Watchtower Ruins a Wedding

by Marvin Shilmer 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Watchtower Ruins a Wedding

  Today I added a new article to my blog addressing the sad consequence to individual’s lives the result of Watchtower’s infantile doctrinal policy making. It’s the story of a man (and a woman) disfellowshipped for something Watchtower later on decided was not immoral. But their lives had already been turned upside down.

  My article is titled Watchtower Ruins a Wedding and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2012/06/watchtower-ruins-wedding.html

  Marvin Shilmer

  http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com
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  maninthemiddle

  Wow, this needs a bump.

  Good article.
  do we know more about who the parties are in the legal case referenced?
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  Yan Bibiyan

  If you strip the identifying references, this looks like a part of some convoluted corporate litigation.

  God's chosen channel, my a$$!
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  Quendi

  And to think this all started 140 years ago with a small group of people in western Pennsylvania only interested in studying the Bible and preparng for the hoped-for Second Coming in 1914. "Day of small beginnings" indeed! How many other lives have been damaged, ruined, and even ended by this execrable religion? May Jehovah look upon them and judge!

  Quendi
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  hamsterbait

  Not a single scripture in that letter.

  Only a reference to a Witchtower Babble Comic. But then, they ARE now claiming that the body of Christian Truth in the litterature has "become part of the Babble."

  HB
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  Marvin Shilmer

  -

  “Only a reference to a [Watchtower article]…”

  It’s worse than you suppose. The Watchtower article cited to underpin its position statement does not include language articulating the particular position at issue.

  Watchtower disfellowshipped the married couple over a doctrinal position that was not published.

  Marvin Shilmer

  http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com
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  JakeM2012

  Marvin,

  Thank you for this information.

  I am curious if you ever had a situation where one mate committed adultery, confessed this to the elders so that the other mate could be free to marry, and then the "innocent" mate said that they forgive the spouse? In the particular situation that I was referring to the adulerating mate did not want to be married to the current mate any longer, but wanted the mate to have a scriptural reason for divorce. The elders pushed the fact that if the innocent mate forgave the adultery, then it did not matter if the adulterer did not want to continue the marriage. Therefore, each mate was not free to marry. Thoughts?
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  JakeM2012

  Oh, another story similar: In the 70's a husband was homosexual. The wife goes to the elders. The husband confesses to the elders homosexuality. However, since it was not "adultery" between a man and woman, then the woman was not free to marry. Any stories of this situation?
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  Marvin Shilmer

  JakeM2012,

  I've seen both scenarios play out on a few occasions. One occasion was of a "brother" whose wife carried on a lesbian affair for more than a year. She confessed to her husband, who in turn found out he would not be free to marry if he divorced on that basis. That was the last meeting he ever attended. Left his wife the next day.

  Marvin Shilmer

  http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com
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  blondie

  The WTS considers df'ing the same as being executed under the Law for capital offenses, such as adultery. It is a good thing that the WTS cannot execute people rather than shun them. There is a statement somewhere by the WTS that even if you know their df policy for a certain act is not scriptural, if you disobey their wrong policy while it is in force, you are guilty of disobeying the WTS. It is much the same as statements they have made recently that even if they might be wrong, it is safer to obey them.

  Based on that the Jews living during the time the nation of Israel's religious leaders were requiring children to be sacrificed in the fire to false gods, were supposed to obey.