Punishment

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL

PUNISHMENT

Excerpts from the Book
Cruel and Unusual Punishment,
1986
(out of print)
By Duane Magnani

What have you heard about Jehovah's Witnesses? They deny many clear teaching from God's Word. Among these they demote Jesus from God Almighty to a mere creature and ridicule the doctrine of the Trinity. They teach that salvation is not a gift through God's grace alone, but earned by works; especially sales work-- selling Watchtowers and Awakes to the world. They don't celebrate holidays, go into the military, participate in voting or politics, or take blood transfusions. Yes, these are the things most commonly known about Jehovah's Witnesses.

Did you know that under the directives of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, JW parents are systematically brainwashing their own children? Did you know JWs believe it is GOD'S WILL for their children to be door-to-door sales people? Did you know that the Watchtower Society's policy of making young salespeople is carried out through coercion and scare-tactics--that JW kids are being brainwashed? Have you heard that before? If so, you are one of the very few who know about this most controversial subject.

If we could peek into the minds of any young JWs we would find these kind of thoughts with their intense personal questions: "Armageddon is so very near! Maybe this year! Can I survive? Can I make it through the destruction into the paradise the Society preaches about? HOW? I must be good enough. I must please Jehovah. HOW? By pleasing God's Organization. I must obey them in all things. I must follow "Jehovah's arrangement" for my life, then I can climb aboard His "ark of safety" (the Organization) and survive. I don't want to die.

I guess I really do want "worldly things," if I'm honest with myself. Sure, I want to go on to college and pursue a career, make something out of talents Jehovah has given me. But I know that's selfish. I must keep these desires hidden, especially from my folks. It would hurt them so very much. They want me to be a pioneer (full-time salesperson for the Watchtower Society) and would really be upset if I told them I really didn't want to. But, I guess I'd better stop thinking so negatively about God's will for my life. If I don't, I'll go crazy! Maybe, maybe if I get married early I won't have to pioneer. I'll have other responsibilities, right? I just don't want to die. Well, it will all be over soon. Armageddon is so very near! I don't want to die!"

The Watchtower leaders know what is on the minds of their young followers. After all, they are responsible for molding the minds of all JWs into a single mind filled with thoughts of doomsday and paradise in the near future. No JW child will say, "I know I've made it; I've done enough to please Jehovah." So each Witness lives on the edge of uncertainty about his future. All the more so for impressionable children.

A good example of pressure on the kids is found in the picture book My Book of Bible Studies, designed as a primer for young children. If you are a JW parent reading it with your little boy or girl, this is what you want your child to believe. At the very end of the book, under the heading, "A New Paradise On Earth", we read (think of yourself as a preteen as you read):

Look at those tall trees, pretty flowers and high mountains. Isn't it beautiful here? See how the deer is eating out of the little boy's hand. And look at the lions and the horses standing over there in the meadow. Wouldn't you like to live in a house in a place like this?
God wants you to live forever on earth in a paradise. And he doesn't want you to have any of the aches and pains that people suffer today. This is the Bible's promise to those who will live in the new paradise: God will be with them. There will be no more death or crying or pain. The old things have passed away!
Jesus will see to it that this wonderful change takes place. Do you know when? Yes, after he cleans the earth of all badness and bad people. Remember, when Jesus was on earth he healed people of all kinds of sicknesses, and he even raised people from the dead. Jesus did this to show what he would do all over the earth when he became King of God's kingdom.
Just think how wonderful it will be in the new paradise on earth! Jesus, along with some of those whom he chooses, will be ruling in heaven. These rulers will take care of everyone on earth and see that they are happy. Let's see what we need to do to make sure that God will give us everlasting life in his new paradise.
Can you tell what the little girl and her friends are reading? Yes, it is this very book that you are reading--My Book of Bible Stories. And they are reading the very story that you are--"How We Can Live Forever."
Do you know what they are learning? First, that we need to know about Jehovah and his Son Jesus if we are to live forever. The Bible says: " This is the way to live forever. Learn about the only true God, and the son he sent to earth, Jesus Christ..."
But just learning about Jehovah God and Jesus Christ is not enough. We could have lots and lots of knowledge about them and their teachings, and yet not gain everlasting life. Do you know what else is needed?
We also need to live in harmony with the things we learn. Do you remember Judas Iscariot? He was one of the 12 that Jesus chose to be his apostles. Judas had a lot of knowledge about Jehovah and Jesus. But what happened to him? After a while he became selfish, and he betrayed Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver. So Judas will not receive everlasting life.
Do you remember Gehazi, the man we learned about in Story 69? He wanted to have some clothes and money that did not belong to him. So he told a lie to get these things. But Jehovah punished him. And he will punish us too if we do not obey his laws.
But there are many good people who always served Jehovah faithfully. We want to be like them, don't we? Little Samuel is a good example to follow. Remember, as we saw in Story 55, he was only four or five years old when he started serving Jehovah at his tabernacle. So no matter how young you are, you are not too young to serve Jehovah.
Of course, the person we all want to follow is Jesus Christ. Even when he was a boy, as shown in Story 87, he was there in the temple talking to others about his heavenly Father. Let's follow his example. Let's tell as many people as we can about our wonderful God Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ. If we do these things, then we will be able to live forever in God's new paradise on earth. My Book of Bible Stories, 1978, pp.115-117

On October 26, 1985, I spoke on the subject of the exploitation of the children of Jehovah's Witnesses at the annual "Witnesses Now For Jesus" convention in New Ringgold, PA. Many in attendance had grown up in the JW cult and later left the authority of the Watchtower Lordship for the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They knew from personal experience, that I spoke the truth about JW kids. My desire was to fully document the charges that I had made and add to them by publishing a multi-volume exposé and analysis of the history of this exploitation.

To "exploit" is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition, 1982: "to make unethical use of for one's own advantage or profit; specif., to make profit from the labor of (others)".

Organizational exploitation of children was made policy under the Society's second and third presidents, Joseph F. Rutherford and Nathan H. Knorr. It was Rutherford who first introduced the doctrine of the "vindication" of Jehovah's name. This teaching permeates all of JW life. Rutherford claimed that Jesus did not "merely" come to save men (Jn. 3:16) but rather to prove a point, that God is more powerful than Satan. How would God prove this? By making a people for his name, "Jehovah," who would be faithful to Him (Mt. 24:45-47) by doing His will on earth. Who are these people? "Jehovah's Witnesses."

Jehovah is a God of an Organization, not individuals. The Society claims:

It is the name of Jehovah God that must be vindicated. That is the important issue. However, even the faithful Christians for many years thought that the chief purpose of Jehovah was and is to get men saved and into heaven. Many have thought that God fights their battles for them merely to get them saved. God's name has long been profaned; and this has been done voluntarily by many who claim to be Christians, and it has been involuntarily done by others by the course of action which they have taken. The Lord now makes it plain that he will take drastic action against his enemies, not for the mere purpose of saving some that are consecrated to him, but because of his own holy name. (Vindication II, 1932, p.266)

It is "power, not people," which is important:

The creature is not important, but all such mercy Jehovah displays for his own name's sake. His name has long been reproached by the Devil, who charges that Jehovah cannot put a man on earth who will hold fast his blamelessness and faultlessness toward God under assault and test by the Devil. By such the adversary seeks to cause the fall of Jehovah's servants and thus give cause and occasion for all God's enemies to reproach God and doubt his supreme power. (Watchtower, 6/15/42, p. 186)

Yes, the creature, especially a child of Jehovah's Witnesses, is "not important" to the Organization. The Society is interested only in one thing and that one thing is demanded from the child: OBEDIENCE. JWs believe that whatever the Society dictates is actually a direct order from Jehovah God. Watchtower doctrine explains that God is the Father of JWs and that His wife, the Organization, is the "Mother." Thus, JWs are told, they have heavenly parents.

In a sense, the story of the exploitation of JW kids can be summed up in the way the "Mother" Organization treats her children, the Jehovah's Witnesses. If the parents are exploited, then the parents will most likely exploit their own children. And this is the way it is. In effect, since JW parents follow all of the instructions of "Mother" on how to raise kids, the parents act as mere "babysitters." The child of JW parents really has only one "Mother"-- the Organization. And Mother must be obeyed. She is jealous of anyone else who might exact loyalty from her children. So in her demand for total obedience, she requires her followers to take the "pledge." What follows is not in print, but is impressed on the minds of all JWs:

I pledge allegiance to the Watchtower of the Jehovah's Witnesses and to the Organization for which it stands; one theocracy under Jehovah God, indivisible, with uniformity and judgment for all.

The present need for documented evidence on the subject of the exploitation of JW children is enormous. This need has been impressed me by the many calls and letters our office has received by people fighting custody battles with their ex-spouses who want to raise their kids as Jehovah's Witnesses. The lives of these exploited are on the line NOW. My interest in this subject has grown over the years, but was heightened in April of 1985 when I received a request from Dr. Walter Martin, director of Christian Research Institute for information on JW children. In a cover letter sent with the requested documentation, I wrote:

Here is a brief analysis of how WT policy will not let JW kids be kids.

In my opinion, the main point is that the WTBTS is developing young book salespersons. These young people are deaf and dumb to the reality of the brainwashing techniques employed to mold their characters into WT robots. Many of their parents, after some time in the Organization, see the hypocrisy of the Society, the cruelty of many of the elders in carrying out WT policy so blindly and coldly; yet, of the kids it can surely be said-- they do not know what is happening to them. They are truly WT slaves.
Today's Society applies the sales pressure (pressure TO SELL) on the kids as insidiously as in the past--the policy remains the same-- get the kids to sell regardless of the cost to them. The cost is their time, future earning capacity (foregoing higher education), mental fatigue and confusion.

Early in 1986 I testified as an expert witness in a most fascinating custody suit. THE ISSUE: Would the children, a boy and a girl, be better off living with their JW mother and super-JW (former special pioneer/missionary) step-father? Or should they be with their father, a "family man" who had already lost his wife to the JW cult? Would he lose the kids, too?

The case was complicated by many factors, but the main one was the issue of the JW "lifestyle." The judge was surprised by the testimony presented to prove that these children grow up in an environment which is unhealthy for their emotional, physical, educational and financial development. It was my job to testify to that in court. The case centered on the JW lifestyle. We won the case. The father received custody.

One of the key sociological issues of the 80's is how adults treat children and what is the world view that the children have these days? Are they healthy emotionally? What will they be like as adults? These questions also apply to the world of Jehovah's Witnesses. Judges who have to make decisions as to whether a child will live with his JW parent or his non-JW parent are really deciding whether to place the kid in the "Watchtower world" or not. This is a big decision and they need all the help they can get to render a judgement in the best interest of that child. For the Court this is not particularly a religious issue. The Court is interested primarily in the "welfare" of the child. A judge must consider the present opportunities in life for growth, in the social context, particularly in relation to educational and career opportunities available to the child. Do JW children have the same chance to "make it" in the world as other kids? The answer to this question is at the heart of our study.

In effect, JW parents have put their own children on the Watchtower altar of sacrifice. Yes, these parents are sacrificing their children's opportunity to grow up as normal, emotionally healthy kids. The children are sacrificing their future to the dictates of a greedy religious book company who wants millions of new unpaid salespersons.

The JW organization is really a prison without physical walls. It is a prison of fear. In this presentation the kids are being impressed with the extreme nearness of Armageddon which will destroy all but obedient JW workers. It holds the children captive by restricting them to a life-style designed to mold their personalities into robot-like people, living and breathing the beliefs and practices outlined in Watchtower publications.