In between wrongly predicting the end of the World every couple of years, the cult of Jehovah’s Witness often leaves nothing but a trail of destruction and ruined lives, wherever it infects. Its viciously totalitarian and narcissistic leadership forces uniformity of opinion, suppression of speech, and threats that if you dare to disagree, you will be shunned. Its Governing Body does this, whilst amassing great wealth. But its handling of those who chose to leave the faith, is perhaps its most disgusting contribution to society. They have a policy of destroying families.

Let’s say you’re born into a Jehovah’s Witness family. You’re raised in the faith. You have a wonderful family. You are however, often ostracised from the outside World, and are constantly told that it is a hotbed of evil and sin. You reach 18, and you decide that this faith isn’t for you. You don’t accept the doctrines that Kingdom Hall is attempting to force on you. Let’s say, you just want to live a life without religion, though you know you will struggle because all you’ve known your entire life, is this one cult. You could use some family support at this difficult time. Well, here is what you can expect, from the Watchtower:

“Again, the disfellowshipping does not dissolve the flesh-and-blood ties, but, in this situation, contact, if it were necessary at all, would be much more rare than between persons living in the same home. Yet, there might be some absolutely necessary family matters requiring communication, such as legalities over a will or property. But the disfellowshiped relative should be made to appreciate that his status has changed, that he is no longer welcome in the home nor is he a preferred companion.”

– Had you reached 18 and had you successfully managed to repel the forced process of indoctrination you will have been exposed to for years, deciding that you don’t believe it; then this horrid little family-destroying cult thinks it has a right to make you understand that your ‘status has changed’ and that you’re ‘no longer welcome in the home’. In your own home. They have reduced you, to a ‘flesh-and-blood’ tie, which to them, is meaningless. Jehovah’s Witnesses wish to control not only your thoughts, but your family ties.

They reinforce this, in another Watchtower article:

“If the disfellowshipped or disassociated one is a relative living outside the immediate family circle and home. It might be possible to have almost no contact at all with the relative. Even if there were some family matters requiring contact, this certainly would be kept to a minimum, in line with the divine principle: “Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person [or guilty of another gross sin], . . . not even eating with such a man.”—1 Corinthians 5:11.”

Both of those quotes are from Watchtower editions in the 1970s and 1980s. So maybe they’ve changed in the past thirty years? Well, no. In January 2013, The Watchtower said this:

“Really, what your beloved family member needs to see is your resolute stance to put Jehovah above everything else – including the family bond. … Do not look for excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped family member, for example, through e-mail.”

– When they say “your resolute stance to put Jehovah above everything else”, what they mean is, your resolute stance to give yourself entirely to the cult leadership at the expense of people who you love, and rely on. They own you.

In 2011, the Watchtower tried to shamefully manipulate the emotions of family members of a disfellowshipped member, that in fact, completely shunning them, making their life as difficult as possible, is best for them:

“By cutting off contact with the disfellowshipped or disassociated one, you are showing that you hate the attitudes and actions that led to that outcome. However, you are also showing that you love the wrongdoer enough to do what is best for him or her. Your loyalty to Jehovah may increase the likelihood that the disciplined one will repent and return to Jehovah.”

– There is of course, no evidence for any claim made in that passage.

Next, they invent their own rules, that have absolutely no Biblical basis. This of course, cannot be anything other than power:

“What about speaking with a disfellowshipped person? While the Bible does not cover every possible situation, 2 John 10 helps us to get Jehovah’s view of matters: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him.” …. A simple ‘Hello’ to someone can be the first step that develops into a conversation and maybe even a friendship. Would we want to take that first step with a disfellowshipped person?”

– By Watchtower standards – not Biblical standards at all – saying ‘hello’ to your child, is discouraged. This is invented, out of thin air. Whilst it quite obviously has no logical reason; it also has no Biblical reason. Though they claim it does. Here is one vile excuse for their inherently abusive nature:

They then seem to take great sadistic pleasure in those who have left the faith, being punished as Ellwood Johnson, past Circuit Overseer makes so whimsically clear:

“…Once that sign of the Son of man appears in the heavens, where Jesus sits down on his glorious throne, he will judge you and I at that point in history as to whether or not you are actually a sheep or a goat. …. You will not be able to say to Jesus, “Oh Jesus, wait a minute, I’m disfellowshipped. Wait a minute, let me get reinstated.” Oh no! Oh no! You see, all the evidence will have been brought into the court as to who you are and what you are as a person. And once he sits down, you will not be able to change your record. Not one iota!”

– They seem to take joy out of controlling a family enough to see it broken to pieces, and then forging subtle messages of hate, and threats at those already suffering from being cast out by their own family.

According to one ex-Jehovah’s Witness:

“I had a miscarriage, and I really needed my mom, but she wouldn’t return my call.”

– This is the product of wholly unnatural extremist processes that infect natural human bonds.

To add to the mentality of the slightly psychotic, certainly power obsessed narcissists that run the Governing Body (all of whom, are rather shadowy figures, which is odd given how much control they wish to have over the lives of believers), if you dare to even begin to suggest you disagree with what the Governing Body has decreed, you will be hauled in front of a trial by Judicial Committee, where a group of Committee members let you know how much they hate you (you are referred to as ‘mentally diseased’ which is basically like an elephant calling you an elephant), how much your family wont be speaking to you any more, and throws you out. It is all one big power mechanism.

The reason the Governing Body do not like families to associate with those who have left the faith, is because to do so, would be to ‘expose’ the family to a way of thinking that doesn’t benefit the Governing Body. Their wealth grows, as the faithful grow. So, indoctrinate from birth, include stories of judgement and hellfire for leaving the faith, scare people into knowing that they will lose everyone they love if they dare to think for themselves. This is how cults operate. They use scripture in a weak attempt to justify this. Unsurprisingly, they ignore scripture that may be detrimental to their leadership. For example:

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

– Matthew 6:24

– Seems rather succinct and blunt to me. You cannot serve both money and God. And yet according to accounts from around the UK Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2009, we see this:

Surrey Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses: £3924638

Bristol Assemble Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses: £3977491