Disfellowshiping only began in 1952!! Before this Witnesses were immoral!

by Witness 007 27 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Witness 007

  Many Witnesses lived together in sin or had many wives before 1952 during the Rutherford era, this was frowned apoun but no one was disfellowshiped unless they did something major like critisize Rutherford! Then in Watch. may 15 1944 and finally Watch 1/3 1952, disfellowshiping was invented. Watch 15/1 1947 for the first time banned polygamy...reaction? Watch.-{Nigeria}"Then came the new direction on polygamy one of the missionaries delivered a lecture at a circuit assembly in 1947....he added and "the polygamists will not inherit God's Kingdom!"...division resulted. It was like a war. Many of the newly associated stopped associating saying ;"Thank God we have not gone very far!."

  Mexico {yearbook 1995 p.214}- Congregations in the1940's- "A custom was very deeply rooted in Mexico for a young man to "steal" a young women and live with her without being married...couples generally did not get married...in Mexico thier were many company servants who were not legally married...In some cases married men, seperated, and then began living with another woman, without being divorced from the first or married to the second. Some had married again without being divorced from a previous wife...in a report for 1953 the branch said: We have finished what we started the previous year, the cleaning out of the organisation of those not deserving to be in it."

  So in 1952 the crackdown began, Witnesses around the world were forced to clean up thier act or get out. Publisher figures dropped slightly but soon rebounded. So in 1918 when Jehovah chose the Witness to be his "Special people" some things were still not 100% right!
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  return visitor

  So in 1918 when Jehovah chose the Witness to be his "Special people" some things were still not 100% right!

  A lot of thing were not right!!! Hell, they thought the end was coming in 1925!
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  Hermano

  in 1918 when Jehovah chose the Witness to be his "Special people" some things were still not 100% right

  Jehovah has really low standards.
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  minimus

  If disfellowshipping had to be instituted, polygamy was a good start.....still, I don't think Df'd ones were treated as badly then as they are now.
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  Hermano

  If disfellowshipping had to be instituted, polygamy was a good start

  I don't know about that, given all the faithful men of old who were polygamists. Jehovah seemed Ok with the "everyone else is doing it" defense.
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  Witness 007

  There was no "Governing body" to disfellowship Solomon for marrying 600 pagan wives and turning to false gods. He even made it in the bible cannon. {The sexy Song of Solomon} My parents hate it when I argue this piont with them!
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  minimus

  Yeah but it's illegal here. D'fing for murder would have been another good reason to d'f too.
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  Snoozy

  Son of a gun! I didn't know that. For real?

  I started to attend some meetings in 1958 then dropped out for a few years then went back in the early 60's. In the 60's I remember a lady being disfellowshipped and I remember my best friend being disfellowshipped in the 80's..then I left for good. Couldn't take anymore of the hypocrites!!! Dissasociated myself..and told them why.

  Snoozy...
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  TheListener

  So much was left up to the company servants back then. The organization has become very very controlled.

  Remember when anal or oral sex with someone other than your husband/wife wasn't grounds for divorce?
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  jwfacts

  There was some disfellowshipping prior to 1952, but it was since that year that it was instituted in its present form.

  Russell promoted leniency in all but the gravest matters. In such situations an unrepentant person was judged not by a judicial committee by the entire congregation, in line with Matthew 18:17;

  “If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector.”

  Studies In the Scriptures Series VI - The New Creation p.289
  “The administration of discipline is not the function of the elders only, but of the entire Church. … Thus it is evident that the Elders were in no sense to be judges of the members—hearing and judgment were left to the local body, or Church.”

  If the congregation came to a near unanimous decision to disfellowship, the unrepentant sinner was not shunned but treated as a heathen.
  
  Studies In the Scriptures Series VI - The New Creation p.290 “Indeed, even if the transgressor refuse to hear (obey) the decision of the entire Church, no punishment is to be inflicted or even attempted. What then? Merely the Church is to withdraw from him its fellowship and any and all signs or manifestations of brotherhood. Thenceforth the offender is to be treated “as a heathen man and a publican.” Matt. 18:17”

  Knorr set up the disfellowshipping arrangement followed to this day, moving responsibility to judge an individual from the congregation to judicial committees in 1944. In 1952 a Watchtower was devoted to delivering clear guidelines and clarifying what was to become an ever increasing list of offenses.

  Since then it has become more strict and regulated with ever increasing numbers of offenses as listed at http://jehovah.net.au/disfellowship.html