Posts by darkspilver

19

Watchtower let off the hook by the UK charities commission

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

say what they like, but it's a definite withdrawal of pressure.

the commission is slow, needlessly protracted and inconsiderate of the extent to which ongoing damage is being carried out.. scrap it.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/watch-tower-statement-on-administrative-court-proceedings.

darkspilver

I wonder if this is related to last weeks news that Nick Beales was leaving the Charity Commission and his role was being taken over by Alex Uden?

Dear all,

I am writing to advise that as of next Monday responsibility for our ongoing statutory inquiry into Watch Tower will pass to my colleague, Alex Uden. Alex can be reached at [email protected] and is looking forward to working with all of you as our investigation moves to its next stage. I am sure he will be in touch in due course with an update on our work.

[snip]
Kind regards,

Nick Beales

144

2.16.2017 NJ Star-Ledger Ad: "Were you sexually abused by the Jehovahs Witnesses?"

by breakfast of champions in

my wife found this 1/4 page ad on page 2 of yesterday's nj star-ledger, probably the biggest newspaper in nj.

pretty telling.. .

darkspilver

Which ever way you look at it, having these sort of adverts running is not good for the WT.

I'm not particularly impressed with their website, especially particularly if it's meant to be focused on JWs - but that's not the point... I suspect, that rather than wanting people to read a website, they want people to contact them directly so they can be 'signed-up' as their client - perhaps on some kind of exclusive deal?

Also the website:
Allegedly, more than 25 years ago, the Jehovah’s Witness’ Governing Body, the group of men who make and approve all policies, sent a memo to the elders of all 14,000 congregations stating that child sex abuse is a private matter and shouldn’t be discussed with anyone, especially the police. The memo also stated that revealing child sex abuse to law enforcement would result in punishment.
It is believed that elders were instead instructed to fill out a form when abuse occurred. These forms were then scanned into a database. This leads investigators to believe that there are thousands of hidden records of sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
This isn't some cookie-cutter operation. They've obviously done their homework.

TBH I wonder if their homework was the recent report carried by KPBS on 12 December 2016, along with the two linked items:

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/dec/12/how-jehovahs-witnesses-leaders-hide-child-abuse-se/

For more than 25 years, Jehovah’s Witnesses officials have instructed local leaders — known as elders — in all of the religion’s 14,000 U.S. congregations to hide sexual abuse from law enforcement. Instead, abusers were to be handled internally.

7

Latest News on Charity Commission Investigation into WTBTS

by gonzobear in

this has just been published on the government's website regarding the charity commission's investigation into wtbts in the uk.

it sounds a little like a backward step, and also like the society are playing clever legal games - as to be expected - but hopefully the information provided by people who've left and been affected by the society will help them reach an informed conclusion.

.

darkspilver

I know that many here favour mandatory reporting but the NSPC indicates some of the pitfalls of mandatory reporting and then it goes on to discuss the debate concerning this issue.

Interesting, thanks.

FYI I posted the below two months ago (6th November 2016) when it was featured as a big article in the UK's Observer newspaper. The article also listed those organisations for and against mandatory reporting.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6453655584636928/uks-nspcc-rejects-mandatory-reporting-suspected-child-abuse

144

2.16.2017 NJ Star-Ledger Ad: "Were you sexually abused by the Jehovahs Witnesses?"

by breakfast of champions in

my wife found this 1/4 page ad on page 2 of yesterday's nj star-ledger, probably the biggest newspaper in nj.

pretty telling.. .

darkspilver

If such a clean copy is made, please post it here for broader use.

Here's a PDF / clean copy of the advert:

PDF of advert

19

Hospice and JW

by Terry Clees in

i am a bereavement coordinator with a hospice company.

i have noticed that most often jw patients decline chaplain care and also the family ends up declining bereavement care.

where i work our chaplains do not proselytize at all...they merely walk with the patient in their faith at the end of life.

darkspilver

JWs will avoid anything that could possibly be deemed as religious or spiritual (or chaplain) that does not come from their own Ministers. They will rely on their own Ministers (normally the 'Elders') for direct spiritual help, and their fellow believers for comfort and support during this difficult time.

I assume you are familiar with their publication: "When Someone You Love Dies"? (that link goes to a PDF version).

Having said that, I would expect some kind of help regarding dealing with the 'practicalities' of what to do etc when a close relative dies would be appreciated - I presume you probably already have some sort of leaflet that explains that - death certificate, probate, insurances etc

20

Faith to Faithless XJW event London, UK

by Fe2O3Girl in

description.

we often come across jehovah's witnesses near station entrances and at our front doors, but we never hear about what happens when they leave.

if you're near london, uk, faith to faithless are doing their first ever event at kings college london, and their first ex jw panel!.

darkspilver

The point they raised in their video is; at what point does their marriage stop being adulterous? If their marriage was deemed to be 'adulterous,' then surely for as long as they are married it will always be 'adulterous', so when does it end?

I wondered the same.

Having looked it up I understand that the 'adulterous marriage' would continue as such up to the point of either: the death of the other mate; the other mate's re-marriage (whether consummated or not); or 'porneia' on the part of the other mate.

Although they could get reinstated before the marriage stops being an 'adulterous' one - neither party could be used for 'privileges' (including auxiliary pioneering, parts on the meeting etc, apart from 'School' items) until that time.

144

2.16.2017 NJ Star-Ledger Ad: "Were you sexually abused by the Jehovahs Witnesses?"

by breakfast of champions in

my wife found this 1/4 page ad on page 2 of yesterday's nj star-ledger, probably the biggest newspaper in nj.

pretty telling.. .

darkspilver

Interesting shutterstock.com image being used....

Jehovah's witness standing at the door and holding Bible

Jehovah's witness wants to evangelize and refusing woman

Woman doesn't want to hear Jehovah's witness

144

2.16.2017 NJ Star-Ledger Ad: "Were you sexually abused by the Jehovahs Witnesses?"

by breakfast of champions in

my wife found this 1/4 page ad on page 2 of yesterday's nj star-ledger, probably the biggest newspaper in nj.

pretty telling.. .

darkspilver

The SAME advert appears on page 4 of the 17 January 2017 print edition of The Press of Atlantic City aswell.

The PDF of advert is here

PDF of advert

49

Sisters as Ministerial Servants?

by Spoletta in

my wife has been trying to convince me that the organization is hinting at the possibility of making some older sisters ministerial servants.

she is awake to a lot of the false doctrines, but is still clinging to the hope that the org may become more progressive in the future.

anyone else pick up on this?

darkspilver

I thought the "head covering" schtick was only when <gag> f-f-f-f-females were engaged in "teaching".

Weird - maybe she was teaching the brothers to use the sound desk? haha

20

Faith to Faithless XJW event London, UK

by Fe2O3Girl in

description.

we often come across jehovah's witnesses near station entrances and at our front doors, but we never hear about what happens when they leave.

if you're near london, uk, faith to faithless are doing their first ever event at kings college london, and their first ex jw panel!.

darkspilver

Here's the youtubes....

DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE chairs a panel of former Jehovah's Witnesses. Here, she talks about being a Pioneer and how that impacted her interest in comedy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVM1prHnocI

NICK FRENCH talks about growing up with sexual abuse in the JW church, and becoming an Elder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agxAhHb2ss4

LYDIA FINCH talks about "going out with a bang" rather than fading from the Jehovah's Witness religion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCxb2PbKB5s

TERRI O'SULLIVAN talks about being kicked out at 16 to founding on of the largest Former JW communities in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkCZ8MBdAa4

MARC & CORA are both well known former JW Youtubers, talking about being 4th generation JWs who left for love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ45gJ-Cr3E