More on wisdom

If you were asked to choose between one million dollars in cash, tax free, or the gift of biblical wisdom, which would you choose?

Think carefully before you answer; it will reveal much about your value system.

Granted, the gift of a million dollars would be hard to walk away from, particularly for a seemingly abstract concept like biblical wisdom.  Someone might argue that not accepting such a mountain of cash would be downright foolish–even unwise.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Proverbs 9:10 (NASB)

“How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.”  Proverbs 16:16

The Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament is a treasure trove of wisdom.  I have mined its rich ore for decades and have been immeasurably blessed by the practical advice it offers.

A pastor I sat under for a couple of years gave this timeless advice on reading Proverbs, which contain 31 chapters:  each day, read the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month.  For example, today is February 20th, so you would read the 20th chapter of Proverbs, tomorrow is the 21st so you would read the 21st chapter, etc.

I have followed his advice for decades.  In some ways, the wisdom of Proverbs has become a part of my thinking process due to its saturation in my mind through long, repeated reading.

Though many would say I’m insane, if I were asked to choose between a million dollars in cash and the biblical gift of wisdom, I would choose wisdom.   I have learned that wisdom, as the Proverbs teach, is worth far more than silver or gold.

Let me give you a practical example.  Tattoo’s are the rage today, particularly among the younger crowd.  It is not uncommon to see women with their arms covered in tattoo’s, a sight once reserved only for “macho men.”

While these tattoo’s can sometimes be works of art, is it wise to put them all over your body?  Just because they might look stunning today on your arms and neck, what are they going to look like in ten to twenty years?  Ugly and repulsive, especially when your youthful skin starts to sag and the once vibrant colors  fade away.

And just because you might love that particular pattern or picture inked into your skin today, that is no guarantee you will feel the same affection for it next year.  The problem with tattoos are their permanence:  soap and water doesn’t wash them off.

Look at this picture.  Did this man make a wise decision?

Do you think this was a wise choice for a permanent face tattoo?

I encourage you to read, mediate and ponder the entire fourth chapter of Proverbs.  Choose wisdom over the million dollars.  You will never regret it.

The evil of Islam

The gruesome and horrifying pictures coming out of Iraq that shows beheadings, crucifixions, and other forms of torture on the Christian and other minority populations is beyond description.  Such things should never be seen or committed against innocent people.

I will post several below, but must warn readers that the images will be very disturbing and graphic.  My reasons for this is to highlight the evil of Islam as is practiced by the Islamic terrorists known as the “Islamic State (ISIS).”

I’m having difficulty controlling my emotions as I view these horrific images of what is being done to innocent men, women, and particularly children by these Islamic animals who are committing heinous war crimes against civilians.  Such acts against humanity defy reason and description and these men have forfeited their rights to life.  Such monsters should be hunted down, tried and executed.

The following photos are particularly disturbing because they show an innocent little girl who was beheaded.  As excruciatingly painful as these photos are to look at, the accompanying photos of the father holding her is just as heartbreaking.

Little girl beheaded 1

Little girl beheaded 3

Little girl beheaded 2

Can any father imagine putting himself in the place of this other father, holding the lifeless, decapitated body of his four or five year old daughter?  Even if the information on the photo is incorrect and is not the child’s father, the emotion on the man’s face tells us of his anguish, anger and disbelief.  It is beyond comprehension that any human being would murder an innocent child and decapitate her.

The civilized world needs to declare war on Islam.  I am not saying that we should declare war on every single Muslim, for there must be many Muslims who are as horrified as myself and others over these photos.  But the war we need to declare on Islam is that strain of this perverse religion that condones, encourages, supports, executes and funds these type of crimes against humanity.  We need to eradicate this kind of satanic ideology from the planet in whatever way possible.

I need to ask:  where are the outcries against this barbarism from moderate Muslims?   Yes, there are reports of Saudi Arabia and the Arab League denouncing ISIS, but are these Arab countries doing anything to halt the atrocities?

One major problem with Islam is the fact that beheading is found in the Quran.  Since this is true, it will be difficult for Muslims of any stripe, liberal or conservative, Sunni or Shia, progressives or moderates, to openly condemn this inhumane practice.  If the practice is encouraged in Islam’s “holy book,” those opposing it will be seen as infidels or even enemies of Islam.

“So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens…” Quran 47:4

Note should be taken that other translations of the Quran read, “strike off their heads.”  My copy of the Quran reads, “smite at their necks.”  Also, note that these verses come from Qurans that have been sanitized by Muslim scholars to remove the more offensive language from the original Arabic.  These terms, “strike their necks” and “smite at their necks” have been translated in older Qurans as “cut off their heads.”

Here is another:

“[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, ‘I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.'” 8:12

Here, the “Lord” of Islam is telling the angels to cut off both heads and fingertips of unbelievers, or anyone who is not a Muslim.  Can any Christian, a believer in Jesus, imagine the Son of God telling the angels to cut of non-Christian’s heads and fingertips, simply for not believing in Him?

This is why the inhumane and evil treatment that these Muslim fanatics are perpetrating against innocent people in Iraq is not surprising to the average Muslim living in that area of the world.  After all, beheading is not only commanded in their “holy” book, but was practiced by their beloved prophet, Muhammad.  How can the practice be condemned?

These crimes against humanity currently orchestrated against the civilian population of Iraq by ISIS is the reason for America to aim her advanced weaponry against these murderers.  It should be a continual, ongoing and never-ending operation until this satanic practice, and those who participate in and promote it,  are eradicated from the planet.

isis terrorist hands out quran in mosul

The photo above shows one of the ISIS terrorists handing out copies of the Quran in a city they captured.  I wonder if his hands are stained with the blood of an innocent child he recently beheaded?  Does anyone question where these murderous thugs get their inspiration for their violence and beheadings but in the Quran?  The irony and hypocrisy of the so-called “religion of peace” is clearly shown in this photo.

Stop complaining

One of the great sins of Americans is our constant complaining about everything: our jobs, spouses, children, the weather, politicians, the economy…ad nauseam.

I know someone on welfare that complained he was not getting enough money to keep pace with inflation costs.  I’m not kidding.  If inflation rises by 3% a year, he expects the government to increase his checks by 3% a year.  Otherwise, he starts to fall behind and feels he is getting “cheated.”

A friend once wisely said, “America is the only place in the world with fat poor people.”  How many morbidly obese people do you know that have not done a sliver of work in years, but nonetheless eat like kings and queens?  And then they complain because they can’t afford a new cell phone, or get the AC fixed in their car, etc.

Several years ago, I was asked: “What was one of the greatest sins that the children of Israel were guilty of as they wandered in the desert for forty years?”  It took me several moments before I correctly answered, “Grumbling and complaining.”

People naturally complain and grumble about virtually anything, often for no good reason.  It seems like those who have an abundance usually complain the most, and I believe this is one of the greatest evils of America:  complaining and grumbling when we are literally drowning in blessings every day of our existence.

I’m guilty of this myself, but over the years I have tried my best to break out of this dreadful habit.  For example, walking through the bountiful aisles of the local Sam’s Club near where I live, I try to thank God for the abundance of what He has given me here in America.  Warehouse stores like Sam’s Club and Costco that one can find food and other stuff in abundance should cause each of us to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving every time we walk through their doors.

But in reality, none of us do; we take for granted all the blessings that we have in this country and never fully appreciate how obscenely wealthy each of us are who are blessed to live in America.

During “Operation Protective Edge,” Israel bombed parts of the electric grids suppling electricity in Gaza.  That part of the world is hot and humid, and without electricity, life must be a living hell, with no power to run AC units, refrigerators, pumps for fresh water and sewage disposal, etc.

Speaking of sewage disposal, how many people reading this blog would like to earn five dollars a day wading through other people’s urine and feces?  For a twelve hour work day?  Not something that appeals to you?  I don’t blame you.

But in India, almost a million people do exactly this in order to eat.  Here is some eye-opening and gut-wrenching words from the article:

“Dharamani Kale emerged from the manhole, sewage clinging to his body. Next to him, Sona Bai gathered filth in a small round basket and carried it on her head to the end of the street. The unpleasant process had started at dawn and would continue for at least 12 hours.

This is how sewers are cleaned in most Indian cities, including Mumbai, the nation’s booming financial capital: Workers use metal scrapers, brooms or their bare hands to clear drainage and sanitation lines twice a year, before and after the annual monsoon rains.”

Sewage cleaner india

The poor soul in the picture above is standing almost waist deep in human sewage.  Please understand what this means:  he is standing in a densely populated city’s toilet bowl after the residents have done their daily business.  Literally, his skin is in contact with human urine and fecal matter:  a  giant, unclean cesspool of disease and filth.  Imagine the overwhelming and nauseating stench this man is breathing as this photo was taken.

This numbs the senses because we simply cannot imagine that anybody would be reduced to such a degrading job.  It is so far beyond the pale of our easy existence here in America that not a soul can comprehend the desperation of anyone who would feel the necessity of taking on such a horrific job.  We rightfully ask ourselves, “Who would do something like this?  Such a job should not even exist.”

This is the true face of poverty and not the phony caricature of poverty that we have in America.  Here, if a person does not own a cell phone and have access to cable, he is considered poor and in need of government assistance…all on the taxpayer’s dime, of course.

What might God’s attitude be toward Americans, who lack nothing but complain about everything?  I think it would do all of us an immeasurable amount of good if we went to India and joined some of these sewage cleaners in their cesspools for a month.  I don’t think any of us would complain about our lots in life again.

 

The UN’s misguided views of the “proportioned” response

Imagine you are awakened by the sound of breaking glass coming from your kitchen area.  Your neighborhood has had a recent glut of robberies and break-in’s for the last several months, so you grab your home defense weapon, a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buck shot, and cautiously approach the area from your bedroom.

A masked intruder, holding a six inch knife, sees you and makes a threatening move in your direction.  You respond with a shotgun blast to his chest, instantly killing him.

According to the UN, you would be condemned for employing “disproportional force” toward your enemy.  They would prefer you had used a knife similar in blade length, weight, and sharpness of your attacker’s.  That you used a weapon disproportionately in size, killing power and effectiveness against the intruder is the issue.

Such nonsense is currently directed towards Israel’s so-called use of “disproportionate force” in their current war against the terrorist group Hamas.  The UN and their supporters who are decidedly pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel in this conflict are appealing to a curious standard of fairness that has no place in this situation.

In my example above, who would criticize this homeowner for protecting his life, those of his family members, and their property from this criminal?  In comparison, we could expect the UN to chastise this father because he did not put down his shotgun, ask the burglar for permission to open up one of the kitchen cabinet drawers, and rustle around inside searching for a knife of similar blade length, weight, and size as the one he was holding.  Then, the ensuing knife fight could be fought in both fairness and proportion…as long as the homeowner was not bigger, stronger or heavier than the criminal.

Hamas, clearly the underdog in this battle, picked a fight with an opponent they knew outweighed, outgunned, and outclassed them in every category.  If Hamas can possibly be found to have any commendable qualities, it would be chutzpa—or lunacy—to have kicked over this hornet’s nest that will undoubtably sting them into near oblivion.  One can even admire a fool for attempting the impossible.

How has the concept of warfare digressed to such terms as “proportioned responses”?  Is America to be faulted for their decidedly “disproportioned response” to Hiroshima and Nagasaki (and note there were no “knock knock” bombs to warn the Japanese of the horror about to greet them) ?  Would we need to cover our ears from the shrill cries of condemnation from those who today would surely protest the multiplied thousands upon thousands of innocents killed in these two events?  Would horrific pictures such as these below be continually displayed on news sites to show the “unfairness” of the US response to Japan’s aggression?

Hiroshima burn victim 1

hiroshima_victim 2

Israel did not start this fight, a truth that appears overlooked when the discussion arises concerning what is proportional and what is not as the proper response to these attacks.

What is further overlooked is the fact that Israel has exercised great restraint in how they have responded to Hamas’ war crimes and hostilities.  Israel has already lost 56 soldiers with one was captured today.  These deaths and the capture of this soldier did not have to happen; Israel could have well used their superior fire power to level and destroy any part of Gaza they wished, dramatically softening up their targets before the necessity of a ground invasion.  But had they done this, the civilian death toll would be catastrophic.  To save civilian Palestinian lives, Israel has sacrificed dozens of their soldiers.

This is one reason why Hamas hides their rockets in residential areas, mosques and hospitals, knowing full well Israel’s reluctance to indiscriminately bomb known targets embedded among the civilian population of Gaza.  And let the world know that if the tables were turned and Hamas had the upper hand in this conflict, they would not hesitate at annihilating hundreds of thousands—even millions—of Israeli citizens if the opportunity presented itself.

For Hamas, a “proportioned response” does not exist in their vocabulary.  Let the hypocrisy end.

Islam: The Religion of Peace?

WW2 is an unending fascination for me.  It is incomprehensible that a cultured, educated and advanced society that the Germans exhibited as being in the 1930-1940’s could have turned into such a murderous gang of rogues.

The scenes of mass murder are particularly disturbing as the following grainy, black and white photographs show of the massacre at Babi Yar, the site where 33,771 Jews were murdered in a single operation.  Estimates have been between 100,000 and 150,000 were murdered here:

babi yar

ss-women

Murder on any scale is disturbing, but the systematic slaughter of millions of civilians on a mass scale numbs the senses.

As unsettling as these old photos are, a certain disconnect exists between us; perhaps it’s because they are black and white, poorly developed, or from a time and era too distant from where we are today.  With the rise of social media and the ubiquitous cellphone, we like our news fresh, right out of the starting gates.

Such fresh news is becoming abundant with the atrocities being committed by Islam around the world, and there is no longer that disconnect caused by poor quality media or vast stretches of time between the perpetrators of war crimes and viewers.  Today’s genocidal acts are in living color and can be instantly downloaded from those who record the acts on their cell phones, and those who view the clips on Youtube, social websites, or any number of news organizations.

In the last couple of days, I have watched some of these videos and have been stunned by what I’ve seen.  One of the most horrific was taken down the day I saw it here.  It showed Iraqi men—supposedly soldiers dressed in civilian clothes—in trucks that were then driven by the ISIS terrorists to a place where they were then lined up in trenches, face down in the dirt.  Men with machine guns then shot them all in the head.

Here is a sample photo from the massacre:

ISIS-EXECUTIONS-5-e1402787769428

This morning, I read an article that embedded the video in their page. If you can stomach it, here it is (the last five minutes are the most brutal).

One man in the video appeared to be begging for his life, but I don’t understand Arabic so I could not determine exactly what he was saying.

Before the video was taken down, another scene was with some of these men were led to the edge of a river.  A man with a pistol shot each in the head as the other man dumped the bodies, one after the other, into the water.  The cement at the feet of the shooter was drenched in blood.  You will see this in the video above.

These scenes are brutal, horrific and beyond understanding, reminiscent of what Hitler’s henchmen did, not only in Babi Yar, but in countless other places in Europe.  These atrocities, war crimes, are going on now, all in the name of Muhammad, the “Prophet of Peace.”

Here is an article with the accompanying video of men with their heads sliced off, skewered on fence posts.  I must warn you of the graphic nature of this video.

In many of these videos portraying the most savage acts of violence and cruelty, the phrase “Allahu akbar!” (God is great) can be heard repeated endlessly.  This god, Allah, apparently thrives on the most heinous acts of cruelty and torture his Quran quoting murderers can conjure up.

Imagine, if you will, the kind of scene that would develop if the men that were the objects of ISIS’s wrath—fellow Muslims—were Israeli Jews instead.  If Muslims treat fellow Muslims in such an inhumane and vicious way, what would their treatment look like toward despised Jews?  Is it any wonder why Israel is continuing their offensive in Gaza?  Would you want Hamas burrowing tunnels into your backyard or living room?

I believe it is time, once and for all, to renounce with all our communicative abilities, the lie that Islam is a “religion of peace.”  I will be the first to acknowledge that there are peaceful Muslims that practice their religion without the slightest desire to cut people’s heads off or shoot others in the head with machine guns.  But jihad is taught in the Quran, and if you are a Muslim wishing to be true to your religion, how do you explain that so many of your fellow Muslims quote the Quran as justification for these crimes?

The old saying, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck…” applies to Islam, and if so many jihadists who routinely commit the most unspeakable crimes agains humanity appeal to the Quran for justification for why they do them, the conclusion is crystal clear.

 

 

A former JW tells his story

Rob S., from California,  is a former JW who contacted me after watching my latest Youtube video titled, “Jehovah’s Witnesses:  Hypocrisy on Steroids.”  His comments to those who disagreed with this video were so well thought out that I asked Rob to tell me his story:

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was raised to believe that this scripture at John 13:35 proved that I belonged to the one true religion. From infancy, my mind was conditioned to react favorably to Watchtower propaganda. I was conditioned not to question and not to research the things I was taught from their publications. The Watchtower had “lovingly” completed all the research for me. What need was there for me to question their love for me? My parents were both witnesses, and they couldn’t be wrong, could they?

I grew up on the Watchtower magazine that Jehovah’s Witnesses have used for so long to discredit “Babylon the Great,” the world empire of false religion. How guilty were all those people in the world who didn’t know Jehovah!  My grandparents would relate to me how close the “Great Tribulation” was:  it was just around the corner, and all I had to do to survive it was remain in Jehovah’s loving organization. If that was so, why didn’t I feel love from Jehovah? 

I grew up attending Witness congregations three nights a week.  For a young child in school, this can be tough. I was forced to stay awake at meetings, sit in one place for over an hour, listen to people explain things that were beyond my little mind—or suffer the wrath of my parents. Jehovah came first before everything, and it was important that my mind receive the correct conditioning.

Of course, I had to wake up early the next morning for school, and I was expected to focus on that as well. Maybe I should quit complaining because I still have the weekend. So what if I have to get dressed early Saturday morning so I can spend the afternoon knocking on doors with my parents?  The sad part about all of this is that I still have trouble sitting in one place and focusing on one thing without falling asleep…even to this day.

At least six times my parents have moved from one congregation to the next; one of them was due to the fact that we were between houses and didn’t stay in the area long. Four of those moves can be attributed to problems my parents had with the body of elders.

I grew up being toted around from one congregation to another by my parents because it was important that I receive the proper conditioning. Obviously, the purpose for this was so that I could tote my children around from congregation to congregation when I grew up and raised a witness family of my own.

I didn’t break the Jehovah’s Witness conditioning until after I was thirty years old. It was then, in 2011, that I saw a new world for the first time. Jehovah’s Witness apostates were not devil worshippers. Charles Taze Russell was an Egyptologist, who had a pyramid for his gravestone! Jehovah’s Witnesses disowned their family members as new darkness loomed over the congregation.

It is a humbling experience when you first realize that you had live half a lifetime ensnared by a cult organization. Once you’ve breathed fresh air for the first time, you can begin learning what life is about. There is truth out there, and finding it is an amazing journey. The Watchtower Society does preach some truth, but not before they’ve warped and twisted it so far beyond recognition that you may never notice the hole they’ve led you into until it’s too late.

There is an estimated eight million witnesses now, all preaching that hate is love, and darkness is light. Is there any wonder why people hide in their homes when the doorbell rings?

— Rob S.

Update on video: “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Hypocrisy on Steroids”

As of today, July 25, 2014, my latest Youtube video has received 8,000 views and almost 400 comments.  Not bad for a video that was uploaded on June 11, 2014.

One of my favorite comments comes from Jeremy, a fifteen year old JW.  He wrote (all comments are unedited):

“I was born into the religion and still am a Jehovah’s witness. I am currently 15. I said my age that way you know I am not too immature to understand. I am appalled by what I saw and I would like to give you an apology for the treatment you received.

But I would like to say that not all of us are like that. Some of us do believe in what we preach. However, you are correct, they wrongfully treated you. That is not the correct way we were taught to handle a situation like that one. The way I learned to allow to you visit and listen to what we have to say. You are free to have your own beliefs and opinions.

But please don’t make it seem like all of us are like that. I personally believe that it was your right to see what we had to say. Catch whatever you needed on camera. The mere fact that you showed up says that you were interested in seeing us how we really are. I am just sorry that you had to see the behavior demonstrated that day. It was completely disrespectful and I apologize for the  behavior of my people.  –  Jeremy”

For 15, Jeremy  has some real insight; I was impressed with his comment and thanked him.  My intent on going to JW conventions like this one in Tucson are for people like Jeremy.  He was born into this cult and is being raised as a JW, which means he is being brainwashed into believing this organization is “the truth” from an early age.

When a teen-ager like Jeremy sees a video like mine and reacts in the manner he did, there is hope for him.  If he can see the blatant hypocrisy at such an early age, hopefully this will be a seed planted in his mind that will grow into a tree of knowledge that will one day lead him out into freedom.

Jeremy wrote that he “was appalled by what I saw.”  That is another good sign, because if you read some of the other comments posted on the video, you will see that other JW’s don’t share his views.

Here is an example from “Moe”:

“So you wanted to go to a place where everyone is peaceful and trying to worship God to aggravate them? No wonder God wants to get rid of people like you.”

Or this one:

“… he’s a drama queen, causing disruption.. it accomplishes nothing to do this, but make a scene, and stir up trouble. I’m an ex jw, but this si the kind of guy that DOES need his *ss kicked. he’s lucky they are jws, or they would have.. get a life, go home and do something worthwhile to help the people… but then,thats not your point is it? idiot”

One thing I have learned from my long associations in dealing with various JW’s and ex-JW’s:  they are among some of the most hateful and violent of people; not as bad as the Muslims, but a few steps down from that insane crowd.

To clarify, I don’t wish to suggest that all JW’s and ex-JW’s are hateful and violent, for that is certainly not the case.  But in my personal interactions with many in both these groups, I do run into what seems to be an inordinate amount of haters.  Perhaps this is due to my activism in seeking to expose this cult that attracts such negative responses.

Hopefully, Jeremy’s family is not raising him this way, but I don’t have much hope.  We are dealing with spiritual issues, and there are certain “principalities and powers” that energize, guide and direct religious movements.  In my dealings with your typical JW at the summer conventions, the spirit guiding this group is not the kind of spirit you want to have sitting down with you at dinner.

 

Raymond Franz, former JW Governing Body member

Raymond Franz was a former Governing Body member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Since there are so few of these men who have occupied this top position among JW’s, whatever he has to say carries much weight with all JW’s.

Or at least it should.  Franz was disfellowshipped because he began to see that the organization that he loved and faithfully served in had some deep issues.

Franz’a story is unique, particularly since he was a Governing Body member.  Unfortunately, his story is not widely known because of the fact that he was disfellowshipped.  This is tragic, because his insights on the inner workings of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS) are priceless.

Franz wrote two books after he left the organization:  “Crisis of Conscience” and “In search of Christian Freedom.”  Crisis of Conscience has undoubtably had the greatest impact on many JW’s, because they attribute reading it as the catalyst that propelled them out of the organization.

Recently, I discovered a link on the internet for the entire book…for free.  I want to encourage anyone interested in learning more about JW’s to download this free resource and discover for themselves what this man had to say.

If you are an active JW, I hope that you will read it also.  There are also videos on Youtube that tell about his remarkable journey.

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July  celebration for Americans signifies, among other things, freedom.

Freedom from tyranny from those who would seek to keep freemen enslaved to ideologies contrary to the concept of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Americans are losing those freedoms we have taken for granted since the founding of our country over 200 years ago.  The America I live in today is not the same country I grew up in as a boy in the 1960’s.

For the past several weeks, I have been responding to comments from my most recent youtube video exposing the hypocrisy of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  This group represents an ugly, yet rarely discussed, phenomena in America today:  the modern day slavery of millions of minds.

If freedom means anything, it means the ability for anyone to think and believe what they choose to.  Certainly, not all belief systems are the same, but if you want to believe that only 144,000 people are going to heaven, don’t expect me to darken the door of your Kingdom Hall.

As a Christian, I have strong beliefs in certain areas, but I understand that you have equally strong beliefs in other areas that we will never agree upon.   But if you don’t believe exactly the way I do, I’m not going to treat you as one who is “mentally diseased” and shun you until you change your mind and come around to my peculiar way of thinking.

People who don’t goose-step to the unorthodox teachings of the Governing Body (GB) of Jehovah’s Witnesses are looked upon as “mentally diseased.”  In particular, this term is reserved for former JW’s who have seen the light and no longer choose to slavishly follow each and every aberrant teaching of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WTBTS).

Freedom of thought and conscience is not practiced in this destructive cult.

For those members of the WTBTS who choose to think for themselves and no longer wish to associate with their taskmasters, the GB has special treatment reserved just for you:  shunning.

If you are one of the unfortunates to be shunned, all those who formerly loved and respected you will treat you as if you were suddenly transformed into a loathsome insect.  Not even parents will escape the cruelty and disrespect of such shameful behavior by their children:  they will no longer eat with you, spend family time together, or allow you prolonged contact with the grandchildren.

For those who have never been introduced to this Inquisition-styled teaching of the WTBTS, you will think I am joking, or at the least, exaggerating.  Unfortunately, you will find what I’m saying is true by spending fifteen minutes in research on the internet.

When an organization exercises such suffocating control over people that they can convince adult children that their own parents are “mentally diseased” because of a doctrinal peculiarity, the concept of freedom celebrated on the Fourth of July is as hollow as the ringing of the Liberty Hall calling all the citizens of Philadelphia to hear a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776.

That precious document was a declaration of war against the tyrant of the King of England.  We need another declaration of war using only weapons of reason and truth against the WTBTS to put an end to the religious tyranny they have imposed upon the bodies, souls and spirits of their brainwashed millions.

 

 

 

Update on video: “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Hypocrisy on steroids”

As of today, July 25, 2014, my latest Youtube video has received 8,000 views and almost 400 comments.  Not bad for a video that was uploaded on June 11, 2014.

One of my favorite comments comes from Jeremy, a fifteen year old JW.  He wrote (all comments are unedited):

“I was born into the religion and still am a Jehovah’s witness. I am currently 15. I said my age that way you know I am not too immature to understand. I am appalled by what I saw and I would like to give you an apology for the treatment you received.

But I would like to say that not all of us are like that. Some of us do believe in what we preach. However, you are correct, they wrongfully treated you. That is not the correct way we were taught to handle a situation like that one. The way I learned to allow to you visit and listen to what we have to say. You are free to have your own beliefs and opinions.

But please don’t make it seem like all of us are like that. I personally believe that it was your right to see what we had to say. Catch whatever you needed on camera. The mere fact that you showed up says that you were interested in seeing us how we really are. I am just sorry that you had to see the behavior demonstrated that day. It was completely disrespectful and I apologize for the  behavior of my people.  –  Jeremy”

For 15, Jeremy  has some real insight; I was impressed with his comment and thanked him.  My intent on going to JW conventions like this one in Tucson are for people like Jeremy.  He was born into this cult and is being raised as a JW, which means he is being brainwashed into believing this organization is “the truth” from an early age.

When a teen-ager like Jeremy sees a video like mine and reacts in the manner he did, there is hope for him.  If he can see the blatant hypocrisy at such an early age, hopefully this will be a seed planted in his mind that will grow into a tree of knowledge that will one day lead him out into freedom.

Jeremy wrote that he “was appalled by what I saw.”  That is another good sign, because if you read some of the other comments posted on the video, you will see that other JW’s don’t share his views.

Here is an example from “Moe”:

“So you wanted to go to a place where everyone is peaceful and trying to worship God to aggravate them? No wonder God wants to get rid of people like you.”

Or this one:

“… he’s a drama queen, causing disruption.. it accomplishes nothing to do this, but make a scene, and stir up trouble. I’m an ex jw, but this si the kind of guy that DOES need his *ss kicked. he’s lucky they are jws, or they would have.. get a life, go home and do something worthwhile to help the people… but then,thats not your point is it? idiot”

One thing I have learned from my long associations in dealing with JW’s and ex-JW’s:  they are among some of the most hateful and violent of people; not as bad as the Muslims, but a few steps down from that insane crowd.

Hopefully, Jeremy’s family is not raising him this way, but I don’t have much hope.  We are dealing with spiritual issues, and there are certain “principalities and powers” that energize, guide and direct religious movements.  In my dealings with your typical JW at the summer conventions, the spirit guiding this group is not the kind of spirit you want to have sitting down with you at dinner.