A challenge I made to a friend

For the last 4 years I’ve had the privilege of having weekly Bible discussions with a good friend and Business partner who has never been a Jehovah’s Witnesses. He and I have had Bible discussions for the last 25 years off and on. At first we did a lot of Arguing and debating without really getting anywhere, and then came years of almost no communication. But in the last 4 years, we have come together in our Worship in a rather unique  way that can’t really be described in a blog post.

Yesterday during our discussion, I made a challenge to him that I’ve made before. The challenge was for him to attend a few of the meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses to get a feel for the atmosphere and to have illustrated in real life how seductive the warm atmosphere can be. I don’t really know if he would have experienced it in the Hall he might attend, because I know from personal experiences with various Kingdom Halls, that the amount of “Love” that’s displayed, varies from place to place. But I do know also, that given the right circumstances, in the right place, even the  the strongest of people might start to think they  (the JWs) really had the truth.  Was it wrong for me to make such a challenge? Perhaps.  I guess what I’m after, is for someone whom I’m close, who’s never been a JW, to see the power of the Mind control that’s used to keep people enslaved to false teaching. It’s the proverbial “Wolf in sheep's clothing”

My friend likes to go to the Mountains in the summer time and do Kayaking and canoeing in the rapid waters of a certain river. Something I’m afraid to do myself. He’s comfortable taking risk that he feels confident he can handle, so He’s probably smart not taking me up on my challenge.  But in case he or someone reading this blog wants to experience a little bit of what I’m talking about, click on the link below. This video is about international conventions, but this radiant “love” that’s portrayed is something that’s displayed in local congregations also. It’s cunning, it’s deceptive, it’s dangerous. More dangerous than the mighty river at flood stage.

http://www.jw-media.org/gbl/gbl03e.htm

Religious freedom. Who deserves it?

A few weeks back, a Russian high court ruled against Jehovah’s Witnesses, thereby seeking to limit their activity.http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/283638

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses had been watching and praying for a favorable ruling. But it seems that no such favorable ruling was to be had. Perhaps things will change in the future, I hope so. Because I’m not interested in any kind of restrictions on worship unless such worship is a direct threat to peoples lives and property. That being said, I find it sad and somewhat ironic that, Jehovah’s Witnesses, while fighting for Religious freedom, are one of the foremost groups to grant no such freedom to their members. It seems to be a gross double standard on their part.

A recent Awake magazine (July 2009) carried an article titled “The Bibles viewpoint: Is it wrong to change your religion?” The article went on to develop the theme that changing ones religion was indeed OK, if one found that the religion they had been following, was faulty. The statement was made that “No one should be forced to worship in a way he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his religion and his family”  I agree with that statement. The question is: Does the Watchtower Society, which publishes the Awake magazine, agree with that statement ?

Myself and thousands of others have been isolated from former friends and Family members because of the lack of religious freedom under the Totalitarian rule of the Watchtower Society that we were born into.

If the Jehovah’s Witnesses want freedom of worship in Russia and elsewhere, perhaps they should be more willing to grant it to those within their ranks that want to leave. Are they possibly  seeing a fulfillment of Jesus words in Matt. 7 when he stated the following?:

"Stop judging that YOU may not be judged;
for with what judgment YOU are judging,  YOU will be judged;  and with the measure that YOU are measuring out,  they will measure out to YOU.”  (Matt 7:1,2 NWT)

Getting over it is very diffu “cult”