good in jehovah's witnesses

by John Doe 42 Replies latest jw friends

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  John Doe

  I thought it might be nice to see some positive things mentioned about jw's. Now, I know mentioning these things may be hard given the experiences here, but I've yet to find a group of people who don't have something positive about them. If there weren't something positive, no one would ever join. Now, if we can't find a positive thing to say, then we probably don't have a balanced view.

  Ok, I'll start. I always appreciated the sincerity of a few of the older men and women in my congregation. They were the sweetest things in the world--honest and sincere--and I never heard them say a negative thing about anyone. A few had been in the religion since the 50's and had to make some great sacrifices for what they believed. Even though they were and are misguided, I still have profound respect for them.
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  ozziepost

  I always appreciated the sincerity of a few of the older men and women in my congregation.

  You are kiddin', aren't you?.....well, aren't you??? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  bigdreaux

  no offense john, but, me saying something nice about the witnesses, would be equal to saying something nice about the k.k.k. i'm sure there is something good about them, but, the primary mission is evil and i refuse to support it in any way.
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  John Doe

  No, actually I'm not.
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  Warlock

  When I first became a witness, our congregation had some kind and caring, usually older, brothers and sisters.

  Those were the days.

  Warlock
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  keyser soze

  They're firm in their convictions. They won't even let things like facts and logic sway them. How's that?
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  John Doe

  I agree keyser. However, faith and religion is rarely about logic and reason. ;-)
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  fjtoth

  John Doe,

  Good observation. We ourselves were once part of the organization. That didn't make us bad people. I think most of us tried to do the right thing most of the time. We were misled, but that's true of many decent people in other denominations as well. I think the Watchtower religion is evil and hurtful to millions of its members. And I think Jesus would have pity on many JWs and make the observation that they are "skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36) Still, we all have the responsibility to come to our senses sooner or later. As he also said, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." -- Matthew 7:15.

  I do think we need to be careful how we judge individuals, regardless of whether they are a pope or a lowly slave. None of us were able to decide what country or religion in which to be born. Personally, I think there are many religions that mislead people, but in the final analysis it is God who decides what those people are at heart. None of us have the authority or power Jesus had to judge people as he judged the scribes and Pharisees, many of whom later repented and even became his disciples. -- Acts 6:7.

  Frank
  http://formerjw.homestead.com
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  keyser soze

  I have no problem with faith as long as it isn't based on something that's proven beyond a doubt to be false.
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  neverendingjourney

  Yeah, expect a backlash, John. There's a lot of negativity here about the Witnesses. I suppose it's to be expected from a site composed almost entirely of former members. I personally prefer posts from members that don't harbor such nastiness and hatred in their hearts. It reminds me a lot of the mentality that a lot of Witnesses had when they talked about the "world." I'm quite put off by it, to be blunt.

  Some of the best people I have ever known are Jehovah's Witnesses (including my parents). Some of the worst people I've ever met are also Jehovah's Witnesses. There are good and bad things to be found in any group. It's too bad that some people are blinded by the rage and hatred that they still harbor in their hearts to the point that they can't see this. I don't understand why people act as if every active JW is an evil demon. The people are being misled by a religious ideology that we once bought into ourselves. If we're going to call them evil just because they're JW, then by definition we were evil ourselves when we were practicing members. I don't buy it. There are a lot of really sincere people trapped in the religion. A lot of them don't like to have to follow along with their teachings, but they think they are being obedient to God by doing so. I hope they all eventually wake up and see the light. I also hope that a lot of the posters here wake up and realize that not every JW is an evil person. Certainly a great deal of them are, but we shouldn't just throw a blanket over them and denounce each and every one of them at an individual level.