Marvin Shilmer

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Posts by Marvin Shilmer

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  65

  Yes!!! We will see Jackson's face!

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i emailed mr. stewart about jackson's testimony, asking if the video link would be visible to the public.. this was his prompt reply:.

  thank you dianne for your interest.

  the it people tell me that mr jackson will be on the screen for all to see and hear.regardsangus stewart.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Hey! Maybe Watchtower will pipe the feed into one of its big-screens at regional conventions underway. Whatcha think?
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  16

  Can JWs be police in Australia?

  by Larrikin in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi everyone, i'm new here, i've been following the rc reports, and i was hoping you could help, my question is are jw allowed to be police, i heard the jws saying in one report with enthusiasm that they had jw in the policeforce.

  and would there be any conflict from the force with any of their teaching, that would be contrary to duties..

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  Marvin Shilmer

  What BOC presents is the longtime and current policy insofar as I know it.

  I've always thought this policy was flawed given the biblical presentation of Cornelius. An army officer hand-picked by God for special anointing of holy ghost, and then essentially forcing a standing Apostle to physically baptize him and his kin by water immersion. Presumably an officer in the army carried a sidearm and was trained in its use and ready to use that training.
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  17

  Geoffery Jackson Plan Against the Commission

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  geoffrey jackson will attempt to df them all, shun them, take away their privileges, write a wt article on them, have the elders talk to them, their family cut off ties with them, read them watchtower articles, tell them they need to submit at least 10 hours per month etc... .

  then, the "oh shit" look on his face moment when he realizes he has no power outside of his pinky ring club.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Based on the style of questions I've observed from Stewart and McClellan, I think some of the more frustrating questions presented to Jackson will be those attempting to get him to agree that specific items of policy have been 1) traumatic for victims, 2) traumatic for the general membership (think: "captive organization"), 3) a danger to children in society at large, and 4) what expected changes the Royal Commission can expect to see the result of its unearthing of Watchtower-induced trauma by policy.

  Because the GB is set up as a rule-by-committee one member would really be sticking his neck out to venture views on specific items like this. It's not safe ground and by past accounts GB members who've ventured specific views that were yet to be adopted by the GB found themselves in hot water. But Jackson is going to be front and center, and the GB must know the video is going to go viral among the JW and ex-JW community no matter what he says. So he's going to have to offer response to everything put before him. It's going to be a show. That's for sure. Can't wait.
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  11

  Questions for current and former elders re giving evidence

  by Mickey mouse in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  supposing you were called to give evidence by an inquiry.

  how would you answer?

  are you concerned that you may end up being called to give evidence for past involvement in judicial committees to future inquiries?

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Supposing you were called to give evidence by an inquiry. How would you answer?
  Are you concerned that you may end up being called to give evidence for past involvement in judicial committees to future inquiries?

  I would welcome a law that requires all present and former Watchtower appointed elders to immediately report instances of child molestation they are aware of to secular authorities. They'd get a god-damned earful from me, and they'd be shocked.
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  49

  Why won't they simply change policy on sex offenders? Will they?

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  why won't they (the wbt$ head honchos), simply change policy on sex offenders?

  will they?..especially after the arc for eg?

  it seems that with all the bad press and now the arc among other institutions that are exposing the wbt$ for a haven for paedophiles, why hasn't the wbt$ simply changed it's insane policy?.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  I found a policy shift inside one of the Service Department Guideline documents released to the Royal Commission. It has to do with what local elders should tell parents with children when there is a known child molester in the congregation.

  In the past congregation elders were instructed to tell parents they should not let so-and-so associate with their children, but were categorically told not to state why.

  The documents released to the Royal Commission has a change. Now elders are instructed to tell parents that so-and-so is a "predator" and for that reason they should not let their children associate with the individual.
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  17

  Geoffery Jackson Plan Against the Commission

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  geoffrey jackson will attempt to df them all, shun them, take away their privileges, write a wt article on them, have the elders talk to them, their family cut off ties with them, read them watchtower articles, tell them they need to submit at least 10 hours per month etc... .

  then, the "oh shit" look on his face moment when he realizes he has no power outside of his pinky ring club.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  How do you defend that record?? I cant wait to see what Angus has in store for him.

  I think the strategy will have to be this: 1. Jackson will defend past policy as an honest--though perhaps flawed--attempt to abide by public policy on mandatory reporting. 2. He will further express appreciation to the Royal Commission for its initiative to move Australia toward a uniform public policy in relation to mandatory reporting, whatever that might require of Watchtower and its appointees. 3. Otherwise he will offer as much cooperation as the Commission requests related to the matter of responding to reports of child molestation.

  Note: By "perhaps flawed" what I mean is that Jackson will admit the Commission has highlighted a legal obligation previously interpreted by Watchtower to mean something different that the Commission has argued, and on that point Watchtower is actively seeking senior legal advice and intends to fully comply with that finding whatever it is.
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  49

  Why won't they simply change policy on sex offenders? Will they?

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  why won't they (the wbt$ head honchos), simply change policy on sex offenders?

  will they?..especially after the arc for eg?

  it seems that with all the bad press and now the arc among other institutions that are exposing the wbt$ for a haven for paedophiles, why hasn't the wbt$ simply changed it's insane policy?.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Why won't they (the WBT$ head honchos), simply change policy on sex offenders? Will they?

  If Watchtower history teaches us anything it teaches us that Watchtower changes. That goes for doctrine and policy.

  Watchtower's policy on reports of child molestation will change. The only question is how and when will it change.

  Based on work of the Royal Commission I predict Watchtower will soon change its policy on at least one fundamental. Rather than only not discouraging victims (or guardians) from reporting to secular authorities I think Watchtower will change its policy to encourage victims (or guardians) to report to secular authorities. This will move Watchtower policy from passive to active when it comes to reporting or not to secular authorities. At this point I see nothing Watchtower has to lose by this change in policy. They can even slough off the change as a "clarification" in order to obfuscate the fact of change to congregation elders.

  On the other hand, I think Watchtower would rather not change its policy on when elders report allegation of child molestation. If elders are to always report these allegations I think Watchtower would rather governmental leaders decide that as a matter of public policy (law) to reduce liability to Watchtower in cases where appointed elders bungle up what and when they report something that might end up causing wrongful defamation.
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  11

  Why don't they just lie about the numbers?

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why doesn't the wtbts just lie and increase the published amount of people who attend the memorial?

  who would know the difference?

  the same with the amount munching on the crackers and sipping the wine.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  Why doesn't the WTBTS just lie and increase the published amount of people who attend the Memorial? Who would know the difference? The same with the amount munching on the crackers and sipping the wine. Why show an increase which goes against what I have been taught my entire life. Who would know if they showed a small decline each year? If they would just decrease the amount by 100 per year they could have gone on for over 80 years and all of the old timers would have been dead. Perhaps they are showing increasing numbers for the anointed to change a doctrine in a couple of more years.

  Plausible deniability can only go so far to placate cognitive dissonance. Watchtower's upper-tier hierarchy is probably perfectly fine manipulating numbers to please themselves (effectively: mental masturbation). But this upper-tear depends on lots and lots of up-and-comer middle-tier worker bees to keep the engine of its religion business churning. These middle-tier workers have access to everything the upper-tier has access to, only in a more diversified fashion. Hence for Watchtower to intentionally misrepresent values as suggested, it would likely cause a huge schism.
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  32

  Branch Manual 2015

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  apparently the backroom arguments have been heard and decided.

  the royal commission finally uploaded a redacted version of the 2015 branch manual.

  watchtower lawyers were looking to have as much redacted from this manual as possible.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  How's this for documentation of transparency (not!):

  Regarding phone calls taken by the Service Department, we read...

  "One should be as helpful as possible to the individual calling. If the caller is from outside of Bethel, it is not wise for a deskman or his secretary to give his name unless the caller is a circuit overseer."
  
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  32

  Branch Manual 2015

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  apparently the backroom arguments have been heard and decided.

  the royal commission finally uploaded a redacted version of the 2015 branch manual.

  watchtower lawyers were looking to have as much redacted from this manual as possible.

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  Marvin Shilmer

  There is nothing in there about the process on a 'Congregation Only' level and in relation to typical members of a congregation. Is this not what they require in order to understand the process of claim of abuse within a congregation?

  This is the Branch Organization manual; hence it goes into detail about processes inside a Branch office rather than at a congregational level. This manual does, though, give a pretty good idea of what goes on inside Watchtower's Service Department in relation to judicial correspondence to and from congregation elders. At least it does this in a broad way. One thing that's not part of this manual is the whole set of Service Department Guidelines, which essentially is the script from which Service Department overseers ("Deskman") read from and otherwise perform work on the basis of, nearly all of which is for field work or either a circuit overseer or local congregation.