big news.
just in from a friend who is fading.. disfellowshipping will no longer be a term used by jws.
study article 35, paragraph 4 footnote says this:.
So…
…not only is it not called “disfellowshipping” anymore…
…there’s a bunch of stuff that aren’t DFing removal-level offenses anymore…
…the rare occasions it happens, it’s just for a few months…
…and “marking” (and more importantly, “marking” talks) are no longer even a thing.
Makes you wonder if all that passive resistance is actually having an impact.
it would appear the context about marking has to do with those who are not working to feed themselves, but meddling in others business.
a couple more scrptures to think about.
jesus said not to throw your pearls before swine.
Just goes to show that even when you have the most altruistic intentions, using authoritarian measures inevitably puts the monsters in charge.
so: the mystery has been clarified as to more "new light" / clarifications of decades old doctrine and procedure.
august watchtower has finally been leaked.
disfellowshipping?
joey jojo - “…Are they prepared to accept a certain level of lost membership as long as they have complete control over the ones left?”
For a long while there, I was convinced that not only were they prepared, they wanted the faders, fakers, and fence-sitters to fuck off.
Then Covid happened, and clued us all in to just how many there might actually be.
😏
so: the mystery has been clarified as to more "new light" / clarifications of decades old doctrine and procedure.
august watchtower has finally been leaked.
disfellowshipping?
DesirousOfChange- “…Most diehard JWs will follow tradition and shun dissenters…”
Sure, they would…
…but really, just how many diehards are actually left? And just how many left are actual diehards?
If we underestimated the number of PIMOs, it follows that we may be overestimating the number of PIMIs.
And I’m willing to bet that the Org’s higher-ups have considered this, too.
so: the mystery has been clarified as to more "new light" / clarifications of decades old doctrine and procedure.
august watchtower has finally been leaked.
disfellowshipping?
NotFormer - “…Genuinely loosening the reins wouldn't cost them too much…”
Unless…
…it would.
One of Covid’s more surprising takeaways was just how many used the break to fade… or rather, just how many PIMOs there actually were…
…and I’ve lost count of how often I’ve heard XJWs theorize that if the Org dropped shunning, the resulting exodus would cripple them.
Maybe there’s more to those theories than we thought.
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?
Ten bucks says they’re changing this up ‘cause young single JW women outnumber JW men just way too much at this point, and (biology being what it is) end up hooking up with “worldly” guys, anyway.
At least this way, the Org might acquire some new blood (yeah, right).
so: the mystery has been clarified as to more "new light" / clarifications of decades old doctrine and procedure.
august watchtower has finally been leaked.
disfellowshipping?
WingCommander - “…really, this isn't exactly a course correction. It's a shell game…”
And not even a particularly good one…
…if they think any secular authority with half a brain is fooled, they’re naive.
WingCommander - “…Barbara Anderson famously made the proclamation years ago that the Legal Dept are truly the ones at the helm of WatchTower HQ…”
Know what’s really ironic?
Having lawyers trying to “reform” a religion who’s present-day form was - for all intents and purposes - forged by a lawyer.
😏
anyone besides my mom ever use this term for describing their husband, especially one that was not a “spiritual lead” in the family?.
this sounds like a term to use instead of the more truthful “i don’t really love him anymore, he is a disappointment to me, but as long as he brings in the money to pay the bills and puts food on the table for my children, i guess i will put up with it.”.
thoughts?.
The need for a hierarchal authority structure and deference to said authority are so deeply hardwired into some folks that it’s all but impossible to get them out of it.
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!
jonahstourguide - “…Obviously the lawyers are trying to remove toxic language that offended the Norwegian government…”
My biggest takeaway was that they haven’t budged an inch on Fred Franz’s old End-Times narrative.
We’d heard rumours they were overhauling it (as it was becoming increasingly implausible the further into the 21st Century we got), but it seems that’s not the case.
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!
On a semi-related note…
…according to this fellow, they’re pretty much doubling-down on everything else.
