JW Survey articles and recent comments posted in regular print

Skip to content
JWsurvey 


Welcome

Cedars’ Blog

About JW Survey

Global Surveys
»




















Videos

JW Broadcasting

Get Involved

Links

Contact Us
  



← Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower →

The Unexpected Kindness of the World
avatar
Posted on July 21, 2015

Random acts of kindness by "worldly" people are not as rare as most Witnesses might expect
Random acts of kindness by “worldly” people are not as rare as most Witnesses might expect

As a Jehovah’s Witness child, our religious community was seen as a spiritual paradise in contrast to all other organizations on earth. This mindset was routinely emphasized in Watchtower publications.
One Watchtower assures us that “[God] has made it possible for honest hearted ones to move out of the wicked world, figuratively speaking, and into the spiritual paradise that he has created.” (“Dwell on What Jehovah Has Done for You,” Watchtower, 15 January 2011)
Our worldwide brotherhood did seem rather impressive to my young mind. Wherever we were, it was no rare thing to find ourselves staying over and sharing dinner with new Witness “friends.” Over a home cooked meal we’d swap “How did you come into the truth?” stories, make small-talk over the latest Watchtower publications, and after us kids were hushed away to listen to taped Bible dramas, the adults might engage in gossip over those that had recently succumbed to the world.
“The world” was JW jargon to encapsulate everyone that didn’t happen to also be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Faithful members were encouraged to be vigilant, because any number of demonic lures could snatch a loyal Witness from Jehovah’s organization into the clutches of the wicked world.  A hushed mention of the term was enough to carry my mind to Live Forever book illustrations; I mentally transposed the faces of the disfellowshipped over those of opium addicts, disco harlots, and gay cowboys.
1982_Live_Forever_Pg_131
Live Forever book, page 131

1982_Live_Forever_Pg_182
Live Forever book, page 182

This condemnation was not exclusively reserved for the unreligious. Other Christian faiths were considered to be part of the wicked world. And our religious publications seldom wasted an opportunity to contrast the JW version of Christianity with our competitors.
For example, the 2014 Yearbook contains the account of a Somali woman who accepted an invitation to visit a Kingdom Hall. There she grew angry when no one welcomed her and stormed out of the door. Later when she told her experience to the Witness that had invited her, they all realized that she had mistakenly visited another church building. The anecdote ends by sharing that the Somali woman eventually found the Kingdom Hall, was warmly welcomed, and became a regular attender.
Accounts like this are used to infer that even among the religions of “the world” there is no kindness like that of the Witnesses. There is another undercurrent that runs through this and similar JW anecdotes. A warm welcome is merely the first step in the conversion process.
As an adult, I began to see that the JW version of kindness didn’t always match the Watchtower picture. The initial love bombing was soon replaced by a sort of caste system that celebrated those that held position and disregarded those that didn’t live up to the heavy load imposed by the Governing Body. And those that ran afoul of any number of the religion’s rules might be expelled.
Witnesses that once rushed to embrace someone entering through the front door would as quickly turn away from someone shoved out the back. I experienced this myself when I was disfellowshipped for the crime of not agreeing.
After separating from the Witnesses, I accepted invitations to visit other churches. In attending some of these religious rivals, I couldn’t help but notice similarities. As I entered old churches, converted theaters, and the occasional dank basement, I was bombarded by smiling, Holy book-holding people. Questions such as “Who are you?” and “Are you visiting?” were quickly followed by invitations for Bible study and baptism. The jargon was different but the experiences weren’t far off from my JW background.
It also wasn’t rare for those groups to claim exclusivity due to the love they showed one another. An acquaintance that was raised in a high control group, commonly called the 2×2’s, talked about how his own childhood was marked by religious-vacations to stay at the houses of various “friends.” His mother was proud that they could count on anyone of their faith to take them in off the road. It sounded like my own family.
After I separated from the JW religion, it was sometimes a challenge to integrate into the world. A discomfort or awkwardness lingered when associating with people of different backgrounds. The stigma was all on me due to my upbringing. But over time I widened out and met people of different backgrounds – some of whom became real friends.
Recently I took a trip to western North Carolina, a scenic area on the east coast of the United States. My girlfriend and I were hosted by a couple who lived half-way up a tall mountain with gorgeous views of the scenery. We were complete strangers, just introduced online. We made shrimp and steak tacos for our hosts as a small thanks for the paradise-like accommodations that would have rivaled the most exclusive resort. As we drank frosty bottles of Negra Modelo with our new friends, we learned about their incredible lives.
mountain_home
The North Carolina mountain retreat where we stayed

He was 60’s student who enlisted in the military to serve in the Vietnam war before getting out as an objector after a crisis of conscience. Back home he became a street flower vendor before opening his own shop. She was an ethnobotanist that toured the world conducting research for National Geographic. He told us about the local foliage. She told us that cannibals loved SPAM, because it allegedly tastes like human flesh.

For example, many use tobacco, chew betel nut, or take drugs for recreational purposes. – “A Godly View of Life”, What Does the Bible Teach?
And she told us about betel nut. As a JW, betel nut was considered another of Satan’s machinations that could catapult an unsuspecting Witness straight into the world. It was up there with marijuana and tobacco, though no one seemed to know exactly what it was. Our host told us that betel nut was chewed by islanders from the age of nine onward. It resulted in addiction and the loss of teeth. Thanks to the Watchtower I dodged the bullet on that one. I could have had dentures at eleven!
The couple enthusiastically explained that they had made hospitality their way of life since touring Europe as young adults. Although decades had past, they vividly gave accounts of being approached to share a tent, roof or meal. When they returned to the States, they wanted to do the same and have continued to open their home to others passing through.
As we toured the local downtown an Eastern-European girl approached asking for directions. She was working as a counselor at a rural summer camp and was planning to walk back. The couple insisted they drive her. As we dropped her off and waved goodbye, we exchanged smiles and waves that transcended language. And there were no religious tracts exchanged.
We only stayed two nights, though our hosts implored us to stay more. Instead we set out to explore the local area, camping high in the middle of an expansive forest. By day we ventured down into the valley towns and city. One night we ended up staying too late enjoying cocktails and local music. A greeting to another couple led to another invitation to stay over.
The next afternoon another set of new acquaintances took care of our lunch bill. Beyond hospitality and food, we received housing advice, job leads, personal tours, conversation, and more. All came without an expectation of anything in return, not even a visit to a church building.
In religions like JW’s, kindness is not free or without conditions. When directed toward outsiders it is with the anticipation that it will lead to a conversion. But as easily as it is given, it quickly goes away whenever someone runs afoul of the religion. It’s true that in many places in the world kindness may be rare, but to insinuate that it can only come within one tiny Christian sect is simply false. It’s a lie told to enforce us-versus-them style thought control.
The more I’m exposed to the world, the more I’m exposed to genuinely kind people that give from the heart rather than religious obligation. And like my hosts, it motivates me to want to show similar kindness to others. Have you ever experienced unexpected kindness from “the world?” Please share it in the comments.


anthony-signature2
Anthony Mathenia is the author of a new JW fiction novel Happiness, Next Exit, to be released August 24th. Follow him on Twitter at @armathenia.


Share this:



















in
Share
.

Print
.
Like this:



Bookmark the permalink.
 
← Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower →

61 Responses to The Unexpected Kindness of the World


Newer Comments →

 sally1914 says:

 July 21, 2015 at 4:30 am

The experience I’m sharing was my daughter’s. She and her husband went grocery shopping, gathering just over $100.00 worth of food. When they went to pay, every one of their credit cards/debit cards were declined! Close to tears, they had a stranger come along and pay their bill. They gave thanks to the Lord for providing. She has plans to open a room over the garage in her new home, for the homeless. They told me of this with wonder and tears.
Reply
 

 Angus Robertson says:

 July 21, 2015 at 4:51 am

Great article. Since leaving have experienced so much unconditional kindness from neighbors and strangers alike. The support offered when my wife and I were DF’d (again for not agreeing) was incredible. You don’t need religion to be a good person and cults certainly do not hold exclusivity on hospitality.
Reply
 

 Kat says:

 July 21, 2015 at 4:54 am

Being and older citizen and don’t drive because of a disability, my neighbor is always asking if they can take me to help with my shopping, this terrible worldly person asks nothing in return, however if I don’t ask JW they wont offer.
Reply
 

 Andrea says:

 July 21, 2015 at 5:54 am

This was one of the eye-opening things for me when I left the JW community.
 I had previously thought that there may not be a lot of kindness or generosity to see outside the org. How mistaken I was – so many people, some complete strangers, have turned out to be so kind or helpful without any agenda or expecting anything in return. I’ve similarly have met mean people, but I’ve also experienced the same from within the organisation… Truly, kindness or meanness is not determined by religion or lack thereof.
Reply
 

 Jill Hileman says:

 July 21, 2015 at 6:28 am

It seems we all have the similar experience of shock and some level of dismay when “worldly people” prove to be so much more than the religious stamp assigned to them, so much more than the stark portrait painted to keep us distant and fearful.
Reply
 

 Thinking of leaving says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:10 am

To be honest I found the way I was treated when exiting to be some what perplexing. I was actively involved (well at least superficially as a publisher)for 4 decades in the religion.On finding out TTATT and beginning my fade I had not one elders visit, and only 3 publishers on 2 separate visits could be bothered to knock on my door to see how I was. In my life time I knew 1000s of witnesses and it still blows my mind to think how they will mindlessly go D2D knocking on empty houses and yet give so little attention to those exiting out the back door. Well it’s not like I’m complaining however. Keep up the good work Watchtower!!
Reply
 
 Ken says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:31 pm

I had a shepherding call from a ” Sister” I knew from my childhood Kingdom Hall , she knocked on my door in 2008 after my father passed on . Strangely we left the J Ws back in 1985 . So think how long it’s been since I have actually seen a Jehovah witness ! It took them almost 20 years to remember me and my mother . It shows how leauk warm they are.
By the way Iam still waiting for the Saturday morning knock…..
Reply
 
 

 StrongHaiku says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:25 am

That was a great article and resonated with me. You asked the question ‘Have you ever experienced unexpected kindness from “the world?”’. I would answer with an unequivocal ‘yes’. Further, I would say it wasn’t until I have been out for a while that I learned how I had been indoctrinated to be xenophobic, sexist, racist, classist, etc. by this religion and the God it follows. And, this makes sense as one of the central tenets of religion is to make the in-group feel privileged and special by dehumanizing and demonizing the out-group.
If you have left the JWs, you may be happy (and feel smart) that you no longer follow a corrupt organization. However, you may still have a lot of work to do to reconnect with your humanity. Take the time to revisit everything you believe (and assume) beyond the theology. You may find you are still carrying a lot of bad ideas and baggage.
When I compare who I am today vs. who I was before, I am ashamed. Based on how I see things today, I don’t think I was truly a good person then, but I am working on it…
Reply
 
 Steve McRoberts says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:37 am

Great point, StrongHaiku. I feel exactly the same way.
Reply
 

 Darlene says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:58 am

I feel the same and appreciate you bringing that out in hte open!
Reply
 
 Darlene says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:59 am

the… typo. :-)
Reply
 
 Grace says:

 July 21, 2015 at 3:41 pm

@StrongHaiku,
Everything you said in that comment was so true & how much I observed over the years myself too. I couldn’t have said it any better than that. “Xenophobic, sexist, racist, classist”.
I happened to be watching the original 1984 movie with my nieces the other day. We go to the bit where the crowd were watching the big screen shouting “hate! hate! hate!” & I turned to my niece & said this is like the outward aggressive version of being a Witness. You’re subtly indoctrinated to hate. Hate the world, hate gays, hate other religions, hate anyone that is not a JW & sometimes even hate those that are, hate the disfellowshipped but most of all, HATE APOSTATES!!!!
And they can deny that they hate but at the end of the day, they are wishing for all of these people to be dead one day.
Reply
 
 anonymous says:

 July 21, 2015 at 8:40 pm

Grace, a couple days ago, my husband’s exact words were: “I revel at the thought of all those people dying at Armageddon”. He was talking about anybody who isn’t a JW. I repeated to him what he said in a question and he repeated it and said it again “Yes, I revel at the thought of all those people who aren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses dying at Armageddon.”
The Bible says that God doesn’t want anybody to be destroyed (2 Peter 3:9)

 
 
 
 
 

 Marty says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:32 am

I experienced this when the JW I worked for, along with his son, suddenly let me go after 15 years of hard graft without as much as a “Thank You”.
Struggling financially I finally had a job offer from a “worldly” person for full time employment. The reason he asked me was that the guy he had before was unreliable, lazy, incompetent and a liability. That guy was, and still is a JW!
 So, yes there is such a thing as genuine kindness in the “World”!
P.S All the folks I have met since leaving this toxic cult have proven far more loving and sincere individuals than most of the JW’s I knew for the 23 years I was “in”
Reply
 

 Steve McRoberts says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:33 am

Great post, Anthony!
Changing names, but here’s a true story.
Paul and Mary were in the same congregation and kept in touch by mail after he had faded and she had disassociated. There was no romantic ties, as there was a big age difference, and Mary was married: they were just friends. One day Mary wrote to Paul that her daughter, whom she had at 16 and had given up for adoption, was now an adult and had tracked her down. She and her daughter corresponded for a while, and they desperately wanted to meet in person. The problem was: they were both poor, and lived across the country from each other.
Paul, though he was working part-time as a janitor, bought a non-refundable round-trip plane ticket for Mary to visit her daughter, and mailed it to her. Mary was overjoyed and she flew to meet her daughter and had a tearful reunion.
A sad postscript: Shortly after this, Mary went back to the Witnesses and immediately cut off all contact with Paul.
Reply
 

 John Baptist says:

 July 21, 2015 at 8:30 am

First of all good article Anthony. These are subjects that are good to cover in order to see the True reality of this Man made Religion that requires you to serve their leaders unconditionally but yet in return they put conditions on you being accepted in to their fold. How Sad and completely wrong.
 True Love and compassion is UNCONDITIONAL!
 And there are countless humans in this “WORLD” that display this on a daily basis.
 But when your a Billion dollar toxic cult that indoctrinates its members by throwing out LABELS and hoping they stick, you really realize how far off base and out there they are in their thought processes.
 I have been that child who was required by force to conform since the age of 10 and was forced to be baptized at 15 or else.
 Since not agreeing with their false prophecy’s but remaining a Christian i was ousted out and what ensued was beyond belief. And they call this LOVE?
 My then wife told me i was not worth investing in since i was not part of the religion anymore and degraded me and forced me out of the relationship. Again a relationship based on conditions as well as a relationship with a organisation based on conditions.
 So there i was tossed out like garbage and falsely accused of horrendous drama filled accusations without proof. Again is this unconditional Christ like Love in operation? Absolutely Not!!
 The life that followed was of abrupt change to which i am so thankful and have not one regret.
 Since being ousted to the “World” i have regained my mental stability in reality. Yes there are folks out there that are bad to be associated with but there are just as much inside those four Kingdom Hall walls who disguise it with their own dual personality. One when their inside the hall and one when their outside. We all know what i’m talking about here.
 Since 1992 i have relationships with people who are really “Honest Hearted” and who to this day wouldn’t hesitate to call on for help and they would give it unconditionally. This is true love based on relationships that have stood the test of time.
 In my circle of friends i would trust any of them and they likewise with me. And they all come from different faiths and backgrounds.
 Its no wonder the Watchtower Society paints literally in their publications such worthless propaganda when it comes to the “World” because they hold you Hostage from seeing the Real “Truth” about it.
 Wake up Folks and regain your own life back from this ever indoctrinating religion that TRULY wastes your life and time!
Reply
 

 anonymous says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:09 am

All the fifty years I was in the “truth” I was made to feel bad if I contributed to any charity that wasn’t the Watchtower organization. In the United States there are hospitals that take sick kids and they never receive a bill. There’s all kinds of charities for children with cancer and all kinds of illnesses that parents don’t have the money for. Even McDonalds has Ronald McDonald houses for parents to stay when their child is being treated for cancer.
When one of the three times after I stopped going to meetings, two elders stopped by to talk to me, I brought up that there are a lot of worldly people who do many good things for people just because they are good people and the two elders looked at me blankly and denied it and implied I was lying.
There are charities for children, animals and veterans from the military. There’s charities to help people live in homes that they can’t afford to buy. People start charities for people whose houses have burned up in fires and have suffered from floods. The list goes on and on but Witnesses turn a blind eye to it.
They turn their backs on anything that might help their fellow man and think that if they have an extra dollar in their pocket, the only honorable place to put it is in the contribution box at the Kingdom Hall because they think with that dollar, just maybe somebody might get a Watchtower magazine and read it and it will give them everlasting life in the new world. Their kids are even made to feel guilty if they don’t take their allowances and put that in the contribution boxes.
Now that I have left the Organization, I see those charities as what they really are. They are real charities, unlike the fake charity of the Watchtower Organization. The Watchtower Organization’s only charity is to take money for themselves so they can buy more property.
If anyone of Jehovah’s Witnesses comes into hard times, the Society will put the guilt on the Witnesses’
close friends to help them out.
You will never see a video from the Society where the Organization will help out the motherless child or the widows or the person who lost his job so he could attend the meetings. It ain’t never gonna happen. Not in our lifetime.
What Witnesses are told to do is put their trust in Jehovah. If Jehovah doesn’t help them out of their hard times, it has to be because Jehovah isn’t blessing them because they are doing something wrong and they will turn a blind eye to their problems.
If a Witness needs food or rent money or anything else, they will have to go to a worldy food bank or ask for charity from one of Christendom’s charities and this will happen, no matter how many years of free voluntary service that Witness did for the Organization.
Reply
 
 a jones says:

 July 22, 2015 at 7:15 pm

Hi have a look on youtube to see what ABCnews and Good morning america have to say about Goodsearch.com a charity search engine and so that people use it rather than any other search engine it donates half the profits of each search to charity
 Over $11 million to charity and the same for the company
Reply
 

 Holly Chu says:

 July 25, 2015 at 12:41 pm

I have never seen my own personal thoughts on charity outside the Organization and the “non charity” inside the Organization put so crystal clear as your post. I was born-in 60 years ago and after the upcoming summer 2015 Convention will make my quiet and final exit. Good luck to anyone in need, financially or otherwise, in the JW organization. And now the GB is asking for all out commitment of members funds and time at Kingdom Hall and Wallkill building work. Free labor I might add to those who are not aware.
 Please keep up your spot on posting.
Reply
 
 

 Average Joe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:25 am

There are good people both inside and outside the JW organisation. JWs don’t have the monopoly on being nice, loving people. However, the other can be said too. Not every JW is a heartless self-centred individual either. It all boils down to who you are as a person, at your core. If you are a decent individual then that will shine through no matter what religion or creed your profess.
Reply
 
 Gameisover says:

 July 23, 2015 at 12:55 am

Of course there are good people, potentially.
 However when an individual is brain washed, fully indoctrinated, they will turn into monsters, practice shunning with their own children or parents and really believe that they are doing the right thing to please God. No exceptions.
Reply
 
 Gameisover says:

 July 23, 2015 at 1:40 am

P.S. Also these potentially good people
 never engage in any type of volunteer work in their communities. The sick, the homeless, the elderly, have only “worldly” people to care for them.
 Last but not least, how good are people who are not horrified at the worldwide
 slaughter promised by JW.Org?
 They even go around parroting it to anyone that will listen.
 I’m ashamed to have been like that for nearly 50 years. But it’s never to late.
 In my case the change was almost immediate. I was willing to lose everything
 and I did.
 Since then I have found people that really care, that want nothing in return.
 I work with the homeless in my city. There are thousands;we work with a group of 500 men. The degrade, the sorrow, the injustices, pale into insignificance with what some of us have suffered. They so appreciate every little thing. I have many little gifts from them, notes, even poem.
 All the years in the full time work never gave the feelings I have now. Never the love, friendship, compassion, kindness, to this degree.
 The homeless may be scary to begin with but as one gets to know them well unsuspected beauty unfolds. Like a Pearl
 of great value…….
Reply
 

 Gameisover says:

 July 23, 2015 at 1:40 am

P.S. Also these potentially good people
 never engage in any type of volunteer work in their communities. The sick, the homeless, the elderly, have only “worldly” people to care for them.
 Last but not least, how good are people who are not horrified at the worldwide
 slaughter promised by JW.Org?
 They even go around parroting it to anyone that will listen.
 I’m ashamed to have been like that for nearly 50 years. But it’s never to late.
 In my case the change was almost immediate. I was willing to lose everything
 and I did.
 Since then I have found people that really care, that want nothing in return.
 I work with the homeless in my city. There are thousands;we work with a group of 500 men. The degrade, the sorrow, the injustices, pale into insignificance with what some of us have suffered. They so appreciate every little thing. I have many little gifts from them, notes, even poem.
 All the years in the full time work never gave the feelings I have now. Never the love, friendship, compassion, kindness, to this degree.
 The homeless may be scary to begin with but as one gets to know them well unsuspected beauty unfolds. Like a Pearl
 of great value…….
Reply
 
 
 

 Catalina says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:29 am

Anthony Mathenia I agree with you. In religions like JW’s, kindness is not free or without conditions. This article is awesome. Please let me share my experience with you. The august 15, 2000 watchtower has an article called, The Only Way to Eradicate Hate. This article shows three sisters of James Byrd Jr are Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1998 three white men dragged James Byrd Jr behind a truck for two miles because he was black. The coroner’s report showed James Byrd kept his head up while he was being dragged until he was killed. James Byrd Jr’s sisters feel Jehovah God and the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion is their haven from the outside world, (satan’s world). I can’t imagine how his sisters feel. I can’t imagine the thoughts they must have. If I was them I’d want to kill every white man I’d see. My father became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1943. His family is very bigoted and racist. For example : My dad’s sister is not a JW, she is baptist. Her daughter teaches in sunday school. She and her daughter speak very negatively about colored people. They call all colored people niggers and are hateful towards them in public. I was with them one time when we saw a white girl with a black man at a movie theater and they made rude comments to the couple. I felt very uncomfortable. The couple got really offended and angry. I said to the couple, I’m sorry you guys, I don’t feel that way. They asked me why I hung out with them. If my father hadn’t become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1943 he would have continued to act like that. I’m glad I was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses because I really did get something good out of it. I have problems with the religion but I have problems with all religions and I disregard all religions. My psychiatrist wants me to remember the good things I’ve experienced in life, love my JW family, forgive them and move on. I know I don’t want to be like my non JW family because they are creepy and hateful. My JW family is a lot nicer. I visit my jw family and they don’t know anything about my private life. I keep my financial situation, my sex life, my political views and my religious views to myself because I know those issues aren’t anyone else’s business. Fortunately I live in a different state from my family. I don’t get to pushy with my JW family. I know when to shut up. I’m learning how respect is given and received in therapy. My psychiatrist says it takes two things to be happy in life. 1.) Don’t expect everyone to agree with you. and 2.) Don’t expect everyone to like you. I’m in therapy for emotional abuse. It is helping. The idea of being a jw and being separate from the world helped my dad with his bigotry. My dad moved us to California in 1964 to get us away from his family. I’m glad the JW religion helped my dad improve his attitude with bigotry. My dad encouraged my brother to date a colored sister when my brother expressed he liked her ! my brother did so. Everyone is fighting their own battles in life. I’m learning from the group therapy. It’s rare to find a non dysfunctional family. People use religion as a crutch. Religious leaders abuse their power. Therapy teaches us to stay away from a particular family member who adds stress to our life. I’m not alone. In therapy I’ve learned this is what happens when people can’t agree to disagree. Articles like the one you wrote helps people a lot. Thank you.
Reply
 

 Average Joe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:29 am

On a side point Anthony, I’d totally forgotten about the “Gay Cowboys”!
If Jehovah disapproves of Disco then I’m in big trouble given my hefty vinyl collection of Bee Gees, EW&F, Sly & The Family Stone etc! :)
Reply
 

 kofybean says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:37 am

“The world”. What a joke. The shoud of bigotry and racism stand before you.
“And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” -Matthew 5:47
Reply
 

 Hakizimana Jean de Dieu says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:40 am

“worldly people” are naturally beautiful as they do not read JW Publications. Hateful teachings that Watchtower instills subtly into Jehovah’s Witnesses’ minds constitute a vibrant evidence than one can transform humans into animals so easily using hateful publications:
*** w07 7/1 p. 13 par. 4 Highlights From the Book of Ezekiel—I ***
 We do not need to let our eye feel sorry for those who receive God’s adverse judgment or feel compassion for them.
Reply
 
 Queen Elsa says:

 July 21, 2015 at 1:23 pm

Sounds like a sociopath.
Reply
 
 

 Average Joe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:43 am

@kofybean.
 Excellent use of scripture and a very valid point!
Reply
 

 Criticus says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:05 am

All,
I can only add what others & myself have said repeatedly by now:
The worst people I ever had to deal with are JWs; the kindest individuals I ever came across are “bad worldly unbelievers”, including those whose humanity, religiosity, and TRUE spirituality would let some of the most raging fundamentalist-JWs look like godless brutes.
It is as simple as that. I could append this with a long biography, relating my experiences as a long-time “Full Time Servant”, including work at several foreign branch offices. What I was forced to witness and to suffer there beggars all description; in general, it was rotten and corrupt; in part, it was criminal. Beyond my “glorious” Bethel experiences, I witnessed (and still do) recurring arrogance, conceit, self exaltation, hubris, vanity, sheer stupidity, coupled with crude and outright abuse of power on the part of very small and low characters across a number of congregations half around the globe. This has nothing to do with occasional “human imperfection”, as is the standard Watchtower excuse to brush aside those gross and intrinsic “failures and flaws” of the Watchtower system. The more I was exerting myself acc. to the book and by the letter in all that I deemed was laid upon me as my “sacred duty”, the more I got treated like crap within the sunny “spiritual paradise”. Even if you are a “model-JW”, this is no guarantee that you “are in ‘good standing’ “, and you still may get whipped, spanked, rebuked, berated, reprimanded, “counseled”, depending of who doesn’t like your face or your nose or may simply feel challenged by you or your very existence. Wherever I go, wherever I look within the “divine organization by its own grace”, I see the same distinctive spirit floating around and permeating it like a bad stench: One of arrogance, conceit, haughtiness and superiority. Needless to state that this is not the “spirit from above”, but it is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic”, James 3,15. It is not God’s Holy Spirit that is breathing through this manmade entity called “Watchtower”, or “JW.Org”, or whatever its fallible human leaders who deem themselves gods may still call it.
In contrast, during the past few years I had the pleasure and the privilege to meet people – non-JWs, “worldly people”, “unbelievers” by WTS-standards – who show respect, decency, politeness and appreciation, not only for a job well done, but for you as a person and a human being. Happily, it is suchlike people I am now having dealings with on a day-to-day basis, and it didn’t take much to realize what humongous cognitive dissonance any JW is hauling around who gets pounded into his brain by Watchtower/JW.Org that “we are the best, we are the only ones showing true Christian love” – really??? Just because “we” don’t take up arms to go to war? Read up on this and educate yourself, to see how many more there are who didn’t and don’t go to war – not bec. of being told by a human Central Committee, but bec. of TRULY being human, using their own god-given mental faculties, based on their OWN well-cultivated convictions. And how about this “weapon” – the “tongue that stabs like a sword” – isn’t this a weapon too? And oh how busy it is among all those gossiping, chattering, backstabbing, pettily critical, judgmental Witnesses who are talking behind each others’ backs, knowing exactly when, how & where Witness Such-And-Such miserably flunked and failed to live up to petty little manmade standards, “not doing enough” and not “being exemplary”.
“4 legs goooood – 2 legs baaaaad – JW goooood – non-JW baaaaad” – not in my book any longer, dear comrades & fellows.
Reply
 
 anonymous says:

 July 21, 2015 at 8:16 pm

@Criticus, I have to say I agree with your assessment of the majority of the Witnesses that I am aware of in my old congregation and your description sounds an awful lot like the majority of the Witnesses that I know.
I know of a lot of Witnesses who are some of the nicest and humblest people you will ever know but the majority are just as you described, as far as the ones that I know and have worked in service with and been at meetings with.
So many times, I felt put down and not respected and going to meetings and service was really hard for me to do as it felt more like a punishment than anything else. I always felt like I “owed” it to the congregation to be an “encouragement” to the rest to go to meetings but every meeting made me feel depressed instead. When meetings make a person dread going and make you feel depressed, you should realize there is something really wrong with that religion. It took me going online and seeing how others like yourself that feel the very same way is what made me not depressed anymore. Thank you so much for your assessment of most of the JW’s that you know with your experience. Now I know, it was never me. It was the religion that makes people like that or else people like that are attracted to a religion like the JW’s. The majority are just not nice at all and very arrogant and judgmental. True, true, true.
About ten years ago we had a sister who was dying of breast cancer and the elders assigned a bunch of us sisters to take turns and go and clean her house for her even though she had teenaged children living at home who wouldn’t lift a finger to help her out. Her husband was an unbeliever and I think it was to impress him but the sister knew that the only reason we came was because we were assigned to do it.
A person can tell when the “love” is forced and not from the heart. She could tell. That poor sister was dying and the sister I went with, had no feeling for her at all at what she was going through.
Knowing she was going to die at such a young age and not being able to see her kids grow up had to be so terrible for her, but the sister couldn’t feel her pain and to her it was like oh well, she’ll be resurrected and we will see her again in the new system so what’s the big deal?
Reply
 
 Criticus says:

 July 22, 2015 at 8:25 am

I appreciate your feedback, anonymous. Thank you. And you are right: There are, of course, JWs who are truly good people through and through – but not bec. they are JW, that cannot be stressed enough. Their being “good people” is no “seal of quality” for the WTS, which I will henceforth call JW.Org, to “keep pace” with God’s “progressive” org. that is “moving ahead” (oh yeah? Quo vadis, WTS?). If there are “good” JWs, that’s because they have preserved a certain amount of individuality, sanity, humanity, intellect and good & common sense, despite JW.Org’s incessant rants as to “You must totally obey the GB, be humble, be submissive, don’t question; only if you are 1000% in line with our commands you will be saved at HM; showing love means going from door to door spreading our org-rules; you must do MORE MORE MORE ever MORE” etc. There are indeed some JWs who remain, and are still HUMAN.
It happened to me in my “exemplary JW”-heydays that I got commended by “worldly” people, and I, in my “You must bring nothing but praise upon JHWH’s organization”-delusion, “giving –a-good-witness”-OCD, “proudly” exposed myself as a JW to “use this opportunity” to present “Jehovah” – thus Watchtower – in a “good light”– and the curtains dropped: People would ADAMANTLY refuse to “connect the dots”, i.e., they did not accept making the combination of “Being a JW” with “Being a good worker, being a likable person” etc. Back then, it caused me to be huffy – now, I do understand.
Reply
 
 
 

 rob says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:51 am

I absolutely hate the term “worldly people” and after leaving the witness religion I have made friendships with many people who are kind, spiritual and charitable and who are extremely trustworthy.
I knew some very wonderful people who were witnesses but unfortunately for many of those individuals friendship came with a caveat ” the witness religion comes first and friendship can only be conditional on being friends with those who follow the witness rules”
When I faded these individuals faded from me because I no longer was a witness. Makes me sad to think that people will allow themselves to be told who they can associate with and who can be a part of their lives.
Reply
 

 Ted says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:51 am

While still entrenched in that awful religion, and indoctrinated
 to think those outside were godless and selfish, I experienced
 kindness from a total stranger that gave me pause.
On my way to work one winters morning, my old car stalled.
 I lifted the bonnet ( hood) to check for any apparent cause,
 when an expensive looking car going in the opposite direction
 pulled up on the other side of the road. A well dressed man
 came across to me asking if I needed assistance? which I did.
Between us, we decide the problem was a flat battery, he asked
 if had a towline and he would pull my car to get it started, but I
 did not have a towline.
He then produced from his trunk what looked like a small rug
 and wrapped it round his front bumper ( fender) and said,
“As he couldn’t pull me along, he would push me.
He then turned his car around, in the opposite direction to his
 intended journey, and without concern of damage to his own
 vehicle, he pushed me along for several hundred yards till my
 old banger sparked into life, Afraid to pull up, in case it stalled
 again, I kept on driving, never even having the chance to thank
 him. But all these years after I still remember his kindness.
Cult driven misanthropy is false. There are millions of genuine
 Good Samaritans out there.
Reply
 

 Darlene says:

 July 21, 2015 at 11:03 am

I have always despised the term “worldly people!” I was brainwashed into the org for 40 years! My family and I have experienced some of the worst treatment from jw’s than I care to remember now. When I left and began to visit different Churches, I was always welcomed and encouraged! Not only the first time, but every time!
Reply
 

 It'sJustMe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 11:47 am

The seven pharisees of the “governing body” and their appointed underlings have much incentive to make people “in the world” appear as most unkind as possible in the eyes of their flock, violating outrageously on one hand some basic human rights, and manipulating on a second hand their flock to encourage them to remain without puting a question mark over their spiritual competence, making them swallow their “new lights” gluttonously.
Reply
 

 Markw1509 says:

 July 21, 2015 at 1:52 pm

My wife’s parents have been witnesses for over 50 years. They are now invalid and in their 80’s.
 They desperately need help and the only help they get is from their daughter, my wife. Also, their local neighbours help them out whenever they need it.
 As my wife and I are no longer witnesses, no-one in their congregation helps out at all, not even with visits.
 The witnesses are selfish and do not display Christianity in any way. The neighbours, many of which are atheists, cannot do enough for my wife’s parents.
 If my in-laws had to rely on witnesses to help them, they would have died of neglect years ago.
 Pitiful and shameful!
 Thank goodness for the neighbours!
Reply
 

 Grace says:

 July 21, 2015 at 4:02 pm

Remember how we were always told that no one else but the Witness have the love that we have as to give up our life for another. What a load of hot air!
Just to show that human kindness is out there, this story proves that one man was willing to put his life on the line for his mate. Julian Wilson, a pro surfer was emotional over not being able to get to Mick Fanning when the shark attacked his board. Scary stuff.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-21/fanning-returns-home-after-shark-attack/6635540
Reply
 

 It'sJustMe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:26 pm

If I compare during the last fourty years on one hand the respect and the kindness shown towards me by my various not JW employers (bosses) and colleagues , and the respect and the the kindness demonstrated towards me by the various “elders” in various congregations in various countries during that same time, I can say that the balance clearly weighs in favor of “worldly” people not trapped in the Watchtower cult. So happy to be 100 % out of the WT cult, now officially dissociated since five months.
Reply
 

 Newlyout says:

 July 21, 2015 at 10:04 pm

I left the organization when I was pregnant with my first child. Because we were striving to lead ‘simple lives’ my husband and I had very little extra money. I thought of all the baby showers I had attended as a witness for over 30 years and felt some sadness in realizing that I would not have that experience.
We had no close friends outside of the organization because we followed the counsel not to associate with the world. I had turned down many invitations from coworkers not only to their baby showers but also to their birthday and holiday parties.
One of the women at work who knew my story and who also had a baby at home mentioned my situation to her wife.
Her wife organized a baby shower for me. My work donated a wonderful venue to have the shower. Before any of this happened my husband and I had registered for gifts just in case any of our family still wanted to send gifts. (Many of them actually did and we were grateful). We went to the shower very happy just to have people gather together to celebrate with us but not expecting very many presents. We were shocked to see that nearly our entire registry of presents had been purchased.
Another coworker knew that we didn’t have a car at the time and loaned us his for free for several months after the any was born.
Several months later I was attempting to buy a crib on craigslist as our son had outgrown his Pack n Play. The woman selling it learned I didn’t have a car and delivered it to my house for free and included a very nice mattress for free as well.
I was completely amazed because when I left the organization I did so because I realized that they didn’t have the truth, but because of the propaganda which I had been taught from infancy and still believed I fully expected the ‘world to chew me up and spit me out’. I know that every experience I have won’t be as amazing as the ones I’ve had, but so far it hasn’t been anything like I feared that it would.
Reply
 

 rusty says:

 July 22, 2015 at 3:28 am

Example of watwatchtowers influence from Australia.
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/07/22/19/25/man-who-poisoned-fellow-church-members-milk-with-weed-killer-begs-to-be-spared-jail
Reply
 

 DavidR says:

 July 22, 2015 at 8:34 am

The whole myth about how wonderful the witnesses are to new people is entirely false.
What they mean is that if you show up in street clothes and are easily recognized as a non witness then they will put on their Love Bombing facade and play the part of the welcoming JW.
However, show up to a meeting dressed up like they expect, so that you look like just another JW that they just don’t know and you will see the real face of the organization. People will most likely avoid you and not have anything to do with you until they see an Elder/Servant/Pioneer talking to you. You might get one or two people say hello as they politely walk by, but you are not welcomed until there is some sort of confirmation that you are “safe”.
I wouldn’t have thought this until I moved a few times and was treated like I was radiated until my letter came and told them how wonderful I was. Then everyone wanted to talk to me and invite me over. It was really eye opening to how people are treated in the organization.
Reply
 

 thebluepill says:

 July 22, 2015 at 9:15 am

One of the last parts at the meeting that my wife had was entitled “How our unity and love is full-filling prophecy” or something to that effect. It was based on the psalm 133:1. The point was to show how dispite our different backgrounds, witnesses are the only group doing showing love and unity. We were already mentally out and this was going to be our last meeting ever. I told her I would write it for her and give an apostate leaning twist. I started with the “householder” (yuck!) stating how someone was rude to her and how she cant wait till Jehovah destroys all the worldly people ( how many times have we heard that before!). She mentions how awesome it is to be in an organization that is united and loves one another and quotes that scripture. My wife then mentions ” Well, is loving and caring for only our brothers and sisters really that big of a deal?” She replies with waht do you mean. My wife then quotes that scripture from Matt 5:47 that says basically its not a big deal. The talk then went on to talk about helping others and how preaching should not be the only way to show love for all.
 I was sure that the elder in charge was going to counsel us and wonder “are yall apostates?” Throughout the talk I noticed the audience nodding their heads in agreement. They loved it. One sis said that it was one of the best talks she has ever heard and very refreshing.
 This proves two things: this religion is filled with many who would reach out to ‘worldy’ people and other charitable orgs if allowed and , 2) are instead commanded to ignore what their savior has specifically commanded.
Reply
 

 Excelsior! says:

 July 22, 2015 at 9:39 am

What an excellent article, thank you Anthony!
I like the way you are writing a fiction about a fiction!! Very meta-textual!
We were taught to fear. We needed to fear. Without the fear, we would be swallowed whole by Satan, or if he was busy at the United Nations, one of his demons. No one should have to live that way. It’s just not right.
Eventually, that fear of the Other, or “worldly person” caused us to forget that they were a person. We were able to stomach that worldly person being killed in the most brutal way with no qualms whatsoever.
Christians, please read 1 John 4:16 – 19. The fear of “worldly people” is a restraint to any kind of compassion for people who are just like you.
For us atheists, we need to remember that fear, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. It is a survival mechanism, and is jolly useful if coupled with a reasonable assessment of danger.
The WTBTS, and other cults, ramp up the fear as a very efficient control technique. Control through fear of the Other is as old as the hills.
The sooner we all discover that most people are decent, the happier we will be. Obviously, there are a small minority who will want to harm us, but the vast majority of people are pretty nice.
It was really refreshing to read all of those positive stories. Human kindness is one of the things that keeps us all going.
Peace be with you, Excelsior!
Reply
 

 airborne says:

 July 22, 2015 at 10:30 am

Thanks for the positive article.
Reply
 

 Mama Joy says:

 July 22, 2015 at 5:00 pm

“The World” saved me from the JWs abuse.
Reply
 

 Wild Olive says:

 July 22, 2015 at 9:34 pm

This is a post I have to make.
 My son has been epileptic since 18 mths old and he has not long turned 18.
 I have lost count over the years how many times he has been ambulanced to hospital,in all the times he’s been in hospital, and it’s hundreds of times, not once has he been visited by an elder or a member of the cong.
 I can forgive that because everyone has their own problems and often can’t find time to see others,I spend most of my time recovering from his previous visit till the next episode.
 However I began to see things differently when the government sent someone too see us ,to find ways to better care for our son, this person arranged all sorts of things that we could never have got, one in particular was oxygen donated by Anglicare,a Christian charity that gives assistance to those in need, I brought this matter up with my elders and asked them what where the chances that the WTBTS would give something toward my sons care,that was met with blank stares and a timid no.
 What’s even more enlightening is Anglicare sends a representative to us every year to see if we are being looked after,he’s been here more times than the elders to check on us and our son.
 Considering the millions that have been spent by org over the last few years and considering that they are asking for more donations, I can confidently say that not one cent has gone toward helping me or my son,and any help that has been received is from “worldly” people.
 It has been most refreshing to look the elders in eye and say that the world is not the place that the org paints it to be.
Reply
 

 Brian Muscat says:

 July 23, 2015 at 1:06 am

It is interesting just like those TV adds the product that cleans brightens and whitens like no other so the WT claims how welcome people are made at the Kingdom Hall i have been to quite alot of meetings at Kingdom Halls and what was quite obvious to me was the total lack of love and the unwelcoming attitude i was shown and if you complain about it they just so oh you have got to make an effort however if you said how cold people were at any other faith they would immediately say how bad that was and say oh come to our KH instead just double standards as far as i am concerned.
Reply
 
 Queen Elsa says:

 July 24, 2015 at 10:55 am

So true, Brian.
Reply
 
 

 GEM says:

 July 23, 2015 at 1:28 am

It wasn’t like this in the mid-’60’s when my Father signed up and before the Elder arrangement arrived in 1972..
I remember quite vividly during F.S, an elderly lady came to the door with the palms of her hands sliced open, a kitchen accident. Dad is a highly trained First Aider and bandaged her up.
As he searched the kitchen cupboards for lint and plasters he noted that the poor Dear had virtually nothing in her cupboards. So, off we went to the local Tesco stores and he filled a large cardboard box with basics like Milk and bread…the essentials…We drove back, he placed the box on the doorstep, rang the bell and we pulled off in the car when the lady looked to see who had left the box on her door step.
The Servants of that congregation were very kind…but it kind of came to an end one day when Dad and some others bagged up some Coke from the local Council depot and distributed it amongst the needy.
Of course, it was against local Smog control regulations as it was used Coal! The council tracked the Servants down and reprimanded them. But, it was done out of love, even if the local area suffered choking emissions for a week or two.
Whoops!
Reply
 

 Wanderer says:

 July 23, 2015 at 5:18 am

Is the Watchtower Society the only religion that does no charity work?
 How do they receive charitable tax exemptions if they do no charity work?
 Why are they begging for money when they do no charity work? Similar sized religious organisations have their own charities and don’t overtly beg for money, I don’t understand how they have mismanaged their funds so much.
Reply
 
 anonymous says:

 July 23, 2015 at 7:35 am

I think they can get charity status because Witnesses don’t ask for a certain amount of money they leave with the householders and the elders aren’t paid a salary.
There is a lot of unpaid labor (charity) but it isn’t exactly voluntary, since if Witnesses don’t go in service, spending their money on the gas and cars etc. , they think they will be killed at Armageddon. The reason it isn’t exactly “voluntary” is because they are guilted into doing it or die at Armageddon.
The Witnesses are guilted into putting money into the contribution boxes to pay more for the upkeep of the Bethels and the Bethelites and the Kingdom Halls because they are told that everything belongs to Jehovah anyway and so whatever they have doesn’t belong to them anyway and belongs to Jehovah and they equate giving to the Organization as giving Jehovah back what He owns anyway.
All those Bethels and Bethelites and new digs at Warwick and the Kingdom Halls cost a whole lot more than it does for those cheap little magazines that people “place” with individuals.
One hundred years ago the Watchtower printed out that literature and sent it to people through the post office and the Society was still able to make money on it. You know they made money because of all the Bethels and branches they built with that money in those olden days. They accomplished a whole lot more in those days with less Witnesses in Bethels compared to what they do today with thousands of Bethelites and hundreds of branches. The magazines were 32 pages and the writing was packed into those pages. Now there’s more pictures and very little writing and hardly any true “meat”. Today, the money is going for all the Bethels and Bethelites and branches and all the trucks and heavy equipment and upkeep of the Kingdom Halls etc. The amount of money for the upkeep of all the Society owns and supplies food for those people running all those places, has to be staggering.
In the old days, Witnesses didn’t own their Kingdom Halls. They rented small buildings and they rented school gyms for assemblies. They paid for their own Kingdom Halls and they paid for the upkeep. They paid for the literature at the back of the Kingdom Hall as there was a set price for everything and then when they “place” the literature, they “sold” it for that price and the money was to be put in the contribution box so the Society was getting paid two times for that literature. That is how they made money.
When they couldn’t charge the Witnesses anymore (charity status being taken away then), the Witnesses were still told to put that money in the contribution boxes for the literature anyway but it was done in a subtle way, not overtly. The Society is still making money on the literature but it’s not enough to support all the building work and the Bethelites and the branches and all the upkeep etc. so they had to come up with more and more ways to “trick” money out of the Witnesses without passing the “plate” like they had always promised they would never do.
The money to make the literature pales in comparison to all that that has to be paid for but the placing of the literature is supposed to be the reason for the season but really, it’s just an ends to a means. The means is acquiring more property. As long as they take that money and put it into more “religious” property, they can still keep calling themselves a charity.
That is the way I see it.
Reply
 
 Wanderer says:

 July 23, 2015 at 6:20 pm

I still don’t know how they can’t do any charity work at all, do they not read the bible or seek to follow the example of Jesus?
 I overheard some family saying how fantastic it is the Society direct debits from their bank accounts, now they will never forget to contribute. Hearing that made me feel uneasy that they are giving their hard earned money to help pay for the child abuse settlements.
Reply
 
 
 

 Svete says:

 July 23, 2015 at 6:40 am

Great article and yes I can confer that only after leaving did I notice the genuine selfless generosity of every day individuals, doing good deeds with no expectation of anything in return. Not doing it because it was the expected thing to do – but rather was because they wanted to and the right thing to do.
One of the things that I noticed is that as a JW you don’t oftern receive kindness from “worldly” people, and that re-enforces the “them and us” view of everyone in the world essentially following satan.
The reality is that JW’s appear so unfriendly, aloof and superior to others that other people don’t feel inclined to other kindness to them. Imagine a group of JW parents in the school ground picking up their kids. They don’t talk to anyone besides the other JW’s they dont volunteer, or invite other kids back to their home. Their kids don’t go to other kids homes etc etc. This unfriendly view they unwittingly create for themselves is the reason people often don’t offer kindness out to them – why would they?
 It has nothing to do with them being in the “world”
The reality is that as soon as I stopped going those same people were honest with us, and then offered the same kindness they showed to everyone else – and it was truly genuine.
Add to that how many of them are genuinely happy and satisfied in their lives, their not gossipers and materialistic – compared to the JW’s who don’t realize how unhappy they are following an empty ideology, materialistic and forever gossiping about everyone, you see how genuine and normal these so say “worldly” people are.
Reply
 

 Cherie says:

 July 23, 2015 at 7:43 am

This post really resonated with me. My parents were inactive for many years. One of the reasons was they way they were treated in the congregation. I remember my mother saying, “Sometimes you find the people of the world are pretty nice.” She was right. That’s been my experience, too.
Reply
 

 Bret says:

 July 23, 2015 at 5:06 pm

The guy in the picture from page 182 of the live forever book is a Circuit Overseer by the name of Daniel Cukar.. Once you get to know him he is true to the picture on the right hand side.. Or at least his personality fits that picture of the looser.. He finds all the Elders who love to kiss up and pad his pockets otherwise he will have little to do with you..
Reply
 

 Melka says:

 July 25, 2015 at 5:54 am

I loved this article. It’s such a good reminder to always be on the lookout for ways to help people.
Before I left, I would have helped people that I saw in need, and I even gave money to the homeless, but if I was ever in the presence of another witness, I would usually end up feeling guilty. Not being able to donate or volunteer for groups who actually help people is something I never understood, nobody ever actually could ever tell me a clear answer why we couldn’t, and that never sat well with me. So I did it on the sly and thought I would die at Armageddon. Talk about ridiculous.
I find people everywhere who do simple things to help people around, or little gifts to show they think of you. People aren’t very wealthy in my community, but the friends I have now and my neighbors, would do anything for me, because they tell me that! “If you need anything, just let me know.” And they know the same goes for me. No witness besides my mom and dad ever uttered those words to me in my life.
When people give us things, like for instance this summer already, one of our neighbors gave us a nice tomato plant, some extra amusement park tickets, another neighbor brought us a bunch of sweet corn on the cob, and another neighbor comes to tell us to help ourselves to her garden and fruit trees and bushes, and someone leaves baskets of veggies, I’m sure it’s our neighbor with the large garden, but it’s not when I’m home, and she denies it. I am surrounded by loving, wonderful non-JW’s. It’s hard to repay people, but if I ever think of something nice I can do for them, it’s always met with “You didn’t have to do that!!!”, because people like to do things for other people. And from my personal experience since coming out of the org., the most fulfilling and joyful part of life is finding ways to help others, just to help, and not to get anything in return. That’s the kind of attitude I am finding on the outside. And to me, these people around me are making the world a better place by being here, and they make the people that they know better people. I could never say that about any JW besides my mom, but including my own family. I know they’re out there, but while they’re stuck in the org, they don’t have the freedom to actually reach their full potential, that’s very sad and tragic. And how can anybody claim to be a Christian when they’re not helping the needy or less fortunate? I just don’t understand.
Reply
 
 Kevin says:

 July 25, 2015 at 12:07 pm

The meanest people I’ve ever met in my life were JWs.
Reply
 
 


Newer Comments →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

applications-education-miscellaneous.png
Comment posting guidelines:
Kindly observe the following requirements before posting any comments to our articles or pages:
◾ABUSIVE COMMENTS - Do not post comments that include swear words or may be considered abusive, lewd, blasphemous, obscene or threatening
◾ILLEGAL COMMENTS - Do not post comments that condone or propose illegal activity, or that breach copyright law
◾OFF-TOPIC COMMENTS - Do not post comments that are off-topic and bear no relation to the page or article
◾RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY - Do not post comments that are evangelical in nature or may be construed as imposing one person's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) over those of another
◾LANGUAGE - Visitors from all countries and language groups are welcome. You may post comments in languages other than English, but we would appreciate if you could make any such comments brief. We would also be grateful if you could run any such comments through Google Translate and convert these to English, but this is not an absolute requirement.
◾LINKS - You may post links to third party websites, so long as (1) you limit these to 2 links per comment, and (2) the content on these links doesn't contravene ANY of the first four points. Specifically, you may not post URLs to websites that are evangelical in nature. Our links page has an extensive list of such sites for any who are curious about Christian beliefs in the context of Jehovah's Witnesses.
JWSurvey.org thanks all visitors in advance for respectfully observing these guidelines. Any who persistently fail to do so, despite warnings, may find themselves blocked from making further comments at the discretion of the site moderators, whose decision will be final and not open for debate.

  


 Notify me of new posts by email.
  
 



Click on 
Visit JWfacts.com for more information on JW beliefs
Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses
JW Recovery forum
Barbara Anderson's Watchtower Documents resource
Visit JWstruggle.com for helpful information on exiting JW mind control Visit TAZE.co for discussion on Jehovah's Witness developments


 

Support JWsurvey
Help us make continued improvements to this website and its content.

       

Article Categories
◾Apostates (27)
◾Blood transfusions (12)
◾Books (5)
◾Cedars' Blog (208)
◾Cedars' Story (4)
◾Celebrity JWs (2)
◾Child Abuse (47)
◾Child Indoctrination (15)
◾Divine Direction (4)
◾Domestic Abuse (2)
◾Doomsday Predictions (1)
◾Downsizing (7)
◾Evolution and creation (6)
◾General Information (1)
◾Governing Body (33)
◾Higher education (3)
◾History and scandals (6)
◾JW.org (8)
◾Life Stories (10)
◾Mental health (5)
◾Mini-Surveys (5)
◾News (185)
◾Property sales (5)
◾Publications (6)
◾Shunning (12)
◾Support (6)
◾Survey (10)
◾Undue influence (15)
◾Warwick headquarters (4)

Search JWsurvey

  

Subscribe to JW Survey


Enter your email address to receive notices of new posts by email.
Join 797 other subscribers
Email Address  
    

Listen to JWpodcast

Check out the latest episode of JW podcast! 

Latest John Cedars video


Popular JW sites in other languages
Languages         
More languages...

Select... Croatian Czech Dutch Estonian Finnish 1 Finnish 2 French 1 French 2 French 3 German 1 German 2 Hungarian Italian 1 Italian 2 Italian 3 Japanese Polish 1 Polish 2 Polish 3 Portuguese 1 Portuguese 2 Romanian Russian 1 Russian 2 Russian 3 Serbian 1 Serbian 2 Serbian 3 Slovak Spanish 1 Spanish 2

Top Posts & Pages
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
 Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
 Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
 The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
 Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
Links 
 Links 
JWawake.com 
 JWawake.com 


 

Key Articles

Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?
What is the new light on the faithful slave?
Has Watchtower ever lied or withheld informatiion?

Open Offer

Open Offer to all bethelites
 Do you work at Brooklyn, Patterson or Wallkill? If so, please click here.

Our Promise
Making corrections
 Is there something incorrect or unfactual on this website? If so, please let us know and we will correct it.

2015 results at a glance
Number of respondents to the 2015 Global Survey
Site Stats
Visitor stats for JWsurvey

Like us on Facebook!







 
Cedars’ Twitter Feed
 

 

Who's Online
◾0 Members.
◾50 Guests.

Reader Comments
◾Grace on JWawake.com
◾RC8man on The Unexpected Kindness of the World
◾Wanderer on JWawake.com
◾Wanderer on Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower

Menu
◾About JW Survey
◾Contact Us
◾Experiences
◾Get Involved
◾Global Surveys ◾2011 Global Survey
◾2012 Global Survey
◾2013 Global Survey
◾2014 Global Survey
◾2015 Global Survey
◾JW Broadcasting
◾JWawake.com
◾Links
◾Videos
◾Welcome

Login
 ◾Login

Scan JWsurvey.org

 



Copyright © 2011-2013 JWsurvey.org. Site design and support by The Small Web Master.

    StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter     



http://jwsurvey.org/support/the-unexpected-kindness-of-the-world/comment-page-1#comments













Skip to content
JWsurvey 


Welcome

Cedars’ Blog

About JW Survey

Global Surveys
»




















Videos

JW Broadcasting

Get Involved

Links

Contact Us
  



← Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower →

The Unexpected Kindness of the World
avatar
Posted on July 21, 2015

Random acts of kindness by "worldly" people are not as rare as most Witnesses might expect
Random acts of kindness by “worldly” people are not as rare as most Witnesses might expect

As a Jehovah’s Witness child, our religious community was seen as a spiritual paradise in contrast to all other organizations on earth. This mindset was routinely emphasized in Watchtower publications.
One Watchtower assures us that “[God] has made it possible for honest hearted ones to move out of the wicked world, figuratively speaking, and into the spiritual paradise that he has created.” (“Dwell on What Jehovah Has Done for You,” Watchtower, 15 January 2011)
Our worldwide brotherhood did seem rather impressive to my young mind. Wherever we were, it was no rare thing to find ourselves staying over and sharing dinner with new Witness “friends.” Over a home cooked meal we’d swap “How did you come into the truth?” stories, make small-talk over the latest Watchtower publications, and after us kids were hushed away to listen to taped Bible dramas, the adults might engage in gossip over those that had recently succumbed to the world.
“The world” was JW jargon to encapsulate everyone that didn’t happen to also be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Faithful members were encouraged to be vigilant, because any number of demonic lures could snatch a loyal Witness from Jehovah’s organization into the clutches of the wicked world.  A hushed mention of the term was enough to carry my mind to Live Forever book illustrations; I mentally transposed the faces of the disfellowshipped over those of opium addicts, disco harlots, and gay cowboys.
1982_Live_Forever_Pg_131
Live Forever book, page 131

1982_Live_Forever_Pg_182
Live Forever book, page 182

This condemnation was not exclusively reserved for the unreligious. Other Christian faiths were considered to be part of the wicked world. And our religious publications seldom wasted an opportunity to contrast the JW version of Christianity with our competitors.
For example, the 2014 Yearbook contains the account of a Somali woman who accepted an invitation to visit a Kingdom Hall. There she grew angry when no one welcomed her and stormed out of the door. Later when she told her experience to the Witness that had invited her, they all realized that she had mistakenly visited another church building. The anecdote ends by sharing that the Somali woman eventually found the Kingdom Hall, was warmly welcomed, and became a regular attender.
Accounts like this are used to infer that even among the religions of “the world” there is no kindness like that of the Witnesses. There is another undercurrent that runs through this and similar JW anecdotes. A warm welcome is merely the first step in the conversion process.
As an adult, I began to see that the JW version of kindness didn’t always match the Watchtower picture. The initial love bombing was soon replaced by a sort of caste system that celebrated those that held position and disregarded those that didn’t live up to the heavy load imposed by the Governing Body. And those that ran afoul of any number of the religion’s rules might be expelled.
Witnesses that once rushed to embrace someone entering through the front door would as quickly turn away from someone shoved out the back. I experienced this myself when I was disfellowshipped for the crime of not agreeing.
After separating from the Witnesses, I accepted invitations to visit other churches. In attending some of these religious rivals, I couldn’t help but notice similarities. As I entered old churches, converted theaters, and the occasional dank basement, I was bombarded by smiling, Holy book-holding people. Questions such as “Who are you?” and “Are you visiting?” were quickly followed by invitations for Bible study and baptism. The jargon was different but the experiences weren’t far off from my JW background.
It also wasn’t rare for those groups to claim exclusivity due to the love they showed one another. An acquaintance that was raised in a high control group, commonly called the 2×2’s, talked about how his own childhood was marked by religious-vacations to stay at the houses of various “friends.” His mother was proud that they could count on anyone of their faith to take them in off the road. It sounded like my own family.
After I separated from the JW religion, it was sometimes a challenge to integrate into the world. A discomfort or awkwardness lingered when associating with people of different backgrounds. The stigma was all on me due to my upbringing. But over time I widened out and met people of different backgrounds – some of whom became real friends.
Recently I took a trip to western North Carolina, a scenic area on the east coast of the United States. My girlfriend and I were hosted by a couple who lived half-way up a tall mountain with gorgeous views of the scenery. We were complete strangers, just introduced online. We made shrimp and steak tacos for our hosts as a small thanks for the paradise-like accommodations that would have rivaled the most exclusive resort. As we drank frosty bottles of Negra Modelo with our new friends, we learned about their incredible lives.
mountain_home
The North Carolina mountain retreat where we stayed

He was 60’s student who enlisted in the military to serve in the Vietnam war before getting out as an objector after a crisis of conscience. Back home he became a street flower vendor before opening his own shop. She was an ethnobotanist that toured the world conducting research for National Geographic. He told us about the local foliage. She told us that cannibals loved SPAM, because it allegedly tastes like human flesh.

For example, many use tobacco, chew betel nut, or take drugs for recreational purposes. – “A Godly View of Life”, What Does the Bible Teach?
And she told us about betel nut. As a JW, betel nut was considered another of Satan’s machinations that could catapult an unsuspecting Witness straight into the world. It was up there with marijuana and tobacco, though no one seemed to know exactly what it was. Our host told us that betel nut was chewed by islanders from the age of nine onward. It resulted in addiction and the loss of teeth. Thanks to the Watchtower I dodged the bullet on that one. I could have had dentures at eleven!
The couple enthusiastically explained that they had made hospitality their way of life since touring Europe as young adults. Although decades had past, they vividly gave accounts of being approached to share a tent, roof or meal. When they returned to the States, they wanted to do the same and have continued to open their home to others passing through.
As we toured the local downtown an Eastern-European girl approached asking for directions. She was working as a counselor at a rural summer camp and was planning to walk back. The couple insisted they drive her. As we dropped her off and waved goodbye, we exchanged smiles and waves that transcended language. And there were no religious tracts exchanged.
We only stayed two nights, though our hosts implored us to stay more. Instead we set out to explore the local area, camping high in the middle of an expansive forest. By day we ventured down into the valley towns and city. One night we ended up staying too late enjoying cocktails and local music. A greeting to another couple led to another invitation to stay over.
The next afternoon another set of new acquaintances took care of our lunch bill. Beyond hospitality and food, we received housing advice, job leads, personal tours, conversation, and more. All came without an expectation of anything in return, not even a visit to a church building.
In religions like JW’s, kindness is not free or without conditions. When directed toward outsiders it is with the anticipation that it will lead to a conversion. But as easily as it is given, it quickly goes away whenever someone runs afoul of the religion. It’s true that in many places in the world kindness may be rare, but to insinuate that it can only come within one tiny Christian sect is simply false. It’s a lie told to enforce us-versus-them style thought control.
The more I’m exposed to the world, the more I’m exposed to genuinely kind people that give from the heart rather than religious obligation. And like my hosts, it motivates me to want to show similar kindness to others. Have you ever experienced unexpected kindness from “the world?” Please share it in the comments.


anthony-signature2
Anthony Mathenia is the author of a new JW fiction novel Happiness, Next Exit, to be released August 24th. Follow him on Twitter at @armathenia.


Share this:



















in
Share
.

Print
.
Like this:



Bookmark the permalink.
 
← Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower →

61 Responses to The Unexpected Kindness of the World

← Older Comments

 Bad Penny says:

 July 27, 2015 at 2:56 am

When my husband and I went into the ‘truth’ it became first in our lives. My husband lost his job because he refused to work Saturdays – field service came first!
 As you can imagine, we struggled financially at this time.
 One Friday evening we heard a rustle at the front door. On opening the door we found a large sack of potatoes! What a blessing from Jehovah, we thought! Some kind brother has seen our dilemma and tried to help.
 Ten minutes later a knock came on the door. ‘Can I have the potatoes back, I’ve delivered them to the wrong address’!
Unexpected kindness was indeed a rarity throughout our 30 years of service.
 So glad we are out in the real world where we can choose our own real friends!
Reply
 

 JJ says:

 July 27, 2015 at 8:55 am

All through my years in ‘The Truth’ I heard the advice, “Don’t do business with other Jehovah’s Witnesses!!!”
That was good advice!
 Not all of the JW’s are dishonest swindlers but there are quite a few who are. Beware.
Reply
 

 RC8man says:

 July 28, 2015 at 2:01 pm

I don’t understand how any religion can be granted a charity status. I served for almost 1/2 a century, 25 years as an elder. When out of work I never got a penny. But the local Bavarian Catholics surprised us with a basket of food to my family on xmas because they checked the register for local unemployed! No tracts involved. All my myriad friends are just local people who like me! The JWs called once to ‘see how I was’ and offered to study with me! Because the CO had a campaign going in England to ‘save’ fallen members. Made me sick. Hypocritical actions.
Reply
 

← Older Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

applications-education-miscellaneous.png
Comment posting guidelines:
Kindly observe the following requirements before posting any comments to our articles or pages:
◾ABUSIVE COMMENTS - Do not post comments that include swear words or may be considered abusive, lewd, blasphemous, obscene or threatening
◾ILLEGAL COMMENTS - Do not post comments that condone or propose illegal activity, or that breach copyright law
◾OFF-TOPIC COMMENTS - Do not post comments that are off-topic and bear no relation to the page or article
◾RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY - Do not post comments that are evangelical in nature or may be construed as imposing one person's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) over those of another
◾LANGUAGE - Visitors from all countries and language groups are welcome. You may post comments in languages other than English, but we would appreciate if you could make any such comments brief. We would also be grateful if you could run any such comments through Google Translate and convert these to English, but this is not an absolute requirement.
◾LINKS - You may post links to third party websites, so long as (1) you limit these to 2 links per comment, and (2) the content on these links doesn't contravene ANY of the first four points. Specifically, you may not post URLs to websites that are evangelical in nature. Our links page has an extensive list of such sites for any who are curious about Christian beliefs in the context of Jehovah's Witnesses.
JWSurvey.org thanks all visitors in advance for respectfully observing these guidelines. Any who persistently fail to do so, despite warnings, may find themselves blocked from making further comments at the discretion of the site moderators, whose decision will be final and not open for debate.

  


 Notify me of new posts by email.
  
 



Click on 
Visit JWfacts.com for more information on JW beliefs
Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses
JW Recovery forum
Barbara Anderson's Watchtower Documents resource
Visit JWstruggle.com for helpful information on exiting JW mind control Visit TAZE.co for discussion on Jehovah's Witness developments


 

Support JWsurvey
Help us make continued improvements to this website and its content.

       

Article Categories
◾Apostates (27)
◾Blood transfusions (12)
◾Books (5)
◾Cedars' Blog (208)
◾Cedars' Story (4)
◾Celebrity JWs (2)
◾Child Abuse (47)
◾Child Indoctrination (15)
◾Divine Direction (4)
◾Domestic Abuse (2)
◾Doomsday Predictions (1)
◾Downsizing (7)
◾Evolution and creation (6)
◾General Information (1)
◾Governing Body (33)
◾Higher education (3)
◾History and scandals (6)
◾JW.org (8)
◾Life Stories (10)
◾Mental health (5)
◾Mini-Surveys (5)
◾News (185)
◾Property sales (5)
◾Publications (6)
◾Shunning (12)
◾Support (6)
◾Survey (10)
◾Undue influence (15)
◾Warwick headquarters (4)

Search JWsurvey

  

Subscribe to JW Survey


Enter your email address to receive notices of new posts by email.
Join 797 other subscribers
Email Address  
    

Listen to JWpodcast

Check out the latest episode of JW podcast! 

Latest John Cedars video


Popular JW sites in other languages
Languages         
More languages...

Select... Croatian Czech Dutch Estonian Finnish 1 Finnish 2 French 1 French 2 French 3 German 1 German 2 Hungarian Italian 1 Italian 2 Italian 3 Japanese Polish 1 Polish 2 Polish 3 Portuguese 1 Portuguese 2 Romanian Russian 1 Russian 2 Russian 3 Serbian 1 Serbian 2 Serbian 3 Slovak Spanish 1 Spanish 2

Top Posts & Pages
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
 Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
 Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
 The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
 Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
Links 
 Links 
JWawake.com 
 JWawake.com 


 

Key Articles

Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?
What is the new light on the faithful slave?
Has Watchtower ever lied or withheld informatiion?

Open Offer

Open Offer to all bethelites
 Do you work at Brooklyn, Patterson or Wallkill? If so, please click here.

Our Promise
Making corrections
 Is there something incorrect or unfactual on this website? If so, please let us know and we will correct it.

2015 results at a glance
Number of respondents to the 2015 Global Survey
Site Stats
Visitor stats for JWsurvey

Like us on Facebook!







 
Cedars’ Twitter Feed
 

 

Who's Online
◾0 Members.
◾46 Guests.

Reader Comments
◾Grace on JWawake.com
◾RC8man on The Unexpected Kindness of the World
◾Wanderer on JWawake.com
◾Wanderer on Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower

Menu
◾About JW Survey
◾Contact Us
◾Experiences
◾Get Involved
◾Global Surveys ◾2011 Global Survey
◾2012 Global Survey
◾2013 Global Survey
◾2014 Global Survey
◾2015 Global Survey
◾JW Broadcasting
◾JWawake.com
◾Links
◾Videos
◾Welcome

Login
 ◾Login

Scan JWsurvey.org

 



Copyright © 2011-2013 JWsurvey.org. Site design and support by The Small Web Master.

    StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter     


http://jwsurvey.org/support/the-unexpected-kindness-of-the-world#comments












Skip to content
JWsurvey 


Welcome

Cedars’ Blog

About JW Survey

Global Surveys
»




















Videos

JW Broadcasting

Get Involved

Links

Contact Us
  



← The Unexpected Kindness of the World

Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
avatar
Posted on July 27, 2015

Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses

Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard shocking evidence that 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sex abuse were identified by the organization in Australia going back to 1950, but none were reported to the authorities.
The Commission was launched in 2013 with a broad remit to investigate serial child abuse in institutions, including religious organizations such as the Witnesses and the Catholic Church.
At the opening hearing held today, Angus Stewart, the senior council assisting the commission, described the church as an “insular sect with rules designed to stem the reporting of sexual abuse.”
According to Stewart’s written opening submission, the figure of 1,006 perpetrators was derived directly from Watchtower documents summoned (subpoened) by the Commission…

During the investigation of this case study, Watchtower Australia produced some 5,000 documents pursuant to summonses issued by the Royal Commission on 4 and 28 February 2015. Those documents include 1,006 case files relating to allegations of child sexual abuse made against members of the Jehovah’s Witness Church in Australia since 1950 – each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse.
Stewart’s submission goes on to explain the astonishing findings from analyzing these case files…

Evidence will be put before the Royal Commission that of the 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse identified by the Jehovah’s Witness Church since 1950, not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities. This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah’s Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities.
As part of the hearing two Witnesses, identified as BCB and BCG, are expected to give testimony that elders discouraged them from reporting their abuse. One of these victims is apparently “riddled with guilt for betraying the Jehovah’s Witness Church.”


The hearings are being streamed live to Australians, and doubtless will cause further humiliation for an organization already under siege for negligence regarding child molestation.
Governing Body member Stephen Lett recently insisted that claims of child abuse mishandling are nothing more than “apostate-driven lies and dishonesties,” but added to courtroom defeats in the United States and Britain, this latest news coming out of Australia suggests otherwise.


1,006 unreported alleged perpetrators since 1950 is an appalling statistic, and if used to extrapolate historic figures around the world, the number of concealed pedophiles could easily number into the tens of thousands.
It will be interesting to see what conclusions are drawn by the Commission, and how this will impact the fate of the organization, not just in Australia, but further afield. Certainly Tony Morris’ recent claim that the Governing Body are “proud” of their reputation concerning child abuse is becoming increasingly preposterous.
One child who suffers unnecessarily due to Watchtower’s negligence on the issue would be a child too many, and yet according to this public hearing, in just one country of many, the pain and trauma of sex abuse has been ignored and covered-up on an unimaginable scale.

new-cedars-signature3






Further reading…
◾ABC news report
◾New York Post report
◾Guardian report
◾Daily Telegraph report
◾BBC report
◾MSN report
◾Friendly Atheist article
◾Freethinker article
◾For an updated list of media reports, click here
◾Royal Commission website
◾Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
◾JWsurvey articles on child abuse
Related videos…




Share this:



















in
Share
.

Print
.
Like this:



Bookmark the permalink.
 
← The Unexpected Kindness of the World

51 Responses to Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower

 Kat says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:03 am

Another newspaper report.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/paedophiles-repeatedly-promoted-to-positions-of-authority-in-jehovahs-witness-church-royal-commission-told/story-fni0cx12-1227458483269
Reply
 
 Mama Joy says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:34 am

Exactly! They are promoted because they are encouraged to do it behind the scenes. People don’t want to believe it, but they are a huge sex trafficker of children.
Reply
 

 WTS Archive says:

 July 28, 2015 at 3:47 am

These reports are all over the world. In Poland every major news outlet reported on that, which is pretty big, because they didn’t report previously on Candace Conti’s case.
Reply
 
 

 David says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:13 am

I watched the video. So the elder abused many times a girl and he was just removed from his position. Nothing else. His reputation was intact and the congregation was not informed. I know people that have been disfellowshipped for far less for making a single mistake. These people have lived without association with loved ones and severely humiliated.
 And this guys walks away with no discipline.
 And also the watchtower knowing all these cases criticise the catholic church. There are no words to describe them.
I think this videos should be shared with the same zeal JWs share the catholic churchs child abuse videos and new reports.
Reply
 
 Mama Joy says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:36 am

They only made him step down his position of elder so the parents felt like something was done about it. If the parents were okay with it, nothing would have been done.
Reply
 

 Sarah says:

 July 27, 2015 at 8:56 pm

My thought exactly. This guy associates freely and I get disfellowshipped, myself and children robbed of our families forever because I put up a Christmas tree. I can’t even handle the unfair, cruel way that they operate. And the way people just go right along with it. It makes me physically sick.
Reply
 
 

 Rowland Nelken says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:54 am

The Charity Commissioners in the UK have yet to deliver their report on the Watchtower’s continuing status as a charity. There are several legal cases pending in the US and UK against the Watchtower for protecting paedophiles.
Will the JWs ever come up with any other script than lies and denial? This, surely, will become increasingly untenable. Even the dutiful JWs who obey the edicts not to visit apostate websites cannot avoid hearing the news on national media.
Christendom’s sects have come and gone over the centuries. Of the many 19th century Methodist breakaways, for example, only the Salvation Army remains. JWdom, that little Adventist spinoff from the 1870s may soon become but a grubby little footnote in the 2000 year history of Christendom.
That day cannot come too soon.
Reply
 

 rob says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:24 am

From all that I see that is happening with this religion, it appears that its expiry date is very close or has already passed. Just need someone to pull it out of the back of the refrigerator and throw it away. It will not be missed by me.
Reply
 

 coverspiff says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:28 am

I’ve watched all three videos so far, and the sheer incompetence of the elders giving testimony is astonishing, especially the ex CO/DO who clearly has no idea what his own religions policy is and is corrected multiple times by the Judge as to what the elders handbook actually says.
This is astonishing watching, especially in the moments where the two elders are confronted by the flaws in the way the W/T handles these cases. You can see it dawn in their faces as that practices such as making an victim confront their abuser is a terrible thing to do, but also that they simply cannot say so out-loud for fear of criticising the Organisation. That first elder almost comes very close to admitting it in video 2 after the council skilfully uses questions to illuminate this point to him, but you can see him frantically and shamefacedly back out at the last moment from agreeing that the policy is terribly flawed.
Gifts in men.
Yeah.
Right.
Reply
 

 Mama Joy says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:31 am

It’s not that they cover up sex abusers, it’s that they have sex rings with children.
Reply
 
 Average Joe says:

 July 27, 2015 at 12:58 pm

@Mama Joy
 Your inflammatory comments are ridiculous and put a dirty mark on an otherwise sensible website discussion about this horrendous situation.
 To insinuate that there are parents who WANT their children to be abused by others within the JWs begs belief as to the type of individual you are.
Reply
 
 

 Emma says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:35 am

I’m in Australia, I was sitting infront of my computer waiting for the live stream yesterday morning. It was a completely damning expose during this first day of hearings. Mr Jackson was one cool, cold and unfeeling pig.
 He suffered degrees of amnesia at times as he tried to slither out of answering questions.
 However, the questioners used the Shepherding book and quoted the societies procedures straight from it.
 At one point the questioners asked him why it was said that….”It was/is important to make the accused feel as comfortable and at ease possible..” (paraphrased)
 The questioner then asked Jackson why there was not one word about making the accuser/victim feel comfortable. He tried to skirt around the answer, but backed into a corner by his own religions “how to” book.
 He was forced to concede that there was no mention of making the accuser feel uncomfortable…..and that it must have made the victim/accuser feel uncomfortable.
 He was massively arrogant. His voice was (to me) sneering. I expected some good old fashioned Theocratic Warfare, but Jackson had no choice but to respond to the queries raised directly from their own book. Either way he was f&(#ed
Reply
 
 Average Joe says:

 July 27, 2015 at 1:01 pm

@Emma
 Could you provide the links to the video(s) of the court case please?
 It would be good to have them as a reference and see these shady individuals for myself.
 Thanks.
 AJ
Reply
 
 Cedars says:

 July 27, 2015 at 1:11 pm

Hi Average Joe – I’ve put a playlist of the video footage at the bottom of the article. :)
Reply
 
 Average Joe says:

 July 27, 2015 at 2:02 pm

@Cedars
 Doh! And here’s me like a twit scouring t’Internet for the video.
 Thanks and duly seen.
Reply
 
 
 
 

 Jerry O Connor says:

 July 27, 2015 at 11:04 am

Hello to all.
Lloyd, thank you for this article. Watchtower`s continuing refusal to protect children is a crime against humanity. Now is the time to do what must done to protect children in this heinous cult. It has to be a concentrated external campaign. Surely this latest horror story will reverberate around the world. This will cause a chasm of huge proportions in watchtower`s all ready crumbling edifice. This is the endgame long hoped for. Let us hope for the children`s sake that it is indeed the end of this abominable cult.
Reply
 

 Itfeelsgoodtobefree says:

 July 27, 2015 at 12:16 pm

I really really hope this starts an inquiry into the entire JW cult and their harmful practices (worldwide). There is no way they are going to spin this one off as ‘yet another apostate-driven lie’ in the UK, the US, Australia etc. etc. , there is just no way! 1006 is a scary number, but what’s even scarier is how long the potential global list is, as someone else said in the comments, probably 10,000+ . Ugh… sickening!
Reply
 
 Conan71 says:

 July 27, 2015 at 12:25 pm

This to me also illustrates the danger this organization poses to the public in general. Do you think these abusers just abused children within the organization ? No way! Neighbors kids were victims you can be sure . Love thy neighbor as yourself? Hardly …
Reply
 
 anonymousish1987 says:

 July 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm

And they were basically protected. You don’t think habitual sexual abusers didn’t share this information with other sexual predators. I’m sure these pedophiles flock to Watchtower knowing they could abuse children and get away with it. Think of all the victims who’s statute of limitations has already passed. Think of all the potential suicides. There is blood dripping from the hands of Watchtower on every level. I’m disgusted.
Reply
 
 

 silentlamb1980 says:

 July 27, 2015 at 3:08 pm

Hi “Itfeelsgoodtobefree”
1006 is a scary number for sure. I see you mentioned the global list possibly being 10,000+ Could I direct you for a moment to an older film from BBC which I was a part of. You can find it on JWStruggle’s channel called Suffer the Little Children. In 2002, the BBC did an expose on the JW’s cover ups of child abuse, the protection policy and even tried to interview Ted Jaracz former governing body member, whom by allegation by a very brave lady, was a sex offender also. Read more at silentlambs.org It is literally shocking how many, but worryingly more so, that a governing body member was a part of this, again allegedly. Both alleged perp and victim have passed on. The number of self confessed pedophiles within the JW ranks 15 years ago, was 23,720. That is self confessed ones, not ones that have been found out. So could you actually imagine the scale of the problem ? How many children have not been believed by their local elders and the appropriate action being taken ? Yep it’s sickening.
Reply
 
 Meredith J says:

 July 27, 2015 at 3:49 pm

Yes, I remember that. That poor lady who was then about in her 40’s, passed away not long after that of cancer. She claimed Jaractz, who at the time was a governing body member, abused her and a boy. Unfortunately, she never got to see him prosecuted. She had suffered badly from being disfellowshipped and claimed that she had been homeless as a teenager for sometime. The story would break your heart. Jaractz was allegedly in charge of the list of pedophiles held by the Society. Very sad story.
Reply
 
 
 

 coverspiff says:

 July 27, 2015 at 12:30 pm

Also, it was VERY interesting to note how both Elders reacted when it was put to them how inappropriate it was to have a vulnerable woman’s allegations of abuse investigated entirely by men. That’s a whole other can of worms just waiting to explode!
Reply
 

 Grace says:

 July 27, 2015 at 3:10 pm

Watching yesterdays enquiry was absolutely riveting, I couldn’t take my eyes of it. I was amazed at how the Council for the Commission had done his homework. I missed the co’s questioning as I had to go to work & am looking forward to watching the recording.
The elder that was being questioned was so obviously out of his depth. He looked agitated at times like he wanted to just get up & leave. Witnesses don’t like being challenged & certainly not elders.
Now they have no one else to blame but themselves. Not apostates, not gays, not even the “evil satanic world”. This was priceless!!!
At the end of it, the “world” finds this shocking. Witnesses will make excuses. Who has the real empathy?
Reply
 

 1914 ha ha ha says:

 July 27, 2015 at 3:51 pm

I cant wait to see what happens if they lose there chairty status here in the uk
Reply
 
 Al says:

 July 27, 2015 at 5:09 pm

They will just say that it’s proof that the governments are turning on them and that the end is closer then ever.
Reply
 

 Ariel says:

 July 27, 2015 at 5:11 pm

It’s hard to say. Perhaps they would change a few surface policies in order to meet any required stipulations; or, they could claim that,”TGT” has arrived and all members should immediately forfeit all of their belongings and wealth to the organization as they will no longer need it.
Reply
 
 

 Ted says:

 July 27, 2015 at 5:03 pm

Abuse heaped upon abuse. First at the hands of the perpetrator,
 then interrogated by elders in a secret court without anyone to
 represent you, and made to confront your attacker.
It’s four against one ( 3 elders and the perp,) The primary purpose
 is not justice, but to hush things up, damage limitation, to protect
 the image of the venerated org.
To this end you’ll be guilted by statements about taking Christian
 brothers before worldly courts, and bringing reproach on Jehovah.
 The attacker will have the opportunity to brand you as a liar, or if
 they admit their guilt will imply ( as has happened ) that you are
 culpable also.
So either way, whether you keep quiet, or go to the police,
 you’ll be made to feel like the sinner.
Reply
 

 Faithful Witness says:

 July 27, 2015 at 6:12 pm

This is disgusting news, yet again!
 Worldwide brotherhood, united against ”worldly” people, who would try to attack them with lies & false accusations… ??
JW’s appear to be more interested in vindicating Jehovah’s name, than they are in taking an honest look around them. This organization would never stand up to any examination of itself, its rules, or its doctrines.
Hoe many cases do we have to hear about, before someone actually cares enough to stop these men?
 (I know, JW’s are not as interesting to pop culture, as a reality TV show about Katie Jenner… but these children are helpless victims! No one speaks up, but there are HOW MANY articles about the dress Jennifer Lopez wore for her birthday party??)
Why is news like this ignored by American media, in the very country that this organization continues to enjoy tax exempt status? It should be broadcast to the public, if only to warn them. Those soft-spoken, well-dressed people, who come knocking on your door on Saturday mornings, are actually representing an organization that lies to them about these crimes against children… the least among them.
I honestly can not understand why people are not reacting to these revelations about the organization they are serving. Wake up! Witness what is really happening around you!
 (sorry, but i am furious & know that any mention of this to JW family, will only knock my relations with them right off the map again).
Reply
 
 Meredith J says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:08 pm

Me too.
Reply
 
 

 questionall451 says:

 July 27, 2015 at 6:20 pm

They probably fight admitting it because it is so common among them that if they really did anything about it they would lose a huge number of their “spiritually qualified men”
Reply
 

 1914 ha ha ha says:

 July 27, 2015 at 6:43 pm

How elders try to decieve, lie and make out there poxy scam of a so called relligion isnt falling to bits never fails to amaze me. I asked my father about low attendence at the dc , he said just under 10000 , the real# 9058. Elders will lie to there own kids!
Reply
 

 vivian says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:50 pm

Are they required by law to report alleged abuses in Australia?
Reply
 
 William Niles says:

 July 27, 2015 at 10:10 pm

Hi Vivian–Yes, it is Australia Law for religious organizations to report Child Abuse to the Authorities. I really don’t know if there are any words that can even remotely describe just how bad the corruption as taken hold of within WT and the Men who represent them..it’s appalling and shocking beyond belief…it’s just unbelievable. They just don’t seem to have any common sense, at all. I feel so, so bad for these victims and what they’ve gone through…I just can’t come to grips with WT reasoning on concealing the identity of not only Child Molesters, but so many other policies that they currently have in place, like allowing appointed MS/Elders who confess to have committed a serious sin in the past and yet can keep serving in an appointed capacity without so much as lifting 1 single finger against him, or knowingly withholding vital information from a poor sister whose adulterous husband lies to her about the extent of his adultery….they won’t even allow her to sit in on his judicial committee and if they discover that he did lie about it, they’ll just say “we encourage you to talk with your husband”…but they will let the husband sit in on her judicial committee in the event that it’s the sister who commits the adultery. It’s shocking, appalling, disgusting, wicked, evil, we can go on and on. I’m so glad that this is all coming to light–the truth always eventually will come out and it’s obvious, like John Cedars said, that this is simply not Apostate lies. There are also more and more JWs who are seeing through it all too, whose really telling the truth v.s. whose really lying.
Reply
 
 

 Colie Finn says:

 July 27, 2015 at 11:11 pm

I think one of the worst parts of all of this was in The Guardian article, where it mentioned that the elders took into account how spiritual and how “seductive” the victim/accuser was, in evaluating the case. I think that has to be one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever read. We are talking about the sexual molestation of children. The insinuation is that if you didn’t keep up with your Bible reading, or your shorts were a little short, you played some role in being molested. I just did not believe it was possible even for this organization to hold a belief so horrible.
Reply
 

 Mc fan says:

 July 27, 2015 at 11:31 pm

There has also been claims of an original governing body member named Leo Greenles who molested a 10 year old boy. Once the boy’s parents complained to the rest of the Governing Body, Greenles was asked to step down as a Governing body member and lived out the rest of his life as an elder at a congregation in New Orleans.
SICK! Isn’t it!
Reply
 
 coverspiff says:

 July 28, 2015 at 12:38 am

This is one of the theories as to why the WT are fighting so hard not to release their list of files of reported offenders to the courts, even being prepared to pay millions in penalty judgements to avoid doing so as in the Gonzalo Campos case.
If the names of Leo Greenles and Theo Jaractz are in those files, and that becomes public knowledge, can you imagine what it would do to the rank and file? To find out that 2 of the GB were child abusers, and that the rest of the GB knowingly covered it up?
It would make the post 1975 membership slump look like a minor hiccup.
Reply
 
 William Niles says:

 July 28, 2015 at 3:00 am

Hi Coverspiff–Theo Jaractz was accused of child molestation too?!? Now that is news to me…what’s the situation with that case? Who is he accused of abusing/molesting? Yes…it would send shockwaves throughout the JW community if that’s the reason why they don’t want to turn over the pedophile database…and you can bet your bottom dollar that probably has something to do with it.
 I’m sitting here shaking my head in disbelief…there’s just seems to be no end to all of this…it’s just absolutely unbelievable.
Reply
 
 

 William Niles says:

 July 28, 2015 at 2:54 am

Hey MC Fan–I had heard about that story, but I’m pretty vague on exact details, so I’m not one to comment on things when I don’t have all of the facts correct–that would be a bad way of spreading false information for sure, so I refuse to go there if you know what I mean. So, for the sake of myself, can anyone tell me exactly what happened with the Leo Greenles/child molestation case? To be completely honest with you, I had never even heard of a Governing Body member by that name until I heard of that report, and I was like “Leo who?”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I heard that his victim later tried to apply for Bethel service and his application was rejected? Did he ever find out why exactly it was not accepted or did he just put “2 and 2″ together? What exactly happened in that whole situation? Again, I don’t like making comments on things when I don’t have all the facts straight–so what exactly happened in that case? Thanks for your help/insights.
Reply
 
 

 Kat says:

 July 28, 2015 at 12:32 am

more headlines
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/jehovahs-witness-ministerial-servant-held-in-high-regard-by-congregation-while-assaulting-daughters/story-fni0cx12-1227460189924
Reply
 

 Mc fan says:

 July 28, 2015 at 3:01 am

I wish all of these former JW members and current journalists would all come together and create a huge EXPOSE on JWs. Expose all of the lies, false prophesies, child abuse,child molestation,hypocrisy,adultery,fornication ,homosexuality,depression,suicides,shunning and the thousands off deaths due to the NO BLOOD policy. Put all of these articles,news footage and interviews into one long documentary so a big network like HBO or Showtime can broadcast it to the world, just like the Scientology documentary. Than everyone will be able to see The truth behind this destructive cult. Yes!
THIER SYSTEM IS CRUMBLING!!
Reply
 

 Mc fan says:

 July 28, 2015 at 3:13 am

Hey Mr.Niles,
 Just google Mark Palo,for more info.
 That is the name of the boy who later came out and claimed that Greenles molested him when he was 10 years old.
You can also Google, RAPED AT BETHEL!!
Reply
 

 Vincent says:

 July 28, 2015 at 3:44 am

Here is a link about former Governing Body Member Ted Jaracz. This was news to me as well. Yikes!
http://www.silentlambs.org/personal_experiences/tedjaracz.cfm
Reply
 
 JJ says:

 July 28, 2015 at 4:04 am

I can’t believe that I used to be ‘proud’ and to preach (wasting my time!) about being a Jehovah’s Witness and it was a den of pedophiles!!! It makes me sick!
 I remember Ted Jaracz smugly saying that “we don’t go beyond the things written” whatever that means. I always hated the smug idiots who thought they were so clever. Well let’s see how smug and clever they feel now, after being dragged in front of courts where they belong!
Reply
 
 

 John Walsh says:

 July 28, 2015 at 4:54 am

My Son a JW MS in Queensland and who works for me, had previously denied such a major problem within the organization. So today at work we were listening to radio and the subject of the report came up, so I asked if he had herd about that and he said he saw it on TV last night, but would not comment further.
 So it would seem that the ‘Captured’ members are being informed and thus given some food for thought. I can only hope that this type of factual reality will trigger further analysis of the J-Dubs.
Reply
 

 bobow says:

 July 28, 2015 at 5:33 am

It’s on CNN today, one of top stories.
 So, it’s international, not to be forgotten so easy.
Reply
 

 Jakemon75 says:

 July 28, 2015 at 6:43 am

I just approached the JW.org booth at the airport in Amarillo Texas. Generally I have my phone boldly putting them on the spot while asking questions that I know they’ll answer incorrectly and then use their answers against them in an effort to make them think a little.
Today I asked the what would happen if I “googled” Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Top stories were related to this.
I showed them to the 2 ladies (at least one of them had the unmistakable, arrogance of an Elder’s wife., and we all know what I’m talking about.)
She read the headline, made an ugly face like I did something wrong, thrust the phone back at me and said “nothing on the Internet can be trusted”.
Apparently the defense mechanism is pre-installed on this unit.
Reply
 
 Wanderer says:

 July 28, 2015 at 1:37 pm

She said nothing on the Internet can be trusted while she was sitting at a booth promoting JW.org ???
The GB would have known this case was coming, probably why Mr. Morris just had his we protect children talk on JW.org.
Reply
 
 

 StrongHaiku says:

 July 28, 2015 at 9:30 am

A number of posters have commented on the embarrassing and clumsy way the JW elders/representatives have presented themselves on these hearings. Totally agree. But I would argue that it would not matter which elder they picked, GB member, Jesus, or God himself, etc. to provide testimony.
When your position is indefensible it does not matter who presents it. They would all be reading out of the same playbook and would look absurd and immoral, as they should.
Reply
 

 Bart says:

 July 28, 2015 at 9:59 am

Made the Post too. http://nypost.com/2015/07/27/jehovahs-witnesses-hid-over-1000-sex-abuse-cases/
As one still associated as a JW with JW friends and family, I’d love to post the article to my FB page. But guess what, you can’t without fear of recrimination or being dragged into the back room. You can only say GOOD things about JW.ORG, you know, since it’s God’s only chosen organization and all. Seriously….
Reply
 

 Bart says:

 July 28, 2015 at 10:09 am

When I was a kid, our family was friends with another family in the congregation. I think my parents may have studied with them and brought them into the truth, etc. Anyways, at some point his kids and wife accused him of some sort of molestation. The guy was convicted and went to jail. But according to my parents he was wrongfully accused. I wonder how they knew that but the court was convinced otherwise? My dad (an elder) stayed friends with this probable piece of crap in jail, writing letters and what have you. I think the creep even started Bible studies with his fellow inmates. As far as I know he wasn’t disfellowshipped either. I don’t know what became of him but for all I know he’s been released and went back to the congregation to continue like nothing ever happened. I’d like to ask my dad about it. Ask him how he could stay friends with a convicted child molester and yet he won’t even talk to his own daughter because she grew up and decided to peacefully leave the organization. FML.
Reply
 

 minion says:

 July 28, 2015 at 12:29 pm

Just Totally Freaking Awesome, of a long over due report from the Honorable Royal Commission courts.
I viewed the CNN.com video report, and they are reporting, Your elders could face criminal charges – due to Not reporting the sexual abuse – the crime to local police.
As noted earlier in Cedars report, the Royal Commission investigation will go on for two weeks.
Yesterday, when I googled “Jehovah’s Witnesses” Google now has this sub category “In The News”
and you had a report from 1). Newsweek Magz now know as ‘the daily beast’ weird name.
 2). ABC online
 3). CNN
 And today reporting are:
 4). ABC online
 5). Think Progress
 6). Sydney Morning Herald
 7). NY Post
 8). Australian Broadcasting Corp
 9). CNN video – they report Your elders could face criminal charges
 10. NPR
 11). Skynews
 12). The Guardian
And your seven men will cry out “All lies, all lies, don’t listen to these reports” these are apostates and should you read these reports You Will Be DF’d.
Someone needs to tell these seven men, all these 12 reports and counting Are Not JW’s – so they Are Not apostates.
They will employ – Mind Control Tactics – Fear Factor.
Google headliner sub category ‘In The News”, I quote Cedars, while talking to TPT3, “it must be Jehovah’s hand doing this”.
Only good can come out of this!!
Only good can come out of this!
Reply
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

applications-education-miscellaneous.png
Comment posting guidelines:
Kindly observe the following requirements before posting any comments to our articles or pages:
◾ABUSIVE COMMENTS - Do not post comments that include swear words or may be considered abusive, lewd, blasphemous, obscene or threatening
◾ILLEGAL COMMENTS - Do not post comments that condone or propose illegal activity, or that breach copyright law
◾OFF-TOPIC COMMENTS - Do not post comments that are off-topic and bear no relation to the page or article
◾RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY - Do not post comments that are evangelical in nature or may be construed as imposing one person's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) over those of another
◾LANGUAGE - Visitors from all countries and language groups are welcome. You may post comments in languages other than English, but we would appreciate if you could make any such comments brief. We would also be grateful if you could run any such comments through Google Translate and convert these to English, but this is not an absolute requirement.
◾LINKS - You may post links to third party websites, so long as (1) you limit these to 2 links per comment, and (2) the content on these links doesn't contravene ANY of the first four points. Specifically, you may not post URLs to websites that are evangelical in nature. Our links page has an extensive list of such sites for any who are curious about Christian beliefs in the context of Jehovah's Witnesses.
JWSurvey.org thanks all visitors in advance for respectfully observing these guidelines. Any who persistently fail to do so, despite warnings, may find themselves blocked from making further comments at the discretion of the site moderators, whose decision will be final and not open for debate.

  


 Notify me of new posts by email.
  
 



Click on 
Visit JWfacts.com for more information on JW beliefs
Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses
JW Recovery forum
Barbara Anderson's Watchtower Documents resource
Visit JWstruggle.com for helpful information on exiting JW mind control Visit TAZE.co for discussion on Jehovah's Witness developments


 

Support JWsurvey
Help us make continued improvements to this website and its content.

       

Article Categories
◾Apostates (27)
◾Blood transfusions (12)
◾Books (5)
◾Cedars' Blog (208)
◾Cedars' Story (4)
◾Celebrity JWs (2)
◾Child Abuse (47)
◾Child Indoctrination (15)
◾Divine Direction (4)
◾Domestic Abuse (2)
◾Doomsday Predictions (1)
◾Downsizing (7)
◾Evolution and creation (6)
◾General Information (1)
◾Governing Body (33)
◾Higher education (3)
◾History and scandals (6)
◾JW.org (8)
◾Life Stories (10)
◾Mental health (5)
◾Mini-Surveys (5)
◾News (185)
◾Property sales (5)
◾Publications (6)
◾Shunning (12)
◾Support (6)
◾Survey (10)
◾Undue influence (15)
◾Warwick headquarters (4)

Search JWsurvey

  

Subscribe to JW Survey


Enter your email address to receive notices of new posts by email.
Join 797 other subscribers
Email Address  
    

Listen to JWpodcast

Check out the latest episode of JW podcast! 

Latest John Cedars video


Popular JW sites in other languages
Languages         
More languages...

Select... Croatian Czech Dutch Estonian Finnish 1 Finnish 2 French 1 French 2 French 3 German 1 German 2 Hungarian Italian 1 Italian 2 Italian 3 Japanese Polish 1 Polish 2 Polish 3 Portuguese 1 Portuguese 2 Romanian Russian 1 Russian 2 Russian 3 Serbian 1 Serbian 2 Serbian 3 Slovak Spanish 1 Spanish 2

Top Posts & Pages
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
 Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
 Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
 The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
 Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
Links 
 Links 
JWawake.com 
 JWawake.com 


 

Key Articles

Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?
What is the new light on the faithful slave?
Has Watchtower ever lied or withheld informatiion?

Open Offer

Open Offer to all bethelites
 Do you work at Brooklyn, Patterson or Wallkill? If so, please click here.

Our Promise
Making corrections
 Is there something incorrect or unfactual on this website? If so, please let us know and we will correct it.

2015 results at a glance
Number of respondents to the 2015 Global Survey
Site Stats
Visitor stats for JWsurvey

Like us on Facebook!







 
Cedars’ Twitter Feed
 

 

Who's Online
◾0 Members.
◾43 Guests.

Reader Comments
◾Grace on JWawake.com
◾RC8man on The Unexpected Kindness of the World
◾Wanderer on JWawake.com
◾Wanderer on Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower

Menu
◾About JW Survey
◾Contact Us
◾Experiences
◾Get Involved
◾Global Surveys ◾2011 Global Survey
◾2012 Global Survey
◾2013 Global Survey
◾2014 Global Survey
◾2015 Global Survey
◾JW Broadcasting
◾JWawake.com
◾Links
◾Videos
◾Welcome

Login
 ◾Login

Scan JWsurvey.org

 



Copyright © 2011-2013 JWsurvey.org. Site design and support by The Small Web Master.

    StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter     


http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/australian-royal-commission-hears-that-1006-alleged-child-sex-abusers-were-covered-up-by-watchtower/comment-page-1#comment-34190










start-thinking
 In June 2012, a jury in Oakland, California ordered Watchtower to pay $28 million for its role in the abuse of Candace Conti.*
In October 2014, a San Diego Superior Court judge ordered Watchtower to pay $13.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages for the abuse of Jose Lopez.
In June 2015, Watchtower was ordered to pay £275,000 to a victim of child abuse by the High Court in London.
*The amount and judgment were later reduced on appeal, with Watchtower still being required to pay $2.8 million in compensatory damages.
These are not isolated instances. They are not just the work of one or two rogue individuals. They are not persecution by Satan or the product of unjustified attacks by opposers. They are the result of specific, documented instructions issued to congregation elders by Watchtower on how child abuse should be handled.
This is a systemic problem, and sadly it will not be going away any time soon.





The reason why Candace Conti, Jose Lopez, and countless other children of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been let down is because the Governing Body views child sex abuse as a sin first-and-foremost, and only a crime by coincidence.
The “two witness rule,” according to which elders still operate today, means that they are to “leave matters in Jehovah’s hands” if an independent witness to an act of child molestation is not forthcoming. (see page 72 of the elders’ Shepherd manual, below)
child-sex-abuseWhen critics of Jehovah’s Witnesses talk about the organization “protecting” pedophiles, they do not mean that the organization’s literature condones or encourages child molestation. They are referring to the fact that Watchtower policies effectively conceal pedophiles and make it easier for them to operate due to the culture of secrecy and confidentiality that Watchtower insists upon.
In the following video, investigative reporter Trey Bundy explains some of the disturbing lengths Watchtower has gone to in order to keep the identity of child molesters secret.


All of this means that you have no way of knowing whether someone in your congregation is a child molester or not, because the Governing Body is more interested in protecting the reputation of the organization than protecting ordinary children.
All they need to do to change things, and safeguard against more child abuse cases in the future, is write a letter to elders telling them to report ALL accusations of child abuse to the authorities – but the Governing Body absolutely refuses to do this.
If you are a Jehovah’s Witness reading this, you need to ask yourself: How can this be Jehovah’s Organization if it continues to put children at risk despite these adverse court judgments? If Jehovah’s clean organization truly abhors child abuse and considers it a crime, why can’t it allow all accusations of child abuse to be reported in the same way as other crimes (such as theft and murder) are to be reported?
The makers of this web page urge you to consider waking up to the possibility that only by confronting these issues and saying “enough is enough” can we bring about change and safeguard children of Jehovah’s Witnesses from those who would do them unspeakable harm.
We invite you to start doing research using some of the online resources listed below. And please don’t be afraid! Remember that if a God of love and truth really exists, he would never resent someone for trying to uncover the facts.
JWfacts.com
JWsurvey.org
WatchtowerDocuments.com
PDF of Crisis of Conscience
 
29 Responses to JWawake.com

 Grace says:

 April 8, 2015 at 9:02 pm

Great piece, well presented & simple to read.
 I’m looking forward to more articles.
Reply
 

 Patrick Haeck says:

 April 9, 2015 at 3:03 am

Great job! Thanks!
Reply
 

 Girma Terefe says:

 April 9, 2015 at 3:49 am

who will responsible child abuse elders abuser who if hé déniés because thé elders do not have investigation knowledge.
Reply
 

 Alex says:

 April 13, 2015 at 1:21 pm

Need to translate it to several main languages. All people should know truth about JW.
Reply
 

 Elder Johnson says:

 July 16, 2015 at 9:19 am

I’m so glad to see this. It has made me realize the truth about the truth.
Reply
 

 pj wilcox says:

 July 16, 2015 at 2:32 pm

These bastards should be all sent to jail. There they will be confronted by men who will take care of what should be done to them. Prisons do not take lightly, men that molest kids sexually. We should have this on pay per view, make Budweiser a sponsor and give the monies raised to the victims. Hell, I would pay $50 for this.
 Or castrate all that have been found guilty.
Reply
 

 Former Pioneer says:

 July 17, 2015 at 10:44 am

Thank you! This is a great resource and kudos to everyone who helped on the billboard in Texas.
Reply
 

 Hilani Morales says:

 July 17, 2015 at 3:29 pm

I was molested for years by a Jehovah’s Witness named Carlos Buten in a Boston Ma Kingdom Hall. Myself and the other victim (who is 2 years younger than I) were interrogated by a room full of men and were asked if our intentions were to hurt him or cause trouble. They then asked us to get into painful details about the sexual abuse. After it was over we were given clear instructions not to contact authorities or tell other members in the congregation about the abuse in order to safeguard brother Buten’s confidentiality. He remained an active member in the congregation and continued to play with other children in the church. I was eventually placed in foster care because of my parents’ neglect to protect me against my molester and for my father’s physical abuse. As for my father’s relentless beatings, I was instructed to pray to Jehovah and everything would be ok. Sometimes my father even beat me during Kingdom Hall reunions in the back room. To this day I experience ptsd from all of the abuse I experienced as a child under the leadership of Jehovah.
Reply
 
 big Kat says:

 July 23, 2015 at 8:33 pm

Don’t worry……..? They’ve already earned their way to hell
Reply
 

 Grace says:

 July 23, 2015 at 8:59 pm

I’m so sorry that you went through so much as a child. It always amazes me how these stories are similar from around the world & victims are made out to be liars & put through such horrendous questioning.
I hope that you will find some healing one day in your life.
Love & peace.
Reply
 
 

 Ray franz says:

 July 18, 2015 at 9:12 pm

I hope they go on to research rand cam, the military company the Watchtower owned, you can check it in the U.S. GOV SEC files to prove it. I hope they research the UK guardian newspaper article on the Watchtower agreeing to support the U.N for over a decade. I hope they research the recent governing body member that left having seen how it was run at Brookly Bethel, writing a vital book to read as a JW called “Crisis of Conscience”… I hope the fear they feel at even THINKING about doing any of this research, gives them s clue that there is something wrong with their beliefs……. Snare x
Reply
 

 M. says:

 July 20, 2015 at 3:45 pm

Thanks!
Reply
 

 Average Joe says:

 July 21, 2015 at 9:15 am

Child Abuse really is inexcusable as is a cover-up of such abuse.
 However, I would like to add my thoughts to the discussion at hand. As an active elder (and I also consider myself a pretty decent human being) I can assure you that if I ever came across a case of child abuse or domestic violence, then I would certainly not keep quiet about it. I would urge the innocent individuals to go straight to the police with my full support.
 As for a case where a know child abuser is in a congregation, I again would make sure everyone knew about it, even though that would be anonymously so as to avoid any lawsuits. It doesn’t matter what the WT Official Policy is on the subject; I know what the right thing is to do.
 Now, I can’t be the only JW that thinks like that. There are corrupt and perverted individuals in any organisation but I’m not one of them and I would do my part to expose any I came across. Hopefully, I will never have to be in that situation as the very idea of being faced with a child abuser is repulsive to me.
 On the other hand, I am pleased for the victims in the aforementioned cases that they are finally getting justice, despite the cover-ups from their corrupt supposed shepherds or elders. I just hope that they manage to find peace as well as happiness after such an ordeal.
 In reply to PJ Wilcox: Castrate them? Seriously? I’d reserve that for rapists. Child abusers should have the death penalty in my humble opinion.
Reply
 
 Rick Dudd says:

 July 22, 2015 at 12:57 pm

Good on you! It was issues like this and others that caused me to yield to my conscience and relinquish all of my privileges. You have to do what lets you sleep at night, but I can appreciate that you recognize where the policy is in the wrong.
Reply
 

 Jorge Sanchez says:

 July 23, 2015 at 6:41 am

Los audios , el sonido “no se escuchan bien.
Reply
 
 

 lilianne says:

 July 21, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Great initiative!
 Hope the next billboard will be in an area of high population density.
 Really like the billboard.
 Let’s put it to good use and make it more visible !
Reply
 

 Louise c says:

 July 22, 2015 at 1:57 am

Good job, but I think the article should also raise the question of whether it is responsible for child abusers which the untrained JW elders view as ‘repentant’ to be allowed to preach from door to door, knocking on doors and perhaps gaining access to the homes of unsuspecting members of the public AND their children. It is well known that child abusers usually re-offend, hence the advent of sex offenders registers, I would personally not allow any child abuser in a public place with children, but if this can’t be helped as meetings are open to the public then stop least they should be under serious restrictions, not to preach or have access to any children through the cover of being an ‘honest, upright Jehovah’s witness’.
Reply
 

 Real says:

 July 22, 2015 at 2:02 pm

The latest stand of JWs is to report all cases of child abuse directly to the authorities. You should really stay up to date with the latest developments if you intend on hounding the JWs on this issue.
Reply
 
 Cedars says:

 July 22, 2015 at 2:07 pm

Nice try, but you’re not correct. You’re quoting from your dear leader, Tony Morris, who said in the July 2015 JW Broadcasting episode that parents are never dissuaded from reporting child abuse to the authorities. That is a LONG way from the Governing Body instructing elders to report all accusations of child abuse straight to the authorities, which they could easily do in a single letter if they wanted. The latest elder instructions were in the October 1st, 2012 letter to elders, which kept the two witness rule and branch jurisdiction firmly in place. Please do your research. Tony Morris may be a Governing Body member but he is not to be relied upon to say sensible things about clothing, let alone give you the organization’s position on child abuse.
Reply
 
 JWpoo says:

 July 23, 2015 at 7:39 am

Go on cedars son!!!
Reply
 

 Tom says:

 July 28, 2015 at 10:26 am

Quick question though. Why is it the responsibility of the branch to report this? Should it not be the parents choice and responsibility? Because correct me I am wrong, but if this were happening to in the Catholic religion( which it does) then you wouldn’t expect the “leaders” or whatever you would like to call it, to report it. So why is it only this way with jehovahs witnesses? Seems like a lot of people on here are just angry and looking for ways to put them down.
Reply
 
 Wanderer says:

 July 28, 2015 at 1:49 pm

The Elders and The Branch Office have a duty of care to report to the police, the Elders are told to only report to their branch office. The Australian case in the media has over 1000 cases since the 1950’s with not 1 case being reported to the police. That is a huge sample size of not caring for the welfare of the abused but trying to limit damage for the perceived image of the organisation.
 I personally know an MS who is in prison for multiple child abuse, they just moved him over a couple of congregations and didn’t warn any parents, also an Elder who abused his own grandchildren, when he was released from jail he moved over a few congregations and no parents were warned.
Reply
 
 Grace says:

 July 28, 2015 at 4:19 pm

Tom,
I don’t think you have grasped the controlling affect that the leadership has over it’s rank. I know of 2 mothers & a sister of victims that were coerced by the elders not to take it to the Police because it would bring reproach on “Jehovahs name”.
They all went along with it because they have been conditioned to obey those taking the lead & that these men know what’s best for the spiritual welfare of everyone. I kept telling the mothers to take it to the Police because it was RAPE but they didn’t want to lose Jah’s favour & wanted to do what the elders advised them to do.
One of them took it to Bethel in Sydney & it was quickly advised to just leave it to Jehovah. The elders(all friends of the abuser elder) on the case threatened one of the mothers with disfellowshipping for gossip if she spoke about it to ANYONE ELSE.
These mothers still talk about the situation today, 15-20 years later like it happened yesterday & both suffer from depression because they never had proper closure or follow up support.

 
 
 
 
 

 Timothy Riches says:

 July 23, 2015 at 10:39 am

Current Jehovah’s Witnesses should ask themselves how much more reproach has been brought upon the organization by the leadership’s way of handling of child sex abuse and their maintenance of policies that exacerbate the problem. No one argues that the Watchtower wants children of it’s members to be abused, but the shielding of perpetrators and the infamous ‘two-witness rule’ encourage child sexual abusers in the congregations. Members are encouraged to never bring reproach upon the organization, which makes reporting of such horrible, life-altering crimes extremely difficult. The Jehovah’s Witness organization has become a ‘pedophile’s paradise’. What are the chances that Jehovah looks on it with approval?
Reply
 

 Paul says:

 July 23, 2015 at 1:45 pm

I agree with Cedars, the current policy is not one of reporting it to authorities.
 Check the elders book “Shepherd the Flock” and latest letters and the clear intent is to minimize damage to the good name of the congregation and keep things quiet. The rights of the victim are not paramount and never have been.
 The system including the 2 witness rule is blatantly wrong & un-workable to any thinking person. Since when do child molesters commit their crimes in front of any witnesses? Their cowardly advances to young vulnerable children are done in secret with strong pressure on the child to keep it secret. Hardly likely to be a witness to it except the victim!
Reply
 

 Michael says:

 July 25, 2015 at 9:59 pm

I agree with Average Joe and as an elder I too would report on a child abuser but will have to remain anonymous also due to the fact that wt does not want an elders to follow his instincts to protect those who are being abused under them. The information given to elders throught the elders book and letters from the governing body, and elders school does not encourage one to pursue these matters single handed according to their conscience but to seek directions from the branch rather than get trained officials and the law involved.
Reply
 

 Average Joe says:

 July 27, 2015 at 9:39 am

@Michael.
 Glad I’m not the only one mate. Hopefully by us doing our part by reporting these crimes if they ever occur in our congregations then the victims can get the needed support & compensation, whilst the sick perpetrators get true justice dished out to them!
 I’m still reeling at all these allegations against the society. It makes me so mad that elders in those congregations did nothing at all to help the victims nor expose the abusers. Where’s their humanity? How can they say they are shepherding the flock? What’s even worse is when they made the victims feel like the guilty party. Not in my congregation mate; not whilst I’m in it!
Reply
 

 Enrique Cortes says:

 July 28, 2015 at 6:44 am

How dare do the false witnesses tarnish Jehovah’s name? The deceivers and liars shall be extinguished by Jesus Christ HIMSELF for perpetuating a witch hunt within an organization put here by GOD’s hand himself. There are no ifs, and, or buts, he shall bring to light those who bring dishonor upon his name. As for ANY accusations, God above will handle, as we are humans cast upon this Earth He so created for us, and we are IMPERFECT. Those who are wronging WILL be brought to justice, whether it be within the organization or out, those trying to dirty the ALMIGHTY’s name WILL BE JUDGED BY JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. Have faith in God and what He does, DO NOT speak falsely but be weary of those who do. For even in the bible does it speak of people within being wolves in sheep clothing, but just have faith….for this life is merely a test, a warning, an example of why we need him…. PRAISE JAH YOU PEOPLE
Reply
 

 Enrique Cortes says:

 July 28, 2015 at 6:48 am

AS FOR THE VICTIMS, REPORT IT TO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES YOURSELF, AS THESE WORDLY AUTHORITIES ARE ALLOWED BY JEHOVAH HIMSELF TO EXIST. YOU WILL BE JUDGED BY A HIGHER AUTHORITY FOR TRYING TO PIT BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER, BUT KNOW YOUR CRIES OF JUSTICE WILL NOT BE UNHEARD IF WENT ABOUT IN THE PROPER WAY….. EITHER IN THIS LIFE, OR THE NEXT
Reply
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
  


 Notify me of new posts by email.
       StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter     



http://jwsurvey.org/jwthink/comment-page-1#comment-34191












Skip to content
JWsurvey 


Welcome

Cedars’ Blog

About JW Survey

Global Surveys
»




















Videos

JW Broadcasting

Get Involved

Links

Contact Us
  



Videos

New videos are constantly being uploaded to the John Cedars YouTube channel.
Here is a playlist featuring the most recent uploads…
 <br />
And here is a playlist of recommended videos from other channels…




Share this:



















in
Share
.

Print
.
Like this:


 
11 Responses to Videos

 KtotheRAD "Konrad" says:

 August 25, 2013 at 6:55 pm

With every word they reveal and “impart” far more than they ever intended…
Reply
 

 george says:

 August 27, 2013 at 4:45 am

Sorry Cedars, I can only access the first video on my I pad. There are a lot of over sized play icons and they won’t work.
Reply
 

 Luke says:

 October 27, 2013 at 5:27 pm

Continue the good work on this site that expose what Watchtower Organization really are — a fanatic end-time driven cult that only serve interests of its leaders. I left this
 cult three years ago for good. My only regret is that I had not left the Watchtower Cult earlier! On Easter Sunday this year, I was baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and received into Eastern Orthodox Church, apostolic Church that preserved the Faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Cedar, you have my blessings of your work on this site that
 will yet help millions of JWs to see the truth of so-called ‘Truth’.
Reply
 

 Fred says:

 November 2, 2013 at 12:09 pm

Forget taking your numbers from a 1974 yearbook if you question the amount of those killed, interned, etc get the numbers from the Holocaust museum. You forgot to mention the ‘JEWS’ were and its quoted several times in the Watchtower publications as it is related in the bible, “ONCE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE” but they did not remain that because of their actions. Your quotes from WT publications are based on the latter that they fell out of favour in God’s eyes. They therefor were NOT written in an anti-Semitic nature. Many Jews have become JW’s over the years are they lesser beings because they were of Jewish blood?…ABSOLUTELY NOT! All races are equal so this video in my opinion is twisted in its presentation. Not to mention the ridiculous claim of Rutherford’s so called love letter to Adolf Hitler. No blinders on here, I have checked the facts. Sorry but this video paints an untruthful twist of events and statements about the WT as regards the comments on the Nazi’s and Jews.
Reply
 

 Palma says:

 February 28, 2014 at 3:48 am

Hi everybody! Hi cedars!
 I found this article about a discovery in egypt that brings light to the origin of story of joseph in the bible.
 What do you think?
http://www.davidovits.info/the-lost-fresco-and-the-bible-my-new-book-in-french/
Reply
 

 Idris says:

 March 27, 2014 at 8:12 am

Thank you for this page, it has been a great help to me, as I seek the truth of the word of God, however I noticed in the video ‘Does the Bible speak of ‘Paradise Earth’ the speaker quotes Luke 21v43 twice, regarding Jesus word on the cross, there should be a correction note as the verse he mentions is in Luke 23 v 43.
 Keep up the good work
Reply
 

 Julia Orwell says:

 July 17, 2014 at 3:47 am

Been to internationals before and this elaborate souvenir thing is entirely new. The last one I went to in 2009, the last ones they had, had nothing like this so it’s not a matter of you having not noticed it in the past, it’s a matter of it being a new phenomenon.
 I theorize that the wt motives for this involve keeping the masses busy and therefore obedient. Jws would volunteer to do this because there are no other legitimate outlets for creative expression. Armageddon being near has nothing to do with it: it’s about keeping the sheeple busy and happy. Making stupid trinkets is also a team building activity as it involves jws working together, thus reinforcing the herd mentality jws have.
Reply
 

 frankie fernandez says:

 February 27, 2015 at 4:44 pm

dear friends I was baptized in 1974. Thank God I am no longer a member of the WT. Free at last and oh what a relief it is. A member of my former congregation who I considerd my best friend molested a minor. There was a big argument amognst the elders on the judicial committee. One elder who was a maverick, wanted to notify the police. But, instead they followed the instuctions of the society. They kept this crime against the child, hush hush. So as not to tarnish the name of Jehovah. But in reality it was a coverup to protect the wt’s reputation. Meanwhile this poor child that was raped has to carry the heavy burden of a victim for the rest of thier lives without compensation and without justice. While the abuser has remaind a member in good standing. The congregation he is attending now has not been notified that he is a sexual preditor.
Reply
 

 Kirtley W. Burggraf says:

 March 11, 2015 at 11:16 am

Tell me, since governing body members are elected (replacing someone who dies) at what point do do they become “divinely inspired” or “spirit guided”? Were they always thus in the lower ranks or does this just “happen” the moment that they are appointed? What’s Watchtower’s take on this?
Reply
 

 Alone in MD says:

 March 31, 2015 at 6:00 pm

Regards your video on the Memorial Service. I am one of those “non believers” married to a baptized witness. I go to just keep the peace but I’ve made it known that I consider this service one of the worst religious ceremonies that I have ever been to. “Anointed What”. Also it was announced at last years meeting that “this may be the last memorial service”. They are at it again. Thanks for the great videos.
Reply
 

 frankie fernandez says:

 May 10, 2015 at 9:50 pm

IF CHRIST WAS ENTHRONGED IN 1914, WHY ARE THE WITNESES STILL CELEBRATING THE MEMORIAL? CHRIST SAID THAT AFTER HIS ARRIVAL NO ONE WAS TO CELEBRATE THE MEMORIAL .ALSO HE SAID THAT THE DAY OF HIS PRESENSE, IT WILL BE LIKE LIGHTNING FROM ONE POINT OF THE EARTH TO ANOTHER. LIGHTNING TRAVELS AT THE SPEED OF 3500 MILES PER SECOUND. SO IT WILL TRAVEL AROUND THE GLOBE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. HE ALSO SAID THAT ALL EYES WILL SEE HIM. NOT LIKE THE WTS THAT SAYS WE ARE IN HIS INVISIBLE PRESENSE.
Reply
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

applications-education-miscellaneous.png
Comment posting guidelines:
Kindly observe the following requirements before posting any comments to our articles or pages:
◾ABUSIVE COMMENTS - Do not post comments that include swear words or may be considered abusive, lewd, blasphemous, obscene or threatening
◾ILLEGAL COMMENTS - Do not post comments that condone or propose illegal activity, or that breach copyright law
◾OFF-TOPIC COMMENTS - Do not post comments that are off-topic and bear no relation to the page or article
◾RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY - Do not post comments that are evangelical in nature or may be construed as imposing one person's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) over those of another
◾LANGUAGE - Visitors from all countries and language groups are welcome. You may post comments in languages other than English, but we would appreciate if you could make any such comments brief. We would also be grateful if you could run any such comments through Google Translate and convert these to English, but this is not an absolute requirement.
◾LINKS - You may post links to third party websites, so long as (1) you limit these to 2 links per comment, and (2) the content on these links doesn't contravene ANY of the first four points. Specifically, you may not post URLs to websites that are evangelical in nature. Our links page has an extensive list of such sites for any who are curious about Christian beliefs in the context of Jehovah's Witnesses.
JWSurvey.org thanks all visitors in advance for respectfully observing these guidelines. Any who persistently fail to do so, despite warnings, may find themselves blocked from making further comments at the discretion of the site moderators, whose decision will be final and not open for debate.

  


 Notify me of new posts by email.
  
 



Click on 
Visit JWfacts.com for more information on JW beliefs
Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses
JW Recovery forum
Barbara Anderson's Watchtower Documents resource
Visit JWstruggle.com for helpful information on exiting JW mind control Visit TAZE.co for discussion on Jehovah's Witness developments


 

Support JWsurvey
Help us make continued improvements to this website and its content.

       

Article Categories
◾Apostates (27)
◾Blood transfusions (12)
◾Books (5)
◾Cedars' Blog (208)
◾Cedars' Story (4)
◾Celebrity JWs (2)
◾Child Abuse (47)
◾Child Indoctrination (15)
◾Divine Direction (4)
◾Domestic Abuse (2)
◾Doomsday Predictions (1)
◾Downsizing (7)
◾Evolution and creation (6)
◾General Information (1)
◾Governing Body (33)
◾Higher education (3)
◾History and scandals (6)
◾JW.org (8)
◾Life Stories (10)
◾Mental health (5)
◾Mini-Surveys (5)
◾News (185)
◾Property sales (5)
◾Publications (6)
◾Shunning (12)
◾Support (6)
◾Survey (10)
◾Undue influence (15)
◾Warwick headquarters (4)

Search JWsurvey

  

Subscribe to JW Survey


Enter your email address to receive notices of new posts by email.
Join 797 other subscribers
Email Address  
    

Listen to JWpodcast

Check out the latest episode of JW podcast! 

Latest John Cedars video


Popular JW sites in other languages
Languages         
More languages...

Select... Croatian Czech Dutch Estonian Finnish 1 Finnish 2 French 1 French 2 French 3 German 1 German 2 Hungarian Italian 1 Italian 2 Italian 3 Japanese Polish 1 Polish 2 Polish 3 Portuguese 1 Portuguese 2 Romanian Russian 1 Russian 2 Russian 3 Serbian 1 Serbian 2 Serbian 3 Slovak Spanish 1 Spanish 2

Top Posts & Pages
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
 Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower 
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
 Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh 
The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
 The Unexpected Kindness of the World 
Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
 Tony Morris scapegoats gay people in bizarre child abuse denial rant 
Links 
 Links 
JWawake.com 
 JWawake.com 


 

Key Articles

Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?
What is the new light on the faithful slave?
Has Watchtower ever lied or withheld informatiion?

Open Offer

Open Offer to all bethelites
 Do you work at Brooklyn, Patterson or Wallkill? If so, please click here.

Our Promise
Making corrections
 Is there something incorrect or unfactual on this website? If so, please let us know and we will correct it.

2015 results at a glance
Number of respondents to the 2015 Global Survey
Site Stats
Visitor stats for JWsurvey

Like us on Facebook!







 
Cedars’ Twitter Feed
 

 

Who's Online
◾0 Members.
◾36 Guests.

Reader Comments
◾Grace on JWawake.com
◾RC8man on The Unexpected Kindness of the World
◾Wanderer on JWawake.com
◾Wanderer on Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower

Menu
◾About JW Survey
◾Contact Us
◾Experiences
◾Get Involved
◾Global Surveys ◾2011 Global Survey
◾2012 Global Survey
◾2013 Global Survey
◾2014 Global Survey
◾2015 Global Survey
◾JW Broadcasting
◾JWawake.com
◾Links
◾Videos
◾Welcome

Login
 ◾Login

Scan JWsurvey.org

 



Copyright © 2011-2013 JWsurvey.org. Site design and support by The Small Web Master.

    StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter     

http://jwsurvey.org/video-home





Tweets
Follow


1h
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Australian sex abuse report names hundreds of Jehovah Witnesses https://youtu.be/g2oJwWIOwYU?list=FLPwFxQx09kcz0mP1zWLgP9Q … via @YouTube



 Show Media


27 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Evidence that 1,006 alleged #childabuse perpetrators were covered up in Australia comes straight from #Watchtower http://wp.me/p1TWXJ-22H



 Show Summary Reply
Retweet
Favorite

21 Jul
 AvoidJW.org   @avoidjw_org 
A Glimpse Into the Life of a Child Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness https://richarddawkins.net/2015/07/a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-a-child-raised-as-a-jehovahs-witness/ … via @Richard Dawkins Foundation

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans


 Show Summary


21 Jul
 Louis Theroux        ✔   @louistheroux 
"When your legs don't work like they used to before..."
Did you just THREATEN ME, Ed Sheeran??!

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans
 Expand


21 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Thanks to @armathenia for a beautiful piece about the innate kindness of "worldly people"... http://wp.me/p1TWXJ-212



 Show Summary


20 Jul
 Linda DubrowMarshall   @DrLindaDM 
Cameron to unveil plan to tackle Islamist extremism http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33590305 …

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans


 Show Summary


20 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Ex-Believers Accuse Jehovah's Witness Leadership Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse http://www.inquisitr.com/2265651/ex-believers-accuse-jehovahs-witness-leadership-of-covering-up-sexual-abuse/ … via @theinquisitr



 Show Summary


19 Jul
 TED Talks        ✔   @TEDTalks 
Powerful and practical advice for those who hope to change the world: http://t.ted.com/z6iNsS0

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans


 Show Summary


19 Jul
 Hemant Mehta   @hemantmehta 
Enough is Enough: We Can’t Ignore All the Accusations and Cover-Ups and Payouts and Crimes http://tinyurl.com/pf8wew3

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans
 Expand


19 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
I've just realized I have 1,000 followers! Time to start my cult...

 Expand


19 Jul
 Maajid Nawaz   @MaajidNawaz 
PM Cameron @Number10gov gives major policy-defining speech on extremism tomorrow. I helped with it. It's significant. pic.twitter.com/4Mmy7YQSSP

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans
View image on Twitter
 Expand


19 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
ISIS are the Nazis of our age. If the Third Reich were somehow reincarnated in the Middle East, it's hard to imagine it being any worse.

 Expand


17 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Whoever sent me the awesome cover version of "Good Things, Bad Things," please give me permission to share it!

 Expand


17 Jul
 Hemant Mehta   @hemantmehta 
Former Jehovah’s Witness Servant Explains How the Organization Fired Him Without Warning http://tinyurl.com/pkzqa6o

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans
 Expand


16 Jul
 Megan Phelps-Roper   @meganphelps 
Different organization, similar experiences. @DanielGenser on questioning and then leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses: https://medium.com/keep-learning-keep-growing/what-i-believe-to-be-true-and-how-i-have-come-to-believe-it-13df821c3ed …

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans


 Show Summary


17 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
My 10 reasons why I believe Watchtower could be on the verge of imploding... http://wp.me/p1TWXJ-21N



 Show Summary


17 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
A Glimpse Into the Life of a Child Raised as a Jehovah's Witness - http://go.shr.lc/1CKjb7j  via @Shareaholic

 Expand


16 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Proud to be involved with this billboard project - http://go.shr.lc/1O8t27P  via @Shareaholic

 Expand


15 Jul
 Lloyd Evans   @cedarsjwsurvey 
Remembering Karl Towndrow http://www.gofundme.com/karltowndrow?pc=14_tw_2 … via @gofundme

 Expand


14 Jul
 Guardian G2   @guardiang2 
Why Jehovah's Witnesses have given up knocking on doors and taken to the streets. By @harrietsherwood http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/14/jehovahs-witnesses-evangelism-church-god-armageddon …

Retweeted by Lloyd Evans


 Show Summary


Load More




Tweet to @cedarsjwsurvey




http://jwsurvey.org/