has anyone had this experience and can it work out?
2007-07-31 00:49:47 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
the main reason im asking is because i read that the elders dont like witnesses socialising with non witnesses and this can lead to problems for the witness. has anyone experienced this at all?
2007-07-31 01:41:27 · update #1
Yeah,i have a mate who is a JW.Mind you,he rarely phones and i get the impression his elders discourage his getting too close to me.Whenever i do see him he is always very friendly and i consider him a pal,he isnt the sort who bangs on relentlessly about his theological views and is generally a nice guy.
It troubles me that they are told not to get too intimate with outsiders,this can't be at all healthy.All in all,however,he's a decent chap and i have a lot of time for him.Perhaps he's one of the more sensible ones.
There seems to be a mentality of "us and them" but there are some who you can get along with nicely just like everybody else.My mate has been involved with the witnesses for many,many years and so perhaps his view is a bit more grown up having moved on from the initial conversion honeymoon period.
He's my mate and i'd go out of my way to make sure he was ok but sometimes i do wonder if he's a little cool with me .To be fair there are lots of groups that behave the same way,i've known evangelical christians who have the same mindset.I don't think it's good for one's mental health in the grand scheme of things.....after all,we've all got to get along somehow.
2007-07-31 01:02:22 · answer #1 · answered by david d 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Many Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy close friendship, even sibling-like intimacy, with non-Witness friends. This certainly implies that the non-Witness is relatively wholesome, but there is no real "criteria" for measuring that quality.
(1 Corinthians 15:33) Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.
Each individual and family head among Jehovah's Witnesses decides for himself with whom he will socialize, although Witnesses do not do so with disfellowshipped former Witnesses. It is entirely false to suppose that any elder among Jehovah's Witnesses would take it upon himself to dictate with whom an adherent should associate, even closely.
(2 Corinthians 1:24) Not that we are the masters over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy
Learn more:
http://watchtower.co.uk/e/20041208/article_01.htm
2007-08-01 09:35:57 · answer #2 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am a witness and I do have friends that are not. I don't push my views on any of them. If a friend wants to talk about religion I will be happy to. All my friends know that I don't do some things so they don't even bring it up. The Bible councils to be no part of the world. If a friend trys to get me to do something that I know is against my conscience, that I should think "Is this a true friend". Most non witnesses never get to no about our beliefs because they think that we don't believe in Jesus. That is not the case. He's my Savior. Next time you me a witness, don't be close minded about being friends with them.
2007-07-31 01:28:23 · answer #3 · answered by zebulun c 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes i think it can. I once worked with a man who was a JW and he was so nice and friendly, no problems arose at all. Two members of my extended family are JW's and we get on great. Sometimes the issue of JW's comes up and only once have i been offended by the information put to me, but otherwise we have a good relationship. Even though we did need to address the boundaries because countless talks and readings of carefully selected passages in the NWT bible where getting too frequent for my liking. As long as the boundaries are clear and you respect one another beliefs then i don't see why it can't work. All the best.
2007-07-31 06:39:01 · answer #4 · answered by freespeakingthinking 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ultimately it depends greatly on the 2 people involved. Case in point, a guy who at one point was certainly my best friend is not a Witness. He and I have moved apart, physically and in terms of interests, but still seem to enjoy chatting when we do. He has stated that he currently considers himself agnostic, I have, hopefully, made it clear that if he wants to talk beliefs, we can talk, or if he wants to talk about something else, that is fine too, depending on the subject:D.
Meanwhile there certainly is Bible principle for being careful who we spend time with. Do not be misled, Bad association spoils usefull habits is a principle many youths know well.
2007-07-31 18:27:13 · answer #5 · answered by Ish Var Lan Salinger 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It can work quite well. Just like with other friends, there are certain things we just don't discuss, or if we discuss them it is on a higher playing field where we don't let emotions get in the way.
My JW friend was more than happy to answer questions that I had and we have some great discussions. And then you throw the Wiccan friend in with it, and you can really learn a lot!
That said, we are all very strong in our separate faiths and have no urge to convert, just to share info and gain insight.
2007-07-31 01:22:00 · answer #6 · answered by usafbrat64 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it can and does work out. I made friend with a lady who was Jehovah's Witnesses at college, she respected my beliefs and I respected hers - we hardly every discussed religion and when we did it was linked to a topic in class so we could better understand where the other had come to a particular conclusion.
2007-07-31 00:59:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My husband is a witness, as is his mother.
I am not (I was raised church of England but now I'm not anything).
When we first started dating we discussed in ins and outs of the religion, and how it would affect us in the future (I wanted us to live together before we were married).
In the end, we vowed not to let it affect us and so far it hasn't.
There is no reason why you can't be freinds with this person, but it may be worth understanding some of the religion, like not celebrating birthdays or (obviously) christmas, as this will make it easier in the future (like when you don't receive a birthday card from them).
Good luck!
2007-07-31 00:55:26 · answer #8 · answered by Emma W 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses do not encourage friendships outside of their own faith. 'Worldly' people are seen as a bad influence. They think 'worldly' people may lead susceptible JW's astray.
On the other hand, there is a very real danger that a non-witness may be drawn into the clutches of the organisation and start to go to their meetings and read their literature. Now that would be highly undesirable, especially if the non-JW was susceptible.
Keep your wits about you. They are out to convert, and if you don't want to be converted, you are likely to be dumped.
2007-07-31 05:52:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Why not? Why can't people from two different faiths be friends? As long as each one respects the other's right to their beliefs? I always tell JW's that want to witness to me. "I will hear you out, but then I will ask you to hear me out". Some will, and some won't.
2007-07-31 00:56:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋