The writers of the Watchtower magazine have the audacity to group higher education in with detrimental activities such as drug and alcohol abuse. While they don’t overtly state that Jehovah’s Witness youth are forbidden from seeking post-secondary education, they use persuasive metaphors such as the one in this article as a way to discourage the pursuit of education.

In 2009, while the world is celebrating Charles Darwin’s 200th birth anniversary, US scientists have a unique challenge: to convince 60% of their countrymen that God did not create man. It might seem odd that a country, which has won the maximum number of Nobel prizes, sent a man to the moon, and has the best universities in the world, takes the antediluvian creation myth in the book of Genesis literally.

The following is an article by WPTV (May 30, 2009) outlining the Watchtower’s “The End is Near” campaign. Seemingly capitalizing on the current state of the world’s economy, the 2009 convention series looks like it’s targeting folks who are finding themselves down and out, hopeless and in dispair.  With all due respect, I can’t help but read this and feel like the Witnesses are upping their quota of “crazy talk”.  I’m not one to poke fun at the witnesses and in truth I feel compassion and pity for the spokesperson …

What is Shunning?
“Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. It is a sanction against association often associated with religious groups and other tightly-knit organizations and communities. Targets of shunning can include, but are not limited to apostates, whistleblowers, dissidents, people classified as “sinners” or “traitors” and other people who defy or who fail to comply with the standards established by the shunning group(s). Shunning has a long history as a means of organizational

Inside the Watchtower School of Gilead!
by a Jehovah’s Witness Ex-Gilead Missionary
The following video is an extraordinary glimpse into the Watchtower School of Gilead. It features exclusive, inside footage never before seen, which includes video and audio of some members of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The video is commentated by a graduating member of the 115th Gilead class, who highlights the curriculum as well as other key points from his time

The year 1914 and the Watchtower’s doctrine on the “Seven Gentile Times” was the really the first issue

Today I stumbled upon a video series by YouTube publisher WTComments. These two videos feature an interview with Lance Goller, a 2003 graduate of the Watchtower School of Gilead, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ missionary program.
In these videos Lance discusses his experiences at Gilead, his meetings and impressions of the Governing Body as well as questions that he found himself asking about the teachings of the Watchtower. In video one he discusses questions particularly with reference to the year 1919 and its significance in granting authority to the Governing Body.
In the second …

A Study of Comparative Religions…
This week I was approached by an anthropologist who is doing a study of comparative religions. The study is specifically focusing on religions founded in the United States and on a broader scale - the New World. The intent is to take an in-depth look at three prominent religions founded recently in the New World: Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The goal is to discover the principle cultural motives that people have for affiliating with these organizations.
I was asked to participate in this study and …

Download audio podcast (right click + save target as): PODCAST
Listen to the audio version: [audio http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1423791_6ykdp/move_on.mp3]
Just Move On Already!
…I often hear comments like this. “You should just move on and let the past be the past.” I have to agree that in many cases that is often the very best advice. So why is it that former Jehovah’s Witnesses have such a difficult time moving on with their lives? Why can they never seem to completely let go, even years or decades after they have left the Watchtower …

Recently I’ve been posting some videos on YouTube which have received their fair share of criticism from current Jehovah’s Witnesses and Witness defenders. Needless to say it has seemed like a futile debate back and forth with no real winners. Then something interesting happened. I received an email from one such person. This individual turned out to be an active witness, in fact, he is an elder in his congregation.
I began by expressing that I was very much like him at one time too. I was a pioneer, I had …