Question about Jahova's Witness: Can one stop being a Jahova's witness, if they wanted to??
Yes, we can. Why not? We are always free to decide :yes:
Quote:
It is as well to note that a Jehovah’s Witness cannot stop being a Jehovah’s Witness at any time in his life.
It is as well to note that a Jehovah’s Witness cannot stop being a Jehovah’s Witness at any time in his life. Once that person has been baptized they may only leave the faith either by their death, their shunning by the elders, or by writing a letter of resignation. This letter of resignation known as a letter of ‘dissociation’ will result in that persons name being read out publicly at the next meeting and their then being shunned by active members. Such a person will not be viewed as a member who has resigned their membership of the church but as a failed Jehovah’s Witness and will subsequently be treated as such for the remainder of their lives.
source
I am sorry, but that quote was a bit confusing, for first says we cannot do it and then said how this can actually be done. Please note the source quoted
is not official at all, and so the information can be quite misleading.
The same way we are free to decide we really want to be JW (we are not baptized while little babies, for instance), we have the right to decide if we want to remain a JW.
As far as I know, MJ decided to leave by 1987. Mrs. Jackson remain JW and so, she would not celebrate B-days. Do we feel offended by people wishing us merry xmas/b-day? It depends on the person. I don't, but I do feel a bit sorry for the one wishing me good, since I understand how important this is for the ones who actually celebrate these dates and it's always hard to say "no, thank you" and see the dissapointment or confussion on their faces. So probably I would say kindly "thanks", and try to find a time later to tell him/her about my opinion on this matters.
Now, what's really complicated is when people know for sure and for a long, long time that we do not celebrate this and they keep "forcing" us to celebrate because they celebrate, or when they know about our beliefs and make fun of them and bring gifts, saying things like "
I know in the end you do like it, so here you have". I have been even said "I will show you how a decent person celebrate a b-day".... now... I guess you can understand that doesn't feel any good :mello:
That's all. :cheeky: