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Excommunication
An Apologetics Index research resource

excommunication, shunning

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Excommunication

Excommunication


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Disciplinary action in which someone is ousted from a religious group or movement. (Also known as 'disfellowshipping' - the termination of 'fellowship').

In Christianity, the practice is based in large part on Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.

In some groups and movements, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses (theologically a cult of Christianity), excommunication includes the unbiblical practice of shunning.



A church disciplinary action in which a person who refuses to repent of promoting heretical views, or of engaging in gross sin, is no longer accepted as a member of the church. Such a person may not participate in the ordinances of the church, may not teach or minister in any way, and in extreme cases may be asked to refrain from attending church meetings.
Definition from: "A Biblical Guide To Orthodoxy And Heresy Part One: The Case For Doctrinal Discernment" (an article from the Christian Research Journal, Summer 1990, page 28) by Robert M. Bowman.
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• Articles
Christian The Challenge and Beauty of Church DisciplineOff-site Link by Timothy Harris
Christian Church DisciplineOff-site Link by J. Hampton Keathley III
Christian Church Discipline in the Christian CongregationOff-site Link A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
ChristianAberrational, Heretical, Heterodox, Suborthodox or Unorthodox ExcommunicationOff-site Link Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia
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About this page:
Excommunication
First posted: May 5, 2001
Last Updated: Mar. 12, 2003
Editor: Anton Hein
Copyright: Apologetics Index
Link to: http://www.apologeticsindex.org/e28.html
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