Bridge of Reason

  Perhaps a core aim of Reachout Trust is to help those caught up in the cults to successfully exit the group and come to a faith in the Lord Jesus as their saviour. But what is the best way to do that, is there a silver bullet or a holy hand grenade that instantly brings the cult member into the truth? I have come to use AI more in my research and found it very useful and insightful in its responses. It does always warn that it can make mistakes so one has to be careful in trusting it too blindly. I asked it what the most effective strategy would be to bring someone out of the Watchtower Society and here is its answer. The Core Problem: Why Direct Approaches Fail The instinct is to confront — to present the failed prophecies, the blood transfusion deaths, the NWT translation issues. This almost always backfires. The Watchtower has pre-inoculated members against exactly this: outside criticism is framed as Satanic attack, which *confirms* the member's worldview rather than ch...

  With what authority does the Watch Tower Society speak? Does the Watch Tower bring light, as it claims? Olin R Moyle began his association with Charles Russell’s Bible Students group in 1910. He worked as legal counsel for the Society from 1935 to 1939. A disenchanted Moyle resigned in July 1939, after witnessing the ill-treatment of Bethel staff, and Joseph Rutherford’s heavy drinking and luxurious lifestyle. The Watch Tower responded with a strongly worded article in the Watchtower magazine in which they accused Moyle of lying, comparing him to Judas Iscariot. His local congregation disfellowshipped him, and in 1940 Moyle sued the Society for libel. Moyle won, and won again on appeal, initially being awarded $30,000, later reduced to $15,000. That’s more than $707,000 and almost $354,000 in 2026. It is always a mistake for a cult to find itself in open court. So much is brought to light that they would rather not talk about as they are asked questions they would rather not an...

Mormonism's Open Canon? Mormonism is founded on the idea that the early church went into apostasy because of the absence of apostles and prophets. Mormonism is presented as a ‘restoration’ of ancient authority and prophecy. The Bible should never have been a closed canon, so Mormonism operates from an open canon. The problem arises when we quote Brigham Young, Mormonism’s second prophet, the ‘American Moses’ who led the saints to the Salt Lake Valley. You might think such an important leader would have something to add to the Mormon canon. He certainly had plenty to say during his thirty years presidency of the church. Nevertheless, he has but one entry in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 136: ‘The word and the will of the Lord, given through President Brigham Young, at the Winter Quarters of the Camp of Israel...January 1, 1847’ He said plenty, of course, much of it recorded in the 26 volume Journal of Discourses. But what was once recognised as a ‘Standard Work’ of the churc...

  It is commonly understood among Mormons that the Fall was a good thing. A 27 April post on X has sent the Christian world in a spin because it plainly said as much: 'In the LDS Church, we do not see Eve eating the forbidden fruit as a mistake or even a sin. on the contrary, we celebrate her courage and wisdom to partake of the fruit, transgress the bounds of Eden and become all that her Heavenly Father wanted her to be.' Of course, nobody outside the Mormon Church would teach such a thing. It goes against everything the Bible tells us, everything Christianity teaches about the nature of man, the purposes of God in creation , and the meaning of the atonement. People get uncomfortable when we use the word 'cult,' but it must be understood that error on this level cannot be winked at. It must be called out for what it is, plain heresy. People must be warned, and the fact someone 'sincerely believes it’ is no excuse. If it upsets our Mormon neighbours then pe...

  Christians around the world are celebrating what is, perhaps, the greatest event in human history – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For millennia we have believed that Christ was raised bodily, that the body He inhabited while living was raised to perfection. In 1 Corinthians 15 v 35-54 we find details of what His (and our) new body looked like, it is not the same, and yet it is. Sown perishable it is raised imperishable, it dies physical, it is raised spiritual. Jesus’ body clearly had unearthly powers as we can see from it popping in and out of locked rooms at will (John 20 v 19) and vanishing before people’s eyes (Luke 24 v 31). But the Watchtower would have us believe this was all a big con. They claim that Jesus was not raised bodily but as a spirit, that Jehovah somehow dissolved His physical body into its constituent atoms to hide it away. They claim that Jesus only appeared to be in physical form in order to convince His disciples that He had indeed been raised. The...

  This Contribution by Robin McEwen Common questions that Jehovah's Witnesses often employ on hearing criticism of their religion/organisation are ‘Where else would I go?’ and ‘which other religion is as close to early Christians as ours?’ I get the impression that JWs think in terms of groups, denominations, and organisations. I believe this stems from the fact that they are taught that their own group is ‘the truth’, and all other groups or churches as false. O n finding out you are a Christian, a Jehovah’s Witness will want to know which church or denomination you belong to, as they seem to have a set opinion on each church group. What they are unaware of, is that within the rich tapestry of Christian cultures/denominations there is a unity which arises out of the fellowship that all born again believers share. We may worship in varied ways organise our churches slightly differently etc., but generally speaking, we have unity. He who unites us, Jesus Christ, is infinitely g...