@djeggnog wrote:
You are evidently of the mistaken view that Jehovah's Witnesses do not and are required to not speak to disfellowshipped persons. You are free to believe what you wish, but many spiritually-mature persons (e.g., elders and their wives) have conversations with disfellowshipped persons. I suppose it's possible that many of the things you believe to be true are not true at all.
@Anders Andersen wrote:
Normally, a close relative would not be disfellowshipped for associating with a disfellowshipped person unless there is spiritual association or an effort made to justify or excuse the wrongful course." Pay Attention to Yourselves and all the Flock p.103
Conclusion: anyone having 'spiritual association' - which includes discussions on Biblical and religious topics - with a DFed person, set himself up to be DFed too.
Wt literature even claims saying 'hello' to a DFed person is an act of disobedience to God.
I'm also quite sure there has been at least one reference in JW literature that not even elders are to talk to DFed person unless the body of elders sent them on a mission, for example to try and reactivate the DFed person.
You would appear to be under the mistaken impression that you know the guidelines we publish, which those of us with spiritual qualifications follow, better then we ourselves do; you come off to me as someone that is spiritually immature, someone that for whatever reason thinks these guidelines in our literature is akin to the Law of Moses because your faith based on your spiritual comprehension of Christian principles bespeaks a weak conscience just as the man who is stumbled upon observing me eating food that had previously been offered in sacrifice to an idol. (1 Cor. 8:7-11)
What I just said here defiles your conscience because you think you know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe when it would be more accurate to state that what you know is what you believe to be true about what we believe. Let me disabuse you of the notion that you know what Jehovah's Witnesses believe because you only think you know.
There are people that have been associated with Jehovah's Witnesses for 20, 30, 40 years that have themselves been baptized, but are still drinking milk and talk just like you about "the rules" that Jehovah's Witnesses are obliged to follow. However, not all Jehovah's Witnesses drink milk; some of us eat meat now for "solid food belongs to mature people." (Heb. 5:14)
Our publications are written for both the mature and the immature, but it doesn't stumble me nor do I cower in fear when I see someone that has been disfellowshipped at a supermarket, for example, that hasn't been attending meetings. I want to find out how he or she is doing and whether he or she is attending meetings elsewhere and considering coming back. Some do attend some of the meetings elsewhere due to embarrassment they would feel around others at their local Kingdom Hall and some have stopped attending altogether.
But if the conscience of someone weak in their faith is at that supermarket with me (like you, for example), I'm going to ditch you (if I can) in order to have a quick conversation with the disfellowshipped person because I don't wish to stumble you when my desire is to encourage someone in any way I can with a view to building that person's faith, which may be just as weak as yours.
Hopefully, you will think about this post of mine before citing "the milk" you read in our publications to someone spiritually mature as if you understood what you read in them to apply equally to all Jehovah's Witnesses.
@Anders Andersen
And here you are saying something like 'Elders do it so I can disobey Gods guidance too!'
Actually, I would never say such a thing, ever.
@Anders Andersen
Geez you don't even know the rules of your own cult.
None of Jehovah's Witnesses are members of any cult. I think you define "cult" differently than do I. We don't follow a human leader, nor does our worship devolve into some ritual; we didn't branch off from any church as is often the case in many cults today. We don't have rules, per se; what we have is Bible trained consciences that are trained to distinguish both right and wrong.
@djeggnog
