Posts by rocketman

49

Catholic "Just War" Doctrine vs JW Pacifist Doctrine

by rocketman in

having been a practicing jehovah's witness for 30 years, i had been exposed to their pacifist doctrine, which taught that christians were not to enlist in armies or participate in warfare on any level.

this doctrine was later modified somewhat to allow for non-military "alternative" service as a matter of conscience.. i had always thought of the jw doctrine as lofty.

it was based on bible verses such as isaiah 2:4 and matthew 26:52. the idea was that, if all people were jehovah's witnesses, carnal warfare would be eliminated.

rocketman

Good point TD. I used the term Pacifist in a looser sense, one of those "for lack of a better word" (or term) situations. Frankly, I'm at a loss as to a one-word description of their stand when it comes to war.

49

Catholic "Just War" Doctrine vs JW Pacifist Doctrine

by rocketman in

having been a practicing jehovah's witness for 30 years, i had been exposed to their pacifist doctrine, which taught that christians were not to enlist in armies or participate in warfare on any level.

this doctrine was later modified somewhat to allow for non-military "alternative" service as a matter of conscience.. i had always thought of the jw doctrine as lofty.

it was based on bible verses such as isaiah 2:4 and matthew 26:52. the idea was that, if all people were jehovah's witnesses, carnal warfare would be eliminated.

rocketman

Having been a practicing Jehovah's Witness for 30 years, I had been exposed to their pacifist doctrine, which taught that Christians were not to enlist in armies or participate in warfare on any level. This doctrine was later modified somewhat to allow for non-military "alternative" service as a matter of conscience.

I had always thought of the JW doctrine as lofty. It was based on Bible verses such as Isaiah 2:4 and Matthew 26:52. The idea was that, if all people were Jehovah's Witnesses, carnal warfare would be eliminated. In fact, one anecdotal experience often related in JW talks about warfare was that of a JW who supposedly called at the door of someone who related that they had lost a son in battle. The JW supposedly said "if all people were Jehovah's Witnesses, your son would still be alive today".

But the fact is, not all people are Jehovah's Witnesses. And, though I bought into the lofty ideal behind this JW teaching, one thing bothered me: It was idealistic, but not entirely practical. For example, aggressive people and nations do exist. At times, such aggressors must be confronted. A foremost example is Adolf Hitler's Germany during World War II. Hitler turned Germany into an aggressor nation with global aspirations. In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses themselves were victims of that aggression, having been condemned to concentration camps along with Jews, Gypsies and others.

Interestingly, another anecdotal story often related by JW public speakers is that God may have used the Allied forces in WWII to free the Witnesses from the concentration camps, in much the same way that He supposedly used the Persian forces to free Israelites from captivity in Babylon in the 6th century BC. The question raised by that suppostion in my mind was 'if everyone was a pacifist, where would the deliverance have come from?'

Back to Hitler's Germany, from where would salvation have come if not for the Allied forces? What would the world be like had Hitler been left to pursue his goals unchecked? One thing is sure - religions like that of Jehovah's Witnesses would not enjoy freedom to practice their faith.

Indeed right up to the present time, aggressive nations and people (including terrorist groups) exist which at times must be confronted. To me, the Jehovah's Witnesses teaching, lofty as it was, failed to address this. Lately, I've been reading up on the Catholic doctrine of "Just War", which is explained here. The Catholic doctrine holds that, while there are Bible principles aimed to ensure peace, there are also principles which show that war may be, regrettably, necessary at times.

To me, the Catholic doctrine of Just War may better address the realities of the world we live in. If there is some drastic change in the future, such the second coming of Christ, then, yes, war should be a thing of the past. But for now, war is a sad reality, never to engaged in lightly or for the wrong reasons, but at times necessary nonetheless**.

http://http://www.catholic.com/library/Just_war_Doctrine_1.asp

** The viewpoint I am presenting is not a statement of support for the current war in Iraq. The Iraq War, in my opinion, is much more complex than that of WWII, in my mind anyway. I do not wish to address the differences at this time, though it should be noted that I am not totally against the current war either. However, I will say that the Persian Gulf War matches WWII a bit more closely, in my view.

18

My Yoke Is Kindly

by Sunspot in

since jesus spoke about the "doing of good" towards (our) fellow man, it seems only reasnable that these humane good works would be pleasing as what might be termed as "christian-related" actions.

they would most certainly "build up" one another and promote the faith of christianity.

it's basically simple.

rocketman

When I'd hear Matthew 11:30 read at meetings, I'd often wonder why the load that we were bearing as jws seemed anything but light. I wondered much the same thing when I would hear 1 John 5:3 read. If the commands of God were not "burdensome", I wondered, why do I feel so burdened? And yes, the wts often drew a direct line between those commands of God and the routine of jws, including attendance at all meetings.

41

How Long Were You A Jehovah's Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

for me----over 40 years!

rocketman

Feels like a million years sometimes, but here are actual numbers:

Born in jw family, attended roughly 43 years (some yrs of my early youth were on again-off again in terms of attendance)

Baptized 30 yrs (close to 31 now)

Totally inactive 1 year

15

Reading WT Publications

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

okay, i don't know about the rest of you, but when i read any wt publications (even on here), i fall into a state where i'm reading, but not paying attention to what i'm reading.

i used to do it during watchtower studies, and when i was studying, i fought to pay attention to the material being discussed.

it just seems automatic, that i completely shut my mind off when reading wt publications.. what about you?

rocketman

When I used to read them, I'd find my mind shutting down after about three paragraphs. The hardest to follow articles were the ones they'd have about the religious developements in the middle-ages. I'd find such articles very confusing and I don't think it was because of lack of brain-power on my part. I'm no rocket-scientist (just a rocketman) but I normally have no problem reading fairly deep material. The stuff was written in such a convoluted manner that it had my head spinning.

27

more strange images??

by siy in

jw
friends

.

have a look in the isaihh"s prophecy voll 2 page 323, not seen this on any site [ hi all]

rocketman

Funny how Jesus' beard and hair got all gray in the heaven pic. I guess 2000+ years in heaven will do that to you.

42

The Culting of Christianity

by blondie in

jw
friends

this popped up on my google news alert:.

posted on tuesday, april 20 @ 09:22:27 the culting of christianity.

not long ago, religious cults were dismissed by many americans as being the stuff of aging california hippies or eccentric gurus from the far east.. .

rocketman

One thing to keep in mind is that posting something from an outside source (a source other than oneself) doesn't mean that you agree with every word of it.

Blondie posted this because she found it interesting, as she mentioned, but I doubt she agrees with all of it. I think it's important to keep that in mind.

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