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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/25/2007 3:50:50 PM | | My parents were JW's, and I was brought up that way. I am no longer a JW since my first birthday party (when I was 18 and could make my own decisions.) I remember going to school after Christmas and making up make believe presents we got because we didn't celebrate Christmas. I aslo remember 1976. We had a Flag in the backdrop of the class picture, and I had to have mine plain, yes, I stood out like a sore thumb. I also had joined the drill team, but I could not go to most of the parades because they were Christmas, Halloween, ect. I even had to remain seated for the Pledge of Alligence in school. They do not celebrate any holidays. I remember my Grandmother brought over a small Christmas tree just for us kids because she felt sorry for us and my parents were disbarred from the religion because of the tree until they could go back and set things straight with the church which took about a year . They could talk to no one while they were there, they were made a mockery of because of the little tree. If you want truth, read the book Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Now that's a page turner! Great book! | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/25/2007 8:45:48 PM | From the 1900's to the early 60's blood transfusions were trail and error and were not well recieved within the medical community or non-medical communities. Many died in the early experiments to get it right. Many did not feel it "right" to extend a person's life by filling them with someone else's blood let alone their own.
It was under Rutherford that decisions about recieving blood transfusions came to be. They did extensive Bible searching and found some verses they could twist to back up their ill-feelings about transfusions. They pretended that laws in the Bible that were against eating uncooked bloody meat and drinking blood could be meant to recieving it through a vein also. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/25/2007 11:30:33 PM | | I think that it is an example of religion refusing to give an inch to modern science. I think that it is barbaric and sick. If someone needs any form of medical attention, they should be abled to receive it. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/26/2007 11:19:09 AM | | I only know they do not consider christ divine or the fundamental aspect of JW do not consider Jesus Christ to be divine, therefore it makes me wonder HOW they can be considered a CHRIST-ians. That's my two-bits.Plus I think they are a cult at best. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/26/2007 11:38:27 AM | It was taken from a serious of quotes from the Bible, which were (apparently) initially written because people with leprosy were drinking the blood of healthy people to dry and somehow lose the condition.
as someone posted earlier
Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult. A cult is considered any group that is teaching
lies about the Bible.
As far as not receiving blood transfusions, I believe it is :
Genesis 9:4 "But flesh (meat) with...blood...ye shall not eat"
Leviticus 17:12-14 "...No soul of you shall eat blood...whosoever eateth it shall be cut off"
Acts 15:29 "That ye abstain...from blood..."
Acts 21:25 "...Gentiles...keep themselves from things offered to idols and from blood..."
In my honest opinion, there are such advances in medicine all of the time, people who discover cures and treatments (in my opinion) have this ability as a gift from God. If God didnt want things to be cured, he wouldnt let medical advances happen, something would always occur to stop these advances being made.
The JW's are also one of the religions that claim exclusivity on heaven. They claim that only JW's get to heaven.... | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/26/2007 8:08:04 PM | My 2 cents...
Almost 20 yrs ago, my sister, who was a Jehovah Witness, was pregnant with twins. She lived in BC, we live in AB. She went into labor early, phoned us and told us (I'm not sure she was allowed to do that), and went to the hospitalat 7pm.
We hadn't heard by 5am here, so called the hospital, only to be told she was dying, because her "husband" and "sisters", who were at the hospital with her, refused the blood transfusion for her. She had carried the blood refusal card, but couldn't make the decision on her own at the time because she had so much blood loss she was incoherent.
Her husband was physically handicapped, and did not take her to the hospital. Her congregation took her there. As well, ALL her family are here in AB and the "sisters" who refused for her were actually congregation members....her spiritual sisters.
She died, and left 4 children orphaned, and a husband alone that could never care for himself or his children.
My family got custody of the children, and fought her case in the courts all the way to getting an inquest. There were many bizarre things that happened there...the true identities of the "husband and sisters " came out in the inquest. One of the "sisters" husband posed as my sister's husband, because they knew if it came down to letting his wife die, he never would have consented. We unfortunately ran out of money, and decided it was better to just focus on raising the children.
I have tons of info regarding the misguided teachings of this cult. Most of it comes from members who have left and spoke out. Many of these people contacted my family when my sister died, as this case was huge then, splashed all over the papers here and in BC. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/26/2007 8:46:47 PM |
Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult. A cult is considered any group that is teaching
lies about the Bible.
As far as not receiving blood transfusions, I believe it is :
Genesis 9:4 "But flesh (meat) with...blood...ye shall not eat"
Leviticus 17:12-14 "...No soul of you shall eat blood...whosoever eateth it shall be cut off"
Acts 15:29 "That ye abstain...from blood..."
Acts 21:25 "...Gentiles...keep themselves from things offered to idols and from blood..."
Of course the individual who posted this hysterically ironic and completely incorrect quote is long since gone from PoF...but the irony and error remain.
In the desire to be politically correct and pluralistically inclusive, do we allow people to engage in what is essentially a demonstrably incorrect reading of the original text used to bolster a dangerous superstition that brings potential harm to themselves and others?
My God told me that you have demons inside you...he said the only way to cure you is to open your head up with a hammer. Obviously we don't permit this to continue as a society.
My God told me I have demons in my own head...the only way I have to cure myself is to open my own head up with a hammer. Well we don't allow this either...
But we tacitly allow someone to commit suicide and potentially assisted suicide or murder in the case of refusal of a blood transfusion in order to provide life giving blood purely on the basis of firstly a superstition, and second an incorrect reading of Hebrew dietary laws that not even Orthodox Hasidic Jews would use to prohibit a blood transfusion, which they themselves allow for??? One could hardly call them less religious and I'm pretty sure they have a better grasp than the Johnny-Come-Lately's- Jehovah's Witnesses of the verses in question as regards how they should be understood and interpreted.
When do we as a society step in and say "Enough is enough. Your right to the pursuit of your faith has now stepped over the right of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of other citizens and your own health, safety, productivity and collectively we won't tolerate it."
If you want to practice essentially self-destructive beliefs, should you be entitled to the protections and benefits of society? If you choose to raise children as part of a faith that holds self-destructive beliefs, should you not be viewed as potentially unfit to raise them, as much as a parent who would allow them to play with explosives?
Why do we put a big taboo safe wooly mitten of non-approachability on it because people say "right to practice religion"? I think when you start to endanger the lives of yourself and others through demonstrable means, you have crossed the line of society's tolerance. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/27/2007 12:13:09 AM | Acts 15:28, 29 commands JWs to "abstain from blood."
The nutty thing is that the god they say Jehovah is; a loving kind, mercuful, forgiving god - they still expect children to refuse blood transfusions yet god would never ever punish a child if they took one because they cannot give informed consent even if they know the scriptures and what they mean.
And they eat microscopic amounts of blood when eating meat!
A 12 year old girl can say she consents and understands what she is doing having sex with the 55 year old man down the street - but the man is still going to jail because the kid cannot give informed consent. The blood thing is no different.
JWs should have no fear where kids are involved if their god is who they say he is. I think all christians are deluded. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/27/2007 7:34:37 AM | I was also raised as a JW, thank god I got out quite a long time ago. They are a cult, and I say that with my parents and a large percentage of my family still in it. Cults isolate their members from general society, they use brainwashing to mentally subdue and make their members submissive. I remember as a kid hearing about Armageddon and how all the unbelievers would die, cause they took a stand on Satan's side, I was scared shitless everytime a major war broke out or a natural diaster happened, thinking, is this it? Terrified God would kill me for not being perfect enough. How's that for childhood memories? They practice brainwashing by use of phrases like "the truth", "God's organization on earth" yada yada. The whole blood thing really pisses me off, I had a conversation with my own mother recently who informed me flat out, although, I really already knew it, that if i was unable to speak for myself, say, in a coma and needed blood, neither her or my father would ever consent, even though they know I would want the transfusion, I have two young children who depend on me, yet, they would not sign a piece of paper because of their beliefs. I can relate to the posters raised as JW's, cause it is not easy being raised as one, oh yeah, knocking on doors as a kid is so much fun! Not! lol
Charles Taze Russell who founded the Bible Society aka Jehovah's Witnesses, himself, said to accept a blood transfusion if it was needed to save your life. Rutherford came along and having been a Federal Judge knew how to make a political stand and changed many of the former beliefs of JWs. These are men who said God talked to them directly, transmitting what to write into the Watchtower etc. UMM HELLO! Can we say wackos??
I know JW's who wont' even buy cat or dog food with blood by products in it, which is hilarious, if a cat eats a mouse, do ya think there is blood in that mouse? It is a political stand to seperate themselves from the mass of christian religions, that simple. Not that its members would ever believe that, its considered wrong to investigate what the religion once taught and what it does now. Yes, they do now allow blood plasma, organ transplants, that must be a huge comfort to all those people who lost loved ones before they changed the rules. The scriptures in question were in fact referring to eating things not properly bleed. I asked several witnesses a question regarding the whole blood is sacred thing, none of them could answer, how shocking. I asked them if blood is sacred and called back to God, heck, I am not going to live forever, I am just loaning it till I die, so what's the issue??
As for them not believing Jesus is Divine, that's incorrect, they do believe he is, they just dont' believe in the Trinity. They don't believe they go to heaven but rather will live on earth forever after Armageddon in paradise, with none of us non believers, we will all be dead, haha! They do believe they are God's chosen people and that anyone who is not one of them is part of Satan's world, aka dead meat.
As for them being "nice" well you attract more flies with honey than vinegar right? Their sole purpose in door to door ministry is to convert non believers, so think carefully before you are too nice back, they view you as someone they want to convert, not as someone they just want to discuss God with.
They are anything but nice when you decide you want to leave the religion er cult. In fact, you are threatened with losing everyone you love, all your family, friends are required to turn their backs on you, and depending on how vocal you are about your disagreement with their beliefs, they may never even say as much as hello to you again for life. Sadly, I know many many who have left and are dead in the eyes of their families. I was lucky that my parents still had some contact with me, all my so called friends however, never spoke to me again. If that is not a cult what is??
It's interesting to note that a person is not considered a Jehovah's Witness until baptized yet unbaptized children have a belief forced upon them while they have not consented to adhere to the religion at all. I will happy come the day when unbaptized children of JW's cannot be refused a blood transfusion due to their parents beliefs. Hey if adult baptized ones want to die, that's their choice for being stupid, but innocent children should never be refused the right to live. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/27/2007 2:36:12 PM | tellyureyestostop
I could not argue with a single point you have raised here.
I lost more than family through it, but that is another story. The main thing is the psychological damage the innocent (not guilty) unbaptized or otherwise members may have to endure.
This is NO overstatement.
I too am living proof of that. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/27/2007 8:32:04 PM | tellyureyestostop: Great post!
I wanted to add that JWs strongly discourage their members from doing any investigating or thinking of their own. If the Watchtower society decides that you must click your heels three times first thing in the morning - then that is what they are to do without questioning or challenging it. They will not even read, or even touch the paper it's written on - anything that goes against their beliefs as it's considered apostate.
It was a brilliant stroke of genius by the WTS to make this command of its flock. It keeps them ignorant, unquestioning, and in line.
JWs are strongly discouraged from higher education such as college or university because they believe they are in the "last days" and should spend their life ministering to all people and converting them to the "one true christian faith." It also keeps the "faithful and discreet slave" ignorant if they are denied higher education and free thought.
Sorry about the double post! | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/27/2007 8:32:30 PM | tellyureyestostop: Great post!
I wanted to add that JWs strongly discourage their members from doing any investigating or thinking of their own. If the Watchtower society decides that you must click your heels three times first thing in the morning - then that is what they are to do without questioning or challenging it. They will not even read, or even touch the paper it's written on - anything that goes against their beliefs as it's considered apostate.
It was a brilliant stroke of genius by the WTS to make this command of its flock. It keeps them ignorant, unquestioning, and in line.
JWs are strongly discouraged from higher education such as college or university because they believe they are in the "last days" and should spend their life ministering to all people and converting them to the "one true christian faith." It also keeps the "faithful and discreet slave" ignorant if they are denied higher education and free thought. | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 3/28/2007 11:49:57 AM | Everything you said is so true, I myself had a full scholarship to Uni and it was made clear by my family and other members of the congregation, that should I choose to go, well, kiss my life as I knew it goodbye and at 17 and never having been allowed to develop any social connections outside the religion er cult, I listened to what I was told and was an a typical zombie.
What alot who don't know the religion er cult, lol, is that children are not baptized at birth and therefore not actually JW's until they get baptized in their teenage years in most cases. The cult mentality and pressure to submit are not really explainable to anyone who hasn't lived it.
I have had conversations with people who say, why didnt you just rebel? Tell them tough luck, yet, they just do not get it. You are taught from birth to be submissive, to be humble and basically have your personal individuality stripped away. I feel most sorry for young kids and teenagers faced with losing everything they know to break free. It takes a great deal of strength and skills they have not been taught to develop whatsoever. I can only imagine some teenager faced with a blood transfusion and being told they will be disfellowshiped (shunned= no speaks to you at all for at least a year as punishment for your sins, not even hi, how are you) and wanting to live yet terrified their life is over if they say yes to the transfusion. These people play God, there is no mistake about that.
Christians are supposed to follow Christ, who taught love, forgiveness and understanding yet they teach fear, repression and judgement. The God I grew up to believe in was one I was scared to death of. Not one I looked upon with love. Luckily, things change and I got out, and I get the joy of seeing my kids have christmas and birthdays, they will never have to make those choices. Never have to face losing my love in the name or facade of religion.
What's funny is writing something like this, with a photo attached to your profile, could lead to a heap of trouble for me, as those of you once in the cult know well. But if it helps one person avoid the pitfall of being sucked in, its well worth it!  | |
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| Jehovah Witnesses
Posted: 5/25/2008 5:07:58 AM | Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult. A cult is considered any group that is teaching
lies about the Bible
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hmm well then all religions are cults
catholics, protestants etc
you can put all religions into this cult group
nowhere in the bible does it make mention of xmas at all or trinity or mention mary as being holy etc etc | |
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