Posts by Divergent

jesus said to his father: “i publicly praise you, father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children.” (luke 10:21) the bible is written in such a way that only those with the right attitude would understand its message.

people with a proud attitude—a common trait of “wise and intellectual ones”—tend to misunderstand the bible.

Divergent

If it is easier to misunderstand the bible RATHER than understand it, then something is terribly wrong with it!

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Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

Divergent

wisdomfrombelow:

You can get disfellowshipped for marrying an unbeliever. And it is automatic if the unbeliever is a disfellowshipped witness.

This is unusual and has never happened in my country before to my knowledge. There were quite a number of cases of JW's here marrying outsiders and almost none that I know of got disfellowshipped. The only exceptions were a sister who married an outsider and had a wedding involving other religious rituals and another sister who slept with her "worldly" boyfriend and got pregnant before marrying him

33

"You Can Do Just Enough Ministry To Dislike It"

by pale.emperor in

when you were "in" did you ever actually enjoy the ministry?

and i made no secret about it.

instead i would joke about me feather knocking, and made sure i had my bible in hand so as they come to the door they know what im about so they can shut me down before i even start.. i always wondered how or why there were people who enjoyed it.

Divergent

Wayward:

Hated every aspect of it. I was very shy as a kid and it was sheer torture going to strangers' doors. And then wanting to die of humiliation when a classmate or teacher would answer.

Similar feelings here! I was not a shy kid by nature, but being a JW made me withdraw out of embarrassment

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

Divergent

It all depends on how you interpret the bible. If you want to, you can find a justification for almost anything, including polygamy

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

Divergent

The Searcher:

I know of a J.W. who has been "marked" and shunned by many in the congregation for getting engaged to a non-J.W.

NewYork44M:

I cannot recall anyone getting disfellowshipped. However, these ones were "marked."

Marked, shunned, etc. but not disfellowshipped. That's my point. They are doing something which is considered to be "wrong", but the loophole is that it's not a disfellowshipping "offense" due to the reasons I mentioned above

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

Divergent

So yeah, I was thinking about this. Marrying an unbeliever is considered to be WRONG, but at the same time, it is NOT a disfellowshipping "offense". Why is that?

Well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by NOT disfellowshipping. If they did disfellowship everyone who married "out of the truth", there is a high chance that such ones WON'T be coming back and the org would lose them forever. So why not take the softer approach - make it permissible, with the hope that the believing one can eventually bring their mate AND any children that they may have into "the truth!" This would be an acceptable solution for many single ones (especially sisters) who are not able to find a marriage mate within the org. So while the org considers marrying a "worldly person" to be wrong, they still allow it!

7