How many JWs still have a personal conscience?

by contramundum 17 Replies latest jw friends

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  contramundum

  In conversation with an old JW friend today, it struck me that most JWs have replaced their personal conscience with a collective one.

  Instead of training their own mental powers to distinguish right from wrong, as the Bible encourages, they are content to shift personal accountability away from themselves and onto the impersonal Org. Whatever behaviour may prompt an ordinary person to have serious misgivings ( such as ignoring glaring misapplication of scripture or rejecting basic human decency in favour of unchristian shunning ) they prefer to have those decisions made for them.

  History teaches us, however, that there is no absolution for people who behave unethically or cruelly by allowing the excuse of 'obeying orders' to override what their inner voice should scream is inherently wrong.
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  OUTLAW

  How many JWs still have a personal conscience?

  Very few if any..

  Over the decades I`ve heard many JWs say:

  "Why should I think for myself,when the Watchtower does it for me?"

  What`s really scary is,they`re dead serious..
  
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  LongHairGal

  CONTRAMUNDUM:

  I tend to agree with you that most Witnesses have replaced their personal conscience with a collective one. They will deny this.

  Maybe individual JWs have a personal conscience for the "little" everyday decisions. But, when it comes to the big stuff, they do what the religion demands (shunning disfellowshipped people, including relatives).

  When a JW is studying in the early days, they are led to believe their own personal conscience decisions are okay. But, this is a lie. It's all about conformity in the Witness religion. Anything else is a threat.
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  breakfast of champions

  I would call it more of an "institutionalized" version of conscience. I'm not entirely against the idea of a collective conscience, e.g., social mores.

  But no, there is no such thing as a personal conscience in JW Land. Even when in, I had a hard time trying to figure why there was such a thing as a "conscience matter" (probably because it's cultspeak).
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  scratchme1010

  Instead of training their own mental powers to distinguish right from wrong, as the Bible encourages, they are content to shift personal accountability away from themselves and onto the impersonal Org. Whatever behaviour may prompt an ordinary person to have serious misgivings ( such as ignoring glaring misapplication of scripture or rejecting basic human decency in favour of unchristian shunning ) they prefer to have those decisions made for them.
  

  I agree. This is why I tend to attack people wanting to make a big deal of something that the WT says or did or changed. At the end of the day, doing that is letting the WT take their own voice.
  
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  OneGenTwoGroups

  The list of rules is so long, there is no need for a conscience.
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  Village Idiot

  How many JWs still have a personal conscience?
  

  As many as become apostates.
  
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  Crazyguy

  There's a reason the cult is referred to as the Borg. They only have a conscience based on what the cult teaches anything else doesn't matter. That's why so many of the christs so called teachings don't matter. And when they find out things like breast milk has 1million white blood cells , it just goes right over thier heads, just one example.
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  tepidpoultry

  Everyone has a personal conscience
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  tepidpoultry

  I would like to expand on my previous comment,

  What I wanted to say is that everyone has a capacity for conscience,

  This however is maleable,

  I agree in principle with the OP

  From the teachings of Jesus Christ

  we have the TEACHING parable of the Good Samaritan

  I think that what uncorrupted minds should be getting is that we should

  be compassionate toward people of other religions as the "Samaritan"

  was of course a different faith than that of the Jews,

  He did not let religious differences stop him from being compassionate

  Now JWS are shameless in the self promotion of what they do for each other,

  Now are they being Christian as they ignore everybody else even in times

  of horrific circumstances

  Try reasoning with a JW on this point,

  This is a basic tenet, a basic teaching of Jesus Christ

  They are not Christian

  They should be ashamed

  :0)

  PS I'm ashamed to admit that I was one of them for almost 60 years