I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness (4th Edition)

I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness (4th Edition)

Joe B. Hewitt. Fate, Texas: JBH Publishing, 2013. 223 pp. (Paperback).

I wasn’t expecting much from this book. Uncreative title, four photos of the author on the cover — not a book I would pick up in the book store and read. Wanting to give the author a fair chance, however, I reluctantly began reading. Think you know where this is going? You probably do. The book was quite a surprise — well written, interesting … just the opposite of what I thought it would be.

“I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness,” as you can imagine, is not intended to convince people to become “J.W.’s” as Hewitt calls them, but to raise awareness of how people are enticed to join an organization that teaches “false doctrines … [that] are wiles of the devil and serve as a substitute for truth.”

Author Joe B. Hewitt was raised a Jehovah’s Witness because his mother was converted by visits from someone who knocked on their door when he was a young child and returned many times for “Bible study.” He notes that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only ones that reached out to his family even though there were many nearby churches.

The book is more than just a recounting of Hewitt’s life, much of which was spent as a Baptist pastor. It deals with Jehovah’s Witness teachings in great detail, pointing out the inaccuracies and inconsistencies and explaining how they are refuted in the Scriptures. In addition to being a good read, the book could serve as a helpful resource for anyone who has an opportunity to share with Jehovah’s Witnesses.