As an Ex-JW (left in February… YAY!) I know that JW’s pride themselves with the unity that they have vs the multiple denominations among “Christendom”.
From what I understand about most Protestant denominations I have come across (as an example) is that they do not dispute what they see as the fundamentals of Christianity, but they choose the denomination depending on what that denomination emphasizes. So they still see each other as united. So, for an example James White will debate Michael Brown on predestination, but they still see each other as saved and true Christians. The bible allows open interpretation in many cases where it doesn’t explicitly say something, such as in prophecy. So it should be left to open interpretation or dependent on a persons conscience.
Now the JW’s say that they have unity, but this isn’t dependent on open interpretation in most cases. The JW’s have to say that they believe what the Faithful and Discreet Slave (Governing Body) say they must believe. So what they “believe” is dependent on other men’s understanding. The question is then: are they really united in their faith? Can one’s belief truly be changed just because others say it is what you must believe? I have witnessed in many cases (including my own faith, which is why I left) that Witnesses hold to individual beliefs which contradict what the organisation says is believed now. Individual viewpoints also cropped up in Watchtower studies, mostly by older ones, who still believed stuff that they were taught many years ago.
This leads me to the “New Light”. This is the reason why the older JW’s have old views. They haven’t been keeping up with the organisations teachings. “New Light” also brings truth into the equation. JW’s from 50 years ago had a very different view of scripture that they have today. So, up until the recent “New Light”, the witnesses have actually been teaching a few falsehoods, and in Rutherfords time they were teaching many falsehoods. And since there will be “New Light” in the future, they are teaching falsehoods now. A person might have viewed the old teachings as wrong, but for the sake of unity, if they expressed disagreement, then they were frowned upon, even disfellowshipped, even if they were right in their viewpoint. Also, when the Governing Body wishes to change a teaching, at some point there must be disunity, because one of the Governing Body must have thought that a current teaching was wrong, which is to be an apostate. He must have openly professed that he believed a teaching to be wrong. He was an apostate when presenting the teaching. The nature of these teachings that are changed should be open to interpretation, such as the understanding of prophecy and the understanding of the “generation”, things which have been changed on many occasions and, for the sake of unity, if anybody taught those falsehoods differently, they could be disfellowshipped.
What is more important? The unity in even the most obscure of understandings? Or truth? It seems that many denominations are options for people who believe in different things and allows them to express this with like minded people. JW’s have to express unity even if they don’t actually believe a teaching which rests on another man’s conscience which is subjective.
Example: Among JW’s it is frowned upon for a man to wear a beard. Obviously this is not stated in scripture. It is actually endorsed since the Israelites had to have beards. Even Jesus wore a beard. Yet somehow the Witnesses say that it is a bad thing based on obscure reasoning ironically. And to remain united they will limit the privileges of a brother who wears a beard for the sake of unity. The same goes for wearing suits. None of this is biblical. It is Pharisaic in its enforcement.
The fruit that they bear also reveals a lot about them. Yes, many members are lovely people and strive for holiness. But the organisation itself is problematic. The organisation shows signs of Behaviour Control, Information Control, Thought Control and Emotional control. Signs of a cult. Information control even goes so far as members not being able to communicate with apostates. I am surprised Witnesses are on this site. I was on Religious Forums because I was not united with Organisation rules. Any witness who communicates with me will be showing disunity. They disfellowship members, which is shunning, which often leads to many committing suicide. Shunning is very cult like behaviour. They restrict self expression through turning one into a JW clone, which is why JW’s sound similar and use loaded language, which often makes one dead inside, as everybody wants to be accepted for who they are. Thought control is achieved by even limiting what they believe. They are discouraged from entertaining alternative scriptural viewpoints to the Organisation. So they cannot read the bible and come to their own understanding even if the organisations understanding didn’t make sense. I was seen as argumentative because I questioned many things. Some have been shunned for expressing alternative views in sincerity.
Someone who is studying the bible with them should be aware that they will only discover many teachings once they are in the group. Also, once someone is baptised as a Witness they cannot leave without being disfellowshipped and shunned. This means that everybody who they know or are related to in the group will not even look their way (besides elders). As a result they will be alone in the world. Someone who is raised as a Witness, follows JW rules such as only hanging out with JW’s, gets baptised at 14 (for instance), and discovers that the religion is false and leaves or commits an “error”and disfellowshipped, will be shunned and their own flesh and blood will not speak to them. This often leads understandably to depression and many suicides.
The implication of “New Light” when studying to get baptised as a JW is that what you believe to be proper bible teaching now will not be what they teach 50 years down the line as truth. Therefore you very well might not be agreeing with them in the future. You might see that they are teaching errors. So getting baptised now is getting baptised to an organisation and not a set of beliefs. You follow the organisation, not what you believe to be true. So if you get married as a JW, to a JW, have children and only have JW friends, and you see that what they are teaching is not what you signed up for, then there is a great chance that you will lose your family. This has happened in loads of cases. This is thought control and behaviour control.
The Australian Royal Commission revealed that the Witnesses do not deal with child abuse in an appropriate manner. Elders are encouraged by the branch not to report child abuse cases to the police. Many Ex Witnesses have shared their bad experiences with the Org regarding abuse. this is not the sign of bearing good fruit. This is negligence. The right food was definitely not fed to the sheep at the proper time.
Even though Witnesses frown upon denominations, they themselves can be seen as a denomination of the Bible Students. Charles Taze Russell (himself influenced by the Adventist movement) started the Bible Students. When Rutherford took over the group splintered into many different ones:
Read:
Bible Student movement – Wikipedia
The only reason why they say they aren’t a denomination is because they see the others as false. And they do not have doctrine to support their validity because it changes constantly, which means that Rutherford’s group wasn’t the same as the group today. In fact the other groups stick to Russell’s teachings and are the same. So they were the true followers of Russell.
Anyway. I write this to show that JW’s shouldn’t judge Christian denominations. That would be hypocritical. Even though they say they have unity, this actually proves that they should not judge. They are very similar to the Catholic Church (who they judged constantly) with regards to the qualities that they judge the RCC by: The Governing Body is equivalent to the Pope, they demand unity to a much worse extreme than the RCC before the Reformation, they withhold information like the RCC used to, they excommunicate like the RCC used to, they have inquisitions like the RCC used to(Read Crisis of Conscience by ex Governing Body member Ray Franz), etc. The cool thing about the Roman Catholic Church though is that they have changed and admit their mistakes…
Read Romans 2.
Let me know whether you agree with me or not, if you find this informative, or, if you disagree with my statements above, feel free to correct me. What I wrote might be jumbled a bit, maybe incoherent at times, like I am jumping from topic to topic, but this is only a speck of what I had to sort through in my mind.
The truth about “The Truth” shall set us free.
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