I was mulling this over last night...too much free time, I know. Both disfellowshipping and shunning indicate the action of avoiding someone, taking them out of your sphere of associates. Probably is a better sound bite to say "removed." But then I thought that "removed" too can have a very negative meaning. "When a criminal says someone should be "removed", it usually means they believe the person should be eliminated or gotten rid of, often in a violent or fatal manner. This is a euphemism, a way of referring to a negative concept in a less direct or more palatable way. In this context, it implies a violent act, such as murder. "
Why "Removed" instead of "Disfellowshipped or Shunning"
by blondie 17 Replies latest jw friends
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HereIam60
"Removed" sounds worse to me, as if the person had been physically escorted or carried out of the Kingdom Hall. Disfellowshipped should have meant withdrawing from close companionship for a time while continuing with normal, kind, social interaction, not total shunning.
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dropoffyourkeylee
I am reminded of a Bing Crosby movie from the '70s called 'Dr Cook's Garden', where the town doctor would put an 'R' for 'removed' in his patient's file before murdering them. I wonder if they are going to put an 'R' on the publisher's record card.
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WingCommander
WT HQ absolutely luvs to mix up the word salad! They just can't help themselves.
@Blondie: Did you know that rank-n-file sheeple are no longer called "Members" but instead, "Adherents"? This is legal maneuvering to avoid liability when some Pedo is brought to light and the victims attempt to sue WT HQ for enabling the abuser and shifting him around to a different congregation. Sick, sick, sick!!
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hoser
I think they changed the wording and process with minors and older ones to keep their welfare status in Europe. This coincides with the new(old) marking arrangement where individuals are to decide who gets shunned, not announced publicly.
In effect the group gossip mill decide who gets ostracized but it is off the books and doesn’t affect the tax breaks the cultorporation gets.
Follow the $$
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blondie
WingCommander, no I did not know that. Do they use that term in their publications? I checked and at least 50 percent of time they are referring to "members" of other religions...but some times they say something like this "he Governing Body follows the pattern set by “the apostles and elders in Jerusalem” in the first century, who made important decisions on behalf of the entire Christian congregation. (Acts 15:2) Like those faithful men, the members of the Governing Body " "Frequently Asked Question" ijwfq article 41. They skirt around want people who are baptized jws are called. Perhaps more likely is "fellow believers" or "fellow worshippers."
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truthlover123
Blondie-- check out 2020 Pistol Petes information on this "Member"- not to refer to pubs as members in a Elders memo back then. I thought it was in SFOG book but too many pages to turn to find it.
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truthlover123
Oh just searched him and only two items showed up, so I will have to dig- -
blondie
truthlover123, I don't doubt the direction, but the WTS uses "fellow worshippers" and "fellow believers" way more than "adherents" and in the publications more often "adherents" refers to non-jws.
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blondie
truthlover123, here is a link I found to pistolpete's posts. https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/users/5191393638088704/pistolpete/posts