Re my post from last week.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=45220&site=3
It would appear from responses I received, both publically and privately, that the hate email I received from J.A. was an isolated case.
Originally I was just going to ignore it, but the senders comment with regards to Child Abuse, angered me. It reminded me of the too common " stick your hand in the sand mentallity " that most JW's have. That and the recent WTBTS comments suggesting that the press / media is purposely spreading slander and lies about JW's motivated me to respond directly to J.A.
I have not received a reply, so I have decided to post the contents here, for the forum to peruse.
I am including the original mail sent to me, along with my response to the sender.
Here is the original email from J.A.
From: "J.A"
>To:
>Subject: the watchtower society and ex-jws
>Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 09:59:16 -0800
>Dear Mr. Smith you sound like every ex-jw's now a days.
>I am just sick and tired of all of you ex-jw's crying the
>blues about the Watchtower Society. I think you all want
>attention and publicity. I don't think that you are concerned
>with the JW kids you just want to spread your apostate
>message to get people to turn away from the Watchtower
>Society. No matter what you think of the Watchtower
>Society they teach the True doctrines of the Bible. Ex-JW's
>try to make apples out of oranges with all this nonsense
>of child abuse and the UN-connection, and all of the
>skeletons they have. I would be out of my mind to say
>that JW's are perfect little angels. They are not! They
>are human and yes some of the leadership have been
>affected by corruption but this does not change the fact
>that The "trinity" is false the "hellfire" teaching is not of
>the bible etc; That is what I notice about ex-jw's that
>all of sudden find Jesus. You all want to live an unscriptual
>life-style and have no penalty behind it such as "disfellowshipping or disassociation" This is a bible practice it was not invented by JW's. I am an ex-jw but
>I know right from wrong. Apostates love to make JW's
>look bad no matter how ridiculous and stupid it may
>sound. For years JW's have been condemned by the
>public for their disfellowshipping practice but now ex-jws
>want the public to believe that they are allowing child
>molester to roam around in the congregations and not do
>anything. This just does not add up. You of all people
>should know since you grew up in the truth.I don't know
>what you "apostates" get out of all this. I never had
>an elder or older JW try to molest me are abuse me so
>I don't know where all of this nonsense is coming from.
>I am sure there are some cases of JW's abusing kids
>just like Born-Again Christians abuse kids also.
My Response:
John. Replying to your email.
You have obviously been reading a lot of posts on the JW site you retrieved my email from.
A couple of comments.
JW's when they leave the org. have their own decisions to make as how they want to live. They no longer have to be concerned about conforming their lives to an ever changing set of authoritative rules, instituted by autocrats. Painting all ex jw's with the same brush, suggesting we immediately lose our consciences, and turn into immoral hedonists is rude, insulting, and judgmental.
I take exception to your impression about us. Your claim that we are publicity seekers, and do not care about the victims of child abuse is incorrect, misguided, and cruel. If you yourself have not been a victim of abuse, count yourself as one of the fortunate ones.
The overwhelming evidence from those abused, who have had the courage, to come forward, and the attempts of the WTBTS at all levels of the hierarchy to suppress it is well documented. Recent programs such as Dateline, BBC's Panorama, and the upcoming CBC,s the Fifth Estate offer irrefutable evidence of this.
I am inserting here a reply from a friend, whom I shared your email with, who was abused as a child. The story is , like all stories of abuse, very disturbing. Even more disturbing are the attempts to cover it up, to the point where the victims are made to feel the fault lies with them. Justice has been denied. Therein I think lies the major reason for a lot of the bitterness and contempt you allude to. This has translated into the forming of support groups, such as the Silent Lambs, and their crusade to see justice for the victims and protection for the innocents.
Her Story: Note. I have removed the story from this posting. I had permission to send it as an attachement with my email, but not post it in a public forum.
John. I hope this assists you to have a more balanced view of our position.
Regards:
Comments Anybody ?
" Millions Now Living Will Never Know "
Edited to add attachments. Having big technical problems today. Sorry everbody.
Edited by - xjw_b12 on 26 January 2003 13:42:56