basic questions (page 2)

bigmouth

Hi byr, many Witnesses would simply never enter a church building, some might. As a professional photographer and a Witness I entered many churches and had no problem doing so in the course of my job.But in the back of my mind I was always afraid I was going to "stumble" someone or a hard-line elder may "suggest" my behaviour was not exemplary.

I have had an elder fill in for me from time to time when I haven't been well.

Hope this is of interest to you.

Gordy

My JW wife and two JW daughters refused to attend the wedding of out eldest son last year. Because it was being held in a church. But of course the othe complication was that our son and myself are both disassociated from the JW's.

When my non-JW father died in 1985, I had to ask if it was OK for me to attend the funeral in a church. I was told it was ok as long as I sat at the back and took no part in the service, and not to send flowers.

greendawn

Welcome to the forum, most ppl here consider the JWs to be a destructive cult that everyone should keep well clear of. They think of all other religions as being satan controlled and they think that they themselves are the only pure religion.

KW13

BYR incase you are worried we will try and change the picture of what JW's are like then don't worry. They've painted the picture themselves and you just need to take a look around here to see how bad the artist did his job.

Feel free to stay, you are under no obligation to accept what we tell you but we'd certainly love to hear what you think sometime!

deeskis

Hi Brian I was born and raised a witness for 21 years. My active JW sister and her husband did not attend my wedding in a church due to their witness convictions, (and due to the fact that other members of their congregation might think badly of them, or be stumbled), they did however come to the wedding reception after the church service. Some witness's would not even do that.

To not do so would be like asking an Evangelical Baptist to explain Mormoiism to me.

actually it would be like asking an ex-mormon to explain mormonism, completely free of the hangups that the relgion imposes.

true most posters here are ex-witnesses, although there are a number who still associate. those who have a full understanding of the religion.....and who have seen it's faults, inconsistencies and hypocricies.

our blinkers are off!

best wishes

D

jwfacts

Welcome.
There are not many JWs that answer questions on the Internet as they are discouraged from associating with the things of the world. Also an active JW will answer your questions in the best light possible, not necessarily the most accurate. You will get the straightest answers here. Many that are here know the answers to your questions better than most that are part of the JWs, as it was through in depth study that we came to believe it to be wrong. We will also often back up any question with Watchtower quotations. Your best bet would be to try to get an answer form both active and ex JWs, and that way you will have a rounded out view.

Here is another article about it from a Watchtower
w74 12/15 pp. 766-767 Questions from Readers ***

Questions from Readers

• What is the view of Jehovah’s witnesses toward attending the wedding of a worldly acquaintance or relative?

In the case of minors who contemplate attending, the final decision rests with the parents. Otherwise it is a matter for personal decision, with each Christian being willing to bear his own responsibility. However, there are Scriptural principles and a wide variety of circumstances that should be considered.

The wedding ceremony may be conducted in a religious building and by a clergyman. This would make it quite different from a purely civil ceremony. A true Christian could not conscientiously join or participate in any prayers or religious exercises that he knew to be contrary to Bible teaching. Nor is he interested to see how close he can come to apostate acts without overstepping the line. He is under obligation to heed the Scriptural command: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? . . . Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing.’”—2 Cor. 6:14-17.

Understandably, one invited to attend a wedding of worldly relatives and acquaintances may at times be faced with quite a problem. For example, the invitation may have been extended to a Christian wife and her unbelieving husband. He may think that both of them should be present for the wedding. Yet she may be troubled about it. She may reason that, if she were to attend a church wedding, the emotional pressure of the circumstances could cause her to do something wrong. On the other hand, she might conclude that, out of regard for her husband’s wishes, she could go with him merely as a respectful observer, but being determined not to share in any religious acts.

whyizit

If you are interested in finding out more about the JW religion, why it is different from Christianity, and how to approach JWs and ask them questions to make them think, there are many books that can help you.

There is a book called Reasoning From The Scriptures With The Jehovah's Witness by Ron Rhodes that is a terrific beginner. Approaching Jehovah's Witnesses In Love by Wilbur Lingle is a great book to, because it helps you learn how to relate better to the JW. Both of these books are available in the bookstore at Free Minds.

Welcome to JWD!

insearchoftruth

Welcome to the forum, I am also not a jw, but have learned a lot from this site. When looking for info on the watchtower, there tends to be the information posted on their official site, which really appears to only be a placeholder to make sure someone else does not get the url for thier use and then a lot of very critical information of the watchtower. Before my wife's parents made a big deal about not attending our wedding in a church and we moved it to a chapel, where we had to remove the cross because of its non-Christian symbolism and then her starting a bible study, I knew nothing about the jws, except they went door to door. Now what I am learning about the jws is alarming to me, not necessarily because of the doctrine (which I do not agree with and I do believe is faulty), but because of the dominating control exercised by the organization and their position between most of the members and God, it is essentially impossible to have a personal relationship with your God, it is only through an organization. One of the sites I found interesting, though still biased is the jwreform site, which has ex jws or present jws sort of in hiding and are questioning the organization, while still believing the theology.

Good luck with your search for information.

AuldSoul

BYR,

I sent you an email. There is no Scriptural injunction against this, in fact the First Century Christians were frequently in the Jewish Synagogues and the Jewish and Gentile Temples preaching. It is an unscriptural way for them to protect the flock from any other ideas besides those coming from the Governing Body.

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

insearchoftruth

Thanks Auld Soul,

I wish I'd have known that at the time of my wedding, but was not worth the fight. What was also interesting at the time was the other traditions we were unable to do such as a unity candle because it is a tradition that is man made and not scriptural. For an organization who prides themselves on unity of thought, there sure seems to be a lot of disunity here.

basic questions

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