A - Apostasy — EXJW World

Questions to reflect on

- What exactly does apostasy mean?

- Is doubting a doctrine already apostasy?

- Are you apostate if you no longer believe that Jehovah’s Witnesses are God’s organization?

- Is leaving the organization the same as leaving Jehovah?

- When does criticism or a different belief become apostasy?

- And who ultimately decides whether someone is apostate?

Familiar questions

What does apostasy mean?

In general religious usage, apostasy means that someone abandons or rejects a faith or belief they previously held. Among Jehovah’s Witnesses, the term has a more specific and weightier religious meaning.
In Jehovah’s Witness publications, apostasy is described as turning away from true worship, abandoning it, or rebelling against Jehovah. The term can refer to the deliberate rejection of core beliefs and to promoting views that, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, go against Bible truth.
In the JW context, apostasy therefore means more than simply having a question or doubting something.

Doubt is not the same as apostasy

A Jehovah’s Witness may have questions about a Bible explanation, a changed doctrine, events in the organization’s history, or a decision by the Governing Body.
That does not automatically make someone apostate.
There is a difference between:
‘I don’t understand this explanation.’
‘I’m not sure this explanation is correct.’
‘I no longer believe this explanation is correct.’
‘I’m trying to convince others that the organization’s teaching is wrong.’
Within Jehovah’s Witnesses, these situations can be judged differently. That is why it is important not to automatically treat doubt, research, a change of faith, and actively promoting views that are considered apostate within the organization as the same thing.

What does ‘leaving the truth’ mean?

To understand apostasy among Jehovah’s Witnesses, the expression ‘the truth’ is also important.
When a JW says: ‘He left the truth’, this usually means more than that someone no longer interprets a certain Bible verse the same way.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they have found the true Christian religion and that Jehovah uses a visible organization. As a result, faith in Jehovah, Bible truth, and trust in his organization are closely linked within the faith.
Someone who leaves may describe the same event differently: ‘I examined what I believed and came to a different conclusion.’
The same process can therefore be described from the inside as apostasy, while the person who leaves experiences it as a change in belief.

Is leaving the organization the same as leaving Jehovah?

Not necessarily from the perspective of the person who leaves.
A former JW might say, for example: ‘I still believe in Jehovah and the Bible, but not that Jehovah’s Witnesses are his exclusive organization.’
Another person loses trust in the organization as well as belief in God. Yet another joins a different Christian church. And someone else may not know what they believe for a long time.
Within Jehovah’s Witness doctrine, this is more complicated, because loyalty to Jehovah is closely tied to his presumed visible organization.
That is why ‘he left Jehovah’s Witnesses’ does not provide enough information to know what someone really believes about Jehovah, Jesus, or the Bible.

What if you disagree with the Governing Body?

Jehovah’s Witnesses assign the Governing Body a special spiritual responsibility. According to current teaching, it forms the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ that provides spiritual food.
At the same time, the organization has itself stated that the Governing Body is not inspired and not infallible. According to its own publications, it can make mistakes in doctrinal explanations or organizational direction.
That means having a question or disagreement does not automatically prove that someone is turning against Jehovah.
However, within the faith there is an important difference between personally having questions and actively promoting views that are fundamentally at odds with Jehovah’s Witness teaching.
That is why context matters.

Apostasy and information

Jehovah’s Witnesses are strongly warned about information from people who are regarded within the organization as apostates.
In official study material, members are advised not to read, watch, listen to, or distribute apostate material. From the perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the reason for this is spiritual protection: according to them, apostate information can damage a person’s faith and relationship with Jehovah.
An active JW may therefore think: ‘Why would I look at information from someone who is deliberately trying to pull me away from Jehovah?’
A questioning or former JW may raise a different question in response: ‘How can I judge whether his claims are wrong if I do not examine for myself what they are based on?’
These two perspectives help explain why information from former members can be such a sensitive topic.

Not all critical information is automatically true

The fact that someone is critical of Jehovah’s Witnesses does not automatically make their information reliable.
A former JW can be mistaken. A website may use outdated information. A video may take a statement out of context. A personal story may describe a real experience without that experience being representative of every JW.
Independent research therefore does not mean simply switching from one authority to another.
Not:
‘JW.org says it, so it must be true.’
But also not:
‘An ex-JW says it, so it must be true.’
A more useful question is: ‘What is the original source, and can I verify the claim myself?’

When is someone considered apostate?

This is difficult to summarize in one sentence, because not every doubt or dissenting thought has the same meaning.
Within Jehovah’s Witnesses’ religious rules, certain forms of apostasy can eventually lead to congregational action, especially when someone deliberately rejects fundamental teachings and continues to promote dissenting beliefs.
That means there is an important difference between what someone thinks in their head and what someone openly teaches or tries to spread.
A person who is doubting and researching is therefore not automatically in the same position as someone who actively tries to turn congregation members away from Jehovah’s Witnesses’ teachings.

Apostasy and removal

Apostasy can within Jehovah’s Witnesses be one reason why someone is eventually removed from the congregation.
But not everyone who is removed is apostate.
Someone may, for example, be removed for sexual conduct that the organization considers seriously sinful, drunkenness, or another serious offense in which, according to the elders, no repentance is shown.
Conversely, someone may have all kinds of doubts without being removed.
The terms apostasy and removal should therefore not be used as synonyms.

Why does the word carry so much weight?

For someone outside Jehovah’s Witnesses, apostasy may sound like a formal word for changing religion.
Within the JW community, it can feel much heavier. It can be associated with spiritual danger, unfaithfulness to Jehovah, deception, and trying to draw others away from the truth.
As a result, someone who is wrestling with serious doubts for the first time may not only think:
‘What if this isn’t true?’
but also:
‘What if it is wrong for me even to investigate this?’
Those are two different questions. The first is about truth. The second is about the freedom a person feels to seek that truth.

Who decides what apostasy is?

The doctrinal boundaries are ultimately determined by what Jehovah’s Witnesses officially teach as Bible truth.
When a concrete situation arises within a congregation, elders may have to assess what someone believes, says, or does, and how that relates to the organization’s religious standards.
It is helpful to distinguish between two kinds of assessment here.
Elders can determine whether someone’s statements or conduct fall under apostasy according to Jehovah’s Witnesses’ standards.
But according to the Bible, only Jehovah can fully know the heart.
That means an organizational assessment of someone’s religious position is not necessarily the same as full knowledge of that person’s motives, conscience, or personal relationship with God.

Can someone not see themselves as apostate at all?

Yes.
Someone can be regarded by others as apostate and completely reject that label themselves.
He may say, for example: ‘I have not left Jehovah. I just no longer believe that the Governing Body speaks on his behalf.’
Or: ‘I am not against Jehovah’s Witnesses. I am just explaining why I no longer believe.’
An active JW may judge the same statements differently from within his religious framework.
That is why, with this term, the question ‘apostate according to whom?’ is particularly relevant.

A label does not tell the whole story

Former Jehovah’s Witnesses are not a homogeneous group.
Some still believe in Jehovah. Some remain Christian. Some become atheist or agnostic. Some actively campaign against the organization. Others mainly want to rebuild their own lives and hardly ever speak about Jehovah’s Witnesses.
That is why the word apostate or apostasy never automatically tells the whole story.
The same is true in reverse. A former JW who refers to every active Jehovah’s Witness only as indoctrinated likewise reduces a person to a single explanation.
A religious label can say something about someone’s position.
It does not automatically say who someone is.

Things to think about for yourself

Which belief has someone actually left?
Has he left Jehovah, the organization, or does he distinguish between the two himself?
Is he still doubting, or has he already reached a different conclusion?
Is he researching information, or is he actively trying to persuade others?
Do I know his own reasons, or only what others say about him?
Can I examine a claim without first having to decide whether the person making it is trustworthy or an “apostate”?
If my faith is true, what should careful investigation be able to show about it?

In closing

Apostasy is a serious religious term among Jehovah’s Witnesses. It does not simply mean that someone has questions, doubts, or no longer attends meetings. It refers to turning away from what is considered true worship within the community and can, depending on belief and behavior, have serious religious consequences.
At the same time, two people can describe the same change of faith in completely different ways. Where one sees apostasy, another may speak of research, freedom of conscience, or a changed belief.
That is why, in addition to “Is this person an apostate?”, a more useful question may be:

“What does this person actually believe, what has he researched, and how did he come to his conclusion?”

Sources

JW.org - How to Remain in God’s Love? - Endnote 18: Apostasy
JW.org - Enjoy Life Forever!, lesson 58 - Remain Loyal to Jehovah
JW.org - Can Someone Choose to Stop Being One of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
JW.org - publications on apostasy and information from apostates
The Watchtower - February 2017 - Who Is Leading God’s People Today?
Watchtower Online Library - Apostasy
New World Translation - Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 John 9-11; 1 Samuel 16:7