I listened to the 'Human Apostate' speech and have to say I was pretty appalled by the methods used to draw their conclusions on how to spot & act towards apostates. I've never been in a KH and so never had the pleasure of hearing anything like that. What got me was the way they defined apostates as basically "people who don't agree with us", and then went on to put apostates in a class along with people who have a "deadly contagious disease", and people who are "mentally ill" - thus (loosely) implying that mental illness is contagious, so stay away our you will catch it! I speculate that this kind of association works on lesser educated individuals, and on those who have a real fear of not breaking the WT rules. Very clever IMO. So the question I have is this; if you DA or are DF'd then are you officially an Apostate? I know the flock book defines it as standing away and other things, but it seems to me that the message a DA or DF sends is one of 'not agreeing with us' (either by choice or by a 3 elder decision). And are you apostate by simply saying that you would never join the WT in the first place? Song
If you DF/DA are you then apostate? Just checking...
by The Song Remains The Same 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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stillin
It's kind of early in the morning for a question like that, Song, but I'll give it a shot."Apostate" means "standing apart from" in the sense of turning away from the "healthy teaching." If a person is going through judicial committee hearings they may or may not be classified that way, depending on what the person says during the hearings. "Bro/Sis so-and-so had a sexual escapade and is determined to continue living an immoral lifestyle" can be the determination, or "bro/Sis disagrees with the organization's position on some things and it led him/her into immorality."
The end result is the same; shunning, being set aside, loss of friends and family, etc. But the rumor mill will grind out a different tune and reinstatement, if sought after, will take a modified course.
For somebody who has never been in a KH, you sound well-informed.
stillin
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The Song Remains The Same
Thanks for the reply stillin. I am trying to get as well informed as I can be as my wife ultimately wants to be baptized and I am trying really hard to deal with it since I am convinced the WT is a very clever, emotionally damaging, high-control pyramid scheme. I have read a lot and learned a lot from JWN and jwfacts, plus others.
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RubaDub
If you DA, then you will most certainly earn an Apostate badge. You are taking the initiative to walk away from the borg.
In the case of DF, it could go either way based on what the offense(s) was. Obviously, if a person is DF'd for apostacy, then they would be considerd an apostate.
However, if person who is DF'd for other things but takes steps to get reinstated (attend meetings, study, etc.) would certainly not be considered an apostate.
Rub a Dub
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BluesBrother
" And are you apostate by simply saying that you would never join the WT in the first place? "
No. One has to be in before they can kick you out.. The ranks of the J W's are chock full of people who once declared that they would never become one...Especially unbelieving husbands !