The Michael Trust advocates a persons right to believe in anything they like as long as it does not harm anyone we do this in line with Article 18 of the United Nations Charter. The MT, specializes mainly in the United Kingdom where there are currently around 500 estimated cults or sects, closed communities mostly happily coexisting and living peacefully with the many other established religious groups within the UK.
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| Jehovah's Witnesses logo JW.org |
The MT has become concerned on the lengths that some activists go to when it comes to a established religious organisation called Jehovah's Witnesses. We have seen over the last ten years an increase in coordinated attacks and criticisms on JW's where they cross the line to potential Hate Crime.
We ask is this criticism of faith or a more of a organised campaign of hate against Jehovah's Witnesses? We let you decide...
Polly the Parrott @PoliticsPos1 is a shared account on Twitter and Polly kindly sent in this report on what it was like to spend a couple of days or so with online activists that spend a great deal of time criticizing the Jehovah's Witnesses as they hunt in packs on the social media platform called Twitter.
"I have seen them tear into normal people if they do not accept that the JW organisation is a harmful cult." Polly wrote.
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| When an activist looses an argument |
Who are Jehovah's Witnesses?
Jehovah’s Witnesses are the followers of a Christian-based religion perhaps best known for their ‘door-to-door’ evangelising activities. It is a millennialist religion, with followers believing that we are living in the last days and that Armageddon is fast approaching. Jehovah’s Witnesses are also known for their refusal of blood transfusions; for not voting or bearing arms; and for not celebrating Christmas, Easter or their own birthdays. In 2007 6.9 million active Witnesses in 235 countries.In 2019, there were just over 8,6 million Jehovah’s Witnesses in 240 ‘lands and territories’ worldwide.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have two main legally incorporated institutions in the USA: The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, and The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Other affiliated institutions include International Bible Students Association in Britain, Association les Témoins de Jéhovah in France, and Jehovas Zeugen in Deutschland in Germany. The names Jehovah’s Witnesses and Watchtower Society are sometimes used interchangeably but in this profile the term Jehovah’s Witnesses will be used.
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| Picture credit JW.org |
What is a JW activist or Apostate?
One of the more well-known, and controversial, disciplinary methods that Jehovah’s Witnesses use is the practice of disfellowshipping, that is cutting off or expelling the individual from the community. This does not happen automatically if a member sins – only if she or he is unrepentant of that sin. This is because removing the unrepentant sinner is believed to maintain the purity of the congregation and is commanded in the Bible.
Sins for which a baptised Witness can be disfellowshipped include violence, manslaughter, attempted suicide, child abuse, adultery, viewing abhorrent pornography, seriously immoral speech, tobacco use, misuse of addictive drugs, drunkenness, fraud, slander, extreme physical uncleanness and more. Deliberately persisting in association with disfellowshipped Witnesses is also a sin for which one can be disfellowshipped. When a Witness is disfellowshipped, other members – including friends and (with some exceptions) family – are expected to have no contact with the shunned individual. They are not to have any “spiritual or social fellowship” with the individual, and no communication, not even a greeting (2 John 10, 11).
JW Apostates activists -
Jehovah's Witnesses generally view those who have left the organisation through disfellowshipping and who continue to promote a negative view of the organisation as apostates, they also shun those that have resigned formally in writing. Disfellowshipping is a last resort action and is reserved for those who have refused to mend their ways and so are disfeelowshipped. There is an estimated 1% of Jehovah's witnesses who either leave or are disfelleowshipped each year and only a very small number who become activists and according to our information about 1% of those disfellowshipped who have not simply got on with their own lives are active JW activists from what we can ascertain online.
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| Provided by a JW supporter on Twitter. |
Those that regularly campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses do so mainly via the internet and recruit new activists from the many ex-Jehovah's Witnesses online chat rooms or forums or through other social media platforms. Since the growth of the internet some have become united in their efforts and utilize common themes to criticize the JW organisation. They rage from spreading misinformation such as the JW's are closing down due to their recent sell off of assets to their refusal to have blood transfusion, or that their shunning is controversial an so on.
The most recent theme for activists has been on child abuse and the activists have been lobbying governments in several countries with claims of record numbers of children being allegedly abused. Activists are now also turning up in small numbers outside JW Conventions and now also making YouTube videos and small documentary films. Some try to make a living out of activism.
The reason why those who have been kicked out of the Jehovah's Witnesses become activists is best explained in the picture here. It is a good summary of why they do what they do. Some according to Polly "I really do feel that some activists genuinely believe they are trying to help ex JW's come to terms with leaving. Many who leave get caught up in the disfellowshipping vacuum so quickly only to find themselves on the outside looking in and treated as outsiders."
What's it like engaging with the anti JW self proclaimed Apostates on Twitter?
We asked Polly to spend a couple of days with them to see what it was like engaging with them and also challenging some of their claims against Jehovah's Witnesses.
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| Twitter decided it was hateful |
Here are some just some of the examples of replies and behavior
by activists on twitter. (Read more here through this link to part 1) Some also claim to still be JWs who claim to secretly pass confidential letters and other communications to the activists. Twitter has started to take action against a number of them over the past year for braking twitter rules, although they just set up a new account and start again!
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| Twitter said it was abuse! |
But we ask is this activism, criticism or simply a hate campaign?
The Michael Trust through one of the Co-Founders has established a good rapport and ongoing relationships with a number of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world and has experience of them for over 40 plus years. The Co-Founder is known to Bethel in the UK also in headquarters, he is also known to the some members past and present of the Governing Body. He engages regularly with them when the need arises in a personal capacity only and within agreed set parameters and not in the capacity as the MT.
The MT has advised law enforcement agencies, government agencies, Social Services and others home and abroad on new religious movements, cults, groups for many years since 1989.
The Michael Trust believes that keeping an open dialogue and good communication with new religious movements, cults, closed communities in a respectful manner is the best way to promote freedom of religion and belief in accordance with Article 18.
Please also read part 1 here!
The MT has advised law enforcement agencies, government agencies, Social Services and others home and abroad on new religious movements, cults, groups for many years since 1989.
The Michael Trust believes that keeping an open dialogue and good communication with new religious movements, cults, closed communities in a respectful manner is the best way to promote freedom of religion and belief in accordance with Article 18.
Please also read part 1 here!
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