They are not so strict, I never got involved in adultery after leaving the JWs or in homosexuality but I had relationships with single females. As far as I am concerned there is nothing wrong with single persons having sex by mutual consent. The Jews under the Mosaic law could have many wives and concubines so they enjoyed sex without the inhibitions imposed by the JWs and Christianity.
Are Your Morals The Same As When You Were A Witness?
by minimus 84 Replies latest jw friends
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littlerockguy
As a pot smoking homosexual I may be considered "immoral" but I do treat others like I want to be treated and I am more ETHICAL than some of dubs I have met in my lifetime. LRG
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LearningToFly
I consider myself a moral person, I am honest, law abiding, caring, and live a moral life. Although I am open regarding sexuality, I also consider myself moral in that regard as I have high standards for myself and those that may become my partner. So, in general, I suppose my morals are much the same, not due to bible standards, but due to human moral standards that society lives with or without a religious background.
LTF
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minimus
I'm fascinated by this thread. What I'm seeing is that if we don't accept or believe in a biblical standard of morality---then we don't think we can actually what or who is moral.
Killing is considered by most as immoral. Yet in wartime, it may not be. Hitler's henchmen never really accepted that what they did was wrong, as Saddam felt, too. It appears that since we as individuals are the ones that define what is moral, then one cannot for a certainty say what morality is for the masses or for a group of people.
In Sudan, young girls are regularly circumscised. Human rights group are in an uproar. Perhaps they shouldn't be as it is the custom of the peoples in that area.
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LearningToFly
Very well put Miniums! I live by my moral standard, but much has been shaped by the society I live in, ignoring the JW society. If I grew up in another country, I would likely also have a different view on what might be moral. I do pride myself though on being open minded, so that is a start to understanding human morality and lifestyles, where it comes from, why its imposed, and basically just go from there.
It is a great topic to ponder on the greater picture of things!
LTF
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cognizant dissident
I think we can define morality as caring about ourselves and others and subscribing to the maxim of "do no harm".
Minimus, many people do consider war immoral because millions are indiscrimanently killed.
Female genital mutilation is "harmful" to the girl regardless of what local custom teaches. It is phsyically torturous and provides no health benefits whatsoever. Many girls die from infection from the procedure. It can make menstruation, sex, and childbirth dangerous. Ironically, the procedure is not at all about doing what is "good" for the female. It is about denying women's sexuality, sexual pleasure, controlling her, trying to make her less promiscuous and more "moral".
The reason many people to not consider unmarried sex as immoral, is because when practiced by two consenting, responsible adults who agree to do it without promising long term commitment and agree to take responsiblity for any possible negative outcomes, then it could be argued that they are not harming anybody and it is nobody's business.
How many sexual partners makes one promiscuous? Is it the same number for men as women? Who gets to decide? Is someone who marries and divorces ten times without technically committing adultery (say for incompatibility) less promiscuous than a long-term monogomous couple who decide not to subject themselves to others arbitrary standards by getting legally married?
Cog
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changeling
I am now free to determine what is right for me w/o the constraints of the "morality police". I also do not feel the need to join the "morality police" in judging the morals of others.
I do fell it is immoral to engage in conduct that harms others.
changeling
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Awakened07
I don't know if my nose is malfunctioning, but I seem to smell an underlying thought of "how can people/society be moral without God's rules?" in this thread.
If that's the case, then one must ask oneself: is a person more moral because he/she follows God's rules? Wouldn't the person be more moral if he/she came to the right conclusions based on contemplating what actions would best benefit other people and the society as a whole? If you do moral things just because someone has told you to do them, are you then a moral person?
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minimus
Our laws on morality are based on Judeo-Christian standards. Of course certain countries that do not believe in God and they may very well be considered moral individuals.
What I'm taken with is how no one wants to accept that morality can be defined through a group's understanding. Most seem to believe that morality is an individual matter. If 2 consenting adults agree to do something that hurts no one else but perhaps themselves, then who are we to judge?.......Did you feel this way when a German man, a couple of years ago agreed to literally eat another man thru cannibalism? Both men agreed that one would be eaten and no coercion or force was involved.It was a decision by 2 consenting adults. The public uproar that resulted was phenomonal! People were greatly disturbed because what occured to THEM was immoral. But based upon what I read here, most would not characterize these 2 men as being immoral at all.
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undercover
This is an interesting thread.
Going back to the original question...Are my morals the same as when I was an (active) Witness? No, definitely not. I'm looser now than I was as a JW.
But I don't consider myself an immoral person. My morality is different now. I look at things in a different light and I no longer judge others who do things that JWs consider immoral.
Some things become "immoral" when it creates victims.
Murder is immoral. Killing is not immoral but murder is. Killing in self-defense or in defense of another or in war is not murder. Killing out of rage or anger over something not life threatening to yourself is murder and immoral.
Adultery is immoral. Sex is not immoral but breaking the trust between you and your partner by partaking in a act that hurts the other is immoral.
Gambling itself is not immoral. But gambling to the extent of not being able to provide for your family is immoral.
Drinking alcohol, even getting drunk occasionally is not immoral. But being an alchoholic and spending your family's money on booze or causing them hurt and pain from the habit of drinking too much is immoral.