You’ve Been Excommunicated!

Christian Nightmares posted this yesterday. Along with Matthew Turner.

Sorry, we’re late to the game. Busy day yesterday.

It looks like it originated from a poster at Reddit. It’s fascinating to say the least…..if it’s real

I say “if it’s real” because, speaking from personal experience, this sort of thing is easy to fake something.

In high school I may or may not have been an office worker my senior year and I may or may not have swiped official school letterhead and an official school envelope and then I may or may not have forged a letter from the principal and then I may or may not have sent it to my newly transferred friend informing him that he would not be allowed to graduate due to the fact that he didn’t pass the make believe “Tennessee History Equivalency Exam”.

No may or may not about it, he bought it hook, line, and sinker.

Sorry Mike.

Anyway, I’m not saying this is a “Tennessee History Equivalency Exam” letter, but the reasons for excommunication mentioned in this letter seem a bit dubious to say the least.

Apart from the simplistic appearance of the letter itself (No church letterhead? Also the blacked out name is really short, no full name for a formal letter? And the pastor doesn’t use his last name in his signature for such an important correspondence?), there’s the reason for excommunication.

Apparently this person “steadfastly refused to listen…and worship on a regular basis” with the church who sent the letter. So, “as a result of [their] non-attendance at worship services or any functions of this body” this person was excommunicated.

Here’s the rub, poor church attendance isn’t something you normally get excommunicated for. It’s something that eventually (usually this takes years) gets you removed from the church membership roll, but excommunicated is completely different. Which makes me a bit suspicious.

However, I did say “normally”. If this is a super-fundamentalist church, then I suppose it is possible that in their minds this could be a justification for excommunication.

It’s just that I would still expect a more “serious” infraction to be listed like “using a Bible other than the 1611 KJV”, “affirming the heresy of evolution” or “allowing a woman to speak in church.”

I don’t know, what do you think? Is this for reals?