Posts by OrphanCrow

96

Is the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses really an inferior form of Christianity?

by nicolaou in

seems to be quite a few posters recently pulling down the beliefs of jw's as not biblical or truly christian.

maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong, i really don't care.. in some important ways though mainstream christians often behave better than jehovah's witnesses; most don't practice shunning or impose lethal medical prohibitions on their members.

many are far more tolerant of the lgbt community and a few even make the awkward attempt to square the fact of evolution with their faith.. please note that i'm saying some, not all.. so i suppose it's fair to say that differing forms of christianity can be better or worse for individuals, families and the wider community.

OrphanCrow

FayeDunaway: If I was going to name a few things, I think it would be ability to find their way around a bible (a skill learned from their practice of matching up scriptures all over the bible that don't actually go together)

I used to think that too, Faye. And then, when I was in university, I took a class on the Old Testament. Pffft...the JWs are amateurs when it comes to knowing their way around the scriptures. The students in that class left me in the dust...and I thought I knew my way around those scriptures pretty good!

Ha - the JWs will never get out of the minor leagues in Biblical navigation. I have met many people over the years that can put JWs to shame on their knowledge of scriptural placement and such.

Nope...I think that JW bibble knowledge is just another one of those WT myths. They remind me of watching kids play T-ball on their way up to learning how to play baseball.

*to add - LisaRose, that was a great post

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

OrphanCrow

Dagney: Wonder if they have an RC like in Australia?

The possibility is here. Canada has the same legal framework as Australia and has held many Royal Commissions in the past.

If the noise is loud enough, the Canadian government may be persuaded that an inquiry is appropriate.

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

OrphanCrow

BluesBrother: ....If they are co-operating ,have they turned the record of the J C over to the Police? Are the committee members going to testify to what was said at the meeting?

Well, the Canadian elders might be in hot water quite quickly for not reporting. Not only that, but the net sweeps wider here than in Australia.

In Canada, mandatory reporting applies to everybody, with professionals being held to a higher standard. But, regardless, everyone must report suspected abuse allegations. In Australia, where the JWs did not report, they are using the differing mandatory reporting laws from each province as an excuse, but they will not be able to do that in Canada. Under Canadian law, anybody - which would include ALL congregation members, elders or not - in the JW congregations who are aware of suspected child abuse, and didn't report it, could be held accountable.

From http://cwrp.ca/faqs

Do I need to report child abuse and neglect?
Yes. Everyone has a duty to report child abuse and neglect under Canadian child welfare laws. Professionals who work with children and youth have an added responsibility to report.
You are obliged to report child maltreatment if you know or suspect it is occurring. This is called the 'duty to report'. Every person in Canada has the duty to report known or suspected child maltreatment by law.

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

OrphanCrow

Introvert: Offhand I know of at least three abuse cases that happened over the past couple years. One ended in death with the little brother purposely getting run over on an unlit portion of the highway. The whole things stinks big time.

??? Are these incidents that have been in the news at all? Publicized, or private?

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

OrphanCrow

Glad you can use this information, Introvert.

I have been wondering when the shit storm would hit Canada. This may pick up some momentum.

The potential stats are a bit alarming If you do a comparison between Canada and Australia - which would be pretty fair, considering the similarities in the two countries' structures and demographics. Canada and Australia have similar law systems and their ties to Britain are much the same. They are comparable in size, with Canada having the larger population. Canada has close to 36 million and Australia is almost 24 million.

When it comes to the JW demographics, Australia has 797 congregations and Canada has 1397: Australia has 66, 753 publishers and Canada boasts 114,123 publishers. (I took these numbers off Wiki...I don't like going to the JW website...).

Anyways, what I am getting at is that the potential for Canadian abuse cases is pretty high if you do the comparison. There are over 1000 unreported pedophiles within the JWs in Australia and it could be even more in Canada. The cultures of the countries themselves are too similar and so are the JWs for there not to be.

CBC has given coverage to the Australian inquiry and the story was picked up by the newspapers across the country. My dad read the article at the time and we discussed it. I told him that I was so, so happy that he left back in the early 70s before he became an elder. He was pretty quiet - it was a sobering thought for him.

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

OrphanCrow

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468

Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses
Allegations of abuse involving two members of the Jehovah's Witness religious movement in Newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
CBC News has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.
The former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central Newfoundland.
According to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between May 2011 and December 2013 in a community on the Avalon Peninsula.
CBC News has confirmed that the pair are father and son.
A sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.
The matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on Wednesday.
It was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.
The younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.

Read full article at link.

*Note the very last sentence in the article. Simon Picard gets his chance to give a plug for the jw website - complete with a link to it. F**king bastard...using an abuse allegation to promote the jw..org. I think CBC needs to be brought up to speed about their tactics...however, do see that the Australian inquiry story is linked to on a sidebar as well. I hope people read it too.

11

"The charity does not engage in fund raising..."

by Lostandfound in

the above quote from the wb&t ofbritain annual return tothecharity commission.. from what i have read they do little else.........

OrphanCrow

vidiot: I guess constantly reminding everyone to send more money at virtually every meeting and GB broadcast doesn't count as "fund-raising".

You are right - asking for money from congregants is not considered fundraising in the sense that charitable organizations "fund raise". Fundraising is generally viewed as an activity that seeks funds from the community at large. You know...like bingos, car raffles and bake sales and stuff like that.

Donations are not considered as fund raising activities. Neither is selling real estate or assets or collecting interest from investments or green handshakes.

41

Who is your favourite thinker?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.

this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.

the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.

OrphanCrow

Saintbertholdt: The opening to Baudrillard's simulations - "The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true." He attributes it to Ecclesiastes, but its nowhere to be found :)

And that is why I like Baudrillard - he was brilliant. His use of Ecclesiastes as a source quote was performative. It is actually humourous, I think. Doing what he said in his opening - creating a simulacrum....what is "truth"? Is it in Ecclesiastes? Or, was his 'truth' simulated? Or is the simulation the truth?

Baudrillard makes me laugh. :)

41

Who is your favourite thinker?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.

this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.

the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.

OrphanCrow

SlimFatBoy, yes, Baudrillard did propose that theory - he often wrote about the power of the media and propaganda. I would have to re-read his Gulf War analysis to make any sort of intelligent response to it.

I became interested in Baudrillard when I was studying the politics of representation and how that is played out in the media through the use of propaganda. This was at the time that the WWW was being born and theoretical discussions about how it would impact culture and the political world was common. Speculation about how cyberspace was 'the new frontier' and about how terrorism would be fought in cyberspace for the control of information and power fit well into Baudrillardian theories.

I find Baudrillard's writings to be dense and difficult to untangle - which could be a language barrier problem - but, I keep reading his work. Every once in while, I get an eureka moment from re-reading things that didn't make sense previously. Especially when I read things from years back that now have real application. I call Baudrillard 'the prophet' of the technological age.

Using Barthes to analyze JW meetings sounds like a fun exercise. My interest in Barthes is photographically based. "Camera Lucida - Reflections on Photography" is seminal reading for photographic enthusiasts. But, I also like the way that he writes about myth and how it is constructed and maintained in popular culture. Good stuff.

41

Who is your favourite thinker?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.

this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.

the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.

OrphanCrow

I am a big fan of Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007), French cultural, sociological and political theorist. Baudrillard's work centers around technology and how it impacts our culture. Where I take exception to his work (and Foucault's) is in their understanding and assumptions about primitivism and essentialism.

Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, Germaine Greer, Mikhail Bahktin...a few more that I like...but...Baudrillard is still on top of the heap for me. I pull one of his books off the shelf whenever the world seems just too crazy to handle anymore. His words give me clarity and help me to make a bit of sense of all the madness. Baudrillard grounds me.

I used to say that the number one thing on my bucket list was to get an opportunity to sit in the same room with Baudrillard. Not even speak to him or have him speak - no words between us...just let my mind share the same space with his for a little bit. But, now he is dead. Damn. Cross that one off my bucket list.