The Lawsuit: What Is The Aftermath?

by metatron 20 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  metatron

  I have been reading all these wonderful posts about this huge victory for justice against the sick, evil old Men Of The Watchtower with immense delight!

  That said, I think it well that we should consider what the longer term effects of their defeat will be.

  I continue to think that they will be under enormous pressure to discreetly end the Circuit Overseer arrangement somehow. There have been many rumors about this but the Watchtower is stuck with a real dilemma. If they do away with C.O.'s and throw in some local yokel to do the job, they risk losing ALL control of the congregations and ending up as a weakened version of the Methodist church or something.

  OTOH, if they simply continue the present C.O. arrangement, they risk more lawsuits that could wipe them out completely, without exaggeration.

  How the heck can they sustain a "Catholic" structure without Catholic level assets? The Organization is a hierarchy, it has a clear chain of command and so is vunerable to these lawsuits. That's why you have a CBOE instead of a Presiding Overseer (and that's not enough)

  The details of this lawsuit are already shocking some long-term Witnesses. This may have a further effect on donations. Witnesses are starting to spin this first, as 'apostates, apostates' and then (if they bother to read the details) as simply the result of past errors by the organization that have already been dealt with, nothing to see here, move along.

  Of course, the Governing Body - with King Rehoboam and the Pharoah of the Exodus as their spiritual mentors - may fight this. More than that, they are blind to what their excessive shunning policies are doing to them......

  Confidential information about the Organization pops up daily on the internet. Critical documents end up in the hands of lawyers opposing the Society. They have a deep loyalty problem because of their sheer greediness for control. If Brothers can't fade away or leave because of shunning, what happens next? They seek revenge and fight back against their oppressors - discreetly.

  I think also we now know why there has been so much liquidation of assets in the organization: they are getting prepared for bad news.

  metatron
• 

  panhandlegirl

  I hope this decision emboldens others who have been abused to come out and sue the pants off the WTS. I wonder how many young boys have been abused by these scumbags? I cannot understand how they could place themselves about the safety of these children. This begs the question "What would Jesus do?" NOT THIS!!!
• 

  MrFreeze

  If enough people come forward they just might change their policy which would be a huge step in the right direction. Even the $28 mil might be enough to do so.
• 

  shamus100

  Oh, brothers and sisters, a congregation went away and we no longer own it. Don't talk about it... it's just persecution.

  Imagine going door to door in that territory! ** ROFLMAO **

  What you are seeing right now is the classic stages of change in a jobie nitiwit. They are on #2 right now on the FB groups - anger.

  Give it time - give it time... ;)
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I don't see how the lawsuit and the C.O. arrangement are tied together. Local elders follow directions from the corporation with or without a C.O..

  I see many JW's prepared to make cognitive dissonant excuses for Watchtower like "It's persecution." While that is sad, this will hit WTS in two places- their wallet and their attitude of legalism being more important than actually benefiting the members.

  Those two things will contribute to causing WTS to operate differently and ultimately die off. If the current members don't wake up, the recruiting efforts will kill them.

  I would love to say "This is it, this is the big nail in their coffin." But I don't see it happening that way. I do see a corporation in the printing business when print is dying. I do see a corporation trying to switch over to a franchise operation with the profit in members and land, but suffering over the money issues and treating the contributing members worse and worse.

  If nothing else comes of this lawsuit besides a hole in WTS's pocket, a large number of future elders will question whether they want to be "thrown to the wolves" for following directions from Mother and will resign or turn down the promotion to begin with.
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  If Brothers can't fade away or leave because of shunning, what happens next? They seek revenge and fight back against their oppressors - discreetly.

  Time for TWS to have a "Get Out of Jail FREE" policy. Let the ones that want out......OUT! NO penalty. NO gun to their head. No repercussions. When you push a "mad dog" into a corner, it attacks. That's exactly what all the disgruntled JWs who are trappen "IN" are doing. Leaking confidential docs. Publicizing all the negative news. And the internet makes it all possible FAR BEYOND what was ever able to be accomplished in the past. It's costing WTS more to keep them in than it's worth!

  Doc
• 

  DNCall

  Not that the Organization will do the smart or sane thing, but if it did, I think it would do the following:

  1. Direct the membership (not just elders) to make allegations of criminal activity to law enforcement. Law enforcement professionals are trained to investigate criminal allegations. Congregation elders and the Society’s legal department are not.

  2. Remove itself from a process in which it has no business in the first place. Breaches of confidentiality within the congregation and invasions of privacy will no longer be the Organization’s problem. Neither will they bear the burden of having to apply the Biblical "two witnesses" scenario.

  3. Allow law enforcement to do the legwork of determining valid accusation versus false accusation and then deal with the outcome congregationally.

  4. Pay the money it owes on any future judgments against it (Romans 13:1-5) and write if off to the membership as human imperfection on its part (the membership is already primed for it). The Governing Body can even say this is what the spirit has directed it to do.

  Am I missing anything?
• 

  St George of England

  There is great excitment on JWN over the last couple of days in view of this court ruling. I am as happy as anyone.

  HOWEVER, do not expect this to get much coverage outside of the US. Even if it appears in the news here in the U.K. it will have little effect on members. Remember the Panorama programme a few years ago? Many avoided watching it and those that did put down to apostates. They are so brain washed, for so long, they will write it off as Satan's persecution we can expect in these last days.

  I do feel though that the Holy Spirit will be fired as an appointer of elders and ministerial servants. Congregations will be run as more autonomous units, the WTS will want no part in the selection or appointment of anyone that can cause future trouble.

  I do not think any member of the GB will be scouring the 'Situations Vacant' columns just yet.

  George
• 

  blondie

  There are 2 elders in this circuit that function as COs when the "assigned" CO is on vacation, training, ill. If there aren't traveling COs, I can see just using local elders to "check up" on local congregations. A few years ago some long-time elders were all removed by the new CO because they didn't toe the line. The rest of the elders are "discreet" about any disoedience. I remember growing up being told in my history class that you cannot legislate morality. I know of other religions that have defied the secular laws because they think their "scriptural" laws are higher. There have been other cases like this but it has not been a wakeup call for the WTS, maybe a few individual jws. The Catholic church has survived, Penn State will survive, the Boy Scouts have survived, and other organizations like them will survive. I just hope that members and observers learn, are educated, of the dangers and how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
• 

  wasblind

  " WE CAN GIVE JEHOVAH ( THE WTS )

  RESOURCES: We can also give of our material resources to support the preaching work."________OUR KINGDOM MINISTRY MARCH 2008

  The sheep will be fleeced even more to make up for the monetary loss of this lawsuit