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Authority and accountability · Claim record

In July 2011 The Watchtower called apostates 'mentally diseased' and stated that avoiding false teachers means members 'refuse to read their literature, watch TV programs that feature them, examine their Web sites, or add our comments to their blogs'.

Claim ID claim-authority-2011-apostates-mentally-diseased-refuse-to-readConcerns 15 July 2011Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 15 July 2011 Verified

In July 2011 The Watchtower called apostates 'mentally diseased' and stated that avoiding false teachers means members 'refuse to read their literature, watch TV programs that feature them, examine their Web sites, or add our comments to their blogs'. The Watchtower (study edition), 15 July 2011

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower (study edition), “Will You Heed Jehovah’s Clear Warnings?”

15 July 2011 · pp.15-19 · par. 6-7 (p. 16) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“Well, apostates are “mentally diseased,” and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings. [par. 6] … We also refuse to read their literature, watch TV programs that feature them, examine their Web sites, or add our comments to their blogs. [par. 7]”

Compares apostates to carriers of a 'contagious, deadly disease' and sets out what avoiding 'false teachers' involves.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened the WOL document; page marker confirms p. 16. The 'poisoned dish' image suggested in the brief is NOT in this article (it uses 'dried-up wells', 'ravenous wolves' and disease imagery).

Corroborated by. src-w-1986-0315-not-quickly-shaken

Notes. The 'mentally diseased' phrase attracted UK press coverage in 2011 (not researched here).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-2011-0715-heed-clear-warnings

Claim page

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