Why a JC if the adulterous mate is forgiven?

by snugglebunny 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  snugglebunny

  Supposing a man's wife has had an affair, confessed all and genuinely regrets what's happened. The husband, after much soul searching and agonising, realises how much he still loves her and how much both of them want to rebuild their shattered relationship.

  Why should that woman then have to sit in front of a judicial men-only committee and give a blow-by-blow account of her affair?

  How would that make her husband feel, knowing that his wife is sharing intensely private stuff about her affair with several other guys?

  Wouldn't that JC be incredibly damaging to a couple who's relationship is already desperately fragile?
  
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  XBEHERE

  It is because of the WT application of

  James 5:14"Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.…"

  What they do is apply this as confessing only to the elders while they conveniently leave out verse 16:

  "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much"

  So confession to your spouse or another Christian is not acceptable enough to be forgiven by God even though Jesus died for our sins not them.
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  Finkelstein

  Why should that woman then have to sit in front of a judicial men-only committee and give a blow-by-blow account of her affair?

  JW elders like this game of power and control it uplifts their personal stature of themselves.

  Sticking their noses into people's personal lives makes them that more assuming powerful.

  Elders should only be brought into situations like this if asked to by the individuals. themselves.
  
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  campaign of hate

  You raise a good point.

  Never really thought what would happen in this situation until now.
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  DesirousOfChange

  Compare Ps 32:1-5 (Sounds kinda like a WT, doesn't it?)
  

  There David says he confessed his sins to The LORD and was forgiven.

  There it is. That simple.

  No need for confession before 3 window-washer/janitor/unemployed Elders to achieve forgiveness (even for a little coveting and adultery and conspiracy to murder).

  Doc
  
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  OnTheWayOut

  Unless an offender is an elder (or higher), or is the family member of an elder (or higher), and even sometimes then- breaking any JW rules must be met with some kind of punishment.
  
  The husband in your situation could sit in on the judicial meeting and cause it to be less graphic (if at all).
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  millie210

  OTWO is correct about the "or higher".

  We had a C.O. that told a wife she needed to talk to a couple elders but told the elders NOT to make it judicial.

  Basically he (the C.O.) waved a magic wand since the sister was a distant family member of his.
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  snugglebunny

  The husband in your situation could sit in on the judicial meeting and cause it to be less graphic (if at all).

  My OP refers to a real actual situation. The husband was not a JW, so no input was sought from him. He was actually furious at what he perceived to be an outright intrusion into his private life and begged his wife not to attend. She was convinced that she would be disfellowshipped if she didn't attend. So she did. Her attendance didn't help matters between them at all.
  
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  redvip2000

  Why should that woman then have to sit in front of a judicial men-only committee and give a blow-by-blow account of her affair?

  Because they don't read the Penthouse letters and this is as close as they can get to learning juicy details about a naughty sexual encounter?
  
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  ron rawson

  Going a step further, the WT claims that once the couple resumes sexual relations, there is no second thoughts....it's a done-deal of forgiveness. I faced that as an elder sitting in on these situations and never understood the reasoning behind that. Personally I felt that a man or woman who had a cheating mate might not realize how much they love (or hate) the guilty party until they do have sex again....intimacy might be the make-or-break facet of the marriage. I never found any scriptural reasoning behind this dogma either. I have regretted and wish I could go back and un-do all the stupidity I was part of being an 'elder' and on judicial committees. Hindsight is 20/20.