Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, Page 82
...must know that they are being asked to present an outlook that is very
different from the one urged upon them in Watchtower publications. If they
are speaking the truth, without ―twisting it a bit,‖ they would not have to be
told to speak differently from the way they would in a circuit assembly—or
anywhere else for that matter (Franz, 1991, p. 285).
In this writer‘s experience, the Witnesses and their attorneys regularly and routinely follow
the booklet‘s advice to deceive the court on the stand. MacGregor, who has consulted in
many Witness custody cases, concludes:
Your J.W. mate (or ex-mate) will desperately try and get custody of the
children. Be prepared for the worst. Many have faced false charges difficult
to defend. They want to prove you ―unfit‖ as a parent. You will need strong
character witnesses who have observed you with your own children. ...At
their disposal will be their own legal experts, and your mate and children will
be coached in what to say in court. Lack of preparation on your part or your
lawyer‘s will lose you your children!
...They will have no hesitation about lying, even under oath. They have a
doctrine called ―Justified Lying,‖ teaching that you only have to tell the truth
to those ―who are entitled to it.‖ The courts, legal system, family care
workers, the ex-mates, etc., because of their resistance to, or not being part
of ―Jehovah‘s‖ organization, do not deserve to know the truth. In Jehovah‘s
Witness thinking, they are of Satan and it‘s okay to lie to him or his people to
protect ―Jehovah‖ and his organization on earth [The Watchtower Society].
...All sorts of things will be told to the children to scare them away from any
involvement with ―evil‖ you. They will be coached on what to say about you
in court. Even if the courts forbid religious things being taught to the kids
during visitation times, the children will be instructed to ―hate‖ you because
you are opposing ...God‘s organization (MacGregor, 1994, p. 4).
An example of the use of this doctrine in court by a non-Witness to support her friend
follows:
I knew the Watchtower Society controlled very carefully what was said in
courtrooms. … I had seen the brochure about Child Custody cases that they
put together. But until I actually spent two weeks this last July, every day, in
court … in a child custody case, I didn‘t realize the extent to which the JWs
take their Spiritual Warfare tactics … I came in to both be a moral support to
the family, and to transcribe the proceedings so that the family could refer to
them later. … I couldn‘t believe what my fingers had to type, so stunningly
bold were their lies. Since the JWs believe that anyone who is an enemy of
the Jehovah is not ―entitled to know the truth,‖ which basically includes
anyone who is not a JW and all governments and representatives of
governments, like judges, they proceeded to lie, lie lied LIE and tell semi -and
―half‖ truths under oath in front of that judge! … Two solid weeks of it …
People going against the JWs in court should assume NOTHING—especially do
not assume that the JWs will play fair or shoot straight. They believe this is
war and that to lie to ―God‘s enemies‖ is what he [God] wants them to do—
and God‘s enemies in this case and all cases—is anyone that is not a JW.
(Anonymous, letter published in Comments from the Friends, 1999, p. 9)
Witnesses may, for example, swear under oath that they have no problem allowing their
children to celebrate the holidays, play with ―worldly children,‖ participate in school sports,
attend college, or have a blood transfusion if it meant the child‘s life, even at times falsely
claiming that this is not a disfellowshipping offense (Bergman, 1994). Some state they
...must know that they are being asked to present an outlook that is very
different from the one urged upon them in Watchtower publications. If they
are speaking the truth, without ―twisting it a bit,‖ they would not have to be
told to speak differently from the way they would in a circuit assembly—or
anywhere else for that matter (Franz, 1991, p. 285).
In this writer‘s experience, the Witnesses and their attorneys regularly and routinely follow
the booklet‘s advice to deceive the court on the stand. MacGregor, who has consulted in
many Witness custody cases, concludes:
Your J.W. mate (or ex-mate) will desperately try and get custody of the
children. Be prepared for the worst. Many have faced false charges difficult
to defend. They want to prove you ―unfit‖ as a parent. You will need strong
character witnesses who have observed you with your own children. ...At
their disposal will be their own legal experts, and your mate and children will
be coached in what to say in court. Lack of preparation on your part or your
lawyer‘s will lose you your children!
...They will have no hesitation about lying, even under oath. They have a
doctrine called ―Justified Lying,‖ teaching that you only have to tell the truth
to those ―who are entitled to it.‖ The courts, legal system, family care
workers, the ex-mates, etc., because of their resistance to, or not being part
of ―Jehovah‘s‖ organization, do not deserve to know the truth. In Jehovah‘s
Witness thinking, they are of Satan and it‘s okay to lie to him or his people to
protect ―Jehovah‖ and his organization on earth [The Watchtower Society].
...All sorts of things will be told to the children to scare them away from any
involvement with ―evil‖ you. They will be coached on what to say about you
in court. Even if the courts forbid religious things being taught to the kids
during visitation times, the children will be instructed to ―hate‖ you because
you are opposing ...God‘s organization (MacGregor, 1994, p. 4).
An example of the use of this doctrine in court by a non-Witness to support her friend
follows:
I knew the Watchtower Society controlled very carefully what was said in
courtrooms. … I had seen the brochure about Child Custody cases that they
put together. But until I actually spent two weeks this last July, every day, in
court … in a child custody case, I didn‘t realize the extent to which the JWs
take their Spiritual Warfare tactics … I came in to both be a moral support to
the family, and to transcribe the proceedings so that the family could refer to
them later. … I couldn‘t believe what my fingers had to type, so stunningly
bold were their lies. Since the JWs believe that anyone who is an enemy of
the Jehovah is not ―entitled to know the truth,‖ which basically includes
anyone who is not a JW and all governments and representatives of
governments, like judges, they proceeded to lie, lie lied LIE and tell semi -and
―half‖ truths under oath in front of that judge! … Two solid weeks of it …
People going against the JWs in court should assume NOTHING—especially do
not assume that the JWs will play fair or shoot straight. They believe this is
war and that to lie to ―God‘s enemies‖ is what he [God] wants them to do—
and God‘s enemies in this case and all cases—is anyone that is not a JW.
(Anonymous, letter published in Comments from the Friends, 1999, p. 9)
Witnesses may, for example, swear under oath that they have no problem allowing their
children to celebrate the holidays, play with ―worldly children,‖ participate in school sports,
attend college, or have a blood transfusion if it meant the child‘s life, even at times falsely
claiming that this is not a disfellowshipping offense (Bergman, 1994). Some state they
