Excommunication is good!!!!

I-follow-the-narrow-path

While talking to my teacher today we talked about excommunication. I told her I thought it was mean to not talk to those members which have been excommunicated. She told me; however, that those who leave the church should be punished. And it is good not to talk to them, because then they understand what their actions do. (not quoting exactly, but roughly what we talked about). What you guys think of her saying that?

Poztate

DF'ing is for life.My Mother has been DF'ed for over 50 years now.She has long since moved on in her own life but some of her family still shun her. IT is good how?? It is useful as a control device for the flock and nothing more.

Check out information on cults and how they control people and the WT would be right up there.

kgfreeperson

When you refer to your teacher, are you talking about someone you are doing a study with or a teacher from school?

I-follow-the-narrow-path

When I refer to teacher I mean a JW I am studying with. I am a only a little over a month in, so I thought I'd learn as much as I could.

blondie

While talking to my teacher today we talked about excommunication

So are you Catholic? As far as I understand, only Catholics use that term and only excommunicate someone who has defied the Pope and/or church doctrine. Did your "teacher" use that term? Jehovah's Witnesses practice "disfellowshipping" and for many reasons other than disagreeing on doctrinal matters. The Amish use the word "shunning" and their practice is closer to what JWs do.

I told her I thought it was mean to not talk to those members which have been excommunicated.

She told me; however, that those who leave the church should be punished.

What did she say it meant those who "leave" the church? Did she mean people who just stop attending the meetings or people who stop turning in "time slips" for how much time they spending talking to non-JWs about JW teachings?

BTW, did she call it leaving "the church"? Do you know what JWs teach the "church" is?

And it is good not to talk to them, because then they understand what their actions do. (not quoting exactly, but roughly what we talked about). What you guys think of her saying that?

And what actions did she tell you warranted their being "not talked to." When I was a JW, individual JWs would take a dislike to other members and stop talking to them. Is this "not talking" an individual decision?

Blondie

I-follow-the-narrow-path

Well I brought up excommunication.. and I never heard that word until I got on researching JW
She explained that if you are disfellowshiped you are able to be forgiven and come back.
Her husband broke in and started talking about (serious sins) like adultry and if I would want to continue talking to my husband if he cheated on me. I told him NO and he made his point there
I would never be Catholic.. are you kidding me? I don't except Idoltry (cross worshipping)-- my relatives are Catholic however and some have tattoed the cross on themselves. That is just sick!
Oh NO.. of course she did not say church... she just said if people forgive and are really sad about what they did they can come back.
"Is this "not talking" an individual decision?" We never really disscussed if it was an individual action, or stated what actions were more serious than others. She made it seem though, as though it should be the congregation (not the individual person) who ignores the member who sinned. She never said the whole congregation should ignore the person who sins, but seemed to imply it.

I-follow-the-narrow-path

"What did she say it meant those who "leave" the church? Did she mean people who just stop attending the meetings or people who stop turning in "time slips" for how much time they spending talking to non-JWs about JW teachings?" Well I just asked "what happens if someone get excommunicated?"-- we did not clarify what that person would be doing to get disfellowshipped

misspeaches

I-follow-the-narrow-path - welcome! Its great to have you on board. I love it when we have a new person asking questions as it makes us all wake up again!

I found this article for you online and thought you may find it helpful. Please have a read of it.

http://www.xjw.com/shunning.html

KW13

Firstly it was nice talking on MSN with you. Very interesting chat.

Remember, as i said. You mustn't get the Organization and the truth confused. You agreed that you can be pleasing God and get your reward without being a witness...so on that note, by shunning people not as Christians but as Witnesses, that is more Watchtower Society policy NOT anything more.

God never chose an organization, which you agreed. So by not liking or not wanting to be a witness (or by leaving) it is not God punishing you but rather the men running the org.

If through the faithful and discreet slave, he provides food at the proper time, there would not be the predictions of the end of the system like they did. Once they did that, they claimed to know what Jesus himself did not know, he said no one will know the hour and also described how false prophets would arise and mislead many.

The scripture in 1Timothy 2:5 says God, Jesus then us. NO org or anything. We can have a personal relationship with him.

As i said earlier, don't get the impression i hate the society. I really don't.

Take care

Rabbit

I-f ollow-the-narrow-path, Hi & Welcome !

I was about your age when I started seriously studying with JW's...I wish I had had your smarts and asked about disfellowshipping. If only I had asked, "OK, what happens if I simply disagree with some JW doctrine ? Or, "What happens if I simply decide to go to another 'church' ? Or, "To drop all religious belief ?

Those are questions I took for granted...after all, "This is America...we have freedom of religion!" Right ?

Well, that was 1971. Today...I am divorced from a strict JW and all my kids shun me, along with a hundred other JW relatives. My crime ? First, there was no adultery, no "scriptural reason", I simply questioned beliefs and slowly stopped going to meetings. I have been 'marked' as a possible 'apostate' which the Watchtower says is the "unforgivable sin." Yep, unforgivable !

I am not disfellowshipped -- yet, but, can be for simply reading 'other' religions literature or even visiting this very web-site.

It's good you ask these questions now, before you get baptized or marry (only to a JW) & have children. If you change your mind, your own wife & children can be required -- to shun you. The 'hope' is this extreme action will force you to do the 'right' thing.

By the way -- if your JW family & friends don't shun you -- they can get disfellowshipped. Very, very cold efficient & clever ploy, huh ?

If I sound a little bitter, I have one other reason...my mother died because of her JW belief -- that having a blood transfusion is a sin.

That pretty much sums up the fulfilling ~~Christian~~ JW experience I've had over the last 35 years.

There is a really good site http://www.reexamine.org/ that is a library of JW literature going back over 100 years, it is arranged by subject. An interesting note is this...the Watchtower actually sued the original site, because they said their own literature "embarrassed" them. It really does, too. The owner of "Quoteswatchtower.ca" ran out of money against the WT's deep pockets and closed the site down. The new site "mirrored" his library and hosts it in China where the WT doesn't have many friends.

Please don't ever stop asking questions.

Good Luck, Rabbit

Excommunication is good!!!!

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