Most JW's believe that the Bible is the 'Truth' not their Governing Body etc. The Witnesses try to live by bible standards and admit they are not 'inspired' but look to the Bible for guidance and as they say they are imperfect so get things wrong. Any Witnesses that make comments to say they are perfect need to go back and study. I'm not a JW but have friends that are and I did study with them for some years and despite remarks to the contrary it's not a bad religion or a 'cult' (using Cult in a negative way) but one that is trying to live by Bible standards. As for child abuse they, the GB, have given new directives to the elders that the police/ relevant authorities, are to be involve and any paedophile to be disfellowshipped from the congregation. The the majority of elders are not trained policemen or trained counsellors but men who are trained in biblical matters and it's hard for them sometimes to come up with the right answers and they should go to the Governing body where research is done to help them find answers to whatever problem comes up. But like all men in all walks of life no one is perfect. I was sexually abused by 'good Catholics' in my childhood and if I was to tell my mother I would have been called a liar and my mouth washed out with soap and water. In my childhood priests and Catholic congregation was see to be above reproach and they were seen to have the 'Truth' also. We know differently now as I'm no longer a Catholic but just a bible student and have been for decades. I don't condemn all Catholics as some are very sincere but there are those that are right so and so's. The same in the JW religion. Good people and bad people same as any other religion or walk of life so why pick on the JW's. By the way the Catholic religion was once viewed as a cult as were many other religions. Maybe those that use the word cult in a derogatory fashion should look up the proper meaning in a dictionary as it is not a derogatory term although now used as one. I know some really good and kind JW's and some that are not apprehensive of discussing deep matters and are very intelligent people. My husband and I have had some really interesting conversations with JW's but we don't go out to knock them but learn how they think. Some people call themselves JW's but are not JW's so beware who you talk to or get your information from. JW's are just witness to Jehovah (Or Yaweh if you prefer) and to Jesus. Yes they do believe in Jesus as they view him as their messianic king.
New BBC article on JW abuse
by snare&racket 25 Replies latest jw friends
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freddo
Welcome Poppycat.
1. Please use paragraph breaks.
2. You are wrong in much of what you have written. Most JW's will obey GB direction over what they themselves feel the bible says because they believe the GB are appointed by Jehovah/Jesus to do the interpretation for them.
Further, in child abuse cases the GB have not given new directives to elders that the police/authorities are to be involved and that the paedo must be disfellowshipped - if you have been told this it is from someone who is engaged in wishful thinking or who is trying to mislead you.
Yet further, if you are only getting your information from those who have studied with you then you are about as clued up on real behind the scene JW practices as I am about Catholic ones. You need to get your information from several sources to see what has the ring of truth.
3. I'm sorry to hear of your abuse. The way the Catholic hierarchy acted is the same as JW's isn't it? I believe neither organisation has the backing of any god I wish to serve.
4. There are indeed some very kind, intelligent and deep JW's - but if any one of them were to say amongst their fellow JW's and stick to the view that the GB is not the true channel of God or that JW predictions surrounding 1914 are false or that the 144,000 is definitely not a literal number then they would be disfellowshipped. They can say it to you because you will not "report" them.
Nice to hear from you.
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Virgochik
Good Lord, they are full of excuses for not doing anything! Even where multiple children are molested by the same "brother", they find reasons to discount the statements. If 100 kids were assaulted, but they didn't see it happening to the other 99, then there weren't two witnesses, so nothing happened!
What will it take to make the Old Gibbering Buzzards care?
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Vidiot
I'm telling you guys, I really do think that they don't want to admit - even to themselves - that there's a problem, and that the Org's flawed policies have been crafted - in part - as a manifestation of that denial. -
nicolaou
Jesus wept Poppycat! You signed up yesterday, have made the grand total of two posts, admitted you have never been a JW but still presume to tell us what Jehovah's Witnesses are really like.
Forum guidelines prohibit me from telling you exactly where to go.
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Mephis
it's not a bad religion or a 'cult' (using Cult in a negative way)
I use cult in a descriptive sense and I see many aspects of a cult in how they operate. They even have had the charismatic leader model in the past, although not at the moment. But high control group is not overstating how JWs work. Any group which insists that one should automatically assume negative information is a lie, which is what JWs do, is not coming from a good place. No-one would disagree that the Catholic church also has totalitarian tendencies too.
the majority of elders are not trained policemen or trained counsellors but men who are trained in biblical matters and it's hard for them sometimes to come up with the right answers and they should go to the Governing body where research is done to help them find answers to whatever problem comes up.
Disagree. They should go to the police, and, where appropriate, child protection agencies. This shouldn't be complicated. If Jackson's view, as given to the Australian Royal Commission, that elders should follow their own consciences to report is correct, then there really shouldn't be an issue in this being explicitly stated in the policies they send out. It's simple, it's common sense, it's morally the right thing to do with serious crimes, and it ensures the safety of not only the congregation but also the wider community. There are no excuses not to do this. None. And when called to court to testify, they should be willing to go on oath and say what they know. There should not be an unseemly rush to claim First Amendment protections (in the US) or ludicrous attempts to extend that to jurisdictions which do not recognise clergy privilege in the same way.
I'm sorry that you were abused within the Catholic church. What you describe of how difficult it would have been for you to report is very similar to how survivors from JWs and other institutions describe it too. I'm sure you'd support action taken to help remove or at least reduce that problem by having a reporting system where the assumption is not that the child is lying but one which provides a safe space for the child to report. That's really where people are coming from with their criticisms of JW policies. The effect of what they do is to discourage children from speaking out. One has situations where teenagers are disfellowshipped for an adult abusing them. That is just unacceptable. This should be dealt with by the appropriate and qualified authorities rather than an unqualified, and typically cackhanded, investigation into 'sin' based on iron age evidential standards.