by Seeker4 30 Replies latest watchtower bible
I just Googled "Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Abuse". Silent Lambs was the #1 Hit!
Just imagine if you are a questioning JW (or a worldly person) who wants to do more research on Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Abuse. You Google the term, and are put into Silent Lambs.
You see an "NBC" story on the front page of Silent Lambs. You go to it. You read it, but you do not get the entire story. What is missing is pretty darn important stuff.
Skeeter
This is the missing information:
Barbara Anderson, a former church member and a vocal critic of the organization on this issue, contends that Jehovah’s Witnesses policies “protect pedophiles rather than protect the children.” Anderson recently compiled documents from the lawsuits on a CD titled “Secrets of Pedophilia in an American Religion.”
Anderson says she first focused on the controversy in the early 1990s when she worked at the Watchtower Society headquarters in Brooklyn and was assigned to deal with letters from church members complaining of abuse. While conducting that research, she says she discovered that in its internal proceedings against accused molesters, the church applies a biblically based “two-witness” rule. “They require another witness to the actual molestation,” Anderson says, “which is an impossibility.”
Anderson also claims that she discovered the church headquarters kept track of sexual abuse cases in confidential files.
“Just thinking that they had a memo made up, printed up that says ‘Child Abuse Telememo,’” Anderson says, “indicates to me that they were handling this a lot. Because why make up a form for it?”
This information is important. While we all know it....the WORLD and CURRENT JWs do not.
First, it points you to a CD. This has alot of information on it.
Second, she shows that Church Management knew it was a problem back in the 1990s and wanted to investigate it. The existance of confidential files shows that they kept track of the problem.
Third, she explains the "two witness" rule. Worldly people will think the JWs are nuts and a cult. JWs who read this may just have the "aha" moment of "Gee, I think I'm in a cult that covers up molesting children....not so different than FDLS"
The B-O-M-B is Barbara's form comments. Barbara succinctly puts it that Bethel is LYING in the press release that child molestation is an infrequent event. Why have a form for the infrequent?
Right now, the courts and the UK Charity Commission are taking a harder look at the Watchtower. The World is Watching the Watchtower.
If there are "bad vibes" between Barbara and Bill....GET OVER IT AND GROW UP.
Keeping important information from the public will hurt children. Does Silent Lambs want to be like the Watchtower?
Skeeter
Just an update. As of this e-mail, no response from Silentlambs to any of those who've inquired about this.
S4
Seeker4,
Given the propensity of Bill Bowen to act like the people that he condemns, what is most surprising is that you are surprised!
If any lurker needs to be assured, Barbara Anderson is one of the most honest, hardworking, intelligent and kind people that I know. She is also a confident and self assured women, which might answer the question that you pose in your thread. ;)
HS
You are, without a doubt, in the running for the JWD Resident Wingnut Award!
He'll love it! Hey, an award is an award and he is such a diva..........(he gets my vote, though there is some pretty heavy competition)
JC gets my vote too , when are the ceremonies to take place, and lets not forget another favorite front runner OBVES
Yeah Seeker it kind of looks like Bill B. wants all of the attention on himself and not necessarily the important information that is available .
Just remember, Seeker, "Silentlambs" is Bill's website and he has the freedom to post, or not to post, anything that he wants. Whether that affects his credibility with people like you, well, that's another issue. That's one of the drawbacks/advantages of the internet--depending on your point of view. If Barb Anderson had a website, I would defend her right on the same thing as well. In fact, maybe that's the solution to this--Maybe she should establish one(assuming she doesn't have one already) and she can then have her own unfiltered conduit for releasing information involving her crusade against pedophilia.
It still feels dishonest to omit parts and not make mention or notice of the omission.
Barbara's credentials and comments give it the validation that most people - and witnesses - want to have.
When the original dateline program aired, I was a still a walk-away believer. I watched with skepticism but found Barbara to be very credible. Bill, too. The two of them helped at the time.
I think Bill is making a mistake in keeping Barbara's comments out.
-Aude.
"Just remember, Seeker, "Silentlambs" is Bill's website and he has the freedom to post, or not to post, anything that he wants. Whether that affects his credibility with people like you, well, that's another issue."
People like me, eh? Not sure what that means. I just want openness and honesty and a professional approach to this issue. I agree that Bill can post what he wants, but be honest about it. Don't employ WTS tactics. It robs his credibility, and I don't want that. I want Bill to be as credible as possible. I want to feel that I can read his website and know I'm getting everything he indicates I'm getting. When it turns out that I'd better check the sources of his information, to make sure I'm getting a full and accurate quote, I find that disturbing, and I don't mind saying so.
S4
Just remember, Seeker, "Silentlambs" is Bill's website and he has the freedom to post, or not to post, anything that he wants. Whether that affects his credibility with people like you, well, that's another issue. That's one of the drawbacks/advantages of the internet--depending on your point of view. If Barb Anderson had a website, I would defend her right on the same thing as well.
Actually, it's not just a matter of someone 'having the freedom to post' what they want, it's a matter of citation, reference and not taking things out of context. That's what the WTS does on a continual basis and that's why they have no credibility.
There is apparently some personal problem between Bill Bowen and Barbara Anderson, but that should not prevent him from acknowledging her contributions and I hope he rectifies the situation. Bill has certainly done a lot of good with his site and it's a shame that personal feelings have to take the spotlight.
