LoveUnihateExams: It contained
both the 1995 generation change article and an article on child abuse that
basically stated that if a molester is asked by the elders about allegations
and he denies them, nothing could be done about it
Oh my God!! I had read the generation articles on that magazine a few times, but never the child abuse allegation one. Talk about a terrible issue of the Watchtower! This paragraph says it all:
If the accusation is denied, the elders should explain to the accuser that nothing more can be done in a judicial way. And the congregation will continue to view the one accused as an innocent person. The Bible says that there must be two or three witnesses before judicial action can be taken. (2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19) Even if more than one person “remembers” abuse by the same individual, the nature of these recalls is just too uncertain to base judicial decisions on them without other supporting evidence. This does not mean that such “memories” are viewed as false (or that they are viewed as true). But Bible principles must be followed in establishing a matter judicially.
Anyways, not to hijack the thread, I'm a newbie myself Herelgo, having only started to fade earlier this year. I'm a born-in, 1984. Parents were and continue to be really "spiritual". I was baptized 1995 at the tender age of 10. Served as elder from late 2010 till early 2016 when I stepped down due to doubts.
As others here, my doubts involved various points, the biggest point at first being how a supposed merciful and loving God could A) Allow his creation to suffer for thousands of years just to prove a point B) Destroy billions of his children because they didn't worship as Jehovah's Witnesses commanded them to.
Ran into CoC online and the rest is history.