# Would it be evil for me to give Jehovah Witnesses handouts from JWFacts.com when they come here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 17, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774 "2014-08-17T20:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/201 "2014-08-26T03:00:09Z")
“My challenge to you is to try and find some positives in this thing that you feel such vitriol for.” Ok, interesting challenge. I don’t feel vitriol for the witnesses but I’ll join in on this since I do see some negatives to the philosophy/religion. However, I can’t think of anything that doesn’t have some positives and negatives except for pumpernickel bread but that’s another thread. Positives I see with Jehovah’s Witnesses: - Take their book the Bible seriously, if nothing else (that could be a positive or a negative depending on your perspective, but I find it a positive in the sense of at least owning up to what you say you believe in) - Are so unusual in some ways that they in my experience they tend to be sympathetic (but not necessarily empathetic) to other “outsider” religions and peoples - Help each other out in times of crisis (illness, home burning down, etc.). The witness I’m with on a daily basis had a good friend (also a witness) who died of leukemia. The congregation organized help for that person on an ongoing and long-term basis. Good thing she wasn’t in the midst of being shunned though…I mean that, without irony. - No devout witness has killed another human being in a war, so far as I know, as it is against their beliefs ---
**Author:** ![butterfiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@butterfiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butterfiles)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/202 "2014-08-26T03:03:20Z")
“- No devout witness has killed another human being in a war, so far as I know, as it is against their beliefs” Err…this might not be true as I just realized on a quick google search. oops. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/203 "2014-08-27T02:05:41Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > You have to admit it hurts that divinely inspired branding a tad. Exactly. Why would Jehovah let his earthly representatives keep screwing things up and hurting people? It makes no sense. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I’m also not saying that I am inspired by God in all my actions. Why should I take anything the JWs say as being “the truth” when they have already shown they’ve been wrong about a number of topics? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/204 "2014-08-27T02:15:08Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > People like to make fun of them but I defend them, not because of any specific beliefs that they have, but because they tend to be well above average people in general in terms of values and work ethic. I like individual JWs just fine. I don’t think they are bad people. I think many of them are victims of the organization, and I feel bad for them that they are wasting their one chance at life trapped in a cult that wants to control so many aspects of their life and discourages them from important things like contact with loved ones or pursuing higher education or a meaningful career… > [@](#): > > they tend to be well above average in promoting a sense of community among their members . I suspect a big reason for that is because the JWs are discouraged from associating with “worldly people” such as you and I unless we show interest in converting. They will be polite, but they’re not supposed to be friends with us. Members who show evidence of questioning the teachings are as we have been talking about in this thread shunned. They are supposed to only listen to information about the organization that the JWs have published. Naturally, under those circumstances, they will be close knit with other organization members. What else could they do? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/205 "2014-08-27T02:29:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just want to point out that disfellowship is pretty much the only problem I actually have with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’ve seen what it’s done to my family, and that’s with people who aren’t quite as adherent. (They got worse after 9/11, but then it evened out.) I have other issues with the organization, but the shunning is definitely a big part of my grievance. Notice that [it is pretty common for cults to use “shunning” as a form of control](https://freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php). It’s tragic that many families have been harmed by this. However, as I commented above, I don’t think individual JWs are bad people. It’s the organization that I have a problem with. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774/206 "2014-08-27T22:31:25Z")
[Apparently, they are the least educated and 2nd poorest of all religious groups in the USA](http://aidwatchers.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Leonhardt-religion-education-income.png). I think that is sad, even though it’s not as bad as the shunning stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-evil-for-me-to-give-jehovah-witnesses-handouts-from-jwfacts-com-when-they-come-here/695774.md?page=10)