5 ms·

> it's an all-or-nothing endeavor I don't know anything about Jehovah's Witnesses but certainly there are a lot of religions that are comfortable with people c

> it's an all-or-nothing endeavor I don't know anything about Jehovah's Witnesses but certainly there are a lot of religions that are comfortable with people coming by out of curiosity and/or participating sporadically. I think that's how most people do it.

EA-3167 3y ago
They're referring to what happens if you join the faith, and then leave it: Defellowshipping, aka shunning.
- digitalsushi 3y ago
  I googled the word and the first google hit tells me that if I am following those rules, it's not cool for me to say hello to someone in that state of being.
  - TylerE 3y ago
    Yeah, JW are, to put it mildly, nuts. They also outlaw blood transfusions. They literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma.
    - geocrasher 3y ago
      That's right, we choose not to accept blood transfusions. But, "literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma." is outright wrong. We strongly value life! We spend a lot of time and resources to understand transfusion alternatives, of which there are many, and we each individually make the decisions as to what types of treatment we will accept. If you want to find out what we actually believe: https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnesses-why-no-blood-transfusions/ https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnes...
      - slothtrop 3y ago
        > But, "literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma." is outright wrong. How's this: "literally expect you to die if you're in need of a blood transfusion to survive". Seems pretty much in line what what you espouse.
      - EA-3167 3y ago
        Let me ask you a direct question, and I hope you'll respond directly. Lets say all of those "transfusion alternatives" demonstrably fail, and someone has two choices left: Transfuse or Die; you might phrase that as "Transfuse or Pray", but either way... ...What then? When all other options are exhausted, the prayers aren't working, and your last chance to live involves transfusions, are they permissible?
        geocrasher 3y ago
        They aren't. That's where a strong future hope comes in, and the desire to follow God's laws over all else. That doesn't make it easy, but if one truly believes something, shouldn't they be be willing to make sacrifices for it? People don't think twice about giving their life for their country, so why would somebody be any less convicted?
        shrimp_emoji 3y ago
        Travolta lost millions of dollars on Battlefield Earth. That's commitment!
        netsharc 3y ago
        A country is a real thing. What if someone truly believed in Santa Claus and was ready to sacrifice their life believing that will save Santa/follow his teachings? Would you think that's ridiculous? Now replace Santa with God, this is what atheists believe...
      - roflyear 3y ago
        Would JW like to outlaw transfusions? Like, do many of them believe it should be illegal, like many catholics believe birth control should be illegal?

EA-3167 3y ago

They're referring to what happens if you join the faith, and then leave it: Defellowshipping, aka shunning.

digitalsushi 3y ago
I googled the word and the first google hit tells me that if I am following those rules, it's not cool for me to say hello to someone in that state of being.
- TylerE 3y ago
  Yeah, JW are, to put it mildly, nuts. They also outlaw blood transfusions. They literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma.
  - geocrasher 3y ago
    That's right, we choose not to accept blood transfusions. But, "literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma." is outright wrong. We strongly value life! We spend a lot of time and resources to understand transfusion alternatives, of which there are many, and we each individually make the decisions as to what types of treatment we will accept. If you want to find out what we actually believe: https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnesses-why-no-blood-transfusions/ https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovahs-witnes...
    - slothtrop 3y ago
      > But, "literally expect you to just die if you experience any sort of trauma." is outright wrong. How's this: "literally expect you to die if you're in need of a blood transfusion to survive". Seems pretty much in line what what you espouse.
    - EA-3167 3y ago
      Let me ask you a direct question, and I hope you'll respond directly. Lets say all of those "transfusion alternatives" demonstrably fail, and someone has two choices left: Transfuse or Die; you might phrase that as "Transfuse or Pray", but either way... ...What then? When all other options are exhausted, the prayers aren't working, and your last chance to live involves transfusions, are they permissible?
      - geocrasher 3y ago
        They aren't. That's where a strong future hope comes in, and the desire to follow God's laws over all else. That doesn't make it easy, but if one truly believes something, shouldn't they be be willing to make sacrifices for it? People don't think twice about giving their life for their country, so why would somebody be any less convicted?
        shrimp_emoji 3y ago
        Travolta lost millions of dollars on Battlefield Earth. That's commitment!
        netsharc 3y ago
        A country is a real thing. What if someone truly believed in Santa Claus and was ready to sacrifice their life believing that will save Santa/follow his teachings? Would you think that's ridiculous? Now replace Santa with God, this is what atheists believe...
    - roflyear 3y ago
      Would JW like to outlaw transfusions? Like, do many of them believe it should be illegal, like many catholics believe birth control should be illegal?