Read the Bible and the TRUTH Will Set You FREE!

I was a Spiritual Hostage for 43 years as a practicing and non-practicing Jehovah's Witness. During this time, I struggled with the harsh judgments from my JW family and members of the congregation.  No matter how hard I tried, it was never enough. Even when I was doing everything expected of me, a fellow sister in my congregation and wife of a ministerial servant told others that I was "bad association".  I crumbled under the judgments and know others are struggling with similar situations.  After being hurt one last time, I stopped practicing my religion and simply prayed to God and read the Bible.  And, that is what led to my eventual spiritual freedom.

Simply praying and reading the Bible is the best way to learn the TRUTH that will set you FREE. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society would have their followers believe otherwise.

The Watchtower states that one needs the organization to understand the bible and one should not "interpret" the Bible on their own:

• The Watchtower, June 1, 1985
• The Watchtower, February 15, 1981
• The Watchtower, October 1, 1967

NOTE - 2 Timothy 3:15-17 says the scriptures alone are enough to make one wise unto salvation.  And, why does the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society believe the Bible needs to be interpretted?  Are we not to read it in the literal context?  Yes, but the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society will interpret scripture for it followers - that is why their followers need their Watchtower publications to explain their Bible interpretations.

Additionally, as a Jehovah's Witness one feels like a spiritual hostage because you have been trained to believe that God chose the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society as his sole earthly organization to communicate the true meaning of the Bible.  And, that salvation is only through their organization.  The Watchtower, November 15, 1981 went so far as to show an organization chart.  You are also told to never read anything other than the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society publications.  One feels trapped and afraid to ever question anything.

Over the years the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) has flip-flopped on the viewpoint of questioning and independent study (thinking), at one time saying that, a person would go into darkness after two years of reading the Bible alone. (See The Watchtower Magazine, Sept. 15, 1910, p298).  Other times they would encourage questioning and then as recently as 2009 they flipped back to the viewpoint of trusting them completely.  The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 2009, p27 implies that we should completely trust the Faithful and Discreet Slave, since Jehovah and Jesus trust them. http://www.jwfacts.com/print/jw-studies-pamphlet.pdf

According to the scriptures, the Bible alone should be enough to understand what God intended us to know.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17 (NWT) says:

"All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."

Notice the phrase, "completely equipped".  No, you needn't have anything other than the Bible to understand the scriptures.  There is no need to add books and "modern-day prophets".

Jehovah's Witnesses may take the scripture Daniel 12:4 out of context and tell you God had Daniel make secret the words until the time of the end.  However, that is not the meaning of this scripture.  They will reason that God unlocked the meaning of the words to Jehovah's Witnesses and that they are the only true religion - God's sole channel of communication (See The Watchtower Magazine, July 15, 1960, p439; The Watchtower Magazine, October 1, 1967, p587; The Watchtower Magazine, April 1, 1972, p197)

I struggled my entire life with the concept of there being only one true religion.  I was held hostage to my religion until I gained spiritual freedom by simply praying and reading the Bible. Spiritual Hostages is a website intended to assist struggling Jehovah's Witnesses, and for that matter anyone in any religion who feels held hostage or thinks that their religion's doctrines don't add up.