Regardless of fault, how does being "disfellowshipped" from the WBTS position you in our stream of time?
It is unclear to me exactly what you are asking. But being disfellowshipped for telling the truth is something akin to be thrown from the synagogue in the first century. Jesus said that in the last days true Christians would be beaten in the synagogues. No doubt it is something that more and more of Jehovah’s Witnesses will experience going forward; especially when things go terribly wrong and the Watchtower has no answers.
I'm sure we have all been over this time and again but…what are your thoughts on returning to the meetings? I am disassociated and wondering what really is the right thing to do – stay away and wait on Jehovah, or begin attending again. I am having a hard time with the thought of re-attending as so much they are teaching is wrong. And I do not want them to get the impression that I thought I was wrong if I start attending again.
Being disassociated is a difficult situation to be in because basically you are considered to be in a disfellowshipped state, and going back would require you to be reinstated. And in order to be reinstated you would have to reassure the elders that you believe in everything the Watchtower teaches.
Of course, you can simply go to meetings and be shunned as a disfellowshipped person, and just sit and listen to the meeting and get up and leave. But in order to be viewed as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses again you would essentially have to pledge your allegiance to the Watchtower Society. If you are wiling to do that then you should go back. Either way though, waiting on Jehovah is the best course of action.
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For over 30 years I have sat in meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses and continue to do so to this day. Although I have made my desire known to the elders for baptism on several occasions, I never reached that goal. This was due in large measure to my own sets of circumstances. At times, I would also think of myself as a pathetic failure.
However, I sincerely believe that Jehovah can pick up the slack where we may have personally felt that we have failed him or that the elders may have failed us for that matter. But remember, they have to abide by the Society's rules which may not necessarily be Jehovah's.
God is eager for persons who accept his Son to repent and to be baptized. This can be seen by the multitude that accepted Christ in the first century and got baptized, particularly during the outpouring of the holy spirit at the festival of Pentecost.
Going further back even prior to the Christian era and Judaism, God likened the whole nation composing the children of Israel and the vast mixed company as having baptized them as they went through the Red Sea under the cloud. So whereas the Watchtower is failing to baptize people en masse, God is quite capable and willing to do just that.
It will be by calling out to him in faith “now” and in the “day of distress” that he will prove to be our Grand Savior. –Isaiah 19:20; 1 Corinthians 10:1; Acts 2:41.
cg
Keep in mind that the meetings are open to the public and that we do not go there to please men, but to sharpen our faith and understanding of God’s Word. So we can attend meetings without the burden of having to pledge any type of allegiance to the Watchtower. Our allegiance is to Jehovah and his Son, Christ Jesus. Everything else is secondary. The attitude of the Bereans is a good one to follow in this regard. See Acts 17:11.
The Watchtower Society serves an abundance of spiritual food. That does not necessarily mean that everything on the menu is spiritually nourishing (read materials on e-watchman.com and Robert King’s book).
Just like when you go to a banquet you will find certain items are nourishing, while others are not good for your health. Likewise you will find that certain so-called spiritual food unsavory. Do not allow the unsavory items to affect you negatively. That's the key.
In this way you assimilate the positive items for your benefit and that of your love ones. This takes practice, maturity and much persistent on your part. You will then grow in love, the kind that throws fear away.
So do like the people of Berea. They examined what Paul said to see if it were the truth. This put them on guard against false reasoning. The goal is for your form of worship to be “clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father.” --James 1:22-27; Acts 17:11.
Typically, when elders disfellowshipped someone they do not feel good about it. Perhaps they get the feeling that they are more righteous or less of a sinner than the one being disfellowshipped, and that their conscience might be bearing witness against them that the Society's approach to disfellowshipping is a far cry from the apostle's advice on this matter, given the fact that the disfellowshipped one is shunned by the whole congregation. This is more like throwing stones at others than a loving act of disciplining. Disfellowshipped people more often than not sulk in grief and sadness. This should not be allowed to persist for a lengthy period of time as is customary with this so-called disciplinary action. It is carried to the extreme and used as a method of "beating" one's fellow slaves, particularly when someone is disfellowshipped for merely disagreeing with the Society’s interpretation on some doctrinal matter. So do we have a balance view of this disciplinary action? I think not. Rather, we are allowing place for the Devil in our lives, compounding our problem and misery, perhaps even bringing upon ourselves “the judgment passed upon the Devil.” –2 Corinthians 2:6-11; John 8: 1-11; 1Timothy 3:6; Matthew 24: 48-51.
The stream of time is one directional and it is taking us all to the end of this age unto the next. Right now it behooves us to follow after Jehovah in faith until "the final part of the days." This will be not unlike the wilderness that the Israelites found themselves into after their miraculous exodus from Egypt. It appears that our faith will be severely tested just as theirs was. So by whatever means we sharpened our faith, i.e., meeting attendance, Bible study, prayer, field service activity and so on, it will be tested by fire, as can be seen from 1 Corinthians 3:11-15:
"For no man can lay any other foundation than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood materials, hay, stubble, each one’s work will become manifest, for the day will show it up, because it will be revealed by means of fire; and the fire itself will prove what sort of work each one’s is. If anyone’s work that he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward; if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved; yet, if so, [it will be] as through fire."
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