You mentioned Paul but you didn't mention Jesus. he said 'If your hand stumbles you, cut it off, and if your eye stumbles you, pluck it out.' This shows that stumbling your fellow man is a serious offense.
Actually, it shows no such thing. Jesus wasn't talking in that verse about things you might do that would stumble others, he was talking about conditions that you allow to exist in your own life that would stumble you. In effect, he was saying to be hard on yourself, to hold yourself to a high standard. This is the opposite of what the JW's tend to do. They try to hold others to a high standard, in many cases, a standard which is not even required by the Bible.
Now, a few verses above that, Jesus also said,
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. "
Read in context, we see that the direct application was to children, not to adult fellow Christians who should be able to stand on their own two feet, spiritually speaking. I suppose that, by extension, we could make an argument that he was also speaking of spiritual 'babes,' ones who lacked Christian maturity and who might be led astray by improper actions of more mature ones. But the "stumbling" was not the mere causing of offense, or engaging in behavior by one Christian that would not be permitted by the conscience of another Christian. It was conduct that would actually lead a fellow Christian into sin -presumably a less mature Christian who did not know any better, but was imitating the behavior of a respected peer.
Such occasions are far more rare than the teaching of JW's would make them. I agree with Room 215 about
the oft-used example that when we liberal northerners head south into the U.S. Bible Belt and encounter a JW who, influenced by local preguidices, abstains totally from alcohol. We're told that, in order to preserve our relationship with him/her and not to bruise his/her delicate sensibilities, not to drink in his/her presence. Why is it not incumbent upon them to learn tolerance, and learn to appreciate that they should'nt take offense over a lifestyle different than theirs but entirely permissible by Bible teachings.
Indeed, the Christian who insists that others refrain from permissible conduct, simply because they personally do not approve of it, is the one who is spiritually immature and who needs to adjust his or her attitude. Otherwise, Christians would really have no freedom to do anything at all apart from religious activity, because, without a doubt, someone, somewhere would find that conduct - whether drinking alcohol, eating meat, going to the movies, watching TV, dancing, playing cards, etc.etc. - objectionable and would potentially be "stumbled" by it.
And this, I believe, is exactly the reason that the Watchtower teaches about this issue as it does. It is a control mechanism. In everything he does, the JW must constantly be watching out for any action that might "stumble" someone else. And the result is that nothing, except for approved religious activities (meetings, field service, etc.) can be done with a completely clear conscience. Even healthy recreational activities, which would normally be viewed as a positive thing, are clouded. ("Well, brother, did you really have to take your family for that picnic in the park for the whole afternoon last Sunday? Wouldn't it have been better to have put a few hours in field service first and then enjoyed a shorter picnic?")
The ironic thing about all of it was pointed out by Pathofthorns:
It is funny that the ones who always brought up the "stumbling" thing were usually the so-called "strong" (and self-righteous) ones. Most of the "weak" ones I knew couldn't give a damn about half the stuff that was claimed to possibly "stumble" them. If anything was a stumbling block it was the self-righteous attitude of the spiritual elite.
That's an incredibly good point. In 30 years in the borg, I can't think of a single instance where a new one got discouraged and left the truth TM , or where a Bible study stopped their study, because they saw someone going to an R-rated movie or drinking alcohol. But I saw plenty of people leave because of the self-righteous, arrogant and judgmental attitudes prevalent in the congregation.
In effect, it's a form of political correctness. In my experience, if you tell an ethnic joke, the one who will become most offended by it is usually some self-righteous PC type who is not even a member of the group supposedly being offended. Likewise, the JW's most worried about who would be stumbled by any given action are the ones who would never be stumbled by the conduct of another JW, and who, ironically, are most in danger of stumbling others because of their unchristian attitudes.
Edited by - NeonMadman on 28 June 2002 13:9:12
Edited by - NeonMadman on 28 June 2002 13:12:14
