Hello :o)
"No single witness should rise up against a man respecting any error or any sin, in the case of any sin that he may commit. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses the matter should stand good."
The WTBTS pleads in defence of its policy for paedophile cases that 2 witnesses are required in accordance with Deuteronomy 19 v 15. What they fail to grasp is the significance of verse 16 onwards. The problem, as is often the case with the WTBTS' interpretations, is that they have isolated a verse from its context and then used it in support of their practices. Unfortunately, they do this all too frequently when quoting from the Bible or indeed from most other sources.
It is necessary to read chapter 19 and more particularly verses 16 onwards, to see what should be done if someone bears *false witness* which MUST be the case if one person accuses another of a wrongdoing which the latter denies (such as in the child abuse cases featured on Dateline and Panorama).
When an *allegedly* abused person reports to the elders an *alleged abuser*, if the abuser *confesses* - he becomes his own *witness* and verse 15 is fulfilled. HOWEVER, if the *alleged abuser* denies the allegation, verse 16 onwards comes into play in this context as we now have a *false witness* - either the accuser or the accused - and according to the Scriptures, *waiting on Jehovah* is not an option, but the matter is pursued in order to clear the name of the innocent party and then to administer punishment to the guilty one.
verse 16 onwards: If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him [that which is] wrong Then both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
The provision had previously been made that:
Exodus 18 v 21: Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [such] over them, [to be] rulers of thousands, [and] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, [that] every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear [the burden] with thee.
Exodus 18 v 26: And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves
Deuteronomy 16 v 18: Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
So in ancient Israel, the accuser and accused would be questioned together by the judges and the implication of *And those which remain shall hear and fear* is that this was a public interrogation (these *courts* were held in public at the gates of the cities).
The importance of the words in verse 16, however, *shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges* would indicate that here, the *hearing* would be at the gate of the sanctuary as the conflict rendered it too difficult for the ordinary judges and required greater wisdom and experience such as the more difficult cases which Moses heard personally (see Deuteronomy chapter 17).
So the cases don't stop with the absence of 2 witnesses!! Others know about the cases so that they too can bear witness. These were not hushed up affairs and every effort was to be made to determine which was the guilty party. [In any environment - whether religious or secular - where the general members are kept in the dark about possible paedophile activity, paedophiles, rather than their victims are the ones protected and their reputations remain intact whilst they continue to abuse. This is something that paedophiles rely on - the *secrecy* of their activities.] Moreover, once it was established which of the 2 was the *false witness*, punishment was administered.
Ancient Israel recognised that not all those who sat as judges at the gates were qualified to hear the complex cases and so further provision was made for dealing with them. This is comparable to the elders of the WTBTS being unqualified to hear cases of alleged child abuse and provision being made for 'both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and THE JUDGES WHICH SHALL BE IN THOSE DAYS'.
As sexual abuse is a criminal activity as defined by law, such cases need to be dealt with by the appropriate authorities who have the duty, the expertise and the resources to follow up allegations. By its very nature, a case involving paedophilia is a complex one, usually involving minors as victims. These cases require the utmost delicacy and sensitivity on the part of those dealing with traumatised individuals, in order to keep further emotional damage to an absolute minimum.
A couple of questions I have for the WTBTS or its members: how does the organisation fulfill its scriptural public duty as set out in Deuteronomy 19 verse 16 onwards, to deal with the *false witness* situation which occurs in most cases of paedophilia? How does it exonerate the innocent and punish the ones guilty of being a *false witness*?
When will the organisation realise that the elders are unqualified to conduct enquiries into paedophilia?
Those running the organisation and dictating the policies have a religious and moral duty of care to their members and will be held accountable according to their own beliefs. Have they been *faithful and discreet* witnesses or have they been *false* witnesses?
My two penn'orth after watching Panorama!