When they disfellowship...

by ???What??? 9 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  ???What???

  When they disfellowship someone, how do they have the audacity to say "[Name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."?

  Being a witness of Jehovah is a personal relationship between Jehovah and the individual. Only Jehovah and the individual know the depth and trueness of the relation that exists between them. It's a relation formed over years through thick and thin.

  So, it's one thing for the organization to say that an individual is no longer identified as a member of the congregation, but quite another matter to, very arrogantly and presumptously speak on Jehovah's behalf - that the relationship has been severed! Who is anyone to make the claim other than Jehovah?

  Romans 8:38-39 says:

  “For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

  So apparently, the organization thinks they are excption to this?

  Makes me sick!
• 

  quellycatface

  You are so right.

  A brother once said in a talk that our relationship with God was like an iceberg. The majority of the iceberg was under water and therefore, out of sight. That's ONE of the reasons I left the Borg, my relationship with God is just that, MY relationship. No elders, MS, JC's, sisters, brothers etc...should come between that relationship, or, more importantly, judge, scrutinise it.

  I didn't break off my relationship with God when I disassociated, I merely left an organisation. A bit like buying travel insurance direct from an insurer, rather than going through a broker. If you see what I mean?
• 

  KateWild

  No wonder it makes you sick, ???What???. The Df'ing policy is a cruel way to control people, many repentant ones get unjustly DF'd and many unrepentant ones get off.

  This practice is not guided by holy spirit and does harm to many, some go into depression and even commit suicide. It's a damaging policy that makes many on this site feel sick, you are not alone.

  Kate xx
• 

  sir82

  But you're missing the point - the Governing Body IS Jehovah - at least their own minds.

  Actually, if you swap "Governing Body" in for "Jehovah" in all the WTS literature, the message they are trying to get across becomes much clearer.
• 

  clarity

  ???What??? ... great 1st post, a big welcome to jwn!

  *

  Excellent catch, to connect Romans 8:38,39 to this

  hideous jw doctrine.

  I am always amazed when someone sees an obvious gaffe

  in wt reasoning, especially when it went right over my head!

  Thanks for posting this important point!

  Looking forward to seeing more.

  clarity
• 

  CaptainSchmideo

  Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization?

  Answering yes to that question gives this organization (in it's mind) the right to say you are "no longer a Witness" when you are disfellowshipped. The Baptism questions are a two parter. You can't be a worshiper of Jehovah if you don't answer yes to both.
• 

  eyeuse2badub

  Let's face it! If it weren't for the cruel shunning by our family and friends, we would all be happy to have our names announced from the platform as "no longer one of Jehovah's witnesses".

  Just saying!

  eyeuse2badub
• 

  Apognophos

  When they disfellowship someone, how do they have the audacity to say "[Name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."? [...]

  So, it's one thing for the organization to say that an individual is no longer identified as a member of the congregation

  That's what they are saying, though. "Jehovah's Witnesses" is the name of a religion. The person is no longer accepted by the ecclesiastical hierarchy as a member of the organization. They're not saying "[Name] is no longer serving God." Of course it's taken exactly that way by the JWs, but there's nothing actually wrong with the phrase they use.
• 

  troubled mind

  These were the questions i answered yes to when I was baptised ......(1) Have you repented of your sins and turned around, recognizing yourself before Jehovah God as a condemned sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him, the Father, through his Son Jesus Christ?
  
  (2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightening power of the holy spirit?

  So when the Elder told me it was easy to write a dissassociation letter if i no longer wanted to be a JW, I told him I did not belong to or worship an organization . I didn't need to do anything .

  Instantly my brother accussed me of being an atheist ...which at that time I was not .
• 

  losingit

  There iseverything wrong with the phrasing that they use. Isn't a person's conduct and faith in God the reason why one can say they are a witness to God? I also resented the wording as it suggested to others that I had lost faith on God.