Posts by Listener

11

Why the term "disfellowshipped " was removed

by raymond frantz in

https://youtu.be/ags07jlopcy?si=g9ra1jqksuuauyax.

Listener

I'm surprised they haven't changed their 'About Us' on 'Do Jehovah's Witnesses shun those who used to belong to their religion?' It's found on JW.org, not in any publications.

It still uses the term 'shun' and disfellowshipped. They have made changes to this a number of times in the past.

It currently reads as -

Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Shun Those Who Used to Belong to Their Religion?

Those who were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses but no longer preach to others, perhaps even drifting away from association with fellow believers, are not shunned. In fact, we reach out to them and try to rekindle their spiritual interest.

We do not automatically disfellowship someone who commits a serious sin. If, however, a baptized Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible’s moral code and does not repent, he or she will be shunned or disfellowshipped. The Bible clearly states: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”—1 Corinthians 5:13.

What of a man who is disfellowshipped but whose wife and children are still Jehovah’s Witnesses? The religious ties he had with his family change, but blood ties remain. The marriage relationship and normal family affections and dealings continue. Disfellowshipped individuals may attend our religious services. If they wish, they may also receive spiritual counsel from congregation elders. The goal is to help each individual once more to qualify to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Disfellowshipped people who reject improper conduct and demonstrate a sincere desire to live by the Bible’s standards are always welcome to become Jehovah’s Witnesses again.

22

The Rapture

by Sea Breeze in

when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

Listener

The teaching changed in 2015 W 7/15

We do not use the word “rapture” here to describe this event because of its connection to Christendom’s false teaching. However, the faithful anointed still on earth will be gathered together instantly.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402015523?q=rapture&p=par

20

Greeting a person(who was removed from the congregation) at the Kingdom Hall now becomes a matter of conscience

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | august 2024. help for those who are removed from the congregation.

14 does what we have considered mean that we would completely ignore a person who has been removed from the congregation?

not necessarily.

If they are still sinning why are they allowed to return to the meeting when the Bible specifically says to remove them? They need to be reinstating someone before they attend a meeting but that doesn't suit the GB.

In the article they distinguish between an apostate and other sinners, using the 'no greeting' rule towards apostates. If a JW is to use their bible trained conscience as to whether they should greet someone removed then they need to know whether they are an apostate or not.

11

2024-07-July-S-147 Announcements!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2024-07-july-s-147 announcements!.

https://pdfhost.io/v/96mkpxpq1_untitled_1 .

grandpa!.

Listener

Why do they continue to create situations where children can be put in danger?

They claimed at the ARC that they

'do not sponsor or operate ...or any other activities which seperate children from their parents'

The July newsletter states

'The Governing body is pleased to inform you that exemplary, unbaptized male publishers may also be used to care for some congregation tasks that are appropriate for their age and circumstances. For example, and exemplary male publisher in his early teens or younger may be used to handle microphones and operate the sound and video equipment if permission has been granted by his parent or guardian.'

Young teenagers and those younger than 13 are going to require a bit of training in those tasks and they obviously don't expect the parents to that training. There is no suggestion that parents be present during it either.

This newsletter is a keeper for court cases/enquiries where the Watchtower claim their are no activities which draw youngster away from parents.

Damn them for not leaving things for mature sisters to do or were they already having problems with fresh brothers instructing females to do or supervise them in these jobs?

19

So a JW can date an unbelieving person...

by silentbuddha in

but the entire congregation is not to be informed or mark the person.

the only repercussions are that the individual who is aware of it can decide to "mark" them and not go to the local club or bar with the individual, but they are still obligated to go door to door in the ministry with them, and even speak to them at the kn as if nothing is wrong and not feel obligated to tell anyone else?

this is crazy.. so they are also basically saying that a person can carry on a romantic (but none sexual) relationship with an unbeliever and still go out in service and participate in meetings?

Listener

This affected me immensely.

My father, an Elder told me I had to attend a JC, nobody told me why until I was at the JC. I had started meeting a guy after work for half an hour. A JW taxi driver from another congregation, who I didn’t know and had never spoken to, had reported the meeting.

At the JC I was told I would be publicly marked. There were no questions, just reprisal. I asked where this policy came from and was told they had received a letter from the Branch only the month before. Apparently it was in an old Watchtower but I had not read it and they didn’t mention it. I asked to see the letter. I remember vividly the total silence and the funny looks all three of the Elders had until one piped up and said that the letters were only for the Elders to view.

I was shocked and deflated. I had no idea there were secret instructions to the Elders or that I could be hauled in front of three men at any time for who knows what. It left my head spinning and I didn’t want to have anything to do with them. My father wouldn’t talk to me at all. I couldn’t live at home like this, it was not a home any more. I had to leave. Not one jw from the congregation reached out until later, after it was discovered that I was living with someone. An Elder called me at work and asked that I attend a JC. I asked that he leave me alone.

At 19 and having been cocooned in a cult all my life I was too young to be virtually on my own.

The Elders had been tough on me at the JC because this was my second one and the first had been a train wreck which would have left them embarrassed and humiliated (and had been very difficult for me). All from no fault of my own, other than maybe being an Elders daughter. So the Elders went all out even though they couldn’t df and it was a sin for which they could only mark me for. But they didn’t even ask if I would stop seeing the bloke or when the marking would be lifted. I was in the dark about what they were doing.

The Elder that had called me at work and whom was a close friend of my father, had said in the conversation that I should come back and prove the Elders (on my JC) wrong. I still find that distasteful today because I thought he was more spiritual than the others yet putting a challenge like that is not shepherding or Christian.

Although I am not disfellowshipped, I would still be marked.

I doubt any of this would have happened under the new arrangement but I don’t know when I would have woken up either.

33

Watchtower August leak: details from reddit user

by ukpimo in

from reddit.. a summary of changes: .

we are all sinners, so we have to be reasonable how we punish sinners.

if elders and congregation do not quickly help someone come to be reinstated they would be imitating satan the devil, not jehovah (yes that actually is what is said in the tagalog version in translation!

Listener

They teach that apostates are to be hated.

Watchtower 93 10/1

When they deliberately choose such badness after knowing what is right, when the bad becomes so ingrained that it is an inseparable part of their makeup, then a Christian must hate (in the Biblical sense of the word) those who have inseparably attached themselves to the badness. True Christians share Jehovah’s feelings toward such apostates; they are not curious about apostate ideas. On the contrary, they “feel a loathing” toward those who have made themselves God’s enemies, but they leave it to Jehovah to execute vengeance.—Job 13:16; Romans 12:19; 2 John 9, 10.

This is their definition of an apostate from Reasoning in the Scriptures and they use the phrase many times.

Definition: Apostasy is abandoning or deserting the worship and service of God, actually a rebellion against Jehovah God. Some apostates profess to know and serve God but reject teachings or requirements set out in his Word. Others claim to believe the Bible but reject Jehovah’s organization.

This applies to anyone who leaves the organization and even applies to any JW who would be subject to their marking rules.

They often differentiate between an apostate and an active apostate but under the definition they are one and the same.

JWs have been taught to treat those who are d/fd, voluntarily left or marked in the same way so this article is going to confuse them. It appears that the August article will be telling them to view them differently.

19

BBC poor grammar - but FUNNY!

by BoogerMan in

"hamburg police shoot man with axe ahead of euros match.

" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news.

why don't german police just use guns?.

Listener

The editor used to be responsible for this.

24

They must also change the treatment of those who dissociate themselves from the JWs. It is inevitable

by LaFrancia in

from reddit ex jw, a user posted this material of a hypothetical new light on dissociated people......i'm posting it only for the record, nothing else is known.

it seems that the topic has been deleted either by the moderators or by the user himself.

understanding dissociation in light of the scriptures.

Listener

They’ve got a huge problem, this can’t be brushed off by claiming it was error.

The one, main proof of being the true religion is by the love they have amongst each other.

If they now get rid of their long held shunning policy then they are admitting that kicking out their own and shunning them was never the loving thing to do.

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

Listener

There’s a new religion which began in 2006. They’ve just built a meeting hall in Greenfields, Western Australia, completed in 2019.

Their numbers are amazing.

lt’s penticostal based and they claim 11,000 members in Western Australia as opposed to approximately 7,500 JWs.

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

Listener

The Watchtower would have had a lot of feedback about the changes in regards to those they have removed or disfellowshipped. The Elders don’t like visiting/harassing them because they only do it when there is a CO visit.

It also takes a lot of time and requires two brothers.

Now they’ve ramped up the number of visits, it’s a huge ask.

It would make it easier if the Elders or Ms’s wife could go instead of the second male. It would cut their work, maybe by a third.

Will the wife be allowed to talk to the dfd JWs, even though the rest of the congregation can’t?

It’s not like this is a completely new position for the wives since they have been assisting Elders in visits in the past, particularly when it’s been more convenient, although they are not privy to discussions, I don’t think.