Has there been a change on how JW's view those that have drifted away?

by lonestar63 21 Replies latest jw friends

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  lonestar63

  Quarterback, the witch hunt sounds more likely than actually being interested in the so called spirituality of me and my family. Twice it's been 2 brothers together, I'm assuming one or both are elders, the other 2 times it was one of the older sisters. If it wasn't for the fact that my Dad still goes to the Hall, i would send them a letter disassociating myself, and telling them to leave me alone. I've avoided being DF'd and want to continue to do so for my Dad. It's acceptable to him somehow that i faded away successfully, but i don't know how he would handle me being DF'd.

  Funny, when i was still going to the Hall, i was irregular, and was basically shunned by the entire congregation, especially the elders and their friends. Now all of a sudden they are interested in me again???
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  Mad Sweeney

  No official change.

  But some COs hound the elders to keep up with DFs and inactives and other COs hound them to do other things. Your local congregation probably just has a current CO who likes to hound the DFs and inactives.

  Also, the fact that you're ignoring them keeps them coming back. They like to have an answer in black or white. JWs have no mental mechanism for dealing with the unknown.
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  Quarterback

  Lonestar---Just tell them that you have a problem dealing with crowds....they can't fault you for that.
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  shopaholic

  It varies by area. They may be on a witch hunt depending on how fired up of a CO they have.

  After the circuit I was in got a new CO, I got a semi-threatening message from an elder after being away for about two years without so much as a phone call. I never returned his call as instructed so I can only guess that he acted upon the "or else!" portion of his message because I haven't heard from anyone since then. Not even a call or visit around their Memorial celebration.

  I saw a few JWs over the next several weeks after that and they avoided me like the plague. It was almost funny. So I can only assume that I was DF'd in absentia.
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  Quarterback

  Shopaholic.....you would have received a letter if you were DF'd. They can't do that without inviting you to a meeting or at least informing you of it in writing...that's if they follow rules. I don't know what the new book says about that. Don't worry about the JW's that avoided you. My wife and I get that alot, and we atttend meetings regularly. We do have some strange members you know. Some are freaks, some are antisocial, some are great. It's kind of like, where we work. Sometimes people in a different department will avoid us like the plague. "People are strange" said Jim Morrison
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  willyloman

  In a social organization where the concept of disfellowshipping is universally upheld and supported, the people are predisposed to shun any member whose actions suggest a falling out with group-think. Many of them will be proactive and initiate the process without waiting for a formal announcement.
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  HappyOutsideTheBox

  Has anyone ever taken the WT to court for being disfellowshipped? Surely it's a breach of Human Rights!

  Human Rights Act

  European Convention on Human Rights. These rights not only impact matters of life and death, they also affect the rights you have in your everyday life: what you can say and do, your beliefs, your right to a fair trial and other similar basic entitlements.

  Most rights have limits to ensure that they do not unfairly damage other people's rights. However, certain rights - such as the right not to be tortured - can never be limited by a court or anybody else.

  You have the responsibility to respect other people's rights, and they must respect yours.

  Your human rights are:

  • the right to life
  • freedom from torture and degrading treatment
  • freedom from slavery and forced labour
  • the right to liberty
  • the right to a fair trial
  • the right not to be punished for something that wasn't a crime when you did it
  • the right to respect for private and family life
  • freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and freedom to express your beliefs
  • freedom of expression
  • freedom of assembly and association
  • the right to marry and to start a family
  • the right not to be discriminated against in respect of these rights and freedoms
  • the right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
  • the right to an education
  • the right to participate in free elections
  • the right not to be subjected to the death penalty

  If any of these rights and freedoms are breached, you have a right to an effective solution in law

  HOTB
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  steve2

  Actually, it's a breach of human rights to force a group to fellowship with someone they do not want to. Depends on your point of view.
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  MrDarkKnight

  Current policy is call on the inactive every February and the disfellowshipped every September. Most bodies of elders do not do this consistently. No one has made any effort to call on me the since I left and I was officaly inactive in February 2011.
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  Alfred

  I've been out for over a year and in the last few weeks I've received 2 voicemails from an elder asking me to please call him back... The last voicemail sounded extremely businesslike... I guess the CO is coming soon and they're trying to give him at least 2 "Inactive Visits" so he can meet his quota.