Elders in congregations should advise all victims to report their cases to the authorities. They should follow up with the victims and their families on the status regularly. They should NOT take any child abuse cases BEFORE the authorities have not been notified and the investigation completed. Based upon the outcome of the secular investigations they can then make decisions regarding the accused standing. While the person is under investigation they should impose boundaries on the accused such as not having bible studies with minors and asking them to voluntarily suspend any congregational privileges (This should be voluntary and not an imposed suspension unless there is a clear indication of wrongdoing). Even if the authorities clear an individual, the elders could then still impose certain boundaries, such as not having bible studies with minors unless a second baptized witness is present or handing over those studies to another witness, if they feel uncertain. They should ask the accused to limit their interaction with minors in the congregational setting until they are cleared. It could be argued to the accused that it protects them, the congregation and the victims of child abuse.
Saintbertholdt
JoinedPosts by Saintbertholdt
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40
Is the two-witness rule really unreasonable?
by stillin ini'm picturing a situation in which a savvy 12 year old doesn't like the house rules that mom's new husband has put into place.
or something along that line.
i can certainly agree that protection of children is paramount, but who protects the real victim in those cases?
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Saintbertholdt
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DOES "ABSTAIN FROM BLOOD" really mean "Do not murder?"
by TerryWalstrom in20:28 - jesus' shed blood, thus related to murder.
with the words of augustine firmly in mind we now ask this important question:.
abstaining from blood(shed) preserves life!
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Saintbertholdt
Hi cofty,
Read the posts.
Leviticus 11:39, 40 :)
Does the GB know about the new light?
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Need Help! JW Grandmother (may be) Going to Court for Visitation
by Expanded-Mind ini am hoping someone may be able to give me some guidance on behalf of my son.
my ex-wife, who remains a jw, is threatening to go to court to get visitation with our 5 year old grandchild.
she had regular visits with our grandchild, but when my son (no longer a jw) and his wife (never a jw) found out that his mother was teaching their daughter the jw religion without their permission and even telling our grandchild not to tell their parents... well to say the least, that was a game-changer.
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Saintbertholdt
My 2 cent prognostication,
Well I would ask your ex-wife what she thought would happen if the court found out that she was using her visitation rights primarily for religious instruction in a faith contrary to the child's upbringing? This is based on the information that has already been related by your grandchild that this was the case.
Why don't you suggest keeping this out of the courts and giving your ex supervised visitation to start with, and if she plays ball and when a trust relationship has been established over some months, she might be allowed to re-establish sleep overs etc. on the proviso that faith based discussions are off limits. If the trust is violated after this agreement she then will have to go to court.
If she really loves your grandchild enough she would probably agree to the idea.
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Going to a bad place when i die
by 060702015 ini've thought and said too much to ever gain jehovahs forgiveness and love if i want to be a christian again.
i made a topic on my unforgivable sin and blaspemy of the holy spirit.. i feel saddness everyday having no relationship with god, no religion and fear of the afterlife.
even when i was kid i feared death and the end of the world.
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Saintbertholdt
060702015,
"I've thought and said too much to ever gain Jehovahs forgiveness and love if I want to be a Christian again."
According to what I've learned from the Bible, you can't really say too much to be forgiven by God. That goes for the JW God and the traditional Christian God. Unless you're Judas Iscariot you're pretty much safe.
I made a topic on my unforgivable sin and blaspemy of the holy spirit.
Well I read your unforgivable sin and I can wholeheartedly say in my opinion that you are NOT a son/daughter of destruction. If God took offense at your forum post he would not be God but be a petty child. And if you believe in the New Testament God he would not do such a thing. Now the Old Testament God is another story, but I digress...
I feel saddness everyday having no relationship with God, no religion And FEAR OF THE AFTERLIFE.
Well if a relationship with God is what you really desire then that is what you should pursue.
Even when I was kid I feared death and the end of the world. I use to pray that I would get cancer and die before Jehovah destroyed the earth so I couldnt see it I would be too scared.
Um, I thought Jehovah would NOT destroy the earth, just the wicked. I might be wrong, I haven't been to the Kingdom hall in years so it might be new light. When I was a kid I used to pray to be preserved through Armageddon because I did not want to die. I always imagined it like the Israelite pass over. I imagined the Angels would just make a 'wicked' persons heart stop, no pain or anything. Then we would collect and bury the bodies for seven years while thanking God for not annihilating us.I envy other JWs who grew up in a decent home with mentally stable JWs and are now living life happily as JWs. My brother is the only nice Jehovah Witness in my family.
Mentally stable JW homes are rarer than you think. I grew up in a divided home which made for very interesting debates. Perhaps I should rephrase that: interesting fights. If your brother is nice then rejoice that you have someone who you can relate to.But when I was a kid I had the hope of paradise. Now I have no hope. None.
Well you could stop worrying too much about the next life and focus on your current one.
Be a caring person.
Pursue your passion.
Make a difference.
...
The worst thing I ever did was to leave the Jehovah's Witnesses while still believing that the religion was correct. Many years later I would return to the religion and after a few years realized I had been lied to my entire life. After I left I was very sad but also liberated. Leaving the JW's while still believing really clouds your judgement.
You can always:
1. Return to the JW's if you want to and it really makes you happy. (I know this is forum heresy, but some people just need to be JW's)
2. Figure out which other religion or denomination is the one that makes the most sense. For example: If you fear the afterlife you could always look at teachings like Christian Universalism.
3. Leave religion alone for a while and just live your life as an individual trying to make a difference, enjoying life and being a well rounded individual. God would understand if you needed some time, otherwise he wouldn't be God and wouldn't be loving.
4. Become an atheist (like me) and still try to do number 3.
5. Seek professional help to assist you through your difficult time.
6. Rejoin the JW's and then claim to be one of the anointed while secretly mailing 'New Light' in the form of Scientology brochures to the Governing Body in Brooklyn.
7. Relax and go make some tea.
You can do some/all/none of the above at any time during your lifetime.
I think I might consider doing point number 6 (and 7) in the near future...
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Russell v Russell: the 1908 court transcript
by Londo111 indoes anyone know how to obtain a copy?.
i have poked around pennsylvania websites, attempting to figure out how to obtain the transcript, but recently, i have it on good authority that the transcript went missing from the pennsylvania archives over 30 years ago.
it is likely that there is vested interest (jws, bible students) to keep this hidden..
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Saintbertholdt
Hi Londo111,
If you get a reply, would you post a web link if it is online somewhere?
I do seem to remember I read vast tracts of the transcript many years ago. I think it was in pdf format if I'm not mistaken. I should have downloaded it.
SB
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Did you know that President Jimmy Carter used to be a Jehovah's Witness?
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.christianpost.com/news/jimmy-carter-says-jesus-would-not-support-abortion-revealing-only-conflict-between-his-politics-and-christian-faith-141881/.
carter said that as a young man he used to be a jehovah's witness before he was a baptist christian.. .
"it's hard to grow up with such a foundational system and just let it go.
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Saintbertholdt
Hi Simon,
Unfortunately the Carter JW connection is bogus.
See Breakfast of Champions post and the rest.
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Did you know that President Jimmy Carter used to be a Jehovah's Witness?
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.christianpost.com/news/jimmy-carter-says-jesus-would-not-support-abortion-revealing-only-conflict-between-his-politics-and-christian-faith-141881/.
carter said that as a young man he used to be a jehovah's witness before he was a baptist christian.. .
"it's hard to grow up with such a foundational system and just let it go.
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Saintbertholdt
Hi Juan Viejo,
Eisenhower did take the oath of office as President on a Bible given to him by his mother that was printed by the Watchtower Society.
Yes, an American Standard Version which the Watchtower used at that time.
From the Watchtower of 1 June 1957 article: Conspiracy Against Jehovah’s Name?
However, in telling of President Eisenhower’s taking his oath of office and having his Bible turned to or opened at Psalm 33:12, the press did not quote that text the way it reads in that American Standard Version Bible: “Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” No, but the press quoted it as it reads in the King James Version: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”
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Did you know that President Jimmy Carter used to be a Jehovah's Witness?
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.christianpost.com/news/jimmy-carter-says-jesus-would-not-support-abortion-revealing-only-conflict-between-his-politics-and-christian-faith-141881/.
carter said that as a young man he used to be a jehovah's witness before he was a baptist christian.. .
"it's hard to grow up with such a foundational system and just let it go.
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Saintbertholdt
Hi Blondie,
"...and he attended the home meetings when he was young. But he ;never was baptized or identified himself as a jw."
That certainly is true. As you probably know he left home for West Point when he was 20. He actually hid his Bible Student background and many biographers only refer to the River Brethren connection. While growing up his parents held weekly Bible student meetings at their home and even had a big chart in the living room with a Pyramid with Russell's timeline. The reason why Eisenhower never wanted to acknowledge his Bible Student background was obvious: The pacifism of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which would have caused him problems in his military and political career. Interestingly enough he was not a member of any church until he was 60 years old when he finally joined the Presbyterian church.
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Did you know that President Jimmy Carter used to be a Jehovah's Witness?
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.christianpost.com/news/jimmy-carter-says-jesus-would-not-support-abortion-revealing-only-conflict-between-his-politics-and-christian-faith-141881/.
carter said that as a young man he used to be a jehovah's witness before he was a baptist christian.. .
"it's hard to grow up with such a foundational system and just let it go.
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Saintbertholdt
Hi JWdaughter,
"A lot of religiously based writing tends to ignore facts in favor of writing uplifting and encouraging things to promote their faith-based interests."
There is one western religious news organization which I actually respect very much:
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
I say this as an atheist. They just do good reporting.
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If you "chose" this religion, as I did, do you remember the moment you "bought" the religion?
by Muddy Waters inif you "chose" this religion, as i did, do you remember the moment you "bought", or believed, the religion?.
for me, it was during one of my studies with a knowledgeable, lovely pioneer sister who looked like her life was so perfect and wonderful.
i was coming out of a terrible situation in my life, very vulnerable, being abandoned by a husband during my pregnancy and with other little children to look after too.
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Saintbertholdt
I was brought up with the religion so I guess there was never 'that' moment.
I can tell my mothers story though:
My grandmother was a devoted catholic and she had gotten a divorce because of my grandfather's infidelity. According to the Catholic church at that time, divorce was a mortal sin and so she would burn in hell for eternity. My mother could not understand how her mother, who had given everything to raise her children and who was such a gentle soul would end up in hell. (Later on the Catholic church would popularize special dispensation and so my grandma would no longer be going to hell by necessity.)
One day my eldest brother was playing in the driveway. At that time he was still a toddler and I was still a distant future accident waiting to happen. While looking out the kitchen window my mother noticed he was coloring something in with a crayon. My mother went outside and saw that it was a book. She thought it looked pretty expensive and so she took the book away (probably to his woeful disgust). Turns out it was Witness literature. She started to read and lo and behold she stumbled upon a section on the fate and state of the dead. She was instantly sold on the religion because now there was a way to solve my grandmother's eternal damnation dilemma.
Since that fateful incident the 'Truth' has dominated our family history to this very day.