A Resource: Therapy for ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses

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I realize that it’s just a book, but I suspect readers will develop a very comfortable relationship with Bonnie Zieman during the course of their read. She is an exceptional writer who has actually been there, done that, and even heard “that” a hundred times. And, if someone is being shunned and shamed as an ex- Jehovah’s Witness (no matter how many years they’ve been out), as they read Bonnie’s …Healing Handbook they will thoroughly enjoy Bonnie’s presence, acceptance, and positive regard for others.

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Watchtower and Blood: Ever Changing

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Those of us who have followed the subject and watched the Blood Doctrine morph over the years, realize that the Watchtower’s leaders are making it up as they go along. The sad thing for us to consider is that many Jehovah’s Witnesses who died because they followed the Watchtower’s guidelines – even relatively recently – would be alive today if the current rules were effective when they had to make their fateful decision. InFrenchButton-2

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Resources: Identifying and Resisting “Undue Influence”

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This is the third and final article in a series about the clear and present danger of undue influence in the manipulative hands of charlatans, con artists, abusive partners, and cults. In this post, we will explore positive practices that directly address undue influence, identifying needed research projects, a questionnaire to test your knowledge and awareness – and finally a call to action.InFrenchButton-2

Best Practices & Resources

There have been pockets of success involving groups and individuals who have been educating the public about undue influence. Their efforts are creating a broader awareness of the prevalence and danger of undue influence and suggesting effective ways to help victims recover.

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AAWA Rewarded with Tax Exempt Status from IRS

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AAWA now qualifies as a non-profit charity

AAWA now qualifies as a non-profit charity

We are pleased to announce that on April 17, 2015, Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) was awarded 501 (c) (3) status from the US Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury.

So what does that mean for our future?

Per the letter from IRS, “We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses – AAWA are deductible under section 170 of the Code.

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Let Me Repeat: “Undue Influence” is a Growing Plague

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After reading my first article on the prevalence and danger of “undue influence,” I’m sure that many of you may have questioned my ability to edit my own writing. Some readers may have thought that I’d developed some strange quirk – or simply lost my mind.InFrenchButton-2

No, I haven’t lost my mind. And yes – I did repeat the descriptive phrase “undue influence” 22 times in that article. I’m sure that many readers considered my essay to be a textbook example of an excessive use of a single two-word combination. I broke the rules and simply ignored my grammar checker as it kept firing off complaints about my repetitive behavior. Why?

Because I wanted to burn those two words forever into your conscious mind!

What scares me – and it should terrify you as well – is that undue influence may be the fastest spreading plague that most people are oblivious to, because they simply do not understand how this mentally debilitating “control process” works.Danse-macabre-public-domain

If you paid attention and share my concerns, this second article should prove enlightening and helpful as I explore and suggest various ways we can try to stop this fast-growing menace.

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Undue Influence – A Significant Threat?

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I am deeply concerned about the growing menace of undue influence in our society and how quickly it takes place in the manipulative hands of terrorist groups, cults, cults masquerading as benevolent religions (like Watchtower), violent gangs, human traffickers, and political cults, both right and left wing. InFrenchButton-2

While each group or cult has its own unique ideology, the members and the general public are totally unaware of the undue influence that validates those ideologies. In fact, due to undue influence, members usually believe the techniques used to induce their submission to the cult’s or group’s belief system and hype are actually beneficial.

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Watchtower Caught in a Lie

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Stephen Lett told a lie. There is no other way to describe it – it was simply a lie. There was not one bit of truth to it. And, as my father used to describe misrepresentations like this one – it was “a whopper.”

When analyzed more closely, there were several components to his public statement that were all provably untrue. During his speech, Watchtower Governing Body member Lett was basically trying to convince his followers not to believe the facts. While the following is not a direct quote from the video or from Mr. Lett, he might just as easily made the following statement:

“Effective today, ‘black is white, up is down, and north is south.’ Don’t believe what anyone else says or writes about how we handle child abuse within our organization. Don’t believe your lying eyes, your lying ears, or those lying court documents. We don’t lie about anything. Satan the Devil just wants to make you believe we do.”

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Are Jehovah’s Witnesses a Cult?

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If they were honest how would they vote?Report by Richard E. Kelly

I am often asked, “Are Jehovah’s Witnesses a cult?” In fact – it’s likely that many Jehovah’s Witnesses may wonder and ask themselves that question every time they go to meetings at their Kingdom Hall or to a large convention in some distant city.

When I am asked to respond to that question, my preference is to suggest that they should try to find the answer for themselves. To help start that discovery process for those of you who may wonder what the facts suggest, I want to share the following information:

Cults have two distinguishing characteristics:

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