This is the main difference between the Catholic and the WTS. This issue brings it right to the public's door and that is something very key to this issue.
Thanks for unintentionally emphasizing the fact that we JWs are serious enough with regards Jesus’ instructions to go make disciples that we even take the message to the people’s doors, not wishing to miss anyone. Yes, admirably, JWs stand out in stark contrast to most any denomination of Christendom … not just the Catholics. Insofar as Catholics go I'm nearing 63 years of age and have yet to be personally/directly approached by a member of their faith ... other than one of their kids coming to the door wanting to know if I would wish to buy a raffle ticket for a drawing during their fall festival celebration.
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The very idea of a KNOWN child-abuser being anywhere at all on my personal premises would make me quite sick … would make me want to call the authorities.
Insofar as permitting an ACCUSED child-abuser to engage in the ministry, due to other distractions I haven't really given much thought about that.
Can people who become one of Jehovah's Witnesses turn to molesting children? Sure they can, as anything is possible with people who have hardly ever been exposed to anything other than MAN’S SYSTEM, and the “rat race” way of life it has to offer. Does that mean that such criminals have a justifiable alibi? Of course not, but it does point to the real root of this problem -- and, as a matter of fact, almost every other problem that mankind is troubled with.
If Adam hadn’t rejected God’s oversight such things would hardly, if ever, be heard of. But to be only concerned with the injustice, and not concerned at all with the solution is idiotic. ALL people, whether directly affected by such an atrocious act or not, should be looking for a total solution to why these things happen.
Apostates are quick and intent to point the finger at the WTS, as they have done regarding this issue. Yet apostates have little interest in the long-term fix -- which is Christ’s 1000-yearlong Kingdom.
But what if the WTS is at fault and hasn’t used good judgment? (I have no way of knowing for sure, because I’m not in a position to know all the facts.) Is the apostate really such a fine person when s/he cares only a little? To look for a total solution is to care a lot, is that not true? In addition to properly dealing with the criminal, the one that wants a real solution is the one who REALLY does care. Simply put, then, the apostate cares only a “little”.
An “apostate” is one that has abandoned belief in God and the Bible, AFTER having been exposed to them. And that’s what most of you here have done, even though some of you profess to still believe in God and the Bible. (To reject the people who have dedicated their lives to genuinely serving God, namely Jehovah’s Witnesses, is to reject God and the Bible.) In my estimation there’s no excuse whatsoever for having done that. My feeling is that if a person is truly sad over all the bad things that affect the human race they THEN have the key to properly understanding the Bible. If that’s true, then most of you here never possessed that “key” to start with.
And so I have no doubts about such a thing as child abuse having happened amongst JWs. To BECOME one of Jehovah's Witnesses though is just a starting point, which was preceded by a "Bible study" and satisfactorily having answered a number of questions before baptism. Even years later, depending upon the individual’s determination, the person may not have made significant progress on the road towards holiness (something that only the 144,000 actually achieve in this lifetime).
Can children lie? Some have been known to, yes. Seems I've heard somewhere that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and I suppose that rule applies even if the accuser is a child. However, I must say that if I held a position of responsibility, and I was faced with a complaint regarding such a matter I would be very disturbed and intent on looking into the matter. Other than that I just don’t know, since, like I’ve already mentioned, I don’t have full knowledge of any of such cases.
Do I think that someone accused of molestation by a child should be allowed to engage in the Field Ministry? I believe that if I were still attending meetings I would likely know the one charged well enough so that I would be able to decide if the charge was legitimate or not. There is such a thing as really knowing a person, you know. If you are acquainted with a person that well, then you know whether or not the person would be capable of committing such a thing. Of course hardly anything's ever 100% sure in THIS world, which includes man’s jurisdictional system. But, if I had definite reason to believe that the person has done such a thing I wouldn’t waste any time in reporting him/her to the police. Has the WTS failed in doing this, possibly so but I doubt it.
I might've said more, but I’m fatigued.
Yadirf
Edited mostly to break into smaller paragraphs for easier reading.
Daniel 11:35 ... a KEY prophecy that must be fulfilled before the "time of the end" gets underway.
