse, to avoid embarrassing the church, but have always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
In 2015 a Californian court ordered the Watch Tower Society, the company which runs the Jehovah's Witnesses, to pay $2.8m in damages after failing to disclosure the past abuse of a congregation member, which led to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl.
After learning all the religion has hid from its members the girl finished her speech by saying she wanted “no part in it”.
“It is a religion that preaches love and acceptance, but the reality is everything is conditional. Love and acceptance is only extended as long as members practise absolute obedience and question nothing, ever,” she said.
“This religion destroys lives, destroys families and they do it largely unchecked… because they are really good at silencing the people who leave.”
The Jehovah's Witnesses were not immediately available for comment.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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http://www.culteducation.com/group/1267-jehovah-s-witnesses/28579-ex-jehovah-s-witness-schoolgirl-exposes-organisation-as-a-religion-that-destroys-lives.html
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Prince Has Gone Door-To-Door To Talk About Religion
RTT News/July 10, 2010
Prince has revealed that he has knocked on people's doors to tell them about God.
In a rare interview with British tabloid the Daily Mirror, the "Purple Rain" rocker says that he became a Jehovah's Witness after the death of his young son and of his parents in 2001. He said of his choice of religion: "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they are really cool about it. There is an incredible peace in my life now, and I'm trying to share it with people."
Prince also explained that he was mentored by Sly and The Family Stone's Larry Graham, who told the newspaper, "Prince is a spiritual man. Sometimes we study for hours - six, seven, eight hours a day. We sit down and get into the scriptures."
Prince's latest album, 20Ten, is being distributed for free in the Daily Mirror this week.
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Prince Has Gone Door-To-Door To Talk About Religion
RTT News/July 10, 2010
Prince has revealed that he has knocked on people's doors to tell them about God.
In a rare interview with British tabloid the Daily Mirror, the "Purple Rain" rocker says that he became a Jehovah's Witness after the death of his young son and of his parents in 2001. He said of his choice of religion: "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they are really cool about it. There is an incredible peace in my life now, and I'm trying to share it with people."
Prince also explained that he was mentored by Sly and The Family Stone's Larry Graham, who told the newspaper, "Prince is a spiritual man. Sometimes we study for hours - six, seven, eight hours a day. We sit down and get into the scriptures."
Prince's latest album, 20Ten, is being distributed for free in the Daily Mirror this week.
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Prince - Prince Accepts Angels
Contact Music.com/July 6, 2010
Devout Jehovah's Witness Prince has revealed he believes in angels and says his faith has brought an ''incredible peace'' to his life.
The 'Purple Rain' singer has been a devout Jehovah's Witness - a form of Christianity whose followers believe the Bible is scientifically and historically accurate and the ultimate "source of truth" - since 2001 and his faith means he accepts angels, the winged messengers of God, exist.
When quizzed about his faith in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "There are good angels and bad angels."
Prince - whose conversion to Jehovah's Witnesses was his mother Mattie Shaw's dying wish - goes out door-to-door to spread the word about his faith and try and get others to convert.
Although most people are surprised to have a pop superstar call at their house to talk about God, Prince insists most individuals are "cool" with him.
He explained: "Sometime people act surprised when I'm at their house, but mostly they're cool about it."
Admitting he sometimes disguises himself, he added: "My hair is capable of doing a lot of different things. I don't always look like Prince."
The 52-year-old music legend - who was famed for his sexually explicit lyrics, outrageous stage outfits and womanising ways at the height of his career in the 80s and early 90s - insists his religious beliefs have brought a balance to his life that he didn't have before.
Prince - who is currently dating Bria Valente - said: "There's an incredible peace in my life now and I try to share it with people."
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Prince - Prince Accepts Angels
Contact Music.com/July 6, 2010
Devout Jehovah's Witness Prince has revealed he believes in angels and says his faith has brought an ''incredible peace'' to his life.
The 'Purple Rain' singer has been a devout Jehovah's Witness - a form of Christianity whose followers believe the Bible is scientifically and historically accurate and the ultimate "source of truth" - since 2001 and his faith means he accepts angels, the winged messengers of God, exist.
When quizzed about his faith in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "There are good angels and bad angels."
Prince - whose conversion to Jehovah's Witnesses was his mother Mattie Shaw's dying wish - goes out door-to-door to spread the word about his faith and try and get others to convert.
Although most people are surprised to have a pop superstar call at their house to talk about God, Prince insists most individuals are "cool" with him.
He explained: "Sometime people act surprised when I'm at their house, but mostly they're cool about it."
Admitting he sometimes disguises himself, he added: "My hair is capable of doing a lot of different things. I don't always look like Prince."
The 52-year-old music legend - who was famed for his sexually explicit lyrics, outrageous stage outfits and womanising ways at the height of his career in the 80s and early 90s - insists his religious beliefs have brought a balance to his life that he didn't have before.
Prince - who is currently dating Bria Valente - said: "There's an incredible peace in my life now and I try to share it with people."
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Prince Shows Off a Different Side for '21 Nights'
ABC News/September 28, 2008
By Edna Gundersen
Tonight, that mood of isolation permeates Prince's luxurious 30,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa, perched high in a gated Beverly Hills enclave. The royal one, clad in a filmy white sweater over a black shirt and slacks with (shocker!) flip-flops, lives solo in the nine-bedroom home, where a cook is upstairs preparing food for a post-midnight gathering with friends and bandmates.
"I'm single, celibate and sexy," he says with a laugh. "I feel free."
After being introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses by friend and bass player Larry Graham, Prince converted in 2001. The onetime voracious womanizer who crooned "Scandalous," "Do It All Night," "Sexy MF" and "Dirty Mind" has purged his lyrics of naughty lingo and spends more time proselytizing than partying.
He's as likely to show up on a neighbor's doorstep with a Watchtower Bible as he is to frequent a hot club.
"Sometimes fans freak out," he says of his missionary encounters. "It might be a shock to see me, but that's no reason for people to act crazy, and it doesn't give them license to chase me down the street."
He turned 50 on June 7, but "being a Jehovah's Witness, I don't celebrate birthdays or holidays. I don't vote."
Reviewing a video of the sultry "Te Amo Corazon," he points out his limited physical contact with co-star Mía Maestro of "The Motorcycle Diaries." "That's another way faith has changed me," he says.
"I love to bring the Bible to the table. I ask if they believe in God, then: 'What kind of business do you want to conduct: transparent or hide the ball?' I'll do tours and albums if the deal is clean."
"I learned from Jehovah's Witnesses that a fatalistic view is counterproductive," he says. "An agent I was talking to earlier today had this viewpoint that someone has to win and someone has to lose. Nobody who thinks like that gets very far. Look at Frazier and Ali. Both of them got something out of that fight. I understand competition, but not the kind where someone has to die or be disenfranchised."
After visiting his library to read Scripture and weigh in on intelligent design, Prince strolls to his bedroom to share tunes that will be released when he determines a distribution route.
On a love song, his voice takes on yearning as he pines for the feel of a lover's lips and the move of her hips. "That's what happens with years of celibacy," says Prince, survivor of two broken marriages. "It all goes into the music." He pauses. "This time, it has to be the right person."
For now, songs offer sufficient companionship. "Music to me is a life force," he says. "It's not what I do. It's what I am."
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Print M Email
Prince Shows Off a Different Side for '21 Nights'
ABC News/September 28, 2008
By Edna Gundersen
Tonight, that mood of isolation permeates Prince's luxurious 30,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa, perched high in a gated Beverly Hills enclave. The royal one, clad in a filmy white sweater over a black shirt and slacks with (shocker!) flip-flops, lives solo in the nine-bedroom home, where a cook is upstairs preparing food for a post-midnight gathering with friends and bandmates.
"I'm single, celibate and sexy," he says with a laugh. "I feel free."
After being introduced to Jehovah's Witnesses by friend and bass player Larry Graham, Prince converted in 2001. The onetime voracious womanizer who crooned "Scandalous," "Do It All Night," "Sexy MF" and "Dirty Mind" has purged his lyrics of naughty lingo and spends more time proselytizing than partying.
He's as likely to show up on a neighbor's doorstep with a Watchtower Bible as he is to frequent a hot club.
"Sometimes fans freak out," he says of his missionary encounters. "It might be a shock to see me, but that's no reason for people to act crazy, and it doesn't give them license to chase me down the street."
He turned 50 on June 7, but "being a Jehovah's Witness, I don't celebrate birthdays or holidays. I don't vote."
Reviewing a video of the sultry "Te Amo Corazon," he points out his limited physical contact with co-star Mía Maestro of "The Motorcycle Diaries." "That's another way faith has changed me," he says.
"I love to bring the Bible to the table. I ask if they believe in God, then: 'What kind of business do you want to conduct: transparent or hide the ball?' I'll do tours and albums if the deal is clean."
"I learned from Jehovah's Witnesses that a fatalistic view is counterproductive," he says. "An agent I was talking to earlier today had this viewpoint that someone has to win and someone has to lose. Nobody who thinks like that gets very far. Look at Frazier and Ali. Both of them got something out of that fight. I understand competition, but not the kind where someone has to die or be disenfranchised."
After visiting his library to read Scripture and weigh in on intelligent design, Prince strolls to his bedroom to share tunes that will be released when he determines a distribution route.
On a love song, his voice takes on yearning as he pines for the feel of a lover's lips and the move of her hips. "That's what happens with years of celibacy," says Prince, survivor of two broken marriages. "It all goes into the music." He pauses. "This time, it has to be the right person."
For now, songs offer sufficient companionship. "Music to me is a life force," he says. "It's not what I do. It's what I am."
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Gay marriage and doing 'whatever you want' is wrong, says Prince
Minneapolis Star Tribune/November 18, 2008
By Paul Walsh
Prince, the gender-bending Minnesota rocker who now lives in California and makes the rounds as a Jehovah's Witness, spoke out in a newly released interview that the Bible opposes homosexuality and God has said "enough."
The comments from the Grammy-winning musician, who for decades has graced concert stages in high heels, makeup and flamboyant garb, appear in the Nov. 24 issue of New Yorker.
"So here's how it is," Prince began, "You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this." He pointed to a Bible.
"But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't."
Prince then moved to the other side of the political aisle, Democrats, saying, "They're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."
When asked for his views on social issues--gay marriage and abortion--Prince tapped his Bible and said, "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.' "
Prince, who wrote sexually charged lyrics through much of his career, told the New Yorker that his change of faith came after a two-year debate with a musician friend. He likened it more to a "realization" rather than a "conversion."
He told the magazine that he attends meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and he leaves his gated community in Los Angeles at times to knock on doors and proselytize. "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they're really cool about it," he said.
According to beliefnet.com, an independent website about the world's religions, the Jehovah's Witness faith that abortion is wrong, homosexuality is a "serious sin" and gender roles are defined: Men are the head of the household and women are loving caretakers who assist the husband in teaching the children.
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Print M Email
Gay marriage and doing 'whatever you want' is wrong, says Prince
Minneapolis Star Tribune/November 18, 2008
By Paul Walsh
Prince, the gender-bending Minnesota rocker who now lives in California and makes the rounds as a Jehovah's Witness, spoke out in a newly released interview that the Bible opposes homosexuality and God has said "enough."
The comments from the Grammy-winning musician, who for decades has graced concert stages in high heels, makeup and flamboyant garb, appear in the Nov. 24 issue of New Yorker.
"So here's how it is," Prince began, "You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this." He pointed to a Bible.
"But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't."
Prince then moved to the other side of the political aisle, Democrats, saying, "They're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."
When asked for his views on social issues--gay marriage and abortion--Prince tapped his Bible and said, "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.' "
Prince, who wrote sexually charged lyrics through much of his career, told the New Yorker that his change of faith came after a two-year debate with a musician friend. He likened it more to a "realization" rather than a "conversion."
He told the magazine that he attends meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and he leaves his gated community in Los Angeles at times to knock on doors and proselytize. "Sometimes people act surprised, but mostly they're really cool about it," he said.
According to beliefnet.com, an independent website about the world's religions, the Jehovah's Witness faith that abortion is wrong, homosexuality is a "serious sin" and gender roles are defined: Men are the head of the household and women are loving caretakers who assist the husband in teaching the children.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Print M Email
Witness to a 'cult'
Mile High News (CO)/January 12, 2006
By Amanda C. Stutterer
After keeping her journal hidden in the floor for years, Golden resident Brenda Lee said writing a book about a painful childhood in a religious "cult" was a harrowing but therapeutic process.
Lee, author of "Out of the Cocoon: a Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult," has lived in Golden for 20 years.
She said when she was 9 years old, her mother joined the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, in a small town in Pennsylvania and told her she was no longer allowed to associate with other members of her family.
"It really is a very destructive organization," Lee said. "… As a 9-year-old I spent 40 hours a week in religious instruction. That was all I was allowed to do. When my mother decided to join, I was told I would never see my cousins again."
Lee acknowledged the Watch Tower Society is not universally recognized as an organized cult but said her experience in the organization fits all the criteria of a "religious cult."
"You're taught to hate the world, to see everybody else as being led by Satan — that we are the one and only right religion and to question or defy that is turning your back on God," she said.
Watch Tower representatives didn't respond to allegations about the organization being a cult.
"We appreciate your asking us for a response. The World Headquarters for Jehovah's Witnesses respectfully decline to respond," said a representative at the World Headquarters for the group.
However, other former Jehovah's Witnesses have written several books similar to Lee's. Diane Wilson published "Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness: Escape From the Watchtower Society", in 2002, describing similar circumstances surrounding the difficulty of leaving the organization.
"The public needs to be warned," Wilson wrote on her Web site. "The public needs to be alerted to the lures that this group uses to ensnare innocent people."
Lee said she was mentally abused by the organization and said the group preyed on her fears to keep her involved.
"They tell you that you will be ex-communicated if you ever decide to leave and that your family will not be able to talk to you — I haven't spoken with my mother for over 25 years," she said.
Lee's book recalls the daunting environment in which she lived as a child and the disappointment she faced when she tried to reach out to a teacher for help to no avail.
"I started my book with a story I wrote when I was 12 years old about the frustrations I had when my mother joined the cult," she said. "It was this short story. I was hoping someone would hear my pain and help me out. I wrote it for my teacher. It was a pretty brutal story that was pretty graphic about my distress and suicidal thoughts. My teacher gave me an 'A' rather than hearing I was trying to reach out for help."
Finally, Lee said, she reached out to a friend at school.
"My aunt was visiting from Colorado Springs one day – my mother was tying to indoctrinate her into the cult – and she asked me how I felt about living there and I started to crying and told her I was suicidal," she said. "… I would give letters to a girl at school and asked if she would send them (to my aunt) and we did that for the next nine years."
Lee said when she turned 18 she moved to Colorado but still faced troubling times.
"I ate out of garbage cans for three months," she said.
But after overcoming so much adversity, Lee put herself through college, was married and had a son. Though Lee is now divorced, she said her only regret is that she can no longer communicate with her mother, sister or nieces and nephews.
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Print M Email
Witness to a 'cult'
Mile High News (CO)/January 12, 2006
By Amanda C. Stutterer
After keeping her journal hidden in the floor for years, Golden resident Brenda Lee said writing a book about a painful childhood in a religious "cult" was a harrowing but therapeutic process.
Lee, author of "Out of the Cocoon: a Young Woman's Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult," has lived in Golden for 20 years.
She said when she was 9 years old, her mother joined the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, in a small town in Pennsylvania and told her she was no longer allowed to associate with other members of her family.
"It really is a very destructive organization," Lee said. "… As a 9-year-old I spent 40 hours a week in religious instruction. That was all I was allowed to do. When my mother decided to join, I was told I would never see my cousins again."
Lee acknowledged the Watch Tower Society is not universally recognized as an organized cult but said her experience in the organization fits all the criteria of a "religious cult."
"You're taught to hate the world, to see everybody else as being led by Satan — that we are the one and only right religion and to question or defy that is turning your back on God," she said.
Watch Tower representatives didn't respond to allegations about the organization being a cult.
"We appreciate your asking us for a response. The World Headquarters for Jehovah's Witnesses respectfully decline to respond," said a representative at the World Headquarters for the group.
However, other former Jehovah's Witnesses have written several books similar to Lee's. Diane Wilson published "Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness: Escape From the Watchtower Society", in 2002, describing similar circumstances surrounding the difficulty of leaving the organization.
"The public needs to be warned," Wilson wrote on her Web site. "The public needs to be alerted to the lures that this group uses to ensnare innocent people."
Lee said she was mentally abused by the organization and said the group preyed on her fears to keep her involved.
"They tell you that you will be ex-communicated if you ever decide to leave and that your family will not be able to talk to you — I haven't spoken with my mother for over 25 years," she said.
Lee's book recalls the daunting environment in which she lived as a child and the disappointment she faced when she tried to reach out to a teacher for help to no avail.
"I started my book with a story I wrote when I was 12 years old about the frustrations I had when my mother joined the cult," she said. "It was this short story. I was hoping someone would hear my pain and help me out. I wrote it for my teacher. It was a pretty brutal story that was pretty graphic about my distress and suicidal thoughts. My teacher gave me an 'A' rather than hearing I was trying to reach out for help."
Finally, Lee said, she reached out to a friend at school.
"My aunt was visiting from Colorado Springs one day – my mother was tying to indoctrinate her into the cult – and she asked me how I felt about living there and I started to crying and told her I was suicidal," she said. "… I would give letters to a girl at school and asked if she would send them (to my aunt) and we did that for the next nine years."
Lee said when she turned 18 she moved to Colorado but still faced troubling times.
"I ate out of garbage cans for three months," she said.
But after overcoming so much adversity, Lee put herself through college, was married and had a son. Though Lee is now divorced, she said her only regret is that she can no longer communicate with her mother, sister or nieces and nephews.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Turn of Faith
New York Times Magazine/August 14, 2005
By Joy Castro
Adopted at birth in 1967 by a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was asked from an early age to behave as much like an adult as possible. Three times a week in the Kingdom Hall in Miami, my brother and I strove to sit perfectly still in our chairs. Our mother carried a wooden spoon in her purse and was quick to take us outside for beatings if we fidgeted.
At 5, I sat onstage in the Kingdom Hall in Surrey, England, where my father's job had taken us. Nervously pushing my memorized lines into the microphone, I faced my mother, who was seated across from me. We were demonstrating for the congregation exactly how a Bible study with a ''worldly'' person, or non-Witness, should go.
I had played the householder before -- the person who answered the door. That was easy: you just asked questions that showed you didn't know the Truth. Portraying the Witness was harder: you had to produce the right Scripture to answer any questions the householder might ask.
But we had written our parts on index cards and rehearsed repeatedly at home. I was well dressed and shining clean. I said my lines flawlessly and gave looks of concern at the right times. Finally, the householder agreed with everything I had said: her way of life was wicked, and the Bible clearly proved that Jehovah's Witnesses were the only true Christians who would be saved at Armageddon. Her look was grateful. Then she smiled, becoming my mother again. Everyone clapped, and she glowed with pride. At last I could go out in service.
From the age of 5 until I was 14, I knocked on the doors of strangers each week with memorized lines that urged them to repent. I didn't play with worldly children. I didn't have birthday parties or Christmas mornings. What I did was pray a lot. I knew the books of the Bible in order, by heart, and could recite various verses. My loneliness was nourished by rich, beautiful fantasies of eternal life in a paradise of peace, justice, racial harmony and environmental purity, a recompense for the rigor and social isolation of our lives.
This bliss wasn't a future we had to work for. Witnesses wouldn't vote, didn't involve themselves in worldly matters, weren't activists. Jehovah would do it all for us, destroying everyone who wasn't a Witness and restoring the earth to harmony. All we had to do was obey and wait.
Shortly after our return to the States, my father was disfellowshipped for being an unrepentant smoker -- smoking violated God's temple, the body, much like fornication and drunkenness. Three years later, my parents' marriage dissolved. My mother's second husband had served at Bethel, the Watchtower's headquarters in Brooklyn. Our doctrines, based on Paul's letters in the New Testament, gave him complete control as the new head of the household; my mother's role was to submit. My stepfather happened to be the kind of person who took advantage of this authority, physically abusing us and forcing us to shun our father completely.
After two years, I ran away to live with my father. My brother joined me a tumultuous six months later. We continued to attend the Kingdom Hall and preach door to door; the Witnesses had been our only community. Leaving was a gradual process that took months of questioning. I respected all faiths deeply, but at 15 I decided that I could no longer be part of a religion that condoned inequality.
After she finally divorced my stepfather, my mother moved out of state and married another Witness. Our occasional correspondence skates over the surface of our strained deténte. I feel for her struggles. A smart, capable woman, she subjugated her will and judgment, as the Witnesses teach, to her husbands'. If she damaged my brother and me or failed to protect us, she did so out of fear and belief. She wanted to save us from certain destruction at Armageddon, from a corrupt and dirty world. She wanted nothing less for us than paradise.
I love my mother, but I also love my ''worldly'' life, the multitude of ideas I was once forbidden to entertain, the rich friendships and the joyous love of my family. By choosing to live in the world she scorned -- to teach in a college, to spare the rod entirely, to believe in the goodness of all kinds of people -- I have, in her eyes, turned my back not only on Jehovah but also on her.
It's strange when Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door now. I know discussion is futile; they have a carefully planned response for any objection. Finally, I say, ''I'm an apostate,'' and their eyes widen at the word: someone who has willfully rejected Jehovah, far worse than a worldly person, who is simply ignorant of the Truth. A threat to the faith of others, an apostate deserves to be shunned, as we were forced to shun our disfellowshipped father. The Witnesses back away from my door.
Joy Castro is the author of a memoir, ''The Truth Book,'' to be published next month by Arcade and from which this essay is adapted. She lives in Crawfordsville, Ind.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Turn of Faith
New York Times Magazine/August 14, 2005
By Joy Castro
Adopted at birth in 1967 by a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was asked from an early age to behave as much like an adult as possible. Three times a week in the Kingdom Hall in Miami, my brother and I strove to sit perfectly still in our chairs. Our mother carried a wooden spoon in her purse and was quick to take us outside for beatings if we fidgeted.
At 5, I sat onstage in the Kingdom Hall in Surrey, England, where my father's job had taken us. Nervously pushing my memorized lines into the microphone, I faced my mother, who was seated across from me. We were demonstrating for the congregation exactly how a Bible study with a ''worldly'' person, or non-Witness, should go.
I had played the householder before -- the person who answered the door. That was easy: you just asked questions that showed you didn't know the Truth. Portraying the Witness was harder: you had to produce the right Scripture to answer any questions the householder might ask.
But we had written our parts on index cards and rehearsed repeatedly at home. I was well dressed and shining clean. I said my lines flawlessly and gave looks of concern at the right times. Finally, the householder agreed with everything I had said: her way of life was wicked, and the Bible clearly proved that Jehovah's Witnesses were the only true Christians who would be saved at Armageddon. Her look was grateful. Then she smiled, becoming my mother again. Everyone clapped, and she glowed with pride. At last I could go out in service.
From the age of 5 until I was 14, I knocked on the doors of strangers each week with memorized lines that urged them to repent. I didn't play with worldly children. I didn't have birthday parties or Christmas mornings. What I did was pray a lot. I knew the books of the Bible in order, by heart, and could recite various verses. My loneliness was nourished by rich, beautiful fantasies of eternal life in a paradise of peace, justice, racial harmony and environmental purity, a recompense for the rigor and social isolation of our lives.
This bliss wasn't a future we had to work for. Witnesses wouldn't vote, didn't involve themselves in worldly matters, weren't activists. Jehovah would do it all for us, destroying everyone who wasn't a Witness and restoring the earth to harmony. All we had to do was obey and wait.
Shortly after our return to the States, my father was disfellowshipped for being an unrepentant smoker -- smoking violated God's temple, the body, much like fornication and drunkenness. Three years later, my parents' marriage dissolved. My mother's second husband had served at Bethel, the Watchtower's headquarters in Brooklyn. Our doctrines, based on Paul's letters in the New Testament, gave him complete control as the new head of the household; my mother's role was to submit. My stepfather happened to be the kind of person who took advantage of this authority, physically abusing us and forcing us to shun our father completely.
After two years, I ran away to live with my father. My brother joined me a tumultuous six months later. We continued to attend the Kingdom Hall and preach door to door; the Witnesses had been our only community. Leaving was a gradual process that took months of questioning. I respected all faiths deeply, but at 15 I decided that I could no longer be part of a religion that condoned inequality.
After she finally divorced my stepfather, my mother moved out of state and married another Witness. Our occasional correspondence skates over the surface of our strained deténte. I feel for her struggles. A smart, capable woman, she subjugated her will and judgment, as the Witnesses teach, to her husbands'. If she damaged my brother and me or failed to protect us, she did so out of fear and belief. She wanted to save us from certain destruction at Armageddon, from a corrupt and dirty world. She wanted nothing less for us than paradise.
I love my mother, but I also love my ''worldly'' life, the multitude of ideas I was once forbidden to entertain, the rich friendships and the joyous love of my family. By choosing to live in the world she scorned -- to teach in a college, to spare the rod entirely, to believe in the goodness of all kinds of people -- I have, in her eyes, turned my back not only on Jehovah but also on her.
It's strange when Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door now. I know discussion is futile; they have a carefully planned response for any objection. Finally, I say, ''I'm an apostate,'' and their eyes widen at the word: someone who has willfully rejected Jehovah, far worse than a worldly person, who is simply ignorant of the Truth. A threat to the faith of others, an apostate deserves to be shunned, as we were forced to shun our disfellowshipped father. The Witnesses back away from my door.
Joy Castro is the author of a memoir, ''The Truth Book,'' to be published next month by Arcade and from which this essay is adapted. She lives in Crawfordsville, Ind.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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From Sex God to Doorstep Bible Basher
Love Gives Pop Legend a New Purple Patch
The Mirror/April 10, 2004
By Nick Webster
On the quiet suburban streets of Minneapolis, he cuts a remarkable figure. Dressed in a tailor-made suit and trademark stack heels, he steps lightly out of his purring limo and, surrounded by four bodyguards, approaches the modest picket-fenced homes.
And to each astonished resident opening their doors to the peculiar group, multi-millionaire superstar Prince quietly asks: "Would you like to talk about Jesus?"
Welcome to the new world of the man who once outraged a nation with the song Sexy MF and who changed his name to a symbol. Gone are the wild parties, the womanising and the bizarre all-purple lifestyle. Instead, 45-year-old Prince's hedonistic excesses have been replaced with door-to-door preaching and Bible study classes.
Credit for this remarkable transformation, the Daily Mirror can reveal, is down to his mother's dying wishes, new wife Manuela Testolini, who, at 27, is 18 years his junior, and his baptism as a Jehovah's Witness.
It is Manuela - the fan-turned-employee-turned-spouse - who has stood by his side as he embraced his new faith and it is she who has helped him return to the musical spotlight after years of obscurity.
This month sees the release of his critically-acclaimed new album Musicology and he recently made a triumphant return to performing at the Grammy awards.
The bid to recapture his position among the pop elite is music to the ears of Canadian-born Manuela.
Prince - who has romanced a string of women, including Sheena Easton, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, Madonna, Kim Basinger, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carmen Electra - has never been a big fan of monogamy.
But now, in middle-age, he seems to have adopted it with Manuela.
But the way he and Mani, as she is known, met and married is a strange combination of fairytale and stalker fantasy.
She grew up in a tiny two-bed apartment in a run-down block on the thundering Don Mills Road in Toronto, Canada.
She was a plain teenager who, as a high school student, was known as an avid Prince fan.
Her passion for the diminutive musician continued at York University in Toronto - where she studied for a degree in art - to the detriment of her social life.
Fellow student Sorayah Kassim-Lakha remembers her regularly playing her hero's hits, particularly If I Was Your Girlfriend and I Wanna Be Your Lover.
"Mani was always very quiet at college," Sorayah says. "She didn't go in for parties and stuff like that.
"She was only ever interested in her art and in Prince. She was obsessed with him. It's all she ever talked about."
Mani was a frequent visitor to the internet fan club alt.music.prince, a forum devoted to her then hero and now husband.
She admitted to being a "lurker" - someone who watches what others say but seldom joins in conversations.
One of the UK fans who did talk to her online was Antony Golding from Bolton, Lancs.
"It's all a bit surreal," he says. "She was just a fan who posted a couple of messages and then suddenly she was working at his Paisley Park recording studios... and then she was his wife."
Manuela graduated from university in the summer of 1998 and soon after she landed her dream job working with the singer. That year, she received a brief credit on Prince's New Power Soul album.
Twelve months later, she became his assistant. Rumours quickly began to circulate that she was more than just a member of staff before his marriage to first wife Mayte Garcia was annulled in May 2000.
Less than three years earlier, Mayte had given birth to the couple's son Gregory, who tragically only lived a week before dying from the rare bone condition Pfeiffer Syndrome, a genetic skull deformity.
Soon after the annulment, Prince, who was once worth £100million, took Manuela with him to Bible study classes with the Jehovah's Witnesses.
After a hush-hush romance, superstar and fan tied the knot in a Jehovah's Witness wedding in Hawaii on New Year's Eve 2001.
A year later, in a private ceremony at the Kingdom Hall in Chanhassen, Minnesota, Prince and Mani were baptised into their new faith in front of the 167-strong congregation.
A small bathtub-sized pool was hired for the occasion. Wearing knee-length robes with swimsuits underneath, they became full members of the church by being immersed in the pool.
Ronald Scofield - one of the elders of the Chanhassen Congregation, Prince's new place of worship - says it was a special day for all.
"Every time one of our members gets baptised it's exciting. But this was exceptionally exciting because it was someone who has made a lot of changes to their life.
"We have watched Prince since he started studying the Bible and noticed a dramatic change. It's something to be very proud of."
The death of Prince's mother, jazz singer Mattie Shaw, was a turning point for the star, who has sold more than 100million albums.
Her dying wishes were for him to become a Jehovah's Witness, as she had been for most of her life, and to see him married. He tied the knot with Mani weeks before his mother passed away and six months after the death of his father, pianist and bandleader John L Nelson.
As part of his new life, Prince and Manuela pay weekly visits to the residents of Minneapolis. At times, Scofield accompanies the couple and their bodyguards.
He admits it can take a good few minutes before stunned homeowners recover from the shock of finding a superstar at their door.
Speaking publicly about Prince's new beliefs for the first time, Scofield confirms: "He's so well known that when he turns up on people's doorsteps, it really surprises them.
"To see him in a Christian lifestyle is very pleasant. He's doing very well and spiritually he seems to be making a great deal of progress, too.
"We go on Bible studies together and work in field service, the door-to-door ministry that Jehovah's Witnesses are known for. When you get past the initial shock of actually meeting Prince, he is very persuasive. He uses the scriptures very well."
After a decade of seclusion, the man christened Prince Rogers Nelson is back to being plain old Prince and playing the hits that made him famous such as Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy and Little Red Corvette.
And no longer is he synonymous with Paisley Park and Minneapolis.
These days, he and Manuela spend much of their time in Los Angeles or the sprawling £3million grey stone mansion he bought at 61 The Bridle Path in an upmarket area of Toronto. At first, mystery surrounded the purchase of the luxury home by a firm called Gamillah Holdings, until it was discovered that the company's president is one Manuela Testolini.
While the couple are away touring the US, builders are constructing a large gatehouse and a new fence, complete with tennis court and pool.
Though it seems a world away, the estate is just a five-minute drive from Mani's parents' tiny apartment.
Despite the age gap and the star's colourful past, Prince has been welcomed with open arms by the Testolini family.
In January, residents of the village of Calabogie - on the outskirts of Ottawa - couldn't believe their eyes when he and Mani arrived in a gleaming limousine for the modest wedding of her sister Daniela to businessman Michael Dykeman. Onlookers say Prince and his wife happily mingled with the other 80 guests during the reception at the Dickson Manor ski lodge.
The singer admits that along with a new wife, he also has a new set of values. "There's no more envelope to push," he says. "I pushed it off the table. It's on the floor. Let's move forward."
Prince also says that TV viewers are now bombarded with dirty music videos.
"Back when I made sexy tunes, the sexiest thing on TV was Dynasty and if you watch it now, it's like the Brady Bunch," he explains.
"My song Darling Nikki was considered porn because I said the word masturbate. That's not me any more."
But with the new tour and album to sell, maybe the wife and new beliefs are just another marketing tool being used by one of the world's ultimate showmen.
Among those with a view about the "new" Prince is Minneapolis gossip columnist CJ, who has followed his career for years, much to the annoyance of the artist himself who wrote a song about her called Billy Jack Bitch.
"A lot of credit is being given to Manuela," she says.
"Both his parents died recently, too. And that's the last barrier to realising that you, too, will die. Maybe that's the reason for the change in personality.
"He was always capable of monogamy but the man got bored quickly. The traumatic death of his baby changed all that. It affected him in a big way.
"People are curious as to why he's changed. The joke here in Minneapolis is that it looks like they finally got the medication right."
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Print M Email
From Sex God to Doorstep Bible Basher
Love Gives Pop Legend a New Purple Patch
The Mirror/April 10, 2004
By Nick Webster
On the quiet suburban streets of Minneapolis, he cuts a remarkable figure. Dressed in a tailor-made suit and trademark stack heels, he steps lightly out of his purring limo and, surrounded by four bodyguards, approaches the modest picket-fenced homes.
And to each astonished resident opening their doors to the peculiar group, multi-millionaire superstar Prince quietly asks: "Would you like to talk about Jesus?"
Welcome to the new world of the man who once outraged a nation with the song Sexy MF and who changed his name to a symbol. Gone are the wild parties, the womanising and the bizarre all-purple lifestyle. Instead, 45-year-old Prince's hedonistic excesses have been replaced with door-to-door preaching and Bible study classes.
Credit for this remarkable transformation, the Daily Mirror can reveal, is down to his mother's dying wishes, new wife Manuela Testolini, who, at 27, is 18 years his junior, and his baptism as a Jehovah's Witness.
It is Manuela - the fan-turned-employee-turned-spouse - who has stood by his side as he embraced his new faith and it is she who has helped him return to the musical spotlight after years of obscurity.
This month sees the release of his critically-acclaimed new album Musicology and he recently made a triumphant return to performing at the Grammy awards.
The bid to recapture his position among the pop elite is music to the ears of Canadian-born Manuela.
Prince - who has romanced a string of women, including Sheena Easton, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, Madonna, Kim Basinger, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carmen Electra - has never been a big fan of monogamy.
But now, in middle-age, he seems to have adopted it with Manuela.
But the way he and Mani, as she is known, met and married is a strange combination of fairytale and stalker fantasy.
She grew up in a tiny two-bed apartment in a run-down block on the thundering Don Mills Road in Toronto, Canada.
She was a plain teenager who, as a high school student, was known as an avid Prince fan.
Her passion for the diminutive musician continued at York University in Toronto - where she studied for a degree in art - to the detriment of her social life.
Fellow student Sorayah Kassim-Lakha remembers her regularly playing her hero's hits, particularly If I Was Your Girlfriend and I Wanna Be Your Lover.
"Mani was always very quiet at college," Sorayah says. "She didn't go in for parties and stuff like that.
"She was only ever interested in her art and in Prince. She was obsessed with him. It's all she ever talked about."
Mani was a frequent visitor to the internet fan club alt.music.prince, a forum devoted to her then hero and now husband.
She admitted to being a "lurker" - someone who watches what others say but seldom joins in conversations.
One of the UK fans who did talk to her online was Antony Golding from Bolton, Lancs.
"It's all a bit surreal," he says. "She was just a fan who posted a couple of messages and then suddenly she was working at his Paisley Park recording studios... and then she was his wife."
Manuela graduated from university in the summer of 1998 and soon after she landed her dream job working with the singer. That year, she received a brief credit on Prince's New Power Soul album.
Twelve months later, she became his assistant. Rumours quickly began to circulate that she was more than just a member of staff before his marriage to first wife Mayte Garcia was annulled in May 2000.
Less than three years earlier, Mayte had given birth to the couple's son Gregory, who tragically only lived a week before dying from the rare bone condition Pfeiffer Syndrome, a genetic skull deformity.
Soon after the annulment, Prince, who was once worth £100million, took Manuela with him to Bible study classes with the Jehovah's Witnesses.
After a hush-hush romance, superstar and fan tied the knot in a Jehovah's Witness wedding in Hawaii on New Year's Eve 2001.
A year later, in a private ceremony at the Kingdom Hall in Chanhassen, Minnesota, Prince and Mani were baptised into their new faith in front of the 167-strong congregation.
A small bathtub-sized pool was hired for the occasion. Wearing knee-length robes with swimsuits underneath, they became full members of the church by being immersed in the pool.
Ronald Scofield - one of the elders of the Chanhassen Congregation, Prince's new place of worship - says it was a special day for all.
"Every time one of our members gets baptised it's exciting. But this was exceptionally exciting because it was someone who has made a lot of changes to their life.
"We have watched Prince since he started studying the Bible and noticed a dramatic change. It's something to be very proud of."
The death of Prince's mother, jazz singer Mattie Shaw, was a turning point for the star, who has sold more than 100million albums.
Her dying wishes were for him to become a Jehovah's Witness, as she had been for most of her life, and to see him married. He tied the knot with Mani weeks before his mother passed away and six months after the death of his father, pianist and bandleader John L Nelson.
As part of his new life, Prince and Manuela pay weekly visits to the residents of Minneapolis. At times, Scofield accompanies the couple and their bodyguards.
He admits it can take a good few minutes before stunned homeowners recover from the shock of finding a superstar at their door.
Speaking publicly about Prince's new beliefs for the first time, Scofield confirms: "He's so well known that when he turns up on people's doorsteps, it really surprises them.
"To see him in a Christian lifestyle is very pleasant. He's doing very well and spiritually he seems to be making a great deal of progress, too.
"We go on Bible studies together and work in field service, the door-to-door ministry that Jehovah's Witnesses are known for. When you get past the initial shock of actually meeting Prince, he is very persuasive. He uses the scriptures very well."
After a decade of seclusion, the man christened Prince Rogers Nelson is back to being plain old Prince and playing the hits that made him famous such as Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy and Little Red Corvette.
And no longer is he synonymous with Paisley Park and Minneapolis.
These days, he and Manuela spend much of their time in Los Angeles or the sprawling £3million grey stone mansion he bought at 61 The Bridle Path in an upmarket area of Toronto. At first, mystery surrounded the purchase of the luxury home by a firm called Gamillah Holdings, until it was discovered that the company's president is one Manuela Testolini.
While the couple are away touring the US, builders are constructing a large gatehouse and a new fence, complete with tennis court and pool.
Though it seems a world away, the estate is just a five-minute drive from Mani's parents' tiny apartment.
Despite the age gap and the star's colourful past, Prince has been welcomed with open arms by the Testolini family.
In January, residents of the village of Calabogie - on the outskirts of Ottawa - couldn't believe their eyes when he and Mani arrived in a gleaming limousine for the modest wedding of her sister Daniela to businessman Michael Dykeman. Onlookers say Prince and his wife happily mingled with the other 80 guests during the reception at the Dickson Manor ski lodge.
The singer admits that along with a new wife, he also has a new set of values. "There's no more envelope to push," he says. "I pushed it off the table. It's on the floor. Let's move forward."
Prince also says that TV viewers are now bombarded with dirty music videos.
"Back when I made sexy tunes, the sexiest thing on TV was Dynasty and if you watch it now, it's like the Brady Bunch," he explains.
"My song Darling Nikki was considered porn because I said the word masturbate. That's not me any more."
But with the new tour and album to sell, maybe the wife and new beliefs are just another marketing tool being used by one of the world's ultimate showmen.
Among those with a view about the "new" Prince is Minneapolis gossip columnist CJ, who has followed his career for years, much to the annoyance of the artist himself who wrote a song about her called Billy Jack Bitch.
"A lot of credit is being given to Manuela," she says.
"Both his parents died recently, too. And that's the last barrier to realising that you, too, will die. Maybe that's the reason for the change in personality.
"He was always capable of monogamy but the man got bored quickly. The traumatic death of his baby changed all that. It affected him in a big way.
"People are curious as to why he's changed. The joke here in Minneapolis is that it looks like they finally got the medication right."
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Jacko's Kids Now Spreading Religious Message
Fox News/June 23, 2010
The once famously veiled children of Michael Jackson are knocking on the doors of stranger’s homes as part of their involvement with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, FOXNews.com reported Wednesday.
Although the their father went out of their way to shield his children, Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8, they are now out in the wider world.
According to a Jackson insider, the kids - under the guidance of their grandmother and legal guardian, Katherine Jackson - have been doing the standard field service as part of their involvement with the religion, encouraging others to convert.
"Growing up, Michael did it, too. It’s an important part of their faith," said the source. "Nobody even seems to know it is them."
Longtime Jackson family friend and biographer, Stacy Brown, also told FOXNews.com that he "wouldn’t be surprised" at all to learn the Jackson youngsters were undertaking field service, despite their star-studded status.
"I am sure it is something Katherine would encourage," Brown said. "Becoming a Jehovah’s Witness was something she wanted for all her kids."
A representative for Katherine did not respond for comment.
House-to-house visitations are regarded as the primary work of Jehovah's Witnesses, with children usually accompanying their parents and participating in the public ministry.
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Jacko's Kids Now Spreading Religious Message
Fox News/June 23, 2010
The once famously veiled children of Michael Jackson are knocking on the doors of stranger’s homes as part of their involvement with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, FOXNews.com reported Wednesday.
Although the their father went out of their way to shield his children, Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8, they are now out in the wider world.
According to a Jackson insider, the kids - under the guidance of their grandmother and legal guardian, Katherine Jackson - have been doing the standard field service as part of their involvement with the religion, encouraging others to convert.
"Growing up, Michael did it, too. It’s an important part of their faith," said the source. "Nobody even seems to know it is them."
Longtime Jackson family friend and biographer, Stacy Brown, also told FOXNews.com that he "wouldn’t be surprised" at all to learn the Jackson youngsters were undertaking field service, despite their star-studded status.
"I am sure it is something Katherine would encourage," Brown said. "Becoming a Jehovah’s Witness was something she wanted for all her kids."
A representative for Katherine did not respond for comment.
House-to-house visitations are regarded as the primary work of Jehovah's Witnesses, with children usually accompanying their parents and participating in the public ministry.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
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Mother Seeks Help to Get Girl Back, Accusation of Brain-Washing Leveled
Watertown Daily Times (NY)/March 19, 1991
By Andy Leahy
GOUVERNEUR - Sixteen-year-old Ginger S. Griggs of Edwards went to church as usual Sunday morning but decided against returning home afterward, sending a friend and an escort from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department to gather some of her belongings that afternoon.
Her mother, Gail S. Griggs, is afraid she'll never see or talk to her daughter again.
Separating mother and daughter is a state law allowing youths to choose to live on their own at age 16; the Gouverneur congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses; and the girl's fiance, Mark Y. Thomas of Edwards, a 22-year-old fellow church member.
Gail Griggs and her mother-in-law, Marjorie Bevins - who both recently "disassociated" themselves from the Jehovah's Witnesses - charge that the religious group is a cult exercising mind control over Ginger Griggs and its four million members worldwide.
'Mind Control'
"My kid is having her mind controlled, and because she's 16 I can't do a thing about it," Gail Griggs said. "She isn't acting on her own reasoning. She's doing what they tell her because she loves Mark."
An elder with the Gouverneur congregation, Bernard E. Sloan of Edwards, said Mrs. Griggs' charges of church control over her daughter are not true. "It's a sad situation."
Mr. Sloan said. "The girl is making her own choices and there has been no direction from the body of elders.
It's not a religious decision. It's from the legal authorities that she's getting her direction from."
"There have been accusations of brain-washing, but all the Jehovah's Witnesses do is rigid study of the Scriptures," Mr. Sloan said. "There is no such thing as mind control."
The family's relationship with the Gouverneur congregation, whose place of worship, Kingdom Hall, is on Route 58 in Hailesboro, began about three years ago, shortly after Gail and Garry S. Griggs separated and she moved to Edwards and she moved to Edwards with her three daughters from New Jersey.
Psychologically Weak
Her moth-in-law, Mrs. Bevins, and some other members of her extended family were involved with the group, and Gail Griggs and she was at the time physically and psychologically weak from a drug addiction, ill health and her separation.
After a lengthy period of study, she joined Ginger and another daughter as initiated members last May, but she was skeptical and bothered from the beginning by what she considered to be inconsistencies in the group's teachings.
Smoking by members, for instance, is forbidden, she said. Yet she was a closet smoker when elders baptized her "as told to do so by Jehovah, but Jehovah knows all things. That's God."
The rift between mother and daughter opened on March 6, Mrs. Griggs said, in the middle of cleanup from the north country's ice storm, when Mrs. Griggs formally quit the church in response to her doubts and pressure from congregation members to give consent to her daughter's marriage, a legal requirement in New York state for those under 18.
Engaged Three Months
Ginger Griggs and Mr. Thomas had been engaged for three months, and members said the book of the Watch Tower, Bible and Tract Society - as the Brooklyn based Jehovah's Witnesses organization is formally known - suggested a three-to-six month engagement, Mrs. Griggs said.
On March 6, shortly after she had a letter delivered to an elder announcing her own "disassociation" from the church, Mrs. Bevins and her three Griggs granddaughters prepared to travel to Bayville, N.J., to visit Garry Griggs and other relatives.
Hearing of the trip, Mr. Thomas arrived with his cousin, blocked the car in the driveway, and demanded to talk to his fiance, according to Mrs. Griggs.
"If you come back from New Jersey and you're not a Jehovah's Witness, I want my ring back.' that's what he said to her," Mrs. Griggs said.
The confrontation in the driveway was also carried out along Route 58 toward Gouverneur, according to Mrs. Bevins, who said Mr. Thomas and his cousin drove alongside and in front of her vehicle, succeeding in stopping the car near the hamlet of Fowler.
Mr. Thomas was ultimately allowed to accompany the group to New Jersey, Mrs. Bevins said, adding that was the only way she could convince him the five-day trip was not designed to permanently separate the two.
Asked the Father
In New Jersey, Mrs. Bevins said, Ginger Griggs and Mr. Thomas won a private audience with Garry Griggs and asked him to authorize his daughter's marriage. After considering it overnight, however, he refused, she said.
Since Sunday, Mrs. Griggs and family members have been appealing for help from groups run by former Jehovah's Witnesses, experts on cults, and St. Lawrence County legal and social-service agencies.
Church teachings call for total social ostracism of "dissociated" or "disfellowshipped" members, Gail Griggs said, adding the rule is even enforced within families.
"I am dead in their eyes because I've turned my back on God," she said.
Mrs. Bevins said she had a conversation with her granddaughter from the doorstep outside the Fowler home of Jehovah's Witness Lorraine W. Taylor, where Ginger Griggs said she left home because her "spirituality was being weakened," according to Mrs. Bevins.
Reached Monday night, Mr. Taylor said he was "trying to stay clear of everything so I'm not accused of anything," but he declined to respond to the Griggs family's charges
Ginger Griggs and Ms. Taylor could not be reached for comment.
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Print M Email
Mother Seeks Help to Get Girl Back, Accusation of Brain-Washing Leveled
Watertown Daily Times (NY)/March 19, 1991
By Andy Leahy
GOUVERNEUR - Sixteen-year-old Ginger S. Griggs of Edwards went to church as usual Sunday morning but decided against returning home afterward, sending a friend and an escort from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department to gather some of her belongings that afternoon.
Her mother, Gail S. Griggs, is afraid she'll never see or talk to her daughter again.
Separating mother and daughter is a state law allowing youths to choose to live on their own at age 16; the Gouverneur congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses; and the girl's fiance, Mark Y. Thomas of Edwards, a 22-year-old fellow church member.
Gail Griggs and her mother-in-law, Marjorie Bevins - who both recently "disassociated" themselves from the Jehovah's Witnesses - charge that the religious group is a cult exercising mind control over Ginger Griggs and its four million members worldwide.
'Mind Control'
"My kid is having her mind controlled, and because she's 16 I can't do a thing about it," Gail Griggs said. "She isn't acting on her own reasoning. She's doing what they tell her because she loves Mark."
An elder with the Gouverneur congregation, Bernard E. Sloan of Edwards, said Mrs. Griggs' charges of church control over her daughter are not true. "It's a sad situation."
Mr. Sloan said. "The girl is making her own choices and there has been no direction from the body of elders.
It's not a religious decision. It's from the legal authorities that she's getting her direction from."
"There have been accusations of brain-washing, but all the Jehovah's Witnesses do is rigid study of the Scriptures," Mr. Sloan said. "There is no such thing as mind control."
The family's relationship with the Gouverneur congregation, whose place of worship, Kingdom Hall, is on Route 58 in Hailesboro, began about three years ago, shortly after Gail and Garry S. Griggs separated and she moved to Edwards and she moved to Edwards with her three daughters from New Jersey.
Psychologically Weak
Her moth-in-law, Mrs. Bevins, and some other members of her extended family were involved with the group, and Gail Griggs and she was at the time physically and psychologically weak from a drug addiction, ill health and her separation.
After a lengthy period of study, she joined Ginger and another daughter as initiated members last May, but she was skeptical and bothered from the beginning by what she considered to be inconsistencies in the group's teachings.
Smoking by members, for instance, is forbidden, she said. Yet she was a closet smoker when elders baptized her "as told to do so by Jehovah, but Jehovah knows all things. That's God."
The rift between mother and daughter opened on March 6, Mrs. Griggs said, in the middle of cleanup from the north country's ice storm, when Mrs. Griggs formally quit the church in response to her doubts and pressure from congregation members to give consent to her daughter's marriage, a legal requirement in New York state for those under 18.
Engaged Three Months
Ginger Griggs and Mr. Thomas had been engaged for three months, and members said the book of the Watch Tower, Bible and Tract Society - as the Brooklyn based Jehovah's Witnesses organization is formally known - suggested a three-to-six month engagement, Mrs. Griggs said.
On March 6, shortly after she had a letter delivered to an elder announcing her own "disassociation" from the church, Mrs. Bevins and her three Griggs granddaughters prepared to travel to Bayville, N.J., to visit Garry Griggs and other relatives.
Hearing of the trip, Mr. Thomas arrived with his cousin, blocked the car in the driveway, and demanded to talk to his fiance, according to Mrs. Griggs.
"If you come back from New Jersey and you're not a Jehovah's Witness, I want my ring back.' that's what he said to her," Mrs. Griggs said.
The confrontation in the driveway was also carried out along Route 58 toward Gouverneur, according to Mrs. Bevins, who said Mr. Thomas and his cousin drove alongside and in front of her vehicle, succeeding in stopping the car near the hamlet of Fowler.
Mr. Thomas was ultimately allowed to accompany the group to New Jersey, Mrs. Bevins said, adding that was the only way she could convince him the five-day trip was not designed to permanently separate the two.
Asked the Father
In New Jersey, Mrs. Bevins said, Ginger Griggs and Mr. Thomas won a private audience with Garry Griggs and asked him to authorize his daughter's marriage. After considering it overnight, however, he refused, she said.
Since Sunday, Mrs. Griggs and family members have been appealing for help from groups run by former Jehovah's Witnesses, experts on cults, and St. Lawrence County legal and social-service agencies.
Church teachings call for total social ostracism of "dissociated" or "disfellowshipped" members, Gail Griggs said, adding the rule is even enforced within families.
"I am dead in their eyes because I've turned my back on God," she said.
Mrs. Bevins said she had a conversation with her granddaughter from the doorstep outside the Fowler home of Jehovah's Witness Lorraine W. Taylor, where Ginger Griggs said she left home because her "spirituality was being weakened," according to Mrs. Bevins.
Reached Monday night, Mr. Taylor said he was "trying to stay clear of everything so I'm not accused of anything," but he declined to respond to the Griggs family's charges
Ginger Griggs and Ms. Taylor could not be reached for comment.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
Abusive Controlling Relationships
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Cult Education Institute
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609.396.6684 / feedback
Disclaimer
Copyright © 1999 - 2014 Cult Education Institute.
http://www.culteducation.com/group/1267-jehovah-s-witnesses/11523-mother-seeks-help-to-get-girl-back-accusation-of-brain-washing-leveled-.html
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