Apostasy

Jehovah's Witnesses is one of the most famous sects in the world, yet it doesn't get anywhere near as much exposure as Scientology. This is probably one of the best faith based movies I've ever seen, mostly because it deals with the emotional and moral consequences the things you are taught to believe can have on those you love in a very realistic way. The acting is natural and none of the performers feel like people acting for a movie. It was like getting into the look of a real family and their hardships. As for how Jehovah's Witnesses members themselves are portrayed, the point is not to show them as evil. It's more of a cautionary stance, on whether it's worth jeopardizing your children's lives because of your conviction to follow one certain ideology. The controversy about Jehovah's Witnesses is that you are not allowed to give or receive blood, even in life-threatening circumstances. The mother in this movie is not an inherently bad person, she just can't find a way to balance her love for God and the love for her children. And that has consequences she might wish she would never had to deal with.

This movie will stay with you after you've watched it. I urge those who not only are interested in the subject matter of organized sects to see it, but those who think a lot about beliefs and how they can affect other people in general.

Last night my wife and I went to a screening in Sheffield and the film's writer and director was there to field a far too short Q & A session afterward.

It wasn't an easy film to watch and, in hindsight, it really only exposes the tiniest tip of what is, in reality, a truly gigantic, ugly iceberg. For someone like me who was a JW for nearly 40-years and had been either a ministerial servant (deacon), or elder for most of that time, it had an additional layer of uncomfortable poignancy.

Notwithstanding all the remedial good we've done, or attempted to do since we came "out", with a fly-on-the-wall film like this you can't help being reminded of the harm you undoubtedly caused even though the "help" you were trying to give at the time may have been well-intentioned. The road to hell truly can be very often paved with good intentions.

The film will have a very strong emotional impact for ex-JWs dependent on a number of salient factors. How long they were in...how long they've been out...how much deprogramming they have had or pursued subsequently, and how much damage they suffered during both their time "in" and/or how they've been treated following their exit.

Virtually the whole of the audience was comprised of ex-Witnesses. (This did not surprise me.) Represented there were young and old, men and women, disfellowshipped, disassociated or some that simply faded away. One thing that was agreed on by all, though, was that even though it was a work of fiction that the director had woven his own experiences and memories into, he had managed to encapsulate a real truthfulness into every one of the characters.

The hard-hearted and judgemental elders. The gossipy sisters. The rather awkward courtship/pairing rituals. The ordinary folks who are emotionally torn and battling to suppress their inner humanity in obedience to directives from "above". And overshadowing everything - a naïve, blinkered and unthinking mindset.

I use the word "unthinking" advisedly. Our received mindset actually decried and tried to suppress independent thinking and we instinctively tried to hide from the facts of history as they pertained specifically to the Watchtower Society. Many of us are "out" now because we managed to climb over that particular hurdle and start, maybe for the first time, to REALLY start to think!

It was great that after the screening we were able to have some really good, meaningful conversations... as well as the opportunity to compare scars. And it will be great to possibly meet up with some of them as a way of continuing to provide some much needed support.

If you haven't seen "Apostasy" yet, by all means, search out an opportunity to do so. However, bear in mind that if you are an ex-JW (or a naughty current JW) and do decide to watch it, you may experience some degree of triggering.

Being brought up in the religion I was interested to watch this. I have to say whoever put this film together has a real insight into how it is. Made me feel really sad to be honest at the end. A religion that makes you choose between your life, your own flesh and blood and God. No loving God would ever do that. It depicts the Witnesses exactly as they are - when you're completely convinced of your own superiority nothing else matters. There's no real feeling, love or concern or care. Just what they believe is 'Jehovah's' will. A very lonely place to be. It's not until you become 'worldly' that you realise that you wouldn't want to live in the 'new system' anyway with people who you have nothing beneath the surface other than Jehovah and taking scripture way too literal. A lot worry about leaving the religion because they're worried about being lonely. Worried they will be shunned by family and friends for making a different choice but as the film really shows the reality of their religion is also very lonely. 'All is vanity ....'

This is a realistic portrayal of the insulated life of a Jehovah Witness and the control they live under. The pain of isolation from family and community when one no longer wishes to be known as one of them. This is the reality for the thousands of Witnesses who have left. An eye opener for anyone who is curious about knowing more about Jehovah's Witnesses. The person you see at the cart or knocking at your door carries a heavy burden.

Really interesting to see all the reviews here from ex-JW's, and to read how truthful the film is, which I might have questioned. I'd always thought of the religion as fairly benign if a bit silly, with the jokes about irritating botherers knocking on doors at unwanted times part of the cultural fabric of modern Britain. Seeing this has opened my eyes. It made me angry. Hats off to the director and the actors as it is wonderfully well played, very understated, and entirely convincing. I was glued to it, gradually becoming more and more furious that this organisation exists and is supported by anyone at all. I'm not much of a fan of organised religion as a whole but one that runs on threat and exclusion is entirely abhorrent. Bravo to everyone involved. More non-JW people should see this.