Winning The Witnesses

Since July 1879, the Watchtower organization has made claims with respect to teaching and even prophesied when Jesus would return. And with the passage of time, the Watchtower organization made changes to doctrine and prophecy and faced no consequences. After all, what Witness of Jehovah would dare say anything critical of the organization?

To justify any theological changes, the Watchtower will claim “new light,” and their Witnesses are forbidden to criticize or question the organization even if a prophecy fails to come to pass.

Beginning in 1966, * the Watchtower organization made a prophetic claim that 1975 would be the end. In fact, the Witnesses were encouraged to sell their homes and property in preparation for “the end.” ** Of course, nothing happened - and 1975 quietly passed by. Because of this prophetic failure, the Watchtower (claiming to be God’s spokesperson on earth) would never consider taking blame for any failures, and so the organization blamed its followers: Jehovah’s Witnesses - committed followers who have given their total allegiance to a man-made organization claiming to represent God.

When, for example, a prophecy fails, the organization will always demand allegiance by leading their Witnesses to false conclusions by -

1) not accepting any form or blame in an effort to keep the organization blameless.

2) maintaining its authority and credibility.

This is only a small part of Watchtower history which had far-reaching negative consequences on the JW population. That’s why this ministry exists - to expose and document what the Watchtower has historically stated and what they are doing to defend or deny those issues today.

* Life Everlasting In Freedom of the Sons of God, 1966.

** Kingdom Ministry, May 1974 p. 3

Witnessing “Dont’s”

A circle is defined as a round shape without any given point(s) – it never ends. And such is what happens when a member of Christendom and the Jehovah’s Witnesses engage in discussing their beliefs. The two engage in a discussion each trying to prove their point(s); and the end result – a never-ending circle with nothing being accomplished.

Putting it mildly, if the Christian wants to witness to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in an effort to win an argument or make points, his motives are in the wrong place. Witnessing to the Jehovah’s Witnesses should never be about “winning an argument,” or a “gotcha” moment.

The problem is that the Christian feels that he has to “teach” the Witnesses what he understands what the Bible teaches. Since 1985, I have never helped one of Jehovah’s Witnesses exit the Watchtower by proving anything. It’s futile, and quite frankly, a waste of time. As a Kingdom Publisher, the Jehovah’s Witness at your door is there to teach you! That in itself is barrier number one. The other barrier is the Bible. The Witnesses hold onto the Watchtower’s authority is what’s holding them captive – not what he believes the Bible says. His belief in what the Bible says is by the false interpretations of the Watchtower - which they believe is God’s spokesperson on earth. Suffice it to say, witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses is not a Bible issue; it is an authority issue.

The Witnesses go through hours and hours of indoctrination and training – much more than you think. They are very committed to study and training; and that’s what you as a Christian need to do as well: study and train!

Then, where does your witness start? Your witness starts by avoiding issues that raise barriers, such as –

  • The Trinity

  • Life after death

  • The existence of Hell

  • Birthdays

  • Mother’s Day, Father’s Day

  • Christmas

  • The Flag

  • Patriotism

  • Who Jesus is

  • The Holy Spirit

  • Jesus’ resurrection

  • Blood transfusions

  • The Bible

These issues are points of contention. The first barrier is his unwillingness to hear what you have to say – because he is there to teach you, and not the other way around. The bullet points above are other areas that strengthen the barrier to reject your witness. Your strategy in witnessing is to –

·         Learn/understand why he is at your door

·         Avoid Biblical topics

·         Avoid discussing the above-stated bullet points

·         Looking for the Witness to change the subject when feeling uncomfortable.

Avoiding such discussions reduces any barriers for the start of your witness. In the next blog, we’ll discuss who the Witnesses are so you can get a deeper understanding into their thought process. The more you understand them, the more you’ll see why your witnessing is not getting the results you expect. Remember: The nature of God’s love is first expressed by patience, then kindness. Patience speaks of commitment and devotion. Kindness reduces the distance between people and establishes a connection.

Dual Identities

Military service members have dual identities: for example, who they are when on leave and visiting home. At home, they are a husband/wife, son/daughter, brother/sister, uncle/aunt… Once that unform and rank comes off, then they express themselves much more different than while in uniform at their post. While on leave at home – for a moment – they forget who they are back at their post. We’ll call that the “authentic” identity.

The “soldier” identity is miles apart from who they are at home. On duty, a whole different set of values is expected – rules & regulations and addressing the rank of their superiors. This environment demands that the soldier identity take precedent aside from who they are at home and out of uniform. It is here that the military calls the shots. The service member is powerless to disagree and must obey all orders. Soldiers simply do what they are told to do – no questions asked.

Similarly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have dual identities. Who they were before joining the Watchtower organization, and who they are as Jehovah’s Witnesses whether it be at the Kingdom Hall, or in their Field Service. And unlike the military, Watchtower leadership discourages their Witnesses from having a relationship with non-Witnesses – even if it’s members of their own family. The idea is to create and keep the Witness in a world of single-mindedness instilling an atmosphere of an “us vs. them” culture. By controlling the Witnesses’ behavior and associations, they are kept busy doing “Watchtower-related” stuff. This way, there is no time for anything else except the business of the organization. It keeps the JW mentality active.

A few examples of this:

  • In North Korea, images of Kim Jong Un are everywhere.

  • In Hitler’s Germany, the swastika was everywhere.

This is to remind the populace who is in control by keeping these images in the forefront of everyday life. Psychologically, such strategically-placed images remind people who is in control, what the State has done for them – forming an allegiance to defend the cause. People in such environments will die for the cause – which is the ultimate expression of devotion. And such is the power the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has over their Jehovah’s Witnesses.

When you engage one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in a dialogue, you are dealing with the Watchtower identity, not the “authentic” identity. One of the strategies used in witnessing is to access that authentic identity simply because the authentic identity has been suppressed. It is the authentic identity that your mission is to reach; however, it is the cult identity who rejects your message. Any talk of the Bible or issues mentioned in the previous Blog will switch back on the cult identity and lock you out.

Avoid the cult identity by choosing to first discuss benign issues – such as what they do for fun; hobbies; any travel; places they’ve lived… The idea is to first lower defense mechanisms and develop trust and rapport. Show interest in them as an individual. Thank them for stopping by. Patience and kindness go a long way. They will expect you to engage them in a disagreeable discussion – which means they will not return. Suffice it to say, give them a reason to return by your actions. Then you will be able to plant the seeds in their hearts to question the validity of the Watchtower organization.

What Awaits Prospective

Jehovah’s Witnesses

It is difficult to separate the Watchtower organization from Jehovah. This is done by design to give the Watchtower organization all the authority it needs to govern over its Witnesses. Such authority filters down from the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses to the Elders at the Kingdom Hall. Any one of Jehovah’s Witnesses would never consider criticizing the Watchtower organization – neither would they even consider condemning it. To do so is to criticize and condemn Jehovah Himself. Moreover, the Watchtower organization is said to be Jehovah’s “wifely” organization – mother to Jehovah’s Witnesses. This form of control is to keep the Witnesses obedient. After all, who in their right mind would disrespect their mother?!

The organization will forbid their Witnesses –

·         From questioning the Watchtower’s authority, teachings, new light…

·         From outside influences to keep the organization clean.

·         To allow for critical thinking.

·         From thinking they know more than the organization – to keep the Witnesses from “pride.”

·         From making any life changing/saving decisions by preserving the Witnesses in a child-like manner to instill obedience.

·         To listen to your message.

·         To maintain relationships outside of JW life.

This list does not encompass the full spectrum of JW life; however, one can clearly see that none of these methods of control really has anything to do with theological beliefs. It does, however, have everything to do with keeping the Witnesses in a lock-step form of obedience apart from their authentic identity.

Any religious world view outside of the Watchtower organization is referred to “Satan’s organization.” This is one of the reasons why your message is rejected. No Christian would consider accepting messages that are contrary to their beliefs. The Witnesses will feel that even listening to your message will contaminate them spiritually.

The term “brain washing,” taken from the Chinese phrase Hsi Nao literally means to “wash brain.” Organizations such as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society do not brain wash their followers. Brain Washing includes – food and sleep deprivation, physical torture, or other tactics until a confession is made. No – the form of control the Watchtower uses is much more devious – because the prospective convert is unaware what is happening to their thinking. This is Mind Control – Social Engineering.

The Watchtower does not brain wash people; but what the organization does is to begin the process of indoctrination by using “Bible Studies,” when in fact, the Watchtower literature takes precedent over the scriptures. More Watchtower commentary is made that the actual reading of scripture. The student will soon interpret the world around them through the Watchtower’s lenses. Soon, their world view is no longer their own, but that of the organization’s. Soon, the prospective convert will lose the ability to think for himself. The organization will do the thinking for him. The idea in witnessing to the Jehovah’s Witness is to short-circuit their dependency on the organization as their source of authority.