The toxic residue from Watchtower’s “Shunning Policy” is explored at: https://www.openmindsfoundation.org/shunning-suicide-jehovahs-witnesses-alienations-deadly-toll/
What do you think? Is this religious freedom or a violation of basic human rights?
The Toxic Residue from Watchtower’s Shunning Policy
Sadly..Directly or indirectly…The Shunning or fear of being shunned by family and friends…because of the violation of human rights and dignity by JW.Org, and their oppressive and controlling policies as laid out by their now 8 leaders…has caused many a good person to take their life…or to mentally give up on life…mental giving up leads to physical giving up of ones body…stress related illness and pain sets in…death seems then something that will relieve all….The Jehovah’s Witness Show…must stop or be stopped by those in the power to do so. The sooner the better…
On Feb 4th 2018, my wonderful brother took his own life. He strugged with depression and loneliness. They refused to let him find companionship and disfellowed him. The loneliness and isolation he felt from having to isolate from witnesses and “worldly” people drove him into such a deep hole he couldn’t handle it. His note directly specified the shunning and unjust cause for it and lack of compassion while he repented. They told him he was out for 2 years, it affected his strong religious beliefs and affected him in and out of their cult church. Half my family are JW and they are so brainwashed they can’t see it for the truth and have been shunning the other half for years. This cult either needs to change their ways or be stopped. These RUSSELITES are out of control. You know kids can be prosecuted for bullying another kid to the point they commit suicide but speaking to a detective they said there is no one in the organization that can be gone after, not the watchtower, not the kindomhall, not the elders directly responsible for the inhumane torture they put him through.
I feel we need to stand together, start a nonprofit organization, gather as a collective, share resources and power, and we need to get BILLBOARDS, ONLINE ADS, FLIERS, and get the word out.
WE NEED MORE AWARENESS!!!!
Sooo sorry to hear your sad news…it should never happen! I agree more has to be done to make people aware of the damage this cult does to peoples lives to the point where they can not endure the mental torture and end their life to find peace…my heart breaks for you in this sad time as you try to understand, endure and speak out…My brothers and I have been in this state of feelings…but so far have managed to keep going…activism against this cult helps…maybe others will be saved from this terrible demise…it is worth our trying to speak out. There is this treatment going on all over within this corrupt Jw.org…far from being…”a shelter in a wind storm”…This treatment HAS TO STOP! Nothing a person could say will take away the loss and pain…But please know caring ones who have been thru similar things…understand and feel for you. Hugs.
In your writeup ,you never stated the offence he committed that earned him a 2year ban. You just jumped into name calling –cult church. I feel your brother found it difficult to adhere to the life style as prescribed in the Bible; his way of life may have been a source of concern to the organisation and by extension it’s members. He may have been a very bad example to potential admirers who would view such bad behaviour as a standard of the organisation.
The best for him was to leave with the hope of a change of attitude for his own benefit. There are so many who found happiness in the organisation lived and died for it. The suicide may be as a result of other issues you failed to mention. If anyone is not comfortable with the life style expected of him as a member of JW, you quit period. Don’t spread false information about an organisation you failed to meet its standard. Read the Acts of the apostles, who controlled how they lived their lives for the TRUTH. I AM NOT A MEMBER BUT AN ADMIRER.
I am sorry you are thoroughly misguided. I hope the best for u.
Way to be compassionate. I guess you k ow exactly how God feels. Good for you
The entire Watchtower organization from the top down arre all responsible for their terrible policy on shunning. However, the eight leaders in New York should really be held responsible since they’re the ones implementing these terrible rules in the first place.
It doesn’t matter if you repent because you’re still going to be disfellowshipped by the organization. Besides, you shouldn’t repent to men but only to God. Those men whether it be the elders in the congregation or those eight men in New York do not have the right to judge at whether or not someone is repentant of a sin because they’re mere human beings and can’t read the heart.
Back in 1947 in the Awake magazine, the following was stated below.
Here is what the Awake magazine of January 8, 1947, says about excommunication: The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that papal excommunication is not without pagan influence, its variations cannot be adequately explained without reference to similar non-Christian excommunications. The superstitious Greeks believed that when an excommunicated person died, the Devil entered her body. Then, when the pretensions of the hierarchy increased, the weapon of excommunication became an instrument by which the clergy devised a combination of ecclesiastical power and profane tyranny without historical precedent.
The Watchtower society would never dare to print this in their modern literature, yet these words that were written by the same organization in 1947 would condemn what the leadership is doing today by forcing their members to shun anyone who leaves the religion for any reason, even if it’s a parent, a child or a sibling.
A Change of Heart and Rules
As if stricken with some kind of amnesia about what used to be true to them, the Watchtower changed its mind and rules in 1981 and completely modified its interpretation of excommunication and how excommunicated members should be treated.
Here is what we read in the Watchtower of December 15, 1981, on page 22.
In order to preserve its development, the organization will modify its interpretation of the principle of excommunication to counter the devastating effects of the departure. Following a doctrinal disagreement of a senior member of the Watchtower, from that date, those who left the organization purely and simply had to be regarded as ex-communicated, that is to say faulty, with which the followers should have no contact with.
This decision was actually taken after one of the governing body members, Ray Franz, saw the hypocrisy of his religion and decided to leave his role as a leader before shortly thereafter being disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for having been seen eating with an unactive Jehovah’s Witness.
It’s interesting to note that Ray Franz had not committed a single sin, not even for Jehovah’s Witnesses standards back then. He simply had come to a disagreement in doctrinal matters and methods employed by the governing body which he belonged to, and decided to resign.
When he was disfellowshipped for eating with an ex-Jehovah’s Witness who happened to also be his employer he was in fact disfellowshipped for no valid reason.
Since then, however, any Jehovah’s Witness that would openly disagree with the Watchtower teachings would be, like Ray Franz, disfellowshipped.
You see, in Jehovah’s Witnesses world, you have more chance to be disfellowshipped if you disagree with the teaching of the organization than if you are a known pedophile. As scary as this may sound, it,s the truth.
So as you can plainly see here, the Watchtower organization holds absolutely no regardfor people’s lives or their feelings, and it doesn’t even matter if you have repented or not because you’re still disfellowshipped anyway just for disagreeing with the governing body and its terrible policies and rules.