Out Of Religion, Trudy

[Samson]

Hello Everyone,

                      I decided to start a new thread regarding a Woman who exited the Watchtower Organization(Jehovah's Witnesses), since I have much experience in this area due to my twenty years as one of them and spending alot of time researching their History and examining their beliefs prior to my arrival to Bible-Truths, I thought this might be interesting, the E-mail was interesting to me. Looking forward to your comments, opinions, feedback and questions, if you have any. Maybe this Thread should be at Off Topic Discussions, I'm certain the Moderators will move this if I erred.

                     This E-mail from a Woman named Trudy highlights that although the JW's welcome Questions from their members, they don't welcome being QUESTIONED. When they first begin studying the Bible with you using one of their publications, they expect you to critique and examine your previous or current Religion, helping you to expose the errors, but after you get Baptized as a JW, they don't like and allow you to examine any errors or inconsistencies you find with them. This Woman(Trudy) seemed to experience some of this in her meeting with the Elders.

                      Well, here is the E-mail being considered:

                 Out of religion
« on: Yesterday at 08:48:16 AM » 

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Dear Ray,

I know first hand how it is to be accused of apostasy by religious leaders.
Born and raised in the Watchtower doctrines, I finally came to Christ in the year
2000.
2 Corinthians 3:14-16
"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the
old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken
away. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now t he
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

While trying to help my dear friend see the importance of obedience to Christs' command
in regard to partaking of the emblems (bread and blood) of the Lord's supper observance,
( John 6:53)( 6:35) And the importance of coming to Christ; listening only to him.
I made the mistake of showing her a strange letter 'S 'on the skirt of a
character found in one of the Watchtowers' publications. Obvious, she wasn't ready to
see error in her belief system.
This obviously offended her and so she called one of the JW elders to report all the things
I'd said to her.
It wasn't long before I was contacted by one of the JW elders about a house visit.
(these meeting arrangements are to be carried out three times, the last at the
Kingdom Hall) While during the second meeting, the presiding elder told me,"T h e
Bible was not written for you, it was only written for the 144,000 and you are not one
of them." He assured me the heavenly door was closed in the year 1935 ( I believe that
was the date he gave to me) and said,"you belong to the 'other sheep class' not the
heavenly class."
(Christ is the door, how does anyone have the authority to shut him from God's people?
(John 10:2-9)
I was so appalled at his words that I searched out an old WT article with the title: "WHY
READ THE BIBLE.?" and and then covered all four margins with scriptures proving the
Bible was written for ANYONE who seeks God. At the next meeting, at the Kingdom
Hall where I knew they were going to give me the AXE, I handed the magazine to the
presiding elder. Also, I told him that I felt like a hypocrite for telling others at the door to
door minister to 'examine their religion; while all the while I had not examined mine,
and when I did examine it, let me tell you wh at I found!
And so I then proceeded to tell him about the past false predictions and too, how the WT touted the pyramid Geza; calling it God's Stone Witness while measuring it's hidden passages ways to confirm their 1914 date and other dates.
One of the elders sat up and objected and said, "I don't believe that!".
The presiding elder spoke up saying,"Yes, brother they did." I reminded them about
one of the WT' latest releases having admitting  this error and showed a picture of it in
one of it's pages. ( Jehovah's Witnesses in the twentieth Century)
Just after the elders began to change their countenance, straighting themselves, to announce their decision to dis-fellowship me, I handed over my disassociation letter.
(hoping some one would be curious enough to read it) They requested I sign it, so I did.

It was over. I haven't stepped foot into their Kingdom Hall since.
I called one of the elders and left a message on their message machine. Th e message
I left him said,"Who are Christ's brothers"? Matthew 12:50 Jesus said,"Anyone who
does the will of my father in heaven is the same my brother, sister and my mother."
You see, the WT teaches all the (so called) other sheep class are doing God's will, yet
at the same time, they are not Christ's brothers.' ( strange contradiction)
I haven't 

               Sorry everyone(Samson), apparently I didn't copy and paste this properly, I need to take Kat's course on computer literacy, I've improved, but missed part of this E-mail. This E-mail is one of Ray's new ones from this past weekend, I guess you guys can get the rest of it, if you haven't read it already.


                       Looking forward to your comments and opinions, Samson.

   

[Kat]

Here is the rest of the email. http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,7873.0.html

I haven't heard from any of them.
Even so, I asked my heavenly Father to forgive them.
Not long after I left, it was revealed to me the body of men at Brooklyn New York,
decided the 'door was open after all.' But I know that in order to qualify to be one of
these elite 144,000 members, one must dance to the Watchtower's tune.
Just as one must dance to the Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, etc etc tune in order to
be judged as one of the chosen elect of God.

God is my judge, what man can judge me?
Sound familiar?
1 Corinthians 4:3-4-
"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's
judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self For I know nothing by myself; yet
am I not hereby justified: but he that judges me is the Lord.
John 12:48
Christ said:
"He that rejects me, and receives not my words, hath one that judges him: the word
that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Acts 4:19

God gives his spirit to anyone who asks, seeks, knocks.
The body of Christ comes to God's Word to seek God.
They knock, he opens.

May our Father continue to bless your work in furthering his Kingdom,

Trudy


Thank you for your email and comments, Trudy. Very interesting.  It's great to be free from these controlling Pharisees.
God be with you,
Ray

[pylady]

Hi Samson,

Another former JW here.  It really used to bother me that we were expected to answer the prearranged questions at the meetings, but we could only answer by quoting the Watchtower publications.  Everyone seemed to understand that neither personal opinions nor any questions were allowed.  Nor reading any material besides their publication.

The clincher came the night I had to take my brother who had terminal lung cancer to the hospital.  It was the night of their "Memorial Service" and I had made plans to give a "sister" a ride to the hall.  She was so upset that she lost her ride, not much compassion for my brother!  My brother died that night.  Not many came to the funeral.  I guess since they believed God would destroy him forever they couldn't offer me any comfort.   How sad!  The fruit of that religion is definitely not love.

Somehow I knew that the God of love could not, would not destroy forever my brother and most of mankind because they could not find Him in their few short years of life.  I didn't know it at the time but He was working in my heart.

My house certainly came crashing down when I realized the JW's are just another head of the beast.  But how wonderful to come to Ray's BT site and have my eyes opened to the true God of love! 

I pray for those people still enslaved to these lies.  But all in God's time their eyes will be opened too.   The truth does set us free.

Glad you were freed.  I think Randy mentioned that he's also a former JW.

     Your sister in Christ,

                       Cindy 

       

[OBrenda]

Samson,

I wasn't a JW but I remember as a young girl, there were some trying to recruit the parents of my friend.  While over my friends house they showed us kids a booklet with drawings of young children playing happily, and turned the page to show us what God would do to children who celebrated Holidays.

Remember I was a Kid so I may be off in my memory some, but in the next picture I saw frogs invading the happy children.  They told us God would severely punish and anyone who celebrated holidays.  I remember us kids getting very upset, and they were never seen in my friends house again.

It was the first time I realized as a child, that adults were capable of stupidity.  (That's not to say there isn't any validity in what they believed)  And JW aren't the only heads of the beast that posses the carnal mind that needs to label all things Evil or Good, Black and White, etc.

When I hear stories about the control through fear and disfellowship practices, it makes me think of the Nazi Mentality. No Grace no tolerance.  And in their midst are some wonderful people, as I have a friend who is a JW.  I  admire her strength to uphold her beliefs, even if I don't entirely share them.

Cindy, I've had similar experiences to clearly see (like taking your brother to the hospital) where the rubber meets the road, controlling religion is rooted in complete and utter selfishness.  And is completely contrary to the nature of God!  It's a very painfull thing to realize you are only a means to and end.

Thank God We have You XJW with Us Here,
Brenda

[hillsbororiver]

Hi Everyone,

Reading through this thread brought the following verses to mind;

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Mat 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Heartless legalism without compassion or mercy is not the way of our Lord, it is the way of our adversary.

Peace,

Joe