Apostate?

by PEC 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  IP_SEC

  all xians except JWs are considered apostate. Funny how they can talk to some apostates and not others
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  MadTiger

  It sort of reminds me of the word "snitch," and how it is misused by most.
  
  Being a snitch or a traitor presumes that you broke an oath or a bond when you ratted on the person or organization. If you don't owe any allegiance to the entity now or then, then you can't be called a betrayer.
  
  So I would think that if you never made a FULL dedication, how can someone say you are going back on it?
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  Mum

  "Apostate" is their label, not ours. We use the word tongue-in-cheek here on this board to the point that it might appear to a newbie that we really do consider ourselves apostates by whatever definition. I thought an apostate (WT definition) had to be baptized, but I read a post the other day about a practice (not still in effect?) among JW's of disfellowshipping unbaptized publishers.

  Gopher: I'll drink to that.

  Regards,

  SandraC
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  IP_SEC

  I am an apostate by any definition SandraC
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  neverendingjourney

  Many rank and file JWs (most?) can't appreciate the distinction. To them, anyone that has anything bad to say about their religion is an apostate and should be treated as a lying, demon-possessed pile of garbage who should be avoided. This bothered me even when I was a faithful JW.

  If you're trying to be faithful to the English language, an apostate is someone who has turned away from the religious beliefs they formerly held. The term should therefore apply only to baptized JWs or perhaps unbaptized JWs that embraced the religion but turned their backs on it before baptism. The scriptures (I don't believe in them anymore) do seem to indicate that Christians should perhaps avoid association with people that have left the faith, but the same can't be said about people who never embraced the faith to begin with. Jesus frequently confronted religious leaders who opposed him and attempted to show how hypocritical they were. Today's JWs refuse to do that. They prefer to teach their members to not waste their time with people who like to argue and many R&F view them as apostates who should be avoided, even though they don't actually fit the definition of the word "apostate." I was told by a CO to not call on a religious man out in field service that I had visited a few times because he had read apostate literature and we shouldn't soil ourselves with that filth. I suppose our light was supposed to shine in front of people that were completely ignorant of JW teachings only.
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  PEC

  Why don't you just get baptized, then DA yourself so you can be an official apostate??!!

  gymbob,

  Wouldn't that require me to accept a bible study with them?

  Philip
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  Arthur

  The Watchtower organization uses the word "apostate" in the same manner that Senator Joseph McCarthy threw around the word "Communist". One didn't have to show disloyalty to country or to the constitution to be branded as such, all they had to do was have political leanings to the left.

  In the same fashion, one does not have to show disloyalty to God, Jesus, or the Bible to be an "apostate". They merely need to disagree with a piece of the Watchtower sectarian dogma to gain that honorary title. Joseph McCarthy would have made a fine Governing Body member.
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  changeling

  Joseph McCarthy would have made a fine Governing Body member

  That's hilarious! And so true.
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  betterdaze

  ***Is it possible to be apostate without being baptized?***
  
  Yes, I am living proof. With a capital "A" for emphasis, thank you.
  
  
  ***I never had faith, never believed. I believed what I was told until I could think for myself.***
  
  I had faith, I believed. It's *because* I could think for myself that I never became baptized. Far too many questions with unsatisfying answers. The dissonance was palpable but I resorted to self-blame and "threw my burden on Jah." The much-lauded practice of personal bible study was the death-knell.
  
  
  ***...then I'd say let's share a beer.***
  
  Let's!
  
  Cheers to my never-baptized fellow apostates. We may not have escaped unscathed from our experiences, but at least no Jehovah's Witness in good standing (tm) can shun or disfellowship us for knowing the real deal. As true (ahem) Christians, they are always welcome to my home to drop off literature and discuss matters of vital (ahem) importance.
  
  Therein lies our power to topple the Tower.
  
  ~Sue (of the once inculcated but nevva wuzza class)
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  PEC

  Beer for everyone, you too WAC.

  Apostate - Philip