A Gap In My Knowledge.

by Englishman 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Englishman

  I have a gap in my knowledge re some of the procedures that come into play when someone decides that they simply don't want to be a witness any more. Just to explain:

  In my dub years, there were any number of ex-witnesses around. Non of them had been disfellowshipped, they had simply stopped believing in the JW religion. They had "fallen away".

  Most of them received a knock when we were out "on the work", some even invited us in for a cup of tea when we called. Occasionally we would be upbraided from the platform for still calling them Brother or Sister, oh no, we were now to refer to them as Mister or Mrs, they were no longer our Brother or our Sister. They weren't DF'd however, so there was no disciplinary action to be taken.

  What I can't quite get to grips with now, is that people seem to find it impossible just to leave the JW's quietly without any fuss. Happily married couples want to leave, so that leaves out the sex thing, many of them don't want to go to another religion, or even speak badly about JW's, so that leaves out the apostasy thing too.

  My question is this: What's the criteria used by JW's to DA or DF someone who has simply ceased to attend meetings or go out on door to door work? What's the deciding factors that start up a witness witch-hunt against such one's?

  Englishman.
• 

  Valis

  Eman...I think a lot of it has to do with a couple factors.

  1. How readily available one is to the congregation. I mean to say living with someone still in, physically close to a Kingdumb Hell, or in a business relationship, and being part of a hard core JW family.

  2. How bad the elders want to press the issue.

  3. When they do leave quietly and work the slow fade.

  4. The person's status in the congo before leaving.

  Just my thoughts..hope I understood what you were asking...

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer
• 

  LittleToe

  If they badmouth the WTS, go to a church, get seen publically flouting moral codes, or smoking, they may get pursued.

  It's got more to do with appearances and WTS image, than anything else. Sometimes it might be done to make an example of them, to scare the remaining members (usually the youths) into being more careful.
• 

  Englishman

  Valis,

  Cheers, mate. I guess what I am asking is how does one just cease to be a witness? Can you just stop attending meetings and going out in the ministry and be safe from being DA'd / DF'd if you behave yourself in all other witness ways?

  Englishman.
• 

  Valis

  Eman..greetings mate! Having a pint yet? I have also wondered about this, not that the BOE would have to spend more than 2 minutes DFing me based on my appearance alone, but if I had led the straight an narrow and been a good boy, what could they have done? Assuming they can find you and you do make yourself available to them, my guess is that you still have distanced yourself from the congragational core and that in itself speaks to your intent, IMHO. Pleanty of ground to DF you I think. Have a stout for me!

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer of the "member in good standing" class
• 

  Dizzy Cat

  One silly way to do it, would be to turn up at the hall naked and drunk and urinate at the back of the hall.

  One sensible way to do it, would be to write a letter a DA yourself if you feel you want to.
• 

  hillary_step

  One silly way to do it, would be to turn up at the hall naked and drunk and urinate at the back of the hall.

  Nahh! I tried that, all they did was give me an Awake magazine about hygiene and suggest that I pray for sel-control.

  HS
• 

  Shutterbug

  English Man,

  I suppose my wife and I are a couple of those that just faded away. Other than a couple of Elder visits (one of those shepparding callsinvolved the circuit overseer) I havent been bothered and no one has shunned me. On the other hand we have had very little association with our former brothers and sisters for over 20 years except for my brother (an elder and Pioneer) his wife and my Mother before she died. On the other hand we havent done anything such as that described by Little Toe on this thread. However, I am scheduled to to to the home of one Valis this coming weekend which probably could inspire another Elder visit.
• 

  onacruse

  Val has the bases covered, just to add my personal experiences:

  I knew a lot of younger dubs that went inactive, and nothing was ever done to them. For the most part, they just stayed away from the Hall, and we never saw them again. On the rare occasion that they did attend a meeting (usually the Memorial) they were welcomed by most all of us.

  It was a different story for older ones who tried to leave, especially if they were brothers who'd been servants and/or had lots of JW family. There was a general compulsion by the elders to make "examples" of such ones. Frequently the families themselves made as much or more of an issue about it than the elders, but in response the elders had to "do their duty." Knowing this, not too many older ones tried to leave, they just "grinned and bore it."

  1975 changed things alot. The post-1975 WTS anti-apostate campaigns really aggravated things, and that was when I first remember seeing the witch-hunts. Ray Franz's departure in 1980 was like pouring gasoline on a fire. From then on, even a scent of apostate thinking was aggressively pursued, and for the most part the elders, who were supposed to be "shepherds of the flock," turned into full-time WTS enforcers. Deliberate inactivity was no longer viewed as a simple act of quiet departure; it was peremptorily assumed to indicate apostate thinking, guilty until proven innocent. Many therefore tried to dodge being df'd by da'ing themselves, but then WTS closed that loophole by classifying da'd ones the same as df'd.

  With minor variations, that was the tone I saw until I too decided to fade in the late '90's. After about a year, the elders came after me and said my inactivity indicated apostasy, and they would have to df me unless I reassociated. We negotiated that my attending 10 consecutive meetings would show that I was not apostate. After the 10th meeting, they then came after me and said since I was now reactivated, I would have to prove to them that I didn't still secretly harbor any apostate opinions! (Did I walk into that trap, or what??). After almost 2 years and 6 committee meetings, they finally df'd me.

  Recent WT articles about apostasy, as well as the August KM insert about treatment of df'd ones, reminds me of the early '80s when I first saw the big shift. I expect that things will only get worse from here; the Panzers are rolling again.

  Craig
• 

  Englishman

  Deliberate inactivity was no longer viewed as a simple act of quiet departure; it was peremptorily assumed to indicate apostate thinking

  Thanks, Onacruse, that was very helpful.

  Englishman.