Can you be DF'd for obesity?

by cosmo 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  individuals wife

  Cosmo - a bit belated perhaps, but a big welcome to the board here anyway. As you can see we can tend to be very opinionated people here, we certainly know our own minds.... You said

  Next time read a little carefully.

  Maybe your future posts will be a little clearer on what point you are trying to make, your original post seemed to me, and by all accounts others too, to be an attack on larger people, the point that you were trying to make about the way the society picks what is good and bad for you was maybe slightly obscured. When you are dealing with such sensitive issues it is so important not to offend people.

  I look forward to more of your posts and some lively discussions to come, welcome aboard. By the way, I am sorry to hear about your father, I know what it is like to lose a father, please accept my sympathies, no matter how long ago he passed away.
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  cosmo

  Thanks for the welcome (Individual Wife).

  I am sometimes oblivious to how my questions or comments will sound to other people. It sounds one way to me an another way to someone else. I'll work on it.
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  Sam Beli

  Welcome, Cosmo

  I for one think you have a point. Many fundie religions have lots of “heavy” folks in them. The JWs are no exception. I have long thought that the JWs were inconsistent in this area.

  They will excommunicate a drunkard and there is a scripture somewhere that claims that a glutton is worse than a drunkard! I do not know how the WTS justifies ignoring gluttons, but they do. I guess they do not have enough space in their magazines to cover this topic.

  I knew an elder in the mid-central United States some years ago who weighted about 450 lbs. He was about 74 inches tall (188 centimeters for you Europeans and others). As you might expect it played a roll in his early death. When I was an active JW I found him an embarrassment. Nevertheless, he had no shame when calling on JW patients in the hospital. He took his hulking body cruising down the hallways looking for doctors to get the blood issue straight. It was not a pretty sight, him offering council to doctors on healthcare issues and him the picture of “unhealth.”

  Thanks for bringing up this topic.

  Sam Beli

  Sam Beli

  I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted. Solomon
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  larc

  Some have shown that obesity does not necessarily mean gluttony. However, complexities of life have never stopped the Society from making disfellowshipping rules. It has surprised me also that they have not made rules about over weight members. You would think they would force them to show a medical report, trim down, or get out. Certainly, they would have more scriptural grounds for this than the smoking prohibition.
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  Englishman

  Larc,

  Lots of people are overweight simply because they are unaware of what piles on the pounds and what doesn't.

  Take biscuits for example. A single digestive biscuit contains around 80 calories, a pint of bitter has about 160 calories.

  I gave up eating biscuits.

  Englishman.

  ..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.
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  D wiltshire

  When I was an elder on the east coast (USA) the brothers would always tell me of an CO by the name of Caramelus (not sure how to spell the name, he was Greek).

  Anyway this brother was responsible for the removal of many elders in the circuit and a favorite reason of his for removal of elders was their being over weight. According to the word of many oldtimers he associated over weight with gluttony and used that as grounds for removal, and the Society backed him up.

  In fact one fellow elder even gave a CO somewhat of a hard time because he was over weight and sighted this brother just mentioned. the CO was a little put out to say the least.

  Any oldtimers that can verify it with first hand info?

  I'll defend your right to say it, but it doesn't mean I beleive it.
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  larc

  Eman,

  I am not talking about the daily problems of eating. I am talking about the spirit begotten -:) rules from the FDS. It seems to me that elder training should address the kind of issue you raise.
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  Amazing

  Hi Cosmo: Technically, you can be DF'd for obesity, but it is extremely rare. The 'official' cause of action is "Glutony". Usually, the mosty that is done with obese JWs is counseling. Often, obese JWs have various reasons, from medical issues to psychological problems. So, the Elders are often reluctant to do much, because a number of them are obese as well. Obese JWs often suffer from the sames sorts of social problems as the rest of the world and are often not as well accepted among their JW peers. So they tend not to get promoted in the organization and thus are ignored. - Amazing
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  California Sunshine

  Individual's wife.....

  YOU ARE THE GREATEST!

  minds are like parachutes--they only function when open.
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  AngelofMuZiC

  My mother is 62 years old. She suffers from a host of medical problems, one of them being Hypothyroidism, an under-active thyroid. She is 5'2", and she weighs about 265 lbs.

  Years ago shortly after she was Baptized, a sister came to her (and the sister was no skinny mini) and asked her about her eating habits. My mother told her the truth, that she only eats twice a day, but she likes a full meal. The sister rudely suggested that she seeks counsel from the elders because her eating problem was getting worse!

  Then another sister told my mother that she had better lose some weight, before she stumbles her brothers into think that over-eating and laziness are okay!!! I can't believe the nerve of some of these people!!!!!

  Joanne