Vidiot is correct to point out the "coercing" that occurs to those who no longer can support the "error" of the teachings of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.
One only has to read and or watch (you tube) to become familiar with this. Add the testimony in the Douglas Walsh trial about supporting error and you can see what Vidiot said is right on the money.
Also, I can tell you personally, that at this moment I know several who are going to meetings only because they have been threatened with loosing their families. Only because they want to save their wife and children. To see people I care for go thru this is my greatest source of anxiety. I can only describe the feeling, as like having a dream where you watch someone drown and you can not do anything about it. Problem is the coercion is real and happening as we speak.
If one wants to go further into research about coercion inside the "organization", read about Manuela Dormain's experience. She was the mother of an abused boy. For years her son had a behavior problem. Only by reading her son's letter to his girl friend did she find out he had a bad thing happen to him when he was young. Manuela was compelled to warn a father about the possibility that his son was also abused. The father turned out to be an elder who knew abuot Compos being an abuser. Not only was Manuela disapointed that this elder did not warn her, but the elder coerced her to not go forward with making known Compos abuse of her son.
What did Manuela do? She and her family did not allow themselves to be coerced. Watchtower settled out of court with a gag order. How much? I do not know. It is not the money. It is that someone faced the threat and came out the better for it.
Watchtower has first amendment rights. Watchtower has a substantial legal team. Watchtower has financial assets.
What Watchtower also has is a record of wrongdoing that the public needs to know about. Education of the public is perhaps the only action that means anything.
If and when something else comes up then: "here I am send me" LOL
Make Lemonade,
Surely you are correct! Shunning does hurt. There are many examples. We could all probably look to the members on this site for more than enough of these - and if not here, then just read through In Search of Christian Freedom by Ray Franz.
But I am not ready to push toward some sort of government involvement - as if that would stop the shunning. JWs went to the gas chambers with Jews for their faith. JWs die of lack of blood transfusions for their faith. As long as the WT says shunning is Biblical, you’ll have shunning. Period. No matter what laws are passed. And the law (like most laws) will have the opposite effect. But in the haste to address the “human rights” tragedy, we loose sight of what a real “right” is. We start to assert all sorts of positive rights that may put duties on others and undermine some liberties you, as an individual, may want to enjoy in the future.
I agree with you when you say this: “Education of the public is perhaps the only action that means anything.” That statement is spot on.
MMM