Objection · Case 12 · Jehovah’s Witnesses
Paul commands the Corinthians not to associate or eat with a professing believer who persists in sin (1 Corinthians 5:11), and Amish, some Mennonite, and historic Reformed churches have practiced the ban. Doesn’t shunning have a biblical basis?
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Response
The Witnesses will cite 1 Corinthians 5, and the reply is that it concerns unrepentant public sin and aims at restoration; 2 Corinthians 2:6 to 8 shows the same person being welcomed back. Jesus and Paul both continued to eat with those who rejected them. The Witness practice extends to people who simply stop believing, with family relationships severed, which goes beyond anything in the text. The comparison to the Amish is fair: the practice is not unique. It is unusual in its scope, and that is the point.
About this exhibit
This objection is to Documentation of Watchtower shunning policy.
Watchtower material instructs members to avoid contact with removed relatives, telling them, “Do not look for excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped family member.” Many former members report…
Under Claim 04: Jehovah’s Witnesses who leave or are removed are shunned, often by their own families, and a 2024 change of wording did not end the practice.