Weana, that is not necessarily the case, I had the same in the UK, my abuse was reported nearly 30 years ago and the perpetrator was never prosecuted. About 10 years ago I alerted the police again so he is on an offenders register, I am now trying to get him prosecuted. The reason he wasn't 30 years ago after the police got involved was because my mum asked them not to! She didn't and still doesn't want gods name brought reproach!
The story of Bo Juel Jensen - the man behind the Anti-Watchtower media campaign in Norway
by cedars 38 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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notjustyet
Anyone know where the interview that Bo made is available online?
Im talking about the one where there was a cult expert on the panel.
NJY
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cedars
notjustyet - a link is on the bottom of that article. Bear in mind, the interview was in Norwegian and there are no subtitles.
Cedars
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life is to short
What an amazing story, I am so glad there are people out there who have the skills that Bo has and that he is using them.
Way to go is is all I can think to say.LITS
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BluesBrother
Excellent article Cedars...We shall await the further developments from this guy.
BTW....Perhaps we had more sensible elders but back in the seventies I knew of a case. The Perpetrator was d/f'd, the victims father reported the case to the law (an elder accompanied him to the Police Station) , he went through the courts and was punished. There was no question of keeping it quiet for the sake of reputation.It was recognized that the Scriptures saying not to take your brother to courtapplied to civil matters, not crimes.
This was before a written policy came out on child abuse
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AGuest
What a horrible experience for Bo... and for anyone who has/is undergoing such heinous treatment! There is NO excuse and his ability to turn his experience into something that helps others a wonderful thing! He and those he serves deserves all of the support they can get! THANK you, dear Cedars for sharing this, as I am sure there are many who can/will benefit, just from his encouraging story, if not by being given a VOICE themselves, here or elsewhere. Having a voice is important, particularly for those who can't speak for themselves.
Recognizing a voice can be important, as well. I don't want to take away from this man's remarkable experience I would like to comment on the following, because I think it's important and it was a part of Mr. Jensen's experience:
[color=brown]"Then [u][b]this [i]little[/i] voice in his head asked him[/b][/u], “What’s the difference between these two people and you, Bo?”
"It was a good question and easy to answer: there was no difference. They were probably better off than him and his dad. [u][b]Then [i]the inner voice[/i] asked him [/b][/u], “What’s the difference between the 25,000 spectators in the stadium and the three JWs there?” No difference. [b][u]Finally [/i]the voice[/i] asked[/b][/u], “Then why would God kill all the people in that stadium and save the three JW boys there?”[/color]
If only Bo knew WHO that "voice" truly WAS:
[color=blue]"To YOU, O men, [u][b]I am calling[/b][/u], and [b][u]my voice is to the sons of men[/u][/b]. O inexperienced ones, understand shrewdness; and YOU stupid ones, understand heart. Listen, for it is about the foremost things that I speak, and the [b][u]opening of my lips is about uprightness[/u][/b]. For [b][i][u]my palate in low tones utters truth itself[/u][/i][/b]; and [b][u]wickedness is something detestable to my lips[/u][/b]. [b][u][i]All the sayings of my mouth are in righteousness. Among them there is nothing twisted or crooked. All of them are straight to the discerning one, and upright to the ones finding knowledge[/b][/i][/u]. TAKE my discipline and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than corals, and all other delights themselves cannot be made equal to it."[/color]
Dear Bo heard the voice when he was still a child. Now... for some reason... he believes it was his own voice. It wasn't, dear ones. It wasn't. It was WISDOM speaking to him. WISDOM said to him, "This is NOT right, child - there is something WRONG here, something FALSE." Wisdom said that to him. Wisdom... who is the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit... JAHESHUA, the Chosen One... and WORD... of JAH... who speaks to ALL of man.
Please, if your child(ren) tell you that "someone" was speaking to them... that they heard a "voice"... don't just dismiss as illness. Just take a moment and try to find out what the voice is saying. Then consider... WHO is saying it. Please. Allow them to be HONEST with you. Let them know it is SAFE, even if YOU don't understand it. As with many things you may not understand about your child... or other children/humans. Give yourself the OPPORTUNITY to understand... rather than just jump to conclusions as to what you "think" is "going on."
Children need to KNOW they are safe in telling YOU their deepest secrets. Whatever they are. Whether possible molestation, homosexuality, learning disability, or hearing (a) voice(s). YOU have to be the safe haven for them. Religion is not... and sometimes even medicine may not be. Sometimes. Know your child. Don't simply leave it to others to reveal him/her to you.
Again, peace to you!
Servant to the Household of God, Israel, and a slave of Christ, the VOICE of God...
SA
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whathappened
This is just another nail in the Watchtower's coffin. I won't be happy until they are five feet under.
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Londo111
I like his idea of founding a halfway house for teens that are coming from high control groups.
I wonder though: what if he extended this offer to the members of the Governing Body and other Bethel “heavies”? If they left, many of them might end up in the street, no jobs, no insurance, ect… What if they see no option but to stay for their own day-to-day survival? What if there were a halfway house for these ones? Imagine the intel they would have. Imagine the effect this would have on the organization.
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Chaserious
@ Weana: Your basic premise is true, but even in the legal systems you are describing, the Prosecutor will have to drop a case if the witnesses refuse to testify and there is no other corroborating evidence. In the U.S., for example, a witness can be made to testify but prosecutors are generally reluctant to force sexual assault victims to testify against their will. Usually parental permission is needed in order for a child to testify. While I don't know all of the details of Bo's case, it might well be that it wasn't so much that the parents "dropped the charges" as much as they told the police/prosecution that they were not going to allow their child to testify.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Wow! He doesn't just show the ugliness of WT's policies, his family situation shows how JWs really are an evil cult.