For the past 10 years we have not been active Jehovah’s Witnesses, nor have we identified ourselves as such. During this time we have come to learn many disturbing things about the organization. As we have done more research, we have come to learn about the many false doctrines being taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as the many gross wrongdoings that have been and are still being covered up by the organization. They are so numerous that we don’t have the time to go into all of them here, however we would like to point out just a few.
- False prophecies: It is a historical fact that the organization has purposefully tried to distance themselves from, cover up, and literally deny the fact that they have made false prophecies throughout their history as an organization. Not only have they denied that they made false predictions, but then when the predictions that they made failed to come true and members were disappointed, they subsequently blamed the followers for misinterpreting the Watchtower’s own words. They blamed the members for being too eager for the end to come and mistakenly believing that the end would come by a certain date. Many of these individuals sold their homes, went into financial ruin, put off having children, and gave up furthering their education because the Watchtower organization convinced them that the end was eminent. The Watchtower convinced them that they would never use the skills learned in pursuing higher education, that it was a waste of time. This caused them to also believe that they would never have to pay back their loans, leading to many take out 2nd mortgages on their homes, rack up credit card debt as well as other personal loans in order to spend the remaining time in this system as unpaid full time pioneers in service to the organization. The Watchtower has taken no responsibility for the countless lives they ruined due to these false predictions.
- Included with these false prophesies, would be the lie pertaining to the fall of Jerusalem: in 607 BCE which is the beginning point for how they calculate 2520 years based on Daniel’s prophecy of the 7 times. This leads them to the year 1914 – a primary doctrine of their religion, as they continue to publicize that this was the year Jesus began his invisible heavenly rule over the Earth. Now another prophecy that they made has failed to come true – the end did NOT come during the lifetime of the generation of 1914. So now they claim to have “new light” on this doctrine. Now they have a new and improved explanation of what Jesus meant by the word “generation”. He must have meant “overlapping generations”, because we all know that when God told his prophets what he was going to do, he was never clear about what his words actually meant.
- Blood Transfusions: Your stance on blood transfusion is also unscriptural and has led to the deaths of untold thousands of people, including children. In recent years you are “allowing” your members to accept blood fractions. Where does one obtain blood fractions? Only from donated whole blood! This is the epitome of hypocrisy within your religion. “Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, yet gulp down the camel!” God doesn’t require human sacrifice in order to worship him. He requires mercy, not sacrifice. Human life is sacred, and every instance where a human life was on the line, Jesus showed mercy. He didn’t demand sacrifice of human life.
- Association with the UN: This fact was a complete shock to us, after decades of Watchtower publications rebuking the UN as being the Wild Beast of Revelation. They were touted as working in harmony with Satan and that they would turn on all religion and finally set their sights on Jehovah’s Witnesses, thus ushering in the Great Tribulation! What an astonishment to learn that you held a membership with the Wild Beast as an NGO for 10 years! Then to learn that after you were exposed by a British newspaper for this, you lied about your reason for membership (something that you continue to do). As an NGO, the principal purpose of this association is “the redissemination of information in order to increase public understanding of the principles, activities and achievements of the United Nations and its Agencies.” You also had to agree that you shared the principles of the UN Charter. How hypocritical of you!
- Shunning Practices: Not only is this practice unbiblical, and incidentally was condemned by Joseph Rutherford as a pagan practice when he denounced the Catholic Church for their practice of excommunication, but it is also a violation of Human Rights. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (adopted by the UN, by the way, in 1948) states that "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change [one’s] religion or belief". Article 20 says, "No one may be compelled to belong to an association." The Jehovah's Witness organization does not respect these basic human liberties. They coerce their members to remain within the organization by imposing a nearly unbearable cost for leaving. The penalty for leaving is enforced systematic shunning by family and former friends. This shunning practice has detrimental effects on relationships, especially family relationships. It literally tears families apart and the effect of shunning can be devastating on the individual who has been shunned, leading some to even end their lives by committing suicide. The threat of losing your family relationships causes many to stay in the organization, despite their intense desire to leave. The cost of leaving is so detrimental, that it is obvious that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have true freedom of religion, thus being in direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- The rampant pedophilia within the organization: This is a problem throughout the world in many religions and organizations. However, you have set up policies and procedures thru your 2 witness rule which have protected pedophiles and has created a perfect haven for them. The 2 witness rule is also unscriptural, as there was a law protecting a victim of rape if she were raped outside the city where no one could hear her cries for help. Your polices have protected the perpetrator and your organization rather than protect the victim. While it is true that you now report in states which have mandatory reporting laws, this should have been policy from the beginning. It is inconceivable to us that you still consider these as sins of immorality rather than crimes. And even if you disfellowship the perpetrator, what is to prevent them from preying upon non-Witness children now that they have lost their social network by being shunned by the congregation? The elders are not equipped to handle these crimes against children, however the police ARE equipped to investigate allegations of child abuse, yet you have done your utmost to protect the organization, so as to avoid “bringing reproach upon Jehovah’s name” rather than protect the innocent victims within. This is truly shameful.
In conclusion, this is to inform the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses that we are no longer members of the Jehovah’s Witness organization. We are disassociating ourselves from the organization and we request that our publisher cards be removed and destroyed. We also request that our names be removed from any type of membership cards or internal records from headquarters and the local congregation.
Included here is the original PDF document that we invite you to download and share
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