55 REASONS JWS WILL NEVER BE REFORMED--Frank Toth

My husband and I had a nice visit with Frank Toth at Grace Gough's home.  It was great.  He has  written a few things.  His work keeps him busy though.

HI FRANK

55 reasons Jehovah’s Witnesses will never be reformed
by Frank J. Toth


1. Teaching that true Christianity is an organization instead of a way of life
2. Claiming salvation is dependent upon belonging to the JW denomination
3. Claiming that the organization speaks for and is controlled by Jehovah, thereby equating the organization with God himself

4. Centralizing authority in an organization instead of letting Christ be the head of each Christian
5. Claiming that the “faithful and discreet slave” is the “anointed class” rather than each individual Christian who shows himself or herself to be responsible and obedient to Christ
6. Teaching that the early Christians were led by a governing body

7. Teaching that Jesus appointed the “anointed remnant” as his true church in 1919
8. Viewing the so-called “anointed” class (actually, the governing body) as God’s channel and prophet
9. Placing WT literature above the Bible


10. Frequently taking Bible texts out of context in order to build support for the organization’s man-made teachings and procedures

11. Teaching that Jesus returned in 1914 and is “invisibly present” since then
12. Teaching that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE when no historical records confirm this and the actual date is believed by nearly all historians to be 587 BCE

13. Falsifying the fact that Charles Russell predicted for 1914 the end of the world, not Christ’s return
14. Lying about a so-called “increase” in earthquakes, warfare, famines, persecution, etc., since 1914
15. Contradictorily condemning military organizations and frowning upon JWs who choose alternative service in lieu of military service while the headquarters organization at the same time owns stock in a military product organization (REGI)


16. Taking a conflicting stand with regard to the United Nations, claiming that it is the “wild beast” of Revelation that leads all nations in a fight against God and Christ at Armageddon, but signing on as an NGO member and publishing articles that present the UN in a favorable light
17. Teaching that it’s wrong to celebrate birthdays and all holidays
18. Teaching that Abraham and the faithful men and women of old are not among the holy ones who will rule with Christ in his Kingdom
19. Interpreting Jewish restoration prophecies as fulfilled in “the anointed remnant”

20. Teaching that the Scriptures are directly addressed only to “the remnant of anointed ones”
21. Teaching that only the “anointed” must be born again
22. Teaching that the “great crowd” are not begotten or anointed by the Holy Spirit

23. Teaching that the “great crowd” are God’s grandchildren and not his sons and daughters
24. Teaching that the “great crowd” are not members of the bride of Christ
25. Teaching that Jesus is not the mediator between God and the “great crowd” of Revelation chapter 7


26. Teaching that the resurrection of the “anointed” precedes the resurrection of the “other sheep” and that it has already begun
27. Teaching that only “anointed” JWs will receive immortality in the resurrection
28. Inviting only the “anointed” to partake at the memorial

29. Claiming that spiritual food comes from the “anointed” class whereas nearly all the writers of WT publications are members of the “other sheep” class

30. Creating a climate of fear by authoritarianism
31. Controlling what individual JWs may read of Bible-related publications that are not produced by the WT Society
32. Arrogantly pretending that the JW organization maintains higher standards than any other religion and proclaiming publicly that all other churches are members of Babylon the Great

33. Forbidding attendance and participation at other churches
34. Class distinctions such as “governing body,” “anointed remnant” and “great crowd of other sheep”
35. Class distinctions such as publishers, auxiliary pioneers, regular pioneers, special pioneers, circuit overseers, district overseers, Bethelites, Governing Body, etc.


36. Prohibiting women from serving in any meaningful role in the congregation while expecting them to do the bulk of the work in “field service”
37. Constantly prodding the membership by means of literature, meetings and conventions to do ever more and more in the service of the organization, promoting an atmosphere where many feel their best is never good enough


38. Setting dates for Armageddon and thereby urging the membership to abandon normal living, this often resulting in the ruination of health and family life, as well as creating employment and financial hardships

39. Teachings that lead the members to believe righteousness and salvation can be earned by devoted and loyal support of the organization’s slavish programs
40. Keeping meeting attendance and field service records as a gauge of an individual’s spirituality
41. Organizationally requiring no blood transfusions instead of letting it be a matter of conscience, thereby cruelly informing all members that they will be shunned by the organization if they accept a transfusion that might restore health following a life-threatening accident or illness

42. Allowing their own infants and children to die instead of allowing doctors to give them necessary blood transfusions
43. Teaching that the “congregation” of Matthew 18:17 is the body of elders
44. Holding heresy trials and disciplinary hearings in secrecy from the rest of the congregation
45. Withholding information that would be helpful to persons who have been accused of wrongdoing

46. Conducting heresy trials of members who have doubts or who think differently upon the Scriptures
47. Defining apostasy as against the organization instead of against God
48. Being quick to disfellowship instead of making efforts to restore persons who have done something wrong

49. Unnecessarily and abusively shunning members even for minor infractions such as smoking or not complying with the whimsical directives of elders, thereby causing personal and family turmoil that often results in immense guilt, shame, fear, depression, bitterness, hatred, murder and suicide
50. Prohibiting fellowship with disassociated persons who show no inclination toward causing dissension

51. Showing favoritism by advising innocent victims to “leave it to Jehovah” instead of the elders taking decisive action to deal with some members who have been accused of harmful wrongdoing.
52. Ignoring or minimizing clear evidence of child molestation and other abuses simply because only one witness is available to testify against the member accused of such serious wrongdoing
53. Covering over and hiding damaging facts about the JW organization

54. In many cases, neglecting the care of their own sick and elderly members who no longer have the strength and energy to attend all the meetings and to be regular in “field service” as they did for most of their lives
55. Blatantly lying to the public by declaring to news media that members may leave the organization at any time, of their own free will and without any repercussions from the organization

That is a good list of the bad things the JWs do.  I have not seen a list before.  Good work.  Thank you for sharing it.  

It is hard to imagine that telling the truth has become the worst apostasy from the point of view of the Watchtower Society.  "Walking in the truth" they ARE NOT.

Thanks. It summarizes all the sins that the WTS committed. I wonder what would happen to the people if one day the WTS just fall/closed... I pray for Armageddon for WTS to come very soon.

Marking...

Excellent list!!

That is a great list which I think will appeal to many of us here who are of different opinions,eg.beleivers /non beleivers/atheists /agnostics/etc. Having said that, the list # of importance  will vary according to one`s personell experience.

I find their are a couple of points that could be confined to one,they seem to overlap each other eg.{ #34 and 35}and {# 41 and 42 },but that`s

just nit picking.

Personally I can relate to #`s 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 29, 31, 38, 39, 40, 47, 51, 52, 53, 55, 

That`s just from my perspective

Thank`s Frank

smiddy

marked

So?  What makes The Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses any worse than any other "imperfect" organization?  

They BELIEVE they will HAVE the Earth.  

The Catholics taught the Catholics would HAVE Heaven.  Maybe Jah thought that was funny.

But it is not funny that people are being taught that they will have the Earth.  Groups of people who want the land under someone else causes WAR.  

20-28 are subjective, every religion has their set of interpretations.

blondie

thanks for showing us, great work

That is a comprehensive list of infractions that are true and the reason why many of us are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses.  

I agree JWs will never be reformed.  There are too many doctrines and habits needing changing.  

But wouldn't it be wonderful if they could get rid of it all except the Buildngs and the Bible and finally figure out what it is all about?

Did they not start out as a people looking for the truth?  

I think it is a good original post to bump up.

I would that they (JWs/Bible Students) did start out to look for the truth.  But then they failed to exercise their free will, choosing instead to blindly follow someone who says they have the sole Truth.  In fact, it is the tendency of human nature to follow the easy path.  The easy path of leaving the thinking to others, and just follow what is being said without any critical thinking.  

The odd thing is that with the exception of the Ray Franz (new Elder arrangement) era - they have NEVER made an attempt at reform.  And the Ray Franz attempt was brutally crushed.

Almost all further change since the 1980s has been anti-reform - with the possible exceptions of the 7,000 year creative days, CO status in relation to the selective service, and "blood fractions". 

But note that none of those three was actually presented as a reform - it was either phased in without fanfare, or presented piece by piece so that nobody would notice a big change.

Note also that I do not class the "overlapping generations" explanation as reform.  That is just plain insanity to get out of a false prophecy.

Thanks Blondie and thanks neighbor friend Frank

Hi,

When I posted this list on another forum,  a JW responded as follows:

I found Mr. Toth's list quite interesting and not very accurate.

For example #55

>>Blatantly lying to the public by declaring to news media that members may leave the organization at any time, of their own free will and without any repercussions from the organization.<<

I left the organization for over 10 years with absolutely no repercussions. I received periodic visits from elders to encourage me, nothing more.

And I personally know of others who have done the same. No repercussions.

Many of us have and are returning because there really is nothing else out there.

Satan really has nothing of value to offer

-Mr. Pennyone

Any comments

I left the organization for over 10 years with absolutely no repercussions.

Did you ever put a Christmas tree in your window, associate with another church or move in with that cute blonde down the street?

George

Any comments?

Yes.  It is taught at meetings that "bad associations spoil useful habits" means if you don't keep yourself without spot from the world your standing with Jehovah will suffer.  Whenever someone leaves the org they become "the world".  So loyal JWs will not associate with anyone who has left by order of the Governing Body because it is they who teach that someone leaving them is leaving Jehovah, therefore becomes a traitor of truth and not to be associated with.  

I have lost my friends.  I am happy to say that I have no family members that were JWs.  

To be losing friends (and family) because of a lie and misplaced loyalties is what I call a repercussion.

I have three close friends that I have not  heard from.  One does not see me anymore just because I said "I don't go to meetings anymore".

Someone who says there are no repercussions from leaving are not caring much about friendships in my opinion.

http://formerjw.homestead.com/

I (Frank Toth) went from house-to-house for the Watchtower Society for 50 years. As I did, I became acquainted with many good and sincere people who were not Jehovah's Witnesses but who showed a love for God and neighbour. They claimed to be and I now view them as Christians to the best of their knowledge and ability. I believe they will be rewarded for their faith in God and Jesus, though they never have read or never will read The Watchtower. In other words, I no longer believe that a person must be one of Jehovah's Witnesses in order to receive salvation to everlasting life. Jesus said, "EVERYONE believing in him may have everlasting life." He said nothing about membership in or faithful service within any organization. -- John 3:15, 16.

I do not believe that God's holy spirit is operating upon the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Instead, my study of the Society's publications has revealed that there is a spiritistic foundation to the teachings of Charles Taze Russell, and his writings continue to this day to influence the direction in which the Governing Body is taking the organization...(continued)

BUMP

I was gonna (re) post this masterpiece and good thing I checked Simon's handy search and saw it was 17 days ago.

Awesome list! Definitely going to read them to my husband and brother!