Should we still be angry with [systems of injustice]? Should we "forgive" them?

by SweetBabyCheezits 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  SweetBabyCheezits

  This is a parody of a thread that seems to grossly oversimplify and underappreciate the injustice dealt by the hands of the WTBTS:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/227585/1/Should-we-still-be-angry-with-the-Watchtower-Should-we-forgive-the-WT

  The Watchtower Society isn't a friend who hurt your feelings. The Watchtower Society isn't a parent who made some mistakes while raising you. The Watchtower Society isn't that cousin who missed your 10th anniversary party because a better opportunity came up a few days before it.

  There are plenty of times in life when it's admirable to swallow your pride and take the first step to forgive someone who has wronged you. I've done that with my JW father, who wouldn't permit my DF'd wife and I to attend my mother's funeral reception last summer. It took some time but I'm past that now. But I will never forgive the SYSTEM responsible for the injustice.

  The WTBTS promotes a systemic lack of critical thinking.... protection for it's own ideas. Indeed, it stands for fundamentally flawed, biased, and dogmatic thinking which has led to injustice, missed opportunities, wasted lives, broken families, even death for some. They have affected millions and will continue to do so as long as they have support. Forgiving isn't an option here, anymore than is forgiving a school system that teaches 2+2=5. (Or one that teaches Intelligent Design is a scientifically-supported theory on par with evolution.) The problem hasn't been fixed. People are still being hurt.

  Would you start a thread suggesting that poor, oppressed refugees of totalitarian regimes forgive the systems and thinking processes that brought suffering on them in the first place?

  I'm not sure if it was just to generate attention or if you meant that we should forgive certain individuals, but it's ridiculous to apply some wispy little thought-of-the-day motivational calendar quote to the WTBTS.... unless it actually fits, like "Where it is a duty to worship the Sun, you can be sure that studying the laws of heat is a crime."
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  mythreesons

  Forgive parents and family, YES!

  Forgive the WTBTS...Uh....NO!

  I agree with you SBC!

  edited to say: I forgive my parents because they are under the influence of D-bags in Brooklyn. But to be honest, it still pisses me off! So have I really forgiven them? Can you forgive someone and still be mad at them? ;)
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  talesin

  I agree, and had not previously opened that thread. Having now done so, I agree with what jgnat said:

  I have concluded that the Christian concept of forgiveness is stunted. I prefer the Jewish version, which requires remorse from the perpetrator, and recompense.

  Moving on and no longer expecting things to change - - yes, I have done that.

  But forgiveness? No! Neither for the Jehovah's Witnesses TM , nor for my family members who have NEVER shown remorse.

  tal
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  Glander

  As an elder who served on judicial committees I was very familiar with the observation of genuine remorse before any kind of forgiveness could be considered. The tricky part was deciding if someone was really sorry or just saying what we wanted to hear.

  Although I regret my participation in a few JC matters, the concept of remorse before forgiveness has always made sense to me. This does not mean I have always responded in a fair way (hindsight). Some greivances between individuals can't be forgiven. If remorse is genuine, but refused, then perhaps the injured party is emotionally dependant on the greivance as a crutch.