If I was to rank all the wicked things that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is guilty of, shunning would make the top three.

Shunning, as practiced by the WTBTS, is the deliberate rejection of other JW members who have either been disfellowshipped or have fallen into some kind of disfavor by the organization.   It is a cruel practice that numbs the sensibilities of civilized people.

Do you JW’s know that Jesus spoke about the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in the Bible?  He did; please allow me to show you.

One of the passages of Scripture where the WTBTS is mentioned is found in Mark 7:1-13.  Please read these verses before proceeding with the rest of today’s post.

We know that the scribes and Pharisees in the New Testament were, for the most part, bitter enemies of Jesus.  These two sects exerted an undue influence over the lives of the common people.  Though the scribes and Pharisees were well versed in the Jewish scriptures, this knowledge was centralized in their intellect and never found expression in compassionate judgments from their hearts.

In short, these men were brutal and cruel in their dealings with their fellow Jews, wholly lacking in two of the most precious attributes that most identifies someone as being a follower of Christ:  mercy and compassion.

Because of their hypocrisy and cruelty, Jesus reserved His harshest criticisms and condemnations for them.  Legendary is the harsh rebuke that Jesus had for them as can clearly be seen in the “Eight Woes” found in Matthew 23:13-33.

In the passage of Scripture in Mark chapter 7, Jesus found Himself in a situation where the scribes and Pharisees were complaining to Him because His disciples offended their religious sensibilities by eating with “impure hands” (see verses 3-5).

Notice that Mark makes a point in verse 3 that this particular grievance they had against the Lord’s disciples was part of “the traditions of the elders” and not something that was strictly against the teachings and commandments of Moses or the Prophets.

After the scribes and Pharisees witnessed the disciples eating with unwashed hands, they said to Jesus, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” (verse 5, NASB)

Jesus, not one to mince or waste words with such wicked men, said, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites…” (verse 6).  He then said, “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men” (verse 8).

Jesus then brings up the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother,” offering an example of how these hypocrites did an end around this law by appealing to one of their “traditions of men” known as “Corban.”

You might be asking, “Roy, how does all this fit into what you wrote that Jesus spoke against the WTBTS?”

Countless JW’s have no contact with either their fathers or their mothers because they are being shunned.   For the most part, it is probably true that the reason why these parents are being shunned is because they have fallen out of favor with some pet doctrine of the Governing Body and not because they have been found guilty of engaging in some gross sin.

Maybe this shunned mom and/or dad are no longer walking “in the truth,” i.e., they no longer consider themselves followers of the peculiar teachings of the WTBTS.  Maybe they have been disfellowshipped for no longer walking lock-step in line with the “traditions” of the GB.  Maybe they no longer faithfully participate in the door-to-door “preaching ministry” on Saturdays or dutifully attend all the required weekly meetings.

Regardless of the reasons why the parent or parents are being “shunned,” the end result is the same:  the children shunning them are grossly violating the clear and unambiguous teaching found in the fifth commandment and choosing instead to obey the “traditions of the GB.”

I cannot emphasize enough how evil and satanic shunning is.  For a child to shun a parent for any reason except if that parent committed a serious crime (murder, rape, sexual assault or molestation against the child, etc.) is to act wholly contrary to the clear commandment of God to honor and obey one’s parents.

If a parent is guilty of a heinous crime against a family member, such as molestation, sex trafficking of that child, physical violence, etc., I will be the first to agree that that parent should be shunned in the fullest extent of the word.  They are not fit to be the parent of that child and should—they must—be shunned and pay for such crimes by spending due time in prison.

But these extreme examples probably make up a minute portion of the shunning cases currently happening among faithful JW’s.  Instead, the vast majority are cases where the parents are shunned are because they have fallen out of favor with WT doctrines, policies and/or procedures.

Shunning, in the exact same way that Jesus said about “Corban,” invalidates the Word of God by WT tradition that has been handed down for decades (verse 13).  It is an evil that has caught countless JW’s in its pernicious web.

I spend much time in my writings and videos exposing the blatant and unending hypocrisy that makes up so much of being a JW.  Though the Lord Jesus Christ did not mention the “Watchtower Bible and Tract Society” by name when He rebuked the hypocrites of His day, there is no doubt in my mind that He had them lumped into this nefarious group when He pronounced the harsh judgements that He did in the Scriptures.