by turtleturtle 27 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I used to be the same TT. Then after I left the borg I listened carefully to other opinions and discovered life was far less black-and-white than I had previously imagined.
I have agreed with you that the borg is inconsistent on the subject but if you are going to take a intransigent stand against abortion that's another topic.
Thanks for your thoughts.
When in was still indoctrinated, when things were a Conscience matter, to me it often meant you still had to do obey.
You would not get disfellowedshipped for it, but you should still had to do the right thing . Otherwise you were spiritually weak.
I find this type of mind controle fairly violent.
It also works as a divide & conquer strategy.
I'm opposed to abortion, but I'm even more opposed to others imposing their views on this subject on women. Abortion is a personal choice, and it should stay that way.
WT is against IUD and any post conception method. Sharp and clear.
well this is what I find appaling:
I have never understood why, according to the WT, JWs are okay (conscience matter) with birth control methods like the pill, mini-pill, Depo-Provera, and IUDs. I am not trying to spark an abortion debate. But I was actually angry at the WT when I started researching how the mini-pill prevented pregnancy. Research it for yourself! My spouse and I felt betrayed by the WT because they did not provide the proper spiritual food for us at the right time. I still remember praying and asking Jehovah for forgiveness for any life that was unknowingly aborted.
turtle turtle I mean no disrespect to you- its just this suggests you are so dependent on the WT you get angry when you have to think for yourself.
Also, I live quite happily without confronting this sort of extreme view- and when I do it comes as a bit of a shock to my system. I value life, including non human life. Your post made me think of two things:
1. Personhood
2. Life- Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
Personhood
you might find this of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personhood
its not great and I wont cut and paste the whole thing here, but just consider how we define when someone is a person and what right that involves- according to this article women were not legally considered person until the 70s!!!
The words about pursuing life liberty and happiness in the Declaration of Independence were written to apply to white male landholders!
Another thing thats interesting- in the US we count age from the time of birth- a Korean friend of mine counts age from conception- they add a year for time in the womb to their age.
I hope you will look into this, because the concept of personhood and its presence as a legal term is interesting and important. Personhood was a consideration in stopping stem cell research. Its in the UN charter of human rights.
2. Life: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
I still remember praying and asking Jehovah for forgiveness for any life that was unknowingly aborted.
Do you eat meat. Do you own a fly swatter. Do you wear leather. Do you buy food grown with pesticides. Do you own a cellphone.
What I am saying here is you are locating yourself on a spectrum of violence and ethics- what you will kill, directly and indirectly, and what kind of killing you consider wrong and which kind is OK. I say this because many religions have taken the ethic of non violence to the extreme of not wearing shoes which might squash a bug underfoot!
The IUD was never "approved" by the WTS as it intentionally prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg (i.e., "baby") in the uterus. I knew this over 30 years ago, before I was ever married / sexually active.
That's what I remember about the IUD, Scully.
