I remember reading somewhere (perhaps on here?) than an entire congregation disassociated and started their own congregation after decided that the GB were apostate.
Was this an urban myth or is there any evidence of this?
Was There An Occasion Where An Entire Congregation Broke Away?
by pale.emperor 29 Replies latest watchtower bible
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pale.emperor
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stan livedeath
didnt this happen in one of the ( former ) USSR countries-?-the whole lot formed their own independent cult
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slimboyfat
I guess this has happened lots of times, in Eastern Europe and Southern Africa in particular, but by no means confined to those areas. Gathering information on the specifics is more challenging however.
One example in the US which has been discussed on this forum:
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atomant
there was a case in Victoria Dandenong congo in early seventys where half the witnesses left and formed their own sect.
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dozy
I guess it does happen occasionally ( that a whole congregation has "apostatised" ) but there are many more accounts of congregations being disbanded due to elder bodies being removed or just general disagreements and also partial groups of JWs leaving en masse ( such as about 15 JWs who recently left a congregation in NE England. ) The Society strongly frowns upon JWs forming groups and doing their own bible research to stop this sort of thing happening.
There are many JW splinter groups around https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_splinter_groups and one of the biggest is the Romanian group ( with as much as 100,000 members ) which was isolated during the Iron Curtain days and after the fall of the Berlin wall didn't agree with the many doctrinal changes from the Society in the meantime https://web.archive.org/web/20130115025028/http:/the-true-jw.oltenia.ro/
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stan livedeath
from the above wikipedia link
Britain[edit]
Jesse Hemery was appointed overseer of the Watch Tower Society's British Isles branch office by Russell in 1901,[1] holding that post until 1946.[2] Hemery founded the Goshen Fellowship after he was disfellowshipped by Nathan H. Knorr in 1951.[2]
wow--i never knew that. 50 years as branch servant--then--fired.
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snugglebunny
I recall a long-ago poster by the name of Philo telling me that the entire Bishop's Waltham (Southampton area) congregation had left.
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The Fall Guy
I remember hearing that the elders and numerous publishers of a congregation in Falkirk, Scotland had to be booted out in the 80's - by hit men from the Britain Branch, because of "apostasy", or as we call it, "having our eyes opened."
Probably a major reason why the cult has taken legal control of K.H.'s.
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stan livedeath
snugglebunny30 minutes ago
I recall a long-ago poster by the name of Philo telling me that the entire Bishop's Waltham (Southampton area) congregation had left.
i'll message Cantleave through facebook--he should know--he lives there !
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DesirousOfChange
I believe there was a case of this in the US in the State of Texas. Sorry but do not recall the town. The Cong opted out of the WTS and kept the Kingdum Hall as their new 'church". This is one of the cases that precipitated the Society taking ownership or at least "control" of all the Kingdom Halls in the US (by a statement in the Cong Documents of Incorporation or Cong bylaw).