1. 2. Some leave mentally but cannot make themselves get out.

From a JW elder! Anonymous statement shows there are cracks in the system: I personally disagree with several current teachings of the Watchtower. My firm belief is that while we are trying to spread the good news of Jehovah’s Kingdom and trying to live an exemplary Christian lifestyle, not everything in the Watchtower is totally correct. My choice, at least at this time, is to keep my opinions to myself when in the presence of other Jehovah’s Witnesses and hope that the Holy Spirit clears up what errors we might be teaching as younger, more thoughtful, and loving men take the leadership of Jehovah’s earthly organization. That said, I do have some serious issues with the credibility of the current leadership of the Watchtower Society.

Another elder…. I knew that my dad was entering a new phase in his life as a Jehovah’s Witness. I found out that he turned the corner when he told me he had written an article on the Internet. “Yeah,” he said, “and it’s on an apostate’s web page!”

You could have knocked me over with a whisper. My dad? Writing an article for an apostate website? No way! It was true, he said, but he thought it actually might do some good for other people who were also having doubts. “If they know that someone like me, a lifelong JW who’s an elder, has questions and concerns about the Truth, then maybe they will feel better about their own doubts and fears,” he told me.

“I doubt that anyone around here will figure out who I am, or what Kingdom Hall I go to, but you never know,” he said. “The guy who runs the web page promised to keep my identity private and to delete any of my emails after he reads them. I believe him and think he will protect my identity.”

“So exactly what did you write, Dad? I want to know!”

“I wrote about a lot of things. I wished I could have done more, but I think I touched on the main issues that were bothering me. I guess my number one issue is the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses, even elders like me, can’t ask too many questions. We can’t challenge anything the Watchtower leaders tell us. I can’t sit down and have a talk like this with another brother, even someone who has been a close friend all my life, without fearing that he will blab it all over the Kingdom Hall, creating gossip and dissension. I might even be dis-fellowshipped. How would I deal with your mother and the rest of our JW family members if that happened? I’m not ready for any of that – not as long as you’re still in school.”

For a Jehovah’s Witness….. simply attending a wedding or going to a funeral of a friend or family member in another church can result in “probation” or even “dis-fellowshipping.” Many ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses were not excommunicated for some sinful act such as fornication, adultery, criminal behavior, or drunkeness. They were dis-fellowshipped for reading the Bible on their own or asking sincere questions about the teachings of the Watchtower Society. Many have been dis-fellowshipped because they expressed their doubts about certain practices or doctrines to another Witness, only to find that that “brother” or “sister” reported them to an overseer in the local Kingdom Hall. Witnesses can also be dis-fellowshipped for accepting a blood transfusion or allowing their child to have one during surgery. They can be dis-fellowshipped for joining the military, voting, running for public office, or becoming a police officer.

This sounds so much like the Rome of the Middle Ages, or Communist Romania or North Korea!

And unfortunately, like the growing antagonism in the US media against conservative and Christian values...