Marking - to read later.
*sigh*
re-enforcing the shunning of immediate family - WT 7-15-11
by undercover 172 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Mad Sweeney
There is the old thought that in Israel we would all be dead so loyal parents have to consider us as dead. It is disgusting and unkind.
Think of how much mayhem surrounding an actual stoning execution in ancient Israel there must have been. Who is going to stand still for people to throw rocks at? The Bible makes Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" look like a kindergarten story. And the Borg has programmed the JWs to view it all as "a loving arrangement from Jehovah." How freaking sick is that?!?
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Quendi
What an unloving, unchristian, inhuman organization the WTS is! They are indeed 'ravenous wolves in sheep's covering' and I am so happy to have escaped their clutches. Being disfellowshipped was the best thing that could have happened to me.
Flipper: You're right about the WTS. I'll add that if the Society had the power to execute disfellowshipped people they would do it at the drop of a hat and they would drop the hat themselves.
Terry: Very well put. I don't doubt that Jesus himself would say to the WTS, "I never knew you. Get away from me you workers of lawlessness"!
Mary: You're being generous to describe Jehovah's Witnesses as "petty and pathetic". Some might reluctantly embrace this latest edict, but many will do so gladly because it gives them a sense of superiority they seem to want so badly.
Paul wrote at Titus 1:16, "They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort." This organization is completely corrupt and unworthy of any kind of support. I only wish there was a way of completely exposing it for the monstrosity that it is. Maybe that day is not far away.
Quendi
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jonathan dough
For those new lurkers who aren't familiar with the shunning issue:
http://www.144000.110mb.com/directory/shunning_disfellowshipped_shunning_disfellowshipping.html
Verging on the macabre in this 21st Century, the Jehovah's Witnesses draconian practice of disfellowshipping and shunning current and former members is one of the most controversial aspects of this religion and has caused untold psychological and physical harm to thousands. The Watchtower Society mislabels the practice of shunning and disfellowshipping, as an act of love and a means of enforcing conformity.
Scriptural justification for shunning is weak, at best. It is considered by many on the outside as one of the most offensive and unbiblical tools in the Watchtower Society's arsenal of weapons used to enforce rigid conformity to their multitude of rules and regulations. Grounds for disfellowshipping, a radical form of excommunication, are legion. The list includes adultery, fornication, greed, accepting blood transfusions (with modifications), drunkenness, associating with the disfellowshipped ... the list is very extensive and subject to wide interpretation. Many of those shunned or disfellowshipped are guilty of apostasy - abandoning the religion and turning away from the teachings of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Similar to the Mob, once you're in there's no easy way out without suffering severe consequences.
A significant amount of judging and attendance at judicial committees is involved. The act of shunning and disfellowshipping as implemented by the Jehovah's Witnesses has caused untold pain and suffering among friends and family members. Families are routinely destroyed and broken up, forever; siblings are separated, often for life, parents lose their children, children lose their parents. Grandparents are ostracized and cut off from their grandchildren for the sake of keeping members 'in.'
Most often the simple act of saying hello to a disfellowshipped person, or one who has disassociated him or herself from the organization, is forbidden. The horror stories told by the disfellowshipped, thousands of them, are ghastly and heartrending. The ancient practice of disfellowshipping and shunning causes profound psychological damage, and has led to suicide. As practiced by the Jehovah's Witnesses, their extreme form of shunning in most cases is simply cruel, nothing more.
Anyone considering joining the Jehovah's Witnesses is advised to pay close attention to the consequences and repercussions for not living up to the Watchtower Society's standards, or questioning their doctrine. The ultimate price might be unbearable and irreversible. To assist you in making the right decision and help you learn more about this practice, visit the websites listed below for additional information. -
Billy the Ex-Bethelite
jo do,
You didn't include my favorite gem. The new elders' manual includes demanding an excessive "bride price" as a reason for disfellowshipping. Watchtower needs to put out a "Reasonable Bride Price" brochure with pictures and going exchange rates in various currencies such as dollars, yen, goats, and chickens.
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Mickey mouse
I think this magazine is one for the Charities Commission in the UK.
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Magwitch
If the parents are so "dear" and are so wonderfully tuned in to their God, why are these men in NY threatening them with (while not immediate) "execution" if they talk to their kids?
What Crap
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mythreesons
(daffy duck voice) "Thatsssss Suckitating!!!"
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Quendi
I have to share this experience from my nearly five years of attempting to get reinstated. During one of my judicial committee meetings, I was asked, "Do you love the brothers?" I replied simply and directly, "No, I do not." The elders were shocked. The looks on their faces, to quote the MasterCard commercial, were priceless. There was a long silence that was finally broken by the question, "Why would you say that? How could you possibly feel that way about your brothers and sisters in the congregation?"
I answered, "You're kidding, right? How could I possibly love people who won't even say 'Good Morning' or 'Hello' when I enter the Hall? How can I have affection for those who will not display any toward me? How can I draw close to people who won't shake my hand; inquire about my welfare; ask if there is anything they can do for me or fill a need for me? Why should I feel close to anyone like that? After all," I continued, "communication is the lifeblood of any relationship. Where there is no communication, there is no relationship. Since I cannot communicate with anyone here, there is no reason for me to love them, is there?" My answer was followed by another silence and then the elders decided to change the subject.
What struck me about this exchange was that even when confronted with the rotten fruitage of the shunning policy, these drones were unable to think for themselves and draw that conclusion. I have realized that a person's thinking ability is co-opted by this religion. You lose the God-given faculties of free will and the power of reason when you fall in line with WTS culture. It was only when I left the organization that I began to feel free again: free to make my own choices, free to live my own life.
I still love God and have profound respect for the Bible. I am now studying it with other friends. We are realizing that we never really studied it as Jehovah's Witnesses but only studied Watchtower theology. Shaking off the old ways of thinking has been a challenge, but my fellow students and I are learning how to do so. Understanding the hateful and unchristian way the WTS and its followers behave toward those who will not submit to their cult has only strengthened our resolve to seek a true spiritual path. How grateful I am for this!
Quendi
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