I have been pondering this question for awhile. Say a person during a shepherding visit with the elders were to simply state that they had lost their faith in God because of the subject of suffering-- would the elders still have grounds to disfellowship them even if the person did not actually commit a sinful offense? Instead of diving into all the errors, false prophecies, and lies advanced by the organization can somebody simply say, "I have lost faith in Jehovah" and walk away without being publically denounced?
Can losing faith in God be a disfellowshipping offense?
by Emery 21 Replies latest jw friends
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breakfast of champions
Probably not, it wasn't with me.
I was considered "broken in spirit".
However, if you came across as militantly atheist, that's a different story.
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sir82
No, they'd only get you if you were publicizing your doubts.
Keep it to yourself and you'd be OK.
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Emery
BOC, how did you relay your disbelief to the elders if you don't mind me asking?
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frankiespeakin
Yes it can be a disfellowshipping offense, which seriously undermines any kind of help elder can offer to so called "spiritually weak" ones, because the elders are supposed to be loving, kind, reasonable, and instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed.
2timothy 2:25
But a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be gentle toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed; as perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth.
It is like going to the elders and they carry an executional axe in one hand and the bible in the other, a risky situation to say the least. If they can't help you or convince you with the bible then it's time to bring out the axe and execute you.
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BluesBrother
It all depends on the attitude of the elder(s). Technically it can be construed as a denial of everything that is believed and therefore apostasy. However, if it is said modestly and not spread around the congregation, I think most of them would view you as a lost sheep rather than an apostate.- but I would not bank on it!
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Room 215
The sad reality is that it all depends on the whims of the local elders and their reaction to your stated misgivings; basically, they can DF anyone on any pretext whatever, and leave them to the mercy of an appeal committee, which more often than not, is loathe to overturn.
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Phizzy
"If you do not believe in Jehovah brother, that would be simply fine, no problem, except that it means you do not believe the GB/FDS is God's Channel, now that is serious, and you had better dis-associate yourself quick before we DF you ".
Or some such is the likely response, there is simply no way to walk away from this Cult with dignity, they must besmirch your name to those that remain in its clutches to retain control over them.
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DATA-DOG
I agree, you must be careful. It really comes down to other human beings, and their individual fears. Some cannot face TTATT. To protect their little bubble that they exist in they MUST destroy you. They may not even realize that they are acting out of fear and ignorance. After all, they believe that they are " the experts " and the rest of the world is under Satan's spell.
Even the most rational thinking DUB is still a DUB if they have not awoken. They will reason brilliantly up to a point. The reasoning stops when the obvious logical answer is that the ORG ain't the one true channel. Then reasoning takes a detour, anything to avoid the conclusion.
Eliminate the impossible. Whatever is left, however improbable ( even painful ) is the truth. But it's like the Dub is on a train. The destination is paradise earth. There is one big problem. The bridge is out. No problem! We will just switch tracks to avoid the unavoidable...
Instead of facing the truth and pulling the brakes, now you are going nowhere. The WTBTS has been going in circles for over 100 years.
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Emery
What if you say that you haven't completely ruled God out of your life but that you're struggling to sustain faith in a world with so much suffering? In their minds, this may leave the door indefinitely open for a return. I remember reading a situation where a JW made it known that he had lost his faith but was not disciplined because no gross sin was committed before God. They did have a local needs talk about it and word got around that the guy was bad association.