Discussion w/ Wife: I Welcome Your Suggestions

by breakfast of champions 62 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Ding

  With regard to the war issue, you might want to ask her if what she thinks you should do if you see a man in the act of trying to rape or kill someone.

  Should you forego the use of force or should you do whatever it takes to protect the victim?

  What if the assailant was a JW who went rogue and attacked someone? Should the fact that they are a brother mean that you should stand by rather than using force to protect the victim?

  What if gangs are preying on neighborhoods? Is it permissible for neighbors to join together to repel them?

  How did Hitler get stopped? By allied armies or by JWs knocking on his door at Bertchesgaden?

  Yes, it would be nice if everyone loved everyone else, but in this "wicked system of things," that won't happen.

  With regard to the door to door preaching, first ask her to show you a verse that says all Christians must go door to door. It isn't there.

  Likewise, what good does it do to go door to door with literature of a group that keeps changing its doctrines and prophecies? Is Jehovah happy with spreading falsehood because you were relying on men who turned out not to be reliable?

  If she wants to go door to door, why can't she do it with the Bible only and not WT literature?
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  cog_survivor

  Has anyone in the JWs ever tackled the question as to why people in the military in the New Testament were not told to quit?
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  steve2

  Don't get me started on the "luxury" of being a conscientious objector or taking a "neutral" stand in countries where you can count on the military to defend your "right" to do nothing. The sole reason people - men - can object to going to war - even in a noncombatant role - is because they well know the military will do the work for them while they languish like martyrs in prison. The Watchtower's demonzing of war is rich: It hails from one of the mightiest nations in the world in terms of military strength and doesn't have the foggiest notion of what it must be like to live in countries where the threat of attack either was or is ever present. Oh, mighty Watchtower, decrying war whilst depending on the military to do the work it tells its own members not to do.
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  braincleaned

  About Rand cam stock:
  
  The official US Securities and Exchange Commission have the rundown here:
  http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/922330/000106299302000371/form10k.txt
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  gingerbread

  The two examples that your wife refers to - refusal to perform military duty and regular involvement in field service - are interesting because they require similar responses by the baptized Jehovah's Witness.

  Both examples require action based on beliefs imbedded in WT doctrine. The belief system imposes these rules upon the individual. The individual risks discomfort, social stigma, persecution, imprisonment and even death. The risks are glorified through constant reinforcement in the WT publications and talks.

  Your wife (like most other JW's) holds the examples of persons who sacrificed their own lives (figuratively or actually) in this way as prime examples of faith.

  I suspect that she gets emotional just thinking about these examples. Perhaps she is trying to reduce her cognitive dissonance right now.

  Maybe she is questioning how someone could risk their own life for a belief system / doctrine that continues to change...

  Using facts and figures may not help right now. It's her feelings and emotions that are churning.

  ginger
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  ABibleStudent

  Hi breakfast of champions, Have you asked your wife, 'What would cause her to lose faith in the leadership of the WTBTS?" and then ask "Why are you critisizing recent WTBTS doctrine changes?".

  gingerbread brought up a good idea of how to confront your wife's platitudes that are taught to JWs by the WTBTS about serving in the military and going out in FS. How would your wife respond to you asking, "How would you respond to a non-JW asking you why are you wasting your life going out in field service, submitting time reports about FS, and shunning JWs who are willing to serve in the military?" Isn't it a matter of beliefs? How many non-JWs would support your wife's beliefs for reporting her FS time and shunning family members and friends for deciding to no longer follow the WTBTS's leadership?

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  Londo111

  Breaking out the Kingdom Interlinear can dispel any notion that the early Christians went door to door. As mentioned above, where did it show that all Christians were supposed to preach?

  Every cult, I believe, has these, “Who else?” questions. I suppose Scientologists could say, “Who else does auditing?” Mormons could say, “Who else gets baptized for the dead?” “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”-- 2 Corinthians 10:12.
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  Crazyguy

  Yeah the preaching work is a bs excuse, one show her that the apostles did not go door to door and then reason with her that if the door to door is what its all about then why are many religious groups that started around the same time as the JWs have more members
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  label licker

  For all it's worth BOC, to me what's worse than war is protecting pedophiles. As far as a jw thinking they have the holy spirit because how else do they could go door to door(so I was told), not true. My hubby is df'd and I am publically reproved and we just came home from a three hour bible study on the feasts and trumpets. No matter who we come across and talk about things like these, people are way more receptive and are willing to talk. Unlike the good old days where people see you all dressed up at their door and just know you have an agenda. And no, people do not say nice things about the jw's and their doctrines. Society likes you to believe that when people see us driving around, they know we are jw's. Whoopie shit! You never hear oh those jw's have the knowledge and really know their bible. That's farthest from the truth. Most of them don't even use their bibles.
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  baltar447

  SOP mentioned the numbers, and said "fulltime" would require 3 years of work. That's working a fulltime job, NOT "full time servus"

  It took 6,505 hours to make one convert last year.

  The average JW would take about 54 YEARS to make one convert, at 10 hrs a month in the field circus.

  The average Pioneer would take almost 8 YEARS to make one convert, at 70 hrs a month in the field circus.

  The average low hour publisher at 5/hrs a month, would take 108 YEARS to make one convert.