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(#7) The Church Makes Big Promises
From a former Redditor:
I think a lot has to do with the hope for something better and frustration with your lot in life, [and it's] less to do with superiority.
Everyone I knew just wanted a life without expensive rent, medical bills, sh*tty bosses, crooked politicians, etc., and the Org offers that. When someone tells you that literally everything awful in the world can get better, you listen.
Can't blame people for really wanting it to be true, especially when you can't imagine any solution other than total apocalypse.
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(#12) They Adjust Their Predictions When Things Don't Happen As Expected
From Redditor /u/tjreid1987
They recognize [their previous predictions that never happened]. They usually explain it with Proverbs 4:18 saying the "light gets brighter and brighter." They admit they are [fallible], and their understanding of the Scriptures isn't perfect. So when a prediction doesn't come true, they of course chalk it up to not fully understanding, and they readjust. They've avoided specific dates since 1975 - it's bad marketing.
Now, they've stretched their interpretation to last a while longer until that one doesn't make sense anymore.
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(#6) Not Celebrating Birthdays Has Social Ramifications
From Redditor /u/JWAlumni:
I felt like an outcast at school. I was lucky to have classmates that didn't bully me at school for being a JW, so there was mainly pity. But of course you felt stupid when you were the only one not congratulating someone on their birthday. You stood with the rest of the class silent while they sang the song. And when I had birthdays I politely thanked them for their well-wishing, but I wasn't really allowed to accept it. It also meant that I was neither allowed to attend a birthday party nor host one myself.
Especially Christmas was tough because I knew I would be returning to school and everybody would be talking about the presents they got. Although I had loving parents I always felt like a d*ck on Christmas Eve knowing what was going on in other families. I loved Christmas as a kid because of all the lights and the glitter and stuff. Now, I love celebrating Christmas with my girlfriend. We always get a tree and make a big deal of Christmas.
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(#14) Discouraging Higher Education Sometimes Traps Members In Poverty
From Redditor /u/HazyOutline:
Many who have followed directives against education and spending one's life centered on [Jehovah's Witness] organizational activities later have found themselves in dire circumstances when they got older. They were sold on the idea they would never grow old, that Paradise would be here by then. Some spent decades at Bethel with a vow of poverty, only to be laid off.
Some spent years as missionaries or special pioneers with a small stipend, only for the same thing to happen. It was the ultimate dead end.
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(#1) Leaving The Religion Can Be Isolating
From Redditor /u/poshjosh1999:
The very few friends I did have my age have mostly left me because I left the JWs. I don't have any friends outside of the religion; I do, however, have much older friends. I was lucky that my parents allowed me to have a good hobby, which most JW parents won't allow at all because of "bad association."
I don't have any friends my own age apart from one, who I hardly ever see. I know I'm lonely, but I'm in a very difficult situation since I've left the religion.
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(#2) There's Pressure To Shun Family Members Who Aren't Jehovah's Witnesses
From Redditor /u/starry_knights:
When I was a kid my mom pressured me to shun my... sisters when I talked about missing them in my life. There's a huge age gap between me and my siblings, so I was 4 when everybody else had moved out of our parents' home.
She held up my cousins as an example, like, "Why can't you be more like cousin Mary? She's not speaking to Karen, because Karen doesn't love Jehovah anymore..."
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About This Tool
The religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was established in the United States at the end of the 19th century and headquartered in New York. It is now recognized as a cult by mainstream Christianity in the world. However, the community of Jehovah's Witnesses has far more control over the believers, and its terrifying doctrines and regulations are even more sensational.
Followers of the Jehovah's Witnesses community will refuses any form of idolatry, parties, or festivals, do not donate blood or accept blood transfusions, these are all well-known messages. The random tool tells 14 true stories of the life in Jehovah's Witnesses community.
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