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The shunning doctrine imposed onto the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses by Watchtower’s Governing Body is a sort that goes beyond what was practiced by the earliest Christians.
Earliest Christians
The earliest Christians were all of Jewish ancestry. Jews were under the Mosaic Law and practiced capital punishment by way of stoning unrepentant sinners to death. We find examples of this in the Bible being practiced by individuals prior to conversion to Christianity. (Acts 7:58; 9:1-2)
After conversion to Christianity there is not a single instance of early Christians practicing any form of capital punishment. In particular there is no instance of early Christians stoning anyone to death, this despite it being customary and apparently legal at the time given that Christians of the period remained subject to capital punishment from the Jewish community and others. (Acts 14:19)
Christians did practice a punitive measure by shunning. But this shunning was not one they ever compared with killing, and certainly not stoning someone to death. Jesus, for instance, encouraged his followers to treat unrepentant sinners like they should treat tax collectors. (Matthew 18:17) Jesus did not single out and treat tax collectors as though they were dead. As Jesus came upon them he treated them like he treated anyone else outside his circle of friends and family.
Watchtower’s Governing Body
The Watchtower organization has constructed a punitive shunning program around the ancient Jewish practice of stoning rather than the later Christian practice of treating individuals as Jesus did tax collectors.[1] It takes no imagination to think early Christians who experienced stoning would consider this offensive and contrary to what Jesus taught. (Acts 14:19)
Watchtower’s shunning program is one that would have an individual’s closest friends and family cease all contact with them.[2] In response to this harsh reality, Watchtower readily tells folks this does not mean family ties are cut.[3] But this is only true insofar as necessary family business is concerned, and if the family member lives outside the home Watchtower tells Jehovah’s Witnesses to ‘even keep business dealings to an absolute minimum’.[4]
The shunning doctrine imposed onto the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses by Watchtower’s Governing Body is a sort that goes beyond what was practiced by the earliest Christians.
Earliest Christians
The earliest Christians were all of Jewish ancestry. Jews were under the Mosaic Law and practiced capital punishment by way of stoning unrepentant sinners to death. We find examples of this in the Bible being practiced by individuals prior to conversion to Christianity. (Acts 7:58; 9:1-2)
After conversion to Christianity there is not a single instance of early Christians practicing any form of capital punishment. In particular there is no instance of early Christians stoning anyone to death, this despite it being customary and apparently legal at the time given that Christians of the period remained subject to capital punishment from the Jewish community and others. (Acts 14:19)
Christians did practice a punitive measure by shunning. But this shunning was not one they ever compared with killing, and certainly not stoning someone to death. Jesus, for instance, encouraged his followers to treat unrepentant sinners like they should treat tax collectors. (Matthew 18:17) Jesus did not single out and treat tax collectors as though they were dead. As Jesus came upon them he treated them like he treated anyone else outside his circle of friends and family.
Watchtower’s Governing Body
The Watchtower organization has constructed a punitive shunning program around the ancient Jewish practice of stoning rather than the later Christian practice of treating individuals as Jesus did tax collectors.[1] It takes no imagination to think early Christians who experienced stoning would consider this offensive and contrary to what Jesus taught. (Acts 14:19)
Watchtower’s shunning program is one that would have an individual’s closest friends and family cease all contact with them.[2] In response to this harsh reality, Watchtower readily tells folks this does not mean family ties are cut.[3] But this is only true insofar as necessary family business is concerned, and if the family member lives outside the home Watchtower tells Jehovah’s Witnesses to ‘even keep business dealings to an absolute minimum’.[4]
Reality is the Watchtower organization instructs Jehovah’s Witnesses to have no contact with a person who is disfellowshipped (or disassociated).[2,5] Those who disobey this policy are themselves subject to being disfellowshipped.[5]
Shunning is Isolation
In a somewhat awkward way the Watchtower organization expressly admits that its shunning policy effectively makes a person feel isolated. Over and over again the organization reminds its membership not to forsake congregation members in the family of a disfellowshipped individual.[6-9] If family members can feel isolated due to collateral of another family member being disfellowshipped, imagine what the disfellowshipped person must be made to feel!
Isolation Kills
It is sad irony that Watchtower has constructed a shunning policy around an ancient practice of stoning individuals to death[1] given that it also acknowledges there is “no more potent killer than isolation.”[10]
It Gets Worse
More on the dire consequences of Watchtower’s organized communal shunning policy is found in the article Watchtower doctrine that kills Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Marvin Shilmer
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References
1. See the article: Intolerance Watchtower Style
2. The Watchtower, April 15, 2012, p. 12.
3. The Watchtower, April 15, 1988, p. 28.
4. Our Kingdom Ministry, published by Watchtower strictly for internal consumption by Jehovah’s Witnesses, August 2002, p. 4.
5. Letter by Leslie Long, a Watchtower lawyer, dated December 20, 1988, p. 8. (Entire letter available in the article Lawyer’s Response — Resigned and Withdrawn Elder
6. Live With Jehovah’s Day in Mind, published by Watchtower, 2006, p. 149.
7. The Watchtower, July 15, 1995, p. 27.
8. The Watchtower, April 15, 1991, pp. 24-25.
9. The Watchtower, January 1, 1983, p. 31.
10. Awake!, published by Watchtower, May 22, 1983, p. 15.
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