Jehovah’s Witnesses And Chronology

Mar 26, 2013 by Doug Shields

Ever wonder why Jehovah’s Witnesses are so hung up on chronology and dates?

If you study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses you’re in for a lot of date memorization. As I recall, it was almost as bad as high school history only that the dates we learned in high school were accurate dates of actual events.

So why all of the dates of history and why the concern about them by the Watchtower and their followers?

Because dates make the “impending doom” of Armageddon more “real” in the minds of the rank and file Jehovah’s Witnesses!

Think about it:

If I could have some arcane arithmetical formula “make sense” in your head and cause you to believe that the end is coming next year would I be able to control you?

Could I cause you to quit your job, sell your house, take your kids out of school and have your whole family start working for me for free?

Could I cause you to bequeath all of your savings to the Watchtower when you die?

It happens every day folks. Sad but true. I saw a lot of it in 1975 when the last failed prophecy by the Watchtower flopped.

Now Jehovah’s Witnesses will try to counter this line of reasoning and say that dates are important. They say that they establish all sorts of things with regard to the will of Jehovah and the end times. However, if you look at the end of their line of reasoning it always points to the same eventuality:

The coming day of Armageddon!

Let me ask you one simple question: Did Christ EVER quote a date? EVER?

Nope.

When His disciples (being human) quizzed Him on when this great day was coming how did He respond?

Matthew 24:36

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

You see dates weren’t important to Christ. What WAS important to Him was helping liberate the Jews and later the non-Jews from slavery to the Judaic system as well as to free them all from slavery to sin itself.

He accomplished His goal and paid the ultimate price: He died at the hands of the Romans but at the request and full consent of the Jewish religious leaders of His time.

Dates, with regard to the Watchtower, have but one aim in mind: To sufficiently motivate “the faithful” to work even harder than ever before. Would this high degree of “output” be out of love? No. Quite obviously it is out of FEAR of not being “good enough” for Jehovah when that day comes. Cracking “the whip” of fear, guilt and low self esteem, these Watchtower taskmasters drive the hapless JW’s and their families to more field service, book studies, meetings, assemblies, personal study and for what? For the “feeling” that they probably may be saved in the day of Jehovah’s anger?

Really?

Did Paul or James or John EVER tell the Christians of their time to look toward a specific date?

Nope.

I have another question to ask you:

Did Christ or Paul, or Peter or any of the apostles ever once tell the congregation to turn in their time? To report the number of people they preached to? To count the number of tracts or books (scrolls) they placed with the householder? There is simply NOTHING in the Bible record to support that.

It seems ridiculous in view of the history of the early congregation doesn’t it?

No, the only people that keep up with time in service, product placed, and potential prospects are CORPORATIONS.

What do CORPORATIONS do?

They make MONEY and tell their employees WHAT TO DO!

Class dismissed.

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and abuse. He has a lot of experience dealing with these issues because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to face the painful truth about the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society.

If you would like to have Doug speak at your church, meetup or other event you can contact him here.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Jehovah’s Witnesses And Fear

Mar 2, 2013 by Doug Shields

I was thinking today about how sad it is that millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses live their entire lives around a core belief that the end is coming.

I’m not saying that the end isn’t coming. It could. We, as a society, have the ability to end life on our planet with a push of a button.

Let’s make that a little more personal shall we? Our individual ends can come at any time. We could die tomorrow or today or next week for any number of reasons.

Over a thousand people have died on our planet during the ten minutes it took me to write this post. Sobering thought isn’t it?

What I am saying is simply this:

To live your entire life around a future event that may or may not come in your lifetime is tragic. We all know that we’re going to die. We non JW’s accept that eventuality because it happens to everyone eventually.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, have found an artificial way to hope against hope that their lives will be spared death and that they will be able to live right on into paradise if Armageddon will only come in their lifetime. This is the “hook” that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society uses to recruit their followers. They have found the one thing that scares everyone to death (excuse the pun) and they propose an artificial solution to it. They imply either directly or indirectly, that the odds are high that anyone who follows them will be spared this eventuality. They do this by focusing on world events that seem to imply that we are living in the end times. They focus on earthquakes, disasters, weather changes, political changes, wars, reports of wars, etc. These somehow give them license to state that we are living in the “end times”. How long have they been preaching this? Since 1874!

They have prophesied many times about specific dates only to be proven wrong. They admit this. Yet they continue to beat the same drum they started beating way back in 1874.

Jehovah’s Witnesses, when recruited, are eaten up with this belief that the end is coming and that it is “just around the corner”. Ask any Jehovah’s Witness if they feel that the end is coming soon and they will all tell you “Yes!” If you had a time machine and went back a hundred years you’d get the very same answer!

The problem this creates is that they end up living for some future event instead of living in the present moment. Their lives are put on hold. All of the wonderful things that life has to offer are willingly surrendered and for what? For some possible event that may or may not happen for them.

Excuse me for saying so but it sounds a lot like gambling to me.

“Okay, I’ll give up all the things that make life worth living: a marriage, children, a good education, a fulfilling career, and a comfortable retirement all for the hope that if I work hard enough for The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society I’ll be able to survive Armageddon into this “paradise” that you say is waiting for me on the other side.”

Did the thief that was executed next to Jesus have to do that? Nope! Just one simple act of faith assured his immediate access to paradise.

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Jesus Christ

The thief didn’t have to knock on doors. He didn’t have to live a life of an ascetic. He was by all accounts a very bad person for most of his life. Yet one simple act of faith gave him passage into paradise.

Interesting isn’t it?

To date millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses have lived and died without seeing their dreams fulfilled. Sadly the old promise (read lie) from Judge Rutherford that “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” was nothing but a hopeful pipedream.

How do we know it is a lie? Because the Bible says it is a lie.

Hebrews 9:27

And since it is reserved for all mankind once to die, and afterwards to be judged;

So Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews stated flatly that it was reserved for all men to die once and then to be judged. Kind of makes the belief that some group will dodge that eventuality a little laughable doesn’t it?

Jehovah’s Witnesses live a life of fear. That much is true. They fear death. They fear not being good enough when Jehovah comes to exact judgement. Jehovah’s Witnesses are the most fearful group of Christians that I’m aware of.

Yet what does the Bible say about fear?

1 John 4:18

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

Notice that he didn’t say: “that we have not fully preached the good news of the kingdom” or “that we have not fully attended the Kingdom Hall like we should have” or “that we have not fully kept all of the commands of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society.”

If a Christian, who is saved in Christ, is afraid it is because they have not fully experienced the love of Christ in the first place.

How do we experience the “perfect love of Christ”?

The only way that you and I can experience love is by having a direct relationship with the person giving that love. The only way we can experience Christ’s love is to accept Him into our lives and have a personal relationship with Him. Yet the Watchtower states flatly that the 144,000 are the only ones that have a direct relationship with Jesus Christ. The rest of us are merely “hangers on”.

Many of the posts on this blog will verify that this belief in two classes of Christians is nothing but a lie. See the following two articles regarding this flawed teaching:

Are there really two classes of Christians?

Is the Watchtower your mediator?

My message to Jehovah’s Witnesses is to release the fear. Release the guilt. Start living your lives in love and happiness as God intended without worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow. If we’re truly saved in Christ then we have nothing to fear…no dates, no times, no elders, no circuit or district overseers. We will have no fear because if we truly have Christ in our lives nothing will shake us.

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and abuse. He has a lot of experience dealing with these issues because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to face the painful truth about the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society.

If you would like to have Doug speak at your church, meetup or other event you can contact him here.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Doug, why are “apostates” usually older and quite knowledgable?

Feb 17, 2013 by Doug Shields

Interesting. Very interesting question Anonymous!

Here is my take on this:

Those that have chosen to leave the organization, especially for doctrinal disagreements, are usually long time adherents, well read, and are middle aged or older.

Why is that?

Because they’ve been around long enough to see what the Watchtower does on a micro and macro level. I have long maintained that the Watchtower does its best not to rock the boat but about every thirty or forty years. The biggest changes in the organization have occurred on those exact time-tables. The reason for that is simply that as each “older generation” dies off, the ability to handle massive change is improved in the younger, less experienced, rank and file. There are also very few, if any, original members around to scream “foul!” and even if there are they are so old that the younger generation of Jehovah’s Witnesses simply doesn’t pay them any mind.

More importantly, the older JW set are also painfully aware of the fact that the promises of the organization are still yet unfulfilled. They’ve seen their friends and loved ones who eagerly looked forward to living through Armageddon and into paradise, wither and die of old age. They’ve watched as those who sacrificed their careers, their families, and their lives for the organization leave this life entirely unfulfilled.

The younger generation is more inclined to stick with the program because they believe, in their naivete, that the end simply must come in their lifetime.

I find it ridiculous that the Watchtower leadership and their minions always speak of these “apostates” as “leaving for their own benefit” as if there were some Satan sponsored lottery for leaving the organization. In these cases, where a Jehovah’s Witness has spent decades involved with the organization, they stand to lose everyone in their social network, possibly their job, their home, their marriage, their children, their grandchildren and of course their reputation! What possible upside is there to making this kind of move?

Only one.

They have achieved their freedom from emotional and psychological enslavement.

They, in most cases, have realized that the teachings of organization were false for years. They just lacked the nerve to make that move until they got older. Their reason for making that move is quite simple: The older we get, the less powerful peer pressure becomes. We realize we are going to die and what “brother or sister so and so” thinks of us means absolutely nothing to us or to God.

We learn that we have to be true to ourselves no matter what the cost.

I just have to ask the question:

“Exactly how many generations of Jehovah’s Witnesses have to die before the Watchtower leaders confess that they have absolutely no clue when the end will come?”

They have been beating this same drum since 1874. Here we are, well in to the 21st century and not a single thing that they’ve predicted has come to pass. How many “free passes” is a false prophet supposed to get?

Anonymous, that was a very thought provoking question and one that I’m sure will resonate with Jehovah’s Witnesses everywhere.

If anyone wants to comment on this, be my guest.

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and manipulation. He has many years of experience dealing with this issue because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to finally face the real truth and leave the organization.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Please Excuse Me While I Update This Site.

Feb 13, 2013 by Doug Shields

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you all for your patience while I go through some “growing pains”.

This project has been a long time coming and I have finally gotten the “get up and go” to get this done.

You’ll notice improved functionality as well as a distinctive look and feel to the site that wasn’t there before.

I think this is some of my best work and I look forward to interacting with all of you in a cleaner, clearer, and more entertaining way.

Just like the carpenter to the left, I’ve been busy working with my “digital slide rule” to make sure that everything fits and that hopefully Google and Bing like me even more than they ever did before.

If you need to get in touch with me you can do so by clicking on the “Contact Doug” link in the menu at the top of the page. You can communicate with me privately or if you wish for me to post your input I will do so as long as it fits the aims of this blog.

If you have any criticism or “attaboys” for old Doug then feel free to shoot that my way. I’m always looking to improve myself and this blog so get that in to me.

I’m even thinking of doing some video work. That might ruffle a few feathers!

Thanks for your continued support of this blog. Without you, my loyal readers, I would have packed this project in a long time ago.

If you have any ideas for subject matter please forward that to me. You are also welcome to comment on any of the posts that we have listed.

Quick FYI: You’ll see the following symbol at the very bottom of the home page “>>”. What that means is that there are more pages you can access by clicking on that. Also feel free to use the handy tools at the bottom of each post to SHARE any of my pages via your preferred method of social media. The more people reading these articles the more people we can all help out of the Watchtower!

Finally, there is a new fully functional SEARCH engine that will comb the entire site in seconds. Any term you want to use will pull any hits across all of the posts and pages on this site. That makes VERY quick work for anyone looking for information on a particular subject of interest.

I hope you guys have a great week next week and Happy President’s Day to all of you lucky people working for the government!

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and manipulation. He has many years of experience dealing with this issue because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to finally face the real truth and leave the organization.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

Jehovah’s Witnesses & Masturbation

Feb 9, 2013 by Doug Shields

The geniuses at the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Headquarters have really gone and done it this time! They’ve made me laugh out loud uncontrollably with this wonderfully descriptive video for deaf Jehovahs Witnesses regarding the evils of masturbation.

This is an actual Watchtower production hosted on www.jw.org.

You know, when I was a kid, I didn’t even know what masturbation was until I read the chapter on it in the Youth Book back in the seventies. Human nature being what it is, then it was all about finding out what it was and how to do it. If ANYONE is confused as to what physical acts are required to masturbate then they won’t be after watching this video. They should rename this “How to Masturbate” instead!

Regardless of how you feel about this issue one has to admit this is pretty funny stuff right here. I guess if religious oppression and intolerance ever go out of style the governing body at Brooklyn headquarters could always try standup comedy!

The facial expressions on this young Jehovahs Witness signer are HYSTERICAL!

See! I’m not serious ALL the time.

You can’t make this stuff up. It is just too funny for words! (Excuse the pun!)

1. Producing a professional video on the evils of masturbation for deaf people? $10,000.00.
2. Posting it on the internet for everyone to see? $200.00
3. Giving “apostates” a Watchtower Bible And Tract Society produced and sanctioned “gag reel” to duplicate all over the internet? Priceless!

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and manipulation. He has many years of experience dealing with this issue because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to finally face the real truth and leave the organization.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Related Posts

Tags

Share This

A Question for Jehovahs Witnesses

Feb 9, 2013 by Doug Shields

I thought about one of my prior articles regarding the Bereans and how they questioned everything Paul said and wrote. (Acts 17:11)

Peter complimented them and referred to them as “noble minded” because of this. This leads me to a very pointed and specific question for all you Jehovahs Witnesses out there:

Was there ever a time when you, or someone you knew, openly questioned or contradicted something that the Watchtower leadership said? Was there ever a time that this wasn’t immediately seized upon by you or others as a negative “doubt” and being “of the devil”?

To honestly question something and to examine it using your own reasoning powers is directly condemned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as being “selfish and egotistical”. Independent thinking has always been strongly discouraged by the Watchtower leadership and Jehovahs Witnesses in general.

When dealing with a teaching or policy that wasn’t based in truth or wasn’t fair, was there ever a time when you have heard yourself or others say:

“Well we’ll just have to wait on Jehovah.”

Folks, that is just Watchtower Bible And Tract Society speak for

“Sit down, shut up, and we’ll tell you what to believe or else we’ll disfellowship you for apostasy, trash your reputation, and keep your friends and family as hostage until you come to your senses!”

I hope to hear an answer from any of you Jehovahs Witnesses out there regarding this.

Doug Shields is an activist against religious oppression, control and manipulation. He has many years of experience dealing with this issue because he was an active Jehovah’s Witness himself for over twenty-three years. Doug has been privileged to help elders, ministerial servants, full time pioneers and even a circuit overseer to find the strength and determination to finally face the real truth and leave the organization.

Related Posts

Tags

Share This