by flipper 55 Replies latest jw friends
Concerning the kids and their code of silence, they won't bother confessing after a few years because after that time it might be irrelevant, they may have forgotten, or there simply would be no point - if no one knows about it but the person, and so much time has passed that no one will ever find out, why bring it out?
They'll confess if it resurfaces, but they'll have time on their side.
F*CKIN ASSHOLES!
But to play the devil's advocate (I only skimmed the comments so I don't know if anyone mentioned this) maybe by "child abuse" they are also refering to perhaps hitting a kid- once- or something...something bad but not AS bad as molestation, and therefore not making it neccesary to DEFINITALY keep the man from EVER being an elder.
It doesn't really matter though. Either way, it's disgusting.
So in the last few months if an elder had gambled, fornicated, smoked, been drunk, associated with "worldly people" and then pleaded his case he would be let off and I would be the one who had led him astray?? Taken the poor lamb down a path of wrong doing and even "made" him go into another church??
just letting off steam.....
@Lost1 : No, the point is the "sins" need to have been hidden for a considerable amount of time and not be ongoing. 3 years seems to be the working figure.
Elder has a drunken shag 3 years ago and keeps it quiet, then it becomes known = no action and stay an elder.
Joe publisher / MS has a drunken shag and keeps it quiet for a few years = DF.
So he can keep quiet for another 2 years and then all will be forgiven..
Yeppers, aint it dandy.
Makes me sooo angry! But for me its a learning curve!
End of the day he has actually done nothing wrong in the real world but in his world he has broken nearly every rule under the sun.
I feel like just grassing him up but what would that achieve!!??!! Except for making me feel better for about 10 seconds!!
Here are some scans from the literature.
As mentioned by daringhart13, 1972 was a key year.
The Organization book (1972) said that if an elder committed a serious sin "some years ago," and it was found out, he should be removed.
The Kingdom Ministry, October 1972, explained that "some years ago" meant 2 or 3 years, although it was not an exact number. However, if the sin was committed 3 years ago or more, then the elder did not need to be removed.
How in the world they arrived at these numbers is anybody's guess.
"Organization For Kingdom-Preaching And Disciple-Making" (1972) p170, par2
"Kingdom Ministry", Oct 1972, Question Box p8
I'm not sure what was said on this topic between 1972 and 2010, but here it is in the latest Elder's Manual.
"Shepherd the Flock of God" p38 (2010 Elder's Manual)
Notice that "child abuse" would only "likely," not definitely disqualify him, for "many years," not permanently.
Is this information hypocritical on Watchtower's part, since it favors elders?
The Watchtower magazine says this,
"Jehovah is not pleased with acts of worship carried out by individuals who are concealing serious sins. On the contrary, such hypocrisy angers him." —Prov. 21:27; Isa. 1:11-16 (W 12-15-08 p11, par16)
Apparently “concealing serious sins” amounts to “hypocrisy that angers [Jehovah], unless you are an elder; then the rules change. Is Jehovah angered only at ordinary publishers, not elders, who do this. The Society seems to think so.
And Jehovah's Witnesses insist that Class Distinctions do not exist among them.
In my situation as an elder, a fellow elder - good guy actually, admitted to his vagaries concerning pornography. So he stepped down, without any kind of grilling or heat from the body or the circuit overseer. He was later reinstated as an elder about a year later after 'allegedly' controlling his urges. Yeah, right.
Meanwhile, a MS had confessed (sigh, why do they do this), his addiction to porn as well. Well, all I can say is that the treatment dispensed was significantly different between the elder and MS. Some background: This MS had no chance of ever becoming an elder and was made an example of to the congregation. This MS later left the organization.
My lesson learned? Porn is good. It's a gateway activity.
