A Christian should be disfellowshipped for what he is and for not he does. This means that when a person is permeated by one of the disfellowshipping offenses, that is his personality, he deserves to be disfellowshipped.
The requirement for being disfellowshipped because of manslaughter is not that a brother has killed several persons. If a brother has killed one person, and his personality is that of a murderer, just as Cain, he deserves to be disfellowshipped.
One of the criteria indicating a disfellowshipping offense is the application of the Greek word poneros (“wicked”) This word occurs 26 times from Romans to Revelation. Only in two passages quoted below does the word refer to particular actions, namely in 1 John 3:12 (above) and 2 John 11 (below):
12 not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one (poneros) and slaughtered his brother. And for the sake of what did he slaughter him? Because his own works were wicked, but those of his brother [were] righteous.
10 If anyone comes to YOU and does not bring this teaching, never receive him into YOUR homes or say a greeting to him. 11 For he that says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked (poneros) works.
The words of 1 John 3:12 show that Cain originated with Satan and that he was wicked. The mentioned wicked action was manslaughter or murder, and because this action is called “wicked,” it must be a disfellowshipping offense. The word “wicked” in 2 John 11 refers to the actions of the antichrists, who probably were part of the pre-Gnostic movement. They were active propagandists, and they wanted to come into the homes of the Christians to spread their false teachings. The antichrists were not a part of the Christian congregations and so could not be disfellowshipped.
HAVING THE PERSONALITY OF A MURDERER
According to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6, a Christian should not be disfellowshipped for what he does but for what he is. What a person is will also be related to actions. But first, when the actions are so numerous that they have formed the personality of the person, do we see a disfellowshipping offense. When a person commits a serious sin one or a few times, this sin does not define who the person is; a few bad actions do not form the personality of a person.
But can this be applied in connection with manslaughter? Must we wait until a person has murdered a number of persons before he deserves to be disfellowshipped? We may illuminate this issue by considering the account of Cain, who is said to have been wicked. I quote Genesis 4:1-17:
1 Now Adam had intercourse with Eve his wife and she became pregnant. In time she gave birth to Cain and said: “I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah.” 2 Later she again gave birth, to his brother Abel.
And Abel came to be a herder of sheep, but Cain became a cultivator of the ground. 3 And it came about at the expiration of some time that Cain proceeded to bring some fruits of the ground as an offering to Jehovah. 4 But as for Abel, he too brought some firstlings of his flock, even their fatty pieces. Now while Jehovah was looking with favor upon Abel and his offering, 5 he did not look with any favor upon Cain and upon his offering. And Cain grew hot with great anger, and his countenance began to fall. 6 At this Jehovah said to Cain: “Why are you hot with anger and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you turn to doing good, will there not be an exaltation? But if you do not turn to doing good, there is sin crouching at the entrance, and for you is its craving; and will you, for your part, get the mastery over it?”
8 After that Cain said to Abel his brother: [“Let us go over into the field.”] So it came about that while they were in the field Cain proceeded to assault Abel his brother and kill him. 9 Later on Jehovah said to Cain: “Where is Abel your brother?” and he said: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10
At this he said: “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed in banishment from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hand. 12 When you cultivate the ground, it will not give you back its power. A wanderer and a fugitive you will become in the earth.” 13
At this Cain said to Jehovah: “My punishment for error is too great to carry. 14 Here you are actually driving me this day from off the surface of the ground, and from your face I shall be concealed; and I must become a wanderer and fugitive on the earth, and it is certain that anyone finding me will kill me.” 15 At this Jehovah said to him: “For that reason anyone killing Cain must suffer vengeance seven times.”
And so Jehovah set up a sign for Cain in order that no one finding him should strike him. 16 With that Cain went away from the face of Jehovah and took up residence in the land of Fugitiveness to the east of Eʹden.
Verse 11 shows that Cain was cursed and banished from the ground, which can be compared to being disfellowshipped from the congregation. Why was Cain cursed and banished? The account shows that he had a wicked personality. Killing Abel was not an accident, but it was a part of a wicked plan.
In order to be guilty in manslaughter today, a person must not kill someone several times. But if one act of manslaughter is caused by a wicked personality, the person is guilty of a disfellowshipping offense.
| If a brother has killed a man, and the reason is that his personality is one of manslaughter, as in the case of Cain, he deserves to be disfellowshipped. |
THE WRONG APPLICATION OF “BLOODGUILT” AS A DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSE
Of the 48 disfellowshipping offenses that are listed in the Watchtower literature, 37 have been made up and invented by the members of the Governing Body, including “bloodguilt”.
THE MEANING OF THE CONCEPT “BLOODGUILT”
There is no Hebrew word for “bloodguilt,” and the English word “bloodguilt” is based on the plural form of the Hebrew word dam (“blood”). Blood is a liquid and when it is plural, the reference is not to liquid blood but to drops of blood. When a person is killed, drops of blood may be splattered on the garment of the killer. These drops of blood are the evidence of the killer’s guilt —his bloodguilt.
One example where bloodguilt is mentioned is 2 Samuel 3:28:
28 When David heard about it later, he said: “I and my kingdom are forever innocent (nāqĪ) before Jehovah of the bloodguilt (dām, plural) for Ab’ner, the son of Ner.
The Hebrew word nāqĪ means “innocent,” and when David says that he is innocent of the blood of Abner, this implies that others are guilty, i.e., guilty of another person’s blood.
Leviticus 17:4 uses a Hebrew word in connection with “blood” that is close to the word “guilty.” We read:
4 instead of bringing it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to Jehovah before the tabernacle of Jehovah, bloodguilt will be counted (dām hāshab) to that man. He has shed blood, and that man must be cut off from among his people.
The phrase “bloodguilt will be counted” is translated from dām (“blood”) in the singular and the verb hāshab in the passive stem Niphal. The verb hāshab has the meaning “to think, account,” and in the Niphal stem it has the meaning “be counted, thought, esteemed, be computed, reckoned.”[1] The idea is that blood is computed to the man, and this is close to saying that he is guilty of the blood, he has bloodguilt.
When there is no contrast with the word “innocent” or the passive verb “computed,” bloodguilt is implied by the plural form of dām (“blood”) as we see in Exodus 22:2, (above) and Deuteronomy 22:8, (below)
2 (“If a thief is found in the act of breaking in and he gets struck and dies, there is no bloodguilt for him. 3 But if it happens after sunrise, there is bloodguilt (dām plural) for him.)
8 “If you build a new house, you must also make a parapet for your roof, so that you may not bring bloodguilt (dām plural) on your house because of someone falling from it.
When we now have seen the linguistic basis for the idea of “bloodguilt,” we need to find out the meaning of this word. I have not found any direct definition of “bloodguilt” in the Watchtower literature. However, Insight on the Scriptures I, page 344, gives some clues:
Because of God’s view of the value of life, the blood of a murdered person is said to defile the earth, and such defilement can be cleansed only by shedding the blood of the murderer. On this basis the Bible authorizes capital punishment for murder, through duly constituted authority. (Nu 35:33; Ge 9:5, 6) In ancient Israel no ransom could be taken to deliver the deliberate murderer from the death penalty.—Nu 35:19-21, 31
The reference to Genesis 9:5, 6 is important:
5 Besides that, I will demand an accounting for your lifeblood. I will demand an accounting from every living creature; and from each man I will demand an accounting for the life of his brother. 6 Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image He made man.
The word “lifeblood” is literally “the blood of your souls” God will demand an accounting when someone kills another human, and this means that the blood of the killer must be shed. Simply speaking, we can say that “bloodguilt” means that the person is guilty to die.
BLOODGUILT USED AS A DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSE
Chapter 12 in the book for elders “Shepherd The Flock Of God” lists different disfellowshipping offenses. Point 38 deals with Manslaughter, and we read:
Manslaughter: Aside from deliberate murder, bloodguilt may be incurred if a person causes loss of life through carelessness or because of violating a traffic law or other safety law of Caesar. The elders should investigate and if warranted appoint a judicial committee to hear the matter. The committee should base its decision on clearly established facts, not simply on a decision that may have been made by secular authorities.—Deut. 22:8: w06 9/15 p. 30.
The procedure is that when some serious wrongdoing is brought to the attention of the elders, two elders will investigate the case, and if their conclusion is that there may be evidence of a disfellowshipping offense, a judicial committee is appointed to hear the case. Such a judicial committee is only formed when there seems to be evidence that can lead to disfellowshipping if there is no regret.
Neither in the Shepherd book nor the other Watchtower literature do we find the words, “Bloodguilt is a disfellowshipping offense.” But the contexts where the concept is used show just that. The subject “Manslaughter” is found in chapter 12 of the Shepherd book where disfellowshipping offenses are listed, and the quotation above from point 38 tells that a judicial committee may be formed. And a judicial committee is only formed when there is a disfellowshipping offense.
The quotation in the Shepherd book refers to an article in The Watchtower of September 15, 2006, page 30, from which I quote:
The decision of the elders investigating the case should be based on the Scriptures and the clearly established facts—an admission by the driver and/or the testimony of two or three reliable eyewitnesses. (Deuteronomy 17:6;Matthew 18:15, 16) If bloodguilt is established, a judicial committee should be formed. If the committee determines that the bloodguilty person is repentant, he will receive appropriate reproof from the Scriptures and will be restricted as regards privileges in the congregation. He would no longer serve as an elder or a ministerial servant. Other restrictions would also be imposed. And he is accountable to God for his carelessness, neglect, or lack of caution that resulted in the accident and fatality.—Galatians 6:5, 7.
A judicial committee is formed, and if the committee finds that the brother is responsible for the death of a person and, therefore, has bloodguilt there are two outcomes of the situation. If the brother is repentant, he will get reproof and lose some privileges in the congregation. If the brother disagrees with the conclusion of the judicial committee that he has bloodguilt, or the committee does not find him repentant, he will be disfellowshipped.
| The use of “bloodguilt” as a disfellowshipping offense is a violation of the laws of God because:
1) The Bible does not list “bloodguilt” as a disfellowshipping offense. 2) It is difficult to establish that a brother is responsible for the death of another person. 3) The concept “community responsibility for bloodguiltiness” has no basis in the Christian Greek Scriptures. |
I recommend the old article “Manslaughter” in the category “The 11 disfellowshipping offenses.” This article is a detailed study of manslaughter, bloodguilt, and community responsibility.
[1]. Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebrew-English Lexicon.
