@just n from bethel:
The good thing to know is that DJeggnong admits he is now lawless by coming here and interacting with disfellowshipped ones. I just love how JWs get to make their own rules and give themselves exceptions to their leaders' rules when it's convenient. Thanks for reminding all of us of your double standards.
I don't have a double standard, but unlike you, I don't suffer from ignorance. BTW, you're off-topic.
You're mistaken to think that you know what I can or cannot do. You talk about "rules," but scriptural advise that is often given against our engaging in activities that could potentially affect our spirituality. But maybe someone more mature than you would be able to comprehend what it is I'm saying here to you now. I thought things were laid out quite well in the article entitled, "Maintaining a Balanced Viewpoint Toward Disfellowshipped Ones" [w74 8/1 paragraphs 24-26, pp. 472, 473]. I'm not going to quote anything here from the article, but I would invite you to read it when you have opportunity to do so.
Perhaps you are somewhat familiar with what the apostle John stated at 2 John 10, 11, about our becoming "a sharer in [the] wicked works" of the disfellowshipped person by "[receiving] him into your [home] or [saying] a greeting to him," and while there are some that deconstruct John's words here and apply them to electronic communications, he was here talking about Christians having dealings with those we formerly had dealings before the disfellowshipping action occurred. You might take a moment to let this sink in. I don't know any of you here, but contrary to what you may think, I'm really talking to those here that are in fade that may be lurking the various threads posted here on JWN. You might take another moment to let this sink in.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses will upon encountering the disfellowshipped individual at the supermarket, at a county office where city residents may in the regular course of their business go to obtain permits or to pay license fees for their businesses, at a barber shop or beauty salon, or even on the job where they work or in serving such disfellowshipped ones as they do any customer that enters their place of business, will often treat the disfellowshipped person with disdain, with contempt and with utter disrespect and not because they do not wish to become a sharer in the disfellowshipped person's wicked works, but due to self-righteousness on their part.
In cases where one's fellow Christians are living in the same home where the disfellowshipped person lives, business dealings are impacted such that brothers face having to take their brothers to court to enforce contracts or agreements that are being breached because they really do not know how they ought to conduct the business affairs they have with a non-disfellowshipped relative of a disfellowshipped person that lives the same home or works at the same business, often punishing the non-disfellowshipped person because they are related to and live and/or work with the disfellowshipped person. First of all, Jesus stresses that the second greatest commandment is to 'love our neighbor as ourselves'; this is a must. Second, Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea at Matthew 9:13 in pointing out that we all need to learn of what mercy consists, for happy is the one that is merciful since he will be shown mercy. (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 5:7) Third, we ought not to be taking our brothers to court to decide such matters. (1 Corinthians 6:1, 5-7)
Very often we meet disfellowshipped people at their homes and some of these live in the same homes where our brothers and sisters are living, so it should not come as a surprise to us when the disfellowshipped person greets us at the door, but is this the kind of greeting to which the apostle John was referring at 2 John 10, 11?
The family is already smarting and/or hurting over the intimacy that they can no longer enjoy with their disfellowshipped relative, but by what authority do you have for cutting off association with the entire family of the undisfellowshipped person? You courageously visit householders at their door all of the time, but are petrified at the door of the disfellowshipped one, even though he or she didn't come to visit you, and you didn't go to visit him or her?
So because one member of the family has been disfellowshipped, then the rest of the disfellowshipped person's family are to be treated with contempt for having a disfellowshipped relative? It's their fault that their disfellowshipped relative committed a sin and wasn't repentant in the estimation of the elders that took the action against their relative? Where's the mercy here? What about the mercy extended toward you were one of your relatives to find himself or herself in the same position?
Also, thanks for continuing to provide us with your wholesome association - it's great to be able to discuss spiritual matters with good standing JWs like yourself. I always thought that being DFd would mean we would have to "cut [ourselves] off from the kind of association we may have had..." Thank you for gracing us with your association. I realize that you are commanded to not even say a greeting to us. You've done much more - and for that - we thank you.
Whatever amount of time I might spend here on this website is my own; I cannot report any of the time I spend here discussing Bible-related topics here. But, believe me, I'm not here to provide "wholesome association" to anyone, nor am I here "to discuss spiritual matters" with those who have decided that they are no longer interested in actively associating with Jehovah's Witnesses; this was their choice and I totally respect their decision to leave. However, it is my hope that some of those who are in fade and some of those who are no longer associated with God's organization for whatever reason will read something I say here and come to realize the need to return to Jehovah before it's too late for them to do so.
I've read posts here in the past indicating that some Jehovah's Witnesses are reporting the time they spend on this website, but me and one of the local elders were to go the home of someone that had been disfellowshipped from God's organization, neither one of us would be in a position to count what time we might need to spend there with such an individual as we would with someone that had not been disfellowshipped, even though our visit would be sacred service, direct service to God.
I'm going to tell you one of the things I've come to learn from reading the posts on this website: While most of the people I've met here on this forum may have been both baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and have since been disfellowshipped or has disassociated themselves from us, not many of the folks here, whose posts I've read, are apostates, because I've discerned, based on many the things they say here, that they have never learned the primary doctrines of the Christ, which they would have to have learned before one can say that they have been enlightened.
I've found that many of the folks here are hardly literate, and I believe some of these are high school dropouts lacking social skills, and have apparent reading comprehension problems, so they are often on the defensive when conversing with them (which may be the reason some bodies of elders have reckoned such illiteracy as a lack of repentance and haughtiness and voted to disfellowship them when these persons were just ignorant and were lacking in faith as had the apostle Paul). (1 Timothy 1:13)
Of course, Jehovah knows and is aware of these things, but we know these things to be true as well. Our literature is written so that a high school student should be able to read and comprehend what they say, but many here can hardly string together concepts, so by mostly relying upon their memory, their aptitude to learn is diminished.
Many here have no clue as to what the holy spirit is. They might know that it is "God's active force," for these are words that they have memorized from reading some Bible-study aid, like the Watchtower, but they don't understand things like what the Bible means for someone to be "filled with holy spirit," or what it means to be "led by holy spirit." They sound to me like "babes" to me, spiritual children, not mature Christian men and woman.
Many here have even attacked me in the past for some of the things I have said here, but, to date, I've not met anyone here that knows enough about the Bible, including those here that were formerly elders, let alone know enough about the truth to do more than argue with me about things that never really understood and still do not understand, and the lack of Bible knowledge here among ex-Jehovah's Witnesses is disturbing!
Please don't misunderstand me here: Some here are apostates and are proud to be known as such, but some of those here are not, but these for whatever reason came to think of Jehovah's organization as being a club; it is not a club, and yet many have come to think of God's organization as such, with many elders baptizing folks by quota as they boast over the number of baptismal candidates baptized in their respective congregations. Thankfully all such causes for stumbling are gradually being removed from our ranks so that those putting faith in Jesus' ransom might "be filled with the accurate knowledge of [God's] will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension." (Colossians 1:9)
I say this because some of these folks know more about the imperfect men and women in God's organization, and what Jehovah's Witnesses are doing wrong than they do about the Bible and what it teaches, and they totally ignore the command that was laid upon them at their baptism to "love their neighbors as themselves" by preaching the good news, which command is the second greatest command and yet they don't do it. I don't much care if these folks ever return to their local Kingdom Halls, but I feel very strongly that they ought to be preaching to their neighbors and teaching them all of the things that Jesus taught his followers.
My hope is that they who hate Jehovah's Witnesses, and especially hate the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses (because we are all so much more imperfect than they!) will eventually send what disciples they do make to the local Kingdom Hall. Again, I cannot and do not report any of the time I spend here on this website, but I will admit that I do report the substance of what things I say here to others.
@djeggnog