I live in a small town and have been studying with two nice witnesses. However, there is nothing about their Truth that is acceptable. I have pointed out many errors in their information. The study is just about over and I absolutely will not be a witness. Question,if I run into them which in this town I am certain to do, will they speak to me.
Are non Jws shunned
by wiser 7 Replies latest jw friends
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poor places
Yes, they will speak to you. You can't get shunned unless you're baptized. It is likely that they will continue to call you or come to your door after you end the study, so you should be prepared for that.
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Honesty
Maybe and maybe not.
The JW's usually have a serious problem with people who reject their version of Christianity.
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leavingwt
if I run into them which in this town I am certain to do, will they speak to me.
Most of them will. If you never get baptized (official membership), they'll never view you as truly 'apostate'.
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wasblind
I made it as far as an unbaptised publisher, some talk, some don't
but as for the one's brave enough to give me a visit always promise
to come back with info that can set me straight, i'm still waiting.
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Quillsky
Wiser, you've been studying the JW publications with the Witnesses in your small town for about a year and a half. You must have developed friendships and some kind of relationships with the two nice people you've been involved with, and their families, and some friends. You've likely been to social events, people's homes, and so on.
Whatever you do, if these friendships are important to you, don't say anything about your religious beliefs. Just stop "studying" with them. Simply stop.
Jehovah's Witnesses have no formalities about how to treat people who stop "studying" with them.
They will continue to talk to you in the town, probably seeing you as simply "an ex study". But at least those people who have become fond of you will still happily interact with you, have a chat or coffee with you. They may even invite you into their homes, although until you are a baptized Jehovah's Witness you will not be truly accepted or often invited home.
It's up to you to decide whether you 1... will still remain a "potential study", what they call "an interested one" or 2... have become a real friend to these friends of yours. Whatever you choose, don't talk about religion. Don't even say "I don't want to talk about religion" - simply don't talk about religion if these people are important to you. Maybe concentrate on being a good friend to them, by your standards!!
If you don't want to live like this, bending your mind around what you may or may not believe according to their religion, and you have enough other friends, just forget about this stupid JW game.
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I quit!
It is possible to be shunned and not be a baptized JW. When I first left the WT and couldn't get my wife to reason with me about the Watchtower's teachings. Randy Watters offered to speak to her that caused her to go crazy, I guess as expected. I knew someone else, Steve Ignatius who lived by me and had only briefly studied with the witnesses and was now exposing their errors. I tried to get her meet him and his wife not to discuss the Watchtower but on a social level. It was Steve's idea to just to get together and he had no intentions of having any religious discussion. She went just as crazy as when I mentioned Randy. I explained to her that he had never been a Witness. She said he had to know it was the truth and wouldn't meet him on any terms. When we moved Steve spent the day helping us move. She was civil with him but not overly friendly. The other people who helped us move were my friends who had nothing to do with the Watchtower so it put her in a position where she if she had ignored him like I think should would have like to have done it would have drawn unfavorable attention to the Watchower.
If they consider you and "opposer to the truth" they will probably view in the same way as if you were df'd or disassociated.
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Quillsky
Okay, then there's that.