Posts by passwordprotected

7

The Abuse - and Cover Up - of Children, With No Support from the Elders...

by passwordprotected in

...isn't unique to the watch tower society.. the trial took place in march 2008. prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor dh to come with pastor sw ready to give testimony on our childs behalf if needed.

pastor dh made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse.

i explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys.

passwordprotected

I'm realising that the WTBTS and its problems with child abuse isn't unique. That could be why the mainstream media and governments don't make too much of a fuss about it.

7

The Abuse - and Cover Up - of Children, With No Support from the Elders...

by passwordprotected in

...isn't unique to the watch tower society.. the trial took place in march 2008. prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor dh to come with pastor sw ready to give testimony on our childs behalf if needed.

pastor dh made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse.

i explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys.

passwordprotected

...isn't unique to the Watch Tower Society.

The trial took place in March 2008. Prior to the trial, not knowing how the young man would plead, we asked pastor DH to come with pastor SW ready to give testimony on our child’s behalf if needed. Pastor DH made it known to us they were not coming to the courthouse. I explained to him if the young man pleaded not guilty, our child would then have to get up in front of the court and reveal the entire ordeal along with answering questions from the attorneys. It didn’t matter, they still weren’t coming. His response to us was, “I have my church’s reputation to consider.”….[the pastors ultimately showed up after the threat of a subpoena].

This article explores the cover up of child abuse within the fairly large "reformed" (i.e. Calvinist) Sovereign Grace Ministries (link to Wikipedia article) church network. Watch for the similarities to how the Watch Tower Society deals with victims of abuse, especially the unco-operative attitude from the leaders.

In my experience of Christianity, "reformed" evangelical Christians (who often refer to themselves as Calvinists) are probably more arrogant than the Witnesses when it comes to believing they have "the truth". The disturbing part is that there's a heck of a lot more of them (65-70 million), and their influence is spreading. They make me sick.

32

As The Governing Body Tightens its Grip...

by passwordprotected in

two and a half years ago i predicted that the governing body was going to have to tighten its grip on the rank and file witnesses.. "it's time to get in the compound, brothers and sisters...." it's classic sleight of hand.

distract your audience.

pull off the trick.

passwordprotected

IMO the future noo light has to be big enough that they are already indicating to the r&f that they should be happy about any new changes they receive from GB which to me indicated they are preparing them for the future big changes in doctrine.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, you've hit the nail on the head.

Before I left I started noticing comments about obeying them even if it seems "unsafe" to do so. They need to bring in big changes to their eschatology, but before they do so they need to condition the drones to obey without question, even more so than usual.

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

What about the supposedly liberal stance on education? Has that gotten more liberal or more hardline?

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

Talking about dress and grooming, gotta love these guys... I wonder where The Governing Body gets its ideas from;

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

Let's be pragmatic for a minute, and use a 5 year timescale.

Who of us, while we were active JWs 5 years ago, would have thought that the WTBTS would publish revisions to the 1935 theology and the "generation" theology, which itself was tweaked twice in quick succession, which would severly readjust their eschatology?

Who of us, while we were active JWs 5 years ago, would have thought that the WTBTS would abolish the home group arrangement, and all but outlaw (via the September 2007 KM Question Box) private group Bible study?

The Watch Tower Society, under the direction of The Governing Body, does whatever it needs to do to protect its assets. And its assets are money and property. That means they will absolutely make sure their butt is covered legally. That also means they need a hard core acolyte following that only ever farts when they're allowed to.

Faders do not fall in line with that.

The WTBTS will only get more hardline. They need to run a tighter ship.

Perhaps this needs to move to a new thread?

32

As The Governing Body Tightens its Grip...

by passwordprotected in

two and a half years ago i predicted that the governing body was going to have to tighten its grip on the rank and file witnesses.. "it's time to get in the compound, brothers and sisters...." it's classic sleight of hand.

distract your audience.

pull off the trick.

passwordprotected

@Black Sheep

You raise a good point. However, do JWs place the same important on 1914 as they did back, say, in the 1980s or 90s? During my exit an elder told me 1914 was merely the end of the Gentile Times, nothing more.

Really? Is that all 1914 was?

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

Having listened to all the material posted I think Matthew's fate was sealed the moment he accused Ronnie Hunter of slander. Matthew refused to play the role of the cowed Witness in the face of the elders interfering with his family but took them on at their own rhetorical game. Faced with the claim that they had acted improperly Ronnie Hunter decided Matthew simply had to go in order to uphold his own righteousness and he did everything in his power to accomplish that end.

You're probably right re. Ron's involvement. I know for a fact that my parents had been pestering the elders in Matt's congregation to get something done about him (and cardboard ninja). They'd been gathering evidence against him based on his on-going friendship with my wife and I, as alluded to in the recordings; they'd gone on holiday with us, a holiday that had originally been planned with one of the elders on the original judicial committee.

That being said, Matt had moved house and hadn't been to a meeting for around 6 months. They actively pursued him very quickly after his 25th December encounter with Ron in the Bishopbriggs Kingdom Hall.

Ron likes to play Mr Meek and Mild, but it should be apparent to even the most pro-JW listeners that the guy had an agenda and could barely contain his ire at Matt's audacious questioning. Notice how, when seemingly backed into a corner regarding his own allged slander, he started asking Matt theological questions. Matt's replies gave Ron the ammunition to relaunch their investigation against him.

That's where the lack of ethics come in;

Ron was one of two elders who had "shepherded" Matt and his wife
information disclosed by the couple at these visits where re-visited by Ron during his confrontation with Matt
Ron became the chief accuser against Matt
Ron was the chief witness to the accusations against Matt
the other witness to the accusations was the other elder who had "shepherded" them

35

Personal Grudges and Judicial Committees: is There a Link?

by passwordprotected in

i've received a submitted article for publication on my blog (http://thegoverningbody.org).

this is from the introduction:.

i have an issue i would like raise.

passwordprotected

What makes you think that? Isn't there just a bit of wishful thinking involved there? You want the Watchtower organization to become more hardline to vindicate your low opinion of them and help flush out more members, perhaps including people you know who are still in. But what if the organization becomes less hardline? Would you welcome that or would you be disappointed? For what it's worth I think you made the right decision to leave regardless of whether the organization becomes more hardline or not. Don't make your estimation of your choice dependent on whatever they decide to do in the future.

If I remember correctly, your choice to remain a Witness (and I'm guessing, fade?) is so that your aunt will continue to speak to you. That might influence how your read my comments on faders, no?

You want the Watchtower organization to become more hardline to vindicate your low opinion of them and help flush out more members, perhaps including people you know who are still in.

Really, I do? You know that for a fact?

My low opinion of "them"; who is "them"?

But what if the organization becomes less hardline? Would you welcome that or would you be disappointed?

My personal feelings over what the Watch Tower Society does or doesn't do aren't being discussed. As it happens, I don't believe the Organisation will become less hardline. The recent reemphasis over relationships with disfellowshipped family members (twice in 3 months?) suggests a certain hardline stance.

What has my "estimation of my choice" got to do with the obvious tightening of control on the Witnesses by The Governing Body? Did the fact that I disassociated from the high control environment of the Watch Tower Society mean that my opinions on how The Governing Body are operating wrong or irrelevant? If so, how does that work?

Could it be that you have an element of fear lingering over you, that because you're still ostensibly identified, via your baptism, as a Jehovah's Witness, the Society has some sort of control over your future? For example, if they did crack down on faders, it would impact on your life via family relationships?

I sympathise up to a point.