Posted by AF [AF] on November 05, 1999 at 09:20:22 {6xiCHW3gJ2DjRmAxB/kMdaOt1gg/Zk}:
In Reply to: *What I've learned on H2O. posted by Friend on November 05, 1999 at 08:15:07:
You've raised some interesting questions that I've thought much about.
What exactly do you mean by "spirituality"? There are many ideas out there on this, but you haven't explained what you mean by it.
As for "theocratic warfare", I think your ideas leave something to be desired. An intentional untruth is by definition a lie. Lies may be told with a good or bad end in view, but they are still lies. Saying that a lie told with good intention is not a lie manifests precisely the attitude that has resulted in accusations of intellectual dishonesty on the part of Jehovah's Witnesses generally, and Watchtower leaders in particular. If you want to lie towards a good end, then do it honestly by admitting to yourself that you've told a lie. I certainly agree that under some circumstances lying is not a crime. In some situations I would not hesitate for an instant to lie, but I would not try to tell myself that I had not lied. The problem with how JWs apply this principle is that they think that lying for God or for the Society is not a crime, and so they don't view it as lying. This is pure Orwellian doublethink.
AF