JW's view of morality and apostacy and the harm that such views can do

Ethics and morality[edit]
 All sexual relations outside of marriage are grounds for expulsion if the individual is not deemed repentant;[211][212] homosexual activity is considered a serious sin, and same-sex marriages are forbidden.







A sociological comparative study by the Pew Research Center found that Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States ranked highest in statistics for getting no further than high school graduation, belief in God, importance of religion in one's life, frequency of religious attendance, frequency of prayers, frequency of Bible reading outside of religious services, belief their prayers are answered, belief that their religion can only be interpreted one way, belief that theirs is the only one true faith leading to eternal life, opposition to abortion, and opposition to homosexuality. In the study, Jehovah's Witnesses ranked lowest in statistics for having earned a graduate degree and interest in politics.[288]







Members practice a strict moral code, which forbids premarital and homosexual sex, adultery, smoking, drunkenness and drug abuse, and blood transfusions.[5]












Morality[edit]
 Jehovah's Witnesses demand high standards of morality within their ranks.[96] Their view of sexual behavior reflects conservative Christian views. Abortion is considered murder.[97] Homosexuality, premarital sex, and extramarital sex are considered “serious sins”.[









Apostasy[edit]
 Watch Tower Society publications define apostasy as the abandonment of the worship and service of God by members of the Christian congregation, and equate it with rebellion against God.[187] Apostate behavior is said to include the rejection of biblical teachings or requirements, the rejection of Jehovah’s organization, association with or support for another religion[186] and celebration of religious holidays.[188] It is grounds for expulsion from the religion and subsequent shunning. Promotion of personal doctrinal views that deviate from official teachings is also regarded as apostasy. The "identifying marks" of apostates are said to include attempts to gain followers, disregard for the Witnesses’ preaching activity, rejection of God's visible organization, public criticism of other Witnesses and attempts to hinder their work.[187] Other identifying behavior is said to include deviation from the truth, twisted, empty speech, hypocrisy and involvement in deeper forms of ungodliness.[189] Watch Tower Society literature says apostates are motivated by vitriolic bitterness and that their writings are poisonous, distorted and false, display the characteristics of "cunning, contrived error, prideful intelligence, lack of love and dishonesty" and are designed to undermine the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses.[190] Apostates are described as proud, independent, ungrateful and presumptuous,[189] mentally diseased,[191][192] displaying jealousy, fits of anger and other unchristian conduct and are said to often fall victim to drunken bouts, loose conduct and fornication.[189]
 Witnesses who are defined as apostates are said to have become part of the antichrist and are regarded as more reprehensible than non-Witnesses.[186] They are described as "anti-God" and doomed to destruction.[193] Witnesses are told they must loathe and hate in the "biblical sense of the word" those who are defined as apostates and show no curiosity about their ideas.[194] Apostates must be shunned and Witnesses are warned that those who greet one become "a sharer in his wicked works".[186]









I don't think that hating people is appropriate whether it is in the "biblical sense" of the word or not.  I don't think that there is anything wrong with being proud, independent or being proud of being intelligent as being an educated person is a vital part of life.  The JW's hate of apostates,  non-marital couples, same-sex couples and towards people of other religions isn't much better than the hate that Jews receive from anti-Semitists or the hate experienced by people of color from racists.  The JW's tend to have  strong moral superiority and persecution complexes which is something that I think does them more harm than good.  If a person leaves another religious group to become a Jehovah's Witness, that person is also an apostate, so they would be hypocrites to point figures at people for leaving the JW's, I think.  Think about it. The above underlined paragraphs in bold are from Wikipedia.


Sincerely,






B.W.