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Sections

• Disclaimers
• Explanations
• Commenting
• Contact Form

Disclaimers

Neither "Approved" Nor Disallowed

No site outside the official website, JW.org, can be considered "approved" by the organization in any way. But neither are members disallowed from having one, nor is having one a disciplinary offense, but is a matter of conscience. There is nothing on this site that contradicts our doctrine. It is not for defending the organization to the world, but for helping members get past issues affecting their personal walk with God that they are not comfortable taking to their local elders.

Not Spiritual Food

This blog conforms to the guidelines of Jehovah's Witnesses, helping brothers and sisters through difficult issues. This site must not be considered parallel to any Jehovah's Witnesses literature. JW publications are considered the repository of our understanding of the scriptures. For spiritual enlightenment, or spiritual "food at the proper time" seek out a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses or go to JW.org.

Completely Anonymous

Our contributors have agreed to post anonymously so that no one personality may be elevated, allowing all glory to go to Jehovah. It also protects against doxing and unwanted attention by our opposers.

An Off-hours Project

We do not use posts to count field service time.

Explanations

Translations

Unless otherwise stated, all quotes are from the 2013 Revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Older articles may still have quotes from the 1984 Reference Edition of the New World Translation.

Commenting

We welcome all to visit and comment on this site peacefully. However, we do have standards for what content we allow and we would like to share those standards with you so that you may have a better chance of having your comments accepted. Off-topic posts will be deleted.

Posts are Subject to Deletion Or Editing

This blog is not a democracy. The Bible does not teach democracy. This blog is not subject to the rule of any democracy. Democracy is not an international or cyberspace law. If we deem a post or its contents to be inappropriate by our own judgment, it may be edited or deleted as we see fit. In some cases we may simply remind the commenter of our standards. Whatever course is taken or not is our prerogative and is not subject to question. Do not post if you are not willing to have your comment edited or rejected.

The reason we edit is to give your comments a chance to be seen without being deleted. We appreciate your non-confrontational comments and sincere questions.

SPAM-like or Propaganda Comments

If you do not want your comment rejected, please give specifics related to the post or this site. If your comment looks generic, it will be rejected as spam.

Apostates and Disfellowshipped Ones Will Be Ignored

First and foremost, comments that we believe are posted by our apostates or disfellowshipped persons will be rejected. An "apostate" is a former or technically current member of Jehovah's Witnesses who has put themselves in opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses by attempting to draw away members after themselves or otherwise undermine the spirituality of other members. They have no respect for us and they will not be tolerated here.

A disfellowshipped person is one who has been cast off from the organization for unrepentant wrong-doing. It is for their benefit, and for the cleanness of the Christian congregation around the world, that we do not knowingly interact with such ones. If we find out that a person is difellowshipped or apostate, we will immediately reject and delete all comments by them. There are thousands of websites apostates can go for voicing their lies or they can create their own.

We Wish to Keep It Civil

Occassionally someone will post things that are less than kind. Commenters that state false information, harass, launch attacks or state disparaging or inflammatory comments will be ignored.

We want this site to be a place where Jehovah's Witnesses and the public can come to be respected and perhaps receive encouragement so long as they are respectful themselves.

It is okay to state what you believe in a conversational tone, if different than our belief, but not in a way that seeks to challenge us. If you make a harassing comment but say something positive, we will cut out the negative and keep the positive.

Unless We're Actually Friends, We're Not "Friends"

God's word states, "friendship with the world is enmity with God". (James 4:4) Thus, paying some insincere lip-service to us by calling us "friends" or "brothers" when you are not one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and especially when you are harassing us, you will be ignored.

Anyone, including Satan, can call us "friend", but that does not make it so. Friends do not seek to upset their friends. Keep the insincere flattery and manufactured friendliness to yourself. Artificial people stand out like a sore thumb. Do not be fake and we might allow your comment. Fakers are liars and thus cannot be trusted. If you call us "friend" in that way, consider self-evaluation.

Again, God's word states, "A true friend shows love at all times, and is a brother who is born for times of distress."  (Proverbs 17:17) But it also says, "There are companions ready to crush one another, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18: 24) This does not mean someone who obsessively harrasses us and calls us "friend" as if trying to "help" us. We don't need that kind of help.

The Psalmist David, who knew all about betrayal by those he thought were friends, said, "The one who is walking faultlessly, practicing what is right and speaking the truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, he does nothing bad to his neighbor, and he does not defame his friends. He rejects anyone who is contemptible, but he honors those fearing Jehovah. He does not go back on his promise, even when it is bad for him." (Ps 15;2-4) But if you want to protect us when we're under persecution, then you will receive a reward from Jehovah.

We Reject Debates of Any Kind

The reason that most Jehovah's Witnesses do not engage in debate, whether in chat rooms or professionally, is that debates are a source of contention. We, however, seek to maintain peace in our lives. We do not have need to debate if we are secure in our beliefs. If we do not need to debate our sitting down or rising up, or whether the sun rises and sets, then we do not need to debate our beliefs.

Only those among us who are weak in faith will give in to bait. So instead of arguing with you, we will teach you something about our beliefs and why we believe them if you simply ask us to tell you. We are also open to hearing your beliefs as long as it is not your goal to convert us to your way of thinking or harass us. All of this allows for a peaceful exchange of ideas without expecting anything out of the other.

Here is how not to debate: Simply state what you believe and why, not what you think we should or should not believe.

We Reject Foolish Questions

This is not to say that we reject all questions in general, as there are many ways to ask fine questions. However, questions clearly designed to undermine faith in our beliefs or in those taking the lead among us will be rejected. What we accept and encourage are questions geared toward one's own edification in honesty and sincerity and questions used to express a line of reasoning.

Intellectualism and Sophism is Discouraged

We realize that some are quite accustomed to a complex intellectual vocabulary and grammatical structure and even sophism, but when it gets to be a bit thick, we are likely to ask you to reword your responses. Christians do not need to put on such airs because we recognize that Jehovah rejects the wisdom of the wise and intellectual ones while he is merciful to the humble and the meek. The good news is simple and should be presented simply and humbly, not with exotic words, extravegant speech and flourid delivery. We want to attract people to the truth, not overwhelm them to the point of their eyes glossing over. Use of Latin and French phrases is also discouraged. Keep it real and you should be fine.

Speculation is Strongly Discouraged

Christians do not need to speculate over uncertainties. If we are uncertain, we execise patience until we discover the facts. Speculation can give rise to debates, dissension and even apostasy. Many times speculation in comments is removed or the comment rejected. Only if the speculation would prove harmless might it be allowed to remain.

Only Anonymous References to Apostate Sites Permitted

If you wish to make an anonymous reference to an apostate website, you may do so without indicating your personally having visited the website, the name of the website or individuals that visit or operate the site. We do not allow members to indicate their personal viewing of apostate material. Such activity is up to an individual's conscience, but such viewing should not be promoted by its mention.

Linking Discouraged

We accept links to JW.org and to non-religious, non-apostate websites not persecuting Jehovah's Witnesses that are related to the material under discussion. Most external apologist websites will be rejected except those that meet our high standards. All other links are subject to removal or deletion.

Say It In One Post

Some of us have a tendency to edit our comments by reposting them, and that is absolutely okay. But it is very annoying to receive many replies in a string that could have been said in a single post. If you have a lot to say, please write it in a document and then post in a single comment, if possible. If it goes beyond the comment's word limit, then it is certainly natural to post a second or even third comment, but only because they're past the word limit. There is no penalty for failing to do this, but the admins would appreciate not having their inboxes blow up with separate comments. Comments on a post's page containing corrections might not be approved unless the whole comment is reposted with the corrections; then the original post will be deleted in favor of the corrected one. We may edit a comment to provide corrections if the errors prove distracting.

Proposed Corrections to Posts

We welcome corrections to information in posts, but please send them via the comment form on the sidebar with the name of the post in question. This will allow us to interact and get more details if we need them.

We hope that your understanding our standards will encourage you to post because we want to hear from you.

Contact Form

We appreciate our viewers' enthusiasm for our service and thirst for understanding the Bible, but our time is limited, so we would appreciate it if you restrict your questions to those of great significance that you do not feel comfortable asking someone in person, and particularly of a personal nature.

We would appreciate not being bombarded with Bible questions. Our time is limited, so we do not have the time to field every Bible question by all those who contact us. If we started fielding Bible questions, we would end up doing nothing else.

Additionally, the organization has asked that everyone do their own research where possible and pass hard questions directly to them. Having other people do your research undermines your own ability to retain the information. If you have a Bible subject for which you can find nothing in the organization's publications, you can ask an elder or contact the address in the Watchtower.

We apologize, but we cannot budge on this matter. We ask that you restrict your questions to subjects directly related to the very purpose of this site. Please respect our boundaries and obedience to the brotherhood in Christian love.