Posts by darkspilver

9

1-844-600-HELP

by JunkYardDog in

jw
friends

saw this phone number on t.v.

ad.

stating if you been abused by jehovah witnesses call this law firm..

darkspilver

It's a series of TV and newspaper adverts in the tristate area - see the following two posts

2017 Circuit Assembly: Lesbians at school demonstration

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

steve2: is there some way this can be presented so that it is crystal clear what was actually in the demonstrations and what was added?

i guess some will think it should be obvious - but this is where misunderstandings arise because we end up wrongly attributing something to jw organization that was never said.. circuit assembly theme: maintain love for jehovah!.

note to speaker: warmly encourage young ones to prove their friendship with jehovah by observing his commandments and defending his standards.

darkspilver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIwS22Ejt14

The demonstration is based on material in the YPA Vol 1, Chapter 23

Young People Ask Vol 1, Chapter 23: How Can I Explain the Bible’s View of Homosexuality?

What is the Bible’s view of homosexuality? And if you live by the Bible’s moral code, how can you respond to those who label you prejudiced, judgmental, or even homophobic? Consider the following questions or statements and possible responses.
“What does the Bible say about homosexuality?”
“The Bible makes it clear that God designed sex to be engaged in only between a male and a female and only within the arrangement of marriage. (Genesis 1:27, 28; Leviticus 18:22; Proverbs 5:18, 19) When the Bible condemns fornication, it is referring to both homosexual and illicit heterosexual conduct.”—Galatians 5:19-21.
“What’s your view of homosexuality?”
“I don’t hate homosexuals, but I can’t approve of their conduct.”
Remember: If you’re guided by the Bible’s moral code, then that is your lifestyle choice, and you have a right to it. (Joshua 24:15) Don’t feel ashamed of your view.—Psalm 119:46.
“Shouldn’t Christians respect all people, regardless of their sexual orientation?”
“Absolutely. The Bible says: ‘Honor men of all sorts’ or, as Today’s English Version renders it, ‘Respect everyone.’ (1 Peter 2:17) Therefore, Christians are not homophobic. They show kindness to all people, including those who are gay.”—Matthew 7:12.
“Doesn’t your view of homosexuality encourage prejudice against gays?”
“Not at all. I reject homosexual conduct, not people.”
You could add: “To make a comparison, I also choose not to smoke. In fact, I find the very idea of it repugnant. But suppose you’re a smoker and you feel differently. I wouldn’t be prejudiced against you for your view, just as I’m sure you wouldn’t be prejudiced against me for my view—am I right? The same principle applies to our differing views of homosexuality.”
“Didn’t Jesus preach tolerance? If so, shouldn’t Christians take a permissive view of homosexuality?”
“Jesus didn’t encourage his followers to accept any and all lifestyles. Rather, he taught that the way to salvation is open to ‘everyone exercising faith in him.’ (John 3:16) Exercising faith in Jesus includes conforming to God’s moral code, which forbids certain types of conduct—including homosexuality.”—Romans 1:26, 27.
“Homosexuals can’t change their orientation; they’re born that way.”
“The Bible doesn’t comment on the biology of homosexuals, although it acknowledges that some traits are deeply ingrained. (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5) Even if some are oriented toward the same sex, the Bible tells Christians to shun homosexual acts.”
Suggestion: Rather than get ensnared in a debate about the cause of homosexual desires, emphasize that the Bible prohibits homosexual conduct. To make a comparison, you could say: “You know, many claim that violent behavior can have a genetic root and that as a result, some people are predisposed to it. (Proverbs 29:22) What if that was true? As you might know, the Bible condemns fits of anger. (Psalm 37:8; Ephesians 4:31) Is that standard unfair just because some may be inclined toward violence?”
“How could God tell someone who is attracted to people of the same sex to shun homosexuality? That sounds cruel.”
“Such reasoning is based on the flawed notion that humans must act on their sexual impulses. The Bible dignifies humans by assuring them that they can choose not to act on their improper sexual urges if they truly want to.”—Colossians 3:5.
“Even if you’re not gay, you should change your view of homosexuality.”
“Suppose I didn’t approve of gambling but you did. Would it be reasonable for you to insist that I change my view, simply because millions of people choose to gamble?”
Remember this: Homosexuals, along with most people, have some ethical code that causes them to deplore certain things—perhaps fraud, injustice, or war. The Bible prohibits those behaviors; it also draws the line at certain types of sexual conduct, including homosexuality.—1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
The Bible is not unreasonable, nor does it promote prejudice. It simply directs those with homosexual urges to do the same thing that is required of those with an opposite-sex attraction—to “flee from fornication.”—1 Corinthians 6:18.
The fact is, millions of heterosexuals who wish to conform to the Bible’s standards employ self-control despite any temptations they might face. Their number includes many who are single with little prospect of marriage and many who are married to a disabled partner who is unable to function sexually. They are able to live happily without fulfilling their sexual urges. Those with homosexual inclinations can do the same if they truly want to please God.—Deuteronomy 30:19.

60

Stephanie Fessler v Watch Tower - Trial on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 in Pennsylvania

by AndersonsInfo in

http://avoidjw.org/2017/02/stephanie-fessler-v-watch-tower/.

stephanie fessler v watch tower.

stephanie fessler was brought up as a jehovah’s witness by her parents, jodee and kevin.

darkspilver

Looks like WT offered $100,000 to settle?....

Below is an 800 word article - plus 23 pages of court documents.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/02/jehovahs_witness_spring_grove.html

Did Jehovah's Witness elders fail to report sexual abuse? Trial starts Tuesday

Steve Marroni - February 07, 2017 at 6:00 AM, updated February 07, 2017 at 9:25 AM
When she was a teenager, Stephanie Fessler was sexually abused by a member of her York County church.
It was a place where she was supposed to feel safe, but it was the authorities within that church who not only failed to protect her, but they covered up the abuse, she claims.
And according to a lawsuit Fessler filed against the Jehovah's Witness church in Spring Grove, had church elders contacted the authorities as they were legally obligated to do, she would have been spared more sexual assaults from the same woman.
While her abuser, Terry J. Monheim, pleaded guilty back in 2012 in York County Court, a lawsuit Fessler filed against Monheim and the church is going to trial Tuesday in Philadelphia.
Her goal in filing the suit, besides personal justice, is to remove the secrecy within the denomination that allowed her abuse to continue after it was reported to church elders, her attorney, Jeffrey Fritz, said Monday.
"Her main motivation is exposing that the policies of the Watchtower and the Jehovah's Witnesses are not following mandatory reporting laws in Pennsylvania," he said Monday. "That's what led to this happening to her, and continuing to happen to other victims within the religion, as well."
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/02/jehovahs_witness_spring_grove.html
The above link also includes the court documents at the bottom.

63

2017 Circuit Assembly: Lesbians at school demonstration

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

steve2: is there some way this can be presented so that it is crystal clear what was actually in the demonstrations and what was added?

i guess some will think it should be obvious - but this is where misunderstandings arise because we end up wrongly attributing something to jw organization that was never said.. circuit assembly theme: maintain love for jehovah!.

note to speaker: warmly encourage young ones to prove their friendship with jehovah by observing his commandments and defending his standards.

darkspilver

steve2: Is there some way this can be presented so that it is crystal clear what was actually in the demonstrations and what was added? I guess some will think it should be obvious - but this is where misunderstandings arise because we end up wrongly attributing something to JW organization that was never said.

Circuit Assembly Theme: Maintain Love for Jehovah!

2.30pm - Young Ones – Prove That Jehovah Is Your Best Friend (15 minutes)

Note to speaker: Warmly encourage young ones to prove their friendship with Jehovah by observing his commandments and defending his standards

TWO-PART DEMONSTRATION (2 minutes)

Note: Please adhere closely to the script. Rehearse thoroughly so that the demonstration will be natural and conversational, neither comical nor overly dramatic. The Witness teenager should avoid a self-righteous tone in the second portion of the demonstration. Select participants who are appropriate for their parts in age, manner, and appearance. Both participants should be exemplary in defending their faith. Participants may use their real names if preferred

[A Witness teenager named Hannah and a non-Witness classmate named Emily are standing and talking after school]
Emily: I think it’s so cool that Ashley and Jessica have come out as being lesbian, don’t you?
Hannah: [Grimaces] Actually, I think they’re disgusting.
Emily: Wow, Hannah, that sounds so prejudiced! Is that you talking, or just your religion?
Hannah: [Abruptly] It’s what the Bible says, Emily. Lesbians are disgusting.
Emily: [Sarcastically] Whatever.
Speaker: [Interjects] Could Hannah have done a better job of expressing God’s standards, doing so in a way that made them clearer and more appealing to Emily? Let’s give her another chance.
Emily: I think it’s so cool that Ashley and Jessica have come out as being lesbian, don’t you?
Hannah: [Calmly] Well, I respect Ashley and Jessica, but I can’t say I approve of what they’re doing.
Emily: Wow, Hannah, that sounds so prejudiced! Is that you talking, or just your religion?
Hannah: It’s my view, Emily, but it’s based on the Bible. You know, some people think that the Bible says things about how homosexuals should be treated that aren’t actually there.
Emily: What do you mean?
Hannah: For example, the Bible says that we should respect all people, regardless of their sexual preference.
Emily: But I thought you were prejudiced against gays and lesbians.
Hannah: Not at all — I reject homosexual conduct, not people.
Emily: I don’t get it.
Hannah: Well . . . [Pauses] I also choose not to smoke. In fact, I find the thought of it sickening. But suppose you were a smoker. I wouldn’t be prejudiced against you for your view, just as you wouldn’t be prejudiced against me for my view — right?
Emily: I guess so.
Hannah: It’s the same with our differing views of homosexuality. Everybody has the right to choose. Based on what I’ve learned from the Bible, I’ve made a lifestyle choice to reject homosexuality, and I appreciate those who respect my right to make that choice.
Emily: I never thought of it that way.
[Participants exit; speaker resumes]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwqmWMK7dwtlQ1REY0hfSXpoWm8/view

19

Watchtower alternative fact - JWs were among the first to expose concentration camps

by slimboyfat in

i am currently reading the new history of the holocaust by british historian laurence rees and it reminded me of a comment in the awake!

magazine i read years ago and trusted as factual.

i quote both passages without comment.

darkspilver

Does the newspaper it cites actually state, "...done to death..."?

Yes, the article published in The Guardian Friday 20 September 1935, page 13 under the heading: "Nazi Concentration Camps Not Improved" uses the expression "done to death" twice with regard to Dachau, including in the very last sentence: "The total number of prisoners known to have been done to death in Dachau is 44."

The article notes that the deaths, which happened between 12 April 1933 and 22 May 1935, included 15 who they list as being Jewish.

As a side point - I note that the article also states that Dachau holds around 1,600 prisoners, explaining that: "The Jews include thirty who returned to Germany this year, thinking it to be safe, and were sent to Dachau."

It is the above article that is referred to in The Golden Age 8 April 1936 which featured articles regarding the situation in Germany over the first 14 pages of the magazine.

19

Watchtower alternative fact - JWs were among the first to expose concentration camps

by slimboyfat in

i am currently reading the new history of the holocaust by british historian laurence rees and it reminded me of a comment in the awake!

magazine i read years ago and trusted as factual.

i quote both passages without comment.

darkspilver

Just because something is/was reported, doesn't mean people know about it - why?

"I had been taught growing up that Americans didn't know and couldn't have known about the Holocaust while it was happening. I was curious about why and how I could be taught that Americans didn't know when it was in the mass media... The murder went on as if nothing peculiar was happening. Most people were indifferent to it."
"It was reported. It was reported accurately. It was reported in detail. It was reported in a timely fashion but it was for the most part buried inside the newspaper in a way that would make it difficult for readers to find the information."
Laurel Leff (Buried By The Times - see links below)

"Americans, including many American Jews, were largely unaware of what we now call the Holocaust while it was going on; the nation was preoccupied with defeating the Axis."
Peter Novick (The Holocaust in American Life)

Reporting on The Times - How The New York Times and the American public managed to ignore the Holocaust

http://reportingonthetimes.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buried_by_the_Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1LxXDjkN44

The New York Times: Turning Away From the Holocaust
AND then there was failure: none greater than the staggering, staining failure of The New York Times to depict Hitler's methodical extermination of the Jews of Europe as a horror beyond all other horrors in World War II -- a Nazi war within the war crying out for illumination.
Only six times in nearly six years did The Times's front page mention Jews as Hitler's unique target for total annihilation. Only once was their fate the subject of a lead editorial. Only twice did their rescue inspire passionate cries in the Sunday magazine.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/14/news/150th-anniversary-1851-2001-turning-away-from-the-holocaust.html

What is interesting is that, following Laurel Leff's comments above, perceptions are now changing - thanks to modern technology and crowd sourcing that was unavailable 20 years ago when the OP WT quote was written.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is leading the way with a forthcoming major exhibition due in 2018:

History Unfolded: U.S. Newspapers and the Holocaust
What could Americans have known about the Nazi threat from reading their local newspapers in the 1930s and 1940s? You can help. Join our team of citizen historians whose research will be shared with scholars, curators, and the public.
https://newspapers.ushmm.org/

60

Stephanie Fessler v Watch Tower - Trial on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 in Pennsylvania

by AndersonsInfo in

http://avoidjw.org/2017/02/stephanie-fessler-v-watch-tower/.

stephanie fessler v watch tower.

stephanie fessler was brought up as a jehovah’s witness by her parents, jodee and kevin.

darkspilver

According to the following webpage:

(which is a 'fund-raising' website for which I have no involvement or knowledge, and this is not a recomendation or suggestion to donate, and I can not vouch for the varacity of the fund-raising campaign.)

https://fundly . com/thenewsystem

Stephanie is fighting this case alone as her entire family has shunned her due to her sexual orientation.

19

Watchtower alternative fact - JWs were among the first to expose concentration camps

by slimboyfat in

i am currently reading the new history of the holocaust by british historian laurence rees and it reminded me of a comment in the awake!

magazine i read years ago and trusted as factual.

i quote both passages without comment.

darkspilver

I don't think in that 1995 quote that the WT is saying in that were the only ones highlighting what was happening in the concentration camps. Nor that they where the first.

They are highlighting that regular readers, particularly from early 1936, would have been much more familiar with the horror that was going on in Germany through the numerous articles they published which included both first hand experiences, and references to newspaper articles such as in The Guardian. True, it would appear that the WT was not as 'graphic' or 'in-depth' as The Guardian.

In fact you could apply the WT quote to The Guardian as well (but that does not make the WT quote in itself wrong) - BUT I believe the Guardian was notable for being one of the VERY few newspapers to consistantly expose, and in some depth, what was happening in Germany at that time.

But also remember that The Guardian was (is) a very small circulation newspaper - only around 50,000 daily copies in the mid-1930s (the top five newspapers where doing over 1,500,000 daily copies each) - and The Golden Age was doing over double The Guardian's numbers that at the time - and The Golden Age was international.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation

1936 Yearbook, page 43: 1935 production of Golden Age = 2,659,800 copies / 24 = 110,825 copies each issue. (it should be noted that there were different 'versions' of The Golden Age being printed in different languages at the time - I think the above figure may actually just be for Brooklyn, not world wide)

13

AUST: QLD Cairns Post - Tablelands police charge former JW with offences against children

by darkspilver in

i believe this has appeared into today's edition of the cairns post print newspaper (saturday 4 february 2017) at the top of page 4 under the headline: "indecent charges for man" - the actual text of the article is apparently the same as the online version below:.

cairns post - saturday 4 february 2017. tablelands police charge former jehovah’s witness with offences against children.

an elderly tablelands man and former jehovah’s witness member will appear in court this month amid allegations he molested three young girls from the church more than 25 years ago.

darkspilver

jwleaks: More coverage.

No. Afraid not.

That article is the same newspaper print article I refered to in the OP - though I admit I made a slight error calling it the 'Cairns Post' which is the name of the weekday Monday to Friday edition - the article, as I stated, appeared at the top of page 4 of the Saturday 4 February 2017, which is the weekend edition and is called 'Cairns Weekend Post' - sorry for the confusion.

I've also had it confirmed that the story on the top of page 4 of today's edition of The Cairns Post - Monday 6 February 2017 - is a totally unrelated story regarding "Wet season hammers Cairns with big totals" which is a lead on from the front page big picture headline.

So, despite the interesting Royal Commission angle.... no others news outlets seems to have picked it up (yet)??...

39

UK: Paul Shields "abused girls after luring them with video games"

by darkspilver in

fyi from north-east england:.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/johovahs-witness-abused-girls-after-12538877.

jehovah's witness abused girls after luring them with video games, court told.

darkspilver

UPDATE Monday 6 February 2017

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/jehovahs-witness-tells-how-family-12560536

Jehovah's Witness tells how family shunned him under church orders after allegations

Paul Shields said he had not spoken to his 80-year-old mother for two years after being accused of abusing young girls: He denies the allegations

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/jehovahs-witness-tells-how-family-12560536