Posts by Incognito

78

Work Christmas functions: Being a Bible Student (unbaptized)

by rulehayl in

jw
friends

hi all,i have been studying with the witnesses for more than 6 months and regularly attend both midweek & weekend meetings, and i am nearly at the end of the "bible teach" book.

my boss is adamant i attend team christmas functions.

she knows about my studying and potential baptism next year, and has suggested that i attend and just not participate in activities like kris kringle.

Incognito

Rulehayl:. Welcome to the discussion forum.

Try not to take offense at what is said. While you might think what is said is critical or negative, consider that many of us are attempting to help you to assess the religion with open eyes.

Most here have been JWs, some for many decades. Many have been shocked to learn that the religion is not all as it is claimed. You are relatively new to it and so in the 'romance' stage so in your experience, what is said on this forum may not seem true to you.

Since you are new, JWs will treat you very kindly and will 'love bomb' you as you are a potential convert. Some here have already implied that that treatment is temporary as experience has proven that treatment will quickly stop once you are baptised and are considered a full member who no longer needs to be convinced or seduced.

Some rules and practices mentioned here, you may not yet be aware of. Your study conductor will typically treat the 'study' (you) as a baby, feeding information you can easily digest, for fear you would choke if she/he should give you too much, too fast. Some practices such as disfellowshipping, often are never fully explained but a new JW associate will be expected to catch-on when a congregation member is announced as no longer a Jehovah's Witness.

As you are studying, you can research and ask all the questions you want with no reprecussions. Once you are baptised, those actions will not be tolerated within the congregation. Suggest researching and having your questions answered now before proceeding too far.

While you should discuss questions and concerns with your study conductor, you can verify on this forum and others, if the answers you receive are entirely transparent and truthful. If you are interested, many here can assist with questions to ask or subjects to discuss.

Remember, it is better to have unanswered questions than answers you can't question.

Although we are strangers, most participants on this forum only want what is best for you, for you to be happy and not make a mistake you may regret for the rest of your life. If after learning what you should know while studying and you still decide to become a JW, you will at least have open eyes and better understanding than most new converts.

94

why won't legal department simply release all the secret pedophile files?

by poopie in

jw
friends

what do you think there hiding?.

Incognito

I see this as a problem that WT created for itself, and must now deal with the consequences.

While true that they don't need to create and keep files on members, the fact is, they did. Since those files exist and the court is aware they exist, the court demands the files are to be turned over to the appropriate authority.

I don't recall Catholic Church needing to hand over files on abusive members, or being held liable for the actions of congregants. I seem to recall the church being only held liable for it's 'employees'.

As far as most elders not dealing with abuse, it may not be that it wasn't occuring, but they may not (yet) be aware. A congregation we had moved from had multiple incidents, with different abusers and victims. There were no warnings to the congregation, but there were more than the usual CO/DO visits as well as odd behaviour and statements made during meetings. While there was plenty of speculation among average congregants, those elders and MS's "in the know", including their friends, knew everything, and each were able to take protective actions for their family, unlike the more lowly members outside of their clique.

It seems WT are similar to Scientology as children are considered to be small adults and are expected to act as such. Not only are children expected to dress up and sit and pay attention for long periods during meetings, assemblies, and conventions, they are also expected to prepare and participate in answering during WT Study, Daily Text and Family Study as well as the preaching work including D2D and at school.

When it comes to reported sexual abuse, there has been instances a minor child is questioned by elders to determine what they were wearing or how they interacted with the abuser, thereby placing blame on the child for "asking for" or allowing the abuse to occur.

WT are treating child abuse as a sin, not a crime. Sins are within religious jurisdiction whereas crimes are beyond a religeous matter and authority.

There are those that make the excuse that laws need to be amended to be more consistent. Consider WT's claim that beliefs and treatment for all of Jah's people is consistent everywhere on Earth and that Jah takes notice even when a Sparrow falls from the sky.

If JW's truly believe WT is Jah's organization, it shouldn't matter what man's secular laws require for JWs to consistently do the right thing in reporting abuse of those that can't defend themselves. When an incident of abuse is reported to the appropriate secular authorities whether required or not, then accountability to God is transferred to the authority for how the matter is handled.

94

why won't legal department simply release all the secret pedophile files?

by poopie in

jw
friends

what do you think there hiding?.

Incognito

The question is what right does the public have to these names?

Define public. Would 'public' include a Court of Law?

94

why won't legal department simply release all the secret pedophile files?

by poopie in

jw
friends

what do you think there hiding?.

Incognito

Who in their right mind would trust their 10 year old girl or 8 year old boy with a grown man? --and then blame the watchtower using your excuse. - Fish

WT is not necessarily to blame for the abuse occurring. It's what they do once the abuse is reported to Elders which is the problem. In many locations, even allegations of abuse are to be reported to authorities.

The other issue with WT is not warning other congregants, especially those with children, when a member has a history of abusing children.

WT claims the member with a history will be watched and not permitted to preach D2D on their own. No one can be watched at all times and there is nothing to prevent any person from going D2D on their own. Even if accompanied, the other person may not necessarily be aware of the offender's background.

In regards Australia, I understand it was 1006 offenders. As some offenders abused multiple victims, I think the total number of victims was closer to 1700.

13

Reveal Article, Nov. 16, 2017: Jehovah’s Witnesses’ tab for child sex abuse secrecy: $2M and counting

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.revealnews.org/blog/jehovahs-witnesses-tab-for-child-sex-abuse-secrecy-2m-and-counting/.

jehovah's witnesses' tab for child sex abuse secrecy $2m and counting.

by trey bundy / november 16, 2017. .

Incognito

but apparently they've already paid $2,000,000.

Not certain they have paid anything yet as they were appealing, but WT's appeal now appears to have failed. The penalty since the order was issued is now accumulated to approx $2M.

34

Is There a TV Show or Movie That You Just NeverGet Sick Of?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i love the rifleman!

i’ve seen it a million times and still will watch it !

and goodfellas, the movie as well as the sopranos.

Incognito

Princess Bride

Young Frankenstein

Love Actually

Spanglish

Bruce Willis Die Hard movie series

Rocky Horror Picture Show

24

Side effect of Downsizing......$$$

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

so here is a tidbit you will all just love!.

we all are hearing of the trend right now to ¨downsize¨ the congregations...ie... eliminate by combining, in order to blah blah blah... .

here is what you didnt know: every time a congregation is dissolved, for whatever reason, including merging or dispersing, wt makes money!

Incognito

Why would anyone who attends a meeting and donates think they own anything? - kramer

It's not a matter of thinking they own something. It's more a matter of JW's donating for a specific purpose such a a new KH or remodel, but then WT takes that money for other uses, not the purpose is was originally claimed for.

106

Does anyone have info on the guy that sued Jw in Canada

by poopie in

jw
friends

because he was shunned by his customers?.

Incognito

Unrepentance -not guilt- is the ground for df.

As with many things JW, there are practices which are claimed, which can be very different from the actual practice implemented.

I've read numerous reports of JWs who were DFd to make an example of them, regardless how much the person claimed repentance.

Was it a practice for a JW to be DF'ed for eating a meal with a DA'd employer prior to that happening to Ray Franz, or was that a new practice developed as a means to eliminate Ray?

I seem to recall Cynthia Franz was also present at the same meal. Was she threatened with DF'ing? I understand she was not DF'd.

17

Lawyer from Canada Bethel turns whistleblower

by krismalone in

lawyer from canada watchtower branch reveals how the watchtower protects pedophiles.

he had the courage to speak up against the evil policies that protect pedophiles.

this video needs to go viral.

Incognito

he could be sued for breaking of attorney-client privilege

In the clip in the OP, he was only speaking in general. He didn't identify any specific victim, perp, elder, congregation name or case number.

14

If you have Windows 10 . . .

by compound complex in

my roommate bought a new dell laptop, operated by windows 10. in the three weeks he's had it, it's online then goes offline (and this repeatedly): when he goes from one e-mail to another, when he engages in a financial transaction, when he opens a new webpage, etc.

he does the basic rebooting, as prescribed in the article whose link is attached.

his pc and my older dell and apple powerbook are all on wifi.

Incognito

It may not necessarily be Windows 10 but could be an issue with the wifi adaptor (hardware) in his laptop. He should also check for the most current driver.

The link you provide, is from a Windows 10 update issue last December.