Family members leaving JW's

timothysmethport

I have a question for anyone that wants to respond. What happens when a family member wishes to leave the JW religion for either another one or to take an ahteist belief?

Good question. Is it possible to give more details though? You see, there would likely be different outcomes depending on the status of the JW leaving. For example: Are they baptized in the JW cult or are they not baptized?

timothysmethport

Not baptized. Had a friend leave the JW's over 15 years ago and there are still family members that will not even look at him or be in the same room with him.

I just don't understand how this can be benificial to a family life that the JW's strive for.

kls

Welcome Tim you will hear a lot of sad stories of heartache and shunning that i am sure you will hear from others . I n my case my husband treated like the devil was living with him, i was spied on by my children encouraged by their father, talked down to and called names by Elders and my husband. I was a parasite be hated and ignored.

timothysmethport

What is the rational used by the members of the religion to treat people like this? All this does is create separation between family members. Is the thought process that by shunning them away, they will miss the family members and come back to the cult?

Background on myself....I was raised Catholic as a child and after I was able to form my own impressions, I chose not to persue any type of religion. This friend that I am talking about is actually a spouse of mine, but I am under alias as to protect our identity. I am just looking for clarification on the thoughts of this topic. My spouses side of the family is completely torn apart due to this shunning.

Happy Guy :)

I just don't understand how this can be benificial to a family life that the JW's strive for.

In my opinion, it isn't beneficial to family life only to keeping a tight control over members in this group which behaves very much like a cult.

You can spend an enormous amount of time trying to understand it but cruelty is not to be understood except by the cruel themselves....or the brainwashed.

I agree with the notion (often expressed in cult awareness books and elsewhere) that typically cults use shunning as a method of forcing the shunned one to succumb. Failing this at least the shunned one cannot share ideas which could liberate other cult members from their mind control which dominates their life and money.

kls

I am sorry about your spouse being shunned but in a cult mind you are in or you are a part of Satans organization which makes you worldly and if you are worldly you are dead. Yes this is the love they show family members and they feel proud in their shunning.

timothysmethport

I recently had a very lengthy discussion with one of the family members (her dad) that will not do anything social with his daughter, but will come around and spend time in our house with his daughter and our children. Our first child (#1) was born prior to our marriage and her father is in love with #1. We depend on him for child care at times and when he is over his house, he needs to go to weekly meetings, as there is nothing else for us to do with him. Our son (#2 child) was born a few months ago and I told her that #2 would have nothing to do with the religion as I don't want him brought up in the presence of hate.

She wanted to take our newborn for a car ride without us to visit the other relatives that have "shunned" my wife from the religion/family. I immediately put a stop to the whole thought.

timothysmethport

So the JW's view a non-denominational view as Satan?

Happy Guy :)

My experiences are: Yes, any view other than the view as written by the Watchtower Corporation is inspired by Satan and will earn you a one way ticket to a horrible death at the hands of God and his army when Armaggedon arrives which is any second now. They have givien a number of actual dates but it keeps postponed as these dates pass relatively uneventfully.

Family members leaving JW's

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