by dawg 24 Replies latest jw friends
Man dominates Man to Man's injury. Basically, men cannot govern in a
good way, so to make an earnest effort to help people, JW's say it is wrong.
But they are quick to point out the shortcomings in government.
Talking out of both sides of their issue- government is bad and poorly run.
Anyone who sincerely wants to help is wrong to do so.
"Look, God's kingdom isn't here, who else is going to run things if it isn't men, and as long as it has to be men in the mix, it shows proper love for my neighbor to run for office if I think I have good ideas and I think I can help".
Unfortunately, to the Witness mind, every political office outside of Crooklyn, "originates with Satan", end of story. No matter how good your intentions are, no matter what good things you might possibly do, it is all 'futile', because they are trained to believe that "only God's Kingdom....blah, blah, blah". However, isn't there a scripture somewhere that states that the 'earthly' governments are "in place" at God's behest?? I can't think of where it is and I don't have the bible with me right now, but it's something you might want to show her.
She suddenly has to go.... I call her back and leave a message that further explains why I feel what I do... she calls back and says "she hasn't the energy to debate me now". WTF?
Translation: She can't think of a proper defense for your last statement, so she's going to ignore you.
Here's the point, if "bad things happen when good men do nothing" or something to that effect, then me, being a good man, should step forward and do something
One thing I will always ask a Witness when they say we shouldn't get involved in politics, is: "Where do you think the WB&TS would be if the allies had not fought against the Third Reich 60 years ago?" That, of course, is not something they want to ponder, because the obvious answer is that it would be in a heap buried under a mountain of dirt. This is something that the average Witness doesn't like to debate because they'd have to acknowledge that they owed a debt of gratitute to the "Anglo-American" power, which of course they view as being run by Satan himself.
Plus, I find it interesting that Jesus said very little (if anything) about the Roman Empire being evil. He put far more stress on the corruption of the religious leaders and I don't recall that He ever mentioned anything about not allowing his followers to run for a political office. With the precarious situation of the Roman Occupation at the time, I think that is especially telling. Yes he talked about God's Kingdom, but common sense dictates that until that happens, we have to have some sort of a structure to our society today in order to prevent anarchy. It's that simple.
Of course, the real reason Witnesses don't believe Christians should run for office is because if you actually improved something, then to their minds, that's delaying Armageddon---a big no no.
Nehemiah, Daniel, and Mordecai were deeply involved in politics.
That's very good reasoning Dawg...but unfortunately a lot of good reasoning is wasted on Dubbubs.
-BONEZZ
PS. They don't mind politicians working on their behalf to protect their religious freedom...the same freedom they deny others. HYPOCRITES!
Of course, the real reason Witnesses don't believe Christians should run for office is because if you actually improved something, then to their minds, that's delaying Armageddon---a big no no.
Hmm, interesting how JWs fear that man's attempts can delay God's timetable.
The organization forbids any sort of political involvement, because the rank and file must only depend upon the gb for a belief system; otherwise, the WTB&TS would've crumbled long ago. It is just that simple. Don't focus on the quality of life for yourselves or others now, so you can spend more time selling the literature of a multi-billion dollar publishing corporation.
For those who are "waiting on Jehovah", they have nothing going on in their lives that they consider uncomfortable and they just don't give a damn about others who do.
I'm sorry I can't answer all these great replies, getting ready to go on vacation.
I think the argument makes a lot of sense, and there is no logical or biblical explanation for not running for political office. Dawg, I think you held your position well.
when i think of all there is to be done in this world...
the cop-out of waiting on jah is infuriating!!
because i twisted that thinking for my kids as they
were growing up, i am trying to correct that error in thinking
by giving them opportunities to discover for themselves how
genuinely satisfying it is to do some ACTUAL good works.....
good on you for putting yourself out there....
enjoy the vacation and wear sun-screen!!
Your reasoning is correct, the more good men step up, the better life is for everyone. I am sure your family are happy they live in a democracy rather than some country that has JWs under ban being tortured for their beliefs.
The Old Testament does not disallow being involved in government. Think Joseph, Modecai, Esther, Daniel.
The New Testament does not disallow being involved in Government. When military officers came to John for baptism John did not direct them to leave the service.
At Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus did not turn the soldier away when asking to heal his manservant, rather commending him saying "I have not found anyone In Israel with such great faith"
In the account at Acts 10 Cornelius was not required to step down as commander of Roman soldiers before being baptised.
Paul shows that governments have a right to use the sword to prevent bad, and that we should be in subjection to what they demand of us. This includes going to war when called for.
