Disturbing material in May 15, 2002 Watchtower (page 2)

Solace

My uncle did not attend his own daughters wedding because it was at a Catholic church. Her sister stood outside on the steps. Sad.
You attend a funeral out of respect if someone close to you died. I think if someone is secure in their faith they should have no problem going into a different church etc.
Im sure the W.T.S knows that the truth is not with them and are afraid J.W.s will be "stumbled", or enlightened if they are exposed to other forms of worship that better coincide with the scriptures.
I believe that the W.T.S tries to seperate J.W.s and their non J.W. family during these occasions and on holidays because this is when a family should be together. Most people would feel very hurt and rejected if close family were to avoid them during these events. Well, except in the case of the funeral of course.
The W.T.S tells J.W.s that they do not need their family. They tell members that the congregation is their "spiritual family" and that is all they need. After all, their worldly family will all be done away with in armageddon and are as good as dead anyway.
Getting members to accept this way of thinking is a big plus for the W.T.S. It causes witnesses to become not just spiritually but also emotionally dependant on the organization. This gives the society a much stronger hold on the J.W.s.

ConnieLynn

That makes me so mad!! The words say "Just have a clean conscience before God and MEN" but I hear "If you go, feel guilty about it" I couldn't stand that when I was there and it makes me mad still! They throw that conscience word out so loosely. What about respect for the person who died and their family...comforting those people. And who are the folks asking these questions? What readers are writing and asking this stuff?

simplesally

I was soooooo mad when I read this! I could not believe my eyes when they brought up how it might effect others in the congregation! I mean, if they don't have enough guts to come up to me and ask why I came out of a church or to enough BRAINS to see the hearse, you know that BIG BLACK LONG CAR and notice the black outfits on everybody, then they don't deserve an answer from me and deserve to be "stumbled" !!!!

What nerve this article has!

ozziepost

Spender,

I made some comments on this article on April 5:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=25108&site=3

Cheers,
Ozzie

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

- Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress

Kristen

This article and the long-time attitude about *not* going into churches for weddings and funerals reminded me of the last two times I would ignore what was in my heart in order to give consideration to the "effect our attending a service in a religious building might have on fellow believers... ."

The first was having to sit out in a car with the rest of my JW family while our "worldy" family members and their friends carried our Aunt in and out of a church for funeral services. What an odd and disrespectful thing it must have been to them.

The second was missing out on my big brother's wedding. If he were alive today, I would tell him how sorry I am for not being there.

Never again.

Kristen

dungbeetle

..

plmkrzy

If they're not sacrificing animals or someother live thing then go.

No matter how thin you slice it there are always two sides

sweetone2377

I attended many funerals when I was in the borg. None of them were a JW funeral and all but one were in a funeral home. I just wasn't allowed to pray.

I did miss all the family weddings, of course. But when a pioneer sister was married, her father (non witness) was smoking outside and was called in so he could walk her down the isle. I never understood that. Because even if my dh had been baptized we weren't allowed to include the man that brought us together in the wedding party. He was only studying and wasn't a baptized brother.

Just backwards is all. They are just backwards.

Shelly
Former victim and recovering wonderfully from a broken spirit
Smile, because we all have been freed from slavery!!

DIM

in the past 3 years my great grandmom died and two of my cousins were married. My mom (a pioneer) and my dad (a ministerial servant) and the rest of the family went to all of the ceremonies. There were no repercussions from anyone in their congregation, and in fact the elders knew all about it. They just refused to do all of the bullshit chanting and group prayer stuff that goes on at a catholic wedding. Let me repeat - THERE ARE NO REPERCUSSIONS. This all may change with this new article, of course, but I've NEVER heard of ANYONE getting in trouble for attending a wedding or a funeral that wasn't in a kingdom hall. The JW's get mad if an elder or something says a prayer in a church.

heathen

maybe they found out about the orgy that takes place at all these apostate churches.does this marking thing have anything to do with the hilite marker they use to mark the wt mags?

Disturbing material in May 15, 2002 Watchtower

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

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