On February 11, 2021, Paul Gillies, Overseer (Director) of Public Relations at World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with Marc Hensen (European Public Relations Officer), Jørgen Pedersen (Scandinavian Branch Office Board Member) and Dag-Erik Kristoffersen (Danish Public Relations Officer), met with Reid Ivar Bjørland Dahl & Irene Tvedt Wangen, Norwegian government representatives “to correct misinformation presented in the media about the teachings and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.
It was a 30 minute meeting via video conference. During the call, Reid Dahl asked several questions that the Jehovah’s Witnesses answered during the meeting and reiterated in a letter some weeks later.
Although, we do not currently have a recording of the meeting, we have a good idea what was discussed because of the contents of the follow-up letter from the Jehovah’s Witnesses dated March 4, 2021.
From the letter, it is unclear what “misinformation presented in the media” they were correcting. Apparently, it was in response to the NRK report entitled “God’s Chosen”. That one hour report followed three Norwegian women who were being shunned because they were expelled from the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion.
Nowhere in the letter from Paul Gillies and his associates did they deny that they shun former members. What Paul Gillies did try to claim is that “normal family affections and dealings continue”. He failed to admit in his letter that this is only true for those who live in the same household. Indeed he reiterates that “family life continues [only] for those living in the same household” when answering Dahl’s question as to whether someone under the age of 18 can be baptized and subsequently expelled.
Instead of answering Dahl’s question directly, Paul Gillies mentioned that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not baptize infants. The NRK report never said that Jehovah’s Witnesses baptize infants. Without specifying how young Jehovah’s Witnesses can be to get baptized, Paul Gillies said, “As children grow older, they may at some point choose to be baptized” and he does go on to admit that “If a Jehovah’s Witness, regardless of age, makes it a practice to break the moral standards of the Bible and does not repent, the same practice applies as mentioned earlier” That practice “mentioned earlier” is shunning. (emphasis mine)
He then quoted one of his saviours, Massimo Introvigne, who is often commissioned (read: paid) by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to defend their more extreme practices. In this case Introvigne defends “their right to interpret the Bible in the sense that it mandates shunning those who have been disfellowshipped“. (emphasis mine)
Here they use Introvigne to admit that they do indeed shun former members.
After all is said and done, it’s unclear what “misinformation” Paul Gillies and his associates “corrected”. If anything, they confirmed that they shun those whom they disfellowship, and that they will shun even children that are disfellowshipped.
Their deceptive methods are reminiscent of the bible serpent who deceived Eve. Although he said that she “certainly will not die”, he failed to include the word “immediately” after that statement. Gillies and his associates use the same lying techniques when it comes to “correcting misinformation” regarding shunning and child baptisms/expulsions. As the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details”.
Further Reading:
June 12, 2014
Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, Fernández Martínez V. Spain, 2014
(Quotation on page 34 part 127. Compare with page 35, part 131; see also pages 59 – 63, part 4)
December 15, 2020:
Jørgen Pedersen’s request to meet with Monika Mæland, Minister of Justice and Public Security (Norwegian)
Jørgen Pedersen’s request to meet with Monika Mæland, Minister of Justice and Public Security (English Translation)
January 25, 2021:
Email from the Office of the Minister of Justice to the Department of Education and Research (Norwegian)
Email from the Office of the Minister of Justice to the Department of Education and Research (English Translation)
February 3, 2021:
Letter from the Department of Education and Research to the Department of Children and Family Affairs (Norwegian)
Letter from the Department of Education and Research to the Department of Children and Family Affairs (English Translation)
February 5, 2021:
Emails to and from Jehovah’s Witnesses and the office of Minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (Norwegian)
Emails to and from Jehovah’s Witnesses and the office of Minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (English Translation)
February 9, 2021:
Further emails to and from Jehovah’s Witnesses and the office of Minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (Norwegian)
Further emails to and from Jehovah’s Witnesses and the office of Minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (English Translation)
March 4, 2021:
Follow-up Email from Jehovah’s Witnesses after meeting with Government representatives (Norwegian)
Follow-up Letter from Jehovah’s Witnesses after meeting with Government representatives (Norwegian)
Follow-up Email from Jehovah’s Witnesses after meeting with Government representatives (English Translation)
Follow-up Letter from Jehovah’s Witnesses after meeting with Government representatives (English Translation)
March 17, 2021:
Rolf Furuli’s comments on the letter from Jehovah’s Witnesses of March 4, 2021 (Norwegian)
Rolf Furuli’s comments on the letter from Jehovah’s Witnesses of March 4, 2021 (English)
Article updated March 26, 2021 to include link to Fernández Martínez v Spain Judgment