by Fatfreek 40 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
.....the rule was that there had to be 2 eyewitnesses and those 2 eyewitnesses had to be baptized Jehovah's Witnesses preferably in good standing.
Now that's absolutely amazing. I feel for those of you who've suffered this type of abuse.
....a couple days later I had my judicial meeting, where I had to describe in detail exactly what happend, so the elders could determinne whether or not it was rape.
I am sorry you had to experience such a tragic situation like that. art
If they refuse to accept forensic evidence that means they are really determined to protect rapists and as with child abuse they manifest a very strange reluctance to see justice done.
Big Tex, Your post was a bit thought-provoking for me. I really think Brenda's comment was about Islam though.
Anywhoo, after thinking about what you said, I realized that (for me) it is not about who was hurt the most. There are many people--male and female--who have been hurt by the borg much more than I was.
Who was hurt the most (for me) is a totally separate issue from the misogyny and anti-children teachings and actions of the borg. What I mean to say is, though many men were much more hurt by the borg than I was, that doesn't make the anti-kids/anti-females prejudice go away.
I read through the elders manual and I found this passage explaining that pregnancy could be used as evidence that sexual contact took place, they used the phrase circumstantial evidence, and DNA is above and beyond this and a baby carries DNA. Therefore I would assume that, DNA evidence used for the purposes of proving rape would also have to be considered.
What kind of evidence is acceptable?
There must be two or three eyewitnesses, not just persons
repeating what they have heard; no action can be taken if
there is only one witness. (Deut. 19:15;Jol1ll 8:17)Confession (admission of wrongdoing), either written or
oral, may be accepted as conclusive proof without other
corroborating evidence. (Josh. 7:19)Strong circumstantial evidence, such as pregnancy or evi-
dence (testified to by at least two witnesses) that the
accused stayed all night in the same house with a person of
the opposite sex (or in the same house with a known
homosexual ) under improper circumstances, is acceptable.
What I mean to say is, though many men were much more hurt by the borg than I was, that doesn't make the anti-kids/anti-females prejudice go away.
No of course not. And I didn't mean to imply otherwise.
I just think it does no good to paint anyone with a broad brushstroke. I think it's a mistake to begin with "All {fill in the blank} are bad/responsible, etc." I think that applies to Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, men and women.
Chris
Deu 22:23 "If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another
man finds her in the city and lies with her, Deu 22:24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor's wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
the drain tunnel was in the city limits, so they asked how many times I'd screamed for Jehovah to save me. they decided I hadn't fought enough, because every instance in the literature says that when women scream for Jehovah, the rapists stop and run away.
thanks for the heartfelt apology from the ex-elder. it helps to know that. maybe one of the elders who worked on my case felt conflicted by what he did.
my elders were: a guy who worked in a dairy factory, an electrical engineer, and a guy who delivered Pepsi to convenience stores. my fate was in their hands. religious leaders, all. it could have only been more perfect if one of them had cleaned offices for a living.
I do not know the answer to your question. What i do remember is if you did not scream loud enough they did not consider it rape. What a bunch of jerks!
Okay, here's a hypothetical question. Say a woman gets raped by an elder and she wisely keeps and hides a stained garment. She reports him to another elder who advises her to not mention it to the authorities and that they will take care of it. The guilty elder denies it to the JC investigating. They find no guilt. She then decides to overstep her bounds and take it to the Superior Authorities who with her stained garment convict the elder and send him to prison.
What becomes of him and her in the eyes of the congregation? Is he still in good standing, though standing inside prison walls, since there weren't two witnesses to his crime? Is she still in bad standing because she went to the authorities?
Fats
What becomes of him and her in the eyes of the congregation?
Something similar happened in my wife's old congregation. Except that it was a teenage boy who raped several children. Since there were not two eyewitnesses, and he denied it, the elders dropped the matter. The parents of one of the boys' victims went to the police and he was convicted. No judicial action was taken against him whatsoever. However the victims were blackballed, "marked" unofficially by the congregation as being unworthy of their association since they had brought "shame upon Jehovah's name". All but one of the victims' families left. When the boy was released, he was welcomed back with open arms and assigned to the same book study as one of his victims.
When the family complained they were strongly counseled and the elders even went so far as to threaten anyone in the congregation who spoke about this boy in any manner with being immediately disfellowshipped. Why? Because since there were not 2 eyewitnesses, the child was obviously lying and the convicted molestor was being persecuted by Satan's wicked system. There was a special needs talk on "forgiveness". The offender was invited to a children's only skating party. My children attended that party. Thank God nothing happened, but it could have.
The victim's family was literally driven out of the congregation. He is still there.
Rule of Law in extremely paternalistic cults (like JW or Islam) will protect MEN, of course.
(at all costs, to whatever illogical end...)
kdn
atty at (non-paternalistic) law
