Dear larc,
:Duns,
No, I don't expect to be enlightened on JW policy, and no this is not a form of entrapement. Your term was trap queries, and I am not trying to put you in a "figurative bind." I want you to see the world the way it is. Let us start with good old uncle Charlie who butt fucked a little boy. What would you do if he was a "wordly person" and what would you do if he was a baptized member of the congregation?:
I am not an elder, as I have stated before. Therefore, are you asking me what I would do if I was serving in the capacity of an older man? If so, I'm sure you already know that there are two different types of relations that obtain in the life of a JW when it comes to the manner in which he or she relates to a member of the world over against relating to a member of the Christian congregation. For example, Christians are told that they should not take a fellow Christian to court. But we are free to enter into litigation with a worldly person. However, even in the case of the worldly individual, a Christian should not hastily enter into legal conflict for the purpose of retribution or personal gain. I think the same principles that obtain in the case of lawsuits, properly apply to cases of "alleged" rape.
Even if a young man comes home and says that Uncle Charlie has forced him to perform anal sex, Uncle Charlie is still an "alleged" molester. At the very least, my personal opinion is that the parents should call the elders for advice, whether Charlie is a brother or not. The parents should then insist that the matter be looked into and handled in an expeditious fashion. Subsequent to the elder's handling of the event, the family could seek professional help for the boy and even seek legal remuneration, if circumstances necessitate such action. (If Uncle Charlie is disfellowshipped, he is no longer a brother. The family can then press charges against him with no reservation at all.) The foregoing is my personal viewpoint and does not represent that of the Watchtower Society.
:Now, let's talk about the rape case, since you want some definition. She comes home and her clothes are torn and she has scratch marks on her face and arms. Her eyes are glazed over and she can hardly talk. Is that enough of a criterion for you? If the rapist is a wordly boy, what would you differently than if he was a respected member of the congregation?:
Thanks for your expanded definition. Again, I'm still not sure that we could conclude the girl was raped, according to the conditions you set out above, however. Maybe the girl was involved in a fight. Perhaps she was in an accident of some kind. Furthermore, its quite possible that she is a good actor, and is only pretending that something happened to her at the hands of a sexual aggressor.
I am not trying to belittle your example. It just seems that you have not clearly posited a case of rape. You have yet to say that the girl even SAID she was raped. I know that a verbal articulation of the fact is not required before one believes it. But the conditions you depict above could apply to a number of situations. We're playing for keeps here. Let's dot our 'I's' and cross out 'T's'. Surely we would have to have some type of evidence to go on before we start calling the police.
:Now, regarding the girl who is a schizophrenic, is it really up to the parents when they are told that the only place to go is to the elders at the Kingdom Hall? Since "meat in due season" does not include anything about major psychoses, I think mom and dad would not be prepared to make informed judgments.:
Who would tell parents that the only place they can take their daughter for help with her paranoid delusions is to the elders? I would certainly never give anyone such counsel. If a person is physically sick, they need a professional physician. I know bothers and sisters that have worked with "worldly" counselors in the past. No one kept them from seeing these men or women, who deal with mental problems and situations involving abuse. In fact, I strongly recommend seeing counselors in certain situations. Nevertheless, the parent has to make the decision in the previously mentioned case.
Duns the Scot
