The day that happens, is the day that you will see a mass exodus from the borg.
of biblical magnitude.
by Olivia Wilde 56 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
The day that happens, is the day that you will see a mass exodus from the borg.
of biblical magnitude.
Truth - Do you know how much backlash they'd get if they stopped shunning? All those people who shunned their parents, kids, sisters, brothers, etc, etc, etc. for years and even decades...
They'd go f*cking ballistic. They are in way to deep at this point to reverse it.
Heyyy . . . what if . . . they reversed the policy and said that disfellowdhipped and disassociated ones should be welcomed . . . and then reversed it a few months later, after many finally felt free to leave without repercussions. Kind of like a trap? It would strengthen the ranks, smaller but stronger.
I could see them gradually turning disfellowshipping into an unwritten rule to reduce litigation. The Watchtower's expectations don't have to be spelled out to be quietly enforced through peer pressure. Aren't weaker members already 'semi-shunned'?
Also, even if they did this, there wouldn't be a clear explanation or announcement of "no more shunning" that would shock people to their senses. There would most likely be a convoluted legalese "refinement" of their understanding, written by the legal department, that no one would fully understand or be able to explain. Leaving the door open for further "refinement" in the future. Similar to the overlapping generations explanation.
It would probably never happen.
BUT, what IS also happening is an increasing use of "quiet whisperings" and the creating of suspicion and gossip about "questionable" members of the congregations.
You know what I mean? Elders dropping comments to "key" gossipers who spread the message that "so and so" should be avoided and not associated with...
So they are fuelling an unwritten and unsaid form of avoidance....
JWs have different policy in the countries where their work is banned. In some of the Gulf Countries, elders give a very mild reproof to the offender (but of course disfellowshipping if it were in another country which is not under ban). This is at the larger interest of the organization as this creates no disfellowshipped persons to take revenge on the group by leaking information to the Secular Authorities.