I know a Witness who married a woman from Africa. She became a Jehovah's Witness while in the States. He paid the value of a cow for her,no kidding! It was more symbolic than an actual cow.
Do you know anyone that's been DFd for this?
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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DT
So if you are a prominent witness in one of those countries you could use your connections in the organization to pressure the parents to give you a good deal on an attractive women that none of the other brothers can afford. It's just another perk of being well connected. I'm sure the threat of possible disfellowshipping is a great bargaining tactic.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
I kinda thought that too DT. Particularly from that ragazine farticle, it sounds like there are African traditions that are causing disunity for dubs, and discouraging FTS for the single boys... so they make issues about bride price a disfellowshipping offense? It all just seems so odd that they included that in the list. It sounds rather extreme and what is the cutoff line for it to become "greedily and unrepentantly extorts"?
"in some indonesian tribes women with big boobs get BIG bride $$$$$$"
So the bethel boys are left with the flat-chested ones. Time to call the elders in to the negotiating table to guarantee "big boobs for bethel brothers"!
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troubled mind
There actually was a CO here in the US that I remember giving council that it was a GOOD thing for Fathers to expect a Bride price from suitors . This would have been back in the 1980's . If you have a cd rom for those years research Bride Price _I think there were a few articles back then about it . He was trying to make it sound like Fathers had all the clout and young men should be able to afford a wife before dating .... in other words discouraging teen weddings ( Back then we had so many teens getting married at 17-18 )
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Here's a really old one setting the standard to DF for a high bride price:
*** w56 9/15 pp. 563-564 par. 12 Theocratic Marriage in an Alien World ***
God hates all extortioners, including bride-price extortioners, who commercialize their own daughters. Any such greedy person that claims to be a Christian puts himself in the way of excommunication or disfellowshiping from the Christian congregation any and every time that he commits extortion in the case of lobola or bride price. Paul said: “Now I am writing you to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. . . . ‘Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’” (1 Cor. 5:11, 13, NW) The extortioner’s price is unreasonably high, inconsiderate of the circumstances and calls for more than a fair compensation for the loss of a daughter. The man’s greed for money will especially be shown up when his high price makes it impossible for a Christian to procure his daughter and he will hold out for his excessive price and marry her off to a pagan who can afford it. It displays a lack of love of the brothers, but an injurious love of money.—1 Tim. 6:10.troubled mind, there's a 4 page farticle in the '89 WT, sorta gives it all a positive spin to selling your daughter. Here's a short excerpt about the problems though:
*** w89 1/15 p. 22 Bride-Price—How Should Christians View It? ***
the situation could push the young people into fornication. This is what takes place among worldly people. It often happens that a frustrated young couple will use pregnancy as the easiest means of forcing the girl’s family to accept what the suitor can afford to paySounds like this is the only way the girl has a choice in who she gets "sold" to. Maybe it's the "worldly" in me, but if the couple are genuinely in love and want to get married but family is in the way, this solves the problem much more effectively than involving the elders in bride-price negotiations.
You'd think that if God was really directing this organization, they wouldn't be plagued by such issues.