As a fader, that is good news.
Is disfellowshipping as popular as it was years ago?
by minimus 46 Replies latest jw friends
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DesirousOfChange
Twice now in the past 10 years, we've had a barrage of DFings among the younger crowd (teens/20s/even young 30s) single & married. The occasional couple in love that doesn't keep it under control (in his pants) before the wedding day (and she gets prego), but twice incidents that even generated Needs Of The Circuit talks at CAs or SADs about wild parties. Specifically mentioning drinking/licking liquor off of the girls bodys/navels. (Referred to as "body shots" by my kids of that age.) Of course those talks always get the rumor mills cranked up and it seems there are rumors of naked hot tub parties, brazen conduct, some girl/girl action, and even couples playing together at unapproved "games". Golly gee! Sounds like Sodom & Gomorrah or some Canaanite Festival. I was born in way too soon. We just snuck off and drank beer when we were underage and tried to make out in the car at the drive-in.
Doc
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Finkelstein
From what I've read on this thread, it still confirms that the age demographics seems to play a statistical role of how many JWs are being DFed . Young people such as adolescents seemed to get themselves in more situations of being Dfed for various reasons, than older adults etc..
But as Village Idiot pointed out It would likely that the WTS has to deal with apostasy more than often now.
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the comet
I think people, especially the single and under 25 crowd, just know how the play the game better nowadays. If it's your first offense, it's pretty hard to get df'ed. When it's your 2nd time in the "back room", most people wise up, get their stories straight and are careful to give a redacted version of events. Around here, for the most part, the only people who get df'ed are, the serial offenders or naive kids/adults who don't know how to play the game.
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cleanideas
Well it's been a good 15 years since I was a JW but at the time we had heaps of kids DF'd. The strange thing is when it happened it was a massive group of them getting DF'd all at once. Around 15 or so total. Several boys around 15 - 17 years old got DF'd for trying pot a few times, others for minor sexual stuff. Also an elder committed adultery with a pioneer sister and a former CO in the hall got DF'd for cheating on his wife with, you guessed it, a pioneer sister. That hall was filled with scandal. LOL!
The PO was actually removed the following CO visit over it all. HAHA! He was a jerk anyway. I got hauled in the back room just because I saw a witness from another congregation smoke a cigarette and I didn't tell on him. They were furious as to why I wouldn't say something. The reason was simple, he told us all he was getting DF'd at the next meeting because he smoked so there was literally NO REASON to tell the elders, they already knew, but they wanted me to be in Gestapo mode I guess, reporting any and all infractions. UGH!
DF'ing people does that religion no good. The grand majority of the kids DF'd never returned. It's hard for kids to get kicked out and then have any desire to come back. I mean seriously, to get reinstated you have to go through shunning at the KH and then you still can't have any friends outside the KH? That's far to unreasonable. I'm still in contact with many of the kids that got DF'd for pot, and the good news is they all have very happy lives now and don't even smoke it anymore. If they had never gotten kicked out they might still be slaves in that cult.
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steve2
Perceptive observations people. One after the other post that shows this issue has been well thought through.
Main points as I see them are:
1.In the "West", the "average" JW demographic is likely older than in earlier decades, and presumably less inclined to juvenile shenaningans (okay, there will be exceptions and I ain't talking );
2. Born-in young ones are likely just better - and less troubled by - keeping their private lives private than earlier generations of younger ones - just don't let anything slip on social media, girlfriend;
3. A veneer of elders "lovingly" showing mercy, and fewer are disfellowshipped;
4. Faders are better at fading, are less likely to be manipulated back into active witnessing and are not as rigoously targeted by snooping elders as happened in earlier decades;
EXCEPTION: There is still, however, a surefire way to get disfellowshipped: Express apostate views. The seemingly loving attempts at mercy vanish in a heartbeat...and you're dog tucker.
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the comet
Steve2- 100% right about expressing apostate views. It always reminds me of Joe McCarthy and the communist witch hunts in the 50's. His question was, Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party of the United States? The elders have, "do you think Jehovah is directing this organization/ the governing body? Answering wrong to to either one pretty much ends you. -
pixel
Ignoranceisbliss to answer the question from page 1: It is "traditional". Old and average.
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FayeDunaway
I know of a few people who were df'd in my old hall since I left (in recent years). Two for having affairs, another for being gay, one for fornication. These are just the ones I happen to know about, and im way out of the loop. I'm sure there were more. -
Finkelstein
In light of the fact that there is so much available information about the JWS and its history on the Net, one could guess that the JW organization might be dealing with even more situations of apostasy now and into the foreseeable future.
Brothers and sisters where are you ?