A "Three-fold cord"?

by stuckinarut2 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  stuckinarut2

  We all know of the well used scripture that speaks of "a three-fold cord" in marriage.

  Sure, it is meant to indicate that any marriage that has "God" in it as the foundation of the couple's life will be successful.

  But how often have we noticed that what it really means for witnesses is that the Society, or the GB has the right to be an unwelcome and nosey intruder in the lives of couples. Every decision that family unit makes is influenced by the Organisation. Whether it be the house they buy, the car they drive, or the jobs they take. Then of course, it affects the personal intimacies of a family.

  So, really, does an organisation have the right to be an intrusive third wheel in a relationship? Do they really have the right to impose their views on a family unit?
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  pale.emperor

  I thought this shortly after i got married and noticed how the elders would take an unwelcome interest in whatever my then-wife or i were doing.

  It's not normal. It's very much a cult giving themselves permission to override whatever it is you want to do.
  
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  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  A Witness girlfriend of mine just got married. In the lead up to her marriage, she was sure to sit with her elders and ask them if she and her soon-to-be husband were "allowed" to go down on each other. I hit the roof when she told me. I screamed that it is BEYOND abnormal and inappropriate to divulge and seek that kind of "approval" from the elders. In what world is it okay for a thirty year old woman to implore a bunch of older men for advice on oral sex?! She dismissed my horror with, "oh, my elders are cool. They're good, babe. We're real close like that." About as close as the elders' NWTs were to their crotches when she asked.

  In the WT cult, all sense of normalcy and appropriate boundaries have vanished.
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  OneEyedJoe

  Sure, it is meant to indicate that any marriage that has "God" in it as the foundation of the couple's life will be successful.
  

  Is it? The context gives no indication that the scripture is talking about marriage at all. It seems to be talking mostly about cooperation and building relationships (though not specifically marriage) that make your life meaningful. There's also no indication that the third cord of the threefold cord is meant to indicate god. The context is entirely about people helping one another so there's no reason to believe that the third cord would be anything other than another person. Actually, there's really nothing to indicate any intrinsic significance to the use of the number three for the cords - a twisted rope made of two strands doesn't stay together as well as a braided rope of three, so it may simply be a relic of the fact that a threefold cord would be much more common and the author was just pointing out that there's strength in numbers, which, again, is supported by the context.
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  Annon

  Good old king David must have had a 19 fold cord what with his 8 wives and a least 10 concubines.
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  VW.org

  Nowhere in the scriptures does it mention anything about sex relation activities in marriage. So that 3 fold cord should be made into a noose for the gb to hang from a tree.
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  JeffT

  The GB routinely take scriptures talking about God and apply them to themselves.
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  DesirousOfChange

  So, really, does an organisation have the right to be an intrusive third wheel in a relationship? Do they really have the right to impose their views on a family unit?

  They can only intrude as far as you allow them to do so. Sometimes those who stick their nose into where it does not belong need to receive a "nose bleed".

  
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  ttdtt

  I used it in a wedding talk in a good way I think.

  I used it as the 3rd cord is your love of god, and that when things get very hard in a couples relationship that the 3rd cord, the responsibility you feel to god, would slow things down from getting really bad and give you time before you give up on it.

  I think there is truth in that, some people do give up fast.
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  sparrowdown

  Hmm...

  Does it mean three people are bound together by one chord or one person has bound two people together with three chords (kinky btw).