Jehovah's Witnesses Won! And Totally Lost the Plot.

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]All right, let's say you're a murderer.

[00:00:03]You don't even try to hide it. Want to see the ice pick in my trunk? All those missing women. Yeah, that was me. And the officer's like, "Well, you are really friendly." All right, this is basically what's happened with the Jehovah's Witnesses in Norway. The verdict came in last week. Jehovah's Witnesses won. And anyone who knows me knows I know Walter Kronhite over here.

[00:00:18]So, if you really want um you know, a nittygritty breakdown of this case, AvoidJW.org is a fantastic resource.

[00:00:24]I'll leave a link in the bio. Also, my husband, you may know him as xJW Analyzer. uh he's doing a lot of comprehensive coverage so you can check his videos out too. Here's my two cents about the Norway case in five points.

[00:00:36]Okay, so quick review. A few years ago, the Jehovah's Witnesses lost their legal registration and government funding in Norway due to their practice of quote inflicting psychological violence against minors. Basically shunning minors in their congregations. This isn't new. I'm shunned. He shunned.

[00:00:51]We're all shunned. And this was huge.

[00:00:53]And a lot of our hopes were riding on this because if this stuck, it would then in turn set a precedent for other countries to, you know, obviously look into the shunning and all the harm that it's caused and is continuing to cause in the Jehovah's Witnesses organization.

[00:01:06]But instead, watchtower lawyers stood up there like Ted Bundy just helping her with a flat tire, essentially completely lying through their teeth and finessing the court. You know, we've all heard it.

[00:01:15]Families still talk. It's limited, but families are not torn apart. We don't treat people like they're dead, and we certainly don't terrorize minors.

[00:01:23]Despite having numerous former members who are now adults who are once shunned as minors, give their testimony about how being shunned gave them PTSD, nightmares, completely like up their heads. You know, can't function in everyday life, can't form real connections with other people cuz their trust in humanity is completely shattered. Basically, Watchtower did everything in its power to downplay the severity of the shunning. And the Norway judges were basically like, well, he is really handsome. And so the Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the original ruling and won all the way up the chain to the Supreme Court. Okay, what am I saying? I know this isn't comforting right now, but Watchtower are narcissists and narcissists actions are always shortsighted. So basically, for now, the organization, you know, as an institution, I'm not griping about individual Jehovah Witnesses. I'm talking about watchtowwer lawyers like the people at the top as an institution is extremely manipulative, extremely skilled at getting what they want, duping the court. And tying back to what I was saying, the first mistake they made was trying to fight this at all.

[00:02:21]Why?

[00:02:22]This is not a good look. Like, you're really trying to defend your right to shun, not just shun. You're really trying to defend your right to shun children, you know, or do whatever you think is protected under religious freedom, like trying to protect your right to be an by fighting this and refusing to show an ounce of humility or compassion. Watchtower is drawing even more negative publicity to the organization when the general public doesn't like them already. And think about it, we live in the Google age. You can look up Scarlett Johansson in a wifebeater and we can find out with a click of a button that you guys are insane. No one in their right mind would sign up for you guys. Like, I don't know, maybe because of your systemic CSA problem. Waking up every Saturday morning to knock on strangers doors. And yes, joining a group that's going to tell you as a mother or a father that you need to cut off your own kid who doesn't want to be a Jehovah's Witness.

[00:03:18]People aren't just apathetic, but public opinion of you guys totally sucks for valid, justified reasons. You did this to yourself. That's and I used to be I was a witness for 30 years. That's what they don't understand. You guys did this to yourself.

[00:03:32]It's like it's literally the equivalent of a company whose stock is in the toilet and they're like, "We're doing great, boys." Like, I don't know. Isn't the objective to actually sell your product? Like, are you are you actually that stupid? Right? The organization is like a dog with a rag and isn't practicing even a modicum of self-reflection. All right? Which leads to my next point.

[00:03:53]If your goal as an organization is to convert people and beef up your numbers, you are actively working against your own interests. Like Watchtower is narcissistic, yes, but they're also stupid. You're not being strategic. What does all this have to do with Norway?

[00:04:08]So, you're so self-righteous and dead set on your religious freedom to shun.

[00:04:14]It's like, all right, congratulations.

[00:04:16]You win. Cool. You can keep doing the same dumb and getting the same results. In fact, in 2016, a study by the Pew Research Center revealed that over twothirds of Jehovah's Witnesses eventually leave. All right, you guys have one of the lowest retention rates of any religious group. Like, let's say they they don't just leave. I I left, I disassociated. Let's say you get kicked out against your will. Now, they're saying removed. A lot of those cases where they get kicked out and they're shunned. A lot of in a lot of those cases, it backfires.

[00:04:46]They don't want to come back. See, see, the organization thinks they're going to put you in a timeout. We're going to dysfellowship you. We're going to teach you a lesson. Everyone's going to treat you like you're dead. It's this engineered, highly engineered sadistic isolation. That's right. You're going to learn your lesson. They'll see. Learn their lesson and come crawling back.

[00:05:04]Nope. They're starting to realize now. I did a I did a whole thing about this with the elders handbook. They're starting to check in on people more often now who they've kicked out cuz they're bleeding. A lot a lot more people are making that trade. They don't get it. Like a lot more people are making that trade now. Like fine, shun me, mom and dad, you freaking weirdos.

[00:05:24]I'm not playing this game. Like enjoy paradise without your kids. They're not thinking. So Norway, what I'm trying to say is Norway is just another example.

[00:05:34]Watchtowwer shooting themselves in the foot and sabotaging their own retention rate. Again, I realize that's probably not the most comforting thing or news you want to hear right now, but let's take this even further.

[00:05:44]A lot of those people who leave, yeah, they start to speak up. So long as you shamelessly insert yourself into people's private lives, destroy family bonds, rob children of their innocence in multiple ways, you are creating a new apostate every day. Like I have people reach out to me all the time. they have some sort of project or idea or thesis something some sort of idea that they want to present but they see me as some sort of like conduit or platform you know to present their idea you know start a channel or or make a video and the reason I say that is because you feel very strongly about it feel very strongly about what this organization has done to you and your family put yourself out there people need to see your face I firmly believe it would make more of an impact and or it would be more powerful coming from you because you are willing to stand on business and put yourself out there. Then other people who may be secretly pumo might be from your home congregation or whatever.

[00:06:49]You know, maybe they're secretly watching YouTube. You know, they know they're not supposed to, but oh, holy crap, I know this person. You know, they know you. It's like, you know, their brain explodes like, damn, I'm on the same page. I never knew he or she felt that way. So, basically, you're inspiring these other people and then it's a domino effect. you have the you have massive potential to to make an impact. And then all of this to say this cumulative visibility between all of us and I'm not saying we're all going to like kumbaya and hold hands and be best friends. I'm not saying that happens is it weakens Watchtower's grip and narrative cuz you got all these people who are willing to speak up and say yeah me too. All I'm saying is don't dismiss the power of your voice because again they're not thinking this through. If Watchtower wasn't so cruel and shortsighted and and just disconnected from reality, former members wouldn't feel so strongly about this. You'd leave another church and I don't go to church.

[00:07:43]You know, my daddy was a pastor, but no thanks. It's not for me. Or mom loves church, but it's not really for me. And we're not talking about that. We all know that. We get it. We come from something similar. But their specific denomination doesn't have this legion basically of, you know, shunned former members and defectors whose lives were heavily impacted from what they came from. Oh, but Bethany, I'm just one person. Hey man, this could be you or this sassy little teal number. You could have made this bad boy right here. You know, we all know they're told people who leave are mentally diseased or, you know, they work for Satan. They're evil.

[00:08:14]We all know how this works. But this recent illustration, we've all seen it or most of us have seen it. you know that they published I think it was just last year is proof that your efforts do matter is it's this cumulative effect I'm talking about if this is just something you know if this is just something you don't see yourself doing you have zero interest or inclination then don't do it you know the point is that watchtower knows that their influence is waning so they have to turn out propaganda images like this one to try to control the flow of information which again I find funny because it's achieving the exact opposite like all you're doing is sparking curiosity in the minds of people who might already be on the fence. You know, now now you're really driving traffic to apostate material. See, that's what I'm talking about with the narcissism and being shortsighted. They're not thinking things through. They're not thinking of the bigger picture. So, had they handled things differently, they wouldn't have added a whole new pile of fuel to the fire.

[00:09:11]So, yeah, you know, it sucks. We're really disappointed. We wish the verdict was different. But here's the thing.

[00:09:17]France and Sweden have both passed laws to, you know, try to hold these high control groups, high control groups and cults accountable so they can't just skirt accountability and hide behind religious freedom. Also, Spain recently, Spain's appellet court recently said that Jehovah's Witnesses, it's okay for Jehovah's Witnesses to be described as a quote destruct destructive sect. That was really big. That's really important because that means that XJWs in Spain can speak out openly and freely without being concerned that they're going to be slapped with a defamation lawsuit for, you know, calling Watchtower what we know it is. And then finally, let's not forget two of the five Supreme Court judges in Norway dissented because they believe that coercive control is being used. State prosecutors at taking this line down explicitly stated like, "We're going to keep going at we're going to keep going with this. like we're we're not just letting this go. So, you know, you got to keep that in mind, too. Just understand that, yeah, it's super disappointing. It's really screwed up, but Watchtower shoots itself in the foot. Try to consider all these variables together, and you know, there's still hope.

[00:10:24]Thank you guys so much for watching. I hope you have a great week, and I'll see you next time.

[00:10:50]Heat. Heat.