Jehovah’s Witnesses: A Religion of Contradictions and Hypocrisy
If you have any doubt that the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses is full of contradictions and hypocrisy, don’t take my word for it, but get yourself a copy of the book “Crises of Conscience” by former governing body member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ray Franz, and you’ll fully understand what I mean.
This said one doesn’t need to have been a former member of the leadership group to realize that this religion is riddled with contradiction and hypocrisy.
One thing that no Jehovah’s Witness could deny it’s that according to the culture of the religion, nothing matters in this world, or “system of things” as they like to call it. No career, no passion, no hobby, no talent, no lifestyle choice. Nothing.
Why?
Because this world is “passing away” as far as Jehovah’s Witnesses are concerned. Everything that we know today will be gone soon at Armageddon and replaced by a “new earth,” a “new system of things.”
This is why Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that the pursuit of anything in this world is futile and does not matter. They often compare this world to a sinking ship.
So for them, nothing is worth pursuing because they only live for the future when their God Jehovah will be ruling over the earth.
What’s interesting though, it’s that when you know Jehovah’s Witnesses well, and when you know some of the things that their Governing Body (the leadership of the religion) does, you can’t help but seeing the hypocrisy.
Let’s see how…
An Extremely Judgmental People
If things of this world don’t matter, you would think that judging people by the way they dress and groom, and the way they choose to live their life, as long as they’re not doing anything wrong, wouldn’t matter that much either, right?
Well, you’d be wrong.
There are actually few groups of people on the planet as judgmental as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Not because they’re bad people. No. But rather, because it’s the culture of the movement.
• You must dress and groom a certain way.
• Men can’t wear beards and be in good standing in the religion.
• Women can’t wear pants, even dress pants, while they are involved in religious activities.
• You can’t put your secular studies ahead of your Bible study.
• You can’t put your job ahead of your religion, etc.
Not too long ago, a member of the governing body, Anthony Morris, even made what is now known as an infamous speech about wearing tight pants and how it made men wearing them looking like “homosexuals.”
Even if you have too much money and live too much of a lavish life for Jehovah’s Witnesses standards, you’ll be judged.
If you spend too much time working at your job and not enough time working for the Watchtower, you’ll be judged too.
Yet again, I’ve heard of Jehovah’s Witnesses being judged for being too poor, or for being a single mother raising her kids by herself.
You would definitely be judged if you marry outside of the religion. And God forbid if you leave the organization or are disfellowshipped from it (excommunicated). In this case, you pretty much cease to exist in the eyes of your Jehovah’s Witnesses co-believers, even if they are your own family members.
As for people outside the religion, they are almost seen as sub-humans. Jehovah’s Witnesses even have a name for them, worldly people. And believe me, if I tell you that it’s a pejorative one.
Indeed, for a people that don’t really live in this world, there is a lot of judging going on about the things that people do or don’t do in this world among Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Do as I Say, Not as I Do
The reason why I mentioned the book of former Governing Body member, Ray Franz, at the beginning of this article it’s because in his book he denounces the extreme hypocrisy of this Governing Body that he, once upon a time, used to be part of.
Hypocrisy that eventually helped him see that religion for what it really is.
How many times, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has taught or told something to its members to later on not only annul it but even deny that they ever taught or told such thing?
They have done that many times.
A very infamous example is what current and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to 1975.
1975 was, according to the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses calculations, the year when this world was “most probably” going to end.
As a matter of fact, it was taken very seriously.
Starting in the mid-1960’s Jehovah’s Witnesses assemblies and conventions public talks were giving references to such date. In one of such infamous talks the speaker referred to the year 1975 several times and ended his speech with the slogan “Stay alive until 1975!”
There wasn’t any doubt back then that 1975 was serious.
Because of all the fuss that the Watchtower made around this date for several years, some Jehovah’s Witnesses even quit their job and sold their house.
Yet, today, the Governing Body denies that such thing ever happened.
According to a very recent video produced by the Watchtower that came out this year (2017), Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders NEVER told the rank and file that 1975 was going to be the end of this world. It was all in the heads of some individuals that were just in a hurry to see that end coming.
Interestingly, the Watchtower has countless articles discussing the hypocrisy of other organizations and religions and yet they are amongst the most hypocritical of them all.
The Watchtower is Building, Building and Building some more
I will never forget how some Jehovah’s Witnesses families who were building big houses were viewed in my congregation (church) back in North Carolina. This wasn’t usually seen as a good thing to do as “a Christian in the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses religion.”
Yet, the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Watchtower, is building countless kingdom halls and headquarters called Belthels all over the world, while the number of members tends to decline more and more to the point that in the United States many congregations are merging.
Because they are building so much, they are constantly begging for donations and volunteers to build among the members.
So one would have the right to ask the question, why is it so bad for an individual to build one house, no matter how big or small, but it’s OK for the Watchtower to build so many buildings the world over?
Aren’t both kinds of buildings built “in this world”?
This is, again, an obvious case of do as I say, not as I do. Another case of hypocrisy and contradictions.
Saved by Grace, yet by Work too
The world of contradictions in the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses even goes so far as their very own religious beliefs.
On one hand, they are saying to believe that individuals are saved by the “grace of God” yet, on the other hand, they are convinced that if they don’t do the work, they won’t be saved.
Even though their Bible says that no one can save themselves by work, the average Jehovah’s Witness is convinced that if they don’t go door to door on a weekly basis and attend their meetings, assemblies, and conventions, they won’t be saved by their God Jehovah.
Obviously, this contradiction just like the others comes from the leadership.
If the Watchtower wasn’t teaching the rank and file that they MUST go door to door to “preach the good news” pretty much no one would, since most Jehovah’s Witnesses hate doing it.
If the Watchtower didn’t convince the rank and file that they MUST attend meetings regularly to maintain their faith, they know that the indoctrination might loosen and relieve some individuals from such indoctrination, and thus leave.
Fewer members equal less money in the contribution boxes, fewer free workers to build, and fewer people spreading the Watchtower’s doctrines to indoctrinate more people.
Interestingly, regardless of all the efforts that the Watchtower is putting in order to get new members and keep the ones they have, the numbers are dwindling down. Slowly, but surely.
While there are fewer and fewer newcomers they are more and more Jehovah’s Witnesses leaving the religion, thanks to the unprecedented work and omnipresence of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses, like myself, who are making sure people learn the truth about the real face of this so-called religion.
Conclusion
The average Jehovah’s Witness is totally indoctrinated and doesn’t see the true face of their religion, and even denies it when faced with the facts.
However, because of my activism, I’ve discovered that many current members do have doubts about their religion. Many just don’t admit it openly for fear of being disfellowshipped (excommunicated) and thus losing their loved ones forever.
Some, though, eventually venture online only to discover more than they had bargained for about their religion.
They come to the painful realization that what they used to believe to be the truth is in reality just a bunch of lies perpetrated by false prophets.
Sylviane Nuccio
