It's a little surprising that such a thoughtful post has no replies after 3 hours. Allow me to be the first.
On a general level I subscribe to the doctrine of live and let live, coupled with the Golden Rule. If all of us adhered to those simple precepts the world would be a much better place. Even if we do from time to time slip into our own personal headspaces and shut out or, worse, push and shove others. I lose respect for a person's chosen path in life when it causes harm to others. To me that's the line in the sand. I've been married to a Jehovah's Witness for more than three decades and I will not do anything to prevent her from attending meetings or going out on service or any other thing she needs to feel fulfilled and happy in life. I love her deeply, but I have no love whatsoever for the Society to which she belongs. It's not because I don't believe its teachings, although I certainly do not, but because the Society crosses that line in the sand.
As to judgement, it is not anyone's place to say that people should not be judged. People's actions have consequences and when those consequences cause harm to others then they should be judged.
Your comment on judgement brings to mind the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11). This is where the Pharisees dragged the miserable woman in front of Jesus and asked him if it was ok in his opinion to stone her to death, as was prescribed under Mosaic Law. It was an attempted catch-22. If Jesus said it was not ok, then he violated the law. If he said it was ok, he would be perceived as inconsistent. Christ's response - "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone"— is a clear admonition not to judge. He then went on to forgive the woman of breaking one of his Father's Ten Commandments and sent her on her merry way.
But here's the problem. Who has the right to judge and punish? How do we as a society and civilisation determine what is and is not acceptable and in what manner wrongdoing is addressed? We would have chaos without judgement and any admonition not to judge is unrealistic. Back to John 8:3-11, what right did Jesus have to forgive on someone elses behalf? Ostensibly a wife or a husband somewhere in the city had been harmed by the woman's actions. In what way should they be mollified?
You asked for sincere comments. These are mine, even if I am not a JW.
