If Jehovah's Witnesses are the only "true Christians," then why do they shun their members?

Question

If Jehovah's Witnesses are the only "true Christians" on Earth, then why do they shun their own members if they have been disfellowshipped? If Christ taught "to love thy neighbor," then He surely meant it in good times and bad. If fellow members made a mistake (because lets face it, NOBODY in this world is perfect...the only perfect human being to ever step foot on the ground we walk on is Jesus Christ) then we are to FORGIVE them of their faults and to never abandon them but rather to embrace them with support, counsel, and love during their transgressions. The Lord would NEVER teach to abandon your own family because family is the central principle behind the purpose of the Gospel. Since we are ALL children of God (by the way, God's real name is NOT Jehovah - Jehovah is Jesus' name in the spirit world - Heavenly Father's real name is Elohim), we are to provide service, charity, love, and kindess to our own brothers and sisters and teach our families these principles as well.

Answer 1

True Christians follow the bible, even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable.

A person is *NOT* expelled from Jehovah's Witnesses for personal misgivings or confusion regarding some teaching. In the matter of doctrine, it is only those who ADVOCATE unscriptural teachings who disqualify themselves from continuous spiritual fellowship with the congregation.

Jehovah's Witnesses do practice the Scriptural practice of disfellowshipping for unrepentance of such serious sins as fornication, drug abuse, stealing, and apostasy. Baptized Witnesses who join the military or publicly engage in worship with another religion are considered to have disassociated themselves from Jehovah's Witnesses.

Contrary to the misinformation of anti-Witnesses, it is quite possible to become inactive in the JW religion without becoming disfellowshipped. As long as one's lifestyle does not bring reproach upon the congregation, and as long as one does not advocate one's disagreements with the religion, the congregation has no interest in "investigating", exposing, and disfellowshipping an inactive former Jehovah's Witness.

For those who are disfellowshipped or disassociated, a primary goal is to shock the person into recognizing the serious of their wrong so that they rejoin the congregation in pure worship. Since the primary bonds that are broken involve friendship and spiritual fellowship, it is well understood that family bonds remain intact. Parents, siblings, and grown children of disfellowshipped and disassociated ones sometimes choose to limit what they may feel is discouraging or "bad association" but that is a personal decision and is not required by their religion.

Former Witnesses who are disfellowshipped or disassociated are typically treated in accord with the Scriptural pattern explained in these Scriptures:

(1 Corinthians 5:11-13) Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. ...Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

(Titus 3:10) As for a man that promotes a sect, reject him after a first and a second admonition

(Romans 16:17) Now I exhort you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause divisions and occasions for stumbling contrary to the teaching that you have learned, and avoid them.

(2 Thessalonians 3:6) Now we are giving you orders, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to withdraw from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition you received from us.

(2 Thessalonians 3:14) But if anyone is not obedient to our word through this letter, keep this one marked, stop associating with him, that he may become ashamed.

(2 John 10) If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him.

(Matthew 18:17) If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations

Becoming baptized as a Jehovah's Witnesses is not a trivial step. At a minimum, a student must demonstrate months of regular meeting attendance and public ministry, then must himself express the desire to be baptized. The candidate then spends hours answering hundreds of bible questions wherein he expresses both a clear understanding and personal conviction regarding Jehovah's Witness teachings in at least three separate interviews with three different elders. The candidate must vocally agree to be baptized in front of hundreds or thousands of eyewitnesses, and must be publicly immersed in water. This is not a momentary emotional decision by an unreasoning child. Dedication as a Witness required hard work and determination at the time.

Answer 2

The Apostles said to keep the congregation clean and above reproach. Are you saying they were wrong in their teachings?

Consider Jesse Jackson, and all the others who have brought reproach on their congregations. How many people were stumbled away from God as a result of their actions and their belief that they are above such things

I was disfellowshipped in 1982, for cause. I could have appealed it, but didn't. The only ones who get bugged about being disfellowshipped are those who think they have a right to their sins. Over the years, I've been approached by many of them. They want me to join their claims that people only get disfellowshipped because they lost they claimed to learned the truth about the JWs. They told me that no one would question it, since the Watchtower does not open the disfellowshipping records. You can make up any story you want about the Watchtower and you will be believed. Just like they did in the first century with the early Christians.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but it is a fact. I doubt you will care, anyway.

As for God's name, Jesus is also not the name of the Messiah, but you seem to be using it. Besides, they are not the only ones who use it. They just don't fear using it.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2006/11/robertson_says.html

PS: I talked to my mother just 30 minutes ago. She IM'd me in my taxi cab using Yahoo Messenger.

Answer 3

Shunning members in the Christian congregation who are UNREPENTANT is showing loyalty and obedience to Christ and God’s word. It is true that we have to love our neighbor but it doesn’t mean that we have to love the hateful things that they do.

In the first century some of such wrongdoers arose. Hymenaeus and Alexander were of that sort, men who had “experienced shipwreck concerning their faith.” Paul said: “I have handed them over to Satan that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme.” (1 Tim. 1:19, 20) Expelling those two men was a severe chastisement, or discipline, a punishment that might teach them not to blaspheme the holy and living God. (Compare Luke 23:16, where the basic Greek word often rendered “discipline” is used.) It was proper that these blasphemers be turned over to the authority of Satan, cast into the darkness of the world under Satan’s influence.—2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 4:17-19; 1 John 5:19; compare Acts 26:18

“But now I am writing you to quit mixing in company [“not associate,” TEV] with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.”—1 Cor. 5:11.

This is consistent with Jesus’ advice that such a person be considered in the same way as “a man of the nations” was viewed by the Jews of that time.

2 An Israelite who deliberately violated God’s commands, such as those against apostasy, adultery or murder, was to be cut off, put to death. (Num. 15:30,31; 35:31; Deut. 13:1-5; Lev. 20:10

What did Jehovah God did to Satan? He threw them down from heaven, and will be destroyed by Jesus soon.

1 Cor 15:11-13 states

11 But now I am writing YOU to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. 12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Do YOU not judge those inside, 13 while God judges those outside? “Remove the wicked [man] from among yourselves.”

And Jehovah is the Father and the Elohim, Jesus is the Son of Jehovah. Isa 63:16 states “16 For you are our Father; although Abraham himself may not have known us and Israel himself may not recognize us, you, O Jehovah, are our Father.”

Answer 4

People are disfellowshipped due to their attitude to basic standards.
If any seek forgiveness and humbly ask, they can be accepted back into the congregation.
It is not a permanent situation.
As to being the " true" religion. It is the only religion properly obeying Matthew 28; 19,20. With women doing a major part of the preaching.
(Psalm 68:11) Jehovah himself gives the saying; The women telling the good news are a large army.

Answer 5

Disfellowshipping is in many ways the same as timeout. Disfellowshipping is not for A mistake. As you point out we are all imperfect. There have been only 3 perfect humans. Adam, Eve and Jesus, and only Jesus maintained perfection thorugh out his entire life. When someone is disfellowshipped it is because they have made a concious decision to live in a way that is contradictory to Bible standards. Even when someone is disfellowshipped, our doors are always open to them. They are not given any special privledges and we are not to socialise with them. This, just as in the case of timeout, is 2 fold. It is both an act of discipline for the one offending member and a protection for those in the congregation. Remember the Bible counsels to keep the congregation clean and free from defilement. The hope is that the disfellowshipped person will take time to reflect on the decisions they are making and hopefully turn away from their current actions, while at the same time keeping the congregation clean from the various unscriptural acts being done by the disfellowshipped person. As I said, this is the same principle of time out. When a child makes a mistake often only a reminder is needed. However when a child/student repeatedly and unrepentantly decides to be rude/break the rules,etc. they are given a time out so they can have time to think and so that others in the family can continue with their tasks unassaulted. Hope this helps clear up any misunderstandings.

As to the remarks by BenandGavin and SoftFuzzy.
No one with a shred of reasoning ability and a healthy body(and now days you do not need all that much of either) is TOTALLY abandoned. Even if we truly threw people out into the street(Which we do not) there are countless organisations.

Lumping us in with groups like the KKK is insane. Do we feel our spiritual beliefs are right??? Of course. I would think ANYONE in any sort of group would have to believe in the teachings of said group. We do not participate in wars, killings, attacks on buildings, hangings, the mistreatment of others. We try to treat Everyone with basic human courtesy. We all have free will. If I decide upon meeting someone, or seeing their actions that I do not want to be around them, there is nothing wrong with that. Judging others based on Race, Gender, disabilities etc, is of course wrong. We decide who to be with/talk with not based on unchangeable things but on the decisions that person makes.

Answer 6

I'm not currently disfellowshipped but I have been. I was reinstated almost 4 years ago. Some of the answerers on here have said that JW's don't shun family members that have gotten disfellowshipped. That statement simply is not true for I have lived it. When I was disfellowshipped in 1997 I still lived with my mom so she couldn't all together shun me but my sister did. Even when she would come up to visit my parents she wouldn't even talk to me even though we were in the same house. After I moved out of my parents house my mom cut off all contact with me. She nor my sister attended my wedding ceremony or reception. Think about disfellowshipping this way. If your family no longer had any contact with you because that is what they were told what to do what would you do. Wouldn't you try to do what you could to get back into a relationship with them. Disfellowshipping is used because it works for them. When you are a JW you are strongly encouraged to associate with only other JW's. That way if and when you are ever disfellowshipped you have absolutely no support. You are totally abandoned. It is NOT a loving provision. It's total control. Even when you aren't practicing as a JW you are in a sense still controlled by them. Even though I am reinstated I quit associating with the congregation here due to doing some research on them and also because of the two faced congregation. They claim to be many things and I truly think they believe it but they are not loving. And their love is definitely conditional. So to answer your question, they disfellowship to get you to conform to their rules. It is a HIGH control group (cult).

Answer 7

For starters, the "disfellowshipping" arrangement is based on the Bible and the example of the first century Christian congregation. Just turn to 1 Corinthians 5:13, where in the case of an unrepentant wrongdoer in the congregation, they were encouraged to "remove the wicked man from among yourselves". Yes, Christ taught us to "love our neighbor", and in actuality, the disfellowshipping of an unrepentant one is a loving act. It shows love for the rest of the congregation who are choosing to abide by God's laws and principles without that person's harmful influence, and it shows love for the erring one by giving them time to see the wrongness of living their lives and doing things apart from God's standards; it offers the hope that they may come to their senses and re-conform their lives to God's ways. Jesus Christ himself stated in the Bible that he came, not to bring peace, but a sword, and that his teachings would split up families because some would accept what he said and others would reject it, even within one's own family. You can read that at Matthew 10:32-37.

Family is important, but it is NOT the "central principle behind the purpose of the Gospel" - the real principle is putting faith in and obeying Jehovah God and His son, Jesus Christ; it's of recognizing that God's Kingdom is the only means of forgiveness of sins, of a clean relationship with God, and through Jesus' sacrifice, the opportunity to enjoy life forever on earth.

Once more, you are wrong. Jehovah is the name of Almighty God, the Creator of all things, including Jesus Christ (as Revelation 3:14 and Colossians 1:15 make perfectly clear). Jesus Christ is a separate and subordinate heavenly being, distinct from Jehovah God in the sense that he was created by Jehovah. But still, Jesus remains the second-most powerful being in the universe.

(Ignore the comments of the user below. They do NOT reflect accurately the Jehovah's Witness arrangement for disfellowshipping. By labeling them "a cult", they already have lost all credibility. As someone who has had a close family member disfellowshipped, while I was living with them at home, we still did things together, we did not completely shun them. Witnesses are even encouraged to continue family Bible study with disfellowshipped one who still reside at home, with the express purpose of helping the individual as much as they can.)

Answer 8

Someone is not disfellowshipped because of a mistake.

Someone is disfellowshipped for either repeatedly doing the same sin over and over with flagrant disregard to loving counsel, or for commiting a sin and then when given the opportunity to demonstrate repentance choosing not to.

The elders do not take the disfellowshipping arrangement lightly. The entire meeting they have with the person is to determine if the error was made out of weakness or wickedness.

If it is determined that they have a wicked spirit, they are removed from the congregation to keep the congregation clean.

Once disfellowshipped, many do return and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness is given to those who repent and TURN AROUND from their sinful course.

Those who are still out there griping about it have chosen by themselves to not come back.

Answer 9

I've answered a similar question. Try the link below.

Answer 10

I read what people who know nothing about us, that will say we are a cult. a cult worships man. we worship the one true God Jehovah and his son Jesus Christ. we live in our own homes and work on jobs just like you do. a cult live together don't work. we are the only true religion because we do what Jesus Christ commanded us at Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20. no other religion does this. as far as disfellowshipping, someone did something real bad, but if they turn around they are always welcome back to Jehovah. as far as the name of God, read ps 83 verse 18, it is in the king james bible also, and it is Jehovah YHWH. Jesus is not Jehovah, he is the son of the Most Holy Father. he never said he was God. the 12 also said he was the son of the Most Holy Father, when Jesus prayed, he prayed to his Father in the heaven. not to himself. no one has seen Jehovah but they seen Jesus Christ

Answer 11

Although denied by Jehovah's Witnesses, the Watchtower Society is a religious organization practicing some of the most heinous hate crimes in the world. The leaders at the Watchtower Society masterfully paint a flawless "Christian" reputation for their followers, glazing the surface to conceal deep rooted hatred. The strictly enforced policies from the Watchtower Society deny all loyal members from any association with those who have left the so-called "truth", including family members and lifetime friends. When a person becomes baptized within the Watchtower organization and later frees themselves from the bona fide cult, they are expelled or "disfellowshipped" from the organization. Watchtower leaders provide loyal followers with strict instruction to have nothing to do with a "disfellowshipped" person, not even saying hello to them. Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who attempt to expose the doctrinal error of the Watchtower Society are labeled as "apostates", and Watchtower leaders falsely accuse such ones as leaving Jehovah to be on Satan's side. Jehovah's Witnesses loathe these ones more than they would a cocaine addicted prostitute or a pedophile, frightened to even look at such ones. Watchtower leaders use this clever cult tactic to prevent loyal followers and their financial contributions from leaving, realizing exposure to such "apostate" materials will enable them to discover the real "truth" behind the Watchtower Society. Much of the Watchtower literature is tantamount to spiritual pornography containing clearly defined inflammatory instructions encouraging Jehovah's Witnesses to hate other people. An ongoing malicious campaign of hate, an "us vs. them" attitude is clearly seen within this quasi-religious supremacist group. Members believe in the superiority of their "religions" over all other religions. In this arena of spiritual elitism, spiritual lynching runs rampant. A continuous contemning of all other faiths is readily seen. By fostering these extremist views, its members are displaying unrestrained and overt hatred. This clearly makes the Jehovah's Witnesses an easy to recognize "hate group". Fellow members participating in encouraged and enforced hatred include: the Aryan Nation, the Ku Klux Klan , and radical Islamic groups. This dangerous and destructive atmosphere is harmful and can do an enormous amount of damage in society. Most Jehovah's Witnesses will soon question the supposed "spiritual food" from "the slave" and determine it is nothing more than spiritual poison clouding the minds of loyal followers and preventing them from leaving this multi-billion dollar sales corporation.