Thanks for all the feedback. I'm slowly working my way through the links posted here, and checking out profiles, personal homepages, best of, etc. I am still fascinated and baffled at how this could all work so well for the Watchtower. My inclination would be to believe that it is not natural for human beings to shun their own kind, particularly their own children. I'd think that as soon as an organization requires a parent to do such a thing, the structure would begin to crumble, as the parent refuses, is DF'd, and those close to the DF'd parties slowly get out or get thrown out for not being able or willing to shun their loved ones. That's what is so fascinating to me about this... it seems to defy nature. Undercover, I found myself wondering what the Watchtower's real motivation is and I couldn't figure out how a non-profit organization would be SO concerned with keeping its members that it would go to such extreme lengths as emotionally terrorizing them. I wasn't aware that the WTC makes so much money selling books and other materials. Can anyone point me to a link that explains some of the JW terminology? I'm still a bit confused on some of the terms, like 'publisher', indoctrination, etc, and when and how one becomes baptized, etc. Thanks again!
Posts by Gwen
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20Questions about disfellowshipping
by Gwen ini stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.
i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.
although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.
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20
Questions about disfellowshipping
by Gwen ini stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.
i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.
although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.
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Gwen
Wow, all your answers are triggering even more questions....
I really can't believe this... have any of you actually known a parent to be disfellowshipped for speaking to their disfellowshipped child?
Is it possible to appeal to the elders?
How does one become an elder? How does one become an "overseer" (this term is so odd to me, makes me think of American slavery terminology)
If you are constantly worried about your friends and family telling on you for any little thing you do, is it possible to really feel a true friendship bond within the JW society? -
20
Questions about disfellowshipping
by Gwen ini stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.
i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.
although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.
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Gwen
Thank you GBL for your reply as well. It makes me wonder how people end up joining the JWs in the first place. Yes, I can understand that being born into it is one thing, but what is the convincing argument that draws people in voluntarily?
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20
Questions about disfellowshipping
by Gwen ini stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.
i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.
although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.
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Gwen
Thank you both for answering my questions so quickly and so openly. Wow, I am amazed. That is really horrible that you are basically ostracized by everyone based on what 3 guys decide! That is psychological torture. Like a child being bullied at school but a million times worse. I find it so hard to believe that a mother could actually shun her child for a year or more. What happens if the DF'd one is still a minor and lives with his/her parents? I only started wondering so much about JWs after recently attending a family member's funeral at a Kingdom Hall. It was an odd experience for me. As mentioned on this site, I felt as though the ceremony was a JW advertisement for the non-JW faction there (a total of 4 of us). I felt as though everyone in the congregation knew everything about me although I had never met or even heard of them. I spent a few days with my family among their JW friends, and I was surprised at the amount of gossip that takes place, and the amount of threat-laden comments that thrown around between them. After all I've read, I keep wondering if the JW members of my family, particularly the younger ones, also live in fear of doing something wrong or being shunned like many here have described. When we see each other, we never discuss religion, and I always wonder whether they dread going to meetings, or going door to door (not sure if they even do this, is it mandatory?), or feel that they have missed out on something.
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20
Questions about disfellowshipping
by Gwen ini stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.
i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.
although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.
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Gwen
I stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums. I must say, I'm both horrified and fascinated at what I've read so far. Although several members of my family are JW's, I have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well. I always believed it was because they live very far away from us, but the more I read, the more I think it was more due to them not being allowed to associate with the non-JW family members. Anyway, I have tons of questions, but I'll start here. Many people on this site have mentioned being disfellowshipped. It almost seems as though it is not an uncommon thing to happen- what I want to know is how frequently does an average JW get disfellowshipped? Is it common to be DF'd several times over the course of, say, 10 years, or is it usually just once or twice (assuming the DF'd person comes back)? How severe a punishment is disfellowshipping? What actually happens when you are DF'd? Is the cause of the DF really announced to the whole congregation? Can you be shunned if you are not DF'd? How long does one have to stay away?