by sadiejive 19 Replies latest jw friends
I have had several here tell me that if try to disassociate yourself from the org that you will be subject to shunning. Is this true?
I discussed this issue with the witnesses with whom I study. Here is what he said (BTW, he is an elder at the local KH)...NO, they definitely do not. And that he served at a KH in Fla and the policy is the same there. But he did add that it could happen, but it wasn't something that the society supported.
Is he misinformed or could the policy have changed??
sadie
You should get a ton of replies on this one but the long and short of it is - if you are announced from the platform as having DA(disassociated) yourself you WILL be shunned by all JWs - provided they know you are DA'd. If he says otherwise he is flat out lying to you. They view it the same as a person being DF(disfellowshipped). In all practicle purposes and actions, DA and DF are one and the same, the only difference being WHO initiates the 'leaving'
DA = YOU left
DF = THEY kick you out
And to top it off, more JWs will shun to a large degree people even viewed as 'weak', maybe not to the point of ignoring a person as they do a DF/DA one, but they will go out of their way to avoid them.
Sadiejive,
I was told that if you disassociated that I would not be shunned either - but I welcomed it when it happened. The understanding I hae is this - the Dubs believe that ANYONE not attending Meetings regularly is no a "GOOD ASSOCIATION" therefore - if you have chosen to disassociate - you are now a bad association and to associate with you is a judgement call. Many do not wish to be "yoked with an unbeliever" and will no longer associate with you.
That is not the case here - we don't care - we associate with all.
Wrong: See the Sept 15, 1981 WT. Disassociation = the Anti Christ = shunning
“Cancel my subscription to the resurrection. Send my credentials to the House of Detention, I got some friends inside.....” The Doors
sadie,
Ask your elder to see what his manual says concerning DA's.
"Those who disassociate themselves should be viewed and
treated the same as disfellowshipped persons. (w85 7/15
pp. 30-1)" (from the "elders manual")
The other scenario is where they announce you have DA's yourself because they want to DF you but you haven't done anything wrong (other than disagree with them). This is why they want to treat DA'd people as DF'd - it is just another way of preventing people having contact with you.
Not every disassociation is done by the person themselves!
If you want to leave but keep contact then a slow fade away is probably best.
Sadie,
In 1981 my dub side of the family told the non dubs that they could no longer associate with them because of the article in the 9-15 WT. We have not seen them since then. There was some emailing about a year ago but nothing was accomplished by that.
Tread lightly my dear.
Read that article ThiChi is talking about before you make any decisions.
Sunny
minds are like parachutes--they only function when open.
In a world of peace and love, music would be the universal language...Thereau
Oh sadie you are being lied to on this one. I studied with an elder. I asked him, if at some point in time I wanted to quit, could I do that. He told me that I could, it was no big deal. But after getting baptised I thought I wanted to DA myself. The same elder said I would be treated the same as though I were DFed. He even had society literature for me to read. I can't recall which article he referred me to though.
It's a lie sadie, they tell you anything to get you in.
Never Squat With Yer Spurs On
Sadiejive,
Your elder friend is lying to you to "soften" the organization's image.
Next time you see him, ask him, if he is a baptized Witness. Then, when he says, "Of course," ask him if he was baptized. When he says, "Of course," ask him if, prior to baptism, he studied questions for baptism from the book Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry.
When he tells you, "Yes." Tell him what is found on Pages 150-151 of the 1983 edition of that book.
It reads as follows under the subheading Disassociation:
"The term disassociation applies to the action taken by a person who, although being a baptized member of the congregation, deliberately repudiates his Christian standing, rejecting the congregation and stating that he no longer wants to be recognized or known as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. As a disassociated person, his situation before Jehovah is far different from that of an inactive Christian who, having grown weak spiritually, no longer shares in the field ministry. Such an inactive person may have failed to study God's Word regularly, or his zeal for serving Jehovah may have cooled off due to his experiencing personal problems or persecution. (1 Cor. 11:30; Rom. 14:1) The elders, as well as other concerned members of the congregation, will continue rendering appropriate spitirual assistance to the inactive brother. (1 Thess. 5:14; Rom. 15:1; Heb. 12:12) However, the person who has disassociated himself by repudiating the faith and deliberately abandoning Jehovah's worship is viewed in the same way as one who has been disfellowshipped. A brief announcement would be made to the congregation that the person has voluntarily disassocated himself from the congregation.
Concerning those who renounced their Christian faith in his day, the apostle John wrote: "They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us." (1 John 2:19) Also, a person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization the objective of which is contrary to the Bible and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. (Compare Revelation 19:17-21; Isaiah 2:4) So if a person who is a Christian chooses to join those who are disapproved by God, it would be fitting for the congregation to acknowledge by a brief announcement that he has disassociated himself and is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Such a person would be view in the same way as a disfellowshipped person." [Bold mine; italics theirs.]
Ask him if there has been "new light" on this subject since 1983.
The answer will be, "No." Or there will be some hemming and hawing. INSIST on seeing the publication that proves to him and to YOU, that he was correct when he told you recently that shunning a disassociated person "wasn't something that the society supported."
outnfree
When the truth is found to be lies
and all the joy within you dies ... -- Darby Slick, Somebody to Love
Simon is right, if I ran for public office or took blood, I have DA'e myself right off the bat......what a service they provide!!
Good info outinfree!! Thanks
“Cancel my subscription to the resurrection. Send my credentials to the House of Detention, I got some friends inside.....” The Doors
