This is kind of an expansion on a previous post which was an overview of some of the false teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is all about how Jehovah's Witnesses shun parents who have been disfellowshipped, from the organization, in direct contradiction of what the Bible, Jesus, and God say.
In the original post I quoted the a couple of Watchtower publications:
"Yes, when a person chooses to leave Jehovah and the way of life set out in the Scriptures, faithful family members typically experience deep anguish. ‘I love my sister very much…I would do anything to see her come back to Jehovah!’ Maria, whose brother turned his back… says: ‘… I especially miss him at large family gatherings.’” (The Watchtower, September 1, 2006, page 17)
“This brings a test upon a Christian when a marriage mate, a child, a parent, or another close relative is disfellowshipped or has disassociated himself from the congregation… the principles of which apply equally to those who are disfellowshipped and to those who disassociate themselves… Hence, we also avoid social fellowship with an expelled person. This would rule out joining him in a picnic, party, or trip to the shops or theater or sitting down to a meal with him either in the home or at a restaurant. …if the disfellowshipped or disassociated one is a relative living outside the immediate family circle and home… It might be possible to have almost no contact at all with the relative.” (Our Kingdom Ministry, August 2002, page 3-4)
And some that I discussed the post with said that I took a couple of quotes and blew the whole 'shunning of parents' out of proportion. It was also said that disfellowshipping, and shunning, was in the Bible. So, to basically prove that disfellowshipping, and shunning, especially of parents and other family members is completely wrong, and is a key doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses, here is the fully expanded post.
Do two quotes make it wrong? The biggest argument was that I had only used two quotes from the Watchtower Society, and one from the Bible, to prove that the disfellowshipping of parents was not only wrong but also against what the Bible actually teaches. My answer to that is that I selected a couple of quotes out of many. The previous post was merely an overview. The Watchtower Society has published many things about disfellowshipping in their Watchtower magazine and various other publications.
The Jehovah's Witnesses did not start practicing disfellowshipping until 1952. Since then it has been very problematic for families of that religion.
"Thus 'disfellowshiping' is what Jehovah's Witnesses appropriately call the expelling and subsequent shunning of such an unrepentant wrongdoer." (Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 22)
"… a simple 'Hello' to someone can be the first step that develops into a conversation and maybe even a friendship. Would we want to take that first step with a disfellowshiped person?" (Watchtower, September 15, 1981, page 25)
Those two quotes prove the lies of the Jehovah's Witnesses website. If you head over to their official website and look under the FAQ about shunning - they paint such a rosy picture in the first couple of paragraphs:
"Those who were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses but no longer preach to others, perhaps even drifting away from association with fellow believers, are not shunned. In fact, we reach out to them and try to rekindle their spiritual interest.
We do not automatically disfellowship someone who commits a serious sin. If, however, a baptized Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible’s moral code and does not repent, he or she will be shunned or disfellowshipped. The Bible clearly states: “"Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."”—1 Corinthians 5:13." (http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/shunning/ - October 24, 2013)
The Watchtower, read by all the faithful Jehovah's Witnesses, says not to even say hello to a disfellowshipped person. Yet the website tries to gloss over this by saying they 'reach out' and try to 'rekindle their spiritual interest'. Then as always a Bible quote is added, in this case 1 Corinthians 5:13, which reads:
"while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.”" (NWT 1Cor 5:13)
But to get the whole picture you have to read the verses before it:
"In my letter I wrote you to stop keeping company with sexually immoral people, not meaning entirely with the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people or extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, you would actually have to get out of the world. But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those inside, while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked person from among yourselves.”" (NWT 1Cor 5:9-13)
The bit that the Jehovah's Witnesses forget to quote is that Paul is on about "a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner". So, if the Jehovah's Witnesses want to use that quote it should be for the things stated and not as a blanket excuse for everything that the Watchtower Society considers a disfellowshipping offense - especially as Jehovah's Witnesses will disfellowship, and shun, people for a whole host of reasons - including questioning the Watchtower Society (which they should do seems the rules are always changing).
Heading over to the Watchtower Magazine (Study Edition) of November 15, 2006 it states:
"What is accomplished by disfellowshipping? It keeps Jehovah’s holy name clear of reproach and protects the fine reputation of his people. (1 Peter 1:14-16) Removing an unrepentant wrongdoer from the congregation upholds God’s standards and preserves the congregation’s spiritual cleanness. It may also bring the unrepentant one to his senses." (Watchtower (Study Edition), November 15, 2006)
Really? So how come in a 2012 court case the Jehovah's Witnesses were ordered to pay $21 million to Candace Conti, who was abused, because the Watchtower Society wanted the fact that a Jehovah Witness was an abuser and the elders of the congregation knew about it and did nothing? (Read the whole case over at JWLeaks.org) Just one of many cases that the Jehovah's Witnesses are involved in due to instruction from the Governing Body located at the Jehovah's Witness Headquarters in New York
But that is an entirely different post, actually it would be a book on how the Jehovah Witnesses who refuse to pledge allegiance, won't serve in the military, and are basically anti-worldly government use the court system as, and when, it suits their needs. Can't pledge allegiance but you can use the Justice wing of the government when you need it - hypocrisy!
I digress. Back to shunning of parents ...
"Honor your father and your mother, just as Jehovah your God has commanded you, so that you may live a long time and you may prosper in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you." (NWT, Deu 5:16)
The above is not some obscure verse which can be read in many different ways. It is one of the 10 commandments. It is plain and simple - honor your parents so you may live a long time and prosper. It has to be important, it comes in before the commandments of 'Do not murder' and 'Do not commit adultery'. Why is it a commandment? Because without your parents you do not exist. Had your parents not made love, conceived, given birth, and raised you then there would be no you. God knows this and basically says "Hey, credit where credit is due. Without your parents you wouldn't be here. This is no immaculate conception. You are here thanks to your parents, be thankful for that and show them the honor they deserve."
So shunning a disfellowshipped parent goes against one of the very commandments from God. Doesn't matter if the shunning is for a hour, a day, a week, a year, or decades. Shunning a parent is a no-no. And anyone who shuns a parent is obviously not doing as God, or Jehovah, commanded. And when you can be disfellowshipped for things which are not in the Bible, the resulting shunning is obviously not of Biblical nature either, add to this it breaks one of the 10 commandments and it is obvious that shunning a parent should never happen.
Now, all the Jehovah's Witnesses are going to tell you that shunning doesn't happen, and in the rare cases that it does they encourage the disfellowshipped person to find the path to Jehovah again. If you believe that I have some magic beans to sell you.
According to various Watchtower Society publications (including Watchtower, November 1, 1988, page 22-23) it says you can be disfellowshipped for "Willful non support of family, endangerment of mates spirituality". Surely if a Jehovah's Witness shuns a parent that is willful non-support of family? Shun a parent and get disfellowshipped for shunning a disfellowshipped parent because your shunning of the parent broke a commandment. So you are both disfellowshipped. Good news is that now you are disfellowshipped along with your parent, and you can talk again because you are in the same situation. But that is hypothetical. The truth is that you are to shun your parent, and in the eyes of the Watchtower organization you are a good Jehovah's Witness for breaking God's commandment and doing what the Governing Body says instead.
The Jehovah's Witnesses want to appear as nice people that do what is best for families (if you read the official website only). But the reality is that their false doctrine of disfellowshipping is breaking up families.
On the opposite side of the coin, but still connected, there is a video below which is from a Jehovah's Witness convention, where parents were told to shun their children:
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