cant the elders make it so that any deviation or any thought could be considered "loose conduct" and therefore a disfellowshipping offense?
Can you get disfellowshipped for anything?
by Solace1998 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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almostbitten
I'm not a JW, but according to the lady I studied with, it's hard to be disfellowshipped. This is what SHE said, but from I've been hearing and reading in here, you could be DFed for cracking a fart. Getting in trouble for associating with DFed members is what gets me. i think the thing that will probably get you in real hot water is showing signs of brain function and being open about it. If you're sitting in KH and a light bulb goes off in your head, better hurry up and unscrew it lest you be seen.
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Gopher
cant the elders make it so that any deviation or any thought could be considered "loose conduct" and therefore a disfellowshipping offense?
Yes, if you're not on their list of favorite people they can make life hard on you (as many here know from personal experience). "Loose conduct" is defined as any brazen disobedience, which could even include disobeying the elders-- even if they're wrong. What the organization says is that people are disfellowshipped based not just on the sin itself, but on an UNREPENTANT ATTITUDE. The elders get to judge your attitude about things. THey can read hearts, don't you know? So if they don't like your attitude -- even if the sin itself was borderline or fell a little short of being considered for DF'ing, if you don't show yourself properly remorseful you can end up on the wrong side of their law.
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fokyc
Gopher says: "disobeying the elders-- even if they're wrong."
This is a very common one, the elders in a congregation are a complete law unto themselves.
Even if they said, "Jehovah does NOT exist" and you had the temerity to disagree that would entitle them to bring you before a JC
In my case the elders ARE saying the Watchtower Society are wrong,
I am saying the Watchtower Society ARE RIGHT
BUT I am wrong! I am going against Jehovah, I am opposing the elders and I might do more! (Their words, not mine)
Confused
fokyc
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NeonMadman
When people ask me whether you can be disfellowshipped from the JW's for such-and-such a thing, my answer for a long time now has been, "You can be disfellowshipped for anything that three elders can agree you should be disfellowshipped for."
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jgnat
From my experience, who you are in the organization is more important than the supposedly disfellowshipping act itself. If you just don't count, the elders will ignore you. If you are an elder's child, you might slip through the Judicial Committee with a slap on the wrist.
It's those men in the community who are perceived to have some influence, whose daddy is not the PO, that might feel the full wrath of the organization.
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drew sagan
I agree with jgnat, it's who you are in the social environment. It also depends upon the type of men in charge. I know one Elder was PO when his daughter was DF'd. He is a very rigid 'company man' with very little personal expression. He simply follows rules and could care less who gets in the way, even if it was his own kids. Other Elders (or more 'normal' ones) would be much more likely to try and get their friends, children, and family a break. I would also say that showing respect for the "authority" of the Elders is a big deal. Elders do not take well anything that seems to be a threat to their authority. It wasn't until my JC that I noticed how much those Elders really thought of themselves and their position of Elder.
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TinyDancer124
If they were really strict about it, I'd be willing to bet 99% of JWs could be d/fed for any number of reasons. Most just aren't caught.
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parakeet
If the elders want to get rid of you, they will, even if you've done nothing "wrong." Read some of the stories here. The JC is not above recruiting other dubs to lie for them if necessary. If you so much as blow your nose during a meeting, they can turn it into a reason to DF you.
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Quirky1
It's all who you know and who you blow.