Posts by taoInitiate

3

Ethics and JWs

by taoInitiate in

i was sitting in a lecture on ethics today, pretty much an "ethics 101" class as.

it is very secondary to what i'm studying.

anyway it made me think about the.

taoInitiate

Sam,

I remember the same thing. It always seemed to be the "weak" ones who came for this type of "rules advice".

I know that when I was a pioneer/MS people used to ask me questions on what to do in certain situations. Often it was fairly obvious, they just seemed to be asking for confirmation, they didn't care where it came from, just as long as someone could back them up.

But interestingly, if a definite answer was not really possible they seemed to freeze-up into a state of indecision. Without a rule they couldn't take an action.

Of course, this sort of thing seemed to only happen in "small issues", when it was something really big, such as smoking or sex, the disfellowshipping numbers seem to indicate that they just go ahead and do it, no questions asked...it doesn't make sense.

taoInit

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

3

Ethics and JWs

by taoInitiate in

i was sitting in a lecture on ethics today, pretty much an "ethics 101" class as.

it is very secondary to what i'm studying.

anyway it made me think about the.

taoInitiate

I was sitting in a lecture on Ethics today, pretty much an "Ethics 101" class as
it is very secondary to what I'm studying. Anyway it made me think about the
results of Watchtower teachings on members' ethical standards.

The ethical theory that struck me was "Deontological ethics". Roughly, for those
who don't know (like me), this type of ethics is based on duties and rights that
are set down in rules (or laws), which must be followed regardless of consequences (good or bad).

Rules-based-ethics is, in my opinion, the type of ethics
that JW's are "born and raised" on, when they are "babes in the truth" so to
speak. While this type of ethics is OK within itself, I see that there are
problems when it becomes the sole type of ethics practiced and/or recognized by
an individual.

Two of the other major types (or theories) of ethics are Virtue and Teleological
ethics.

Virtue ethics emphasizes what a morally good person should be and represent,
without drawing any conclusions on what should be done in a particular ethical
conflict.

While Teleological ethics is based on the consequences of our actions.

The problem with the Witness system of ethics is that it seems to emphasize
Rules-ethics, to the detriment (or even total neglect) of the other types of
ethics.

The problem with this is, that when called on to make a decision where there is
no explicit "rule" for the pertinent situation, someone who is brought up on
rules-ethics will not have a clue what to do. They are unused to using
consequence-based ethics and so cannot see, or may judge wrongly, the
consequences of their actions. Neither have they developed virtue-based ethics
(their own moral personality) enough to make an intuitively ethical decision
based on their own virtue.

I know I've seen this in myself. I'm wondering if anyone else has, or if you've
all progressed past this stage (or perhaps never went through it in the first
place). I know that some are more susceptible to this than others.

I was always pretty "rulesy" when I was a witness, but some of my friends always
based their decisions on their own values (or the consequences of their actions)
rather than a particular "society rule".

Maybe it's just me who's the ethically crippled one; growing up in the "truth" will do that to you I hear. [8>]

taoInit

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

59

What's yer favourite TV Comedy of all time?

by VioletAnai in

jw
friends

mine would definitely have to be the young ones.

i'm such a sucker for brit humour.

just the thought of viv and rick - cracks me up.. what gets you giggling away?

taoInitiate

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Daffy Duck!

Does anyone else see a pattern here...

Homer, Cartman, Daffy...hmmm

taoInit

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

59

What's yer favourite TV Comedy of all time?

by VioletAnai in

jw
friends

mine would definitely have to be the young ones.

i'm such a sucker for brit humour.

just the thought of viv and rick - cracks me up.. what gets you giggling away?

taoInitiate

I'm obviously not as "discerning" as others...

My tastes run as low as...shock horror...

The Simpsons and South Park.

The 2 greatest characters ever in comedic TV.

Homer and Cartman!!

taoInit

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

17

Ex JW Support Group - any suggestions?

by Beck_Melbourne in

jw
friends

i just thought i'd put this to the multitude and invite your suggestions or some feedback, as i am thinking about forming a support group for ex jw people in my area.

my motive is based on my own experience when exiting the borg...and how isolated and lonely i felt when i left.

i was lucky enough to have one family member who had left the borg a few years before me.

taoInitiate

Go Beck!

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

52

Raymond Franz's Betrayal

by IslandWoman in

jw
friends

thanks for calling this to my attention.

my reason for not wanting book material to be run on certain web sites is purely because of finding their approach out of harmony with my own principles and standards, so many are engaged in watch tower trashing and extremely negative.

some sites present material that promotes agnosticism and distrust of the scriptures, even atheism (one such site being in scandanavia).

taoInitiate

Dear IW

I don't really know you, of course, so please take my remarks with a grain of salt.

I think needing a "visible human" to lean on is one of the harder things to get over from having been in the Org. It takes a lot to stand on our own. I think many of us are still trying to get over that part of the WT influence.

Ray Franz may not have made comments on this board, but I'm sure that others here who, in your words, "have left the WT but still believe in the Bible or in God", can still encourage and support each other.

I'm sure Ray isn't doing anything to spite anyone, or purposefully abandon anyone that may have been helped by his writings. I don't think he has that sort of "bad blood" left in him, if he ever had it.

Cheers, it's not that bad!
taoInit

"We have within us a vast world of creativity. It is just that the view is often blocked by our preoccupations." - Deng Ming-Dao

6

The spring analogy

by taoInitiate in

jw
friends

i think most witnesses (and ex-wits) will have heard of the "spring analogy" often used by witnesses in "youth talks".. it states that a young person who is "let on the loose" too quickly by his/her parents can be like a spring which is held tightly between the fingers and then suddenly released.

both can fly off in any random direction.. i was just thinking this could probably be applied to those leaving any sort of constraining, or limiting, situation.

(think cults, etc.).

taoInitiate

I think most witnesses (and ex-wits) will have heard of the "spring analogy" often used by witnesses in "youth talks".

It states that a young person who is "let on the loose" too quickly by his/her parents can be like a spring which is held tightly between the fingers and then suddenly released. Both can fly off in any random direction.

I was just thinking this could probably be applied to those leaving any sort of constraining, or limiting, situation. (Think cults, etc.)

From my observations, my friends/acquaintances who have dropped out of the organisation quickly (whether for doctrinal or "worldly" reasons) have often gone out of control after leaving. Whereas those who have slowly withdrawn have seemed to "keep it together" a bit better when they leave.

This of course may just be a result of the type of personality of the individual, and not the way they leave, but I was interested to get other peoples' thoughts on it.

taoInit

"We have within us a vast world of creativity. It is just that the view is often blocked by our preoccupations." - Deng Ming-Dao

3

Celebrations advert ? (UK)

by Simon in

jw
friends

what goes on inside the mind of an advertising agent?.

exhibit a: celebrations chocolates advert.

couple in church about to marry ... groom about to sneeze (ah ... ah ... ah).

taoInitiate

Don't you love those ads Beck?

The first series was even less inspired...

Husband walks in with new King Gee's (or whatever) on...wife says why you all dressed up (They're shorts, come on!), who you trying to impress. (15 seconds)

Next one he's leaning on his truck...I don't know why she is funny about it I'm only trying to improve our business image. (15 seconds)

And there was a third part of this ad series, which was so good I can't even remember it.

I suppose they sounded funny when pitched, on the 30th floor of the advertising office, with the high-backed chairs, and the brewed coffee's and such.

taoInit

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