Jack Ryan

Clip from the Supreme Court of Canada Case on November 2, 2017 involving the Jehovah's Witness Organization vs. Randy Wall. What this lawyer says is an utter lie. They do shun (even though they clearly don't want to admit it) and it does affect the family relationship in every way. Young people have been kicked out by their parents, spouses have divorced and siblings have cut off ALL contact not just "spiritual" contact. The entire coverage of this hearing can be seen here: http://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/in...

That’s funny because during the recent court case in Canada regarding shunning, that the org bragged about winning, their lawyers flat out lie with this line :

"As far as their family members are concerned, normal family relations continue with the exception of spiritual fellowship."

Strange how he doesn't quote a bible verse, he just states that the Bible "clearly says" you should shun your family members, your own children.

If the Bible clearly says you should do that, why can't you quote any scriptures? Because there are none. Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything like that.

This comes from the final talk at the Birmingham, AL Convention. Herd talks kind of low and there is some background noise, so here is a transcript starting at about 1:25.

You have a disfellowshipped grown child. Either a male or female, daughter or son. Disfellowshipped, grown child, not living at home. They have their own place to live. How do you treat them? Do you treat them as disfellowshipped? That’s what the bible says you should do. Now of course thereÂ’s things you can do. Now I donÂ’t have to tell you what you can do, you know what you can do. But think about what you should do. ThatÂ’s the thing you want to be careful of. Well do we have any background on that? Yes. Once the demons were thrown out of JehovahÂ’s house, they were not permitted back in. That tell you something? Nope canÂ’t come back. CanÂ’t spoil the rest. “Not gonna let you do it,” Jehovah says. Out you go, out you stay.

I thought this was interesting because it doesn't appear to be in the talk outline. Admittedly, I just skimmed through the outline quickly, so it might be in there. Either way, there is something twisted about comparing the shunning of children to casting out demons from heaven.

Edit: For those wondering, this talk is from August 5. The part before when the transcript starts is Herd talking about King Asa removing his grandmother from her position.

The Governing Body explains the reasons why the Kingdom Halls are becoming empty | The Watchtower—Study Edition | November 2018

They made a "donation" logo... I'm guessing the "donation" app is right around the corner?

In Italiano:

Panic and escape scene in Moncalieri, but it is the film of Jehovah's Witnesses

So said a sign Saturday afternoon in via Galimberti in Moncalieri. The amateur film was shot by Jehovah's Witnesses, who came from all over the province of Turin. "We are reproducing a scene from the Scriptures, the Apocalypse," they explain.

"But it's only for us, to see it in company, we won't become famous! In the scene, about fifty people flee from an imminent danger, invisible, which for them would be Armageddon. Several cameras and drones were used for the production: a perfect film set.

Stampa Newspaper:

La Stampa (meaning The Press in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy

Jehovah's Witnesses are known to be politically neutral and for refusing to vote. They have suffered imprisonment and even death (such as Malawi) for abstaining from involvement in political affairs. However, the requirement not to vote has varied over time. Although few Witnesses vote, since 1999 it is technically a conscience matter. The latest elders manual - Shepherd the Flock of God - does not mention voting at all.

Conscience Matter

Watchtower 1999 11/1 pp.28-29

Questions From Readers - How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view voting?

There are clear principles set out in the Bible that enable servants of God to take a proper view of this matter. However, there appears to be no principle against the practice of voting itself. For example, there is no reason why a board of directors should not take a vote in order to arrive at decisions affecting their corporation. Congregations of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses often make decisions about meeting times and the use of congregation funds by voting with a show of hands.

What, though, of voting in political elections? Of course, in some democratic lands, as many as 50 percent of the population do not turn out to vote on election day. As for JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, they do not interfere with the right of others to vote; neither do they in any way campaign against political elections. They respect and cooperate with the authorities who are duly elected in such elections. (Romans 13:1-7) As to whether they will personally vote for someone running in an election, each one of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses makes a decision based on his Bible-trained conscience and an understanding of his responsibility to God and to the State. (Matthew 22:21; 1 Peter 3:16) In making this personal decision, the Witnesses consider a number of factors.

First, Jesus Christ said of his followers: "They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world." (John 17:14) Jehovah’s Witnesses take this principle seriously. Being "no part of the world," they are neutral in the political affairs of the world.—John 18:36.

Second, the apostle Paul referred to himself as an "ambassador" representing Christ to the people of his day. (Ephesians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20) JehovahÂ’s Witnesses believe that Christ Jesus is now the enthroned King of GodÂ’s heavenly Kingdom, and they, like ambassadors, must announce this to the nations. (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 11:15) Ambassadors are expected to be neutral and not to interfere in the internal affairs of the countries to which they are sent. As representatives of GodÂ’s heavenly Kingdom, JehovahÂ’s Witnesses feel a similar obligation not to interfere in the politics of the countries where they reside.

A third factor to consider is that those who have a part in voting a person into office may become responsible for what he does. (Compare 1 Timothy 5:22, The New English Bible.) Christians have to consider carefully whether they want to shoulder that responsibility.

Fourth, Jehovah’s Witnesses greatly value their Christian unity. (Colossians 3:14) When religions get involved in politics, the result is often division among their members. In imitation of Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid becoming involved in politics and thus maintain their Christian unity.—Matthew 12:25; John 6:15; 18:36, 37.

Fifth and finally, their keeping out of politics gives Jehovah’s Witnesses freeness of speech to approach people of all political persuasions with the important message of the Kingdom.—Hebrews 10:35.

In view of the Scriptural principles outlined above, in many lands JehovahÂ’s Witnesses make a personal decision not to vote in political elections, and their freedom to make that decision is supported by the law of the land. What, though, if the law requires citizens to vote? In such a case, each Witness is responsible to make a conscientious, Bible-based decision about how to handle the situation. If someone decides to go to the polling booth, that is his decision. What he does in the polling booth is between him and his Creator.

The November 15, 1950, issue of The Watchtower, on pages 445 and 446, said: "Where Caesar makes it compulsory for citizens to vote . . . [Witnesses] can go to the polls and enter the voting booths. It is here that they are called upon to mark the ballot or write in what they stand for. The voters do what they will with their ballots. So here in the presence of God is where his witnesses must act in harmony with his commandments and in accordance with their faith. It is not our responsibility to instruct them what to do with the ballot."

What if a Christian woman’s unbelieving husband insists that she present herself to vote? Well, she is subject to her husband, just as Christians are subject to the superior authorities. (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Peter 2:13-17) If she obeys her husband and goes to the polling booth, that is her personal decision. No one should criticize her.—Compare Romans 14:4.

What of a country where voting is not mandated by law but feelings run high against those who do not go to the voting booth—perhaps they are exposed to physical danger? Or what if individuals, while not legally obliged to vote, are severely penalized in some way if they do not go to the polling booth? In these and similar situations, a Christian has to make his own decision. "Each one will carry his own load."—Galatians 6:5.

There may be people who are stumbled when they observe that during an election in their country, some Witnesses of Jehovah go to the polling booth and others do not. They may say, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses are not consistent.’ People should recognize, though, that in matters of individual conscience such as this, each Christian has to make his own decision before Jehovah God.—Romans 14:12.

Whatever personal decisions Jehovah’s Witnesses make in the face of different situations, they take care to preserve their Christian neutrality and freeness of speech. In all things, they rely on Jehovah God to strengthen them, give them wisdom, and help them avoid compromising their faith in any way. Thus they show confidence in the words of the psalmist: "You are my crag and my stronghold; and for the sake of your name you will lead me and conduct me."—Psalm 31:3.

Not Allowed

"Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock" (1991) pp.139,140
Jehovah's Witnesses maintain neutrality with regard to the political and military affairs of the nations. (John 17:16; rs pp. 269-76)

They do not interfere with what others do as to voting in political elections, running for or campaigning for political offices, joining non-neutral organizations, shouting political slogans, and so forth. (w86 9/1 pp. 19- 20; w68 6/1 pp. 351-2) [See also w99 11/1 pp28-9 Q from R]

Since true dedicated Christians are "no part of the world," if a member of the congregation unrepentantly pursues a course in violation of his Christian neutrality, he thereby disassociates himself from the neutral Christian congregation. (John 15:19; 17:14-16; w82 1/15 p. 31)

Elders should talk to one known to be contemplating taking such a course, since he may be doing so in ignorance. (Ps. 119:67; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 1:13)

If he disregards the help proffered and pursues a course in violation of Christian neutrality, a committee should send the facts substantiating the disassociation to the branch office on the S-77 and S-79 forms. [See also ks91 p143]

What Does the Bible Really Teach? Chapter 15 paragraph 12
as shown at http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_15.htm April 3rd 2010

True worshipers are no part of the world. When on trial before the Roman ruler Pilate, Jesus said: “My kingdom is no part of this world.” (John 18:36) No matter what country they live in, Jesus’ true followers are subjects of his heavenly Kingdom and thus maintain strict neutrality in the world’s political affairs. They take no part in its conflicts. However, Jehovah’s worshipers do not interfere with what others choose to do about joining a political party, running for office, or voting.

jv p.673
In some lands, voting in political elections is viewed as an obligation. Failure to vote is punished by fine, imprisonment, or worse. But JehovahÂ’s Witnesses support the Messianic Kingdom of God, which, as Jesus said, "is no part of this world." Therefore, they do not participate in the political affairs of the nations of this world.

uw p.166
However, JehovahÂ’s Witnesses do not meddle in politics, no matter what the country in which they live. They do not interfere with what others do as to joining a political party, running for office or voting in elections. But, since Jesus said that his disciples would be "no part of the world," JehovahÂ’s Witnesses take no part whatsoever in political activities.

sj p.16
In many schools, students are voted into an office or a position, such as class president. Some schools have small-scale political campaigns, including campaign buttons and posters advertising candidates. The purpose is to familiarize young people with the machinery of politics. However, Witness youths do not mix in school politics, either by accepting an elective office or by voting others into office. So if either nominated for or elected to an office, they tactfully decline. In this way they follow the example of Jesus who withdrew when the people wanted to make him king

Watchtower 1964 5/15 p.308
To mature Christians, the question of what attitude should be taken in the matter of political elections presents no issue. In totalitarian countries oftentimes people are forced by law to go to the election polls and sometimes persons are even picked up at home and brought to the polls. Even in certain democracies the law makes it compulsory for the citizens to go to the election places. In no country do Jehovah’s witnesses take part in politics. They are not of this world. (John 17:14) Therefore they do not take part in voting at elections. They do not compromise their neutral standing in matters of politics, however, if they go to the polls and make the ballot void in some manner, either by crossing it out or by putting down, for example, the words "For God’s Kingdom." That is telling what he is for. By doing this their ballot will become void; it will not count in the election of a man. They have complied with the law and gone to the polls and likely avoided punishment. Remember Jesus’ counsel: "Look! I am sending you forth as sheep amidst wolves; therefore prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves." (Matt. 10:16) No one should be condemned for acting so. "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you also look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God."—Rom. 14:10.

Watchtower 1959 7/1 p.398
Jesus Christ was not subversive though he was so accused by his religious opposers. (Luke 23:2) He refused to become politically active in this worldÂ’s affairs because, as he said: "No one can be a slave to two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other." (Matt. 6:24) It is because of such admonition by Jesus that JehovahÂ’s witnesses have refused to mix these interests in government. But this does not make them subversive. The refusal of JehovahÂ’s witnesses in the past to fulfill such patriotic duties as voting, saluting a flag or participation in the armed forces, is an insurance to every country that JehovahÂ’s witnesses will not endanger the security of that nation, because they have been refraining from the same activities in all other countries at the same time.

Watchtower 1952 6/1 p.346
If he made improper appointments he would become responsible for the sins of such appointees, since he put them in position to commit their sins that hurt the congregation in GodÂ’s sight. So the people who either vote wicked rulers into office or allow them to remain in power must accept responsibility for such rulersÂ’ official acts and sins against God and man.

Watchtower 1952 9/1 p.526
"Voting is compulsory, and because the brothers have refused to vote they have been frequently beaten and imprisoned.

Conscience Matter

Watchtower 1950 11/15 pp.445-446 Subjection to the Higher Powers
21 In view of not recognizing worldly political powers as the “superior authorities” ordained by God, but recognizing only God and Jesus Christ to be such now, the Christian witnesses conscientiously refrain from taking part in the politics of this world, yes, even from voting. This has been true of them from the first century on. Testifying to this fact, Ancient Times—A History of the Early World, by Jas. H. Breasted, Ph.D., LL.D., says, under the heading, “1070. Rome persecutes the early Christians,” the following: “The officers of government often found these early converts not only refusing to sacrifice to the emperor as a god but also openly prophesying the downfall of the Roman State. The early Christians were therefore more than once called upon to endure cruel persecution. Their religion seemed incompatible with good citizenship, since it forbade them to show the usual respect for the emperor and the government.”—Page 663, edition of 1916.

22 In some countries today the legislature wants to make all the adult citizens responsible for the government. To enforce the democratic way upon them they are required by law to vote in the national elections. Under such circumstances what are Christians to do, since they are under divine command to keep themselves unspotted from this world? By dedicating themselves wholly to God through Christ they have vowed their unswerving allegiance to the kingdom of God, and they cannot divide their allegiance. So how are they now to proceed? Can they register as qualified voters? Yes. The apostle Paul held onto his Roman citizenship and fought for its rights, even appealing to Caesar in defending his right to preach the gospel. In lands where military conscription is in force JehovahÂ’s witnesses register the same as all others within the age limits, and they write down their relationship to the matter. They remember how Joseph and Mary complied with CaesarÂ’s decree and traveled to Bethlehem-Judah in order to be registered at their home town. (Luke 2:1-5, NW) But it is when these ministers of JehovahÂ’s Word are called up for induction into the army that then they present themselves and take their stand according to GodÂ’s Word and pay to him what belongs to him. Likewise where Caesar makes it compulsory for citizens to vote. After they have registered and when election day comes, they can go to the polls and enter the voting booths. It is here that they are called upon to mark the ballot or write in what they stand for. The voters do what they will with their ballots. So here in the presence of God is where his witnesses must act in harmony with his commandments and in accordance with their faith.

23 It is not our responsibility to instruct them what to do with the ballot. They must act in accord with their conscience as enlightened by the study of GodÂ’s Word. In lands where voting is not compulsory, the ministers of JehovahÂ’s Word remember that his people are theocratically organized. According to the divine law under which they are organized the popular vote of the majority does not put servants in office, but all appointments in the theocratic organization are from God and through those whom he puts in authority in his organization.

Genesis:

15  Jehovah God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eʹden to cultivate it and to take care of it.n 16  Jehovah God also gave this command to the man: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction.o 17  But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will certainly die.”

The teachings tell us that Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge is what unleashed evil all over the world.

Evil such as war, child sexual abuse, genocide, and all kinds of horrors.

But if God made the tree, then he created the bad that went into it as well, no?

Update:

New World Translation:

Isaiah 45:7

7 I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, Jehovah, am doing all these things.

King James Version

7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

American Standard Version

7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.

02 August 14:30

Operational employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Kostroma region during the implementation of a set of special events revealed the facts of the activities of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses", which was liquidated in Russia. As the guards of order established, in Kostroma the young couple was engaged in propaganda.

In the place of their residence, the spouses, 1993 and 1996 b. held meetings of the participants of the organization, they also produced and distributed video and printed products.

During the search, 27 books and 45 brochures, office equipment, electronic cassettes containing religious sermons were found and seized in the apartment of suspects by police officers.

Currently, in relation to suspected investigators of the SS of the SK of Russia in the Kostroma region, a criminal case has been initiated on the grounds of the crime provided for in Part 1 and Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

FOR REFERENCE:

By the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, which came into force, the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses Administrative Center in Russia" and its local religious organizations, including Jehovah's Witnesses in Kostroma, were liquidated in connection with the implementation of extremist activities.

https://44.xn--b1aew.xn--p1ai/news/item/13980758/

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201808041066949508-jehovah-witnesses-dutch-police-sexual-abuse/

By Nicki Gorny | BLADE STAFF WRITER

Published on Aug. 4, 2018

She couldn’t even pull into the driveway.

The conversation happened a decade ago, but Sharon Tyson, of Findlay, remembers it clearly. She had gratefully let a friend pick up her four children for a church get-together earlier in the day, and, initially, when that friend called her to say that she couldn’t bring the children back, Ms. Tyson didn’t think anything of it.

No problem. She would just swing by the friend’s house.

But that wasn’t the issue, as the friend explained in a phone call. Ms. Tyson had recently been disfellowshipped from their faith community, meaning her social contact with its members had effectively been cut off; that’s why she wasn’t taking her children to the get-together herself.

Her friend, based on instruction from a church elder, as she relayed to Ms. Tyson, was interpreting this to mean that Ms. Tyson shouldn’t even pull into her family’s driveway.

They met at a gas station; her friend didn’t make eye contact.

“I was like, ‘What?’ ” Ms. Tyson recalled. “I had always followed all the rules. I didn’t talk to anybody who had left [the faith], so I didn’t know this is how you were treated. I was shocked.”

Sharon Tyson’s experience is perhaps an extreme example of religion-based shunning, but Gayle Jordan, executive director of the Kansas City, Missouri-based nonprofit Recovering From Religion, said stories are plentiful from individuals who see their social circles devastated after a split with a faith community.

These experiences tend to fall on a spectrum, she said, some reflecting the natural tensions that arise when a person pulls away from a tight-knit community and some, as in Ms. Tyson’s case as a Jehovah's Witness, reflecting an established religious practice.

The latter group, into which the Amish likewise fall, see shunning as an ultimately loving act in the interest of both the shunned individual and the broader faith community.

Jehovah’s Witnesses present it as a short-term tool, rather than a permanent punishment, according to literature published on the international faith community’s website. The national office did not reply to a request for comment. Online articles explain that disfellowshipping — while admittedly painful for all involved parties — is intended to push the affected individual toward compliance with faith teachings while while simultaneously protecting the community from negative influence.

Only baptized Witnesses who commit a serious sin and do not repent can be shunned, according to the website. Repentant individuals are welcomed back into the fold.

Shunning is more severe than the related practice of excommunication in that it carries social implications that the latter does not necessarily involve, said the Rev. Julian Davies, pastor of the University Church in Toledo.

It also has scriptural foundations, as Pastor Davies points out. In First Corinthians, for example, adherents are advised to “not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.”

But shunning can also be a devastating short or long-term experience for those affected, as those like Ms. Tyson who have chosen not to return to the faith communities that shun them can attest. They describe a slew of spiritual and relational stresses, among them the painful walls that rise up within families and the loss of the support of those closest to them when they may be at their most vulnerable.

Missy Bevier, an ex-Jehovah’s Witness of Grand Rapids, Ohio, was pregnant with her third child when she and her husband were disfellowshipped in 2011.

“This was extreme stress, stress to the max,” Ms. Bevier said. “Now I don’t have any family who will have anything to do with me, who will talk to me, who will support me. It’s just stressful.”

To lose a support system is tough. To lose a support system when it’s the only one you’ve ever known? Especially so.

Joe Keim of Savannah, Ohio, grew up Old Order Amish, a tradition that holds little, if any, separation between faith and lifestyle. In his isolated community in Ashland, Ohio, they lived according to the dictates of a 22-page ordinance letter that governed “every area of our lives,” he explained, down to the distinctive clothing they should wear.

As Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ms. Tyson, Ms. Bevier, and Danielle Davis, who also was raised in the tradition, enjoyed less restrictive upbringings in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. But they, too, navigated worlds that were narrowed, to some extent, by their faith.

While it’s not uncommon for youngsters to make friends within their faith communities — particularly in families, like theirs, that see religion as a more-than-once-a-week commitment — Ms. Tyson, Ms. Bevier, and Ms. Davis described an approach to faith that went further in actually discouraging meaningful friendships with non-Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Ms. Tyson’s and Ms. Davis’ parents each permitted their daughters to have just one childhood friend who did not share their faith, an allowance that each said was outside the norm. Ms. Bevier, for her part, recalled being allowed to play with the neighborhood kids only when she and they happened to be outdoors at the same time.

“It’s almost like a separatist organization,” Ms. Davis said. “You’re entire life revolves around your family, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, the other people in the congregation, who are Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

So to suddenly find yourself at odds with this community can be difficult for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the loss of contact — even if temporary — with family and friends.

For Ms. Tyson, for example, who had spent years consciously limiting her interactions to fellow Witnesses, it was difficult to trust and to open up to even those who wanted to help her and her children in the months that followed her break with the faith.

Ms. Tyson’s disfellowshipping related to her decision to leave her ex-husband, she said. She was seeking help from a domestic violence shelter at the time, she said, and recalled that to talk with social workers about her situation — and later to put herself and her children in the counseling she knew they needed after her adolescent daughters grew depressed and began to self-harm — required her to overcome deeply ingrained suspicions.

“I was so afraid of giving Jehovah’s Witnesses a bad name by telling what happened,” she said.

That Ms. Tyson still adhered to her former belief system at this point complicated her ability to cope. In her mind, she recalled, she was “in the wrong.”

Ms. Bevier described a similar experience of being disfellowshipped at age 19 — the second of three times she would be shunned. When her boyfriend would visit his family and she was asked to remain in the car or by herself in a back room of the house, she understood and accepted it.

It’s hard to shake deeply rooted beliefs, said Mr. Keim, who noted that it was the strength of his own spiritual convictions — that salvation comes through faith rather than compliance with “man-made” rules — that helped him when he left his community and was consequently shunned.

He sees it in the former Amish that he works with through Mission to Amish People, a nonprofit that he and his family began in Savannah, Ohio, that in part assists those leaving Amish communities. These deeply rooted beliefs push some to ultimately return to the communities they leave, he said, others to struggle their entire lives with an existential fear.

“In the mind of the church, and also in the individual,” he explained, “if I’m excommunicated and I die this way, I will go to hell. If I’m not right with the church, I’m not right with God.”

Ms. Bevier, like Mr. Keim, finally left her community after ultimately deciding that she did not adhere to its belief system any longer. That makes the social effects of shunning more intense than the spiritual.

But it’s hard, regardless, Ms. Bevier and Mr. Keim said.

“You get to your lowest point and you’re like, ‘Well, I’m going to come back,’ ” said Ms. Bevier, recalling her first experience being disfellowshipped at age 16. “It’s not that you’re not coming back for Jehovah. You’re coming back because you want to have your life back. You want to have friendships, your family. You want to have your family dinners. You want to see the people that you know again.”

Mr. Keim, for his part, didn’t re-establish a limited relationship with his parents until he’d been away from the community for 25 years. By that time, his parents had moved to a somewhat more open Amish community than the one in which he’d been raised.

Even today, when he visits, they set up a separate table for him at meal times.

While the resources that Mr. Keim and his team offer through Mission to Amish People underscore that it’s not easy to leave a faith community — especially one that’s been the entirety of one’s social and spiritual experience — it’s perhaps easier than it once was.

“Back in the day, when we left 30 years ago, there was very little support,” Mr. Keim said of his and his wife’s experience. “Today, [there’s] lots of support. Most of the time, those leaving will know somebody who has left before them.”

Support is wide-ranging, from online communities to in-person support groups and counselors. Recovering From Religion offers a 24-hour hotline and online chat service and resources pertaining to a wide variety of religious traditions. Mr. Keim’s nonprofit assists individuals in obtaining birth records, driver’s licenses, and other records that those who have left the Amish might uniquely need.

And, less formally, there are numerous social media communities. Ms. Tyson and Ms. Davis, who did not experience shunning when she left the church because she was not baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness, facilitate some of the latter on Facebook.

“A lot of [those who plug into these resources] have literally no support system,” Ms. Davis said. “Just to have somebody to talk to is an amazing thing sometimes. To confirm that you’re not the only one who has gone through this can be really helpful.”

Whether an individual experiences religion-based shunning formally or informally, Ms. Jordan, of Recovering From Religion, said it’s always difficult. But there’s also “a certain freedom in separating from beliefs that you have come to the conclusion are not positive.”

Ms. Bevier knows it well: Her family is happier, her marriage stronger, she said. And she doesn’t have to look any farther than her daughter, Calysta, who she said never would have had an opportunity to compete and become a finalist on America’s Got Talent or relocate to Los Angeles had their family remained at the Kingdom Hall.

“There’s both a positive side and a negative side to leaving religion,” Ms. Jordan observed. “For most folks who hang on long enough, the negative side is temporary.”

About Toledo's newspaper The Blade

The Blade, also known as the Toledo Blade, is a daily newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, in the United States, first published on December 19, 1835.

Source | Link:

http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2018/08/04/Religious-shunning-leaves-castoffs-wondering-why/stories/20180805015

A double-page article in the print edition of Wales On Sunday, a English-language Welsh newspaper, and 'sister' newspaper to The Western Mail (Mon to Sat). Wales on Sunday has a circulation of just under 10,000-copies each Sunday.

Bearing Witness

Wales On Sunday (UK), Sunday, August 5, 2018 - pages 14 & 15

Inside the biggest annual gathering of people who believe they are living in 'the last of days'

Graduating with an MA and starting a nine-to-five job as a design engineer left James Repetti feeling happiness was only “skin deep”.

The 26-year-old from Port Talbot wanted more meaning in his life and says he found it joining the JehovahÂ’s Witnesses.

Yesterday he was baptised in front of thousands of fellow believers at CardiffÂ’s Motorpoint Arena.

James joined 10 others fully immersed, one by one, into a waistdeep pool of water in a public declaration of their faith at the biggest annual gathering of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses in Wales.

As he waits to be baptised, James says the Brexit referendum in 2016 was the first time he felt he stood out as a student joining a new faith.

“A lot of people can be angry when you say you don’t vote but I don’t think man is able to solve the world’s problems and that’s why we put trust in God.”

JamesÂ’ parents, former teachers who are not JehovahÂ’s Witnesses themselves, were there to see their son being baptised into the faith he began studying as a student studying robotics at Bath University.

He says he was looking for something more when he began studying the bible aged 23.

Emerging from the baptism pool dripping wet in shorts and a T-shirt, his beaming face suggests he has found it. “Being baptised is a public declaration of my faith and one of the most important things I can do,” he says.

“After meeting Jehovah’s Witnesses and seeing the happiness they have in their lives and the wonderful things knowledge of the bible has done for them it’s something I really wanted to be part of.”

READ FULL ONLINE VERSION:
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/inside-biggest-annual-gathering-jehovahs-14991197

Fear because of Armageddon.

Fear because if you did anything "wrong", someone could find out.

Fear of "worldly" people trying to get too close to you or invite you anywhere.

Fear to even let your closest friends know all of your secrets.

Fear of your sexual desires and of "slipping up".

Fear because if you had a judicial committee, you were going to have to talk about very personal business in extreme detail.

Fear that you didn't make enough hours.

Fear that you will never marry because there aren't enough dateable brothers or sisters in the religion, or because you don't feel dateable.

Fear because you've gone to the elders about things that have happened to you, or that deeply concern you and no one helps, everyone just says leave it in Jehovah's hands.

Fear of having "improper" thoughts. The deep fear that sets in when you have any thought that questions the organization or the Bible, and the way your brain is trained to push any thoughts out before you've actually had a chance to process them.

Fear because if you leave you will lose all of your family and friends. I remember thinking sometimes, what if all of this isn't true? What if I'm just wasting time in this life, putting everything on hold for a paradise that will never come. I had so much anxiety and depression, and I knew so many other Witnesses that did and still do as well. Many also drink A LOT. Or isolated a lot. So many were living double lives. The religion of fear.

It's no wonder so many JWs have anxiety and depression

-  Redo_Undo

All this really does make a lot of dollars and cents. ?

Jehovah is broke again brothers.

Oops...

"WHAT GIFT CAN WE GIVE TO JEHOVAH?" ... guess what? ... WT Magazine NOVEMEBER 2018, Full Backpage 'Advert'