by Cath 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Is there anyone out there who remembers being taught by the WT that love of the self was sinful? If so will you please point me to a piece of literature which contains that teaching, preferably a scan if possible. I have a vague memory of hearing something along those lines as a child and don't know if it was part of JW teaching or just something my family taught us. Any info would be most welcome as I don't have access to older material. Thanks.
Cath
"For suggestions on how to overcome masturbation, see the book Questions Young People Ask?Answers That Work, pages 198-211, published by Jehovah's Witnesses."
THat is on the bottom of the link to the article about phone sex...
Well according to George Benson (JW) ?learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all?
Oh dear, I didn't mean self-love as in masturbation but thanks anyway JTP. That vague memory I have of being taught that we shouldn't love ourselves goes back about 30 - 40 years Peppermint, I think well before George Benson became JW so it could well be a teaching that changed as with so many others since I was a child.
Self sacrifice, self sacrifice, self sacrifice!
My own interpretation that I brought away from that was to not love SELF, all others ahead of self.
On the other hand, Love your neighbor as you do yourSELF.Luke 10:27 He who loves his wife loves himself. Eph. 5:28 NWT
I can no longer sacrifice SELF.
You can't truely love your neighbor (anyone) until you love yourself. If you do not love your own identity in a healthy way, your attachment to others will not be selfless, ie it will be manipulative and limited affection. Usually your attraction to another will be to fill a need you have rather than to give yourself to another in an act of true love.
from fromm
carmel
Awake! 4/8, Young People Ask (sorry no paper edition available).
A Word of Caution
While the need for self-love is implied in such Bible texts as Matthew 19:19 and Ephesians 5:28, 29, the Scriptures far more frequently warn against thinking too much of oneself! Why is this?
Apparently because most of us, in our efforts to gain self-confidence, overshoot the mark. Many become egotistical. Others grossly exaggerate their skills and abilities or are prone to put others down. These are the boasters and braggarts. However, their self-esteem outstrips their true worth.
Even Christians can fall into this trap. Rivalry between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) afflicted the congregation in first-century Rome. The apostle Paul thus gave straightforward counsel. He reminded the Gentiles of their sordid past. Only by means of God?s "kindness" had they been "grafted" into a position of God?s favor. (Romans 11:17-36; 1:26-32) Self-righteous Jews, too, had to confront their imperfections. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."?Romans 3:23.
Did Paul, however, strip them of self-esteem; reduce them to cowering beggars? Not at all. "For through the undeserved kindness given to me," Paul continued, "I tell everyone . . . not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think." (Romans 12:3) It was "necessary" to have a measure of self-respect. But they had to avoid going overboard.?See Romans 11:20.
A Christian therefore avoids extremes. As Dr. Allan Fromme observes: "A person who has an adequate conception of himself is not sad, but he does not have to be deliriously happy. . . . He is not pessimistic, but his optimism is not unbridled. He is neither foolhardy nor free of specific fears . . . He realizes that he is not the outstanding success of all time, nor is he a perennial failure."
So be modest. "God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones." (James 4:6) Acknowledge your assets, but don?t ignore your faults. Rather, work on them.
You?ll still doubt yourself from time to time. But you need not ever doubt your self-worth or that God cares for you. For "if anyone loves God, this one is known by him."?1 Corinthians 8:3.
And just to confuse things, we must "love our neighbour as ourselves."
Probably a different love. Isn't there a few types of love in the bible? A.gape', Phi-lia, and i thought there was 1 more.
-Phil
And just to confuse things, we must "love our neighbour as ourselves."Probably a different love. Isn't there a few types of love in the bible? A.gape', Phi-lia, and i thought there was 1 more.
IMO the very phrase "love our neighbour as ourselves" (one verb for both + explicit equation) rules out "a different love". And the WT's (and others') "typology of love according to the Greek lexicon" is pseudo-philological hogwash. The semantic ranges of different words in the same language do overlap (synonymy).
