If the Watchtower Discontinued Shunning

A Mini-Survey

Jehovah’s Witnesses have used the practice of “shunning” since the early 1940s to punish disfellowshipped former members by denying them contact with their believing friends and family members. Every decade since then the Watchtower has expanded the punishment to include other persons besides “fornicators” and “evil doers.” Even those who have not been formally disfellowshipped or disassociated from their congregations can now find themselves shunned for a vastly expanded number of reasons – or in some cases for no particular reason at all.

This “mini-survey” asks what course you might take if the Watchtower announced an official end to the practice of shunning. How would you react or change your lifestyle? Please read the questions below and select the answer that best represents what you’d do. As always, we encourage you to comment on this poll and share your thoughts on the subject.


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89 thoughts on “If the Watchtower Discontinued Shunning

  • April 30, 2013 at 12:45 pm
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    I think you are in for some surprises…Jehovah is firmly in control of his sheep and his sheep know him! You need to just go about your business…There will be many surprises soon if people don’t work on making the personal changes they need to make to make themselves! themselves! acceptable to Jehovah and his Kingdom!
    And let all the other matters take care of themselves by means of his spirit!

    • June 24, 2013 at 9:41 am
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      A true copout modern day hide behind a non profit titled organization using free labor and donations to try and further bolster their billion dollar a year propaganda machine. 9 years in a association with the united nations and only removed themselves because of all the letters written by confused JW’S to the united nations only to lie and say we needed it in order to gain access to the UN library for research? Come on are you kidding me? Anyone can access the UN library period. Please don’t insult us clear thinking minded people who see this cult for what it really is.

  • April 30, 2013 at 12:48 pm
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    John, I sincerely hope that you someday free yourself of this dangerous and manipulative group of false prophets. You have my best wishes.

    But if you don’t, and you still strive at luring in new victims; try and refrain from calling them worthless slugs. It won’t work in your favor.

  • April 30, 2013 at 12:55 pm
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    ” I count time spent on here as publishing, and I’m not alone.”

    I dare John to go to his Elders and tell them that he was “publishing” on one of the biggest and most notorious, hated of all “apostate” websites and wants to count the time.
    I’d spend my last Dollar to be there when he did and to hear his Disfellowshipping anouncement! Not that I would find any pleasure in such a brutal travesty but I would want to see it to believe it…

  • April 30, 2013 at 12:59 pm
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    “Conrad, please can you let me know what these changes are, and how I can do all can simultaneously follow all three of your apparently contradictory prescriptions”

    I have to tell you what the fruits of the spirit are? And what Jehovah’s commands are? Cedars has restrictions about preaching on this forum or imposing religious opinions and for good reason so I can’t be detailed about discussing such things here but you already know.

  • April 30, 2013 at 1:03 pm
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    “Theocratic Warfare” is an evil machination of Satan and JF Rutherford. Did any of the Prophets or first century Christians presume to take on any battles or “warfare” themselves or did Jehovah always defend them himself to display his power and demonstrate who they were representing? That in itself should tell you a lot!

  • April 30, 2013 at 1:43 pm
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    “Did any of the first century Christians presume to take on any battles or themselves or did Jehovah always defend them” No he did not defend, he allowed their enemies to smite them down, in fact. And yes they did, for example Peter drew parallels between the flood and baptism, a clear example of theocratic warfare. Please do not bandy around terms such as evil, they are counter-productive.

  • May 1, 2013 at 10:11 am
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    I believe you are mistaken and this is not a debate forum. Jesus made a very strong point at his time of capture when Peter drew the sword and cut off the ear of the guard who was about to take him captive. Jehovah defends those who and when he decides to do so to HIS glory and/as he did with the prophets of old…There is no “Bandy” as the behavior bears out the prophecy. I ttold you what you need to do so why do you keep on with me? Are you going to change some reality if you persist with me long enough? Like a child who pesters the parent long enough they will change their mind?

  • May 2, 2013 at 12:19 pm
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    Dear John,

    In re-reading my post (above) in response to your previous comments, I just realized that I engaged in “self-righteous” defense of myself, as well as others who have left the WTBTS. It was an automatic “knee jerk”-defensive-mechanism-reaction, and I wish to apologize because the self righteous aspect of being a JW greatly bothered me when I was an active member. No one is “perfect” even though we are all trying to follow our perfect example of Jesus Christ, the only perfect man who ever lived (excluding Adam who was created perfect but was deceived by Satan). And it is only through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice that we can have our sins forgiven.

    John, everyone here and elsewhere who comments is from a background with JWs that has caused them great pain thus resulting in anger. It is too easy for all of us to forget that we were once “zealous defenders of the WTBTS” ourselves, and that we had also placed our confidence in the GB before we finally came to realize that there were serious problems and we needed to find answers by seeking the Truth. We who have left do not all have the same exact experiences but many of them are similar, and often the direct result of non-scriptural “doctrines of men” created by the GB, starting with Rutherford’s 25 year dictatorship over JWs.

    So John I do apologize for my “self righteous” response to your (previous) comment, and I do understand where you are coming from, since I was once there myself. Regarding the “lost and scattered sheep”, this is described in Ezekiel 34th chapter, and places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the “shepherds”. I also should have posted the following evidence regarding Rutherford’s alcoholism when I made my previous comment regarding that. I was truly shocked when I read these letters written by dedicated men serving at Bethel:

    Letter: Olin Moyle [attorney] to JF Rutherford 1939
    http://www.jwfacts.com/images/Moyles-letter-to-Rutherford.pdf

    Letter from WF Salter to JF Rutherford 1937
    http://corior.blogspot.com/2006/02/walter-salters-letter-to-j-f.html

    And I was shocked when I read about 2 mansions built by Rutherford for what he claimed was the “expected arrival of ressurected prophets”:

    Beth Sarim -House of the Princes
    http://www.dannyhaszard.com/armageddonmuseum/BethSarim.htm

    Beth San – House of Security
    http://www.dannyhaszard.com/armageddonmuseum/bethshan.htm

    And I was further shocked when I read how Rutherford gained total control over the WTBTS by using his legal knowledge to remove the board of directors and anyone else who supported them or Pastor Russell’s express directions in his will.
    How did J.F. Rutherford Succeed in Seizing Control of the Society against the Instructions of Pastor Russell? [immediately after Pastor Russell’s death]
    The passage below is quoted from the book, “Pastor Russell, Messenger of Millennial Hope,” pages 275-277. Supporting references can be found in this book.
    http://www.friendsofjehovahswitnesses.com/2010/09/06/how-did-j-f-rutherford-succeed-in-taking-control-of-the-society-against-the-instructions-of-pastor-russell/

    • May 2, 2013 at 3:07 pm
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      Thank you for those links. I have seen an article on how dates were recalculated due to their being no year zero on one of those sites. It certainly has given me spiritual food for thought.

  • May 2, 2013 at 3:08 pm
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    john May 2, 2013 at 4:44 am

    “If this is not a debate forum, there is no need to tell me I’m mistaken. I am always not trying to change reality, this is something I evidently have no intention of doing. You could easily tell me what religion you belong to without imposing your opinion on me. Or at least answer a quesion, I think you’re a Christadelphian, a brother in Christ when it comes to most of the doctrine laid down by the blessed Governing Body which is providing meat in due season to the Christian Congregation.”

    I serve the most High Sovereign of the universe whose name is Jehovah and therefore by definition I suppose I am a Witness of Jehovah.
    Now, as so many Servants, Elders and Overseers and others have parrotted to me and others as they slammed tables and hastily threw chairs back or forward and other acts of aggression to attempt to seize or regain what they perceived as loss of power and control and as trained in that organization, “THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER!!!” (- :

    • June 10, 2013 at 11:29 am
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      Amazing that there is seldom, if ever … any confussion or discussion about the unshakeble basic Bible truths that Jehovah’s Witnesses stand for. ie
      1 Trinity is unreasonable and false,
      2 Dead do not live in an eternal Hellfire after dying,
      3 God authorized, designed and created all things,
      4 God has a plan to make the all wrong things right again someday.
      I am not a QUACK .. but am in complete agreement with the basic teachings of Jehovah’s Witnresses. However … as soon as policies, and doctrins are introduced, and enforced, that have little or no Bible based credibility, MOUNTIONS OF CONFUSION AND HURT RESULTS. Disfelowshipping is carried out by fellow imperfect humans.Disfellowshipping is a ‘strongarm tactic to ‘bully individuals to complete submission. As soon as imperfect men are given the authority to judge other humans, you have the perfect storm for anarchacy, pain, and in some cases corruption. These men DO NOT have some form of ‘Holy Fog’ helping them make decisions. It is time to disolve this ‘spriritual theocratic police force, and refer to the scriptures that say in very plain terms that ‘man cannot judge man without causing injury’. There are better ways to protect unsuspecting Witnesses from the negative influences of certain individuals who wish to disrupt the congregation.

  • June 11, 2013 at 10:47 am
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    Biff June 10, 2013 at 11:29 am

    stated:

    “Amazing that there is seldom, if ever … any confussion or discussion about the unshakeble basic Bible truths that Jehovah’s Witnesses”

    1 Trinity is unreasonable and false,
    2 Dead do not live in an eternal Hellfire after dying,
    3 God authorized, designed and created all things,
    4 God has a plan to make the all wrong things right again someday.

    Well, I was never really aware until I left the 100+ year old organization of how many others teach those same things since they are Bible based and not “Jehovah’s Witness” based as well as how many use Jehovah’s name! That includes the many Bible Students churches that we were told faded away out of existence due to “Lack of blessing and apostasy” after the purging and house cleaning in 1919 but in reality are still quite active around the world and have been in various forms ever since…

  • June 24, 2013 at 9:31 am
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    obviously uneducated as you can’t even spell or are willing to spell check. It’s a rebellion against WTBS not God or Jesus. READ John 14:6 and get on with your life instead of giving your life to a cult type mental Prison.

  • June 24, 2013 at 4:30 pm
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    RE: Comments by Biff:

    AMEN to everything you said here. I also am in agreement with the primary Bible based doctrines that Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. As you stated, Trinity and Hellfire doctrines are false. I have seriously researched over the years since I left in order to “separate the wheat from the chaff”, the wheat being the true teachings supported by the BIBLE, the chaff being the MANMADE added “doctrines of men” which “go beyond the things written” such as disfellowshipping rules and regulations, and the Governing Body’s claim to be a direct channel to Jehovah, which reminds me of growing up in the Catholic religion and being taught that the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” and is therefore “infallible”… those not obeying the Pope’s every rule will “burn in hellfire for eternity”, which reminds me of continually being taught by JWs that anyone not in agreement with, or not following every single GB regulation, will be “destroyed at Armageddon” in eternal judgment, thereby having no hope of a resurrection. (after being disfellowshipped of course). I have continually prayed to Jehovah as to what is the REAL TRUTH, but I realize that it is my own responsibility to do the research in order to receive the understanding.

    Here are a few revealing articles for anyone wishing to understand the “Invisible Presence of Christ” doctrine:
    Is Jesus Present or Yet To Come? [website established by ex-JW, disfellowshipped for simply doing independent Bible research and realizing that some WTBTS teachings were in conflict with the Bible]
    http://www.nazarene-friends.org/pubs/coming.php
    A treatise on the Invisible Presence Doctrine
    of Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
    “At that time men will see the Son of Man
    coming in clouds with great power and glory.” – Mark 13:26
    ©Copyright 1998 – Andy Weeks
    “Parousia” and the Days of Noah [website hosted by active JW]
    http://meletivivlon.com/2013/06/12/parousia-and-the-days-of-noah/
    Here is an article written by Pastor Russell which finally put it all into perspective for me: C.T. Russell Hits Too Close to Home
    http://meletivivlon.com/2013/05/27/c-t-russell-hits-too-close-to-home/
    In my ongoing “journey of progressive revelation”, I have researched on many websites and have been gradually emerging from a state of confusion by reading hundreds of various articles, and comparing this information to WHAT THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACHES.
    “Keep on asking, and it will be given YOU; keep on seeking, and YOU will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to YOU. . .[Matthew 7:7] NWT

  • June 24, 2013 at 4:38 pm
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    Respectfully responding to your comment: No need to be insulting here or hypercritical regarding spelling etc. Most people do not realize that they are in a cult-like religion until they are out of it, or at least out from under it’s control and indoctrination.

  • September 30, 2013 at 7:50 pm
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    Yes John you are quite right. Curiously my aged parents were telling medical and hospital personnel etc that the congregation would look after them in their old age. Then the elders read them the riot act about not expecting that but that their immediate family is expected to do that. Their immediate family is me their son whom they are supposed to shun because I no longer want to be a JW. As my mother once said “We will call you when we need you” Changed their tune now so that they are quite willing for me to help them (and entertain them too I might add) more than whenever they just need me. I love them and am happy to do it but it just shows up the double standards which cognitive dissonance seems to prevent them from seeing. Sad sad sad happy. And one has to put the blame where it belongs. On the hierarchy and its ever more desperate rants.

    • October 1, 2013 at 10:13 am
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      When Organized Religion Becomes a Cult

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliyahu-federman/when-organized-religion-become_b_3996139.html

      Excerpts from above article:
      The distinction between cult and religion lies squarely in how those leaving or those wanting to leave are treated
      Cults claim exclusivity, are highly secretive, and authoritarian….What distinguishes religion from cults is the ability to question without being shunned and ability to reject dogmatic tenets without being shunned.
      Many religions make exclusive claims to truth…The harm stems from a system that shuns and ostracizes adherents that don’t accept their exclusive claims to truth. That is where conventional religion becomes a potentially harmful cult. Forcing people to conform by using the subtle threat of social alienation is a form of coercion.
      Any religious community can become a cult. It’s not about how faith is expressed in a community but more importantly how people are treated if they want to leave and disbelieve.
      In order to prevent crossing the line from religion to cult, communities need to purge themselves of dogma, intolerance and ostracizing those with different beliefs, so their adherents have true choice on how to live their lives.

  • October 21, 2013 at 12:01 pm
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    May Jehova bless you

  • October 28, 2013 at 2:04 pm
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    This survey and the main survey that has this question really doesn’t have all the possible answers to this question listed. There needs to be more than ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to these types of questions. Would I return to the JW’s if they got rid of their shunning policy? Of course not! But that doesn’t really apply to me because I faded and thus was not dis assed or dis felled so if the JW’s want to shun me I REALLY DON’T GIVE A SHIT! What I’m trying to say is there should be a I don’t care or a this doesn’t affect me and my situation button that voters can press. My family aren’t JW’s so I gained rather than lost so I could care less what the shunning policy is, they can sun our not, it doesn’t affect me.

  • November 21, 2013 at 2:23 am
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    Well put….Can the Governing Body be sued impeached for crimes against society?

    • November 21, 2013 at 2:30 am
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      When a person gets baptised these days they agree to work with the governing body, which means they accept whatever doctrines the organisation has. If a person is not prepared to do this, then they should not get baptised.

  • November 21, 2013 at 2:26 am
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    Still Hav Faith—I so agree with what you have stated regarding cults…..
    WTBTS does soo much more harm than good w/thier secrets, and control tactics

  • December 25, 2013 at 4:42 pm
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    It is just good old fashioned wrong.

  • January 26, 2014 at 9:28 pm
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    When you leave an abusive spouse, YOU DON’T GO BACK!!!!

  • January 30, 2014 at 3:25 am
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    to still have faith.. You seem like you really believe in your heart what you are saying but I have to ask you this? With all your advice for caution and being quiet and watching what you say, and so many have lost families, and faith and some have even gone insane etc? It seems to me that they have caused extreme pain for many and divided families over and over. You mention that much of what they say are proven false doctrines of men and I agree. As a former long time elder who believed in the WTS and
    things they were teaching 100% I saw so much pain going on around me and unhappiness and obviously so have you. My question is? If this is REALLY the TRUE faith why would it produce results like this? Why so much division and why so much distrust? Shouldn’t a good healthy tree produce good healthy happy fruit? If you cannot speak freely and always looking over your shoulder what “fun” is that? True religion should be a happy producing experience. So if you left the org for personal reasons why would you ever want to go back to that kind of ostracism and spy network? The whole idea of you cannot have a relationship with God or Jesus Christ unless it is thru the WTS and GB is Bogus. The only person we were ever given to go thru was and is Jesus Christ. Case closed. All this brainwashing about needing and Org to be the mediator is a way to control you. Same as the Catholic Church did for 100’s of years.

    Why would anyone want to go back to that kind of treatment if you left it? Why go back and secretly “keep quiet” about weird teachings or not be able to express a different viewpoint? The way they treat the flock much of the time is reflective of the spying done on people in former eastern block nations? You are guilty until proven innocent. It is called the “thought ” police.

    • January 30, 2014 at 12:00 pm
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      Holy Cannoli, In answer to your question, perhaps some stay in and hide in plain sight because love of their family is greater than their desire to leave.

      Even though it seems like my family’s love is conditional on whether I return to “the truth”, my love for them is not conditional on anything. Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder how they are or think about them in some way. I accept their actions, or rather lack of action, because there is nothing I can do about it so I don’t dwell on their loss of me. It is their choice, not mine. I would do anything I could to help any of them if I knew they were in need. That is how we were raised as children, something I took to heart.

      I’m glad some are able to stay hidden and provide us with the inside details of what is going on in the org. Knowledge is power and I want to be in a better position to help any of my family who I hope will one day, choose to act on their conscience, instead of relying on the organization to absolve them of guilt over how they treat me and others who are disfellowshipped.

      If I had it to do over again knowing what I know now, I would have handled things differently, simply because of all the pain and conflict it caused my son. He lost respect for all of them over how they treated me. He had looked up to my brother as someone he wanted to be like when he grew up. When I was disfellowshipped, my family “disfellowshipped” my son too though he had done nothing deserving of that. I honestly don’t know if I can ever forgive them for how they treated my son.

      Circumstances are unique for all of us. I believe we each make choices about how we live our lives. It is not my place to question any one’s choice. It is not my job to judge anyone. (not anymore that is) It does not stop me from being curious about others and what their motives might be as I am fascinated by human behaviour and interactions. My curiousity about others sometimes helps me gain insight into myself.

      Please don’t think too harshly of those who choose to stay in….we don’t know what is in anyone’s heart…and we have never walked in their shoes.

      • January 30, 2014 at 1:48 pm
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        Countrygirl,
        I am sorry for your loss of your family. When I left I did not have to lose family members since none of my family were JWs. That is the hardest part for most people who leave, although Jesus has compassion for you. “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”….

        What appears to be a lack of compassion by family and friends who are still JWs is actually caused by their programming and indoctrination which causes them to actually believe that they are “serving God” by shunning you. There is also their own underlying fear that they will be disfellowshipped themselves if they associate with you. We must keep in mind that everyone who is still in this religion is deceived, just like we were ourselves before we got out and “saw the light”. It is actually a “blessing in disguise” for those of us who are disfellowshipped because this gives us the opportunity to discover the REAL truth, but as Jesus taught, it is not always easy to follow HIM instead of a religion.

    • January 30, 2014 at 12:28 pm
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      Dear Christian Brother,

      AMEN to everything you said. Thank you for caring about my eternal salvation!!! I have left the WTBTS and will NOT return. I think you may have become confused by my comments to someone here who is still inside. I was making the point to her that if she wants to stay in, she has to “keep her mouth shut”. That does say a lot about what JWs have to do in order to stay within the WTBTS. Many JWs are questioning the WTBTS teachings now, but due to fear of losing their entire family and all their friends they are choosing to stay in, although some are “fading” slowly so as not to get officially disfellowshipped, and thus hopefully avoid that evil trap. I do not want to keep my mouth shut about the TRUTH, and in fact Jesus commands us to speak the truth, but each person has to come to their own conclusions…..

      My name “StillHaveFaith” may also have confused you about my status, however I chose this name because it represents the fact that the WTBTS has NOT destroyed my FAITH in JEHOVAH and JESUS CHRIST, like it has with so many who have left or been disfellowshipped. The goal of Satan is to decieve us with false religious teachings, the “doctrines of men” which are contradictory to the Bible. This way so many people within so many religions are having a “form of godly devotion but proving false to it’s power”. Satan’s ultimate purpose is to destroy our faith in God and His Son.

      ALL religious organizations have developed their own separate teachings which they ALL claim are “inspired of God” and “supported by the Bible”!!! I have finally come to the realization that it is only God’s Word that we should seek out for guidance. God endowed us with free will and logical reasoning, but organized religions want us to accept that their manmade doctrines over-rule what God himself has revealed in the scriptures.

      As Jesus himself said, “And so YOU have made the word of God invalid because of YOUR tradition. YOU hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about YOU, when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” [Matthew 15: 6-9 NWT]

      I have been untangling all of the false teachings and separating the Biblical facts from the WTBTS fiction though prayer and Bible study. I have received much understanding from the Boroean Pickets website. Regarding “programming”, here is an excellent article on this subject, “When Evidence Isn’t”, which I also wrote a long comment about how indoctrination affects us all. My ID here is the same “StillHaveFaith”
      http://meletivivlon.com/2013/10/25/when-evidence-isnt/#comments

      Your comments are excellent and oh so true, so I hope that JWs who are reading here will consider your statements.

  • March 2, 2014 at 5:58 am
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    Fully concur!

  • March 18, 2014 at 6:50 pm
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    I hope they continue with disfellowshipping as it forces the person disfellowshiped to evaluate the views of the “truth” people shunning, friendships destroyed, and how “worldly” people can be unconditional with there love and support. Especially if the offense was for little things like smoking it makes the witnesses look silly.

  • April 1, 2014 at 6:30 am
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    If this entire scenario were looked at ONLY from man’s perspective . . .
    An organization has the right to make rules for their followers to comply with. If you break the rules, you are out of the ‘club.’ You know and understand before you join the rules and requirements, and the outcome, if you break the rules.
    Thus, the questions for baptism. So is all the concern about if JW’s are following the scriptures, or the disfellowshped not following the rules, AND not liking the outcome?

    • April 1, 2014 at 12:20 pm
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      Paul, If we were only talking about a man’s organization, I would have to agree with your logic.

      We are not talking about a man’s organization, we are talking about an organization that claims to be God’s channel on earth, his mouthpiece. We have to go through the organization to find salvation. Don’t you think that puts a barrier between you and God? Why can’t you talk to him yourself? Does God really need an organization to speak for him?

      As far as the questions for baptism, when does God ask that we give our loyalty to an organization? I can’t find any evidence of that in the Bible.

      Why doesn’t this organization recognize Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord? Jesus is all but gone from the Watchtower. The whole New Testament is about Jesus and the pattern of love he set for us. It takes the focus off Jehovah and places it on Jesus, whom we have to recognize and acknowledge as our Savior if we are to have any chance of salvation. Why doesn’t this organization help people to develop a close and personal relationship with Jesus?

      As far as rules, the only thing I have found are Jesus two commandments at Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” So where do all the rules come from anyway? Who made the rules up? Why does the Governing Body ask more of us than Jesus asks?

      Why does the organization spend so much time preaching door to door and no time actually physically helping people, feeding them when they are hungry, helping to clothe them when they are naked. If we truly love our neighbor, all of mankind is our neighbor.

      Where did the organization get the authority to be judge, jury and executioner of one who sins? Isn’t Jehovah’s forgiveness the only one who really counts?

    • April 1, 2014 at 3:02 pm
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      The big problem is that this organisation keeps changing the rules and keeps adding to the rules. This does not give those who have been in it for a long time any option except to stay even when this does great damage to one’s conscience. Your argument only applies to those newly joining. This makes the GB all the more reprehensible. For those who simply want to leave without further complication it is quite unacceptable to have to be shunned. There is absolutely NOTHING in scripture that justifies that. In fact Paul said that “they have gone out from us” and left it at that. A simple statement of fact. He did not follow this up with an act of vengeful retribution. Remember that an organisation such as the JWs uses guile to get people in (attractive propaganda) and fear to keep them in. I ask why? Even God gives freedom of choice. Why such paranoid dealings to keep the thing intact? and the people in? You must believe if in fact you do believe that as Jesus said the gates of Hades will not prevail against His church (congregation). Trust him. This is the big problem with most JWs. They put greater faith in the mouthings of the GB than they do in the word of God. Frankly that is a blasphemy. Trust and obey Him and don’t be misled by all the shenanigans of the religious whoever they may be.

  • April 1, 2014 at 12:13 pm
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    Paul Ramos – “ONLY from man’s perspective…” What other perspective would a human look at this from? Christianity should not be about herding people into corral if they decide to worship with a group. Things change and knowledge expands as we all get older – and we often go in different directions. Should a child who was baptized at ten years old (as I was) be locked into a cultish religion for the rest of his life – or else lose all of his friends and family? I don’t think so. The parable of the “Prodigal Son” makes that very clear. The sad fact is that Jehovah’s Witnesses are now effectively disfellowshipping and shunning even non-baptized JW family. Many who grew up in Witness families but were never baptized find themselves shunned by their family and friends if they decide to not continue. Where is the rule for that? Why would such a rule apply? Are you baptized by osmosis if you happen to be born into a JW family? Let’s face it – there is no purpose for shunning other than its use as blackmail – and we all know that blackmail is a criminal offense in any country or society. Shame on the Watchtower for promoting such an idea.

  • April 1, 2014 at 3:08 pm
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    You know I have been gone for some time now but have been taken up by God himself. I actually feel that for me to be shunned is a blessing as I don’t really want to have dealings with anyone who can stay loyal to such a system.. I must qualify that as for me it is easier now because my children have also left. I do understand compeletely where they have caused such pain in the breakup of families. Remember folks that in the long run God WILL hold them accountable as we must all stand before the judgement seat of God. It may take time, it may not be in my or your lifetime but when Christ comes – look out.

    • April 3, 2014 at 9:47 pm
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      Post to Andrew Re Disfellowshipping

      Amen Brother Andrew!!!

      I also discovered that my disfellowshipping turned out to be a “blessing in disguise”. I sat in the back for five years, and I never had a desire to get re-instated. I was surprised at how relieved and peaceful I felt. Like you, I was thankfully not impacted by losing family members since I was the only person in my entire extended family that became a JW. I was grateful to have escaped my Catholic upbringing at the time, but eventually came to realize that the WTBTS was teaching “commands of men as doctrines”, just different unscriptural doctrines than my previous religion. Although at least the Catholic Church no longer engages in Ex-communication, so you can leave whenever you decide to with no repercussions.

      I finally left 25 years ago, but I never really understood why so many horrible situations were occurring with so many others, until just the past few years when I started researching online. I believe that it was God’s direction for me to discover the REAL Truth about what the Bible REALLY teaches about many of the Watchtower doctrines which are NOT scriptural, and especially regarding the Governing Body usurping the throne of Christ, who is our one and only Mediator.

      I sometimes wonder about good people that I knew at the Kingdom Hall way back then, and hope that at least some of them were able to eventually see the light and escape. In fact I knew a very kind young man with your name, but it’s not you since he went by “Drew” instead of Andrew. (Although Andrew might not even be your real name since most people on here post by alias) Anyway, your post makes me think of these people and gives me hope for them, although I realize that it is a lot harder for enlightened JWs to leave with family members who are still being influenced by the ongoing indoctrination, and therefore do not realize that they should be following our true Leader, Jesus Christ, instead of the Governing Body.

  • April 20, 2014 at 4:41 pm
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    They need to be shunned because their sins have been marked with all sorts of loath things under the pretext of god name. Jehovah will destroy the watchtower branches and all who defame his name. The watchtower is not jehovah visible organization. They do not qualify with their evil agenda, twisted, man made and demonic teaches. I only pray that those innocent sheeplike ones see the light out of darkness.

  • July 29, 2015 at 1:25 pm
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    @Ktothe Rad Konrad

    Don’t you mean the Lord JESUS knows His sheep and they know Him, the Good Shepherd? You rightly acknowledge that Jesus is Jehovah the Saviour as per Psalm 23.

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