Help with article on Watchtower Changes due to Legal Pressure

by jwfacts 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  jwfacts

  At https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/8j8fj9/what_legal_requirements_have_forced_the/ExCircuitOverseer started an excellent thread on areas Watchtower has changed due to legal pressure. This has promoted me to gather the information into an article. There is a number of points that I would like to expand on, and need assistance in finding information.

  The article is at https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/blog/changes-due-to-legal-pressure.php

  Here are a list of questions I have.

  1 - When did the announcement for disfellowshipping change to "[Name of person] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."

  2 - Examples to back up the following comment - Originally, when a member was disfellowshipped, the reason for their removal from the congregation was announced at the same time. However, several cases were taken to court where the member claimed they had been slandered. Similar cases were pursued by members of other Churches and won.

  3 - Examples to back up the following comment - The change away from following Bible guidance on physical discipline has been required to avoid legal issues for members, and in order to for legal recognition in some European countries where spanking is illegal.

  4 - I do not have a good understanding of the following topic yet, or how this will change the retention of forms about JWs (particularly those that don't sign) or the public. - The European Union passed the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR, effective from May 2018.

  5 - Information to support the following comment - Knorr and Franz feared legal bans because of df'ing people for joining the military so they came up with the term "disassociation" instead and claimed they did it to themselves automatically.

  I am happy to correct and add to the article, so feel free to offer suggestions.
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  Ruby456

  There,s a course at FutureLearn re the GDPR. You can ask technical questions there too.

  basically the GDPR empowers the individual regarding how info about themselves is stored and used. Their consent is required.
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  krismalone

  Organized to do Jehovah's will (2005) changed the DF announcement to " xyz is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses".

  Before 2005 the announcement was: "xyz has been disfellowshipped".

  And before that...."xyz has been disfellowshipped for conduct unbecoming of a Christian". Then during THE SAME MEETING an elder would give a talk condemning the action or sin that was committed by the newly df'd person. That way the whole Congo knew what he did.
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  3rdgen

  I remember being a little kid in the early 1960's and hearing my own father give the announcement, "XYZ has been disfellowshipped due to adultery, or apostasy" etc. No room for guesswork.

  I can't remember exactly when the obvious lawsuit/s transpired which led to the generic announcements which were: "XYZ has been disfellowshipped due to "conduct unbecoming a Christian." I'm guessing it was late 1960's or a little before.
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  smiddy3

  "Watchtower Changes Due to Legal Pressure"

  In other words "New light " does not come from Jehovah God but comes from Lawyers trying to protect the assets of the WTB&TS .

  I hope you have success with this project jwfacts it sounds promising
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  Corney

  Are you sure there is any causal link between the Bulgarian case and the doctrinal change on civilian service? That seems like a pretty big assumption. For example, after refusal to register JW in Germany as public-law corporation due to, inter alia, prohibition on voting, WTS didn't overruled it, despite the fact that the recognition by Germany was much, much more important than registration in Bulgaria.
  
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  George One Time

  The Bulgarian case forced them to quit disfellowshipping due to bloodtransfusions - it changed into disassociation. I
  
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  OrphanCrow

  This paper may help you, jwfacts:

  Disciplined Litigation, Vigilant Litigation, and Deformation: Dramatic Organization Change in Jehovah's Witnesses

  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/0021-8294.00034
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  cha ching

  There was a time when they had to remove 7 pages out of the Finished Mystery book because the US government thought it was seditious. Does this fit in with what you are looking for?
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  cha ching

  I remember when we started hearing rumors of "Apostates taking over Kingdom Halls that 'we all had built and paid for'".

  The next thing you know the "Society" came to the rescue and put all of the land and Kingdom Halls in THEIR name, so no tricky, money hungry apostates, or people who wanted to sue a particular congregation, could ever get their hands on a Kingdom Hall again.