Hi all,
Recently someone asked if someone could put together a PDF on the disfellowshipping prochedure. I've been trying to write one the last couple days and so far the following is what I have. Any thoughts, pro or con, are welcome. (I'm not sure if the quote is too long or not, so thoughts on that part would be especially welcome).
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Shun Former Members of Their Religion?
A point of controversy involving the Jehovah's Witness religion is their practice of breaking apart families through their disfellowshipping prochedure. Unfortunately this religious movement has sometimes been less than candid about this practice.
For example on the religion's official website (jw.org) we find the following statement:
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... 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.
Is it true that when someone is disfellowshipped from the Jehovah's Witness religion that "normal family affections and dealings" will continue?
The Jehovah's Witnesses publish a magazine called The Watchtower (WT). While the version of the WT distributed to the public tends to avoid controversial topics, there's a "study edition" that contains special instructions for the approximately 7.5 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.
The July 15th, 2011 WT study edition contained the following instuction for Jehovah's Witnesses:
Suppose, for example, that the only son of an exemplary Christian couple leaves the truth. Preferring “the temporary enjoyment of sin” to a personal relationship with Jehovah and with his godly parents, the young man is disfellowshipped. The parents are devastated! On the subject of disfellowshipping, they know, of course, that the Bible says “to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or are a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.”(1Cor.5:11,13) They also realize that the word “anyone” in this verse includes family members not living under their roof. But they love their son so much! But what will those dear parents do? Will they obey Jehovah’s clear direction? Or will they rationalize that they can have regular association with their disfellowshippd son and call it “necessary family business”? In making their decision,they must not fail to consider how Jehovah feels about what they are doing. His purpose is to keep the organization clean and, if possible, to incite wrongdoers to come to their senses. How can Christian parents support that purpose? Moses’ brother, Aaron, faced a di?cult situation with regard to two of his sons. Think of how he must have felt when his sons Nadab and Abihu o?ered illegitimate ?re to Jehovah and He struck them dead. Ocourse, that ended any association those men could have had with their parents.But there is more. Jehovah instructed Aaron and his faithful sons: “Do not let you rheads go ungroomed, and you must not tear your garments [in mourning], that you may not die and that [Jehovah] may not become indignant against all the assembly.” (Lev. 10: 1-6) The message is clear. Our love for Jehovah must be stronger than our love for unfaithful family members. How would Jehovah feel, though, if the parents of an unrepentant wrongdoer kept putting Him to the test by having unnecessary association with their disfellowshipped son or daughter? What conclusion should we draw? That we need to ?ght against the tendency of our imperfect hearts to rebel against Scriptural counsel.
How can it be said that Jehovah's Witnesses maintain " normal family affections and dealings" with disfellowshipped family members when they are instructed by the authorities of their religion that they would be putting God to the test by having "unnecessary association" with a family member who was disfellowshipped from the religion?
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Note: I plan to add something in there about the no e-mailing the disfellowshipped Watchtower. Also any other ideas for what to include would be welcome.