There have been a number of thought provoking comments on the previous article in this series.  I’d like to address some of the points raised there.  In addition, I entertained some childhood friends the other night and chose to address the elephant in the room. They’ve known for some time that I haven’t been going to meetings, but have never asked why nor let it affect the friendship. So I asked them if they wanted to know the reason and they did.  I chose to start with the Organization’s 10-year membership in the UN.  The results were revealing.

Is Neutrality an Issue?

Before getting into that discussion, let’s talk about neutrality.  A number have raised the argument that claiming the UN is the image of the wild beast is a matter of interpretation and so cannot serve as an identifying mark of true Christianity.  Others suggest that the JW view of neutrality is also questionable, and likewise, cannot be used to distinguish true religion from false.  Those are valid points worthy of further discussion.  However, the issue isn’t whether the standard that Jehovah’s Witnesses have set up for determining the true religion is valid or not.  The issue is that Jehovah’s Witnesses have set it up in the first place.  They do accept that standard, and they use it to judge all other religions.  Therefore, Jesus words should guide us in utilizing their own criteria.

“. . .for with the judgment you are judging, you will be judged, and with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you.” (Mt 7:2)

Jehovah’s Witnesses presume to publicly judge and condemn other religions as false and deserving of destruction because they do not meet the requirements which the Organization claims the Bible has established.  Therefore, we have a sound basis for measuring Jehovah’s Witnesses by ‘the measure that they are measuring out’ and judging them by with the same ‘judgment with which they are judging’ others.

What I Learned from My Discussion

When I first started to wake up to the reality within the Organization I had always considered to be the one true faith on earth, I had only my understanding of Scripture as a tool.  Of course, in the end that is the most powerful tool because God’s Word is a two-edged sword, a mighty weapon for penetrating to the heart of a matter and revealing the true intentions of the heart.  His Word is more than just the written word, but is Jesus himself who is the judge of all. (Hebrews 4:12, 13; Revelation 19:11-13)

That being said, there is a practical side to Bible discussion which we must consider.  Any discussion we have is conducted with the proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over our head.  There is the ever-present threat that what we say may be used against us by elders in a judicial committee.  In addition, we are faced with another difficulty in trying to unmask the falsehood behind many of the teachings unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Most will consider whatever we say as an attack on their faith and will not really allow us to get into the actual proof. They will view the mere act of investigating the Bible with a view to proving or disproving these teachings as a breach of their loyalty to the Organization.  How can we prove our points if our listeners refuse to even reason on the evidence.

One of the reasons for this reaction, I believe, is that they find themselves ill equipped to respond.  They are so sure of their righteous position that they’ve never questioned it. When someone else does, the immediate response is to go deep into their memory to summon up the proof.  What a shock they feel when they find the cupboards are bare.  Sure, they can point to numerous publications, but when it comes to Scripture, they come up empty handed and don’t know what to do.  Of course, they cannot accept what we say, but unable to defeat us, they retreat into the belief that we must be wrong no matter what.  Then they take solace in the knowledge that they really shouldn’t be talking to us in any case, just like the Watchtower says.  So they will end the conversation with a high-sounding affirmation like “I love Jehovah and His Organization” which makes them feel loyal and righteous, and then refuse to speak more on the subject.  Essentially, they are claiming the moral high ground believing that even if we are right about our understanding of some Scripture, we are still wrong because we are attacking the one true channel Jehovah is using.  They will view us as proud and self-willed and counsel us to humbly wait on Jehovah to fix anything that needs fixing, instead of pushing ahead ourselves.

While this reasoning is deeply flawed, it is hard to get them to see that without extensive discussions, which they will not allow us to have in any case.

Like I said, that was the situation when I first started down this path because I didn’t know about the child abuse problem nor the 10-year membership in the UN.  Now, all that is changed.

There is no moral high ground anymore, not even an imagined one.  How can a 10-year membership in “the political elements of Satan’s system, as represented by the United Nations” be considered moral high ground? (w12 6/15 p. 18 par. 17)  They have pictured other religions as prostitutes who did not remain loyal as the bride of Christ to their husbandly owner.  Now it is the Governing Body—those responsible for all the actions of the Organization—who have been caught in the camera’s glare making out in the back seat of the car.  Those claiming they are the betrothed of Christ have lost their virginity in a very public way.

“These are the ones who did not defile themselves with women; in fact, they are virgins. These are the ones who keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,” (Re 14:4)

Those claiming to be the “faithful and discreet slave” whom Christ will “appoint over all his belongings” have committed fornication with the wild beast.  It doesn’t matter that they broke it off 15 years ago, they lost their virginity and can’t get it back. Worse, they won’t even admit to wrongdoing.

We need not fear accusations of apostasy.  We can reply, “Hey, I’m not the one who got caught with my pants down! Why are you blaming me? Do you want me to participate in a cover-up?  Is that what Jehovah would want us to do?”

You see, they have no defense.  If they refuse to acknowledge that the organization did anything wrong, then further discussion will prove futile, and worse, will amount to throwing  pearls before swine. Perhaps they will mull over what you have revealed and let it affect their heart.  Perhaps in time they’ll come back to you, or perhaps they will cut you off because you present a danger to their worldview.  Unfortunately, you can lead a man to water, but you can’t make him drink.

“. . .And the spirit and the bride keep on saying: “Come!” And let anyone hearing say: “Come!” And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.” (Re 22:17)

 

Meleti Vivlon

Articles by Meleti Vivlon.
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