Losing My Religion
A documentary
Losing My Religion
In and Out of the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization
This is my story. I was once one of Jehovah's Witnesses. When I left I wanted to find others like myself. What I discovered was a community of people who were going through an accelerated learning process in the school of life - sometimes tragic, always exciting. What we all have in common is a search for our personal identities.
Daily, over 6,000,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses are being instructed that very soon, those who do not obey their exact teachings will be ferociously exterminated by God himself in Armageddon at the end of the ‘world’!
So who are these people? And what is it like to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
Losing My Religion is a soul-searching, interview-style film documenting the experiences and exoduses of Jehovah’s Witnesses as they leave behind family, friends, their acquired interpretation of “God”, and a very unique ‘fundamentalist reality’ . Losing their religion, many who leave must undergo an often emotionally agonizing and dramatic transition into the once ‘forbidden’ world.
Jehovah's Witnesses who ‘awaken’, who figure things out and leave; who permanently lose their religion , and speak up against the Watchtower Society , are in fact accused of being the absolute worst of all creation. Basically, the Watchtower Society’s stand is: ‘You are either with us or against us’.
Why Losing My Religion?
A deep conversation and intelligent study is needed on the effects of extreme fundamentalism in the world today. There are currently millions of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world who struggle with adjustment to their new lives. Billions of other people find their life purpose's and identities almost solely through their religions, political persuasions, marriages and/or other relationships, their corporate careers, nationalism, the military, etc. Upon close examination, most of us are willing to throw out our own personal reasoning capabilities and deny our own personal experiences to be relieved of the oppressive burden of figuring out life ourselves. Why? What is happening?
The interviews in Losing My Religion will serve as a metaphor highlighting the disservice of extreme fundamentalist ideology and the triumph of the human spirit.
Losing My Religion will be a powerful journey into the life of the filmmaker, Stephan McGuire as he documents the dilemmas of current Jehovah’s Witnesses, other ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and solicits the opinions of cult specialists and psychologists who focus on identity and life purpose. So far we have been interviewing ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses, and already the dynamics of self realization being revealed before the camera make for a psychologically fascinating study. Once film production begins, we will want to document several Jehovah’s Witnesses as they are leaving the ‘truth’.
With a kaleidoscope of cutting edge style, highly informed specialists and provocative footage, Losing My Religion will be an experience of synergized story telling, deep healing and an exploration of our insatiable quest for real truth.
This film is pre-production. We are currently raising funding. If you are interested in supporting this project please contact: stephan@hungrycreature.com.
Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses and other experts on Identity and Life Purpose:
Dr Jerry Bergman, Human Biologist who has written over forty books
Richard “Shining Thunder” Francis, Author of Jehovah Lives in Brooklyn
David Icke, Researcher & Author of Infinite Love, Everything Else Is an Illusion
Brenda Lee, Cocoon Newsletter
Dr Heidi Nordberg, Virushead.net
Diane Wilson, Author of Awakening of a Jehovah’s Witness
Email stephan@treemedia.comif you would like to contribute to this unique film.
Links
Ex JW Meetup - http://exjw.meetup.com/members/
Rick A Ross Institute - http://www.rickross.com/groups/witness.html & http://www.rickross.com/reference/jw/jw80.html
Silent Lambs- Protecting JW children from abuse - http://www.silentlambs.org
Watchers of the Watchtower World - http://www.freeminds.org/
A Common Bond - http://www.gayxjw.org
Dr Jerry Bergman - http://watchtower.observer.org/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040311/ESSAYS/10518017
A tribute and a memorial to Jehovah's Witnesses who have taken their own lives- http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/8098/suicidememorial.htm
Cult Busting information- http://www.cultbuster.info/default.htm
Recovering ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Webring - http://r.webring.com/hub?ring=jehovex
Watchtower Whistle Blower - http://www.dannyhaszard.com/
Lightbearer’s Escape from the Watchtower.com - http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/7209/index3.html
Watchtower Exposure- http://www.geocities.com/watchtowerexposure
Ivor Hope - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/3883/
Survivors of Abusive Religions Outreach & Self-help - http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/8098/
12 Steps of Ex JW Theocratic Addiction and Religious Abuse - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/7299/support/index.html
Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses Chat - http://www.norrisnet.net/chat/
In Depth Watchtower Survey - http://users.skynet.be/awsid/index.htm
Former Jehovah's Witnesses Helping One Another Outside the Watchtower - http://members.tripod.com/~Hull_R/index.html
The Truth about Jehovah’s Witnesses - http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~renford/
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