Jehovah's Witnesses suing Dutch State for discrimination

by Tahoe 24 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  NotFormer

  Vidiot: "Jeezus, Not…

  …they make that many changes, they’d hardly even BE “Jehovah’s Witnesses” any more."

  The funny thing is how much they have changed already. Numerous posts by people who left ages ago who don't even recognise it as the organisation that they left. And it isn't the same as it was when I used to have "animated discussions" at the door 25 years ago. Heck, back then, the rumour was that if you typed "1914" into the keypad at most Kingdom Halls, you had a good chance of disarming the alarm! 😱 Now, who even mentions 1914 anymore?
• 

  Vidiot

  Sure, and you’re totally right, but those things are cosmetic, at best.

  Full-on reversals of hard, set-in-stone-for-a-fucking-half-century policies that had tangible long-term effects on countless peoples’ lives, though?

  I won’t lie, it’s hard to imagine.
• 

  Vidiot

  BTW…

  https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=zJ6405yjZfo&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fad1914.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

  And I’m 100% confident that he’s 100% sincere.

  😏
  
  
• 

  NotFormer

  Unfortunately, you're right. The recent changes are indeed cosmetic at best. (Although the last minute conversion one is actually pretty major in some ways) And again, you're right, some of the major sticking points (blood, shunning, two witnesses etc.) represent too much of a change; policies like those have done so much damage to lives over the years that to jettison them at any time would be unworkable. There would be such incredible legal ramifications that it would be likely that the organisation could survive.

  I'd love to see a government or two go after them over the blood policy. It's not just medical "advice": they force compliance on pain of death (disfellowshipment) and enforce it (HLC). They're practicing medicine without a licence.
• 

  Vidiot

  Hmm.….dodgy; that could go either way, IMO.

  Better to fine-tune the legal requirements for “charity” status / tax-exemption.

  The conditions would apply to everyone, so the Org couldn’t claim they were singled out…

  …obtaining that classification is completely voluntary, so they can’t claim that they’re being forced to do anything…

  …and they can’t holler about “persecution” for just having to pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, and have anyone with half a brain take it seriously.