News and Links For Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Confrontational proselytizing has its followers – and its critics

Confrontational proselytizing has its followers – and its critics | church, face, witnessing – Top Stories – Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

Confrontational proselytizing, critics say, is no longer appropriate or effective in this age of heightened suspicion toward strangers and greater acceptance in America of other faiths besides Christianity as viable religious paths.

Indeed, the Jehovah‘s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the two Christian denominations most committed to formal witnessing, recently modified their soul-winning approach.

This is one of my biggest beefs with hard core believers, too. And I used to do it myself! (Not that I liked it…)

Daily Sound — Butting heads over God

I know belief systems are a very sacred subject to most and I would never say anything to denigrate another’s path to inner love and fulfillment. No matter what your belief, I have no problem until arrogance, intolerance, anger, and violence enter the room. Then I feel inclined to speak.

Here here.

Man sees subtle victory in fight against Jehovah’s Witnesses

What it most clearly does not say is that Mr. Hughes is necessarily wrong in claiming that his daughter received problematic advice from lawyers working not just for her, but also for a religious body intent on seeing her denied the blood she needed. “If I was advising [the Watchtower Society and its lawyers] I would now say, ‘At some point, this is no longer going to work out for you,’ ” Ms. Woolley says.

My Girlfriend is a Jehovah’s Witness – The Landover Baptist Church Forums

This one is weird. Or kinda sad, actually. It’s in a forum for the Landover Baptist Church. No kidding. This guy just found out his girlfriend is a Jehovah’s Witness, but since they aren’t “true Christians” in his eyes, he doesn’t know what to do. Poor little fella.

News and Links for Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Transfusion Policy for Jehovah’s Witnesses Needed, Forum Told

Transfusion policy for Jehovah’s Witnesses needed, forum told

A SINGLE policy to manage the requirements of Jehovah’s Witness patients should be developed and implemented in all hospitals, a conference on medical consent heard yesterday.

Ten Years After Leaving the Watch Tower

This month marks the one year anniversary of this blog and along with that, one year after I finally found the courage to vocalize my feelings about my experiences as a child raised to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. This year, 2009, also marks my 10 year anniversary of my leaving the organization…

Why did it take me a total of roughly 9 years to finally express my emotions? Simply put, the answer is fear and indoctrination.

A ‘Witness’ to the future as Watchtower buys land upstate

First came the sell-off, next comes the big move.

After five years of selling off hundreds of millions of dollars in real-estate holdings in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have finally bought something big: 248 acres upstate.

The Promised Land (for Witnesses, at least) has a name: Ramapo, NY.

Review & Comment: The Witnesses’ Imprint

The recent news that Jehovah’s Witnesses have bought 248 acres in Ramapo, New York, to which they are expected to move their administrative offices, invites some further thoughts on the sect and its 100-year history in Brooklyn Heights. They are not the same Witnesses today as when John Taze Russell arrived here from Pennsylvania with a group of what he called his Bible Students at the end of 1908.

Coolest word out of this round of news stories: DUMBO.

Death or Obedience?

Jehovah’s Witnesses use the threat of death to enforce obedience to their organisation. Disobedience often leads to expulsion and the threat that the disobedient one will be killed by God at Armageddon if he is still disfellowshipped at that time. In the meantime, the person faces a kind of spiritual and social death as he is denied association with his believing family and former friends.

Note that the author takes you to another web site where you can listen to a series of webcasts about disfellowshipping. Which is way cool.

News and Links for Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: Lord Save Us From Your Followers

Lord Save Us From Your Followers

This isn’t directly Witness related, but it’s probably of interest to ex-Witnesses and atheists alike.

“The Church is a whore, and she’s my mother.” – Tony Campolo.

This film is powerful. If you’re open to it.

The Church is hurting. This is no mystery to a generation of believers who are beginning to look around and see the damage that has truly been done by the “Religious Right”. The hurt that we have caused with our words. This film makes a good point in using the terms “us”, “we” and “I”. This isn’t a Catholic problem or a Protestant problem. It isn’t a Mormon problem or a Jehovah’s Witness problem. This is a Christian problem. And throughout the film, we are introduced to one self-proclaimed godless heathen after another speaking the true heart of God. Because far too often it seems that the unbelieving world understands the power of what we believe better than we do. They just don’t accept it.

Academic Bibliography on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Conversations with my Dad – Cognitive Dissonance

As always, Moxie’s articles are well thought out and ex-Witnesses can easily identify with them.

I’ll get to my point in a round about way here… Here’s a little bit of back story first for those of you who may be new to this blog: I have two brothers, both younger. I was the first to move away from home, years and years ago. Recently my youngest brother, Chris, left the society and my parent’s house and has moved in with me. That leaves my other brother (we’ll call him Joe), the golden-child Ministerial Servant who has lived at home for 24 years. He’s finally moved out and has gone to Montreal (that’s a long, long way from our parent’s home).

I love God more than my children

Another one from Moxie.

Yesterday I had a conversation with my Mom on the phone. It’s been a very long time since we last spoke. Every conversation brings mixed feelings. On one hand there is the joy of speaking with someone you miss and care about very deeply, and, on the other hand there is the frustration that comes from our separation.

JWD Going Away: Long Live JWR!

Yes, the Jehovah’s Witness Discussion Forum is leaving us. (!!!) It was the best forum for ex-JEhovah’s Witnesses I’ve ever seen and now … poof … it is going away. I first found our from Moxie’s site the day after I got my computer working again. I immediately began to wonder what could replace it. But I sure hoped something would.

Moxie has created a new site, called Jehovah’s Witness Recovery, to fill the void. So c’mon, start posting fellow exxers! We need to stress test this puppy.