...and if you're a 42yr old Yemeni, I'm a Dutchman - LOL
Why Is Love Among Jehovah's Witnesses Now Only Third Rate?
by metatron 39 Replies latest jw friends
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Finally-Free
metatron, you are being very generous to the JWs. Love may be listed third, but in practice it has a much lower priority in the day to day life of the average JW. Attending meetings, giving talks, field service, submitting their monthly reports and gossiping take up much more of their time than showing love.
When we debate minutiae like this it only makes us appear like nit-picking whiners.
Yes, the watchtower taught us well, didn't it?
W
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logansrun
Love is a purely definitional, subjective, human construct. I think that's important to keep in mind whenever we criticise the JWs or anyone else as having a lack of it.
B.
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stopthepain
As is every other emotion we have as humans.What is love,hate ,sadness to me might not be the same to somebody else.Logansrun,you are just trying to be smart.We all have a general idea of what love is and what the bible,the basis of all this crap ,means when it says love god and your neighbor.
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metatron
Logan, if Jesus placed this quality first, why does the Society drop it to third?
If they placed it first in the past, why the change now?
What does simple logic tell us? Why shouldn't human beings be drawn to love above all other qualifications?
Did early disciples really follow the Bible - a book uncompleted in their day, that few could read or own because no printing
presses had been invented? Why put that ahead of love?
More than all of the above, think about the future! Suppose we enter a world where people routinely live to be 120+,
a world in which stem cells have cured nearly every defect, crime plunges because technology lets us record everything
in public view - Where will the Watchtower's 'pie-in-the-sky' promises be then? Will they endlessly spout the tired
drivel of the 'worse and worse' mantra?
In the end, only this "love among yourselves" has relevance because of it's lasting value, despite any changes
that may come - yet, the Society is downgrading it in favor of emphasing a cultish identity of doctrines that keep
Witnesses stupid and isolated from the rest of the world.
If any of you have read their new book , it becomes very clear that all hope of reform in the organization is ended
by this publication! All of the offensive teachings - that were 'soft-pedaled' in the Knowledge book and magazines -
are now strongly underlined and emphasized.
Read the new book and tell me otherwise, if you can.
metatron
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DannyHaszard
People imitate the god that they worship
James 3:14-18:
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.Romans 1:28-32:
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.2 Corinthians 11:12-15:
12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.----------- Watchtower Whistleblower: Danny Haszard Bangor Maine Jehovah's Witnesses are the 'perfect storm' of deception-in a word they are the cult of Innuendo
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logansrun
Meta,I just feel it's silly to quibble between listing love first and listing love third. You are assuming that the order is important, but that is not necessarily the case. A list could be created in which all that is listed is of equal importance. Now, if they didn't list love at all you would have a point.
Personally, I think that any argument against the JWs in the area of love is always going to be murky and subjective at best. It's an emotional argument, one that I probably share with you, but an emotional one nonetheless. Love is a subjective emotion-thought-behavior. Some people think spanking children is completely unloving. Others feel that it is "tough love." Who am I to argue with a feeling?
When I left the JWs it was primarily due to facts, not feelings. I can prove that the JWs have a very distorted view of when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians based on the archaeological evidence. I cannot prove, though, that the JWs are "unloving." You have just as good a chance as proving that the Japanese are "unloving" as you do the JWs.
I'll stick to the facts, thank you.
B.
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DannyHaszard
Jehovah's Witnesses and "Love Bombing" what is it
Pressbox.co.uk (press release), UK - Aug 9, 2005
Love-bombing is characteristic of most cults Prospects, recruits and members are drowned in a sea of love and caring. Is this what ... -
logansrun
Danny,
When a small firm, let us say, with under 100 employees, hires a new worker they are often shown a lot of attention and receive a lot of smiles and "hello's." What you describe a "love bombing" is simply normal human social behavior.
What is more, I've seen plenty of new people at the KH -- either interested non-JWs or visiting JWs -- who were completely ignored by the congregation. I remember visiting some halls and wondering why everyone was so stand-off-ish. So, where was the "love bombing" then? As I like to say, the JWs are "damned if they do, damned if they don't" in the eyes of many "apostates." If the JWs show love, it's a false front, love bombing and they therefore are a "cult." If they JWs don't show love it's also because they are a rule-driven, Pharisaical cult. The JWs simply can't win in some people's minds.
As for me -- I experienced quite a bit of what I subjectively call "love" when I was a Witness. Big deal, say I. I didn't leave because I was a love slob deprived of love. I left because reason took me elsewhere.
B.
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LittleToe
Gotta agree with your comments, thusfar in this thread, Bradley. You make some good points.
Notwithstanding that, some people don't leave over the facts - we're all different.
