JWs have more good points than bad

by lsw1961 183 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Londo111

  There has been much said that was addressed many of the points and I will likely retread what others have said. Of course, I can only speak for myself, because we are all individuals.

  I deeply care for Jehovah’s Witnesses and want them to achieve the best life possible. This is my drive or motivation. It has nothing to do with “attacking” or hating anyone.

  In fact, I would direct you to quotes from your own publications. For instance, the 11/15/63 Watchtower, page 688: "It is not religious persecution for an informed person to expose publicly a certain religion as being false…”

  Or the 11/22/74 Awake, page 28: “But ask yourself: Why did Jesus publicly criticize religious men who claimed to serve the same God he preached? Was his motive bad? Not at all . . . What, though, if you had lived then and Jesus' followers criticized the religion of your friends and relatives? As now, it would have been easy to take offense. Still, we cannot deny that the disciples' comments – critical though they were – were right, and they are included in God's Word. As with Jesus, the motive behind the criticism was good. So the disciples were being Christian – not unchristian – in pointing out religious error . . . Far from being rejected as unchristian, then, criticism based on God's Word should be carefully considered, for it can bring real benefits.”

  Therefore, any criticism toward the beliefs and practices I or many others might give toward this organization is akin to what has been outlined in these quotes.
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  Introvert 2

  Epic post !! I OP I was where you are on account of not taking the time to do my own due diligence. I wouldn't of gotten baptized had I of known. Research the societies history and the societies four kings. Things went downhill quickly with Rutherford, still felt to this day in their company men. If you are happy in then good for you, but intellectual dishonesty does not sit well with me reason I'm out, not on account of wanting to hit the strip clubs.
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  jhine

  Isw I notice that you have not answered my post . This has happened before when I have brought up the " Should You Believe " booklet and the deliberate inaccuracies in it . As someone else has posted since one lie is enough to put the whole into question .

  Do you consider that I am spewing venom because I admitted to being a member of Christendom ? Read the people quoted for yourself then come back and tell me that what I said was wrong .

  As I also said the things that you consider good about the WT are found in other faith groups - and more .You do not need to be a Witness to be moral , most atheists are very moral and many people have gone from messy lives to fulfilled lives in Anglican ,Catholic , Baptist and Methodist churches . Without the manipulation, control and pressure of the Watchtower .

  Jan
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  Billzfan23

  Of course I do refrain from shunning which I personally consider as wrong.

  So... you wish/choose to remain a part of an organization, that....if they found out you were posting on this board - would discipline you...yet you remain???

  Your "bible trained conscience" isn't motivating you to go to them and tell them that you've posted the above statement - a statement where you've posted your thinking in opposition to theirs, and ultimately (in their view) - Jehovah's?

  Such measures are not only right, but also a loving act as this is in the best interest of the majority of the law-abiding members of the organization/Governments. Anyone can have disagreements .
  

  Wait, I thought you didn't agree with the shunning?

  If I had asserted, I would have been disfellowshipped and organization would still continue as it was before, thus asserting accomplishes nothing.

  Actually (and factually) - there is a tipping point. The organization will eventually no longer "continue as it was before" if more people took a stand in opposition of their faulty and destructive views.

  Are you counting time, or do you just have some doubts or pangs of unrest that you are trying to bury?
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  DesirousOfChange

  I will stick to JW in so far as they have more good points than bad (which means I am not fanatical about them).

  (I haven't read all the pages of posts yet, so forgive me if I am repeating this analogy.)

  I've heard the illustration many times (in Public Talks and at Assemblies) about taking a glass of pure, clean drinking water and adding a little bit of poison/manure/sewage (your pick) to the glass. It's still "mostly good" water. Certainly more "good" than "bad". At what point do you decide that it's "dirty"?

  1% sewage?

  10% sewage?

  49% sewage? Still more "good than bad".
  

  51% sewage? There, it is finally "more bad than good".

  Most of us here have come to the conclusion that WT Doctrine and the WTS in general has a lot more "sewage" than we can palate anymore.
  

  Doc
  
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  Beth Sarim

  Interesting thread.

  Agreed!! With all the nutty/failed prophesies, shunning and isolation. I do agree however that people in the Borg have inherited many, many fine qualities though.

  A lot of people in the Borg have many fine attributes, good quality of life, but not all of the people in the Borg. Many cover-ups(like elders instructed to destroy evidence), or (child abuse and cover-ups). The ladder two items the rank and file have no clue about. That is sad though.
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  xjwsrock

  Good one Doc...

  I agree wholeheartedly.
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  Crazyguy

  They like to kill people, is that a good point?
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  Village Idiot

  lsw1961:12 hours ago

  1) Many who were on the destructive path have been transformed by their teachings (this includes me who was once vicious, and presumptuous and atheistic)

  Many religions have done that for many of their members but the Watchtower doesn't give them any credit for that.

  2) Equal monthly pay to all members of the Bethel community regardless of whether they are BC members or sweepers. This is something that still remains as an unattainable dream for the world. But JWs have successfully done it in all their Offices throughout the world for over a century. This is no insignificant accomplishment as this has the potential to solve virtually all the problems of the world.

  There are plenty of charitable organizations that have volunteer workers.

  3) The way they start their day with discussing a spiritual thoughts (Daily Text) puts the members in a good and positive frame of mind empowering them to deal with the challenges of the day ahead. They way they are being trained to talk to objection-raisers and conversation-stoppers gives them good speech mannerism in all avenues of life.

  You are obviously ignorant of what many other Christians do.

  4) Numerous legal victories in favor of freedom of expression and beliefs have helped even non-JWs also.

  The Witnesses have won freedoms that they would not give to their own members.

  5) They effectively invited the attention of the world into the thinking that evolution theory is just a theory believed out of convenience rather than conviction...

  They haven't invited any such thing. They have too small an impact to influence what anyone outside of their organization thinks. It is Fundamentalist Christians who have had an impact. In fact the first evolution book that the Watchtower produced quoted extensively from Christendom's creationist books.
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  DogGone

  A warm welcome to you. The JW religion is not all bad. It certainly was a benefit to me in my growth and development... until it very much wasn't.

  Please understand, you are in a room with many people who have been hurt and abused by this religion. We have developed a different frame of reference and now look at our experience differently. Just maybe, after all, it was OK we didn't have dinner ready on time. It might seem unbalanced, but consider if you joined a forum of incest survivors, you would hear expressions of trauma and rage. Pointing out all the ways daddy was such a great guy, what with all the kind things he has done... well, you can imagine the reaction.
  

  Many of us have lost a lot. If it seems unbalanced, well it is. Healing often is.

  Jehovah's Witnesses have many great qualities. The organization is also impressive in many many ways. That is beside the point, though. Monsters do good things too.

  Please keep posting. Challenge us. Call us out. It is how I got free and happy - it started with trying to prove Apostates wrong just as my journey into the JW's started with trying to prove them wrong. Keep on seeking, someone once said....