Shunning, Jehovah's Witnesses, Norway, Book, MISA, 2X2
Stop Mandated Shunning: What next in Norway? An interview with Jan Frode Nilsen
" ... Jan Frode Nilsen [offers] an insightful update on the evolving situation in Norway. Jan shares why he remains optimistic that mandated shunning by Jehovah's Witnesses will eventually be consigned to history. He also offers thoughtful guidance on the journey from victim to survival—and ultimately, to thriving after leaving Jehovah's Witnesses."
"This is a true account about a couple who met and fell in love while being members of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. Jehovah's Witnesses. Both born into the religion in separate geographical areas. As children they grew up within this secretive and highly controlled environment. From babies they were repetitively taught that they, "were no part of the world". The world outside of their true religion was evil and controlled by Satan himself and it was imperative to remain vigilant from Satan and his demons as he looks to entice you from the Organisation and into his world that leads to total destruction.
Marc and Cora were both divorced. Marc had left the religion at 15 and joined the forces. Partly to escape his abusive alcoholic Jehovah's Witness father. Cora remained inside the religion and was eventually married at 20 to a man whose father was a Presiding Overseer within their congregation. A powerful senior position locally and closely connected to the policing and rigid controls at the behest of the hierarchy in London and the USA HeadQuarters.
Cora's divorce did not meet the religions scriptural requirements, this led the hierarchy to decree that she was no longer free to marry anyone else. To go against this decree and marry again would lead to a world of patriarchal judgments, punishment and eventual shunning from all she knew and loved. The risks were very high when she met Marc who moved into the congregation and was trying to repent and be accepted back within the fold. The very close observations placed on Marc because of his past were very real, surrounded in suspicion and mistrust of him. Cora too was under strict control and scrutiny by the elders of her congregation. Marc had a long way to go before being accepted back as a fully fledged Jehovah's Witness. The story goes on to tell how they eventually take risks to court each other, fall in love, then marry against the will of the whole community and the pain they experienced for three years as a result.
This is a story about Love, fear, control, punishment, endurance and learning to rely on each other. The story covers other characters whose names have all been changed, who tried their very best to cause as much harm as possible to Marc and Cora. They are both eventually disfellowshipped (banished) from the religion. No one is allowed to talk to them again, they are dead in the eyes of all Jehovah's Witnesses. From this point onwards they are determined to prove Cora was free to marry all along and so they go to every meeting at the Kingdom Hall with their two youngest children for three years while being shunned slandered and hated and without a single word being said to them in the Kingdom Hall (church). The story eventually vindicates their marital position, where more lies are exposed about how the elders held back vital information from the couple. After three long enduring years they are reinstated and everyone loves them again. But for Marc and Cora they are totally burnt with the experience and plan their resignation from the religion for good. Leaving behind family and their childhood indoctrination. After much intensive research of the religion that had controlled their lives for so long they decided to become activists and are known worldwide for their work in supporting other JWs who are in trouble with the organisation. The work has led to many true friends being made around the world and in some cases led to suicide prevention."
LAURA MCCONNELL: Doesn't she know the baby is teething?
" ... I've written and spoken on violence within Truth 2x2 and fundamentalist (mainly rural) communities for a while now, predominantly in women's magazines. Every time I've published a piece; I've carefully crafted around disclosing too much of my own story. Underpinning my writing on violence in these communities is a very real, lived experience.
If you've been around here awhile, you'll know I was trying to protect my own family. I know the experiences the women in my family survived. I have a deep respect and understanding that their lives were difficult. I have never wanted to cause more harm or distress by naming what they've done to contribute to violence.
However, this piece is to say: I'm done. I want to talk specifics about the violence.
I grew up surrounded by violence, coercion and abuse. Some of it was perpetrated by women. That is a difficult and extremely nuanced conversation in a culture where men perpetrate the majority of violence, and where the manosphere likes to accuse women of equal levels of violence as a deflection technique. I want to be clear here – my talking about women who abuse should not be used to deflect from the very real issue of men's use of violence.
What I'm writing on here is nuanced – these women are abusing in the context of high control, high demand, cult communities. These communities allow (encourage in my opinion) women to use violence on their children.
Violence and abuse by the women in my family still flares up in my life. Often after I've had something published in mainstream media, one or more of them will reach out in email or via DM's on social media, with paragraphs of vitriolic hate mail. Right now there is content galore to flare them up – a Decult documentary released which includes me. A Victorian inquiry into cults and fringe groups, which I'm playing an active part in. They can find information about me and my work unsolicited in their social media feeds, and it's quite upsetting for them, it seems.
What they could do is be proud when this information about me crosses their paths. They could think 'How amazing is it that one of OUR OWN is breaking intergenerational cycles?'
Instead they lash out."
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