An insider’s look at the organization

My name is Kay, I’m 33 years old and I am a Jehovah’s Witness — well, technically anyway. I am part of the growing number of JWs that some like to refer to as the “conscious class”.

I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in a zealous household. My father was an elder; my brothers are now elders and all of them have served at Bethel. We were the kind of family that was always on the assembly platform and held up as an example (yeah, one of those families). Although I had the usual teenage thoughts of rebellion, I left school in the early 1990s, took a part-time job and pioneered (Armageddon was so close by now that it was foolhardy to consider buying green bananas, much less go to college). Read the full story

Popularity: 50%

Is the term “governing body” unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses? Growing up as a JW, I would have thought so. The Watch Tower Society uses the term so frequently in connection with their work they give that impression. In fact, the Watch Tower Society makes it seem that the term “governing body” was in use in the first century, and that the modern day activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses follows that model (using the search terms “governing body” and “first century”). In this essay, I will demonstrate that the use of the term “governing body” is a common legal term that in no way is exclusive to JWs. Furthermore, the term “governing body”, being a legal term, cannot be found in scripture. What are the implications for Jehovah’s Witnesses as a result? Read the full story

Popularity: 34%

One of the hardest things to understand is how a parent can shun a child, completely cutting off all meaningful contact, for simply disagreeing about religion. If you have a loved one who was excommunicated from the church, he or she has undoubtedly explained to you at least the end result of being “disfellowshipped” or “disassociated”: shunning. All Jehovah’s Witnesses, even his immediate family, are forbidden to speak with him with very few exceptions.  So what’s the story here? Read the full story

Popularity: 22%

The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society’s calculation for 1914 being the end of the “Gentile times” is convoluted and shoddy at best. However, suppose this reasoning is correct. What if the Bible indeed prophesied that there would be 2,520 years from the time that Jerusalem was destroyed and the “last days” began? Counting backward from 1914, 2,520 years brings us to 607 B.C.E. But was Jerusalem destroyed in 607 B.C.E.? Read the full story

Popularity: 18%