Why I Began to Question My Faith
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- In this video I talk about why I began to question the faith I was raised in.
I talk about the lack of Holy Spirit in the Elders, the topic of Beards, rampant "wrongdoing" and a lack of happiness among Jehovah's Witnesses.
Bro, my wife passed away in July 2023. Her memorial was at the kingdom hall in August. I gave to the brothers a collage of pictures and videos of my wife with the family to be displayed during the talk... Guess what??? Because I had facial hair every single picture or video that I was in was removed. They body of elders took the decision without even telling me or asking. I was furious and devastated when I sat there looking at the monitors and I wasn't anywhere to be found with my wife and kids. Months later the beard rule changed and one of the brothers confessed to me that they removed those pictures because they thought it wasnt a good testimony. That was the last straw for me. They hurt me in the darkest hour of my life without any compassion.
I am so sorry you had to go thru that. That’s absolutely heartbreaking and I hope you’re healing as best you can from that my friend.
I had a similar experience when my mother died, in that her own brothers that are elders argued up until the start of the memorial service for her about which one of them would give the talk, a talk that in the end was lacking any personal details about my mother, only empty words about that stupid organization. I can’t stand to hear either of their names to this day and am proudly no part of that organization for 3 years now.
As I mentioned, I hope you are healing from that loss my friend. Take care
I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. And it absolutely makes my blood boil.
@@96t5wagon thank you for your words. It definitely has been like a heavy weight got off my shoulders to stop congregating and not deal anymore with
undesirable people
Good god smh 😢
Oh I’m sorry! That’s horribly loving of them! Ugh!
We had a 5 year old accidentally killed in our Hall. When I was holding his father crying in my arms broke me. Just a couple weeks before we heard at an assembly how a Pioneer got a $150 part for his car so he could continue to Pioneer, a blessing from Jehovah. That started me down the rabbit hole, questioning everything.
They don't love there kids he probably cried from the shock or because Jahovah lost a future slave
@@pattynellis7347 ‘They don’t love there (sic) kids’. Congratulations on posting the single most unkind, untrue and useless comment I think I have ever seen.
@formerjw3874 I was raised in it I know
I am so saddened to hear that a child was killed.
God bless you though on your journey to truth.
Jesus is the way, the Truth and the Life.
That was cruel ...Jesus said that even the wicked love their children .....if I lose my compassion by leaving Watchtower ....I'm a bigger fool in Gods eyes .....😢
Glad I left this organization. Every hall I went to I received envy, jealously, and competition. It feels so good to be free and I am NOT around people who's behavior is full of hypocrisy!! We are happy Caleb you and your family left as well, we've been enjoying your videos!! Keep up the good work. 🎉😊
Spot on I’ve just left myself the beards was the last straw for me man made rule not Gods
Good to hear🎉
I am thoroughly enjoying your videos! I'm so glad you're here with us! ( I'm a pimo at the moment, and i HATE living this way! )
@@itsjustme6315 I understand how hard it can be truly do you will leave when your ready sending love to you
"tHe gOvErNiNg bOdY hAs dEciDeD."
I’m so glad that woke up so many people!
Yes! Our whole family was miserable. I think that is what finally pushed me to wake up. I couldn't stop thinking, "Serving God shouod not be this miserable." I decided to get a non-JW Bible and just read it. After all, we tell people they can get "the Truth" from any Bible. I began reading without the Watchtower lens. Within hours I was fully awake. Our whole family left. 🎉
YES that was a good one. It’s more like a mantra they are trying to hypnotize us with. “I am happy.” “Jehovah’s happy people.” “The bestlifeever!” So when we start to sense something is wrong we blame our own selves rather than regime we are drowning in.
Did you find the real Jesus? The one who eats with tax collectors and prostitutes? The one who says that those who will be persecuted and peacemakers will see God and be his children. The one who says believe in Me, and you shall be saved and your household. The one who even offered salvation, to a thief on the cross even in his last moments of his life. JWs are a cult and they are sending people to hell with their herecies. Jesus is God. I hope you find Him, if you haven't. God bless 🙏
First, thank you for turning on the comments. I’ve followed your videos on here. I’m an ex elder also. I was so sick of the politics. I hadn’t believed for a long time that elders were appointed by holy spirit. How could this god appoint KGB spies whose sole purpose was to report to the government, as elders in congregations. Also the way elders acted always made me question it. In 2016 that WT about beards was a breath of fresh air but no one took any notice of it. Then Stephen Lett in a broadcast made his views known about beards and that totally destroyed the WT. He hates them and he made it known. So after I stepped off I grew one. As soon as the “gb has decided” I shaved it off. I hate them now. Yes we were following men. All these years. I’ve been a regular and special pioneer and served in other countries. I’ve seen way too much. I was WT study conductor for the generation WT in 95. I struggled. Then David Splane insulted our intelligence in 2015 and that was the beginning of the end for me. After that I struggled. Then in 2022 I was done. I wish you and your family all the best
That’s so funny, because we left in 2017, and my husband grew out his hair and his beard but when “the governing body has decided” he shaved it too! It’s such an obvious discrepancy that these men are not infallible nor spirit directed, yet their word is law over the Bible. Hello how much more proof of false prophet do you need!?
I’ve never gone along with everything just because the gb said so. I had friends over the years who were literally driven out of the congregations by elders because of having a beard. They were treated horribly. I couldn’t in good conscience agree with everything the gb said. One fellow elder said to me when i disagreed with something, “even when they’re wrong they’re still right”. I replied. “ that maybe so in your world but in mine a lie is a lie and a wrong still wrong”.
Thank you for sharing your experience as one who had in depth knowledge of goings on in that org. We left after 50+ years in , saw and heard a lot during that time we thought we were in the "truth". God bless.
Thank you. You also.
@@Mr.DC3.1914 Jw truth is a delusion but if it makes you happy go for it
Yay the comments are on
Left 2 years ago. Was an elder for 12 years. The 2 bodies i was a part of actually got along quite well. Its probably more an issue of personalites getting along, not holy spirit. But definitely no holy spirit in decisions. Shortly before I left we were trying to get an MS who was 25 years old appointed an elder. The whole body was 100% in agreement and felt strongly. The co refused because he knew someone appointed at 25 and it didnt turn out well. Then, the next year or so, not the GB says early 20s as an elder is OK. They are literally all over the place.😂
Mine were:
1. The Pharisaical mandates everywhere and those mandates being equated to spirituality levels.
2. Blood doctrine & fractions etc.
3. 144,000 / other sheep
4. Gay people- how they were treated and talked about. No insight into their gut wrenching struggles.
5. Militaristic no holidays participation even though Paul said food sacrificed to idols was no big deal.
I had a major issue with their abhorrence of homosexuality and gender…..believing it is a choice and sinful… and I am heterosexual. It made me sick that they judged so harshly when what happens in our bedroom is private. Two consenting adults…love is love. They broke so many people with this. Young people knowing their speaking about their sexuality meant completely severed from their family….the people who should love their children the most,
I seen families destroyed, especially since early 70's. Young marriages that didn't work put, and married Elders that stole other Brothers wives, even CO'S having sexual affairs with Elder's wives. One CO who deliberately took and Elders wife in a plan to be disfellowshiped then divorce his wife while the Elder's wife divorced the Elder, then the CO marries the Elders Xwife, eventually they were reinstated, while the CO'S xwife started crying when they were reinstated. Holy spirit? You can trust Elder's? CO'S? Governing Body? The so called Anointed? Over the years my trust for any of them deminished. Even the Elder who studied with me, his daughter disfellowshiped at 16, taken into Foster Care, removed from that family by Child Protective Services, I learned was sexualy molested by her own Father, or an Elder in that Congregation. And it just goes on and on. The whole organisation is a mess of secrecy!
Coming home from assembly with a car group I asked, why do they say past truths when changing it to a "new truth". Why not just say "past mistakes",and now we believe differently? The car got quiet as if I committed a crime. That is when I realized we were all brain washed and started to wake up and question everything. Past truths would remain true always. Not change like the wind direction. Truth is truth,it never changes. Thank you God for waking me up and calling me out of this false religion.
The word salad always going on made my brain mush. Then after starting to ask questions I realized that a startling amount of people had no clue what had or hadn’t been said by the org, or exactly what they believed let alone how to explain very important held teachings, the revised teachings so much of the time made things even worse in many ways for many reasons. So much chaos for a group claiming to be organized.
Exactly 💯 Their dedication to the organization is no longer based on accurate knowledge but on pure emotion. They feel comfortable in the delusion that it's still "the truth," "Jehovah's organization" and the "GB loves them very much."🙄
So true! I started asking my (elder) husband questions about doctrine and he didn't even know what we believed! It was so frustrating.
I love this video I can identify with everything he’s saying, i don’t need permission from a small group of men. It’s sad how this group controls millions of people, it’s easy for them to say don’t be materialistic,! Because they have everything, they don’t know reality and life struggles
All the best to you, I wish I Had the nerve to make videos like this. Until I do, I'll just support yours :)
@Caleb Lipnicki, your experience with regard to beards reminds me of the conversation with my father which helped in my awakening. My father and I once discussed whether the number 144,000 was literal or symbolic. My father asked if I understood the number to be literal, and I said yes. He asked why I believed so, and when I had difficulty answering, he bluntly said, "You believe that number to be literal because Watchtower tells you that it is literal." I don't believe my father realized what a can of worms he had opened in my mind. From that time forward, I began questioning everything I had been taught by Watchtower. Looking back, I now realize that nothing Watchtower teaches is accurate or true. The JW belief system is a house of cards. When one card falls the entire structure eventually collapses. But for each JW, it's a different card which falls first.
What i find weird about the beard situation is that no one seemed to question it. You would think a lot would leave the organization, but nope the brothers just went “yay we can have beards now!” And grew them out without giving these new rules any thought
I am finding a lot did leave from it
A blessing from Jehovah. That's the way they view it and to question anything in JW world is a serious sin that's why they don't question it sadly.
Then you could lose your family and position in the JW world EGO is very important to many of these men because they have a overestimated opinion of themselves.
Although the are some genuine people who sadly are misled.
It has been reported that some elder bodies still do not permit servants and elders to wear beards. The Branch permits elder bodies to reject GB directives and apply different standards when it is not a doctrinal issue.
I couldn't believe the beard change didn't make my husband question anything!
@@heathergriggs4463 Have you checked his pulse
Hey, great material. I left the organization in 2022 due to doctrinal reasons, but back then I didn't realize how many skeletons they had in the closet. It's good when former elder record such materials because people leaving this sect (ok, I) have the worst opinion of them as a henchmen of the frauds. Greetings from Poland :)
This explained it all for me.
“People who believe false things can’t be around honest people. If you believe things that are false, you can’t have freethinking people who are skeptical and curious and who care about you enough to tell you the truth and free you from the foggy, narcissistic death grip of error and falsehood and delusion. Who is content to let you live in a delusion?? …..People who share those delusions and who don’t care about you.
Delusion, fantasy, falsehoods and propaganda are solitary confinement. The reason propaganda is so dangerous is because it isolates people. And through isolation people go crazy. If you are isolated and you know it you experience a peculiar type of agony that will motivate you to do whatever it takes to get contact with people. If you are isolated and you don’t know it because you’re only surrounded by people who share your same delusions (cults) …..you are isolated because the only thing you have in common with the people around you is shared delusion. Collective madness is not emotional intimacy.
The isolation that separates us from each other when we get wrapped in falsehoods is the worst thing of all because it is without obvious symptom…. Yes, you become unstable, defensive, inoculated against any truth teller and will attack anybody that tells the truth in your environment, but you can’t love, you can’t be loved, you can’t relax. You are always on guard for whatever might puncture your delusions which provokes rage which drives good people away and anybody might rescue you from delusion will be driven away and you are left alone in the foggy devil ribbed cage bosom of falsehood…
That which is not real, that which is not true, that which is not proven, that which is the opposite of truth. You are full of peculiar hatreds, instability, vanity… because anybody who just repeats lies and only listens to lies is vain because they won’t submit themselves to reason and evidence. So, the vanity, the narcissism, the isolation the peculiar hatreds…. to be falling without even knowing that you’re falling, to be ill with no symptoms….. is the most dangerous thing of all. And to be lonely in a crowd of thousands of people cheering all the same falsehoods, to be certain, pompous, to be vain, to be full of rage at anybody who threatens these delusions…. to be told that the pursuit of truth is the acceptance of evil… to be isolated and thereby easily manipulated.
People who pursue delusion and end up wrapped in delusion are saying… I can’t be loved, all I can do is pretend to merge. I can’t be loved for who I am so I will hide in a room full of photocopied people with photocopied opinions and pretend that I’m part of something. I will dissolve my individuality, I will shred and eviscerate any original thought I might possibly have, any curiosity, any skepticism I might possibly have so that I can dissolve into the nothing of the photocopies around me. I can’t have love, but I can self abase and self erase into proximity. I can nod, smile, agree, and praise who everyone praises and hate who everyone hates… I can be a shadow cast by the tombstone of my mind. I can’t exist, I can’t excite, I can’t be unique, but I can blend. I can submit I can conform and then I will have physical proximity combined with unbelievable isolation. I can’t approach the truth so I will just burrow into empty people.
We can only ever meet in reality itself. We cannot meet in fantasy we cannot meet in lies we cannot meet in propaganda. We can only meet in the truth. When you are with the truth, you can do without people because you are with yourself and with the facts and reality. When you don’t have the truth you have a bottomless desperate need for people that you could never connect with. If all you have in common with others, with those around you is a mutual agreement to slash your mind into ribbons and accept whatever lies come rolling down the conveyor belt, you’re not with anyone, and you will never feel loved. The price of conformity is the absence of love. The price of conformity is terror of solitude.
Truth tellers can handle the journey from the town of the dead to the outposts of the living and the thinking. It’s a long journey across that desert. The ghosts can’t make it. You can’t love a character in a video game because they are programmed. You can’t love people who don’t think for themselves because there is no one to love, thought is the only individuating characteristic that we have. The only thing that we have that is uniquely our own is our capacity to think for ourselves, and that is the only passageway through which the light of love can reach. They suffer in the worst possible way which is to not even know what they are missing… Avoid it if you can at all possible costs.”
That was Awesomely explained ❤
@@catrionamcgee8685 credit to Stefan Molyneux
That is deep.
Hi Caleb.
Its really great that you are doing this.
I believe there are many witnesses questioning things right now and I believe God is going to expose the falsehood of this organization and he is using you to help.
I was a JW until 21 years of age, and i didnt realize how much of a trauma it caused me my whole life.
I am 40 now and recently found Jesus and he is my Lord and Savior.
I pray everyday for my mother in law who is still in.
God bless you, from a fellow Calgarian.
Caleb,
Thank you for sharing your journey! You and your wife are full of courage. You can trust God to guide you as you seek truth.
It’s not encouraging to tell someone who just got out of a cult that the god who trapped them there in the first place is going to now help them find the actual truth. There is no version of god that doesn’t require lies to make real. Don’t you think he is sick of being lied to? The dude already tried the have faith and trusting in god method.
@@Dogpool How exactly do you know what he believes now?
In this video he didn't say anything that really suggested that he lost faith in God completely, just that he left JW. He even used biblical scripture in order to argue his points against the organisation, and was careful to talk about the organisation (and the people involved) specifically.
Now maybe it is the case that he doesn't believe now, maybe he still does, but it seems strange to infer that, at least just from this video that I watched.
@@Kelsper yeah your right. I guess what It did was trigger me. “You can trust god to guide you” is this lady’s advice. Incredibly bad advice.
@@Dogpool
No, those in cult of Watchtower follow the god created by Watchtower, not the God found in scripture.
@@mattmurdock2868 right , the other imaginary made up version of god handed down to us by people with Holy Spirit and personal visions. One of those is the real god of the Bible. Everyone says they got the real good and the others don’t. And they all have exactly the same amount of proof and use the same methods as the jw does.
In 2018 I got pulled to the back room because I had a 5 o’clock shadow due to the fact that my facial hair grew very quickly and I would get razor burn very badly. Did they care? No, they did not.
I know someone who was not allowed to get baptized until he shaved his beard. I was one of the few who would meet up at the KH to go on the ministry weekdays at 6 PM, after work. Sometimes I would have a 5 o'clock shadow and you can bet your ass I would hear comments about it, even though the people making the comments knew I didn't have a car and got there directly from work.
I spoke about this same subject years ago the Bible did not condem beards.
And certain friends so to speak started to shun me. I agree with you totally on these issues.
So happy to hear of an entire family being able to leave together! I woke up and was pushed to disassociation just over a year ago, still hoping my husband gets out. In the meantime, we are both teaching our kids our separate views.
I am so glad you turned on comments. Having an Elder out is a big help to waking up process for many to come and the work you’re doing will send ripples through the regime in ways you can’t even imagine. Keep up the good work as long as you feel motivated to. It is good therapy to put the information out there and sort out your own way of thinking at the same time. Eventually you can move on but for now thank you for making these videos and sharing them. You’re doing great. JWs have no idea they are raising and training their own downfall educating people on how to present and sell information in such a compelling way. We were born and bred to teach the truth and goddamn if we haven’t! 💪🏼
You would be shocked at how many of us have our own copies of the Shepherd book. It's been downloadable in PDF forever. 🤫
So glad you finally turned the comments ON. 😃
Thank you SO much for sharing what you have gone through! I really appreciate your perspective.
I was born and raised Jehovah’s Witness , and on Aug 12th, 2021, I prayed to Jehovah letting him know how much this religion has hurt my heart. Since I was born I’ve been told that God was going to destroy all who were not witnesses. I couldn’t do it anymore I prayed to God letting him know all the damage this religion has done in my life....I told God that all I wanted was his love not paradise especially knowing all the non-witnesses that I loved were dead and I would gladly give my life in exchange for my children that are not witnesses. I told him I could no longer assist meetings because this religion is making me think badly of him. I remember yelling in my head how I couldn’t understand how a loving God could do this knowing our imperfections...I was sobbing, overwhelmed with grief when all of a sudden I had a thought of : I would never hurt anyone. I felt it down to my bones, I instantly calmed down and felt at peace. That night as I was laying down, my whole body started with intense waves of vibration, I started to sit up and it kept going, then I just had this knowing not be afraid and I just relaxed and immediately I started seeing all these lights and I was in a tunnel of light. I kept thinking if my husband turned around I was going to be sparkling! Then I was inside of this most amazing light that was filling me with so much love, fractals of light were coming towards me and all I could hear was I love you, you are loved over and over again. I felt all the pain and hate and hurt melt from my core, I was just floating there in unimaginable love and bliss, I thought of my kids and then it just melted away and I was sitting in bed. I was drunk with Gods love for 2 weeks, I was healed from a full body skin illness I had been suffering for 3 years. I haven’t been back to any meetings since. Haven’t spoken to any elders about what happened just my mom and husband her reaction was not surprising, immediately told me to talk to an elder. I know they will say it was demonic, but how can a love so complete not be from something so pure? Because of this experience, I started researching and was blown away by THOUSANDS of accounts of others who have had this out of body experience called NDE or STE, I’m telling you it’s mind blowing how death has been held over us. Everyone says the same thing: God is not Judging us WE are!!! I still pray and feel Gods Holy Spirit with me something I had never felt in the Kingdom Hall! I just want others to know that God is not in the religious buildings/kingdom hall he is in our hearts everywhere we go, always. He does not give us the spirit of fear, anything in the Bible that causes fear is a misinterpretation. Jesus came to free us from the lies and it’s happening again, we are the new scrolls...the countless witnesses of how religions are a snare! Jesus said it was done! He didn’t say now we have to follow another religions rules to inherit the kingdom! My Father and I share the same will that ALL WILL BE SAVED!
@@I_Am_because_God_Is wow….that was intense.
Just a quick note. I was raised a JW since 4 years old. I vaguely remember celebrating Christmas.
5 children later and a position and as elder at 50 years of age I simply gave up coping with the hypocrisy of the beliefs. What a relief to finally convince myself to quietly leave with all my children and a wife who followed several months later.
Much later having retired and having plenty of time to research my curiosities it became more and more evident the “TRUTH” was mostly non-scriptural teachings of man….much like the Pharisees of Jesus day. Rules, orders, commands…call it what you want…they were all coming from the WatchTower governing body and EVERYTHING we “studied”…actually indoctrinated with…you had to repeat the answers in the publication you were “studying” ( being forced to accept as gospel) and was not the Bible but the interpretation of those men.
Proof in point:
Armageddon:
After praying quietly outside one beautiful day I was …like you…full of awe and wonder at what was the meaning of everything I asked questions from my heart about Armageddon, the eighth king of Revelation, the beasts of Revelation, the last days etc.
Then I read Revelation 20 followed by Matt 24 then Ezekiel 38 then Revelation 7 and Danial 2. I’ve read them so many times before over my 70 plus years but this time I saw it.
Armageddon, the great tribulation, the destruction of the evil won’t happen until AFTER CHRISTS MILLENNIUM.
Read Revelation 20 again. There is no mention of a Great War. No mention of dead people (our friends and families) lying on the surface as bird food.
There is an event that is completely invisible to humans mentioned but the effect of its happening will be astronomical to humans.
REVELATION 20 HASN’T HAPPENED YET.
Do you know what that means? Think about it.
We are sitting on the doorstep of the 1000 year reign of Christ. It’s going to happen very very soon given that we are now 6000 years into the seventh creative day. There is only 1000 years left before Christ hands the kingdom back to his father and it will be a perfect kingdom….after he separates the sheep from the goats and destroys Satan and his followers at ARMAGEDDON.
This thousand year reign will be wonderful. We will all get young and healthy. The dead will be resurrected (billions of loved ones).
Just before Satan is released at the end of the 1000 years there will be tens of billions of people living in peace and security. Without locks on their doors and not even one weapon of war anywhere in the world. After all, in Christs kingdom rule what else could we expect other than peace and justice. Those who are not marked by the beast and are saved will be BILLIONS. Truly a GREAT MULTITUDE! that no man can count.
Now read Ezekiel 38 knowing what I’ve just described. It’s all there.
I’m so glad for you. Thank you for posting.
Yr so right in everything yr saying... I was DF'd in Feb 2003 but, still believed it was "The Truth". In 2016, is when I found out about the A R.C. - after researching that, I really didn't rue research on the Watchtower and found so many lies and much hypocrisy. I couldn't go back if someone paid me.
Keep those vids coming yr opening people's eyes bruh.
I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Following a group of men, the governing body, who constantly contradict their stances on subjects like beards. They are disallowed and then suddenly they are allowed. Your logic on all the topics you discussed were so simple and incredibly accurate. As you stated no where in scripture are beards not allowed.
@caleblipnicki2822 So glad you woke up! We are all here to support you. I know your sister personally, and it would be awesome if she woke up too, but from what you said in the video and from my experience of being in her Cong for years in the past, I can tell you that she’s pretty indoctrinated. The way I’ve had the elders deal with things has been outright. Shocking it’s pretty clear. There is absolutely no holy spirit in this organization.
I would also suggest doing research on the origin of Yahweh, how it actually was a Canaanite deity Worshipped along side Baal And under the supreme God EL. The God we call Jehovah if you research it is actually just a Mesopotamian storm God that got borrowed into the Judaic religion. The Ugaritic text was written 1000 years prior to the very first Hebrew wherever written, and many of the conquest and stories of Baal Later show up in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, even in the Bible, God says that people confused him with Baal.
Hii love your channel such good information thank you !!!so happy you got out wishing you and your family lots of happiness in your future❤so glad you turned on the comment section now …..
I’m so happy you are your family are free! Trust me I know how hard it is breaking away and losing so many loved ones. As an ex MS I understood every word you said!!
I’ve never been a JW but God through His Holy Spirit has provisioned me to reach out to the JW’s in my town in the UK and declare the good news that we can all have the love of the living Lord Jesus in our lives; a personal relationship with God without the need for an organisation. Caleb, I listen to your videos with great interest and I’m glad you have enabled comments on this one!
This is exactly my experience. I was concerned and started researching after multiple people I knew killed themselves because of suicides. Hopefully they become better.
Hey, any reason other videos have comments disabled? Did you accidentally upload it as "suitable for children" which auto disables comments?
Congratulations to both of you for your bravery. Thanks for sharing. Welcome to the awakening. Greetings. Muchas gracias.
Great channel bro. I was born into the religion. Left over two decades ago. It's a very freeing experience. Like an enormous weight removed. All of my immediate family are still devout followers. I had to literally move to another state to really deprogram myself and get away. A book that ANY JW should read who is questioning whether they want to remain a member is "Crisis of Conscience" by Raymond Franz. Eye opening. I read that in my 20s, which led to just learning about the trappings of all religion.
Thank for being so clear about what bothers you. That’s exactly how I’m feeling fun fact only since my baptism which was years ago now.
Since I question myself with the light of the Bible and stop attending for a moment now I feel better
Thank you for your encouraging email, brother. ♥
Isn’t it crazy full grown men being told the gb has decided you can have beards 🤯incredible 🤦♀️I struggled to understand why would God choose a bunch of drunks to shepherd the flock some had mental issues some were pervs control freaks arrogant I could go on . Great video ❤
Caleb…..What do you think of calling your father by his name when speaking to him?
Jesus taught us to use the endearing term “father”.
It was the JF Rutherford who introduced Jehovah as the new name for their publishing group.
Now the witnesses are quite comfortable calling on “JEHOVAH” and not their heavenly “father” using it over and over again in the prayer like something of a magical key opening the way to be on speaking terms with God.
Just a thought.
I had a lot of issue with JW, was born in....i couldn't let go of the idea that this wasn't God's thing despite everything staring me in the face. Then suddenly 1 John 5:1 jumped out like fireworks! EVERYONE that believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God. I met with my elders this weekend and next week they are supposed to tell me how it is that they believe Jesus is the Christ and yet still reject they are born of God. Unless we partake in the covenant we have "no life" in us. How did I miss these scriptures all these years? As much as I openly accepted they were wrong about, how did these simple words get past me? I hate it! hahaha, ahhh, laugh to keep from screaming... ALMOST OUT!!!!
Keep going, don't be decieved.
Continue to read the Bible without watchtower, GB commentary.
And get a different Bible. JW has messed around with too much in theirs to suit their agenda.
JW cherry picks scriptures.
Read the bible for yourself!
@kendallbartsch8181 very true the watchtower teaches alot of false doctrines but I'll give credit where credit is due and the pre 2013 NWT is a morally superior bible put of all translations I read not perfect and has things that fit there agenda but over all better then others
Are you aware that the NWT is based on translation manuscripts sold to the Watchtower Corp. in the early 1960’s by a known spiritist, Johannes Greber? This man openly admitted he often spoke with spirit “entities”. His wife was also a well known spirit medium. Watchtower officials were well aware of all this at the time they purchased Greber’s manuscripts.
Their main reason/excuse was they liked the way he translated John 1:1. But it seems the scriptures that condemn spiritism were of no value: 1 Corinthians 10:20,21, Deuteronomy 18: 11-13, Galatians 5: 19-2.
Hey Caleb. I’m really enjoying your videos. You’re fresh to leaving (meaning recent), and that’s a nice perspective for me; I was an elder, began questioning the religion, and then made the decision to leave over 25 yrs ago. Thankfully everyone in my immediate family, extended family, and some friends gradually saw the light, woke up, and made it free from the cult. I feel sorry for friends still in it, who have not yet awaken. They all will, one way or another; they’ll either awake from it or die in it - no one escapes growing old and dying - despite what the Jay-Dubs have taught.
❤thank you so much Caleb this senior who left 2020 at 80 yrs old born in enjoying your experience plus comments underneath. It was wrong teachings drew me away . Now I have looked behind the curtain and so much not in harmony with GOD'S way . I still have my faith and have joined a group off ladies who do a course KNOW YOUR BIBLE just finished 8 chapters off ROMANS. So excellent. . Many many blessings to you and your family. ❤🙏🙏🙏🌹
I love how you point out using the Bible as a post hoc rationalization for conclusions already reached.
You start realizing that there are about 10 scriptures used to back up every decision. 1 Cor 15:33, Heb 10:24, 25, Prov 27:12, all of Matthew 6 (really from chapter 4 to the end of the sermon on the mount). If you memorized a few scriptures, you could use them in any conversation, regarding any topic, and the publications did exactly the same thing.
Thank you Caleb ❤🎉 love watching your vids 👌🏽 watching from the Philippines 🇵🇭🥂
Love the comments being on! We are with you. Thanks for posting your stuff. It’s really valuable to share this sort of thing. I was starved of people’s story on the inside. You can’t talk about it because it’s way too risky. I recommend the RUclips channel surviving paradise to listen to. It’s valuable to continue this deconstruction in order not to get pulled back in. It takes quite some time to restructure your broken critical thinking skills.
Amen
Your videos are excellent. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to the next one.
I was devastated for a while, my father passed away thinking that he would get a resurrection ONLY to find out a week later that I was raised in a cult and it all was just lies... The constant guilt, and the fear of Armageddon coming and that I am not good enough and not baptised was just enough. Here is the question to every X JW... What do we believe in now since we have been lied to for so long?
Start to enjoy your life now
From reading all of the NT, Jesus points out that blasphemy against the Holy spirit is unforgivable. You can't deny the divine miracles others experience or claim you have Heavenly guidance that you never received. The Watchtower organization does both. Even as a kid I noticed all the disciples had beards but the good standing witness wasn't allowed to. Their restrictions were based on respectable 1950-60's business culture rather than biblical teachings.
I also wonder, how the heck do JWs explain to "worldly" people who question the sudden beards appearing on their faces. Fortunately i woke up right before all these ridiculous changes
" Best life ever" that is the slogan that started circulating in the organization especially when the broadcasting started. I never connected with that slogan and it didn't feel like the best life ever. On the contrary, I felt trapped, depressed, exhausted, so unhappy and unfulfilled. But then again it's that conditioning to believe everything that you are told from the org despite how you feel and you are trained to ignore your actual feelings and disregard yourself all for the watchtower agenda
Watching these videos I am reminded that truth is more of a journey than a destination.
When I first encountered Jehovah’s Witnesses as a young man in the 70’s there was much that I found compelling about their message. A future hope and a welcoming tight knit community were things that I lacked but sorely wanted. As time went on I found much of the reality of being in ‘the truth’ difficult, at times disturbing, and often discouraging.
For me, and obviously for Caleb and his wife, it became a question of what price I was willing to pay for the freedom to continue my search for truth.
Witnesses no doubt refer to me as having ‘left the truth’ when in reality I, like so many others, at great cost freed myself up to continue pursuing it w/o having to rely on the ‘new light’ provided by institutionalized old men who probably have to spend more time trying to solve money problems than Spiritual mysteries and are as clueless as the rest of us. Men who likely cannot fathom the liberation that comes from climbing back on the bus and seeing what’s out there.
Nice comment! My son's user name on the exjw subreddit group is "freed_by_truth."
Religion is a weapon in the wrong hands!
Be strong
11:45 mark:
The reason the brothers had a problem w/ beards IS b/c The Organization had a problem w/ beards.
I believe it was a 2016 Broadcast b/c Stephen Lett gave a talk about how free will can stumble ur brothers, & one of the illustrations he used was to drive home this point was growing a beard, how that can stumble ur brothers, & how unloving it would be.
Also, whenever someone was depicted as worldly, they had a beard, & if they started studying and come to know the ways of Jehovah, they became clean shaven. Anytime a dress or grooming illustration was used by The Organization, it was always a clean shaven brother.
There’s many articles highlighting why we didn’t wear beards, so we wouldn’t be confused w/ the world. In 2016, they then used this escape clause of “where it’s appropriate”, & that was truly meant for brothers in countries where being clean shaven was frowned upon. (Talked to someone in the writing dept about this).
So in fairness, although it wasn’t biblical, it was organizational, & even if u disagreed (like me), u just fell in line to keep “harmony.”
Since I've left Jehovah I've been having a devil of a time with Satan and loving it ❤❤❤
Thank you. That beard and pants *permission* thing was utterly ridiculous.
Good videos, thank you brother! 😊👍
Thanks for the video. Yes, having the comments turned on certainly validates your stance a lot more and also gives people a chance to express their thoughts regarding your decision, which is a decision you have decided to make public.
I wonder if you will stop believing in the Bible and in God, Jehovah. It's actually none of my business and is a personal choice. However, I noticed recently, esp in the past 8 years or so, many who are leaving the org point to the GB or other elders or just other witnesses around them as being why they "woke up".
I will state right away, I am PIMQ. I don't want to keep you guessing. That being said, I see and agree with everything you are stating. And yes, it certainly has a waking feeling when you see things like this. I sometimes wonder though, when Jesus came to earth and started his ministry, the people who were representing the "organization" at that time were literally the Sadducees and Pharisees. Jesus also talked very much about how they were NOT following the things they should have been doing to express the love of Jehovah. Sometimes I wonder, have the GB today become essentially just like the Sadducees and Pharisees? If so, then what?
I actually feel for people leaving the org these days. I just do. I actually at times don't blame them for leaving.
❤
Glad the comments are turn on for this one. I've been out for about 5 years (married sister here) You are super relatable and 'safe' enough for me to share with my husband (pomi) Thank you
This some of the issues we had with the loco elders 😮. The beard was personal ! They would said that my son in law wasn’t a spiritual man, Because he wore a beard!
Thanks for this interisting reflessions
Using the elders manual is a sign that isn't a Christian religion
It's just another part of Babylon the great
I love seeing all these comments by so many former elders like myself... Damn we all have basically seen the same foolishness with the pharisaic attitudes and High Control.. for me the controlling people even after covid and the zoom era really made me uncomfortable and frustrated
The beard issue was indeed a wake-up call for many and it’s easy to see why. How can a group of men supposedly serving as the mouthpiece for God not get a thing as simple as whether or not wearing beards should even be an issue for so so many years? I mean seriously.
If they couldn’t seem to get that right then why should anyone trust them with understanding much larger issues, one being, saving one’s own life with a blood transfusion?
Really enjoying your videos Caleb!
There is an “evil slave” in charge. (Matt 24:48-51) He “beats the other slaves” and gets some to follow. (Luke 12:45-48) Upon seeIng this, Jesus orders us to leave and head for the mountains. (Matt 24:15) He says “let the reader use discernment” not listen to a “faithful slave.” Jehovah’s brilliant prophesy only gives us more reason to believe and trust in him.
I'm ex JW of 30+ yrs.
I had so much cognitive dissonance when in and when my wife at the time drifted away, I also started to drift too.
The best thing that happened to me! 🎉
Away from the constant programming I was able to (with very heavy feelings of guilt) look at you tube posts and the internet and found others feeling the very same with the same thoughts and questions.
Why no beards, why wedding rings ok even tho they are of pagan origin.
My mind was blown when I heard about Beth Sarim! 😂
Oh and the CTR pyramid grave marker! 😂
Also I had been involved in a well known American MLM marketing scheme with my ex wife and their structure felt very very similar to JW.
I came to see both were marketing a dream, one a financial freedom dream the other an eternal life dream, that's the hook and omce bated and taken it's very difficult to get off!
Thankfully I woke up, took a while, I'm still the same person but my own person.
The only issue is that I faded as I have friends and family still in this cult.
🎉
Beards were given the go-ahead for what appears to be one simple reason...Mark Sanderson wanted one. A brand new GB member jumps in Anthony Morris' chair while it's still warm and within a year the rule changed and he's bearded. Seems like a slam dunk.
Speaking of Morris, I'd love to hear what JWs have been told about his sudden vanishing and a cryptic announcement on the website that is now removed. We know some things, as facts, but I'd love to hear what active JWs have been allowed to hear from the society.
Beards were allowed after the Watchtower lost the legal case in Spain, where a judge agreed they were a high-control cult.
In court, beards, pants, having to inform preaching hours, and the suits and ties were used against the Watchtower.
Other European Governments immediately started looking into this. The Watchtower had no choice but to start making changes.
the governing body is our god
The Watchtower, Governing Body, and Elders do a great job getting people out of the organization with no help from the "apostates."
They lack humility.
An elder told me he was divinely chosen. I wondered why he didnt know that one of the elders on the JC was slandering me. I knew based on the way I was handled and the fact that one elder breached the JC that these elders were not being directed by anything.
So were the pedo elders. Like from Pennsylvania 14
Please DONT question your faith but please question your religion. I learned some years ago while getting help with my sons addition issues (BTW-still havent had any "place of concealment" opportunities from local elders so now I dont expect any) the difference between spirituality and religion. I spent decades totally committed to JW religion then through some of this work about addition, learned the difference. Work to become a spiritual man with a spiritual family, perhaps not committed to a high control religion like JWs. For me there is so little inner satisfaction to the religion part that was in my life, and since dedicating myself to my spirituality, I am happier and feel freer to help others without the RULES associated with that as an older man of a religion. The rules of high control surrounding JW-WT, much of it so convaluted from Bible principles, distract us from being able to share the true love of fellowship that is so necessary as a foundational element of spirituality.
What does"place of concealment" mean?
Sometimes, leaving the religion is only step one. Once you begin to question your born-in belief system, you segue into the bible itself. Was it EVER correct? There is a LOT of information, that I learned from very trustworthy sources, the facts about history, science, the alleged bible writers and even common practices of "bible times".
Personally, it all started when I just started re-reading Genesis 1. After being out for a while, and reading these texts with a clean, propaganda-free mind, it just comes off as nonsense. The creative days are a disaster. Not even remotely possible. From there, The Flood. Then how everything went down in Eden. When you don't have leaders narrating these stories anymore, and you just read the words, it quickly becomes completely unbelievable. It has nothing to do with faith or holy spirit, it has to do with simply read a book. It will expose itself in black and white.
@@Mr.DC3.1914 Copy and paste your last #4 talk, much? The problem here is that you keep going on with bible texts and that just isn't a solid source. You're definitely part of a fun book club, and you may have read the assignment, but it's just a man-made book. There is nothing you've said that is verifiable or useful. You see, this Jesus character you're infatuated with made certain promises, according to the story, to the people who were alive when he was, allegedly. He promised some of them that they would never see death, that the new kingdom would arrive in their very own lifetimes. Every. Single. One. DEAD. So, all of this carrying on about status and hierarchy is just white noise.
@@Mr.DC3.1914 Your comments are boring, pasted, and why you browse every non-believer comment section being a troll is kind of pathetic. Literally nobody will read that.
You are suppossed to constantly question your faith ,which is the same as questioning God .....Keep making sure that you are in the faith with fear and trembling ....examine the scriptures dailey to see if these things are so ......Telling Witnessess that they are apostates for questioning IS apostasy 😮
The Holy Spirit-Not Holy Spirit-Jesus said He will teach you-The third person He-a member of the Trinity.
This is what happens when we follow man, instead of God..
Just curious, what do you actually know about this god that you didn't read from a book written by men? Genuinely asking.
@@Eric_01 At 18 yrs of age I had a miraculous encounter with God. I was involved in criminal activity, breaking into houses, shops and so on. I was stealing from one house, when I found a green book with a yellow cross on the front. It fascinated me because it said “Holy Bible” in the front. I browsed through it wondering what it contained. It had many pen-like artist drawing throughout its pages. I stopped at one drawing I liked, that has the verse 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 spelt out. As I read it I feel into a vision-like state, seeing myself naked, sitting clutching my knees, with my head down, in the darkest of wombs. The verses were circling around me, saying each word audibly. I began weeping profusely, seeing how dark my life had become. I then found myself on the floor stomach down awoken by a bright Ray of sun shining on my face. I left that house, taking no goods, a changed person, like I had been thrown out of that dark womb into bright life. I felt so different, changed somehow. I felt at peace & so much lighter. I felt, dare I say, righteous & clean. That night I was with my criminal friends. They were passing around cannabis & whisky. I took a drag of the joint, but it didn’t touch me, actually felt like nothing. I took a sip of whiskey, it tasted like water. I left that house and went home. I managed to find a copy of that book. When I found a copy, I took myself away from the criminal element & read through that book avidly. That was 40 years ago, my friend. Today I’m in Africa, involved in an independent ministry to Africa & Asia. See, the Bible was so much more than a “book wrote by men” in my life, it was, and is, words that came alive and entered into my being, rebirthing me in ways I couldn’t even imagine or understand. When the Bible claims to be inspired by God, where His spirit operates, I am living evidence that this is so. I can only tell you truth, and this is the truth that I testify too in my life..
I know many witnesses that have committed suicide .. sad
A very quiet epidemic. Even one of the leaders of the religion, Stephen Lett, his nephew took his own life due to shunning.
JWs are heartless
The beard thing, we had always been told not to be swayed by worldly views and fashions and yet watchtower used what they deemed as the worlds perception of beards and local fashion of clean shaved is good to influence a non biblical no beards JW law 😂
So nothing to do with the Judge hating CTR's beard when he made a volatile take over of the organisation then 🤔😂😂😂
Luke 11:37,38 Jesus accepted a dinner invitation from a Pharisee. (who were Apostates) If associating with apostates which Jesus did all the time is a sin. Please show us the scripture.
But it does beg the question, why didn’t you question all the other inconsistencies beforehand? What about overlapping generations, unfair disfellowshipping, Christmas, birthdays.
the organizations BS affects us all differently. What really bothers one person won’t necessarily bother another but I’ve come to see that when one thing does move a person to think about the craziness they are then able to see just how ridiculous it all is.
@@96t5wagon which is why don’t think it’s teachings at all. It certainly is part of it but a person just has to be in the right place at the right time to reject everything they were taught. I suppose it’s the stones being thrown into the pond affect, although most ex JWs don’t really seem to know what sparked them into leaving. They know what happened at that moment, but not why at that precise time did it move them to take drastic action.
You follow/listen to men if you belong to any denomination/religion/cult! Be yourself not a clone or a puppet on a string.
Find it interesting it does not seem to be the "mistruths" they teach as doctrinal truths, that caused you to leave, rather behaviors of people. Guess both do the damage and one can still escape this org.
Yea I also had expectations from the first video that he was going to go into deep doctrinal & inaccuracies from the Bible that they teach…which thru me off me off to hear personal gripes with people from the hall which eh! Humans have been horrible since the beginning of the time religious & non-religious 🤷♂️ what I care about is false truth being spewed out as unquestionable truths
Jesus is God
You are helping a lot of us thank you, i remember it was 1976 2 JW came to my door it was a first time for me i only wanted a bible it was .090 but to able to have it had to buy the blue book at 0.20 i live in Montreal and the two witness was Warren Shefel and wife Lesley they are now at Canada bethel eventually the doctrine guot me 😅 today i have hate for the watchtower i was born again and found Jesus i am at peace after 35 years
In you're next video tell us about some of the problems people were dealing with. Beards that was a ridiculous issue for years.a day late and a dollar short. In the congregation i was a publisher and was able to see and hear about things because i didn't have any authority. Over 50 years of it.
I am unsure where you are located, but here in Tennessee, USA, our congregation had the CO the week of that Watchtower on beards. The CO made it clear to the elder body during their meeting with him that while the article stated beards were fine where it was locally accepted, that in the US, this was not the case and no brother could be considered exemplary if he had a beard. It was such ridiculous double speak which seems to be par for the JW course.
Soooooooooo many years brothers that had beards were considered spiritually weak and unfit to server in the congregation. You really think gaslighting and shoving the matter under the rug like not a big deal...we never had a problem with it is not going to wake people up in droves?!?! Boy oh boy they had another thing coming lol. Now they are scrambling. To me the beard was just the cream on top lol! My mind and body was way long gone after the generation died off!
...
I know someone who you knew years ago. You told them they sounded like an apostate. Well let me just say, you sound kind of apostate. 😅
If you are going to continue making videos :
1: put your camera at face level, nothing worse than looking up your nose!
2: sort out the audio, you sound like you are in a public bathroom!
Thanks
12:21 And you can be absolutely sure that if today the GB makes an announcement reversing course, tomorrow they will all be clean shaven.
Everything that the organization represents can be found in its roots. Not the original Bible students that followed Russel but the foundation set down by the second president of the WatchTowerBibleAndTractSociety.
He was a lawyer, Judge and ran as a politician before realizing there was a fortune to be made in publishing with a bunch of weaponized Bible student volunteers to sell his books.
He took complete legal control of the publishing company and gave it the name “Jehovah” as a defining calling card. He was, from what research I’ve done, a narcissistic, alcoholic bully who knew the legal ins and outs of corporate law and was a master at mind manipulation.
Anyone researching him will, I believe, have no choice but to come to the same conclusion.
These are the roots of this organization and the reason for the door to door ministry as well as full time volunteer ministers, time counting and zero tolerance for beards.
Now explain to me how this is something Christ would give his stamp of approval to?
💕