i had been thinking about religion and religious services in general and perhaps i am just noticing it more because of my personal involvement but it seems that the jehovahs witness religion tends to have more incidents of mixed marriages where one partner is considered the unbelieving spouse than other religions or churches.
of course, i have not been to church is a while and even when i did go to church i found that there werent as many instances of a spouse going it alone in the church without their partner.
i guess that is partly why i got discouraged in going to church as i felt like i could only bring half my family to it.. the main thing i would like to discuss, though, is why does there seem to be a higher number of mixed marriages within this religion as opposed to other religions.
I agree with LostGeneration. Mix marriages are very common in most churches. They just generate more strain when one party is a JW, because the JW are so obnoxious.
This is one reason that JW make no sense to most Protestants. We deal with these sort of issues all the time without many problems. We learn how to manage differences of opinions. It is only when you throw a JW into the mix that you encounter real division and strife.
i am going to throw down the gaunlet.
those who know the truth but stay in anyways are complicit in actions of the jehovah witness organization.
while i am sympathetic to the very difficult choices that they have to make, their unwillingness to confront the jw enables the organization.. some of you may remember my story.
You married her. You get to handle her baggage.
Never was there a more true statement. I knew the whole story within the first week of meeting her. Never would I have imagined exactly what it all meant. She is worth it, but oh Gosh, dealing with JW is painful.
So..........it's like WE should complicate OUR life to make YOUR life easier.
It cuts both ways. Why is my life more complicated because you are unwilling to deal with your baggage? You deal with yours first. That is where this problem started.
ok. now i find myself in an odd situation.
my wife's family, who has let the witnesses walk all over her for 30 years, is trying to play nice.
(mother-in-law is a witness.
OK. Now I find myself in an odd situation. My wife's family, who has let the Witnesses walk all over her for 30 years, is trying to play nice. (Mother-in-law is a Witness. Father in-law is not.) They are actually going to visit.
My issue is this. I appreciate that they are trying to play nice, but when you press my mother in-law, she still has a cult mindset. She genuinely loves her daughter but will fold when the Witnesses put pressure on her. If you start pressing, you find all the cult ellusiveness and denial.
What the heck am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to accept them with open arms and blindly hope that we do not encounter issues again in the future? Do I swing to the other extremely and prohibit my family from having any interactions with any Witnesses?
Really, what the heck am I supposed to do? My choice is between (a) letting my family play with a rabid dog or (b) implementing the very shunning that I have fought against.
i am going to throw down the gaunlet.
those who know the truth but stay in anyways are complicit in actions of the jehovah witness organization.
while i am sympathetic to the very difficult choices that they have to make, their unwillingness to confront the jw enables the organization.. some of you may remember my story.
I am going to throw down the gaunlet. Those who know the truth but stay in anyways are complicit in actions of the Jehovah Witness organization. While I am sympathetic to the very difficult choices that they have to make, their unwillingness to confront the JW enables the organization.
Some of you may remember my story. Married a DA'ed JW. Dealing with JW mother and brother in-law. Father in-law is not a JW but gives them free reign. Wife was publically shunned by brother at uncle's funeral.
One of my many issues with the situation is that I shouldn't have to be dealing with this. Someone else dragged me into it, and now, I have to figure out how to deal with it. Another issue is that the battle lines have essentially gotten drawn around my wife which creates friction in my household. She has a classic survior mindset. Why isn't the fight taken to the households of those who created this mess?
If someone had stood up to these Witnesses 30 years ago, I would not have to deal with this now.
i know that this is a statement of the obvious, but i am wasting my time trying to have an honest discussion with my in-law witnesses.. it is absolutely amazing.
they are otherwise intelligent, rational, honest people.
however if you get remotely close to a subject that requires that they evaluate their beliefs or challenge the witness policy, they will repeatedly dodge it, twist it, or otherwise ignore it.
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i know that this is a statement of the obvious, but i am wasting my time trying to have an honest discussion with my in-law witnesses.. it is absolutely amazing.
they are otherwise intelligent, rational, honest people.
however if you get remotely close to a subject that requires that they evaluate their beliefs or challenge the witness policy, they will repeatedly dodge it, twist it, or otherwise ignore it.
Here we go again. I know that this is a statement of the obvious, but I am wasting my time trying to have an honest discussion with my in-law Witnesses.
It is absolutely amazing. They are otherwise intelligent, rational, honest people. However if you get remotely close to a subject that requires that they evaluate their beliefs or challenge the Witness policy, they will repeatedly dodge it, twist it, or otherwise ignore it. When they cannot do so anymore, they will just shut down.
I am beginning to question whether it is even a conscious process or if it has become subconscious.
Sad. Really, really sad. Why would anyone subject themselves to an organization that screws with their mind so badly? How can anyone suspend their natural sense of morality at the demand of an organization?
the more i read the gospels the more i get the feeling that jesus warns about organized religion or those that overbear on your faith telling you completely how to worship god.
let's say luke chapter 12 is talking about the f&s.
does vs 45 on mean that the f&s can turn bad so to speak?
Jesus absolutely warned about organized religion. On multiple occasions. In the week before his execution, he marched into Jerusalem and directly confronted the religious establishment. He stirred up so much trouble that they crucified him. Every organized religion eventually becomes corrupted by those who seek power and/or wealth.
I find it interest that Luke 12:45 is right before the passage the JW cite to shun families.
Caveats:
(1) Communities of faith need organization and leadership. The rank and file just need to be ready to fight or flee if the leadership twists the organization to suit there own needs. It happens to all organizations eventually.
(2) The religious landscape of Jesus's day was probably more complicated and nuanced than Luke (a Gentile writer) would protray it after the 70 AD destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
personally the jws to me are not dangerous.
on the other hand, many do think they are in fact a dangerous cult.
why are they dangerous?.
The JW are absolutely dangerous. Anyone who invokes the name of God to turn otherwise loving people against each other is evil.
I had JW in-laws for 13 years and got along great until I had to confront a JW issue. Only then did I get a first-hand view at how that cult has twisted the minds of otherwise good people. Only then did I really begin to comprehend how much they have hurt my wife over the last 30 years.
The JW may not be the only dangerous thing in the world, but they are still very dangerous.
peace to you!.
this thread is about false things (some) atheists think theists believe.
this is not a thread about false things that atheists think about theists.
A few atheists are ruining the reputation and respect of all atheists. It boils down to what your objective is. If it is convince, respect is important. Recent posts upset me b/c they reminded me of my JW father with the autocratic manner. You must believe this or you are garbage! I will enforce belief! The GB has existing structures if I want that in life. I don't think that this forum is only for lurkers. Imagine a lurker reading these posts. Vomit? Someone will find the Witnesses very enticing after a glimpse. It feeds into all the JW propaganda.
+1
Both sides of this debate need to reconsider tactics.
Repeating confessions of faith like an incantation is not an effective way to influnence atheists. Actions speak louder than words. Referring back to my first post on this thread, the walking testimony to our beliefs should be our "fruits of the spirit." If we are not demonstrating "fruits of the spirit", how can we claim that anything we believe is real?
Likewise, I challenge some of the atheists to ponder their reactions. Why does this topic provoke such an emotional response?
peace to you!.
this thread is about false things (some) atheists think theists believe.
this is not a thread about false things that atheists think about theists.
FlyingHighNow made an excellent point about justice and mercy. Justice simply requires impartiality. This does not inherently preclude mercy.
