One of the most pernicious beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is that those who leave the religion must be shunned indefinitely.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a parent or a child or a relative or a friend. If they’re no longer Witnesses, they are disfellowshipped and believers are told to avoid any contact with them. In some cases, that means ex-JW kids haven’t spoken to their parents in years, grandparents don’t meet their grandchildren because the parents no longer believe, etc.

It’s especially disturbing when Witnesses get applauded for sharing stories about how they cut the unbelievers out of their lives.

We now have a new example of that, and it features a 10-year-old girl named Melody speaking at a recent Watchtower convention.

The video shows Melody talking about her disfellowshipped sister.

Covert Fade at JWsurvey explains more:

We are not told the reason for the disfellowshipping, but one can be subjected to it for a wide range of reasons such as pre-marital sex, celebrating Christmas or birthdays, voting, taking a blood transfusion, joining the military, or simply questioning any of the doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Melody states that her sister was trying to contact her, and asking her to stay in contact despite Watchtower decreeing that she be shunned. Remember, Melody’s sister has probably lost all her family and friends at this point; everyone she ever knew and loved. Melody admits that she misses and loves her sister, but states that she was afraid that if she didn’t cut her sister off completely, she might be tempted to keep some form of relationship going. Thus, she has decided to shun her completely, as Watchtower demands. She claims that this was to protect her relationship with Jehovah.

And the audience? They loved it and gave her a stirring round of applause. Because what better way to show devotion to Jehovah than promising to never again speak to your ex-JW sister?

This policy tears apart families in the name of God. It’s cruel. It’s unnecessary. And it’s justified only through perverse religious logic.

Covert Fade writes, “I hope that little Melody is able to break free of her chains one day, and be re-united with the sister who loves her.”

Me too. But there’s a lot of brainwashing to overcome before that happens.

