Why I can't be a Jehovah's Witness
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- +The Watchtower is not a trustworthy lens
Shifting Theology towards cult behavior
Lack of Credentials and Credibility
Over a century of failed prophecies
4 core heresies
+Personally Not Convinced
I believe Jesus is Co-eternal co-equal
+A Lesser God
Jesus loves me more than Jehovah
+A High Price to pay
Disfellowship
Apostasy
Eternal Unconsciousness
I was in the JW cult for 18 years and I can say with no regrets that it is a very dangerous and destructive cult!
I'm so glad you found freedom! I pray you found the free gift of Jesus! You can't earn it, deserve it, but it's offered freely!
@@BryceNeubergerSermons It's been a long and wierd path, for when you get out of a cult like this you don't know where to go, It's hard to know what to do. After becoming even atheist I am again accepting Jesus as our savior.
B@@braco0000
Jesus is the Way The truth The Life
Made religion is man's ideas of God's expectations ✝️🐑✨🪔
why is it dangerous are you not dangerous??
@@mrm8850 I would never force you to reject you family, no matter what. If I was your relative and for some reaso you get to need a blood transfusion to save your life I will always choose to save your life. So no, I am not dangerous
This is a great informative video.
Thanks for the video
Those last three passages explaining it from the Jehovas perspective is really telling
I’m an ex jw, I loved this video, you had great points. I’m agnostic/atheist, but I’ll bring up to steelman their argument, Abraham was asked to give up his son as a sacrifice, the sacrifice was to someone. Therefore Jesus dying as a sacrifice to someone, Jehovah, makes sense. I don’t believe in any of this, but I think that’s how they’ll counter that point, best of luck!
Christ’s Sacrifice wasn’t to Jehovah . He doesn’t need sacrifice at all, He could just wipe the slate clean and start over.
Jesus sacrifice was for you.
The JW came came from the christodelphians
Sorry, they did not, nor did they come from the SDA's. A good video to watch is "Roots, Shoots, and Those in Cahoots". It traces the start of the Second Adventist movement started by William Miller.
Disfellowshipping, a serious as it is, is NEVER a reason for a JW to divorce a mate who is disfellowshipped.
Remember Jesus words:
Matthew19:32 “Everyone, then, who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father who is in the heavens. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will also disown him before my Father who is in the heavens. 34 Do not think I came to bring peace to the earth; I came to bring, not peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 Indeed, a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me; and whoever has greater affection for son or daughter than for me is not worthy of me.”
Mark 10:29 Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, no one has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news 30 who will not get 100 times more now in this period of time-houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, with persecutions-and in the coming system of things, everlasting life.
Loving apologetics ftw
Thanks John!
If you are not a JW then you were never here.
As an RN of 26 years I have seen non blood medical management utilized in treatment of anemia with patients having a hemoglobin of 3 quite successfully. And the one case which I have seen which was unsuccessful was not going to save the person who had 2 gene deletions due to leukemia.
Transfusion of Whole blood is done for patients with a hemoglobin of 7 or less but in my opinion these have no better outcomes than if treated with Iron Sucrolose and some form of epoetin which stimulates the patients own red corpuscle production.
I have never seen a transfusion of whole blood that did anything but prolong the persons life for a few months. In an emergency trauma situation volume expanders are what is critically needed, whole blood is used for volume expansion during such situations.
Jehovahs witnesses have generally better outcomes using NBMM instead of Blood with no risk of infection or immune disorders as a secondary problem.
This is a deeply sad video to me. Not because it debunks the cult that is JW, but because you're such a good thinker. You can tell an obvious cult from a not so obvious one, but I'd much rather see your flame kindled and for you to pursue all of this critical thinking to its logical extent.
Of course, I'm just some internet person. You seem happy enough as is and I hope you continue to be happy. Nonetheless, keep thinking critically and empathetically, it's an amazing trait to have.
I'd love to hear more from you! I worked with someone once who said something similar to what you just said. At the time I was 27 and he was in his mid 40's. I asked him if he could go deeper on his comments and he never did. I would have loved to been able to discuss with him.
But as far as me being in a not so obvious cult, I don't adhere to any cultish characteristics except maybe 1 (which isn't enough to be considered a cult).
1. Authoritarian Leadership: One leader holds absolute authority without accountability.
Priests Catholicism can certainly be guilty of this, protestants like myself can shop whatever church and denomination we want and any pastor of a church is held accountable by a board of elders that the congregation votes on.
2. Isolation: Members are discouraged or prohibited from interacting with outsiders.
Christian are well encouraged to spend time with anyone. I have friends who are Wiccan, satanist, and atheist. I've sat all of them down and explored their beliefs in depth (as well as many people who aren't my friends) and there's no tenant of my religion that prohibits this.
3. Control: Strict control over members' behavior, thoughts, and finances.
Christians (done correctly) are very welcoming and open. We may not agree with everyone's behavior but all are welcome to church. But there are moral teachings that we are encouraged to stick to, such as the 10 commandments, beatitudes, fruits of the Spirit. But these are things to aim for, not rules to be beat over our heads. Even the "tithe" (giving 10% of income to the church) is not required (though a lot of pastors incorrectly try to say it is).
4. Manipulation: Use of deceptive or coercive tactics for recruitment or retention.
Christian's are free to come and go in our religion. There's no shunning if you leave. There's no breaking of fellowship. And as far as recruitment goes, people are invited to a free spiritual Ted talk every Sunday where they can come for years and never become a Christian unless they are convinced. There's free coffee, air condition, a mini rock concert, and community events. Is this deceptive? No, were pretty open that we'd love to show people our faith best by loving our neighbors, there's no trick. Is it manipulative? Perhaps in the smallest sense, but sharing an opinion is manipulation in the smallest sense. Is it coercive? Only when your parents and girl friend drags you there haha!
5. Us vs. Them Mentality: Viewing outsiders as inferior or dangerous.
Nonbelievers aren't inferior or dangerous, they are just people who don't believe in Jesus.
6. Exclusivity: Claims to have the only truth, with salvation only attainable through the group.
This is perhaps the only point that Christians are guilty of. However Scripture does leave a way for people who have never heard of Jesus to be saved.
Romans 1:20-21 "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." This means that people who aren't able to go to church or read a Bible still have an opportunity to recognize God and follow him. But once you hear the Gospel and have a Bible, you are held accountable by God for your response to it, as Romans 5:20 tells us.
7. Exploitation: Members are exploited financially, sexually, or through labor.
While religious extortion is a thing, it's not taught or encouraged by the Bible. Though shysters who wear the title of pastor come and go.
Religious sexual abuse happens in the same way, but is absolutely condemned by Scripture.
Physical labor? I mean, we volunteer our time. But it's done out of love and if you don't do it, there is no penalty or injunction.
8. Lack of Transparency: Inner workings and teachings are kept secret from outsiders.
I can tell you that working for a church is much different than just attending one. But nothing is hidden. And the correct format of church is run by the Elders who are a rotating board voted on by the members. Pastors cannot make big decisions without getting the elders to pass a vote. And elders receive no payment from the church.
9. Intolerance of Dissent: Any criticism or questioning is met with severe consequences.
Christian's love apologetics. We love to question and study. I am not rare among my kind. Anything I currently believe has been well tested and measured by me and I'm constantly learning more.
10. Escalating Commitment: Gradual escalation of demands and commitment from members.
Attending church.
Church membership.
Volunteering.
Leading volunteers.
Teaching a weekly Bible study.
Being invited to preach.
Voted on as an elder
Chair of the Elder board.
That's the pathway one could theoretically go. But it's not really required or expected. And it's certainly not a demand. Churches are nonprofit and volunteer led with minimal paid staff (usually children's pastor, youth pastor, associate pastor, senior pastor, and an admin to help answer phones on the weekdays and do clerical work pastors suck at). It can be quite a chore to fill your volunteer teams if you're a pastor. But it's never demanded. I always tried to make sure I was serving my volunteers more than they were serving me (I would help them with greif counseling, professional development, family issues, etc.) and I always wanted to make sure they were taking a break if they were volunteering too much and encourage them to rest.
@@BryceNeubergerSermons Thank you very much for your response. I honestly wasn't expecting one but I should have since you seem very open minded and willing to talk. If it's alright I'd obviously prefer to remain as anonymous as I can while still putting myself out there, mainly because the majority of my family are Christian, and a part of the same types of churches you describe in your response.
So that I'm not assuming or straw manning your position, I'd like to ask some questions. There are some scientific facts that many Christians must deny to keep their faith, facts that they typically refuse to do real substantial research on or employ thought stopping techniques to make sure the facts are not absorbed. You don't have to answer the following but it would be helpful if we continue to discuss this. I also know that you're in a more exposed or vulnerable position than I am, as all I have on my channel are random songs I made, but you've put yourself out there a lot more, so I'm sorry about that. To you I'm just a random commenter.
1. Are you fundamentalist in the sense that you believe that the Bible is the inerrant and literal word of God? Which parts do you believe are the most important parts to be literal for your faith? (Such as the creation story, the flood, the resurrection, revelation, etc. which ones are core aspects of your belief)
2. Do you believe that Evolution, or any field of the evidence we have for it is false, and if so why? Evolution is a multidisciplinary field, built on by geologists, biologists, anthropologists, astronomers, chemists, and many other subfields, all by different people and most of them Christian. However, many Christian believers denounce it all with what I find to be severely lacking evidence outside of faith.
3. What are your thoughts on the science surrounding queer people, including homosexual and transgender individuals. This is in my opinion far more important than whether or not you believe we are apes or that we're dirt that god breathed to life. That's because these things are hardwired into people's brains from birth, and are a part of their identity, and are the things that Christians in government and politics are constantly push to outlaw or make a target of harassment. Within a congregation, condemning these identities can create returning members, as they feel their very identity is sinful and they must return to God to be forgiven. This is a technique that cults will use to keep members, but outside of that, condemning these identities seem to serve no one, and the data shows that all it does is kill a disturbing amount of children per year through suicide, harassment, and assault, including sexual.
Apart from asking those questions, I don't want to say anything on your faith as to not strawman you. You seem to do a decent job at steelmanning many of the groups you talk about in your videos and I'd like to return the favor, as I don't believe strawmaning is ever a good defence for any position.
one may be able to say the same thing on the Christian side....read the text without the Church, and you will leave the Church teaching...
William Miller died in 1849…
Charles T. Russell was born in 1852.
🤦🏻
How did Michael create higher angels and peers , other Princes.arch angels.
Charles Russell wasn’t around when William Miller was around. Miller died in 1849. Russell was born in 1852.
Please check your facts.
Also, Russell didn’t “kind to of died” he actually died in 1916
Thanks for commenting! CT Russell came into contact with The Adventist Movement connected to William Miller, and yes Russell did, in fact, die.
@@BryceNeubergerSermonsyou said Russell “came into contact WITH Miller, and really liked Miller” and not with a movement.
Actually he was raised a Presbyterian, he himself joined the Congregational Church. After a time a questioning his faith, he heard, 1 time, a second Adventist preacher Jonas Wendell.
Wikipedia:”Unknown to him, attendance at one of his presentations restored Charles Taze Russell's faith in the Bible as the true word of God, leading to Russell's ministry.”
It requires some work but the facts can be found.
@@jwjim I see that as a very fine hair to split, can you highlight how that changes any arguments presented?
I haven’t finished listening. But if you can’t get the simple things right, how do you know the weightier things are correct.
You have been misled about JW’s origins and maybe it’s the same concerning the actual teachings of the Bible.
@@jwjim many people would refer to that as a "straw man" argument.
William Miller started the Adventist movement, CT Russell is cited by Britanica as being influenced by this movement.
But that aside, understanding something that has very little written about it, such as many people connect William Miller with CT Russell yet very little is made of this, saying Russell came into contact with Miller be it by personal meeting or inspiration of his movement, the point is made.
Miller was a Trinitarian, CT Russell was an Arianist. Russell takes s departure both from Presbyterian doctrine and Miller's doctrine into a well accepted heresy.
If one were to ask: "what gave him the authority or credentials to make such a departure?"
And the answer was "well he didn't meet Miller face to face, he was dead before Russell was born".
It still doesn't answer the question.
check out Bart Erman
Bart is increasingly off base.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were astonished. And they began to realize that they had been with Jesus.
Matthew 11: 25At that time Jesus said in response: “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children.
25At that time Jesus said in response: “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children.
These are just w free scriptures that show it’s not educated ones who bring the truth to light. God uses those whom the world feels are lowly, uneducated and gives them the enlightenment.
1 Corinthians 1:
On Disfellowshipping . I have never seen anyone disfellowshipped who had a repentant attitude and the one person in the last 40 years that I have known who I thought was unjustly disfellowshipped ( understanding that I have no details) was reinstated within less than a year and was encouraged ( as are all disfellowshipped)to attend meetings . Most disfellowshipped have 1/1 Bible studies with one or more mature Christians during the period in which they are disfellowshipped and for some time after being reinstated. Disfellowshipped persons are in contact with relatives and do participate in those necessary functions of a family. Disfellowshipping should be understood as an opportunity for the individual to remain in prayerful reflection and build their own relationship with God. Some do. Others just go their own way and it is understood from scripture that these have refused help even from God.
Just quit apologizing for the jw disfellowshipping policies. I was wrongly disfellowshipped. I suffered because of it. I lied to get reinstated! I can still call and talk to my family now because I lied. So stop apologizing for the cult of Jehovahs witnesses.....some of us have seen everything....
Disfellowshipping is pagan. The organisation released an awake article in 1947 condemning the Catholic Church for shunning its members. Then in 1952 they introduced it as disfellowshipping.
you dont know whats written in the Bible is true in the first place
Your reference to the comparison of the Bible to the Studies in the Scripture volumes is misleading. Kingdom of the Cults is not a reliable reference.
If you were to read the actual September 15, 1910 watchtower article, you would read further down these words:
“SCRIPTURE STUDIES" NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE BIBLE
This is not, therefore, putting the SCRIPTURE STUDIES as a substitute for the Bible, because so far as substituting for the Bible, the STUDIES, on the contrary, continually refer to the Bible; and if one has any doubt as to a reference or if one's recollection should lapse in any degree, one should refresh his memory, and, in fact, should see that his every thought is in harmony with the Bible - not merely in accord with the SCRIPTURE STUDIES, but in accord with the Bible.”
To this day, nothing printed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses is mean to replace the Bible, but to help to explain the Bible and readers of our literature are encouraged to compare what they read to the scriptures since they are inspired.
I apologize but what I read was a direct quote from here:
archive.org/stream/1910WatchTower/1910_Watch_Tower#page/n687/mode/2up
"Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the Divine Plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the SCRIPTURE STUDIES aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years -if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the SCRIPTURE STUDIES with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures."
@@BryceNeubergerSermonsof you continue to read, you’ll see my post.
The watchtower publication don’t replace the Bible but are as you said of your book you read and love, it’s a lens, and one you don’t agree with.
@@jwjim That sounds good brother, but the reality is that there are many rules and doctrines inside your cult that are not based on the Bible but on the interpretation of the Government body (By the way, the term "Government Body" is not in the Bible). They have been wrong so many times that I am sure you don't know about the UNFULFILLED prophecies of 1914, 1919, 1975... You also don't know that the GB forbidded organ transplants for being considered cannibalism but 14 years later they accepted it as normal (What about those JW's that die for not accepting an organ before GB changed the doctrine?) I was JW for 18 years, former elder, and you can not come here to lie. Lying is bad, Remember? Maybe you should research and go to the origins of your faith, which is I would say MANDATORY for a person that wants to be part of an organization. Although JW is more a cult or a sect. Ah... One last question: Did you get over the "Overlapped Generation" video?
@@braco0000I wonder why JWJim won’t reply to you about all the things the WTD has gotten wrong, acknowledge the people they have killed and acknowledge how the society is running scared right now but will use a bunch of logical fallacies to try to disprove the OP? Interesting
WHO IS OVER ALL? Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. GOD and FATHER is OVER/ABOVE ALL and that "All" includes the SON so they are NOT EQUAL
THE BIBLE teaches that Jesus was MADE As Lord and Christ and as Son (ACTS 2:36, Prov 8, HEB 1:5), CREATED/PRODUCED/INSTALLED (Prov 8) , COME INTO BEING/MADE (Mat 21:42 - egeneto) and GIVEN LIFE by the Father - John 5:26 and it uses TODAY (Heb 1:5), and uses future tenses and is a prophecy in Isa 9:6 (Isa 9:6, - WILL BE) . If you are called MADE AND CREATED AND GIVEN LIFE, and NEVER CALLED in the BIBLE as Creator or Maker , then you are A CREATION. ALL FROM THE BIBLE
From the Lord was this (this is referring to the chief cornerstone who is Jesus) , the word WAS is egeneto (made or came into being) - Matthew 21:42 and the exact Greek word used in John 1:3 - MADE, egeneto (came into being) - JESUS WAS MADE/CAME INTO BEING FROM THE FATHER , yes, Jesus was MADE/CREATED!, See also Acts 2:36, Heb 1:5, 1 john 5
Isa 9:6 the word Prince in the Prince of Peace means PATRON ANGEL also Leader. WHO IS the ONE LEADER that we have? Jesus. Now, that same exact Hebrew word was used for Daniel 12:1 which is used for Michael the Archangel. So are you saying there are MANY LEADERS now?
Gen 5:1-3 & John 1:1
- In Genesis 5:1-3 and John 1:1, there are parallels between the creation of Adam and Eve and the relationship between Jesus and God. Both sets of passages suggest that two distinct beings share the same nature. In Genesis, both Adam and Eve are called "Adam," implying that they are essentially one being. Similarly, in John 1:1, Jesus is described as being with God, but also being God, not merely a god.
John 20:28-31
- Demonstrates how Thomas addresses Jesus as God, while John simultaneously refers to Jesus as the Son of God.
(Jesus is both).
He is God who is the Son of God. He is not the Father, but being the Father's Son, he is one with Him in essence and therefore God.
*Person's of the same essences can share a common name.
*People with the same nature can have the same name. From my study of the Bible, it identifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as God not because they are the same person, but because they share the same divine nature.
@@GS-mh6ub so you think Eve has become Adam and was a trans. And Adam now is married to another Adam. Nope. you are wrong