I think the WT will never give up this practice unless forced to by the courts, even if they are financially failing terribly they will keep it because the moment they do get rid of it the whole thing will collapse even faster and they know it(or afraid of it happening). They have painted themselves into a corner of financial ruin.
Will The Watchtower Ever Give Up Mandatory Shunning Of DF'd Members?
by Brokeback Watchtower 29 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Brokeback Watchtower
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Spiral
They know if they allow full communication between those that are in and those that are out a lot of people will leave, either because they haven't believed in years, or because they are helped to see the folly of the bOrg.
But, I think this is what will ultimately make the religion collapse. It's not sustainable.
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steve2
It's similar to the way the GB have doubled-down on "the two-witness rule": No way is the GB going to be told what to do by ex-JWs.
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_Morpheus
Never. Never ever ever ever never. Without shunning they have no control and the first rule of power.... those with power want more, not less.
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Incognito
I agree that elimination of DF'ing is not likely to happen.
Even if specific wording us not used, WT have a long history of saying things without actually stating so verbally, and even less so in print. Any JW that has been a JW for a length of time, fully understand WT's indirect statements.
While there are some JWs that don't want to shun that will look for any technical reasons not to shun those they don't wish to, there are many other JWs who will shun anyone, including their own family members, based on nothing more than hearsay.
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jp1692
No. This is Social Control 101. It’s an essential tactic of all high-control, authoritarian groups.
Ostracism and exclusion is and always has been the number one way people in power try to keep everyone else in line—that and public executions, which (if you think about it) is essentially what disfellowshipping accomplishes, but without the legal problems associated with private groups actually murdering someone without the consent of the State.
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jp1692
BBW, if the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society ever get rid of shunning, people would leave in droves. I’m sure the only reason a lot of people stay in the cult is because they’re afraid of getting shunned by their family and friends.
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Jehovah lol
If they're forced to, they'll retire it the way they always do, by gradually mentioning it less and less, quietly telling elders in one of their exclusive meetings not to resort to it so frequently and then putting out a tiny footnote in a Watchtower about how it's a matter of 'personal conscience'. Eventually you'll have a generation of born-ins who don't even remember it as a thing.
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sparrowdown
I don't know if they can just drop the shunning policy and not be consequences for WT. It would be like opening the gates of the compound so people could come and go as they please. Shunning damages relationships sometimes irevocably. Would those that have been deeply hurt by the shunning even want to talk to their JW relatives and friends again?
What would be the alternative to a shunning policy for rule-lovers like JWs a non-shunning policy? Is it realistic to expect that people you discarded will just start talking to you again after years of persona non grata. Years you will never get back when you burnt those bridges.
Man what a can of worms would that open up amongst the congregations. I mean it would be nice to think if they just dropped shunning as an official policy everyone would play nice but somehow I don't think so.
I feel like even if they gave it up officially it would still be used as weapon on a personal level by many members. Face it there are some people who just like to use the silent treatment to get back at someone and blank people they don't like. It's actually harder to force people to talk to one another than it is to get them to not talk to someone as shunning only takes one party whereas talking takes two.
Conclusion : WT will give it up officially when it's in their best interest to do so, then and only then.