OrphanCrow

Joined

• started 195 topics
• posted 4,799 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by OrphanCrow

• 
  16

  Informant-I consent for my relevant medical records to be shared with HLC!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  from an informant who contacted atlantis:.

  .. i consent to my relevant medical records and the details of my condition being shared with.

  the emergency contact below and/or with member(s) of the hospital liaison committee.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  Atlantis, there is some feedback on the HLC and medical records on this thread here:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/11840003/question-about-hlc-medical-records
• 
  2

  I do not charge for my Studies

  by Doug Mason in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a visit to my site shows, i do not charge for my studies, and i never shall.. http://www.jwstudies.com/.

  while conducting a search on the www, i came across a site that provides a wide range of material.

  searching that site for terms such as "watchtower" i was shocked and disappointed to see that they are charging a cost for some of my studies.. i assure everyone that i do not know who these people are, nor do i receive any money from them.. the site is: http://theclassics.us/.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  That is shocking, Doug.

  Are you not protected under copyright laws from someone else making money off your work?

  It is unbelievable what people will do to make money - steal from others and call it business. It is shameful
• 
  16

  Giant fruit in Canaan/TNS

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok bible scholars, do i have this right?.

  jehoopla promised the israelites lots of great stuff in the promised land, but they didn't believe him so they sent spies to check it out.

  they came back with fruit so large it had to be carried on a branch by 2 men.. from this, dubs believe they are going to have strawberries the size of king king's skull when they get to their own promised land (the new system).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  Rebel: From this, dubs believe they are going to have strawberries the size of King King's skull when they get to their own Promised Land (The New System).
  They posit the reason our fruit is smaller is that we are destroying Earth with all of our sinful wind chimes and wizard toys. Once that horror has stopped, the fruit will get bigger. You'll be able to eat a single grape for lunch!

  Wow. This is the first I have heard of this one, Rebel!

  It sounds like something out of an old Golden Age article. Totally wacked out.

  So...if strawberries are as big as King King's skull, and a single grape is big enough for lunch....how frigging big are those damned watermelons gonna grow? Who would want to tackle that one? I wouldn't want to have to be the one cutting it up. A person would need a chain saw!
• 
  11

  JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES OLD SUPREME COURT CASE (THEY LOST) COMES UP IN THE NEWS concerning TERROR and HATE SPEECH!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know about it and i'll explain the reason why.it has to do with terrorism and hate speech!________________________.

  in researching my book about jehovah's witnesses, (i wept by the rivers of babylon) i studied many supreme court cases jehovah''s witnesses were fighting during the 1940's.. one such case is: 1942 supreme court ruling chaplinsky v. new hampshire.. if you had to use just two words to describe this case those two words would be: fighting words.. __________________________.

  a jw street preacher incited his fellow citizens to riot against him by insulting everything they held dear: their god, their religion, their government, and their flag.. (that doesn't surprise you, does it?:).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  Good post, Terry.I read a SCOTUS judgement, in another court case...maybe the same one..., that basically said that "a person's right to free speech ends at another person's rights".

  Freedom of Speech is not a blanket right and the historic JW court cases have much to do with current law. Covington sent many of the early JWs on legal journeys that targeted the SCOTUS for rulings that were quite significant.
• 
  99

  Golden Rule: Pure Garbage?

  by willmarite in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on another thread a poster made the comment that the golden rule was garbage.

  she said it was arrogant and made assumptions.. i didn't want to derail that thread so i started another wondering if this is a common thought about this belief on this forum.

  i guess i naively thought the value of doing to others as you want them to do to you was generally accepted as positive.. i understand people have different opinions of jesus as a person but i don't want to get into that here.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  vivane: Used as written, the golden rule is a terrible place to start. It's "lasted" because Jesus and reasons and people calling their behavior the golden rule when in fact they are doing the exact opposite.

  You are exactly right, Vivane.

  All one has to do is look to the destructive practices of colonialism throughout history to see that false charity based upon one culture's understanding of 'right' behaviour, to know that the 'Golden Rule' is a political ploy used to control and oppress those who are targeted by it.

  The results of applying that 'Golden Rule' has harmed large groups of people historically.
• 
  13

  let's show this cartoon to a modern Jehovah's witness

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if they knock my door, i want them to explain me what this cartoon mean......

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  AwakeAtLast: I can see the edge of another cartoon on the right hand side of that cartoon. Maybe if we had both it might make more sense. Also we would not want to do what the WT does and quote something but leave out the next bit which may alter the meaning or explain something. Opusdeirt do you have the next picture?

  To get the full flavor of the cartoon, and to put it into context, it would be best if you downloaded the 1937 Golden Age and looked at the entire April 7 magazine.

  The pdf can be downloaded here:

  http://wtarchive.svhelden.info/english/the-golden-age/

  There is more than 'another cartoon' to be seen. There are several cartoons on that page, and many more throughout the magazine, that all deal with the same theme - the Catholic Church is evil. The above cartoon is embedded in an article about the Crusades.

  Rutherford's anti-religion crusade, and hatred towards the Catholic Church in particular, was ramping up into full force at the time he armed "Joe's Army" with this hate literature, and sent those early JWs into volatile situations to garner court cases.

  If you spend some time reading some Issues of the Golden Age that were published in the 30s, it is not surprising that many of those JWs who distributed Rutherford's vitriolic attacks against the Catholic Church, and any and all else religion, ended up in court on libel charges.

  Hayden Covington deliberately targeted strong Catholic communities to send groups of JWs into to spread anti-Catholic hate literature. It did not go over well in places like Quebec, Canada.
• 
  62

  The Lawsuit Landslide: Irwin Zalkin representing ELEVEN child abuse victims against Watchtower

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  many of you will be interested to know that irwin zalkin now has 11 lawsuits against watchtower at various stages.. these can be summarized as follows.... j.l.

  shocked by the lack of action, the victims mother immediately left the congregation with her son.

  by this stage campos was a known predator with complaints having been made to the elders at linda vista spanish, playa pacifica spanish and the watchtower dating back to 1982.elizabeth mcfarland ohio a former ministerial servant named scott silvasy sexually molested elizabeth when she was a child through her early teens.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  Malachi: Every case itself everywhere is hypocritical. Innocent people get accused of sex abuse they didn't do and then get punished,....

  The number of false reports are very low:

  Only 2 - 4% of all sexual assaults reported are false reports

  And the number reported are also very low:

  Of every 100 incidents of sexual assault, only 6 are reported to the police

  http://www.sexassault.ca/statistics.htm
  
  Do you have any stats to support your claim that "innocent people...get punished"?
  
• 
  2

  Insurance Policies, Churches and Child Sex Abuse Claims

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  in 2011, the vienna presbyterian church in vienna, virginia, chose to apologize to the victims of abuse at the hands of a church employee.

  the story was spoke about here on a past thread.. the church chose to apologize in spite of that decision affecting whether or not the insurance policy would cover the abuse payout.. the following pdf discusses how that church's decision would have been influenced by the insurance company:.

  the cost of being a shepherdhow vienna presbyterian church chose between its sexualabuse victims and a potential loss of insurance coverage:.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  In 2011, the Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Virginia, chose to apologize to the victims of abuse at the hands of a church employee. The story was spoke about here on a past thread.

  The church chose to apologize in spite of that decision affecting whether or not the insurance policy would cover the abuse payout.

  The following pdf discusses how that church's decision would have been influenced by the insurance company:

  The Cost of Being a ShepherdHow Vienna Presbyterian Church chose between its sexualabuse victims and a potential loss of insurance coverage:

  Most churches have a Commercial General Liability insurance policy (CGL) that provides coverage for injuries that occur in or related to church programming. Virtually every CGL policy requires that the church give notice to the insurer as soon as the church has information about an event that may trigger a claim. Because church leaders often misunderstand, minimize and ignore warning signs and victim outcries, they also fail to notify the insurance carrier, which can easily lead to denial of coverage. In addition to the CGL reporting requirement, there is also a cooperation clause that requires an insured church to participate in the defense of a potential claim and to do nothing that would be detrimental to an insurance company’s attempt to defend a claim.

  When church leaders provide ‘notice of a potential claim’ relating to child sexual abuse, insurance companies take them very seriously. Insurance companies understand that child sexual abuse claims are very dangerous: there are often multiple victims, they are expensive to defend, they are emotionally charged and the jury awards/settlement amounts can be unpredictably high. Insurance companies understand that HOW a church handles the matter can seriously impact exposure, costs and awards (i.e. perception of a cover-up or an admission of responsibility). When an insurer receives a notice of a potential claim, the insurer will usually engage legal counsel for the insured church. The lawyer engaged by the insurance company for the church is in the uncomfortable position of owing a fiduciary duty to the insured church, while being paid by the insurance company to defend the claim.

  The stage is now set for the church to make a very difficult decision – a decision that will have serious potential consequences no matter what direction is chosen. This is further complicated when the church has ignored or mishandled earlier outcries. The victims and the congregation want to know that church leaders will be transparent and pastoral – they want to know if leadership has mishandled a matter and, if so, to apologize and seek forgiveness. After all, they are shepherds who are supposed to model ownership of failures.
  

  To make such an admission, however, would create serious risks in a civil lawsuit and insurance coverage related to the claims in the suit. Admitting responsibility for failing to sufficiently screen an employee or mishandling a prior outcry forms the basis of a negligence claim. This is exactly the type of admission a plaintiff’s lawyer would rely upon to make his/her case; and the insurance company knows that. Insurance companies will therefore clearly communicate to church leaders that the CGL policy strictly prohibits such admissions for poor screening/supervision or failed handling of an outcry, as doing so can jeopardize insurance coverage.
  

  Unfortunately, these are usually the exact types of expressions that victims need to hear so they can heal and forgive.

  And unfortunately, in the sex abuse cases now facing the WTS...when it comes to the WTS making any decisions to apologize instead of pretending they are not accountable...money is first and foremost. If the WTS admitted culpability, their insurance policies would probably not cover the payouts.
• 
  1

  A Denomination Confronts Child Sex Abuse: a positive step forward

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  there are some churches that are acknowledging the rampant problem of child abuse within their congregations.. from the article a denomination confronts child sex abuse: a positive step forward:.

  there are some days when i am thrilled to report positive developments within the protestant world about the slow but steady shift taking place on issues relating to child sexual abuse.

  just a few years ago, there was very little private or public discourse within most protestant circles about abuse within the church.

  1. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  There are some churches that are acknowledging the rampant problem of child abuse within their congregations.

  From the article A Denomination Confronts Child Sex Abuse: a positive step forward:
  

  There are some days when I am thrilled to report positive developments within the Protestant world about the slow but steady shift taking place on issues relating to child sexual abuse. Just a few years ago, there was very little private or public discourse within most Protestant circles about abuse within the Church. Besides the ignored cries of survivors and a few advocates, public acknowledgment and dialogue on this subject was off limits. As a result, children continued to be at risk in our churches and survivors continued to be silenced through blame and false pity.
  In the past year, I have encountered more and more folks who are beginning to realize that the Church has been largely silent — and this silence has had excruciatingly dark and grave consequences for countless individuals and for the very soul of the Church. Through some amazing (and many very painful) set of circumstances, I believe a growing number within the Protestant community are finally beginning to realize that there is an epidemic of child sexual abuse within the Church and that silence and inaction are unacceptable.

  In June 2014, "...the entire General Assembly (annual meeting of pastors) of the theologically conservative Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) unanimously and publicly adopted Overture 6 – perhaps the most robust statement on child protection adopted by any Christian denomination."

  OVERTURE 6 – “Child Protection in the PCA”
  Whereas our Lord Jesus demonstrated his righteous anger at his own disciples, rebuking those who would do anything to prevent children from coming unto him, saying “to such belongs the Kingdom of God,” (Mark 10:14) and condemning those who would harm children, saying “it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6); and
  Whereas an epidemic of child sexual abuse exists in our culture, with the vast majority of such children being harmed by someone they know and trust, wounding children physically,
  emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually with lifelong ripple effects; and
  Whereas the silence of the church – when we fail to appropriately address “rape, incest,
  sodomy and all unnatural lusts” (WLC 139) by not reporting disclosures of child sexual abuse, or not caring for those who disclose child sexual abuse, or not proactively taking steps to prevent child sexual abuse – is a fundamental failure of servant leadership, rendering the church complicit and culpable before the Lord, driving people away from the safety, healing and hope of Jesus Christ; and
  Whereas Scripture warns leaders against the “careless exposing, or leaving [those in their care] to wrong, temptation, and danger” (WLC 130), and every jurisdiction acknowledges that child sexual abuse is a serious felony and has its own mandated reporting laws;
  Therefore, be it resolved that we exhort all church leaders to become informed and to take an active stance toward preventing child sexual abuse in the church by screening staff and
  volunteers, training them in child protection, and actively maintaining child protection policies pertaining to our obligations to love our children and protect their rightful interests as God’s image-bearers from the devastating actions of abusers (Matthew 18:5-6; WLC 129-130); and
  Be it further resolved that we remind all churches that the heinous crime of child sexual abuse must be reported to duly appointed proper representatives of the God-ordained civil
  authorities, in accordance with local laws, and that we must cooperate with those authorities as they “bear the sword” to punish those who do evil “in such an effectual manner as that no person be suffered . . . to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever” (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-14; WCF 23.3); and
  Be it further resolved that we urge all church leaders to use their influence for the protection of children, by any and all godly means, including preaching and teaching against the heinous sin of child sexual abuse, warning anyone with knowledge of these sins to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11), and by supporting victims who often suffer in silence and shame without the vocal and compassionate support of the church; and
  Be it further resolved that we direct the Permanent Committees and Agencies of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America to review their policies, procedures and practices in the area of child protection, including their response to child sexual abuse disclosures, their faithfulness in reporting child sexual abuse to duly appointed proper representatives of the God-ordained civil authorities, in accordance with local laws, their care for survivors of child sexual abuse, and their future plans to help educate the PCA on child sexual abuse, and all other areas of response consistent with Scripture and the Constitution of the PCA, and report to the 43rd General Assembly through the Administrative Committee, after it has referred the matter to and received a report from the Cooperative Ministries Committee; and
  Be it finally resolved that the 42nd General Assembly urge all members of the PCA to renew our allegiance to our Lord Jesus by loving our children as he loves our children, “for to such belongs the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14)

  The same article links to this pdf:

  Broken Silence: a Call for Churches to Speak Out - Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence, June 2014

  
  
  
• 
  42

  Convention Cartoon

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so last night they played the convention cartoon.

  there were a few laughs from the audience, overall though people seemed a little taken aback and tight lipped.

  like no one gushed about it afterwards, no applause, just like it was nothing new at all.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OrphanCrow

  The WTBTS leadership treats its members like children that need to be told how to behave in public.

  Anytime that "rules of behavior" are put in place, a person knows that those 'rules' have already been broken.

  It is why the 'rules' are being reinforced - because complaints have been made. Every rule that the WTS is emphasizing in their cartoon is the result of complaints received.

  And yes, like other posters have mentioned, the cartoon has a '50s feel and look to them. Which goes right along with the resurrection of old marketing techniques that were successful back in the 30s and 40s and 50s. Today's ipads are yesterday's phonographs and today's jw..org broadcasts are yesterday's JW radio broadcasts. Today's Caleb and Sophie are yesterday's "Children of the King."

  Wash, rinse, and repeat.