All my JW life I was reminded constantly about the importance of not bringing reproach on Jehovah's name.
Decisions on whether or not to disfellowship an individual often turned, not on the seriousness of the sin, but on whether the incident was public knowledge and had resulted in bad publicity for the congregation. I recall a middle-aged lady being reported to the elders for shoplifting a sweet worth less than £1- and the elders' insistence that a judicial committee must be formed because the store manager and staff knew that she was a JW (I successfully argued that all she needed was support for her dreadful family life, but that's another story)
This morning the UK Guardian carries a story that labels Jehovah's Witnesses 'an absolute disgrace' for their refusal to compensate - I suspect the real problem is their refusal to apologise to - the victims of child abuse. A few days ago The Telegraph reported on accusations that the Watchtower is 'selling of assets and moving cash to avoid sex abuse compensation'.
I can only imagine how odious the name Jehovah has become in Australia.
As a child the fear of a future period of persecution was used as an effective weapon to suppress any thoughts of disloyalty. Who could have thought that the authorities would actually come after the organisation for protecting pedophiles?
The excuses for active JWs to cling to the organisation are becoming more tenuous every day.