'The good outweighs the bad'. I don't think so.

ThomasCovenant

Hi

For most of my 30 years in the 'Truth' (age 12-42 thereabouts) I have always doubted many many things taught from the Watchtower. However like many if not most of those brought up in it I got swallowed up in the whole social side of it. Bringing up children in it I told myself that it wasn't such a bad life after all. In the latter years I used to say to my 'elder' brother in law ( who also strongly doubted and now doesn't believe) that although it's not the 'Truth' it's a good way of life and the good things about it outweigh the bad. Therefore I stayed put for far too many years.

When, however a 'bad' thing, ie the blood issue, directly affected me I decide that I was wrong all the time. The bad definitely outweighs the good.

People living a supposed moral life with a large social circle does not outweigh people dying from the blood policy and families and friends torn apart because of the shunning policy.

Why did I not see it before? Possibly because it never affected me personally. I didn't know anyone who had died from the blood issue, I knew of no child abuse, there weren't many disfellowshippings, no divorces and I did enjoy many years of friendship with many people. Probably this is most peoples experience.

Coming to this website I now realize that there are a lot of people who have suffered greatly because of this religion throughout the world. The internet brings these widely distributed cases to my one little computer at home.

More importantly there are definitely more local cases of divorce, separation, disfellowshippings and families splitting apart as younger ones and those hitting their 40's leave.

In a way I'm glad that the 'blood' issue forced me into a decision.

Thanks

Thomas Covenant

zack

You wouldn't drink a glass of your favorite beverage if there was even one drop of poison in it, would you? The JW's loved that question when strking down other religions. The same applies to them.

Shepherd Book

Here's one instance of that exact line of reasoning:

"Most religions do teach that a person should not lie or steal, and so forth. But is that sufficient? Would you be happy to drink a glass of poisoned water becuase someone assured you that most of what you were gettting was water?" -Reasoning from the Scriptures, page 323

I told myself for years that the good was outweighing the bad. But as the years went by, more and more of my friends were deemed "bad association", and I was no longer able to communicate with them. Then a man in our congregation was reinstated after having been DF'd for child molestation. So I was not able to talk to one friend of mine bacause she was "unevenly yoked" and I couldn't talk to another friend because he outwardly said he didn't agree with everything the Society taught. Yet, I was able to talk to and spend time with a pedophile. Weird.

sass_my_frass

You might be in a majority on this. I heard my brother say the same thing - even the thinking type will let their inertia keep them there until something happens in their lives that makes it easier to go than to stay. My 'elder' brother has said the same thing, and I wonder what he's been thinking for the last few weeks when his wife lost a lot of blood during birth. I can't imagine what it takes for a partner to be willing to let their beloved slip away. Something like that should make it so much more real.

changeling

Witnesses tell their Bible students that if they find any falsehood in their own religion it is automatically classed as "false religion" which = Babylon the Great, which they should then get out of. But they cannot seem to apply this princple to their own religion. Go figure!

Sunspot

I see a lot of posters on another board that relate this kind of stupid reasoning....the idea that the Watchtower is the closest thing I can find to pure religion....is preposterous. Being IN the WTS severely limits any chance of discovering what ANY other religion has to say, or to offer...as a closer thing to truth! A JW is only allowed to research within the WTS publication's parameters which, of course, leads them right back TO the WTS!

The JW will blindly spend the rest of his entire life reading and being told te men of the WTS opinions, that they then MUST pattern their lives after and loyally obey. HOW can Christian Freedom even be thought of, when a mind is chained to the proven false predictions and speculations, changing doctrines and stupid opinions of delusional old men?

under_believer

ThomasCovenant, I have nothing specific to contribute to this thread other than to compliment you on an excellent, well-thought-out post that really nails how I feel about this issue.