Watchtower Shunning

 

The Watchtower Society requires Jehovah’s Witnesses to shun ex-JWs whether they were formally disfellowshipped by a judicial committee or disassociated themselves. This is not a Bible teaching.

Watchtower publications use Matthew 18:17 to support Watchtower shunning, but where does the New Testament tell Christians to shun heathens and tax collectors?

While chapter five of 1 Corinthians outlines limiting association with Christians that persist in gross sins, there is no indication of strict shunning or application to family members.

2 John 10 refers to a congregation, and this passage is dealing with a prerequisite for church membership and occasion for church discipline and not who you can accept into your own private home, as the word “house” often refers to a church congregation in the New Testament. (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Colossians 4:15; 2 Timothy 3:6; Philemon 2) 

Jehovah's Witnesses should be asked: Where does the New Testament tell Christians to shun heathens and tax collectors? (Matthew 18:17) In chapter five of 1 Corinthians, where is there any indication of strict shunning or application of family members? Why is the Watchtower interpretation of 2 John 10 only applied to ex-JWs? Are Jehovah’s Witnesses allowed to greet non-JWs and receive non-JW relatives or friends into their homes?

 

Further reading:

Watchtower Disfellowshipping: A Biblical Perspective

WITNESSING TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES