by Dagney 30 Replies latest jw friends
Good replies Island Man
I think one could say that any self proclaimed Christian sect [aside from the Catholics] is an apostate from Catholicism. Just from a historical standpoint, they were the only Christian game for over 1000 years, right?
just saying
My JW ex-wife tried to turn me into an apostate, but I refused to join the Watchtower Society.
If someone says that " you're an apostate " - just ask them - " what's an apostate " ? Let THEM explain it . Then tell them that you've never deviated from the REAL truth in life and you are as true a human being now more than you ever were. My 2 cents. Peace out, mr. Flipper
No I'm not an apostate , I'm just an intelligent realist !
Moral realism or ethical realism, a non-nihilist view of morality that claims ethical sentences express propositions made true by objective features of the world, independent of subjective opinion
Some people insult those who disagree with them by questioning character or motives instead of focusing on the facts. Name-calling slaps a negative, easy-to-remember label onto a person, a group, or an idea. The name-caller hopes that the label will stick. If people reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative label instead of weighing the evidence for themselves, the name-caller’s strategy has worked.
So it was quite an evening. Long story short, my savvy (newly ex) friend responded along the lines of what Flipper said. They asked the person what an apostate was. My friend told them, "no Dagney doesn't do that." More definitions came up and were challenged in the same manner. It was pointed out that the accuser continued association with several people who had left "the truth" and were openly "immoral" (again...I don't care...just trying to point out the hypocrisy), but were not considered "apostate." The point was made.
Like Oubilette brought out, JW's are all about labels...and I hate labels. I told my friend tonight, you are taught from the get go as a JW to put people in categories. "Are you still pioneering?", "I don't see her out in service very much and she misses a lot of meetings," "Well he works a lot of overtime..." "His wife doesn't go to meetings..." "His hair is getting long." "She dresses worldly." Everybody must have a label. Everybody must be judged.
My best friends are labeled apostates. But I will confront anybody who wants to cause problems for me or someone I care about and get in my personal business. I confronted a MS relative when he called a dear friend of mine an apostate. I told him I would contact his elders and tell them he was slandering a brother. And if I didn't like the response I would write the HQ and name names. That shut him up.
My dear friend who has remained my close friend the 13 years I've been out and who now is sorting through their own journey learned a huge lesson today. The lesson we here have all had to learn. People who you thought would be your friends for life...people you picked up and carried when they were down and out...those same people will turn against you in a moment. There is no loyalty in the organization. There were tears tonight but the lesson was learned.
Thanks for listening.
For those that left the org a few years ago my observation that it is "impossible for me to be an Apostate from a religion I have never been part of", works well.
The JW fundamental doctrines have changed since I left just a few short year ago, so I have never subscribed to the new doctrines that define the religion, therefore I cannot Apostasise from it/them.
