If disfellowshipping was abolished...

by iamwhoiam 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  irondork

  panhandlegirl: I'm not sure I would want to have anything to do with those family members who have shunnned me.

  I suppose it would be different for everybody. Some could pick up where they left off while others consider those old relationships destroyed - nothing to salvage. For me, there's nothing left to build on. I know who those people are, I wish them no harm... I have no room for them in my life. It would be like a stranger from 500 miles away wanting to create some sort of loving, chummy, familial relationship with me without any clear reason given.
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  leavingwt

  Shunning is the issue. Many people who are still JWs are shunned.
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  finally awake

  "I think of JWs as the "Marine Corps" of religions, people who are drawn to be part of an elite ( in their minds) group, and are are willing to go just a step above what the other guys are doing, just to prove they can. Religious over-achievers, if you will."

  That is exactly the motivation for a fair number dubs - the idea that "if I'm going to be a Christian, I'm going to have to do the hardest way possible"
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  simon17

  Disfellowshipping is only part of the fear and guilt mechanisms they have. I do not think there would be a massive rush out the door. You'd see many 5% declines for a year or two. Most members would be relieved. They could easily be reprogrammed to, instead of shun those who have gotten reproved, simply refuse to discuss any spiritual matters with them. I don't think it would be a huge threat.

  I'm sorry to say, but there's no one card that will bring this house of cards down.