Thanks Dakota Red for posting the article.
The article is superficial and puts a "happy face" on an evil practice. It doesn't go into HOW disfellowshipping is done (by 3-men committees, where does the Bible say that??) and the effect it has on families (breaking up marriages, isolating innocent grandchildren, just to name two).
Suppose this article had been written by extreme Muslims who were defending the Taliban practice of beating Afghani women in public for the most minor of offenses. They would use phrases like, "many people view our style of religious discipline as a relic... reminds people of inquisitions", "the problem is the pervasive influence of the secular world", other religions "have adopted a more tolerant view of sin". Yes, they could have written, it looks harsh the way we treat those who do not uphold our view of the Koran, but it is a loving arrangement!
Going back to the JW's, the DF'ing arrangement obviously can be used to control the emotions of its members. Just look at this quote from the article:
Likewise, when someone is expelled from the congregation, the action hopefully grabs the attention of every member of the flock. It disturbs their senses. It cannot be ignored. How may this be a protection?“When I first heard at the Kingdom Hall that someone had been disfellowshipped, my initial reaction was shock,” says one Witness. “Then it humbled me. It made me realize that I too could fall.”
So rather than teaching by positive reinforcement, it cracks the whip to induce shock among the membership!! Christlike, indeed. The article goes on to say,
In this way we can continue to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
Yeah? Fear and trembling at Jehovah, or at unreasonable elders who can crack the whip? This disfellowshipping practice creates a bunch of folks who are eager to please their fellow men and put the organization above the needs of individuals, at any cost.
Poor Richard, quoted in the article. What an example. He said,
“I realize that I had to be disfellowshipped and that I fully deserved what I got."
Yes, indeedy. This practice beats the fear of God into the membership, making them think they actually deserve this humiliating treatment. People who come back are never viewed quite the same. They are gossipped about during the time they are away, and when they come back, they are remembered as "the one who was once disfellowshipped". They may never know why, or they may never know that the judgment may not have been deserved.
Yes, the article only proves that at times disfellowshipping serves its purpose of scaring the membership at large and beating one of Christ's "slaves" into submission. Most of the time, it just scares the shunned one away. I can't believe I ever accepted poppycock like was written in this "geez aren't we a great organization" Awake! article.
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
