Prophecy

"'But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.'

You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22

VISIT THIS LINK:
http://www.bible.ca/Jw-Prophecy.htm

By their own set of scales, the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "must be put to death". By their own standards, how guilty are those that spoke these false prophecies; that mass produced them and then forced them upon a great crowd of impressionable sheep. With all of the ruined lives and livelihoods, divided families, and inner turmoil their words have caused these poor followers, surely these men bear a heavy burden of guilt.

To see good folks shackled to the reasoning of such men so that they give their lives and freedoms over entirely to these who do not know them and that they will never know... this is such torment. Even as the very Bible they count infallible criticizes and condemns the actions of such men, and indeed the whole organization-- even as the opinions of these men cause them personal suffering --they continue to defend the organization with their lives. Even as their poor children who want desperately to believe and be accepted grow up so conflicted, so isolated from life. They defend and defend and defend these false prophets.

Where is the right in this? How much longer shall it go on? How many lives must be ruined before we shatter the cycle of religious oppression?

Growing in Fear

All my young life was fear. Being raised a Jehovah's Witness, I was indoctrinated with fears at the Kingdom Hall. These were reinforced at home, being believed by my parents to be healthy dread of that which can harm us if we let it.

I was mortified of Satan and his demons. Often I had nightmares of invisible monsters tearing apart my family and myself while laughing horrifically. I'd dream of them in my house, rattling walls, opening the front door, and wailing at me. It did not stop with sleep, however. In waking life, I actually imagined I could feel their presence at times. Sometimes all it took was an advertisement for a horror movie or an urban legend told in hushed voices of demon-possessed toys, records, etc and I was aquiver with fright for days.

I was afraid of the world. "Worldly people" were all around us and in fact were everyone who didn't attend the Kingdom Hall. That's a helluva lot of people. They were all miserable people living in sin just waiting for an opportunity to bring me down with them. They were crafty, too, for they hid demonic pagan rituals in the guise of jolly holidays! I had to go to great lengths to make certain that all of my school mates knew that I was no part of such wicked celebrations.

I was afraid of God. Armageddon was always just around the corner and waaay up there was God watching from heaven who had his finger on those big red buttons labeled 'Life' and 'Death'. From heaven, God could see all. He knew when I swore at school or lied to my classmates. When I flirted with or "went with" a girl in my class, God saw and he wagged his disapproving finger at me. If I so much as had an erection, God was disgusted and ashamed of me. I actually believed it, though of course that's not official dogma (see Matthew 5:28 for my childish reasoning here). Masturbation, of course, was practially an unforgiveable sin. What's more, God had a tap in my head and could stream every image, word, and emotion live and uncensored. From what I heard three times a week at the Hall, I was certain that I offended him every day and so offended myself. I would die at Armageddon and I feared his great wrathful day.

Before I was even a teenager, I was frequently depressed. With my kind of behavior, I obviously wasn't going to live forever with my family on a paradise earth. They'd think back on me with sadness and say, "Too bad. Too bad." I began to despise myself for such small things and to apologize for everything. I felt a worthless waste of life and even prayed for death on countless occasions so that I wouldn't have to live to see that day of judgement which I feared so much. I fantasized about walking into traffic or taking a walk off of the roof of the school.

Somehow, though, I managed to keep trying despite the constant feelings of inadequacy and futility. I was baptized at age 14. I auxilliary pioneered during summer breaks. Perhaps it was all for show that I did these things. Fleeting comments of approval from family and friends assured that I would someday go to Bethel or perhaps even become a Circuit Overseer. I kept up the charade from my birth to 2002.

Over 20 years! TWENTY YEARS I dedicated to this lifestyle before I came to realize this one simple thing:

That this fear implanted from my earliest memory had ruined my life.

Their 'God of Love'

"Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
- 1 Samuel 15:3

"I will smash them one against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them." - Jeremiah 13:14
(COMPARE 1 CHRONICLES 16:34 and PSALMS 145:9)

How is it that the same Christians today who can speak on genocide as a wicked atrocity can read these verses and call their God the "God of Love"? These verses, being two of many, are not unclear or open to interpretation.

"Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities." - Isaiah 14:21
(COMPARE DEUTERONOMY 24:16)

Vengeance, spite, and blood lust are not traits of love. The God of the Old Testament frequently engaged in mass murder and even cursed his own people. God is painted in infinitely more benevolent strokes in different parts of the Bible, but does that mean God changes?

"He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind." - 1 Samuel 15:29

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17

"I the LORD do not change." - Malachi 3:6

Oh! Wait! Hold on a minute... I must be confused...

"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened." - Jonah 3:10

"The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." - Genesis 6:6

ARGH! Hang on! Back up about 5 chapters! God creates all things and gives them to man and then:

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." - Genesis 1:31

Is it any wonder why there is so much confusion in our religions? A God who's emotional range balances precariously between serenity and psychosis? We put people with this sort of affliction in psychiatric wards. How can we ascribe these attributes to our God and worship THIS?

THIS is not MY God.

Jesus Interrupted

'Jesus Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible and Why We Don't Know About Them' by Bart Ehrman

Go to your local library and borrow this book. This man is a true biblical scholar. He's not seeking to destroy faith. What he actually wants is the real story of the Bible to be told and for each author to be respected for their own work-- independent of the others.

The books and letters found in the Bible were not meant to be read and interpreted as one. When these books were written, there was no "Bible". When you read, for instance, the Gospel starting at Matthew 1:1 through John 21:25, they appear to be in agreement. But simply take one occurrence, such as the events during and after Jesus' death, and compare them side by side and you'll find that they tell a decidedly different story between them.

Get your Bible and try this for yourself.

What were Jesus' last words?
Easy right? Compare Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 to Luke 23:46 and John 19:30.

When did the curtain of the sanctuary rip?
Again, Matthew agrees with Mark, but what does Luke say?

Who was present at Jesus' tomb when the stone was rolled away?
Was it Mary and the "other" Mary? Was it Mary and a group of women?

Who was seen at Jesus' empty tomb?
One angel? Two angels?

And that's but a small handful. The Bible is full of these sorts of contradictions and is hardly the unerring harmonious collection of books that most who were raised as fundamentalist Christians were lead to believe.

Some try to reconcile these things and say that all of these things mentioned in each separate book happened, but certain authors only recorded certain things. These people, in effect, are writing their own version of the gospels-- one not found in the Bible.

Check it out for yourself.