The Watchtower Society and disfellowshipping

by teejay 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  teejay

  All,

  I was doing a little websurfing... not hurtin' nobody... mindin' my own bidness... and found myself at the WTS Official website. Over on the righthand side I noticed a "search" button. Hmmm. Didn't see that the last time I was in here. Clicked on it. ( http://www.watchtower.org/search/search_e.htm )

  "Cool!" I thought. It was like having the entire Watchtower library right at my fingertips. "This is all right!!" I began to feel a little giddy. I thought I'd give it go. Typed in "disfellowship" and waited to see my screen fill up with Watchtower references. I remember reading something once about the subject in a magazine or something long time ago, so I knew there would be at least a link or two. The search complete, I got this

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  Documents containing: disfellowship

  
  .. err: no results
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Whuh??!!! "Musta typed it wrong," I thought. Tried again. Same thing. Hmmm.

  Okay... let's try *this.* Typed in "blood." Got twenty links to WTS information. Twenty. Clicking on the second one takes you to a page with several more.

  Odd. You apostates must be a bunch of liars. My conclusion: The WTS doesn't practice disfellowshipping.
• 

  LB

  What fun, I typed in "breast" and got this response..

  >>Three Ways a Woman Can Improve Her Lot - Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site<<

  http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1998/4/8/diagram_03.htm

  
  Never Squat With Yer Spurs On
• 

  nelly136

  . http://www.jw-media.org/beliefs/beliefsfaq.htm

  shunning does not sever family ties

  nelly
• 

  TweetieBird

  Type in disfellowshipped or disfellowshipping...you will see that the WTS has not changed it's view.

  "I must stand up in search of the truth, if I don't I only roll with the flow of the lie and make it stronger.
  ---Sovereign---
• 

  Richie

  Nelly...
  I just read the part where it said that family members are not shunned if disfellowshipped. This is a blatant lie - the Society covers it up using these wordings:

  Do you shun former members?
  Those who simply cease to be involved in the faith are not shunned. In compliance with the Scriptures, however, members can be expelled for serious unchristian conduct, such as stealing, drunkenness, or adultery, if they do not repent and cease such actions. Disfellowshipping does not sever family ties. Disfellowshipped members may continue to attend religious services, and if they wish, they may receive pastoral visits. They are always welcome to return to the faith.—1 Corinthians 5:11-13.

  They act just like politicians, putting the right spin on their words and pretending to do all the right things, so people would be fooled.
  Say a lie a thousand times and even the Society believes them, let alone the R & F...

  Richie :*)
• 

  nelly136

  lol Richie,
  in a former life time I had family too,
  the jw site is pr for the public
  those of us that have been there and done that
  know what really happens
  nelly
• 

  Had Enough

  nelly and Ritchie:

  I so agree - the official WT site is strictly pr for the public.

  In the search feature, when I type in "disfellowshipping", I get only 1 reference entitled: "Child custody-A Balanced View"

  When I type in "disfellowshipped", I get only 4 references:
  "Child Custody-A Balanced View"
  "Child Custody-What is In The Child's Best Interest?"
  "Child Custody-Religion and The Law"
  "Negotiating a Resonable Bride Price" which states "A Christian who greedily and unrepentantly extorts a high bride-price may even be disfellowshipped from the congregation.—1 Corinthians 5:11, 13; 6:9, 10."

  So there you have it folks: No explanation of "why" other than if a person is breaking the law by asking more that the law allows in a bride-price, and "it does not sever family ties".

  Lies by omission and lies by misleading statements....so very typical.

  I also did a search on the word "shunned" and found only 2 references in "What Do JWs Believe", both exactly the same article but in different formats. But did it explain for the public that df'd persons are shunned by all including family? NO! It says "Spiritism is to be shunned"

  And under "shun", 2 articles: "Is Bible Morality the Best?" with only 1 mention - "Do we not respect politicians, policemen, and judges who shun corruption?"...and...

  "Fighting Corruption With the Sword of the Spirit" which described example of a man who "joined a gang that practiced racketeering, extortion, and bribery" and decided to change after reading the scripture in Proverbs" "'Into the path of the wicked ones do not enter, and do not walk straight on into the way of the bad ones. Shun it, do not pass along by it; turn aside from it, and pass along.' He said: "Passages such as this convinced me that those who want to lead a criminal life have no real future."

  So the only mention of the practice of shunning is references to shunning bad practices or corruption, criminal practices and dishonesty, but no mention of their real use of the word.

  Again...lies by omission of the truth.

  Had Enough

  "Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world.
  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."...Margaret Mead
• 

  nelly136

  got to love the balanced view eh hadnuff?

  Instead of thinking of the child's best interests, some parents keep the dispute going by filing motions on irrelevant issues. For example, some have tried to prove that custody should be changed because the other parent is one of Jehovah's Witnesses and will deprive the child of a 'normal way of life.'

  irrelevant issues lol
  nelly
• 

  Had Enough

  Yes nelly. In your quote, it never ceases to amaze me to see to what lengths the WTS will go to subtly paint the non-JW as the one causing the problems with "irrelevant issues" in the legal issue.

  And again on the issue of "disfellowshipped" they ask the question: "What, though, if one of the parents is disfellowshipped?"

  And the answer is? "The disfellowshipping process of the congregation only alters the spiritual relationship between the individual and the Christian congregation. In fact, it severs the spiritual bonds. But the parent-child relationship remains intact."

  This again leads (or should I say misleads) the public to think that family relationships are not affected by disfellowshipping. What happens when the child gets baptised? That child has to shun its own parent. But of course there is no mention of that.

  And what do they say (for the public's view) as for the relationship with the rest of the congregation? It "only alters the spiritual relationship between the individual and the Christian congregation."
  
  Yeah....in a pig's eye!!!

  Somewhere in their own written words there is a statement saying that omission of facts is, in reality, to lie.

  And they call us the liars. argggghhhhh!

  teejay: Thanks for bringing up this topic! (even though it makes be boil) It is one that the public should be made aware of.

  Had Enough

  "Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world.
  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."...Margaret Mead
• 

  nelly136

  .>> What happens when the child gets baptised? That child has to shun its own parent. But of course there is no mention of that.<<

  and no mention that should the child choose to leave the confines of
  the jw cocoon that it runs the risk of becoming a throwaway/disposable item.

  nelly