Farkel
How about Rio Linda?
Why Is Smoking A Disfellowshipping Offense?
by twain30 31 Replies latest jw friends
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Room 215
That smoking is harmful, costly and sometimes unclean habit is beyond debate. Deploring it, along with gluttony and other vices is one thing; to punish and ostracize offenders and mete out the sane punishment for these practices as that meted out to the blatanltly dihonest, criminal or immoral, is an abuse power. People caught in the grip of self-destructive behavior and who desire to change need support and encouragement to fight back against their weaknesses.
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ozziepost
But Roomie, they couldn't do that, could they? It'd be Christian!!
Not at all like the Pharisees.
Cheers, Ozzie
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freeman
The true reason smoking is a Disfellowshipping offense is because a group of men that control the lives of others who in turn let their lives be controlled say it is.
This is the essence of a religious cult, or more correctly as Francois so well stated, a high control group. Men that claim to be Gods direct channel tell others what to do and if you dont do as they say, you are guilty of not offending and disobeying men, but God himself. They make up and change the rules as they go.
Yes folks, we were part of a cult, but thank God we came to our senses before we drank the cool-aid.
Freeman
Edited by - freeman on 27 August 2002 8:43:42
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LB
Hmmmm, well just my typical response on this topic here. Sometimes people can be 50 or 60 pounds overweight for reasons other than gluttoney. But at least when they are shoving a big mac in their face they aren't corrupting the health of everyone else in the room, as a smoker does.
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ozziepost
Isn't the prohibition on smoking by the WTS an evidence of the GB's own personal prejudice against smoking? They personally don't like it, so they justify its prohibition. It's always easy to find a scripture to be read as though it justified a stand that they wanted to enforce.
Clearly, they like food, so it's not banned!!!!!! In almost 40 years of judicial committees, I have never heard of a DFing for gluttony.
Cheers, Ozzie
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Mary
"....Dear Mary I certainly hope I didn't offend you in any way. One question: What if a person with a smoking habit only smokes in private or in a secluded area like a field where he can't harm anyone. In this case the love of neigbor argument wouldn't apply correct?.."
Nope, you didn't offend me at all, it was a perfectly valid question. With regards to whether someone smoked only in private where he can't harm anyone, then yes, I would say the 'love of neighbour' argument wouldn't apply. However, in my experience, I have never seen a smoker who didn't want a cigarette either with a coffee, a drink or after a meal; I guess that just goes with the territory.
If anything, I think the government should be doing alot more to help people stop smoking and lose weight...................
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Room 215
Oz, et al,
One more reason for the ban --maybe the main reason -- has nothing to do with the health and welfare of the individual dub. It has to do with image, the focus on superficial appearances; much like the insistence upon ties, one-piece bathing suits for female baptismal candidates, beards, pants suits. Unlike the other bans, it just so happens in this case that their image of the ideal JW is consonant with what is healthful and beneficial.
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twain30
Re: Mary
Your post interested me. In the business world I meet quite a few discreet smokers, people I go out to lunch with who will only smoke outside but not at the table. To me that's a totally different case from the individual who sits and smokes and doesn't care whose lungs he damages.
Re: Room 215
What you said about "Image" makes alot of sense
Around 1980 our C/O at the time gave a talk dealing with this subject. He said that the only reason smoking is a disfellowshipping offense is because of its connection with spiritism (ala druggery, paharmakia', Gal 5:20.) He went on to say that plenty of things we do are not good for our bodies, also one could smoke discreetly. I'm wondering what's changed and why this so called only reason for disfellowshipping is no longer even used.
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jws
The main reason given in the 1973 Watchtower was that smoking is tied in with spiritism because the Greek word which is rendered as Spiritism is Pharmakia' which literally means "Druggery," (see Galatians 5:20.) Therefore the argument was made that by smoking we put ourselves under spiritistic or demonic control. For the last 20 years I haven't heard this reason used.
Pharmakia also is the root of the word pharmacy. I never saw a ban on going to a drugstore or using prescription pharmacuticals.
I also had a JW tell me one time that it was a policy statement to protect themselves from lawsuits. Not sure where he heard that one from, but an interesting thought - though totally unbelievable to me. This came from the 70's right? Or was the ban before that? Frivolous lawsuits of this nature weren't that big back then. You know the kind, the "I'll sue society for the choices I've made" type lawsuits.
-jws