by pixel 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
It seems that Jehovah doesnt understand how the human brain works or how we learn. Studies show* we retain more information when we study in 20min bursts, have a 5min break doing something fun, then another 20min learning etc etc.
Look at the length of those talks without a break. No wonder we all fell asleep in those conventions.
*https://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/LEARN/LEARN17.html
Don't share the program with the ministerial servants is just to make the elders feel smug and important. Now hundreds of apostates will see the program before some elders do, I feel like making a copy of the elder's program and putting a copy under the windshield wipers of all of the cars at the next meeting.
I feel like making a copy of the elder's program and putting a copy under the windshield wipers of all of the cars at the next meeting.
HAHAHAHA. I did that very thing last night. The difference being that I only put the "elders" programs along with a hi-lited copy of the letter saying NOT to give the information to the MS's under each of the MS's vehicle wiper blades.
FedUpJW:
YES!!! Love it!!!
ITEM OUTLINE
September 1, 2017, letter to all bodies of elders regarding protecting minors from abuse
See also: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5661477811781632/_post/5764660106100736
Elders - Item 10 - Protecting Minors From Abuse - 45 min
Notes: Review with the audience. Be sure to highlight the main points. Read and apply the texts of the cited information as time permits. Emphasize the importance of following strict guidelines set by the branch to address issues related to child abuse If you have questions about the content of this outline, ask the elders to contact the Service Department.
INTRODUCTION (6 min.)
This part will discuss the letter to the bodies of elders from 1 September 2017. Get your copy, please.
When dealing with cases of child abuse, examine this letter along with the pertinent instructions from the Shepherd book.
Question for paragraph 2: What does child abuse cover?
Questions for paragraph 3:
What is our opinion regarding child sexual abuse?
What will the congregation not do for someone who sexually abuses a child?
When someone presents to the elders an allegation of sexual abuse of minors, what should they tell you?
A person who presents an allegation of this nature to the elders should be clearly informed of their right to report the perpetrator to the authorities. The elders do not criticize anyone who chooses that option (Galatians 6: 5).
Questions for paragraph 4:
What duty do the parents have?
What help do they have?
LEGAL ASPECTS (5 min.)
Paragraphs 5 to 9 have legal aspects related to allegations of child abuse.
Questions paragraphs 5 to 7: What immediate action should the elders take when you hear of an allegation of child abuse, and for what purpose?
Two elders should call the Legal Department in all cases listed in paragraph 6 to ensure compliance with laws on reporting child abuse (Rom 13: 1-4). After notifying them, if they are required by law to notify the authorities, the call will be forwarded to the Service Department.
Questions for paragraphs 8 and 9: In what other situations should two elders immediately call the Legal Department?
SPIRITUAL HELP FOR VICTIMS (10 min.)
Paragraph 10 presents the congregation’s view on sexual abuse of minors.
As it says, "we’re talking about an adult guilty of molesting a child, or an adult who has sexual contact with a child approaching adulthood but did not participate voluntarily in the act."
Paragraphs 11 and 12 mention factors that must be taken into account when shepherding victims of abuse and their families. When carrying out their continuing work of spiritual shepherding, it is particularly important to show empathy and compassion to victims of sexual abuse and their families (Isa 32: 1, 2).
Questions for paragraph 11:
When elders shepherd a victim of sexual abuse who is still a minor, who else should be present?
Apart from the spiritual shepherding, what other assistance may the victim or his parents want?
Questions for paragraph 12:
When an adult who is worried or anxious for having been abused in the past approaches the elders, how should they be treated?
What should the elders remember when shepherding a sister who has been sexually abused?
INVESTIGATION OF ACCUSATIONS (5 min.)
Questions for paragraph 13:
- Regardless of who makes the allegation, and whether the accused belongs to the congregation, what should the body of elders do after receiving advice from the branch office?
All accusations made against a member of the congregation should be investigated following biblical guidelines.
- What is not required of the victim of sexual abuse during the investigation process or during the proceedings of the judicial committee?
The abuser is not required to make his / her accusation in the presence of the alleged abuser.
- In the exceptional case where the two elders conducting the investigation consider it necessary to speak to a child who has been sexually abused, what should they do before proceeding?
Elders should contact the Service Department first. Such an application is considered exceptional because in most cases the elders should be able to obtain the necessary information from the parents. In addition, they may already have sufficient evidence to establish an evil act (KS10 5: 37-39).
JUDICIAL AND REINSTATEMENT PROCEDURES (8 min.)
Questions for paragraph 14:
- If the formation of a judicial committee on the grounds of sexual abuse is justified, what should the coordinator of the body of elders do?
If the elders determine that a baptized member of the congregation is guilty of child abuse under the terms of paragraph 10, legal action will be taken against the abuser. Although victims of sexual abuse are not prosecuted, if the body of elders considers that the congregation should take action in the case of a mature child who voluntarily participated in a wrongful act, two of its members should call the Department of Service before proceeding.
What role does the circuit overseer play in these matters?
If the transgressor repents, why is it always necessary to announce censorship?
Questions for paragraph 15:
When a person is expelled for sexual abuse of children requests reinstatement, what should the coordinator of the body of elders do?
If you opt for reinstatement, what should two elders do, and when?
This step is taken before announcing reinstatement to the congregation so that the Service Department can advise the elders of the steps they must take to protect children against the abuser.
Questions for paragraph 16:
If a person is expelled for sexual abuse of children moves and seeks reinstatement, what should the coordinator of the body of elders of the new congregation do?
How do we proceed if the reinstatement committee of the new congregation recommends that the person be reinstated?
If both reinstatement committees agree readmission to reinstate the person, what should two elders of each congregation do, and when?
This step is taken before announcing reinstatement to the congregation so that the Service Department can advise the elders of the steps they must take to protect children against the abuser.
RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY BRANCH (3 min.)
Question for paragraph 17: Under what circumstances should elders expect instructions from the Service Department?
Paragraph 18 adds that in these cases the Service Department indicates the restrictions to be imposed on the activities of the person in the congregation. The Service Department will ask the elders to inform the family heads with younger children in the congregation of the need to monitor their relationship with that person. This measure will be taken only when the Service Department so requires.
Question for paragraph 19: What should be done if the body of elders believe that someone who sexually abused children for decades can receive small privileges?
MOVING TO ANOTHER CONGREGATION (3 min.)
Question for paragraph 21: When someone who faces charges of sexual abuse of children (whether it has been proven or not) moves to a congregation, what procedure is followed?
The Congregation Service Committee should not send any information to the new congregation until it receives advice from the Legal Department and instructions from the Service Department.
Question for paragraph 22: When someone who faces charges of sexual abuse of minors (whether it has been proven or not) moves from a congregation, what steps should the elders take? If the person is expelled and lives in the territory of the congregation, the elders must write down the address on the corresponding territory card, indicating "Do not visit".
INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL CONDUCT BETWEEN MINORS (2 min.)
Question for paragraph 24: What steps should the elders take when minors commit improper sexual acts with each other?
ENTRIES IN THE SHEPHERDING TEXTBOOK (1 min.)
If you have not already done so, confirm that your Shepherding book contains the changes outlined in paragraph 26.
JEHOVAH BLESS THE SPIRITUAL CARE THAT YOU HAVE (1 min.) It is imperative that we strictly follow the instructions of the organization whenever we are informed of a matter relating to child abuse. If we adhere to these guidelines, we will support the sanctity of Jehovah’s name and protect children while shepherding the "flock of God in your care" (1 Pet 2:12; 5:2).
[Announce the next part]. kms-tk18 Num. 10 7/17
MUST BE PRESENTED IN 44 MINUTES
"jeehovah was listening" yes of course he is
" Humility or Ability - Which Does Jehovah Prefer ? "
Translation : We prefer elders to be idiots - that way we can mold them into being WT Society spiritual hit men to abuse the flock.
AND - Only 45 minutes spent on point 10. " Protecting Minors from Abuse " . They should have spent at least 2 hours on this session. They spent more time on the " evaluating pioneers " part than protecting minor children. But that stands to reason - WT leaders don't put much of a priority on children's safety - only how it affects their WT bank account or how to instruct elders to keep child abuse confidential out of the earshot of " worldly " attorneys and " worldly " media so WT doesn't get exposed. Disgusting
After all of the negatives from their child abuse scandal, you'd think they'd make some changes. But they seem to want to double-down on the things that have brought them lawsuit after lawsuit.
Good god almighty. Just got done reading the " instructions " ( if you can call them that ) to elders regarding child abuse in congregations. There are so many holes in these instructions like holes in a sinking ship , my god.
Paragraph 10 , " As it says, " we're talking about an adult guilty of molesting a child, or an adult who has sexual contact with a child but did not PARTICIPATE VOLUNTARILY IN THE ACT. " WTF ? Once again like always - the WT Society leaves a door open to punishing children indicating that CHILDREN may at times participate VOLUNTARILY in a sexual act with adults. That's bullshit. A minor child 17 years old or younger is usually always intimidated by an adult ; especially if the adult threatens a child or the child's family with harm if the child refuses to have sex with the adult molester. Once again, like always in the past : WT Society is showing it's idiocy and insensitivity to the real issues of child abuse - ABUSE OF POWER - by treating it as a " sexual " sin like fornication or adultery in claiming children might be guilty at times. This shit makes me shiver in disgust at WT leaders who make this crap up.
Also they hit on this point AGAIN ! Paragraph 14 - " Although victims of sexual abuse are not prosecuted, if the body of elders considers that the congregation should take action in the case of a MATURE CHILD who VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATED in a wrongful act, two of it's members should call the department of service Before proceeding. " Unbelievable. Here's a concept- just make it mandatory to report any child abuse to the fucking police authorities without the whole " report to the Service Department " BS - or " report to WT legal " BS .
And then THIS little nugget in Questions for paragraph 17 : " The Service Department will ask the elders to inform the family heads with younger children in the congregation of the need to monitor their relationship with that person. This measure will be taken ONLY WHEN THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT SO REQUIRES . Here we go again, ultimate control by the WT Society. So an elder has his hands tied by ' mother ' as to being able to warn or inform other parents of the dangers of child molesters in the congregation - not until ' mother ' says it's O.K. to do so. By that time the child molester may have raped 7 to 10 more children !
Truth of the matter is WT Society does NOT have the skills necessary to protect their children from child molesters, nor the skills needed to address these crimes properly. They need to turn it over to police authorities first instead of putting these abuse victims and their families through a slow as molasses investigation process performed by the WT Society in a bumbling Inspector Clouseau manner . O.K. I'm done. I'm gonna pop a blood vessel if I continue here.
flipper: "the case of a MATURE CHILD who VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATED in a wrongful act"
No, the WT does NOT say 'child', they say 'minor' - big difference
the issue here appears to be the difference between the 'age of majority' (often 18, but sometimes older) ie when a person stops being a 'minor', and the 'age of consent' (often 16, but can vary and be lower).
It appears that generally the age for consent is lower than the age for majority.
For example I understand that in New Zealand the 'age of consent' is 16, but the legal term 'age of majority' is 20.
Hence the above quote to cover the situation with 16, 17, 18 and 19-year-old 'mature minors' in New Zealand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent#By_country_or_region
On the separate issue of under 16s (which is age of consent in UK, may be lower in your country) it is interesting to see what the UK's CICA says (though it has attracted a 'backlash'):
The UK's official Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) draft revised guidelines state: “Consent ‘in fact’ is different from consent ‘in law’. The scheme recognises that there may be situations where a person aged under 16 has ‘in fact’ consented to sexual activity. Where the sexual activity is truly of the applicant’s free will no crime of violence will have occurred.”
Also previous discussion about the BoE letter here:
