happy dad: Very interesting post. It was that same Watchtower letter you mentioned which caused my husband, Joe, to resign his position as elder and to take his stand against the Watchtower. He reasoned like you did, that if there were no child abuse reporting laws in a country, WT would never allow a member to go to the authorities with an accusation. When Joe realized this, he could not in good conscience continue to support such a religion.
Isn't it interesting that this organization worries about slandering someone accused of a crime, yet will quickly disfellowship anyone who warns congregation members about another member's criminal behavior, when disfellowshipping can be construed as just as serious a sin as slander since the very word "disfellowhipping" has come to mean defamation. It is incomprehensible to us that there is so much sympathy by the WT policy makers for the accused rather than for the victims.
Why would the organization expect that a pedophile inform others about their sin when it has been proven that pedophiles are known repeat offenders; the average molester in a lifetime has had 300 victims, and wants to keep his/her activities a secret.
freetosee: Thank you for explaining the situation in Germany as related to government officials being so well informed about JWs and their child abuse cover-up. Extremely interesting information, important enough to be filed and used.
minimus: Good point. I'd like to add an observation as to why JWs don't talk about child abuse: If they did, they would be disfellowshipped! Every JW knows which way the wind blows, so they just bury their anxiety and keep believing only the best about the religion, as if that will make the accusations untrue.
From my own point of view, denial is what keeps JWs in the organization. From early on I learned of awful unethical and immoral behavior within the organization. I lived only 30 miles from Bethel and dated Bethelites and knew lots about what went on in the inside, but yet I still kept zealously preaching. When I look back now, I surely should have left during the times I came face to face with information that should have proved to me that this was not God's organization, but I was in denial because I wanted the carrot--everlasting life--so badly. It took me nearly five years to get up the courage to leave even when I knew all the facts about the child abuse issue. In addition, it took over four years more before my husband left. And I had shared with him what I had learned in the Writing Dept. about sexual abuse since 1992.
I suppose we just had too much of our lives invested in the religion to leave. Also, to exit would mean we were fools to have been taken in by such a sham for so long and nobody wants to face that. So maybe it might be better not to be so hard on the JWs who have not left the org. over child abuse. I have sympathy because when I look at them, I say, "There, but by the grace of God, go I." I don't mean that literally, but we've been there, done that and know exactly the way they feel about their investment.
To be honest, if we had not been invited to live at Bethel and my eventually landing in the Writing Dept. where I inadvertently learned what I did about WT's hidden secrets, we probably still would be Witnesses. How's that for ignorant!
I have to commend all of you who have left the organization because of having the good sense to investigate the doctrines, something it took us years to do even when it was all laid out in black and white. Why the foremost "apostate" on the Internet, Alan Feuerbacher, was a childhood friend, and, yet, despite our knowing what an honest and intelligent person he always has been, we still wouldn't sit up and take notice of what he was saying about the Watchtower. When I look back now, I'd say that we were just too busy and disinterested in the facts because as Witnesses our lives were going great and who in the world wants to disturb what we considered to be an excellent way of life.
So knowing the mindset of the Witnesses, I agree with freetosee that it is up to us to continue to make known loud and clear the facts about the WT's child abuse policies. And remember, WT's child sexual abuse policies are their "Achilies heel" because the publicity is branding the Witness organization as the group whose name is synonomous with pedophiles.
Barb.
