I'm an honest seeker of truth - a straight-shooter that enjoys discoverring the bottom-line, heart of the matter.

I'm NOT a Jehovah's Witness or an "ex-JW".

"I try to make a distinction between going to the Bible seeking to prove a point already set in one's mind (eisegesis = reading into the text)...,
& coming to the Bible and allowing it to set the agenda & make the points (exegesis = reading out of the text),
which is more demanding...." (chat site)

Watch Tower PEOPLE: Many people strongly dislike Jehovah's Witnesses because of their behaviour, &/or beliefs (e.g. blood transfusions, Christmas, birthdays, non-JW family relationships, shunning, etc.). A person's belief system strongly affects behaviour. Having the courage of one's convictions, is a positive quality. I acknowledge that it's not easy to be a JW, because Watch Tower (WT) theology demands total acceptance, personal sacrifice, active participation, & instant global conversion for theological corrections. (WT theology is aggressively biased, & fundamentally wrong.)

However, individual JWs are fellow earth-travelers & should be treated with respect & tolerance.

"In most ways Jehovah's Witnesses are like everyone else....
They make mistakes at times, for they are not perfect, inspired, or infallible.
But they try to learn from their experiences and diligently study the Bible to make needed corrections....
In all their activities they seek guidance from God's Word and his holy spirit."
(Jehovah's Witnesses in the 20th Century booklet)

If the above quote is true then JWs should really enjoy the Scriptural focus of this website.

Watch Tower CORPORATION:
In 1872 Charles Taze Russell (Feb 16, 1852 - Oct 31, 1916) founded "The International Bible Student’s Association" in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
In 1878 he organized his followers as an independent church.
In 1879 he co-published "The Herald of the Morning" magazine (founded by N.H. Barbour).
By 1884 Russell controlled & renamed it "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom".

In 1881 Russell founded the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (William H. Conley as president, Russell as secretary-treasurer).
In Dec 1884 it was registered in Pennsylvania (Russell as president).
In 1896 the name was changed to The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
In 1908 Russell purchased the former Henry Ward Beecher home & church (Plymouth Bethel in New York City) & renamed it the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
In 1909 he formed a subsidiary called the People's Pulpit Association.
In 1939 the subsidiary's name was changed to The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Inc.
In 1956 its official name became The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

In 1917 Joseph Franklin Rutherford (Nov 8, 1869 - Jan.8, 1942) succeeded Russell as WT president (in controversy).
At the 1931 Convention, Rutherford's followers were named "Jehovah’s Witnesses", to make a distinction from the independent Bible Students.
In 1942 Nathan Homer Knorr (Apr 23,1905 - June 7, 1977) became the 3rd president.
In 1977 Frederick William Franz (Sept 12, 1893 - Dec 22, 1992) became the 4th president.
In 1992 Milton G. Henschel (Aug 9/20 - Mar 22/03) became the 5th president. In 2000 Don A. Adams (born in 1925) became the 6th WT president.

In 1975, 18 men were appointed to The Governing Body. Some felt that "To question their interpretation was to speak out against Jehovah himself."
In Oct 2000 the ruling Governing Body was stripped of its legal power but not abolished. It now oversees only religious affairs (e.g. Bible doctrine, evangelization, & pastoral care).
Governing Body members (as of May, 2008) = John E. Barr (b.1913, appointed 1977), Samuel F. Herd (1935, 1999), Geoffrey Jackson (?, 2005), Theodore Jaracz (1925, 1974), M. Stephen Lett (1949, 1999), Gerrit Lösch (1941, 1994), Anthony Morris (?, 2005), Guy H. Pierce (1934, 1999), David H. Splane (1944, 1999). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governing_Body_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses for more info.

The WT has an incredibly strong tendency to criticize ALL other groups. For example a search for the word "clergy" on the WT 1997 CD provides the following results: Bible references = ZERO; Insight (Insight on the Scriptures is their Bible Dictionary) = 2; Tracts = 2; Booklets = 8; Brochures = 23; KM's (Kingdom Ministry newsletter) = 29; Books = 539; Yearbooks = 553; Index = 560; Awake (magazine) = 825; WT (Watch Tower magazine) = 2560. That's an obsessive # of references for a non-biblical term. The 5,101 references do not present the "clergy" in a positive light. For example:

"14 The case is similar to that of many of the clergy-and remember, we are speaking about the clergy of all religions. While what they say often sounds impressive, nevertheless, in their lives they do not live up to their own teachings. It is as if they were selling a hair-restoring drug but were bald themselves." (1983 booklet, The Part Religion Has Played, p.13)

"12 The clergy's political meddling, support of wars, and false teachings such as saying that God is responsible for this world's suffering, or that he even burns people in a literal hellfire forever, are repugnant to reasoning persons, and to God. Religious leaders who teach and practice things in opposition to God are called "hypocrites" in God's Word, which also says to them: "You resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men's bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27, 28) In fact, Jesus said of hypocritical religious leaders: "You are from your father the Devil."-John 8:44." (1975 booklet, Is There A God Who Cares?, p.10)

However, the WT (officially) INVITES SCRUTINY of its own theology, as shown in this next section.

Watch Tower THEOLOGY

From my point of view, a good way to approach ANY theology is to ask: "What is the view?" & "What is the BASIS for the view?"

From the WT's point of view, they claim:

"It is of vital importance to them that their beliefs be based on the Bible and not on mere human speculations or religious creeds. They feel as did the apostle Paul when he expressed himself under inspiration: "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." (Romans 3:4, New World Translation) When it comes to teachings offered as Biblical truth, they strongly endorse the course followed by the Beroeans when they heard the apostle Paul preach: "They received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11)

"Jehovah's Witnesses believe that ALL religious teachings should be subjected to this TEST of AGREEMENT with the Scriptures, whether the teaching is offered by them or by someone else. They INVITE you - urge you - to do this in your discussions with them."
(Jehovah's Witnesses in the 20th Century booklet)

INVITATION accepted.

So, is WT theology correct? "What does the Divine Pronouncement say?" (Rom.11:4)

My favourite WT quote is the following admission.

"IT IS TRUE that Jesus spoke of the holy spirit as a
"helper" & spoke of such helper as 'teaching,' 'bearing witness,' 'giving evidence,' 'guiding,' 'speaking,' 'hearing,' & 'receiving.'
In so doing, the original Greek shows Jesus at times applying the personal pronoun "HE" to that "helper" (paraclete)."
(Insight, Vol.2, p.1019)