I read the information on your site.

It is sad.  It is sad that you publish information on Jehovah's Witnesses.
You even title it, My Life in Jehovah's Service.
But you know nothing about what it means to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The fact that you use the phrase the "Governing Body of the Watchtower Society."
Shows that you do not know anything.  There is no such thing.

There is a governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Watchtower Society.
But they are not the same.

Because you like many others of your view, worshipped the Governing body,
you fell to the state where you are.

So you should get your information from people, like me, who know.

Hi,

Thanks for your letter.

You and I have never met and I can't presume to know anything about you, your life or what you know or don't know.

However, you seem to possess an enormous talent and ability. You can read an article written by a stranger and instantly form remarkable opinions about all the knowledge and experience they have!  I must say I'm impressed.

Does this require some sort of scientific inquiry and experimentation; or, do you pull it out of your behind ? :)

I might have an opinion on that.

  You say you read my article titled, MY LIFE IN JEHOVAH'S SERVICE, and yet you missed all the facts. Or, perhaps you dismissed the ones you didn't want to face. I don't have any way of knowing how you are able to reason since I don't have the talent you obviously have.  But, suffice it to say you have been stunned by my words into the Pavlovian response mode: instant rebuttal without discussion of the particulars.

Let me take just a wee moment here, if you'll grant me the time.

Do you know what Intellectual Honesty is?  It isn't forming snap judgements, but, it is engaging in a give and take to determine the facts FIRST before coming to conclusions.

You don't do this. I wonder why?

You could have written me an e-mail like this:

 

Hello,

Let me introduce myself. I'm _________ and I just read your piece on the Freeminds site about your life as a Jehovah's Witness. It made me feel sad for you. It made me examine my own feelings about my life in Jehovah's service. But, I don't feel the same way you do and I can't imagine how you could possibly say the things you say.  So, since you call into question my faith, my religion and the people who act as chief shepherd's for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society---I am face with one of two reactions.

1.Dismiss everything you say and regard you as a no-nothing or a misinformed troublemaker.

or

2.Contact you and ask you some vital questions to determine where you are coming from on this subject. Are you knowledgable and experienced or not?

   You see, as a Christian witness of Jehovah I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE! That means I care about you and your welfare. I think of Jesus' words about the fine shepherd leaving the 99 sheep and going after the 1 stray.  I may be wrong, but, I think of you as the 1 stray sheep who may need rescue.  I offer myself for any discussion that may clear up your misunderstandings about what you perceive to be injustices you have experienced.

Here is my invitation to you. Contact me. We can have a dialogue that might help one or the other of us know the other better and perhaps clear up some areas of confusion. I offer this discussion in the spirit of brotherly love. After all, it is "by their fruits" you will know the true religion, right?  If I treat you, a critic, with love I show the attitude any humble believer in Jesus' words calls for me to have.

I invite your response.

Sincerely,

_______

 

 

But, no.

You didn't do that, did you?

I might automatically suspect you don't care anything about me or my everlasting welfare since your ACTUAL e-mail is dismissive.

But, maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe you think it is possible for a person to be a member of Jehovah's Witnesses for 20 years and completely miss out on what the organization is.

   An apologist takes a narrow view. Are you an apologist?

The recent changes in the organization have allowed the administration at the Brooklyn headquarters to distance themselves from the legal responsibility caused by their stance on pedophilia and the blood issue.  The distinction you make between the Governing Body and the Watchtower Society is important TO YOU.  But, it is a smokescreen. The policy makers determine what happens at the local level. The Kingdom Halls must comply.  There is no Q & A of a critical nature, as you well know.  The orders are from Brooklyn. The attitude of the men at the top is "my way or the highway" and you know that.

Or do you?  Unlike you, I invite your response to defend your views if I am placing words in your mouth.

   You state in your e-mail that I "worshipped the Governing Body".  I'm curious how you might acquire such a ludicrous opinion.  Did I pray to the Governing Body?  Did I call myself a Governing Body's Witness?  Did I go to prison for two years over the Military neutrality issue in the name of the Governing Body?  No.  I maintained then (and now) it was my service to Jehovah that motivated me.   All my efforts were sincere and sincerely worthless.

  You miss the central issue, don't you?

There would be no Watchtower Magazine and no Kingdom Hall and no door to door work if it was not forcefully directed by the men who run the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society under the false pretense of representing their human opinions as the DIRECTIONS of king JESUS as he heads up Jehovah's operations earth-wide.

These men are frauds. Consequently, the false information dispensed in the magazines and books and Kingdom Halls are harmful to the people who believe them to be THE TRUTH.

  Just as you are actually wasting your life doing their bidding and buying in to their human opinions dressed up as divine truth, millions of others are dog paddling instead of building a life that means something other than slavery to an ideology.

  I'll stop here.

You are more than welcome to explain your views and opinions in a meaningful and enlightened way to me in another e-mail.  I am willing to listen and engage you in a neutral give and take discussion of FACTS.

But, unless you actually present any facts, I guess I should regard your e-mail to me a rather ill-considered drive-by snipe.  After all, it wasn't dripping with brotherly love or even a moderate human empathy, was it?

 

Until such time as you come to me with a more open and factual communication I will say that my wish for you is that you continue to visit Apostate websites and read the personal stories of harm done by the religion you continue to embrace.

Makes me wonder why you are reading anything from these "forbidden" sites. Could it be you secretly have doubts?  I wonder why? Could it be that there is so much substance to the issues I raise in my article that you find the facts inescapable and you are struggling to break free from your own bondage?

I dunno.

I wish you all the best.

Your friend,

Terry Walstrom