—REVIEW—
The Shepherd book lists “Causing divisions” and “Promoting sects” together as the same thing. This is wrong. A Christian who no longer believes in all the doctrines of the Bible but who turns away from the people of God and makes his own sect deserves to be disfellowshipped.But a Christian who turns away from persons who reject the true Christian doctrines, even if this causes a division, as was the case in the congregation in Corinth, is doing what is correct.Creating a sect is always connected with divisions. But creating divisions is not always connected with the making of a sect.Part I of this study shows the reasons why creating a sect is a disfellowshipping offense, while part II shows why causing divisions sometimes may be correct. It also shows that the members of the Governing Body in some respects like the superfine apostles in Corinth and like diotrephes have deviated from the truth. |
The book “Shepherd The Flock Of God”, 39 and 39 (4) says:
Apostasy: Apostasy is a standing away from true worship, a falling away, defection, rebellion, abandonment. It includes the following:
Causing Divisions, Promoting Sects: (Rom. 16: 17. 18; Titus 3:10, 11) This would be deliberate action disrupting the unity of the congregation or undermining the confidence in the brothers in Jehovah’s arrangement. It may involve or lead to apostasy.— it-2, p 886
“CAUSING DIVISIONS” AND “PROMOTING SECTS” ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
The two actions, “Causing divisions” and “Promoting sects” are listed together in the Shepherd book as one and the same thing, that is, an expression of apostasy. From a logical point of view, making the two actions equivalent does not make sense, and it leads the reader astray. If a Witness makes a sect, that causes divisions. But if a Witness causes divisions, he or she is not necessarily making a sect. Moreover, there can be legitimate reasons for causing divisions — if someone supports a false teaching, a Christian will distance himself from this teaching.
However, the Governing Body has a motive by blending the two actions. One of the 11 disfellowshipping offenses that is listed in the Shepherd book that has a basis in the Bible is the making of a sect (hairesis). By connecting the action “Causing divisions” with “Promoting sects,” “Causing divisions” seemingly has a basis in the Bible as a disfellowshipping offense as well.
The members of the Governing Body have made a gag-order against any criticism of themselves or the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Any disagreement with the Governing Body is viewed as a violation of the gag-order; it is defined as “causing divisions” and it leads to disfellowshipping.
I use myself as an illustration that “Causing divisions” and “Promoting sects” can be very different. I believe that Jehovah’s Witnesses is Jehovah’s organization, and in chapter 1 of my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body, third edition, I show that all the basic doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including the unique ones, are based on the Bible. My book shows that the autocratic organization that the Governing Body has created violates several laws and principles in the Bible. I sent the book to the Governing Body and wrote that if the Governing Body would start to change the wrong sides of the organization, the book would not be published. That was rejected!
I had no desire to leave my congregation. But my training as an elder for 56 years was that if I saw something wrong in the organization, I had to do something with it as quickly as possible. That was the reason why I wrote the book. The judicial committee that disfellowshipped me had not seen or read my book, but they were instructed by the branch office to disfellowship me—because I had violated the Governing Body’s manmade gag-order and therefore was causing divisions.
However, in no way could it rightly be said that I was promoting a sect. The Wikipedia defines the word “sect” in the following way:
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles.[1]
The Awake! magazine of January 8, 1988, defines sect in the following way:
Interestingly, many Jews of the first century took just such a view of the followers of Jesus Christ, particularly of the apostle Paul. Because of his zealous preaching of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Jewish authorities accused Paul of being “a pestilent fellow and stirring up seditions among all the Jews throughout the inhabited earth and a spearhead of the sect of the Nazarenes.” (Acts 24:5) The word “sect” is here translated from the Greek word haiʹre·sis, meaning “a choice,” that is, “the choice of an opinion contrary to that usually received.”
A “sect” is a group or a body of people that chooses to follow a course or belief different from what is commonly accepted.
Only in dictatorial nations and organizations is it a grave error not to blindly accept what the leaders say and do. And on the basis that no one has the right to disagree with the Governing Body, one can say that by writing the book I was causing division. But it is not possible to say that I was, or am, promoting a sect. The reason is that a sect is more than one person, it is a group, an offshoot of some organization. And I have not made an opposition group to Jehovah’s Witnesses.
When Jehovah was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham, in effect, called Jehovah to task for what he thought was a premature error in God’s judgment. Did Jehovah ignore Abraham for the presumption to question the Almighty? Abraham’s questions leaned more toward being an accusation rather than a true inquiry. Although God had the right to chastise Abraham for his insolence, he instead humbly answered all of Abraham’s questions and never once pointed out that Abraham did not have the right to question him.
Similarly, even if the membersof the Governing Body was an elite, a group designated to make the final decisions regarding what Jehovah’s Witnesses must accept as truth, why should they feel that they are beyond questioning? Unlike the humility shown by Jehovah himself, the Governing Body has historically refused to allow anyone to question it without punitive actions taken against such a one. If Abraham were alive and a member of the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses today, he would likely be disfellowshipped for the “blasphemous” questions he directed at Jehovah!
I am certainly not trying to tear down the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses; I have, as a Bible scholar, merely pointed out sound linguistic, logical, and scriptural arguments that do not deserve to be shrugged off as ignorant talk. If Jehovah allowed Abraham to question him, a man who actually was ignorant of the soundness of Jehovah’s righteous judgments, why should I be barred from doing the same—asking legitimate questions of the Governing Body while presenting sound scriptural arguments as a basis for my questioning? Do the members of the Governing Body believe that they are more important in status than Jehovah? Their handling of those who have questioned them over the years suggests that, Yes, they do!
The conclusion to this section is that “Causing Division” and “Promoting sects” are two different things that should not be listed together. “Promoting sects” is a legitimate basis for disfellowshipping whereas “Causing Division,” in itself, is not—only where divisions result in pursuit or promotion of a sect is it a basis for putting someone out of the congregation.
| Creating a sect is always connected with divisions. But creating divisions is not always connected with the making of a sect. |
[1]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sect.
WHAT DO THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES SAY ABOUT THE FORMATION OF A SECT?
There are only tree passages in the Christian Greek Scriptures speaking about disfellowshipping offenses in addition to 1 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6. In this section, I will discuss two of these passages.
THE GREEK WORD HAIRESIS — “A SECT”
Paul’s words in Titus 3:10, 11 are important in our context:
10 As for a man who promotes a sect (hairetikos anthrōpos), reject (paraiteomai) him after a first and a second admonition, 11 knowing that such a man has deviated (ekstrefō) from the way and is sinning and is self-condemned (autokatakritos).
In order to understand the nuances, we need to analyze the Greek words, and I start with the words hairetokos and hairesis:
The meaning of hairesis is “a division of people into different and opposing sects.” (Louw and Nida). I quote Acts 26:5 (above) and 1 Corinthians 11:19 (below):
5 that have been previously acquainted with me from the first know, if they but wish to bear witness, that according to the strictest sect (hairesis) of our form of worship I lived a Pharisee.
19 For there must also be sects (hairesis) among YOU, that the persons approved may also become manifest among YOU.
There were different sects among the Jews, and the one to which Paul had belonged was the Pharisees. In the congregation of Corinth, there were different groups with different opinions, and these could be called “sects.” Paul’s point is that those who wanted to stick to the truth they had learned, had to distance themselves from the groups that did not want to do that. In this way, there were “sects” in the congregation.
In Titus 3:10, we find the adjective hairetikos, referring to a person who is promoting a sect, and the word anthrōpos with the meaning “man.” We have the same situation here that we have in 1 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6. The person is not described by a verb, indicating what he does. But he is described by an adjective that is determining a noun, “a man promoting a sect,” showing what the man is. Regarding the adjective hairetikos, TDNT I, page 184, says: “In Christianity, it seems to have been used technically from the very first, and denotes the adherent of heresy.”
After the man has been described as one who is promoting a sect, Paul refers to his bad actions by using the verb epistrefō, whose meaning is: “to turn out of, to turn inside out; hence, to change entirely; in NT pass. to be perverted, Tit. 3:11.” (Mounce), and “to have departed from the patterns of correct behavior and thus to have become corrupt… — ‘you know that such a person has become corrupt’ Tt 3:11.” (Louw and Nida)
The words “the way” refer to the true Christian beliefs and way of living, from which the man had deviated. It is clear that the man had not “taken some false step before he is aware of it” (Galatians 6:1) But Mounce uses the strong words “be perverted,” and Louw and Nida use the words “become corrupt” in connectionwith the man.
The seriousness of the situation is expressed by the Greek word autokatakritos with the meaning “pertaining to one who is condemned as the result of his own actions — ‘condemned by one’s own actions.’” (Louw and Nida). His actions were so bad that anyone could see that he had no excuse, his own actions condemned him.
The reason why we can say that the creation of a sect is a reason for disfellowshipping is the words “reject him.” The Greek word is paraiteomai with the meaning, “to entreat; to beg off, excuse one’s self, to deprecate, entreat against, to decline receiving, refuse, reject; to decline, avoid, shun.” (Mounce) And one of the criteria for a disfellowshipping offense according to 1. Corinthians 5:11, is not to have social contact with the person.
“CAUSING DIVISIONS” MUST BE QUALIFIED
There is one passage in the Christian Greek Scriptures that deals with the same subject as Titus 3:10, 11, and that is Romans 16:17, 18 (NWT84)
17 Now I exhort you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause divisions and occasions for stumbling contrary to the teaching that you have learned, and avoid (ekklinō) them. 18 For men of that sort are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own bellies; and by smooth talk and complimentary speech they seduce the hearts of guileless ones.
In the Watchtower literature, Romans 16:17 is used to show that causing divisions is a serious sin. The first article discussing disfellowshipping in detail was published in The Watchtower of March 1, 1952. In addition to the disfellowshipping offenses mentioned in 1 Corinthians, chapters 5 and 6, “causing of divisions” are listed on page 134. And Romans 16:17, 18 was mentioned as evidence. The same scripture is also used in the book for elders “Shepherd the Flock of God” (2019) 12.39.4, for the disfellowshipping offense “causing divisions,” which is subsumed under the heading “Apostasy.”
This is misleading. I have quoted 1. Corinthians 11:19 showing that if someone did not follow the true teaching, those who did that had to distance themselves from them and by this cause divisions. This means that causing divisions can be right under certain circumstances. But causing divisions for the wrong reasons is a serious sin.
Romans 16:17 is a good example of this distinction. The following sins are mentioned:
- Causing divisions.
- Causing stumbling.
- Acting contrary to Christian teaching.
- Are not slaves of Jesus Christ.
- Seducing the heart of guileless ones.
The last three points are the important ones. By acting against the Christian teaching and by seducing people, the mentioned people were sect promoters. Only when “causing divisions” are associated with similar bad results, this is a serious sin.
One of the criteria mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6 associated with disfellowshipping is not synanamignymi — not having social contact with those people. There is a similar word in Romans 16:17, namely, ekklinō. According to Louw and Nida, the word ekklinō in Romans 16:17 has the meaning: “Purposedly to avoid association with someone—to shun, to avoid, to keep away from, to have nothing to do with.” The use of the word ekklinō shows that the mentioned people deserved to be disfellowshipped from the congregation.
| The mentioned people would not be disfellowshipped because they caused divisions but because they were acting contrary to Christian teaching and caused others to stumble. |
It is correct, as the Shepherd book says that creating a sect is a reason for disfellowshipping. Such an action is based on a conscious decision, and it is something that indicates the personality of the person. Therefore, it is in line with the words of Paul in 1. Corinthians chapters 5 and 6, that members of the congregation are disfellowshipped for what they are and not for what they do.
