AndersonsInfo

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Posts by AndersonsInfo

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  8

  Re: *PLEASE READ* GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION & THE RULE OF LAW

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  marci a. hamilton is an internationally recognized constitutional expert specializing in church/state relations.

  professor hamilton's new book, god vs. the gavel: religion and the rule of law is one of the brightest lights on the horizon in a difficult time of prosecuting religions that cause harm.

  ms. hamilton states -- "while religious conduct provides many benefits to society, it is not always benign.

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  AndersonsInfo

  Well, IT Support, you caught my typo, ahem, rather my error!
  
  I had it right when I said previously:
  
  "In Chapter 2 of Part One entitled CHILDREN, this is what we read on p. 12, par. 1," so page 14 forward has to be in Chapter 2, not Chapter 1.
  
  I'm glad someone is pedantic on this board cause it sure "ain't" me.
  
  Barb
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  31

  Att'n U.S. & Canada: I need contacts and info for a Canadian Producer

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been contacted by an international award winning producer of documentaries and films for television.. .

  do you know of anybody or are you currently involved with disciplinary action taken by the elders, or have you recently been "invited" to a judicial hearing?.

  do you know of any young witness who has "reached out" of the organization for social support in defiance of wt training.. .

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  AndersonsInfo

  Thanks sKally for another good idea. No, I have not alerted Mr. Sommers to the Canadian documentary being made about Jehovah's Witnesses which will feature truth and not fiction about JWs. Perhaps I should do this. Oh no, another thing to do!! Of course you are invited to do so, too, along with everybody else.
  
  FYI, I just learned that there is another documentary being planned in California. Exploration for funding is underway. This story is different from the other two. It's about successful survival after leaving JWs.
  
  Barb
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  92

  Producer of KNOCKING posts at my guest list, Barbara Anderson replies

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the following was posted at my guest list the other day, by a producer of a new documentary that is pro-witness and may go out on pbs.

  i'm joel engardio, director of the project.

  joel .

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  AndersonsInfo

  It is very important that Jim Sommers, Director of Communications, ITVS, receive more protest e-mails. We should not let this story die. Jim's answer to me was basically a repetition of the answer I originally received from the producer of KNOCKING. I just don't think these people want to think about our words of protest, but they do understand the power behind thousands of e-mails from viewers who are very unhappy with PBS and the "mother" organization who funded this flawed, biased presentation and the bad publicity we can generate.
  
  Thank you everybody for your support and help.
  
  Barb
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  8

  Re: *PLEASE READ* GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION & THE RULE OF LAW

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  marci a. hamilton is an internationally recognized constitutional expert specializing in church/state relations.

  professor hamilton's new book, god vs. the gavel: religion and the rule of law is one of the brightest lights on the horizon in a difficult time of prosecuting religions that cause harm.

  ms. hamilton states -- "while religious conduct provides many benefits to society, it is not always benign.

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  AndersonsInfo

  bttt ---- Very Important read.
  
  Barb
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  31

  Att'n U.S. & Canada: I need contacts and info for a Canadian Producer

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been contacted by an international award winning producer of documentaries and films for television.. .

  do you know of anybody or are you currently involved with disciplinary action taken by the elders, or have you recently been "invited" to a judicial hearing?.

  do you know of any young witness who has "reached out" of the organization for social support in defiance of wt training.. .

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  2. 
  3. 
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  AndersonsInfo

  Update: Due to the excellent response from abuse victims to this thread on JWD, the Canadian producer had many stories to choose from. He is extremely appreciative for the input he received from MANY experts about the inner workings of the WT and is presently shooting the documentary.
  
  This film is primarily focusing on the FAILURE of the agents (elders) of the WT organization to assist sexual abuse victims in their hour of need. Not only that, but how victims are revictimized in judicial hearings, etc.
  
  It will not be a pretty picture for the public to see.
  Barb
• 
  92

  Producer of KNOCKING posts at my guest list, Barbara Anderson replies

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the following was posted at my guest list the other day, by a producer of a new documentary that is pro-witness and may go out on pbs.

  i'm joel engardio, director of the project.

  joel .

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  AndersonsInfo

  July 22, 2005
  
  Dear Barbara,
  
  I apologize for my delayed response to your email about the film KNOCKING, currently being produced by Tom Shepard and Joel Engardio.
  
  Your feedback is important to me. The mission of the Independent
  Television Service (ITVS) is to present independent media on public
  television with programs that expand civic participation by bringing new
  voices and points of view into the public discourse. While some viewpoints are not always popular, ITVS recognizes the value of presenting differing sides of an issue, providing vehicles for discussion, education, reflection and sometimes change.
  
  KNOCKING reveals how a misunderstood and often derided Christian group,
  the Jehovah’s Witnesses, has impacted society in ways far greater and more surprising than a knock on the door. Through the main characters in the film and their family—some who are Jehovah's Witnesses and some who are not—KNOCKING tells both sides of the story. KNOCKING takes a balanced
  approach, and fair criticism is addressed. It does not promote nor does it denigrate. All historical and medical facts will be accurate and fairly presented in the film.
  
  KNOCKING is still in a rough cut stage and has not screened publicly.
  ITVS, along with PBS has stringent editorial standards when dealing with
  any program. Not only did the producers have to pass a very competitive
  review process to receive funding for KNOCKING, the program will be
  reviewed closely by both ITVS and PBS before it is considered for
  broadcast.
  
  ITVS takes your comments seriously and will share them with the producers. This program is not yet slated for a PBS broadcast. I ask that you contact ITVS (and not PBS) at [email protected] if you have any further questions.
  
  Sincerely,
  Jim Sommers
  Director of Communications, ITVS
  
  
• 
  8

  Re: *PLEASE READ* GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION & THE RULE OF LAW

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  marci a. hamilton is an internationally recognized constitutional expert specializing in church/state relations.

  professor hamilton's new book, god vs. the gavel: religion and the rule of law is one of the brightest lights on the horizon in a difficult time of prosecuting religions that cause harm.

  ms. hamilton states -- "while religious conduct provides many benefits to society, it is not always benign.

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  AndersonsInfo

  Marci A. Hamilton is an internationally recognized constitutional expert specializing in church/state relations. Professor Hamilton's new book, GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION AND THE RULE OF LAW is one of the brightest lights on the horizon in a difficult time of prosecuting religions that cause harm. Ms. Hamilton states -- "While religious conduct provides many benefits to society, it is not always benign." Further, Ms. Hamilton said, "...and truth be told, religion is capable of great harm." And this said by a devoutly religious person.
  
  I'm no "Oprah" but I rate this book five stars. May I suggest buying this book. Why should we be so interested in what Professor Hamilton has to say? First of all, note in PART ONE, entitled WHY THE LAW MUST GOVERN RELIGIOUS ENTITIES under the heading THE PROBLEM, Ms. Hamilton's opening words:
  
  "The United States has a romantic attitude toward religious individuals and institutions, as though they are always doing what is right. As one scholar has quipped: 'There is a long history in this country of religion being reduced to Sunday school morality in service of the common good.' Were religious institutions and individuals always beneficial to the public, this book would not need to be written, and they would not need to be deterred from criminal or tortious behavior. Religious liberty could be absolute. The unrealistic belief that religion is always for the good, however, is a hazardous myth. The purpose of this book is to persuade Americans to take off the rose-colored glasses and to come to terms with the necessity of making religious individuals and institutions accountable to the law so that they do not harm others."
  
  In Chapter 2 of Part One entitled CHILDREN, this is what we read on p. 12, par. 1:
  
  "Warning: If this chapter were a movie, it would have an NC-17 rating, because it describes horrible things that have been done to children beneath the cloak of religion in the United States. Children have been raped, beaten, and permitted to die excruciating deaths."
  
  In par. 2, Ms. Hamilton states, "The suffering is often unimaginable, because the children lack the ability to protect themselves from death, permanent disability, or severe abuse - at the hands of those they have been taught are here on earth to care for them.
  
  Par. 3: "In the first instance, some clergy, day-care providers, and religious schoolteachers use their position to take advantage of children. No person can be trusted to hold power without some check on it, and that is why we have the law..."
  
  Ms. Hamilton zones in on Jehovah's Witnesses on pgs. 14, 15, 20, & 25-27 of Chap. 1. She states in part on page 14-15:
  
  "Religious institutions have been havens for pedophiles for three reasons. First, up until now, society has so trusted clergy that no one questioned the priest or pastor or elder who volunteered to spend extra time with Bobby. Second, religion is an authoritative structure in a person's life, so that demands by clergy are oftentimes equated with commands from God and therefore are treated as imperatives. Third, religious institutions, especially those that form tight-knit communities, often succumb to the temptation to shield the public moral position by keeping internal sexual abuse secret, which ensures the authorities will not be contacted and permits the pedophile to continue to operate. The circumstances are tailor-made for the child molester. In the words of a former elder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the religious organization can be a "pedophile paradise," especially where it features a 'closed society, elder authority, [and a] masculine dominated society.'"
  
  As if it is not bad enough that religious institutions are magnets for pedophiles (partly because of the laws the religious institutions have endorsed), some religious institutions themselves have actively aided and abetted the abuse. The Roman Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, have handled reports of clergy abuse as though the public good was not their problem and have insisted on silence as they refused to report the crimes to authorities. There is no question that they placed the good of the organization above the needs of the child or the legitimate demands of society. Their disregard for the public good is even more sinister when one discovers that they were sacrificing the public good to elevate their earthly needs. The silence is an integral part of a twofold strategy: protect the institution's finances and protect its public image."
  
  As fascinating as PART ONE is, PART TWO, THE HISTORY AND DOCTRINE BEHIND THE RULE THAT SUBJECTS RELIGIOUS ENTITIES TO DULY ENACTED LAWS is equally fascinating.
  
  Ms. Hamilton concludes her book this way on p. 305: "The point of this book is to show that a vigorous legislative investigation is just as crucial, and sometimes more crucial, in the context of religious demands, as it is in any secular context. The United States must abandon its adolescent belief in the inevitable goodness of every religious entity and instead demand an accounting when religious entities seek to avoid the laws that govern everyone else. This is not so much a matter of distrusting religious entities as it is an invitation for the public good to re-enter the religious liberty calculus."
  
  In the Epilogue, p. 311, these are Prof. Hamilton's closing words: "Forbidding religious exemptions altogether would be tyranny, but granting them as of right is anarchy."
  
  If you don't buy or obtain this book from your nearest library, you'll never know what gems you have missed between the first and last page. I beg of you, please don't let that happen, not only for your sake, but for the sake of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses' children who were molested by Jehovah's Witnesses' molesters! The more you know, the better equipped you will be to help legitimate legislative processes change the majority legislature mindset in the United States, which have allowed religions avoid accountability for causing or allowing harm, to demand full accountability by the same laws that govern the rest of us.
  
  Thank you,
  Barbara Anderson
• 
  31

  Att'n U.S. & Canada: I need contacts and info for a Canadian Producer

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been contacted by an international award winning producer of documentaries and films for television.. .

  do you know of anybody or are you currently involved with disciplinary action taken by the elders, or have you recently been "invited" to a judicial hearing?.

  do you know of any young witness who has "reached out" of the organization for social support in defiance of wt training.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  AndersonsInfo

  bttt
  
  Cause it's very important.
  
  Barbara
• 
  92

  Producer of KNOCKING posts at my guest list, Barbara Anderson replies

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the following was posted at my guest list the other day, by a producer of a new documentary that is pro-witness and may go out on pbs.

  i'm joel engardio, director of the project.

  joel .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  AndersonsInfo

  I sent Tom Sheperd a protest e-mail at the end of June. However, I have not received a reply from him.
  
  Shepherd's e-mail addy: [email protected]
  
  An XJW in Scotland received a reply from Joel Engardio, Sheperd's KNOCKING producer partner, stating that KNOCKING has received over 4,000 e-mails protesting the content of the documentary.
  
  Now, if only we can send as many e-mails to PBS and ITVS in protest!!!
  
  Barbara
• 
  36

  KNOCKING --- NEWS

  by Marvin Shilmer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the programming director for pbs has asked for the removal from the knocking web site of language indicating the program will be aired on pbs.

  this does not mean the program will never be aired on pbs.

  rather, the request is made because of feedback from viewers like us.

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  AndersonsInfo

  I sent an e-mail to Tom Shepard at the end of June. I have not received a reply. You can reach Shepard at, [email protected] that is, if he has not closed the account due to pesky XJWs sending too many e-mails. Tom's producer partner, Joel Engardio, recently replied to an XJW in Scotland stating that they have received over 4,000 e-mails in protest of the KNOCKING documentary.
  
  Barbara