I think that you get forced to be mentally and morally clean. Thats fine and all but you have to be so strict and there's no room for error. In my experiance at least. When I messed up I was reproved (3 months after being reinstated) and threatened with being df'd again. You can be mentally and moral clean and chose a healthy lifestyle without having doctrine shoved down your through and being shamed and shunned when you mess up
Can you list the positive points of being a JW as against the negative points of being a JW in your experience ?
by smiddy3 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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jhine
Rattigan , celebrating holidays is obviously a personal choice but politics affects everyone.
Politics can influence the lives of the less well off not just in the country where live but in much poorer parts of the world .
Should we not take an interest if only to vote for those who we think will do the least harm in the world? None of them anywhere do that much good .
If people of integrity and compassion stood for political office surely the world would be a better place .
Someone wise said that for evil to flourish it just takes good people to do nothing.
Jan
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ScenicViewer
I agree with Jan on the political issues.
JWs are required to follow the laws of the country where they live, as long as they do not conflict with God's laws. That being the case, why can't JWs have a say in what the laws are that they are required to obey? It just makes sense that they should be.
I think they should also have a say in who the elected officials are that make the laws that JWs are required to live under.
Just because you would vote for or against a particular law, or for or against someone who makes those laws, does not mean you are supporting 'Satan's world.' After all, it is Jehovah himself that requires Witnesses to be obedient to the laws of 'Satan's world.'
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TonusOH
I think that the JWs feel that any participation in the political process implies that they trust it to solve humanity's problems, which would imply that they lack faith in God. I think that view is nonsense. But it lets them erect an additional wall between themselves and "the world." Cults thrive when they can find ways to keep outsiders at bay, and this is an effective way to do that.
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punkofnice
The Jobots were right about 'man has dominated man to his injury', I give you the virus of unknown origin and the latest tranche of politicians, Presidents and Prime Ministers across the world. All utter filth only worthy of the gallows.
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Simon
There are lots of benefits to many traditional conservative religious upbringings:
- You read a lot so tend to have a more advanced reading age which is very important for education.
- You don't smoke or take drugs, and have lower rates of teen pregnancy and STDs
- Less likely to drink-drive or commit other crimes.
- Less likely to saddle yourself with high student debt for a useless degree
- More likely to have a solid trade job
Life is often how you look at it.
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Simon
The average naïve pro-Nazi individual in 20th century Europe probably enjoyed certain personal perks & benefits, and may have even transformed into a more disciplined person as a result of the ideology; yet any such personal betterment is blemished by crimes of the broader organisation and its leadership.
Did you honestly just compare the JWs to being nazis? Such a ridiculous claim. Totally unbalanced and unobjective.
The vast majority of JWs are there because they want to be good people, try to be good people, and I think are more law-abiding on average and certainly don't go around committing war-crimes.
These kind of comparison-claims just make us look like nutters.
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Simon
I can't think of a single positive experience that is unique to the JW faith
Likewise, they wouldn't be unique to whatever other group also instilled them.
There are good things I could point to from my time as a JW, but I could have gotten those from other religious (or possibly even secular) groups. And perhaps it would not have come with the baggage that I am left with.
Did you get them from those other groups? Unless you did, you have to thank the JW upbringing for them.
You may find that sticks in the throat, but trust me, it's healthier to give fair credit for the benefits than to only look for negatives.
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TonusOH
I am grateful for the forces that shaped me, because I'm pretty happy with how my life has turned out. I don't feel bitter about my time as a JW, or for being raised as one, because in the end I got out and I'm in a good place.
My comment was just to show that the things I got from my time in the JWs are not unique. I have to recognize that I might have been better off without the self-imposed isolation from society that I was expected to practice (and did, fairly effectively). While I don't have to dwell on who I might have been, I think it can be useful to recognize the potential damage done, even if it's just to be thankful for what I avoided becoming.
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DesirousOfChange
I think there are good things that can be said about being a JW and living by those "rules" does have advantages. I know of people's lives that have been changed dramatically for the better when becoming a JW and giving up booze, drugs, etc.. Sure they could have gotten that elsewhere . . . . . but they didn't.There is also the benefit of having a network of people willing to come to your aid in a crisis. IMO that is RARE elsewhere.
My primary gripe is the harmful affect being a JW has on personal achievement, ie, education and pursuing things that make one successful in life. One cannot give all of their time and effort to an Organization (see there, I did NOT say Cult) at the expense of one's own welfare without it having serious negative affects on their financial well-being and otherwise (even the matter of pursuing work that is "doing good" for "society". And then there are also the issues of being an "oddball" in society and the health risks (ie, blood transfusion ban).
But bottom line, there ARE some positive factors/benefits as a JW (IMHO).