Helping a friend

[Stray]

Hi again friends,
It's just too hot out here in Australia, so I thought that I might stay in and do another post!
I have a very dear friend who happens to be a J.W. She is always comming the J.W. line with me, and I find it very distressing. I know what a mistake she is making by being involved with that mob, but I really don't know what to say to her. I would like to tell her she has been misled into following a cult, but she would just laugh it off.
Has anyone else dealt with a case like this?
Any direct or heavy confrontation would probably spoil our friendship and do no more than reinforce the dogma that she has swallowed
Just hoping someone could give me an idea of how to help her.
Bless you all,
Stray

[Kardia]

Hi Stray:
I was in a religion that has some of the same beliefs as JW's, especially Aranism, and the state of the dead.  You are wise to be thoughtful in your approach.  It is getting late here, and sleep is necessary to give you a more lucid response, .  For now, I can truly say that prayer is the most powerful thing you can do.  I have some questions:
Was she reared as a JW from birth?  If a convert, about what age?
Has she become involved in the door-to-door activities yet?
Approximately old is she?
Is her family JW? 
If a convert, what was her background?

If these questions are too forward, please forgive.  I ask these because of my own history, and the affect these various things had on me, and I may be able to respond to those situations that are similar.

If she is truly seeking Truth, she will find it!  God answers those who seek Him.
In Christ,
Kardia

[Stray]

Thanks for your reply Kardia.
She converted at about age 40.
Yes, she does door to door, seminars and the whole scene. They have weekly...er...study evenings and weekend special "learning sessions"
She is now aged late 50's
She was a R.C. but was disilusioned, I think mainly because the R.C. church did not show her much respect or explain it's teachings fully. Wheras the J.W.s made her welcome and, presumably, went to great length to present their version of things.
I think it's a terrible shame because she is a wonderful person who is caught in a mess that seems to be so right and logical to her
Tough one huh?
Hope you can help a bit more.
Bless you,
Stray

[Kardia]

Stray,
First, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.  I'm still learning how to get around this site, and I just now saw your response.
I think it's possible to click on someone's name, and see their posts.  I'm going to go through mine, and I think there will be some things that will be helpful.  I'm not trying to put you off -- it's just kind of late here, and I want to put more thought in this, when I can write more, and I'm thinking more clearly, LOL!

One thing I can say, is that it literally took a revelation from God to believe in the Trinity.  I know there were people praying for me.  I also believe that many, if not most, of people that join churches like JW, 7th day Church of God, and others that don't believe in the Trinity, are people that truly do want the Truth, but they get side-tracked.  These churches often come up with their own "translations" of the Bible, which then supposedly confirms their beliefs.  I was one of those people that had a problem with the Bible being the only source of Truth.  Using the Bible as a weapon to "prove" doctrine, to the exclusion of 2,000 years of Tradition, teaching of the Fathers, and history, is a real problem.  But especially in the U.S.A., "sola scriptura" has produced tens of thousands of groups that think they have the "correct interpretation" of the scripture. 

JW's are one of those many groups that had someone decide that they had a special gift of that "correct interpretation" of the Bible.   Somehow, they are able to buy into the idea that God was not able to keep His Church intact for 2,000 years.  Yet, Jesus Christ said, speaking of the Truth of His Teachings and His Life,  "Upon this Rock I establish my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."  That doesn't indicate 1800 years of apostacy, until God revealed it to someone in the 1800's.  There were so many "visions" and "revelations" during that time, and they all popped up outside of any kind of Authority of the Church.

I'm sure you know all these things -- they are just things that mean a lot to me, since because of them I was led into heresies, the worst of them being Aryanism, that Jesus was not God. 
I believe it is Schmemman (I'll look it up) that says if someone is truly, in his heart, seeking Truth, that no matter what they go through, no matter what religion, that they will eventually run right into the arms of Jesus Christ.  That is what happened to me, and when He took me in His Arms, I KNEW I was in the Arms of GOD, that GOD had walked the earth.  That began my five years search for the Truth Body of Christ, and for the Holy Mysteries. 

I came from religions that were as heretical and in error as JW's -- and I am Home.  I am being baptised in the TRINITY, Crismated, and will receive the Precious Blood and Body of Christ in the Eucharist.   I KNOW that the gates of hell did not prevail against His Church.  Glory be to GOD!!

I will pray for your friend.

In Christ,
Kardia

[Stray]

Thanks for your reply Kardia,
What you said reminded me of my own long and convoluted path. Boy, did I swallow a lot of garbage! But having been there and done that, I know what I really want now.
I have been thinking a lot about the problem, and I believe that Christianity, in it's pure form is God centered, but over the last few hundred years it has become man centered. As a result, faith has been replaced by rationality. You really can't explain faith in terms of rationality. that's why it's impossible to engage in meaningfull dialogue with J.W.s.
However, like you say,if one is searching for the truth they will eventually find Him. Perhaps a few dead-end trails and ambushes are part of the way.
Yours in peace,
Gary.

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