Hi Everyone
Here is my first letter I posted to the Governing Body. I also hope that brothers on the writing committee who may be lurking on this site (and have some clout) read my letter and bring in change to this very flawed policy around confession of sins.
Enjoy
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses
25 Columbia Heights
BROOKLYN NY 11201-2483
UNITED STATES
26/4/2016
Dear Brothers,
I wish to write to you to give some constructive feedback about your policies around the confession of sins. I would like to point out the flaws of your current policy when dealing with confessions and the impact this has on the ‘friends’ worldwide. I would firstly like to say that I whole heartedly agree that it is right for individuals to confess their sins to one another as they can be helped spiritually by the shepherds of the congregation – in line with scripture (James 5:16). However, whilst reading through your ‘Shepherd the flock of God’ elder’s hand book, I noticed some issues/flaws I wanted to draw your attention to.
One issue, undoubtedly the case, is that there are many who simply hold back from confessing their sins; or in that they simply cannot bring themselves to go to the elders of their congregation to discuss some sins they may currently be practicing, particularly embarrassing weaknesses. Why? Because of the impact that such a confession might have on an individual as a result of your policy.
There are many examples I could use such as problems with alcohol/drugs, addiction to gambling etc. But let us take for example an individual who is in very good standing within the congregation and also within the community due to the type of work he/she does. For argument sake, let’s say the brother is a lawyer and he has been struggling for a long time with viewing pornography. He has tried many times to give up, even putting locks on his computer etc, but every now and again he may have a relapse. He feels distraught over his weakness and relationship with God. He wants to confess openly to the elders so that he can receive spiritual help. However, he holds back because he thinks ahead to the ‘what if’; that is that his very good reputation could potentially end up in tatters if such information ever got out.
I am using this example due to the ‘fact’ that the viewing of pornography is often mentioned in your publications and talk outlines. But more importantly, under your current policies and guidelines ‘depending on the elder body’ (as they can vary in how things are dealt with), an individual may be reproved privately OR may be reproved publicly - even if they are genuinely repentant. It is the very real possibility that such an individual could be reproved publicly by means of an announcement. There lies the flaw. Knowing that this may possibly happen, prevents many brothers and sisters from approaching the elders to openly confess their sins. So in effect you could have congregations with a high numbers of member’s continually practicing various sins because they are too afraid of the consequences, such as humiliation.
If a person is reproved publicly, everyone would know exactly what he/she had done, because it is usually brought out in the next local needs. People quickly put two and two together. I personally know of one brother this actually happened to about 15 years ago. He apparently was watching pornographic videos. How did we know? Because he was publicly reproved and then 2 weeks later we had the local needs talk about the dangers of watching pornographic material etc. People knew exactly who was engaging in this conduct. It created quite a bit of gossip within our congregation at the time. Yet thinking back on it, how embarrassing and humiliating it was for that young man. That young brother had issues with his mental health by the way (bipolar depression). He had been attending our hall for about 5 years up till that point; two months later he disappeared never to return to another meeting. That example highlights very clearly why your policy in dealing with confession is wrong; a misinterpretation of Scripture.
In chapter 7 of the ‘Shepherd the flock of God’ book under the sub heading ‘if the decision is to reprove’. It says….
18. If the elders on the judicial committee determine
that the wrongdoer is genuinely repentant,
they should inform him of the decision, the judicial
restrictions, and whether the reproof will be announced………
…………….. In this way the accused is reproved "before all onlookers." (1 Tim. 5:20)
23. In some cases the elders may feel that it is
necessary to warn the congregation by means of
a Scriptural talk about the type of conduct practiced.
A member of the judicial committee should generally
give the talk. He should explain the wrongness of
the conduct and how to avoid it but without saying
anything that would connect the wrongdoer with
the type of sin under discussion. In the case of an announced
reproof, the elders should wait a few weeks
before giving such a talk; when the reproof is unannounced,
there is no need to wait.
The above looks plausibly written until the Scriptures are correctly read in context.
If you read the portion of Scripture at 1 Tim 5:19-21 in context…it clearly refers to someone who has been accused of wrongdoing in the sense they have been caught out and are in denial! However, the accusation can’t be admitted by the elders unless evidence of the wrongdoing is provided by two or three witnesses. Does that sound like someone wishing to humbly confess their sin and ask for spiritual help from the elders? It doesn’t read that way to me and many others.
Please could you read and meditate on what the Scripture is actually saying brothers…
1 Tim 5:19: Do not admit an accusation against an older man, except only on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 Reprove before all onlookers persons who practice sin, that the rest also may have fear. 21 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels to keep these things without prejudgment, doing nothing according to a biased leaning.
Obviously the above Scripture can be applied in many cases of wrong doing. For the more serious crimes such as child molestation, rape and murder etc, allegations/confessions should be reported to the authorities re safeguarding as I am sure you are now well aware!
So for example, a brother is committing adultery, and is accused by his wife of doing so. It can’t be proved, yet there is an accusation. The brother denies the accusation; but then two or three witnesses provide evidence that the man is truly committing adultery. Action can now be taken by the elders to warn the congregation.
Another scenario, a brother is accused of being a thief. Let’s say he is accused by another brother of stealing his wallet. The accused denies the accusation. Two or three more witnesses come forward and provide actual evidence/proof that the brother has been engaged in theft. Again, the congregation has to be warned against such a wilful practice of sin so that the rest may have fear.
In both cases above, the person was A/ denying the accusation, B/ continuing to blatantly practice such sin.
Now on the flip side, if you followed the scripture correctly in James 5:13-16, then individuals would be far more open about confessing their sins, knowing it would be kept confidential and that they would be provided with spiritual help to enable them to overcome their weaknesses. Their privacy, dignity and self worth would be kept in check.
James 5:13-16- Is there anyone suffering evil among YOU? Let him carry on prayer. Is there anyone in good spirits? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is there anyone sick among YOU? Let him call the older men of the congregation to [him], and let them pray over him, greasing [him] with oil in the name of Jehovah. 15 And the prayer of faith will make the indisposed one well, and Jehovah will raise him up. Also, if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore openly confess YOUR sins to one another and pray for one another, that YOU may get healed. A righteous man’s supplication, when it is at work, has much force.
Under your current policies within the ‘Shepherd the flock of God’ elders book, thousand and thousands of brothers and sisters are quite frankly afraid to go to the elders knowing it will be a gamble as to whether their reproof will be announced or not! Many bottle things up to the point they can’t face going to the meetings anymore as a result of feeling they are no longer good enough. For such ones, too much water has gone under the bridge.
I hope this letter helps you to understand the impact your policies around confession has over individuals and their spirituality. What a difference it would make for individuals to go to the elders to openly confess their weaknesses freely knowing that their confession would remain private and confidential. They would continue to maintain their dignity and self worth whilst trying to overcome their weakness with help from their shepherds. That’s how it should be!
I really felt the need to highlight this issue and truly hope you take on board this ‘constructive feedback’ and make some amendments in this area. Could I also highlight (judging by what is being said all over the internet, that you’re ‘Shepherd the flock of God’ book AND branch correspondence guidelines are far too Talmudic! I would appeal to you to simply follow the ‘Christian’ guidelines of Gods word and bring about needed reform.
Thank you for reading my letter Brothers
Your brother in Christ
J M.....
Witness for Watchtower Reform
