Watchtower shuts down Quotes website

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the legal agency of Jehovah’s Witnesses - which, theologically, is a cult of Christianity - has succeeded in closing down a web site operated by one of the movement’s critics.

Quotes.Watchtower.ca consisted of “a collection of interesting or significant quotes from the publications of the Watchtower Society.”

The Watchtower Society claims to be God’s only representative organization on earth, and hence the only organization qualified to explain God’s Word. The organization itself wrote, “For over a century, delightful, correct words of truth covering every aspect of life have been presented in the Watch Tower Society’s publications and widely distributed in many languages.” [Watchtower, December 15, 1990 p.26]

However, while the quotes.watchtower.ca web site did not include editorial information or personal comments, it documented - by quoting the organization’s own words - the Watchtower Society’s flipflops, unbiblical teachings, failed predictions, contradicting doctrines, and attempts at micro-managing its followers.

The site thus being a major embarassment to the Watchtower Society, the organization did what so many cults have done before: use the legal system in an attempt at information control.

Remember that the next time someone offers you one of the organization’s publications, including Watchtower and Awake.
- Editorial by the publishers of Religion News Blog
Update: You can once again find quotes from Watchtower publications online: http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/

WTS vs Quotes: Requiem for a Research Web Site

In compliance with the terms of a Settlement Agreement, my information and research web site, http://quotes.watchtower.ca, is now “dark”. The domain “Watchtower.ca” has been transferred to WTS (I assume they will have it pointing to Borg.org watchtower.org ASAP). My copies of the site have been destroyed, the files deleted, and my WT Library CD has been destroyed, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement which will afford a “discontinuance” of their suit against me. (Interesting aside: a discontinuance means the suit is merely in “suspended animation”. It will always be there, waiting to thaw out, to haunt me for the rest of my life. It will become part of my estate after I’m gone. That’s just the way it works.)

The complete scan of the settlement (PDF) is available by clicking here.

It has been said that settlement negotiations are two people working toward a mutually disagreeable conclusion. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions of Paragraph 12 of the settlement, I am unable to comment on the negotiations of the settlement. However, by that same paragraph, I am able to comment on the terms of the settlement; hence I provide the details by providing the complete settlement agreement. I have nothing to hide.

Now I can put this behind me, but I am free to talk about it publicly. Of course, that will be challenging, since I agreed, as part of the settlement, to destroy all my copies of the site and also destroy my WT LIBRARY CD. But at least I will be able to tell my story. In fact, I may even write a book, or perhaps (when I dare to dream) a screenplay. I am thinking of a farcical yet fact-based comedy, with Jim Carey playing the lead. Can you imagine the high-jinx? ALLRIGHTYTHEN!

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