Posts by Incognito

90

Day 5 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Ends: Plaintiff settles in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by darkspilver in

day 5 in court - and apparently the plaintiff stephanie fessler has decided to settle..... http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/02/jehovahs_witness_sexual_abuse.html.

jehovah's witness sexual-abuse-coverup lawsuit settled.

february 13, 2017 at 2:37 pm, updated february 13, 2017 at 2:44 pm.

Incognito

While it would be great to be able to proceed with trial on a matter of principle, successful civil actions are won based on a financial award.

Part of the plaintiff's lawyer's job is to advise his/her client on the probability of winning an action and the potential amount of money to be awarded or lost in case of an unfavorable court decision.

If WT made an offer to settle, the plaintiff's lawyer would be required to make the offer known to the plaintiff along with providing advice on accepting the offer and any conditional requirements with that offer. If the offer is substantial and as the plaintiff would incur no further legal expenses for an immediate guaranteed settlement amount, the lawyer would likely recommend accepting the offer with no further court involvement. Proceeding with trial based on principle may end-up further costing the plaintiff financially, even if he/she and their lawyer feel they have a good and provable case. A favorable court decision can never be assured.

21

Is the Mid Week Meeting shorter or longer than before they stopped doing the book study at homes?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

any takers?.

Incognito

Freddo,

Then we were misinformed. Our Elders had striven to finish within 1hr 30 - 1hr 35 on a usual basis. Lucky us, unless the final prayer turned into another talk.

21

Is the Mid Week Meeting shorter or longer than before they stopped doing the book study at homes?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

any takers?.

Incognito

When we were attending prior to bookstudy being tacked on, the Min School/Service meeting was officially to be 1.5 hours.

From comments above, the combined time now appears to be 1:75 - 2 hours.

Growing up in this 'religion', Min School/Service meeting was originally 2 hours duration but due to those that take more than their allotted time and for those giving loooooong closing prayers, by the time Ahmen was said, it was often 2.25 + hours. With a 7:30 start time, it was typically well after 10pm before we departed for home on a school night.

78

The handling of child abuse allegations

by Landy in

there's a lot of criticism surrounding the jw's handling of chiild abuse within their ranks with a lot of it being well deserved.

but i'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled.

there's a few scenarios below, the first couple are easy then it gets a bit more complex.

Incognito

As ministers of a church, it is their obligation for the greater good of the congregation and public at large, to report incidents of criminal behavior. The offender remains able to re-offend not only that victim, but others as well.

From your opening post, you stated: "But I'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled."

It appears you are really not interested in knowing or understanding other poster's thoughts. Instead of quietly considering feedback provided, you continually disregard, debate and oppose those views. No matter what is stated, you take exception when it doesn't support your viewpoint or the interests of WT.

I think many here, similar to me, are done responding to you.

78

The handling of child abuse allegations

by Landy in

there's a lot of criticism surrounding the jw's handling of chiild abuse within their ranks with a lot of it being well deserved.

but i'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled.

there's a few scenarios below, the first couple are easy then it gets a bit more complex.

Incognito

The correct answer in this case is no you wouldn't - it is and should be entirely up to the victim.

If the 'victim' didn't want the matter pursued, what would be the purpose of that person now reporting the matter to the elders?

There should be a stated policy to the congregation that any sexual assault or abuse reported to the elders, will be reported to authorities. It is then the 'victim's' decision if he/she wishes to report the matter to elders, knowing in advance the elders will report the incident to authorities.

When there is a crime committed, it is not an option for the victim whether or not the matter is investigated and the purp is prosecuted. The only decision a victim may be able to make is whether or not the crime is reported, to anyone. Once reported to elders, then responsibility is transferred to elders if the victim is not willing to report to authorities themself.

17

The great R.B.C rip off!!!

by karter in

jw
friends

i was on a job last week and the p.o from my old congro was there and told me they had just re modled the k.h.the r.b.c quoted them $240.000 they did it for $120.000 so why the big diffrence in price??

?.

Incognito

"Theocratic direction" now is that the LDC makes ALL decisions about if / when a new Kingdom Hall is needed.

Previous to the LDC was the RBC who it seemed, had similar 'authority'.

I recall one congregation I had been associated with previously. While a high percentage if not a majority of the cong voted to renovate the existing building, everyone was told by the elders that the RBC decided a new building was needed, so that was how it was to proceed. It was that cong's members that were then paying the associated costs even as the payment of regular monthly expenses was often questionable.

Perhaps the old RBC could only offer recommendations or advice while the local elders & CO may have been able to accept or ignore that advice, IDK.

Doesn't matter if they have raised a million dollars; if they try to build a KH without LDC input they will be disciplined for "not following theoratic direction".

If everything over $5K is "donated" to WT (as regularly audited by the CO), they then would not have any local money to do anything major.

78

The handling of child abuse allegations

by Landy in

there's a lot of criticism surrounding the jw's handling of chiild abuse within their ranks with a lot of it being well deserved.

but i'm interested to know how people on here think child abuse allegations should be handled.

there's a few scenarios below, the first couple are easy then it gets a bit more complex.

Incognito

The present attempts to keep these matters secret, only serve to portray WT & JWs far worse to the general public, than if each instance was made known from the start while also stating appropriate corrective actions taken by the org.

I don't understand why so many think WT need to reinvent the wheel. The WT is not an island onto itself. I bet there are organizations that have adopted very appropriate policies for these situations and there is no reason those same policies can't be shared and adopted by the WT organization or at least on local levels as appropriate.

Even if great examples cannot be found, there is no reason Child Protective Services or the relevant division within local or state police can't be consulted to provide advice on appropriate procedures. If there are existing policies, those agencies could be requested to review and critique them.

While WT is quick to send various Bethelites to law school, I have not heard any indication of WT training anyone in child abuse matters. This is beyond a legal issue. They need to admit they do not have in-house expertise to develop an appropriate child protection policy. If the expertise is not available in-house, then it would be most appropriate for WT to consult specialized professionals outside of the org, just as they have done when attempting to defend themselves before the ARC and while in court.

Unfortunately, just having policies in-place does not in itself provide much, if those policies are not followed on all levels.

WT make extraordinary claims. They must then accept a higher than average responsibility to lead through example.

17

The great R.B.C rip off!!!

by karter in

jw
friends

i was on a job last week and the p.o from my old congro was there and told me they had just re modled the k.h.the r.b.c quoted them $240.000 they did it for $120.000 so why the big diffrence in price??

?.

Incognito

I had understood that because WT 'forgave' all KH mortgages and demanded all congregation funds in excess of $5K be sent to WT, any KH remodels, add-ons or rebuilds are to be at WT's expense as apparently, WT were taking over ownership of each KH. Of course, WT first stated there were so many KH projects needed but over the following year, very few actually progressed.

Was I misinformed or misunderstand that individual congregations are no longer required to raise their own funds for work on their own KHs? If they are still to raise their own funds, how is any money above $5K banked locally?

45

What's preventing YOU from stopping meeting attendance?

by nicolaou in

we all 'exit' in our own way and at our own pace but i'm curious, why carry on stuffing yourself into that stiff suit and tie or meeting dress years after you realised the truth about 'the truth'?.

they kept you a prisoner, what's stopping you from leaving now that you have the key to your own cell?.

loved ones?

Incognito

They are still the only ones teaching the Truth - the Question

But are they teaching the truth about 'The Truth'?

It appears many of us have a different understanding of what truth is, than you do.

JW friend told me that I'm "bad association" - SBF

You're not if you're not associating.

Our household stopped attending some years back. While personal matters initially caused irregular attendance for a few months, once becoming educated on the real 'Truth', we each made the decision to stop attending fully.

Some JW family have cut us off completely while others have reduced contact and are more cautious when we are together.

We view any lost/reduced relationships as their losses. They made a decision to cut us off or reduce contact and they retain the power to change that decision.

10

JW.org website and Matt 6:1-4

by NikL in

jw
friends

saw the news story on jw.org this morning about all the help they are sending to congo after flooding there.

yay for them!

oh wait!.

Incognito

I haven't read the trumpeting on this matter but wonder how much assistance WT has actually provided? Usually, WT doesn't do much of anything but takes credit for actions of individual JWs who commit their time and resources to assist at their own expense.