WT illegal doctrine

by itsallgoodnow 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  itsallgoodnow

  woops, something happened to that post. here's what I was going for...

  About the stumbling, I thought it was interesting they didn't put too much emphasis on it in this QFR. "there may be people who are stumbled... people should recognize though that in matters of christian conscience such as this, each christian has to make his own decision..." It just seems like they are covering their asses on this one.

  How about letting them make their own decisions, too on other things, entertainment etc? But no, stumbling is stressed very heavily there. Inconsistency!
• 

  Gopher

  How about letting them make their own decisions, too on other things, entertainment etc? But no, stumbling is stressed very heavily there. Inconsistency!

  Inconsistent, yes. The WTS rulemaking doesn't make logical sense, however when viewed from the standpoint of CONTROL it makes perfect sense.
  

  Voting is a brief activity, taking only a few minutes. Entertainment however can take several hours away, of course which they'd rather have you use in activities supporting the Society's publishing efforts. So they will make rules about things in your life (like entertainment and holidays) that might take more time away from what you can devote to this cultish organization.
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  XQsThaiPoes

  The voter is protected in most countries therefore nobody can know. Just vote by mail if you want to. Take note there are 4 teirs of JW doings. What the watchtower says JWs should do, what JWs do, what JWs do that the Watchtower does not know about, and what JWs do that nobody knows about.

  For example the Watchtower says JWs should not swear. Most (I know a few hall swearers) reserve not swearing to"gatherings", the hall, and work. Once they come home the sailor speak issues forth quite liberally even infront of the "friends". Maybe it is hypocracy or PR I can't tell, but note the WTS wording in most modern articles, saying we "should not" is the same as we "do not". In some places Jehovah's Witnesses are no different than "worldy" people. In others walking into a kingdom hall reminds you of Gataca. I can see JWs in those conservative pockets cracking under presure, but not all have Elders that act like the MIB.
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  RunningMan

  Old doctrine: Voting is wrong. If you do it God will kill you.

  New doctrine: Voting is up to your concience. Your concience bloody well better tell you it's wrong. If you do it, God will kill you.

  You cannot be disfellowshipped for voting. But, if you vote, you are stating by your actions that you no longer want to be a JW, and are automatically considered to have disassociated yourself.
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  itsallgoodnow

  Gopher, yeah, that's true.

  I was looking at it from a voting rights standpoint, thinking they maybe had changed it because they didn't want to get sued for illegally disenfranchising anyone. People have fought and died for the right to vote and that could become a real problem for a religious group to deny their people the right to vote, so my point was, are they ducking out of the way of potential legal trouble for it?

  I see they will have trouble with other policies, like the child molestation issue.

  I'm just trying to figure out what might have motivated that policy change. It's probably not important, it's just one more thing that proves they aren't really getting their ideas from God, like they claim.
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  itsallgoodnow

  Running Man, do you really think they would consider you disassociated for that? I would think that would spell legal trouble for them if that's the case. Do you know that for sure?
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  RunningMan

  Voting would have the same legal status as serving in the millitary, and that policy is written in the "Pay Attention" book.

  As for the automatic disassociation for voting, yes, I had this explained to me by two elders, but you won't find it in writing. They're getting foxy in their old age.
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  truthseeker1

  Isn't the main reason JWs don't vote is so they are no part of the world? They are told to obey the laws but not to partake in being a part of the goverment, which is what voting does?

  It looks like if they change the reason why they do things, and then decide the new reason isn't good enough, they change their doctrine.
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  XQsThaiPoes

  RM so you are saying what I am saying. The JWs make their own rules up that are not official and if pressed the WTS would blame the "elders" for being over zealous. The WTS would not reinstate you because they don't care and would leave it with you to patch it up with your local cong.
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  itsallgoodnow

  Thanks Runningman. That is very sneaky of them. That's a conclusion I keep coming to again and again!