Tag Archives: faith

Is It Time To Finally Outlaw Extreme Religious Shunning?

In an issue of The Watchtower magazine from a few years ago, no doubt was left as to how Jehovah’s Witnesses should treat family members who have been “disfellowshipped,” or ex-communicated, from the religion. “Really, what your beloved family member needs to see is  your resolute stance to put Jehovah above everything else – including the family  bond,” warns the magazine on page 16, before asserting, “Do not look for excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped family member, for example, through e-mail.”

Shunning.

Jehovah’s Witness is not the only religion that calls upon  its followers to ostracize anyone who leaves the faith. Described as  psychological torture by University of California-Davis Professor Almerindo E.  Ojeda, such social rejection is used in the United States by Anabaptists (the  Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites), Scientology, and the Baha’i Faith, among others.

Some contemporary evangelical Protestant churches have renewed the practice of  shunning, as in the case of a 71-year-old former Sunday school teacher who was  arrested on trespassing charges after questioning her pastor’s authority.

The practice can have devastating consequences.

In 2011, Eric Reeder was disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s  Witnesses after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle accident that led to a blood  transfusion – a medical treatment prohibited by the religion.  His family subsequently shunned him in accordance with the faith’s rules.

Eric posted about his predicament in an online forum for  ex-Witnesses in August of that year, admitting, “The only thing I am really going to miss is my folks … my dad is a hardcore elder and has told me he will no longer be able to speak to me 100% of the time.”  In April 2012 he wrote that he was “still not used to my parents totally shunning me …” before adding, “It’s so hard … nobody should have to lose their parents twice.” By the end of September, Eric was found dead at age 51. He had killed himself.

Nobody can be certain what dark thoughts were swirling through Eric’s mind when he took his own life, or what finally drove him to such a desperate act. But we do know that in the preceding months, Eric was deeply tormented by the ostracism inflicted on him by members of his family.

While The Watchtower Society, the name of the legal entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, proudly publishes annual statistics related to its worldwide evangelism work, there are no official figures for those who are shunned, and no way to confirm how many of these former members, like Eric, feel desperate enough to take their own lives. However, one can find a great deal of anecdotal evidence on Internet forums frequented by Ex-Witnesses. One well-known researcher, Terri O’Sullivan, reported that being shunned worsens one’s mood within 60 seconds.

Ex- witness Richard E. Kelly is the Managing Director of AAWA and the author of Growing Up in Mama’s Club: A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Ex- witness Richard E. Kelly is the Managing Director of AAWA and the author of Growing Up in Mama’s Club: A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In the absence of any popular or political impetus to address the issue of religion-incited shunning, I am proud to be part of an organization that dares to face it head on. Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) has been established to educate the world via its website (www.aawa.co) about some of Watchtower’s most shocking practices.

While these are often pardoned in the name of religious freedom, there are instances where governments have successfully sanctioned extreme shunning:

“The Jewish tradition frequently confronted this issue in the many Eastern European communities where the government outlawed the use of excommunication and shunning. Not surprisingly, when confronted with significant governmentally imposed sanctions against this practice, the Jewish authorities ceased using exclusion as a method of community formation or maintenance,” states an article by Michael J. Broyde, academic director of Emory University’s Law and Religion Program.

My colleagues and I believe that the shunning of relatives and friends represents mental and emotional abuse. Modern society must no longer allow Watchtower to promote this barbarous practice through printed word or otherwise.  For the Silo Richard E. Kelly.

Colouring In The Bible Is The Latest Trend In Journaling

An interesting new trend is on the rise—colouring in a Bible.

What was once frowned upon, is now encouraged. This new trend is called Bible journaling. Bible journaling is the act of doodling in one’s Bible, as a way to creatively express one’s faith. However, some people choose to illustrate outside their Bible; as for some, doodling on the Bible itself is still prohibited.

Over the past few years, the movement has grown significantly with many online groups, forums, Facebook communities, blogs, and church groups creating groups where people share their Bible journal artwork, offer techniques, and provide a supportive boost.

People even discuss where to get Bibles with the largest margins so that there is room for their designs, creating an interesting demand on publishers and retailers.

Complete Guide to Bible Journaling: Creative Techniques to Express Your Faith (Fox Chapel Publishing), by designer, inspirational speaker, and author of the best-selling Zenspirations® book series Joanne Fink, was created in response to this amazing trend.

The book features the works of top Bible journalers, offers drawing tips, the best tools to use, and even offers traceable vellum sheets to use on your own Bible. For the Silo, Elizabeth Martins.

Main image courtesy of biblejournallove.com


Poll Showed 56% Of Our Neighbors In America Believes In Devil

Against a backdrop of horrific crimes and devastating natural disasters, 56 percent of Americans surveyed believe in the devil, 53 percent believe in hell and 43 percent believe in hell as “a place of suffering and punishment where people go after they die,” according to a poll of 1,218 Americans conducted over Memorial Day weekend back in 2013.

Hey Devil- no cheating! image: dumc.my
Image: dumc.my

The survey also found that Americans don’t hold God responsible for these tragedies with 86 percent believing natural disasters such as the Oklahoma tornado and Hurricane Sandy are a function of nature. Sixty-one percent believe recent terror and crime episodes, such as the London terrorist attack, the Cleveland kidnapping/imprisonments and the Sandy Hook massacre are caused by “the evil in people’s hearts” rather than “divine retribution.”

Equal numbers of respondents (38 percent) believe that people who commit violent criminal acts go to hell, as well as those who don’t ask God’s forgiveness for their sins before they die. More than 61 percent believe they’re going to heaven, while less than 2 percent believe they will go to hell.

Ominously subtitled- "What is to come" Ryden cuts right to the chase with a Premonition preface that begins: "All my life I've seen the spiritual realm. I see Angels, and Saints, and other supernatural Beings. I see the souls of dead people." CP
Ominously subtitled- “What is to come” Ryden cuts right to the chase with a Premonition preface that begins: “All my life I’ve seen the spiritual realm. I see Angels, and Saints, and other supernatural Beings. I see the souls of dead people.”

Commissioned by the True Life in God Foundation (TLIG), www.tlig.com,  established by international humanitarian Vassula Ryden (author of the bestseller Heaven is Real But So Is Hell; released in March 2013), the poll was conducted online from May 23-27, 2013 among 1,218 Americans age 18 and older with a margin of error of +/-2.9%. Respondents were equally split (50 percent) between male and female.

The new survey shows that while a majority of Americans still believe in hell (54 percent), the number is declining. A 2008 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life / US Religious Landscape Survey showed that 59 percent of Americans believed in hell, and an earlier Pew study reported that 71percent believed in hell as of 2001.

Other key findings include:

• 62 percent believe in heaven and think they are going there.

• 44 percent believe in hell as “a place of suffering and punishment where some people go after they die;”

• The 56 percent overall belief in the existence of the devil and 53% belief in hell was consistent across all the four survey age groups;

• With regard to what causes evil in the world, i.e., the Boston Marathon bombings, Sandy Hook school shooting and 9/11, older respondents (45-60) say people are evil while younger  respondents (18-29) say people are sick;

• 41 percent identify the devil as “Satan the fallen angel who rebelled against God and now tempts humans to do the same;”

• 47 percent believe heaven is “God’s dwelling place” while 44 percent believe heaven is “a spiritual dimension where good people go when they die.”

The True Life in God Foundation conducted the survey to help Americans explore the existence and causes of evil in the world. The foundation commissioned Survey Monkey, one of the leading polling companies in America, to survey a cross-section of Americans from every age group, region, ethnicity, religion and household income.

The survey follows the release of Heaven Is Real But So Is Hell  , which hit No. 1 on Barnes &  Noble online, as well as No. 1 in Christian Orthodoxy on Amazon.[ following its March 16, 2013 release CP] The book details Vassula Ryden’s spiritual journey in which she received visions of heaven, hell, demons and angels, and the battle between good and evil in the world.

Vassula cautions skeptics who scoff at the existence of the devil: “The devil’s most powerful tool is convincing us that he – and hell – do not exist. He works subtly and silently, feeding our doubts and inadequacies, sowing dissension and creating chaos and confusion in our lives. Evil is real, and we have to know how to respond to it.”

Crossroads(1986) Guitar duel between the Devil’s guitarist (Steve Vai) and Juilliard trained “Lightning Boy” (Ralph Macchio)

Vassula believes prayer, forgiveness, reconciliation and service to others are the main tools to overcome the forces of evil.

About True Life In God Foundation

Founded by International author and humanitarian Vassula Ryden, is an international non-profit organization that funds 25 Beth Myriam homes serving the poor in six countries.  A Greek Orthodox Christian, Ryden has more than 1 million followers on social media, and has spoken to millions of people in 80 countries, including more than 500,000 in the Philippines alone. An internationally-acclaimed advocate for peace and unity, Ryden was twice awarded Bangladesh’s 2003 Gold Medal Peace Prize for her work in religious tolerance and aid to the poor. She has been endorsed by many government and religious leaders, and has met with leaders at the United Nations, the World Council of Churches and the Vatican, including Pope Francis and his two predecessors.  Ryden advocates “unity in diversity” between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians, and reconciliation between all world religions. For more information visit: www.tlig.com. GG

Supplemental- What Canadians are believing- http://www.canadianmennonite.org/articles/heaven-trumps-hell-canadian-poll

 

Albuquerque’s Joy Junction Homeless Shelter Is Turning 30

Joy Junction is three decades old. It is hard to believe the shelter I founded is 30 this year, and that I’ve spent more than half my life at what has obviously now become a lifetime calling. Looking back, it seems just like a short time ago that I came up the driveway of our 52-acre property wanting to reach out to homeless families with food, shelter and the love of Jesus Christ.

We’re currently sheltering as many as 300 people nightly, and providing more than 16,000 meals each month from a fully licensed kitchen. Born in England, I emigrated to the U.S. in 1978 with $50.00 in my pocket and a one way ticket. I ended up homeless in mid 1981 and early 1982, and in that same year “landed” in Santa Fe. It was there where God brought some amazing people into my life, who encouraged me and helped me begin my first ministry. My calling to work with the homeless began to emerge. In 1986, I left Santa Fe, took a few months off and moved to Albuquerque. There I ended up starting Joy Junction, never envisioning the scope of what it would become.

The vision I had was for a refuge where the entire family unit could stay together at one of the most difficult times in their lives. I wanted to ensure that husbands and wives had the support of each other, and could provide more support for each other and their kids than they might otherwise be able to if split up. I had no idea what adventures, struggles and trials would lie ahead.

Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.
Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. Founder and CEO Joy Junction Inc.

The full story is told in my book “From Destitute to Ph.D.,” but here are some of the highlights. The shelter grew quickly in the following four years, but quite often, unmanaged and fast growth can be the downfall of an organization of any kind, whether a ministry or not. Our bills were exceeding our income and we nearly folded. Due to God’s grace we stayed afloat. During those first years, I also worked a part time job to put food on my own family’s table, taught a regular Bible study at the shelter and tried to get the word about what we were trying to do. In 1991, I felt it was time I went back to school. I tried a couple of summer classes at the University of New Mexico, and earned a bachelor’s degree with a focus on journalism in 1996 and a master’s degree in communication in 1998. Along the way I also enjoyed a number of internships at various media in Albuquerque, as well as hosting a couple of radio shows.

Looking back, I can see how all these media experiences helped me better promote Joy Junction and the plight of the homeless. I have a deep appreciation for our local media. It is sad that reporters are routinely vilified and criticized but rarely praised. In 1999, I was accepted to do a Ph.D. intercultural education at Biola University in Los Angeles. I graduated in 2006, and my doctoral dissertation dealt with the way the media portray America’s homeless culture. In ( about) 1999, I also met a fellow Brit by the name of Dan Wooding, the founder of a very unique news service dealing with the plight of persecuted Christians as well as aspects of popular culture. I have written for the ASSIST News Service ever since then, and have traveled to a number of countries internationally reporting for them.

In my post Ph.D. years, the shelter continued to grow in budget and services offered. In 2009, due to the generosity of a local businessman, we added a mobile feeding unit we dubbed the Lifeline of Hope. It operates seven days a week 365 days a year, providing food, water and toiletries to people who can afford either a meal or a place to stay-but not both In late 2006 I went through a divorce and was single for a number of years. In March 2015, I got married to my wife Elma. She is the love of my life, and shares the same passion as me for helping feed the hungry and house the homeless. Elma has quickly become an integral part of Joy Junction and is loved by guests and staff alike.

The future for Joy Junction is looking bright, with numerous renovations in 2015 occurring at our aging property. For the comfort of our guests we upgraded the air conditioning at our main building, replaced windows, and put in a new driveway to help make visiting our facility a much less “bumpy” experience. In addition, we have demolished an old and unused chapel on our property to prepare the way for much needed new construction. With the Lord as my guide and my wife at my side, I look forward to the next three decades helping the disenfranchised, marginalized, homeless and hungry. I hope you will consider joining us. For the Silo, Jeremy Reynalds and Joy Junction. (www.joyjunction.org)