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Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Schoolgirl Exposes Organisation As a Religion That ‘Destroys Lives’
A schoolgirl who left the Jehovah’s Witnesses after learning of its alleged failure to protect vulnerable women has blasted the organisation in a powerful speech to her classmates.
Holding back tears, she recalled her personal experiences as a member of the church and how she was taught everyone outside the religion, including her father, would be sent to Armageddon.
She also highlighted women’s lowly position in the hierarchy of the organisation and how they are viewed as inferior to men.
“They cannot teach men. They cannot even speak at a podium in front of men as I am doing now,” she said. “They are not to question any decision made by a men. That is slander.”
Dissenting from the orthodoxy on church doctrine and practices is forbidden as a Jehovah’s Witness and those who do are shunned by religious leaders. Independent thought is discouraged and is thought to have been introduced by the devil.
The most shocking allegations relate to women the girl spoke to, who were members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and wished to remain anonymous.
One, she called Jane, was allegedly interrogated by the church elders after she was raped, while at work as insurance salesperson.
The elders apparently said she tempted men by the way she dressed and that men were “only human”.
In order to be forgiven and not be excommunicated, or “disfellowshipped,” Jane was forced to dress more conservatively, quit her job and worst of all drop the charges against her attacker.
Another, called Donna, was allegedly molested by a man in her congregation when she was a young girl, but did not tell anyone because she knew nothing would be done.
It is claimed Donna was then abused physically and emotionally throughout 14 years of marriage and when she went to the church elders for support she was told it was her fault and should be a better wife.
Eventually Donna secured a divorce from her husband, but her torment did not end there. She was “disfellowshipped” from the organisation, which meant she was unable to speak to her friends or family members in the church.
“To make matters worse her children were taught not to speak to her because she was evil, they were isolated by her ex-husband and know nothing other than this religion. They are also terrified of disappointing their father and their god,” the girl said.
“The religion is separating a capable and loving mother from her children. Nothing could be more devastating for a mother.”
The church has battled with previous allegations of silencing victims of sexual abuse, to avoid embarrassing the church, but have always vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
In 2015 a Californian court ordered the Watch Tower Society, the company which runs the Jehovah’s Witnesses, to pay $2.8m in damages after failing to disclosure the past abuse of a congregation member, which led to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl.
After learning all the religion has hid from its members the girl finished her speech by saying she wanted “no part in it”.
“It is a religion that preaches love and acceptance, but the reality is everything is conditional. Love and acceptance is only extended as long as members practise absolute obedience and question nothing, ever,” she said.
“This religion destroys lives, destroys families and they do it largely unchecked… because they are really good at silencing the people who leave.”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses were not immediately available for comment.
Independent.co.uk
Posted by
Kankulu Wale
June 2, 2015 at 8:50 am
Well, it’s not only in the Jehovah’s Witness cult where women are inferior to men. It is there in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. So how will God do the judging on the much publicized ‘Judgement Day’? Because your religion in most cases is a product of the location of your upbringing. All religions are simply attempts by mankind in different locations to explain how the world came to be, just as the big bang theory is an attempt by scientists to explain the beginning of the universe.
major chileshe
June 2, 2015 at 9:05 am
Yaaa anyway fyenu ifyo bane
Beautiful Moma
June 2, 2015 at 9:18 am
Ba Tumfweko, muli Fipuba. Mbulali shchopet! 3 comments and none are published. Mwe fipululu.
Timbwi
June 2, 2015 at 9:57 am
So what if evil is everywhere?
Rev Cosmas Banda
June 2, 2015 at 10:02 am
Pipo love cults and not churches where sound doctrine is taught . They preach that satan is the owner of earth . And that God is not going to judge the word ,too many misguided teachings .
Beautiful Moma
June 2, 2015 at 10:15 am
Fi Tumfweko, why can’t I comment on this article? Anyway, I love God, the God within myself. I hate religion with a passion.
danny kayz
June 2, 2015 at 10:23 am
Mr #cosmas,,dnt say thngs u r not sure of..1 john 5 vs 19…we knw dat we originate wth God,bt the whole world z in d power of a weakd one…meaning dat satan z d one ruling the earth..
mukenani nyambe
June 2, 2015 at 10:33 am
A family is central to the creators plan for the eternal destiny of its children. So the devil is aware of that and that is the unity he wants to destroy. We must watch out for that.
BOJUMOLUBO
June 2, 2015 at 11:38 am
let the girl tell the truth why she was chacked out of the congregation.she may tell lies today but the truth will catch up with her.otherwise its so unfortunate for her to behave like that. i personally love jehovah so much,that no such lies will separate me from his fold.i realy pity her.
Lungu jr
June 2, 2015 at 11:47 am
Be obedient to God you find everything they preach profitable. They teach to dress modest but evil in you ladies you still want to taste sex like Eve tasted the fruit before right time. Actually you go live and when you finish you consider the shame that would bring to your parents if pregnated then quickly you go and lie that u were raped.Change
Umuntu kusambilila
June 2, 2015 at 12:00 pm
I find nothing wrong in Jehovahs witnesses teaching but its just in us we go wrong despite been taught.
Proud Audacious.
June 2, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Am a proud J wit.
David
June 2, 2015 at 1:02 pm
young lady, tell the truth why you got booted out of the congregation instead of cooking up lies. Your cooked up story does not even give the appetite to look at. Anyway, All the best in your worldly pursuits.
derick
June 2, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Everything she said is the opposity of what we believe. We are not a company but an organisation of jehovah God.
Chibwili
June 2, 2015 at 1:26 pm
Am a desfellowshiped Jehova’s Witness,but will never say ill against Jehova’s Witnesses,infact they have taught me a good lesson
empire
June 2, 2015 at 1:36 pm
Jehovah does not tolerate such insolence. it is very clear the girl is that unrepentant type. good luck with your persuits of fleshly pleasures.
EVANS
June 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm
THIS LADY IS AN HYPOCRITE-CISANGUKA
tutu
June 2, 2015 at 2:12 pm
nomba ninshi..obvious kalihulefye akamwaiche aka,sex yalikatoba umutwe.ba beautiful moma obvious muletukasana hence ba tumfweko ar stil moderating yr comments
Beautiful Moma
June 2, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Kali trippa that day, didn’t want to insult anyone but the nigga asked for it. Nga ka trippa, kwisa na candle while you wait for power to be restored. Otherwise, very cool babe this one.
On the other hand, look who’s talking. Iwe tutu niwe champion wansele pa tumfweko. Ama comments yobe ni XXX rated.
Famous idiot!...
June 2, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Iwe J.witness is an organisation not a church or company… Ico ici mwaice bali citamfya in short disfellowshipped due to umungulu… Shame ka makaka…
Andy
June 2, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Jehovah’s Witnesses base all there teachings on what the bible teaches. Let the young lady honour up and tell the world if whatever she was taught as a witness has no backing from the holy book itself, including the act of disfellowshipping an unrepentant wrong doer Read 1 Corrinthians 5v5-13
Masaki Takagi
June 2, 2015 at 3:32 pm
I know Jehovah’s witnesses quite well. They have high moral standards and teach the truth that remains an entire opposite of her allegations. From the way this girl is talking, it’s clear she has never been one of them.
son of a Gunman
June 2, 2015 at 3:58 pm
Her conscience leaves much to be Desired,let her join pente possessed she is.
Lopez
June 2, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Jehovah’s Witnesses strongly denounce all kinds of sexual abuse, details of the Society’s child abuse policies have been published in Jehovah’s Witnesses’ publications, although more specific guidelines are only made available to elders
jay
June 2, 2015 at 4:41 pm
mayb it th issue of hw u treaty church members who av com short of God’s glory affter baptism… If surely Christ did th same, no one of us could b served, u kno wat its lyk so called sex, ladies who gets pregnant b4 wedding ar seen as tho there’re much sinners, yet som do sex nw & then, som resorts to abortion especially christians who ar known to be in regular standing in their faith… I think thoz who ar health workers can agree wit me hw dificot it is 4 a christian to acept the pregnacy bcoz of wantng to pleaz men… I think Christian societies & families shud review their attitute toward such pipo… I knew of a numbr of JW who ar known 2b role models bt we tht were cloz 2 them as frnds in sku knew who they were… Askng them y they kept on hiding its about pleasing pipo… Its bettr I show my tru colours & been helped than hiding for & stay in sin… Bt us christians Lets labour to Stand in truth & the holy spirit shall strengthen us
Daniel
June 2, 2015 at 7:36 pm
Am a disfellowshiped witness and how I long to go back to the tents of true worship! Young girl there’s nothing out here. walaimwena.
anonymous
June 2, 2015 at 7:51 pm
i luv jehovah so much that i can never be drailed .i have personally been disciplined before and i have not regreted insteady appreciated for the counsel ELDERS gave me.Today ifeel more disciplined spiritually than before.discipline is painful but it yields wisdom .young lady jst analyse yo statement.have jehovah’s witnesses come under attack because of the translation residential branch in kabompo?you cannot dent jw.
ngandwe
June 2, 2015 at 8:01 pm
Only da truth can set u free,as 4 me and ma house hold we wil continnue saving Jeovah nothing wil separate us frm his luv.
sany
June 2, 2015 at 8:16 pm
Its an issue of faith.
Its not good to wash dirty linen in public.
If you want to leave do so without denting where you came from.
Bourne
June 2, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Uli imbwafwe
syms
June 2, 2015 at 11:30 pm
Accept christ as your personal savior when he comes in your heart and aboard with you he will teach you his word.and you will only get sound doctrine when christ teaches you through the HollySpirity.study and search the scriptures by yourself.
emmanuel
June 2, 2015 at 11:43 pm
Let this young lady know that according to galatians 6:7 you reap what you sow and let her also know that she is not going to slander j witnesses but jehovah.
PANTUFYE
June 3, 2015 at 1:25 am
Same na UPND, kuluba kuluba
amocha
June 3, 2015 at 7:37 am
look at the way JW are defending themselves.this girl is spot on. the JW doctrine is evn worse for the less educated people. i hav absolutely nothing nothing good to say about JW because they tell my children not to wear zambian colours, no voting and cant even sing the national athem.
Klim
June 3, 2015 at 8:25 am
Ba Amocha, is that your only complaint against the witnesses? What ” real ” value would all that add to your children’s life? Would they become more zambian or batter individuals if they wore national colours or sing the national anthem?
gile
June 3, 2015 at 8:39 am
Amocha, we dnt sing, wear national colours coz we dnt worship idols but JEHOVA i will always be a proud JW
bkk
June 3, 2015 at 9:02 am
JW for life.
bkk
June 3, 2015 at 9:13 am
JW for life. “Let your love be without hypocrisy.”—Romans 12:9.
Precious
June 3, 2015 at 10:07 am
I am an excommunicated JW. They teach the truth and call a spade a spade without tolerating any compromise. When I was an outsider I used to mock them because everyone around us made fun of them. if the world was full of Jehovah’s Witnesses it would have been a better place to live in believe you me.
Doro
June 3, 2015 at 11:35 am
Jw fo lyf……………u r de pipo th bible sayz “not havng spirituality”
gift
June 3, 2015 at 11:41 am
This girl is being used by th devil.as for me n my family serving Jehovah is our aim in lyf.J wit till the conclusion of this system ot things.one more thng for u haters i wil b getin baptized this cuming convention therafter venturing into full time service.hahahahaha.amocha go hung urself.
kondwani sichinga
June 3, 2015 at 11:50 am
Most jehovas witnesses members r inscene,I dnt even trust them frm their selfishness and God will punnish thm.
BOJUMOLUBO
June 3, 2015 at 1:02 pm
ba kondwani wt do u mean? its just that this girl cnt retreave her statement,am sure sh is regreating.when u taste and see that jehovah is good u cant put up such slader against his people.am a proud jw and nothing i mean nothing will separate me from jehovah and his earthly organisation.young girl repeant and jehovah will gradly welcome u in his fold,remember even perfect creatures angels sinned against jehova .come back its not too late.i hope you wil make a wise decision.
BOB
June 3, 2015 at 2:25 pm
How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the “true” one?
According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. “Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations.” 1
Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual “Christian confessions and denominations.” For example, Barrett et al. states that there are:
bullet 4,684 groups in the U.S.
bullet 3,364 in South Africa.
bullet 2,079 in Nigeria.
bullet 1,581 in Brazil.
bullet 1,327 in South-central Asia.
Among other English-speaking countries, there are:
bullet 828 groups in the UK.
bullet 469 in Canada.
bullet 267 in Australia
bullet 175 in New Zealand. 2
Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups:
Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. More details.
Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed.
There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. appearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details
To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a “true religion” exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error.
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What do faith groups teach about their own status?
Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U.S., in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled “Dominus Iesus” implies that “Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper’ churches.” Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are “churches in the proper sense.” They suffer from “defects.” Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be “gravely deficient.” Their rituals can constitute “an obstacle to salvation” for their followers. 3,4
Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the “truth” status of other faith groups.
Which, then, is the true religion?
Because religions are so different, only one could be the “true religion.” Perhaps none are. Within the “true religion” there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as “true.” The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status.
Some methods of determining the “true” religion are:
bullet Conduct an opinion poll: Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world:
bullet In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group.
bullet India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion.
bullet The U.S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American “Bible belt” is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion.
It is obvious that one’s personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one’s parent(s):
bullet If Jerry Falwell had been born in Saudi Arabia of Muslim parents, and obtained his religious education in that country, there is a near certainty that he would be promoting Islam today.
bullet If the late Sheikh Mohamed Mutwali al-Sharawilittle of Egypt, who was called “The Arab world’s best known television preacher of the Holy Qur’an,” had been born and raised by Southern Baptists in Dallas, TX, that he would almost certainly have promoted Christianity.
One’s personal beliefs and the certainty with which one holds them is an unreliable measure of truth, because they are largely determined by one’s culture and the faith of one’s parents — both largely accidents of birth. So, an opinion poll might show what peoples beliefs are. But it would not be helpful in locating the “true” faith group.
bullet Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy.
This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world’s population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out.
The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer.
bullet Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer.
Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is “true.”
BBC
June 3, 2015 at 4:19 pm
THAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN CHRISTIAN FAITH. PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES ALWAYS MAKE NOISES WITH NEIGHBORHOOD IS THAT PEACE. LET US CHECK OURSELVES BEFORE GOING OR JOINING ANY CONGREGATIONS AND SHE IS JUST ANOTHER EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. IF ALL CAN DRESS LIKE JW THEN HE ISSUE OF RAPE CAN NOT BE THERE.
kakolwe
June 3, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Iwe, dress like bacitawala when? On a Saturday when they are dishing out AWAKE & ULUPUNGU? On a Sunday when they are gathered in the kingdom hall olo on Tuesday when their shapely legs and booties are part of the wares at Malls dotted all over the nation?
Shadow mp
June 3, 2015 at 8:54 pm
yes.. let the unclean be seperated frm the clean …common sense is’nt.yes ..man is owez lukin 4 bad ways …datz y.. bt let this be a warning 2 every 1 of you dat the hour is coming wen JEHOVAH wil put an end 2 this …mind you it is part of the prophecy recorded at 2TIMOTHY 3:1-5.SO it has been fulfilled by dat girl part of it!!!!!!
akulotenifye
June 3, 2015 at 9:26 pm
Lots of j witnesses on tumfweko! Very unexpected!
Witnessee
June 3, 2015 at 10:22 pm
I salute all the bloggers for the critical analysis of the matter. Had expected a barrage of attacks in support of the mere allegations brought out by ba Tumfweko, but alas! For me, most of the views expressed so far are spot on, independent.
mangobe
June 3, 2015 at 11:08 pm
She was neva 1 of them none of wat she said is true
mangobe
June 3, 2015 at 11:21 pm
Shame on u tawatwete ukwakubutukila coz u couldn’t jst fit
BOJUMOLUBO
June 4, 2015 at 9:36 am
i love Jehovah so much that i pity u leaving his fold.
i guess u re part of fulfillment of the last days.
proud witness
samlindo
June 4, 2015 at 10:07 am
If you read between the lines, this lady is evil to start with she does not want to dress dicently, not withstanding the fact that in all organisations including Jehovas witness we have bad people and good people, the fact is that there teachings are correct.
harrison sibandika
June 4, 2015 at 12:31 pm
GOd has given us dominion.to all who call upon his name.the dilemma of the girl is a sad sagga.anyway its wickedness in the land GOD shall surely punish this hearthen generation.watchout my sister from these wolves in the sheepskin.