Dear NanaR:
The personal experience that was related was a little
long, but great nevertheless.
The Watchtower has to always reinforce the concept that
leaving the organization is a bad thing. They will latch
on to this concept to avoid more defections and strengthen
the idea that something bad will happen if you leave God's
organization.
What would happen if they gave positive experiences of those
who left the organization?
An "exodus" would take place.
Respectfully,
The Wanderer
Personal Ethics of XJWs
by NanaR 14 Replies latest jw friends
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The wanderer
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NanaR
Wow, thank you all for your thoughtful responses!! Yes, I know my experience was a bit long. I always got the dreaded bell rung on me in the TMS *hah*
mrsjones5
I'm sorry that your family can't see how becoming a christian has affected your life for the good. Perhaps someday they will come to understand.
minimus
The ONLY way you can be a good person is by being a JW----that's it!
Indeed... This never seemed quite right to me, even as a little girl. We met so many really nice people in the door-to-door ministry who just didn't want to become Witnesses.
IP_SEC
Therefore I try to avoid doing things that are destructive to others, ethics aside.
Well said!
sspo
A huge number of witnesses are enjoying a sinful life
Hadn't thought about it quite that way, but you are right.
thepackage
I keep hoping that parental example has an effect, but whether because of the stressful times in which they were raised as JWs or something else, they are having a really hard time growing up (and the youngest is 24).
Confession
I think all anyone can ever do is what they believe is right.
Yes, conscience is SO important.
jwdaughter
Does he really think that if he made a real break from the org. and no longer considered himself a JW that he would turn into some guy that he could never respect?
You make a really excellent point. I'm sure he has not thought of it from that perspective.
He really is a very good man. He works with troubled teenagers in a residential treatment facility. He just can't see that he has really ALREADY quit. Since being a JW is all about the DOING, he really ISN'T one in spite of the fact that he thinks he is. But it takes some people longer than others to figure things out.
J-ex-W
THANK YOU for sharing!!!
You're welcome.
The wanderer
What would happen if they gave positive experiences of those
who left the organization?We won't get to find out, cause they won't *hah* But we can help others with positive experiences, yes?
Thank you all for your comments,
Ruth aka NanaR
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avidbiblereader
To think that only a certain group of people are right or good is prejudice. PRE/JUDICE
Pre Judge, others Jesus had a comment on that in Matt 7:1,2
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. [ a ] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged
But I really like how the Ampified Trans put the works of the flesh in Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, 20 Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), 21 Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Not my words but the ultimate Judges
abr
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becca1
I am currently fading. I have no desire to live immorally or do harmful things to others. I agree with you that "the golden rule' is the best way to live. Will the witnesses that realize I am no longer "strong" in the "truth" believe I can leave the org. and lead a good life. Probably not, but that's their problem, not mine.
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AllAlongTheWatchtower
Your post really resonated with me, NanaR. I became an atheist as a teenager, and was constantly lectured by various well meaning people about how wrong it was to not believe in god. I could never get over the hypocrisy of some of these folks. One particular person who comes to mind was a Mormon sergeant I knew when I was a PFC in the Marines, who constantly wanted to "help" me, even gave me a copy of the Mormon bible (which I still have to this day, because one of my 'personal code of ethics' rules is that no gift may be thoughtlessly thrown out). He was determined to make a believer out of me, despite my insistance that it would never happen. It came out during one of many debates we had over various subjects that he was cheating on his wife who was back home in the States (we were stationed in Japan). Cheating is one of my big personal nonos, so he lost any chance of moral high ground with me right there.
One of my biggest pet peeves over the years has been the inability of many religious people to seperate morality and ethics from rules and religion. This inability seems most evident in the more fundamentalist groups, such as JWs, Mormons, WorldWide Church of God (my own background), et al, though it is present in other more liberal groups, too. I can't count the number of times I've had conversations with people where I (sometimes reluctantly, sometimes proudly, depending on my stage in life) brought up that I was atheist, only to be met with shocked dismay and reactions like "but you seem like such a nice guy" or "you're too normal to be a devil-worshipper".
In fact, I suppose if I were to analyze myself very deeply, it could be said that many of my personal rules and mottos are/were an effort to prove that I didn't go off the deep end all those years ago when I became an atheist. The Worldwide Church of God, much like the JWs, were always putting out pamphlets and such full of information and statistics on how terrible "worldly" people were. As a youth, I was determined not to be a statistic. Anything to keep from proving their points. I would listen to the dreaded rock n roll and NOT commit suicide or OD or die in a carcrash, I WOULD get married and NEVER father illegitimate children or get STDs despite having premarital sex, etc etc. In short, I was determined to do what I wanted and still prove I could be (as good? better than?) them.
I'd venture to guess that many on this board can relate to such feelings, similarly to how it is said that in business "women have to be better than men to be noticed", many ex-JWs or ex-(insert fundy here) had a need to strive; to prove they could go on, be successful in life, for some hope of reconciliation or approval with their families who shunned them (WWCG practiced disfellowshipping also, same as JWs).