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AndersonsInfo
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Huffington Post Article: A Reason (and Season) to Stop Shunning
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/a-reason-and-season-to-st_b_1146103.html.
janice harperanthroplogist.
a reason (and season) to stop shunning posted: 12/20/11 02:30 pm et blog_title =================================================================== =================================================================== now, goes hack's for different layouts one of the least discussed aspects of bullying and mobbing, and perhaps the most powerful and damaging, is the practice of shunning.
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Huffington Post Article: A Reason (and Season) to Stop Shunning
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/a-reason-and-season-to-st_b_1146103.html.
janice harperanthroplogist.
a reason (and season) to stop shunning posted: 12/20/11 02:30 pm et blog_title =================================================================== =================================================================== now, goes hack's for different layouts one of the least discussed aspects of bullying and mobbing, and perhaps the most powerful and damaging, is the practice of shunning.
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AndersonsInfo
Interesting "Comments" made regarding Harper's article found at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/a-reason-and-season-to-st_b_1146103.html
16 minutes ago( 8:08 AM)
The Holy Scriptures written by The GOD L. Ron. Hubbard
The God Ron said “Never Defend, Always Attack”. He “thought” and then “Doctrine of Fair Game” came into being into this Sinful World to control it.
He saw that people got sick and he claimed to all mankind. “That all illness in greater or lesser degree and all foul-ups stem directly and only from a PTS condition”.
He saw that all real causes of illnesses and symptoms, had to be suppressed, hidden, erased from his Ronbots’ brains, so he needed a way to keep the fraud secret. So he claimed to his slaves that all the REAL CAUSES of illnesses in the world were only an illusion and a deception created by psychiatrists to dominate the world in mental health and MDs in physical health.
"So long as a physiological phenomenon remains the knowledge of a few and is denied to the many it can be utilized to control the many." LRH (from Journal of Scientology Issue 4-G from Oct. 1952)
The God Ron claims that 72 hours after being near a Suppressive Person you or your pet will get sick. He claims that all SPs restimulate and is the ONLY cause or source of ALL illnesses and accidents or foul-ups. But the cult also claims that ALL people that dislike and/or oppose Scientology are Suppressive Persons without exception.
THE RONBOT HUNTER
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED5 hours ago( 3:36 AM)
By the way, all religions, by the very essence of being a religion or religious group are cults to one degree or another. That is a much overused word for organizations you don't particularly agree with. How absolutely childish.
6 hours ago( 2:08 AM)
The Watchtower demands loyalty and if any Jehovah's Witness decides to leave because they disagree with doctrine, the remaining family members are commanded by the religion to shun those who have left. They will try to spin it so that it looks like some immorality was committed but most of the time that is not the case. Every member of your extended JW family and all your close friends will now shun you (basically treat you like you're dead) simply because you changed your mind on religion.
Jehovah's Witnesses have the highest turnover rate of any religion in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of those who become members will leave. There is something deeply wrong with an organization that claims to be Christian and breaks apart families, shunning even their own children. This form of shunning called “Disfellowshipping” is nothing more than psychological brutality meted out to keep the rank and file in line with fear and has led some to commit suicide. Jehovah’s Witnesses will only treat you with love and respect if you go along 100% with their distortions. If you persist in asking questions or challenging their doctrine, you are expelled, losing all friends and family members, never able to speak to them again, not even to say “hello.” Even minor children have been forced to leave home and live on the streets because they no longer agreed with the convoluted and highly extrapolated teachings of their faith.Danny Haszard Bangor Maine Educator
7 hours ago( 1:35 AM)
Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to avoid and shun those who simply want to leave the organization, called disassociating. See Watchtower April 15, 1988 page 26-28
You cannot leave without being shunned. If you are in for 3 generations like my family, you will loose all your friends and family in one single day! And you will be hated by those still in the organization. Anyone who does not accept the organization as the ONLY way to God is hated See WT Oct 1, 1993 page 19
Disfellowshipping isn't to be found in the Bible. Even checking the scripture/word index in their own NWT JW Bible reveals this.
The Scriptures that they do twist/apply (not to say a greeting) have to do with shunning the ANTI-Christ. The nearest I can see to their Dfing practice it is the trial of Jesus.
The shunning practiced by Jehovah's Witnesses is a shame device cult control tactic and the entire family is cut-off.
-Danny Haszard (been there a disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witness)7 hours ago( 1:19 AM)
Jehovah's Witnesses disfellowshipped person (DF) is exactly the same as Scientology suppressed person (SP)
Jehovah's Witnesses are EXACTLY the same.
Scientologists declare their outcasts "suppressive persons."
Another Scientology policy - called "disconnection" - forbids Scientologists from interacting with a suppressive person. No calls, no letters, no contact.
An SP is a pariah. Anyone who communicates with an SP risks being branded an SP himself.
Watchtower religion is the *Hotel California* you can check in but not *check out*.
Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult or high control group because they cut you off (harsh shunning) for dissent of any kind.
The Watchtower demands loyalty and if any Jehovah's Witness decides to leave because they disagree with doctrine, the remaining family members are commanded by the religion to shun those who have left. They will try to spin it so that it looks like some immorality was committed but most of the time that is not the case. Every member of your extended JW family and all your close friends will now shun you (basically treat you like you're dead) simply because you changed your mind on religion. The Watchtower and many adherents will deny this (lie) to the public and media.
3rd generation Jehovah's Witness Danny Haszard14 hours ago( 6:10 PM)
It's called "disconnection" in Scientology and many of the disconnection letters that get sent to families of Scientologists sound like form letters or as if they've been co-authored, perhaps by a higher level Scientologist, what Scientologists refer to as an "Ethics Officer".
9 hours ago(11:21 PM)
Your family decides to move to a nice neighborhood with a covenant. The rules are you can't paint your house orange and you can't park junker cars in your front yard. You agree and you know everyone is supposed to play by the rules so the peace and ambience of the neighborhood is preserved. But then someone moves into the neighborhood and at first they obey the rules but for whatever reason they decide the rules are restrictive. So they paint their house orange then load their yard with junker cars. The neighborhood sends representatives to the offenders explaining that everyone in the neighborhood agreed to the covenant and if they want to stay in the neighborhood they should follow the rules. No one forced them to move there it was their choice and they knew the rules before they moved in. But the homeowner refuses to obey and says they have a right to do things the way they want even if if ruins things for all the other homeowners. Representatives try but finally they tell the offender to leave the neighborhood and no one in the neighborhood will have anything to do with them if they keep on with this behavior. They will be welcomed back should they ever decide they want the covenant rules that they agreed on. The people in the neighborhood are sad but really what choice do they have? Who's the bad guy here? Good idea to get both sides of the story.
6 hours ago( 2:20 AM)
That was a great reply. Very good point you brought out about hearing both sides. Thanks "Aware of both sides"!
5 hours ago( 3:37 AM)
Very well put! Love the analogy.
3 hours ago( 5:56 AM)
Shunning is still wrong. It is emotional control. So you should shun your neighbor because he painted his house orange? Shunning isn't just one person deciding not to talk to someone, it is using the power of numbers to overwhelm. If everyone in the city shunned the person with the orange house, then you can get the magnitude of the power of shunning.
It is just cruel and unusual punishment. It is designed to reduce a person to nothing and is a huge "make wrong". In Scientology, people leaving the Sea Org are declared Suppressive Persons, for breaking their billion year contract.2 hours ago( 7:11 AM)
Jehovah's witnesses never tell the new converts that they have to obey and agree with all the ever-changing rules from the old men at Watchtower headquarters or suffer disfellowshipping and shunning. Before the 1970's a JW could smoke, then it was added to the list of disfellowshipping offenses- for those who couldn't quit, they suffered banishment from family and friends. Before 1980 a JW would be kicked out for having an organ transplant- after 1980 it was a personal decision. The WT Org never said, we're sorry to the JWs who obeyed the pre-1980 rules, as they were dead. Just recently a WT lawyer in an Australian court admitted that the faithful and discreet slave class are not real people- ie, it's just a literary tool people- to keep the JW stooges in line.
35 minutes ago( 8:20 AM)
Homes are not religions. Your analogy is true for neighborhoods, but not for human lives.
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Huffington Post Article: A Reason (and Season) to Stop Shunning
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/a-reason-and-season-to-st_b_1146103.html.
janice harperanthroplogist.
a reason (and season) to stop shunning posted: 12/20/11 02:30 pm et blog_title =================================================================== =================================================================== now, goes hack's for different layouts one of the least discussed aspects of bullying and mobbing, and perhaps the most powerful and damaging, is the practice of shunning.
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AndersonsInfo
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/a-reason-and-season-to-st_b_1146103.html
Janice Harper
Anthroplogist
A Reason (and Season) to Stop Shunning Posted: 12/20/11 02:30 PM ET
One of the least discussed aspects of bullying and mobbing, and perhaps the most powerful and damaging, is the practice of shunning. Shunning is widely practiced among certain religions; the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Scientology, even the otherwise forgiving Amish have made shunning a religious tenet to control the conduct of its members. Families routinely shun other family members, whether through disinheritance and outright withdrawal of any contact or support, or the deafening "silent treatment" that some spouses and parents engage in as a form of punishment for real or perceived offenses. People are shunned in their communities, their clubs and their schools. But perhaps shunning is most common in the workplace, when a worker is targeted for collective aggression and elimination, or "workplace mobbing."
When a person is marked for punishment or elimination by management, workers instinctively avoid being seen with that person for fear of their own status being tarnished in the workplace. But to targets of shunning, the near instantaneous isolation almost always comes as a shock, and the intensifying silence that encircles them is indeed deadly. The impact of shunning is so severe that those religions, organizations and families which routinely employ it do so because they know just how effective a form of social control the practice can be, debilitating even the strongest people once it commences.
When a person is shunned, it is because they have done something to displease someone, or are perceived as distinctly "different" from the group and are therefore an "unknown" force. Shunning is thus a feature of a broader spectrum of aggressive behaviors, including accusation, sabotage, investigation and other efforts to control or remove the person from the group. To shun a person consequently isolates them at the very point when they most need support. It further erodes their self-esteem and their ability to withstand attack. Moreover, when a worker is targeted for elimination, once they are shunned it becomes very difficult to defend their position as former supporters disappear, and even more difficult for them to find new work. And shunning is a particularly effective tactic to undermine a worker's legal claims, however legitimate, because it is very difficult to prove a negative. Shunning is a non-action -- to shun is to avoid, not to interact.
Yet for all its destructiveness, our society treats shunning as a virtue. In virtually all professional self-help books on how to succeed at work, a person is advised to avoid unpopular people, "trouble makers" or anyone else who is under attack at work. A good deal of the current anti-bullying rhetoric makes it a strategic and moral imperative to collectively shun anyone accused of bullying, a rather ironic tactic of workplace aggression. And self-help books promoting optimistic thinking commonly advise their readers to avoid "negative" or unpopular people. Indeed, human instinct itself suggests that stigma is contagious and it is better to be seen with those who are successful than those who are crashing from once revered heights of their profession or station, in many cases unjustifiably or unfairly.
I understand the motivation to avoid those whose own dilemma may prove stigmatizing or discomforting. YetI remain troubled by the failure of our species to extend compassion to those who need it the most. The instinct to avoid those who are unpopular with leaders is well recognized in the animal kingdom -- chimps and wolves being among the most notable in tormenting their unpopular brethren when the alphas do so -- and humans share such survival instincts. But we differ from these animals by being blessed with the ability to give meaning to the events in our lives, and to intellectually discern complexity and nuance -- the very features of social aggression that lead to shunning. Our capacity to understand the complexity of social conflicts ought to suggest that whatever our human counterparts are suffering, chances are there is plenty of room for compassion -- and patience -- in how we approach them in their troubling times.
To survive as humans, we must rely on social support, and when we withdraw that support on the basis of unpopularity we might advance our own social survival, but we erode our own capacity for compassion and our own potential to be fully human and humane. Whether we shun someone professionally in the name of professionalism, in our religious institutions in the name of God, or in our own families in the name of pride, we lessen ourselves, our spirits and our humanity. Silence is not always golden, it is deadly when it extends to shunning, and once commenced, it is difficult to stop. But on individual levels it can stop, if each of us considers how and whom we shun. We rarely shun the most nefarious of leaders in our groups and organizations, but we routinely shun those who are powerless or losing power, however good-hearted but imperfect they may be. And when we do shun, we rarely call it by name, and virtually always shift the blame to the target as having brought it on themselves, regardless of their suffering. We justify shunning through gossip, revising our opinions of those we once respected and in many cases loved, and by diffusing our responsibility as we note others are doing the same.
The longer we shun a person, the harder it is to break the silence and make peace. But there is no better season by which we might do so than the holiday season. Should old acquaintances be forgotten, or might each of us consider those we have forgotten because, for whatever reason, we joined with others to avoid another person's pain? You may give no greater gift this season than to reach out and un-shun someone whose social isolation you have helped create, however unintentionally. At most, you risk rejection. At best, you help to heal a heart, at the very least, your own.
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Victoria, Australia: The long edition (new) of Part 2 of Steven Unthank's report of molestation/rape within the Traralgon Cong.
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.jwnews.net/.
crisis of conscience within the traralgon congregation of jehovahs witnesses?
part 2december 18, 2011 by sitepost .
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AndersonsInfo
Listener, you said:“There are some things about this story. If Steven reported the alleged rapes to police in August,2011 then what have the police done about it since? That is quite some time ago if a serious crimes have been committed.
Why would Steven Unthank be the one to report these alleged rapes and not the parents and are the parents prepared to back up the claims?”
The article said in the opening that "JW NEWS can report that Victoria Police have launched an investigation..." so therefore it must have not been possible to break the news any earlier. A police investigation can take weeks or months, especially if there are interviews to be conducted and statements to be taken. The police did turn up to the Traralgon Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, and speak to the elders. Probably the investigation started much earlier. Let's hope the elders cooperated in helping to protect the children.
In a previous article published on JW News on December 11, 2011, titled "AUSTRALIA: Crisis of Conscience within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses? - Part 1" it said that in November the police visited the Traralgon Kingdom Hall and that they also took "a number of “Statements” from parents and members of the Traralgon Congregation in relation to the body of elders actually working with children and having “direct contact” with children allegedly in breach of the Working with Children Act 2005." These statements must have been taken at the police station.
See JWN link for comments on that article http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/child-abuse/219295/1/Crisis-of-Conscience-within-the- Traralgon -Congregation-of-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Part-1
It is quite possible that the police took many statements that week from Jehovah's Witnesses within the Traralgon congregation.
Steven Unthank obviously felt the need to report the molestations to the police in August. At the time he may not have known that the crimes were not reported especially since the WTBTS claim they report these types of crimes. It is also possible that the parents were not strong enough or were scared. This is the time when elders should step up to the plate and help those under their care. Clearly in this case the elders did not. It can be traumatic to go to the police and lodge a complaint. Someone needs to initiate the process.
How many times has anyone ever read a news report or article which said that it was the elders who reported the child abuse to the police and then assisted in the investigation? Not many! No doubt Steven Unthank took this step of reporting the abuses because it was the right thing to do and because the local elders did not.
The WTBTS issued a letter on December 1, 2000, to all BOE's in Australia (Same letter in Britain) instructing them on procedures involving child abuse. The letter is kept in the congregation's permanent file and is still the current instructions. It says that“all in the Christian congregation will want to consider their personal and moral responsibility to alert the appropriate authorities.” This letter also warned all elders that "the elders should not lose sight of the fact that victims urgently need to be protected from further abuse and abusers need to be prevented from finding additional victims.”
Maybe the parents trusted their elders to do the right thing. Sadly, in matters involving child abuse within Jehovah's Witnesses too many people blame the victims or their parents when the elders have also failed. -
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Victoria, Australia: The long edition (new) of Part 2 of Steven Unthank's report of molestation/rape within the Traralgon Cong.
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.jwnews.net/.
crisis of conscience within the traralgon congregation of jehovahs witnesses?
part 2december 18, 2011 by sitepost .
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AndersonsInfo
Crisis of Conscience within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses? – Part 2
December 18, 2011
AUSTRALIA: Crisis of Conscience within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses? – Part 2
December 18, 2011
JW NEWS
article by Steven Unthank
Victoria Police launch an investigation into the rape and molestation of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Church elders refuse to help or comfort child rape victims and their families.
JW NEWS can report that Victoria Police have launched an investigation into the rape and molestation of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses over the past two years. According to initial reports, the body of elders within the church were strictly ordered by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia to cover-up the multiple rapes of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation allegedly committed by a fellow member of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. The elders were also instructed to NOT report the rapes to the police or the authorities.
The investigation is expected to widen to include numerous congregations within the Melbourne metropolitan area where the alleged child rapist has had regular unsupervised direct contact with potentially up to one hundred young children within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses since the initial rapes were reported within the church. The alleged child rapist remains in “good standing” within the religion and continues to have regular public church meeting parts, despite allegedly confessing to raping and molesting a number of young children within the church, when he was confronted by several members of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The parents of the child rape victims notified their local body of elders in the Traralgon Congregation and sought help and scriptural advice. “All we we were seeking was assistance from the elders in coping with the abuse,” stated the father of two of the abused children. “We needed some comfort, maybe a Scripture or two, perhaps a prayer, just something, anything. We desperately needed help and did not know what to do. Growing up in the religion [of Jehovah's Witnesses] we are taught to go to the elders when we have problems. Well, this was a problem, a big problem and we went to the elders. The elders in the Traralgon Congregation did absolutely nothing. They refused to help us. Three times we sort help. Nothing was forthcoming. They would not even tell my children that Jehovah or Jesus or even the congregation did not view them as dirty or unclean or even naughty children because of what happened. It’s not the kids fault that they were raped and the elders need to tell them that.”
One of the elders in the Traralgon Congregation, Jehovah’s Witness Chaplain Albert Helbling, is alleged to have asked the parents of the molested children to put their concerns and requests in writing. In commenting on this request the father of the children later stated in an interview with JW News, “We were literally being asked to put in writing our request for an elder to pray or share a Scripture with our family. They then wanted everything put in writing but still refused to offer any help. It took me a while to digest what the elders were really asking. So I asked who reads this information and is there a Privacy Policy we can read. If I wrote down what the intimate details of how my children were raped I wanted to know who has access to it. My concerns were met with silence. The elders refused to answer. They just turned their back on us and walked away.”
Australian headquarters for the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and their administrative and publishing corporation the Watch Tower Society
Jehovah’s Witness church elders in Australia are instructed by church procedures to telephone a church appointed in-house corporate lawyer at the Australian headquarters in New South Wales prior to taking any action in relation to learning that a child member of their congregation has been raped or sexually abused. Elders are required to strictly follow the advice of internal church lawyers for the handling of the child molestation case. In this situation, as the actions of the elders in the Traralgon Congregation clearly show, the advice was to deliberately withhold help and assistance from those children that were raped and molested within the church and to decline to offer counselling and religious support to the parents.
“They just walked away from us. The shepherds refused to shepherd the flock. Instead they engaged a lawyer, Vincent Toole, to protect themselves and then followed his instructions,” stated one of the parents. This serious allegation is compounded by the fact that the alleged child molester is the son of a senior Jehovah’s Witness elder who is part of the Watch Tower Society’s legal team in Australia.
This course of action is in direct contrast with what the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses claim is what happens in matters involving child abuse within the church. Philip Brumley, General Counsel for Jehovah’s Witnesses, on behalf of the Governing Body claims that:
“Our top priority is to protect the victim. And we want to make sure that whatever steps need to be taken are taken, both by the elders, by the relatives, and by the congregation in general. Our second priority has to do with the perpetrator. We are concerned about their receiving the help they need. Our third priority is to see that the secular authorities are indeed informed of the accusation.”
Philip Brumley, General Counsel for Jehovah's Witnesses
Download official Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Response on Inquiries on Child Abuse.
“This Jehovah’s Witness response [from Philip Brumley] to their handling of child abuse is all lies,” according to one of the grandparents of the molested children within the Traralgon Congregation. The grandparent then added, “the Jehovah’s Witnesses outright refused to protect the victims. The elders in the Traralgon church did nothing. The parents of the molested children were too scared to speak up and no relatives of the abused children were notified as a result of this. I know this for a fact as none of them told me. The church elders and the Watchtower organisation did not see to it that the secular authorities were informed. I was never told because my family were too embarrassed that their church abandoned the kids and protected the [alleged] child rapist and the position of his father who is a senior church leader. The Jehovah’s Witnesses should pull their act together and actually start practicing what they preach.”
The religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and their administrative corporation, the Watch Tower Society, are the only mainstream church and religious organisation in the State of Victoria that has no formal child protection policy and no published code of conduct for ministers of religion and appointed elders in relation to direct contact with children within their church congregation arrangements. Parents within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been met with silence by church officials when they have asked to see the churches formal child protection policy or working with children protocol.
Morwell Police Station, Victoria, Australia
The alleged rapes of a number of children within the Traralgon Congregation were reported at the Morwell Police Station in August 2011 by Steven Unthank who discovered the rape allegations while criminally prosecuting the entire religious and corporate hierarchy of the church of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, over their refusal to comply with mandatory child protection laws as legislated in the Victorian Working with Children Act 2005.
The handling of this ‘child sexual abuse’ case within the Traralgon Congregation by the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses is now considered Solicitor-Client Privilege (Attorney-Client Privilege), in that everyone is now a client or defacto client of the Watch Tower Society’s in-house law firm Vincent Toole Solicitors—including the child abuser—and are thereby protected. Procedures put in place by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses allows the Watch Tower Society to vigorously defend this claim of “Privilege” as their right even if it requires their appealing to the laws of the State of Victoria. By contrast there is no record that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses have ever vigorously fought for the protection and rights any children within the religion who have been abused or molested by a fellow church member.
This Solicitor-Client Privilege (Attorney-Client Privilege) status does not apply to the young Jehovah’s Witness children that were sexually abused and nor does it apply to their parents as these have been abandoned and rejected by the church even though they are current active members. This is compounded in that one of the parents of the molested children was informed by the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses that “having approached the elders, you will have taken the matter as far as you can. Leave the problem in their hands.”
Almost immediately after the alleged rapes were reported within the church format, the alleged child rapist, along with members of his family were relocated by the headquarters of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses to “serve” in another church congregation located within the Skye Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. The alleged child rapist was formally introduced into the new congregation by a letter issued from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Australia and publicly read out from the church podium praising both the alleged child rapist and his family by referring to them as well respected members of the Faith who have volunteered to “serve where the need is greater.” The father of the alleged child rapist was immediately appointed a member of the body of elders in the new congregation. Members of the congregation have not been notified that they have an alleged child rapist within their congregation who bears a letter or recommendation from the headquarters of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their administrative arm, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia.
Jehovah's Witnesses church - McClelland Drive, Skye, Victoria, Australia. Used by five different congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses.
On May 4, 2011, JW News carried a report on an act of religiously motivated persecution carried out against Steven Unthank by a senior Jehovah’s Witness church elder. This elder turned out be the father of the alleged child molester. The full story as reported in JW News stated:
WATCH TOWER SOCIETY LAUNCHES RELIGIOUS ATTACK ON STEVEN UNTHANK
A vicious personal attack and campaign of religious persecution has been launched by the Watch Tower Society in Australia against Mr Steven Unthank in retaliation for his lodging of Criminal Charges against the Watch Tower Society and the Committee of Management for the Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court for alleged criminal offences committed against the Victorian Working with Children Act 2005, as it applies within “religious organisations”.
A Watch Tower Society legal officer and senior Jehovah’s Witness church Elder recently contacted a Gippsland-based construction company whom Mr Unthank has worked for over many years, and ordered the owner, a Jehovah’s Witness, that he ”must not employ Steven on any jobs and if he’s still working for you then this is wrong. You have to get rid of him for what he’s done.”
It is alleged that the Watch Tower Society legal officer then proceeded to religiously vilify and severely ridicule Mr Unthank to the owner of the construction company.
In commenting on the launch of this attack and the alleged accompanied religious vilification and ridicule, Mr Unthank said ”We have very strong laws in the State of Victoria that prohibit racial and religious vilification. These laws are to protect everybody, including myself and members of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It saddens me that there are people in society, in respectable community positions, that feel the need to religiously vilify and persecute another. I do not believe the church of Jehovah’s Witnesses would support such an attack.”
Mr Unthank refused to comment on whether he has been sacked or had his work contract terminated but did reply ”there are a number of options open to me, including a civil lawsuit or the lodging of a formal complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for investigation. However, a simple apology would suffice.”
Link to JW News report: http://on.fb.me/nDCs4J
On July 26, 2011, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Faithful and Discreet Slave, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc. were charged with a total of 35 criminal offences in relation to allegations of literally being an accessory to criminal activities being committed against children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses by the entire body of elders against some 20 children. Currently these elders are being actively protected by the Watch Tower Society and the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. None have stood down and none have been removed even though their alleged criminal acts against children and their outright lawlessness are well known within the community. Simply put, the body of elders in the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses are not recognised by the local community as “upright and God-fearing men” who are “free from accusation.”
The next criminal court hearing is scheduled for February 21, 2012. See the below link to the Criminal Lisitings for the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria:
The Watch Tower Society refuses to speak to the parents within the Traralgon congregation and refuses to answer their legitimate questions, even though their children have been identified as victims of crime. The religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses remains silent over these child abuse allegations, child rape allegations and criminal charges.
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has repeatedly refused to answer to the “valid” criminal charges brought against them within the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, Australia.
Truly a religion in crisis.
Postscript from Steven Unthank
For taking a stand on behalf of the children within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, to protect them, last year a four-year-old child came skipping up to me and whispered:
“Daddy says I’m not allowed to talk to you ’cause you don’t love ‘hovah!”
She then gave me a big hug and skipped away. She knew I did love Him.
A week later she gave a member of my family a picture she drew at pre-school and asked that it be given to me. She also said to tell me that it was:
“the sun to make you happy.”
I did not know it at the time, but this young child was one of the children within the Traralgon Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses that had been raped only the week before.
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Some thoughts on Lorterdan v WTBS (and one good bit)
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AndersonsInfo
I’m going to speculate here and could be way off base, but I have a strong (gut) feeling that within the Lorterdan group there is a JW who works for them or maybe brokered the deal. It could be that this person could have convinced the Lorterdan associates that WT is above reproach in business dealings and that's why the Lorterdan group allowed themselves to sign such a "lousy document" that contained an especially questionable clause that no business in its right mind would agree to.
If this is so, it would explain why in its Complaint, Lorterdan pointed to the "virtues" of the Watchtower in an opening paragraph as if this was what convinced them to do the deal. It almost sounds like they didn't investigate or even question Watchtower's past business dealings because they had been persuaded that Watchtower would never pull a fast one business-wise. Did they not exercise due diligence respecting WT which would only be prudent? Or did they just take the guarantee of honesty and integrity from a JW business associate or from what the WT organization said about themselves on a website?
If so they must be an inexperienced (naive) smaller company. Maybe because Lorterdan is a small business, they can't justify the expense of a website. Maybe someone in the North Jersey? area where Lorterdan is located could find out something about the company.
Barb
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LAWSUIT: The Strange Saga of Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo v. Watchtower of NY
by AndersonsInfo inthe strange saga of lorterdan properties at ramapo v. watchtower of new york.
information compiled by barbara anderson.
on february 27, 2009, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. (watchtower) purchased 248 acres of land located in ramapo, new york, from a company named lorterdan properties at ramapo i, llc (lorterdan).
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AndersonsInfo
JeffT, you have a PM.
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LAWSUIT: The Strange Saga of Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo v. Watchtower of NY
by AndersonsInfo inthe strange saga of lorterdan properties at ramapo v. watchtower of new york.
information compiled by barbara anderson.
on february 27, 2009, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. (watchtower) purchased 248 acres of land located in ramapo, new york, from a company named lorterdan properties at ramapo i, llc (lorterdan).
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AndersonsInfo
bttt
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34
LAWSUIT: The Strange Saga of Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo v. Watchtower of NY
by AndersonsInfo inthe strange saga of lorterdan properties at ramapo v. watchtower of new york.
information compiled by barbara anderson.
on february 27, 2009, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. (watchtower) purchased 248 acres of land located in ramapo, new york, from a company named lorterdan properties at ramapo i, llc (lorterdan).
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AndersonsInfo
Hey Skeeter, I can see that you read the court documents or reread my analysis after you asked me your question. Thanks for quoting from one page of my document and adding your evaluation which is exactly what I concluded when I first read the material.
Looks to me like WT put themselves between a rock and a hard place when doing this property purchase juggling act, for reasons yet unknown. Not surprising though. In this case as well as in numerous others, this group acts true to their double-dealing character!
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34
LAWSUIT: The Strange Saga of Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo v. Watchtower of NY
by AndersonsInfo inthe strange saga of lorterdan properties at ramapo v. watchtower of new york.
information compiled by barbara anderson.
on february 27, 2009, the watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. (watchtower) purchased 248 acres of land located in ramapo, new york, from a company named lorterdan properties at ramapo i, llc (lorterdan).
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AndersonsInfo
Yes, skeeter1, from what I read, the WTS received the tax exemption for the first one or two years. To get the exemption, they had to tell the authorities that they were planning to soon start building on the property.
