Why we can confidently say JW's are NOT fulfilling John 13:35

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"This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13:35 (NIV)

A genuine Christian would never totally shun a disfellowshipped family member or life-long friend who walked past them. Christ's true disciples would not walk buy and look the other way, refusing to even say a greeting. The admonition in 3 John is clearly only meant for persons who are apostates from Christianity, ie, who outspokenly speak against Christ and God, not mere immoral persons or persons who leave a religious organisation but still profess faith in God.

The exhortation in 3 John not to even say a greeting to such a person is utterly misapplied to offences under 1 Cor 5 by the Watchtower Society - a clear abuse of scripture.

Jehovah's Witnesses fail to live up to John 13: 35 by their willingness to symbolically kill family members and former friends by totally shunning them. This is anathema to the message of love and mercy that Jesus preached.

Also, the judicial arrangement of disfellowshipping persons for sins under 1 Cor 5 (and similar 'moral' offences) is also a gross distortion of the Christian message of love and forgiveness that true disciples of Christ should show for one another, through thick and thin. Disfellowshipping should be an extreme measure of last resort to remove persons from the congregation who are thoroughly hardened and unrepentant. No matter how many times a person sins, if they express sorrow and a desire to change, they should never be shunned like a leper. Jesus said to forgive up to 77 times. Such persons should be reproved/admonished but helped and supported to gain the victory over sin. And even if they are thoroughly hardened and unrepentant (for the present moment) they should be given the same courtesy and kindness that all Christians should show to anyone, including those without faith and their enemies, as Jesus taught us. That is the hallmark of genuine Christian love. Only rank apostates against Christianity itself should be totally shunned.

Because JW's so harshly and totally shun 'their own' (congregation members and family members) who have been disfellowshipped, and abuse and twist scriptures to support that merciless position, they are easily dismissed as not fulfilling John 13:35.

milliemootoo

I agree!!!

pallemar

I know this is a bit rude

but i can't stop thinking about the pimp, who direkt the hores love to other people, and people, who don't give monnie to the pimp, don't get love, from the hore!

so if we compare the wathtower with the pimp, and the jehovah withness with the hore, it gives a scary image to me....

well it is a bit rude picture i put up here, but some how, it is true....

I hope, i don't offent any one.

Slappy

Nice! That's one of, if not the most, applicable analogies I've heard yet to describe JWs.

And yadda-yadda, you hit the nail on the head. But, seeing as how they seem to slowly be taking Christ out of the picture, anything He said will no longer be a problem for them. It's sad.

metatron

Let me add a few observations.

What did Paul say was the most extreme reaction to a "disfellowshipped" person?

Answer: "not even eating with such a one". It says nothing about never speaking to the person. That would be going beyond what it says. Paul is saying that not eating with them is the most extreme penalty, period.

What did John actually say about ( Gnostic) apostates in his own time?

Answer: "never say a greeting" to them. That IS NOT the same as saying never speak to them. It simply means that, if you met such ones, you must confront them, not greet them.

The above is consistent with what Paul said to the Thessalonians about how to handle persons who were "disorderly" or "disobedient". He says stop associating with them "but do not treat him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother". Thus, you are COMMANDED TO SPEAK TO THEM! You are told to admonish them.

The Watchtower Society is wrong and they are deliberately deceiving people because the above was understood in the Writing Staff in the 1980's. They are deliberately lying.

metatron

uninformed

My 32 year old son will not speak to me.

I know, although he is a servant or elder that he regularly overdrinks, I would not be surprised if he did a little wife swapping on an occasion or two and he regularly associates with folks in the org that do bad things.

He won't speak to me.

Call that LOVE?

I call it hypocrisy.

Brant

oompa

I will tag this for when i am more sober.........thanks........oompa

Number1Anarchist

Love it. Totally agree!

shamus100

Let's just leave disfellowshipping out of the picture for one moment.

Now look into a 'normal' congregation of 'Jehovahs Witnesses'.

They are the most divisive, back-stabbing bunch of clickey self-righteous idiots on the planet, IMO. I have been to other churches for various reasons over the years, and they were refreshing compared to the witnesses. They don't talk about 'this guy is bad assosiation because...', etc., etc., etc. I got so tired of that nonsense... low self-esteem to the extreme!

They have no love for themselves; that is an absolute truth.

Now carry on with disfellowshipping, the ultimate mark showing they are not the true religion.

pallemar

To be honest, i don't like the 1 cor 5 scripture, becourse, it is not writen by a all knowing god.

11But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone(R) who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

What is greed? to eat to you die? it is a brain damage for some peopel, they don't get the filling of having eaten enouf, and can eat them self to dead. some older peopel, can't remember that they have just eaten, and can emty the food stock, by one nigth.

drukness, have to be figthen, by peopel, who loves you, since drunkers, can't control, there own lust for alcohol. it is a sickness,

not a greed thing, well in the first place, peopel, shoulden not have drinks so mush alcohol ;)

but are you first here, there is no way back, with out help.

so turning your back, to peopel with thise problem, is not helping them, but of couse, if you don't have the power, to make a

different, you are not abel to help the person :(

To leve in immorality? is it to leve after human lave laws? or is it to live after the bibel? becourse, the jehovah withness,

don't live after the bibel, they live after the litterature writen by the crabtower, this scriture, is to get peopel, to live

after the bibel, not some human made doktrins base on lies.

who bears the name of brother, do a person, not have the rigt to leave the name of a broder again? if he don't wanna to live as a so call

broder any more? and why, do sisters get shun to????

well all in all, i don't like this scripture, becourse, a person, who live in greed, can have it as a sickness. so it is not a

all knowing good, who have writen this scripture, and there for a human command, not a scripture "god" command, i hope you was

abel, to understand my france :P not use to write in engliss

Why we can confidently say JW's are NOT fulfilling John 13:35

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