Posts by ScenicViewer

15

Why THAT talk? Why NOW?

by dubstepped in

in another thread there's a discussion about how the show must go on and meetings weren't even slowed down by the deaths or medical emergencies of ones in the audience.

for instance, one young brother's unbelieving father was murdered locally.

not long afterward he's assigned a part on an assembly about the resurrection or something.

ScenicViewer

Dubstepped: Is it to reinforce his beliefs and help him in some way?

That is exactly how an elder explained it to me many years ago. If a brother needed 'upbuilding' in a particular area the elders would assign him a part dealing with it. The idea was that he would be encouraged more than anyone since he would have to look up the information, run it through his head, and contemplate it.

Even as green as I was in the early 1970s I thought that was backward thinking, not to mention hypocritical. And as you mention it's often unfair to the person giving the information.

Dubstepped: Were they giving him talks on that subject matter thinking that he needed to learn that material and apply it, or are they just that stupid?

Yes and yes.

67

Recent mistakes of the Governing Body contributing to the decline of JWs

by slimboyfat in

they have made so many strategical mistakes it's hard to keep track.

some changes within the last decade or so that are contributing to declining numbers of jws:.

1. elimination of book study groups, the most informal, enjoyable and sociable of the jw meetings, contributed to loss of sense of community among jws.. 2. policy of consolidating kingdom halls.

ScenicViewer

Slimboyfat: Please add your own!

Money woes.

The constant asking for donations, which amounts to begging, is offensive to many. The org claims 'no collections taken, we exist on voluntary donations only,' but that claim flies in the face of Watchtower's money making tactics.

Selling off major properties (Brooklyn), taking money from congregation bank accounts (except for small monthly operating costs), and requiring congregations to donate a fixed amount of money every month are examples of Watchtower's money making ways that have never been exercised in the organization's history.

Add in the OP's mention of asking children to donate their pocket change and JW's who are even half awake have to wonder 'What is going wrong with this organization?'

The negative attention from many of the faithful, who are offended by the constant requests for money, is likely resulting in even fewer donations.

13

CoC Promotion BUS at the gate of District Convention in Seoul, Korea

by intropist in

jw
friends

.

our korean brothers are very shy.

they reacted as the above ^^;;.

ScenicViewer

It is now stunning to me how Watchtower hides and shelters it's people from the truth (as in the photo, blocking the sign from the view of JWs). Watchtower will say it is protecting JWs, but in reality the Organization is controlling them.

Something that is strong does not have to be sheltered to protect it - only something that is weak does.

This kind of behavior will eventually open some eyes to the reality that Watchtower is a high control religious group.

9

Disgraced elder jailed for 8 years for abusing girl

by LevelThePlayingField in

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/disgraced-jehovah-s-witness-elder-jailed-for-sexually-abusing-a-girl/story-29528336-detail/story.html.

a disgraced jehovah's witness elder has been jailed for eight years for sexually abusing a girl.. martyn barron (55) pleaded guilty to four counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13, more than 10 years ago.. the victim, now an adult, said the abuse had devastated her life.. leicester crown court was told barron, of walton street,belgrave, leicester, sought to blame the child for his wrongdoing in a pre-sentence report.. .

by taboola .

ScenicViewer

...[he] sought to blame the child for his wrongdoing in a pre-sentence report.

Recorder Adrian Reynolds said...

Although you pleaded guilty, the admissions you made were loaded with self-justification – and despite what your advocate has said, it's very telling in the pre-sentence report that you believe this was all her fault.

You're mired in the kind of self-justification that is the hallmark for dyed-in-the-wool paedophiles.

Whether it's sexually molesting children or proclaiming to the public a false prophecy about the end of the world, JWs have a way of justifying what they do by blaming the victim or follower. It's how the Watchtower organization has taught them to rationalize.

15

Terry tells his story of Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin)

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ox2ypajugq.

sit a spell and listen to my story.. i once met a fella unlike any other.

let me tell you about the man--a strange and wonderful guy--one of a kind--but housing two personalities at the same time.here’s a quick list to capture your interest.. .

ScenicViewer

Terry: Two of the stories would have to be censored to protect the guilty. (me).

Ok, can't leave us hanging now, so cough it up. What'd you do in a celebrity's house that made you so guilty?!! This ought to be good.

20

Jwtv: act of love = giving money

by bohm in

jw
friends

i kid you not, giving money is an act of love according to jwtv (juli edition).

ScenicViewer

I swear this is the last one. After this i will never proofread another sentence.

I kind of liked the "Decibel of Christ" in the first one. I thought it was a new JW expression or something.

Elder to publisher: Are you doing your utmost to be a true decibel of Christ brother? Could you do more to sound out the message? We must be at our work urgently and shout the message from the roof tops! For the love of money.

6

cleveland ohio CONvention results

by nowwhat? in

7300 attendance 24 baptised an astonishing .038 percent growth!!

i wasn't there so don't ask details..

ScenicViewer

and you get .329...that is your percentage

That is less than one third of one percent - a tiny amount of growth. Actually it may represent shrinkage if more people than that left the organization or became inactive in the area represented.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

ScenicViewer

Watchtower hired a firm that specializes is appeals cases to handle the Candace Conti appeal.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

ScenicViewer

[edit]
I may be confusing multiple court cases. Can anyone confirm or deny what I wrote below?
[/edit]

I believe the case you referred to, that had a $13.5 million judgement and went through the appeals process, was the Jose Lopez case, which is still ongoing. The victim in the case in the OP is Osbaldo Padron. Both are victims of Gonzalo Campos, and the attorney for both victims is Irwin Zalkin.

The article linked in the OP says...

In 1982, then–18-year-old Campos allegedly tried to have sex with his 12-year-old roommate. The boy fought back, hitting Campos multiple times with a bat. The boy told church leaders and they promised to investigate. Four years later, Campos was again accused of molesting children, including Lopez and the other seven people who later filed lawsuits.

So Campos has 8 victims that have filed law suits.

It seems that attorney Zalkin has discovered a weak spot for Watchtower regarding the documents the court has ordered to be turned over. As others have noted, the sanctions will likely increase as Watchtower continues to defy the court's orders, and this will likely be compounded by having the same sanctions imposed over multiple cases in the future.

This may be much worse for Watchtower than just the $4000 per day fine. If the fine eventually grows, and it happens again and again with each new case, it could turn into something big against Watchtower.

221

Judge sanctions WTS - $4k per day penalty for not producing sex abuse documents

by Simon in

judge sanctions jehovah's witnesses.

imposes $4000-a-day penalty for not producing documents in sex-abuse case.

by dorian hargrove, june 24, 2016. a san diego superior court judge has ordered the church of jehovah's witnesses, also known as the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, to pay $4000 a day for every day that it fails to produce documents requested in a civil lawsuit brought by former parishioner, osbaldo padron, who claims a church elder sexually abused him when he was seven years old.. in a june 23 ruling, expected to be made final today, judge richard strauss admonished the church for willfully ignoring a court order to produce all documents associated with a 1997 body of elders letter that church leaders sent to parishes around the world in a quest to learn about sexual abuse of children by church leaders.. over the course of the past year, the watchtower society and its lawyers have fought hard to keep the letter confidential, claiming that turning over the documents would infringe on the privacy of those mentioned in the letter that were not associated with the case.. in march 2015, the church turned over a heavily redacted version of the letter.

ScenicViewer

Crazyguy: Unfortunately that only about 1.5 million per year. The watchtower could just ingnore the court for years.

I was thinking the same thing. The sale of just one Brooklyn building brought in $700 million, another $300 million, and there are many other Brooklyn properties already sold or soon to be sold.

A multi-billion dollar corporation could pay out $1.5 million per year forever and not notice it. Perhaps in time the sanctions will be increased to match Watchtower's wealth and stubbornness.

Maybe the bad publicity will have more of an effect than the $4000 per day. There will probably be some great Youtube videos to follow.