Why do Jehovah's Witness members incriminate themselves in judicial meeting?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  sir82

  Why do Jehovah's Witness members incriminate themselves to any judicial process?

  Because they foolishly believe that the 3 elders in the room with them are there to "help" them.

  They've spent years, decades maybe, assimilating that message. And in a judicial committee, they're not suddenly going to forget all that indoctrination.

  Actually, in my experience, the vast majority of judicial committees are formed as a result of "confession" from a "guilty conscience", as opposed to "two witnesses" making an accusation. If people are dumb enough to confess their "sins" in the first place, why would they shut up during the trial, er, judicial committee?
  
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  Doctor Who

  If Peter would deny Jesus today, the elders would DF him on brazen conduct. No mercy for you fool.
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  Sanchy

  ...because they don't want to die at Armageddon
  
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  WTWizard

  I wonder how they would handle it if I were to tell them, in a language no one understands, that I believe the whole bible is hogwash and nothing more than spiritism to enslave the whole world. And, if they can't figure out what I am saying with perfect accuracy, that debunks the claim that they are spirit-anointed because, if they were really from god, they could understand any language I try throwing at them. And yes, that includes Sanskrit.
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  Lost in the fog

  Because it is a case of "you're damned if you do or you're damned if you don't."

  I remember back when I served as a younger blinkered elder I very much deferred to the older and - or so I mistakenly believed at the time - wiser more mature elders.

  Anyway we had one lad who had formed a relationship with a wordly girl and had been seen by a couple going inside her church. (For all we really knew he may have dropped her off and been using the toilet facility inside the building!)

  He was invited to come and talk to the elders but he turned the invitation down. The committee met together anyway, reviewed the alleged evidence, and disfellowshipped him in absentia.

  He later said nobody had even told him why he was being disfellowshipped. He was asked to come to the next mid-week congregation meeting, which he did, and was as shocked as everyone else when the announcement was read out.

  So it doesn't really matter if you present yourself or not. Minds probably have been made up in advance.
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  Pete Zahut

  Why do Jehovah's Witness members incriminate themselves to any judicial process?

  For the same reason they let themselves or their children die rather than take a blood transfusion. They're indoctrinated to do as they are directed.
  
  
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  slimboyfat

  I think one major reason people confess, that I don’t think has been mentioned, is that people fear the judicial committee already have evidence against them, and that if they don’t confess then the lack of confession will be used as proof that they lack repentance.

  As I understand it, judicial committees are not up front about what they know. Their opening gambit will be to invite the accused person to confess to anything and everything at the beginning of the proceeding. And anything they don’t mention at the very start, but can be proved later, will be used against them in the decision to disfellowship.

  So whether to confess and demonstrate repentance, or deny and hope they don’t have evidence, can present a tricky dilemma.

  It's a set up where you can jump one way or the other, only to find out immediately you’ve jumped in the wrong direction.