What if a man committs adultery and she is aware of it but wants to work it out initially, allowing him into her bed? Can she come to see it won't work out and that she can not get past the hurt, and so divorce him? Nope, by resumming sexual relations after knowing of the adutrery she has negated her right to get a 'scriptural' divorce, so as to be free to remarry. Tho i know of no examples that resulted in DFing (tho there could be some), i know of one case that resulted in a big congo mess and her reputation being destroyed.
What if one mate ust leaves and in time files for divorce from a distant location, is the other mate free to remarry? Nope , not unless she has "proof" of adultery. This gets messy as it is sometimes left to a woman to exercise her own judgement and "be accountable to Jehovah" for what constitutes 'proof". if however she is a pioneer or if it is a the man that seeks a divorce in such a situation, it is most unlikely that the Elders will feel this person is qualified for priviledges, because of having less than documentation or confesssion of adultery. I knew a case of a pioneer woman who was left faced with loosing priviledges or marry the man she loved because her Ex moved to mexico and never left an address so as to contact him. She was unhappily single for nearly 20 years before he wrote to her with pictures of his family. She married a couple months later.
Considering the one Matthean phrase "except on the grounds of adultery"used to support this edifice of legality srictly read does not free a woman to pursue divorce only a man, and that the verse is regarged by most authorities as an addition to the text (why Catholics disregard it) and a deviation from the even more oppressive stand upon divorce found in the other Gospels and Essenic teachings, isn't it time to stop meddling in the affairs of other people, taking away their freedom to rebuild their lives after a married fails?
About Remarriage per WTS rules
by Smyler 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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peacefulpete
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jayhawk1
What do you expect when a bunch of uneducated janitors get together and make legalistic rules?
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peacefulpete
Thank Blondie for the quotes. The issue of qualifications for MS or Elder after committing adultery and remarrying is new about 6-7 years ago. I challenged it to a branch Overseer who saw no contradiction.
So what about those presently serving tho now technically disqualified? The answer was to don't ask don't tell. If it is well known and a problem for the congo the man is expected to step aside. -
Room 215
Given the frequency of misbehavior of JWs, alarming for a Society that purports to stand as a paragon of love, virtue and moral excellence, such questions are far from mere academic exercises.
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blondie
Pete, see article I posted above is from 1961 WT re Deut 24:1-4. Do you mean another?.
Blondie could you check the 50s/60s for an article on Deut 24:1-4?
The cases I mentioned occurred within the last 7 years. I will admit that there was a battle on the elder body and the vote was 5-4. Of course, the other 4 had to agree and the CO at the time did also. It is just a political lobbying effort and good timing.
Blondie
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concerned mama
Smyler, your sister may not be spiritually strong in a Jehovah's Witness meaning of the words. That doesn't mean that she isn't a good person with reasonable morals.
I suspect the bigger problem may be that she has to decide whether she want to be a JW or not. Seems like she isn't following the rules right now, so does she really believe in the religion? If she is going to continue her relationship with the normal (worldly) guy, she will get in trouble with the elders, sooner or later, whether she marries him or not. Eventually, they will get caught.
If she is telling him or you, that they cannot marry because she is JW, then she should let this guy go, so he can find someone who loves him enough, and has enough in common with him, so that they can marry and make a life together. Someone who would put him before the Watchtower. If she wants to be a JW, then she should follow those rules and not have a relationship with him. It would be part of her choosing to be a JW.
If she wants him, then he is part of the world, and she needs to see if that is the place for her. It is time for her to get some courage and look into her religion. You are a young man with tons of courage. You researched the Watchtower and made your decision. I wish you could give your sister some of your open mindedness and guts. My personal feeling is that "believing walkaways" are unhappy people, who tend to mess up other people around them (see worldlygirl's posts), which is why I feel that she must figure out what she believes as an important step in her life.
Your sister sounds frightened and confused in looking at her future. I wish her all the best.
Merry Christmas, Smyler.
concerned mama
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jgnat
wow, Concerned Mama
It is time for her to get some courage and look into her religion. .... "believing walkaways" are unhappy people, who tend to mess up other people around them, which is why I feel that she must figure out what she believes as an important step in her life.
I think you are on to something there.
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Mulan
wasn't there some really odd hitch in this that the sinning one would not be free to marry?
There is a little hitch, but it is usually the innocent mate who can play this card. If the innocent mate decides to forgive the adulterer, that one is not free to remarry.
I saw this happen with some friends of ours. The husband left his wife and family, hooked up with another JW woman, ran off to another State, got a divorce and was reproved, but never df'd. After a year, he wanted to remarry, but it all depended on his ex wife and whether she forgave him or not. She said, "I forgive you and I want you back." He didn't, and he wasn't free to marry, but he did anyway. Now she is a regular pioneer. Ain't life grand?
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stichione
It is a good technicality someone can use to leave someone they don't love and later remarry someone else. It goes something like this: Leave your spouse and move in with someone else. You will get DF'd and the spouse will file for divorce. A year later, you rejoin the JW's (why the hell you would do that I still don't understand) and you get reinstated. So you get the best of both worlds: you leave the spouse you hate and you get to remain (eventually) a JW.
This goes to show one of the mental diseases that exist among the JW's.
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peacefulpete
Blondie, the article you posted said it was about Deut 24 tho i don't see how it applies in any way. If you can go back further try the 50s, Then again I may be remembering a conversation rather than something in print.