careful

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Posts by careful

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  12

  Former Bethelite from Service Department blogs about his experiences

  by krismalone in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this blog is worth mentioning again under a different title to attract more viewers.. former bethelite john bechtel who served 10 yrs at wt headquarters including the secretive and powerful service department, writes about his experiences and what woke him up.. https://www.johnbechtelblog.com/tag/jehovahs-witnesses/.

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  careful

  Thanks for sharing this, km. It might prove informative.
  
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  11

  Another shocking JW Abuse case, with Legal Commentary

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  "16 april 2020 | comment | article by alan collins.

  jehovah’s witness elder sentenced to nine years in prison for sexual abuse.

  jehovah’s witness elder, clifford whiteley, has been sentenced to nine years in prison at the birmingham crown court for sexual abuse offences he committed against a child member of the congregation over ten years ago.. mr whiteley initially denied the offences to the police, despite the fact that he had admitted his guilt during an internal investigation of the jehovah’s witnesses.. during court proceedings, mr whiteley’s defence counsel, sharon bailey, stated that the jehovah’s witnesses refused to disclose the details of his confession to the police.

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  careful

  Thanks Phiz.
  
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  30

  Australia - Selling Off Assets

  by Pants of Righteousness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this article seems to confirm what we already knew:.

  https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/jehovahs-witnesses-accused-of-selling-off-assets-and-moving-cash-to-avoid-sex-abuse-compensation-ng-08ffe6d55e293182580d9e34b4400088?transactionid=72145.

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  careful

  Thanks for the info/update.

  
  
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  20

  Did they use to applaud after reinstatement after being Disfellowshipped, but then it stopped?

  by ThomasCovenant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i don't remember disfellowshippings happening very often and announcements about being re instated but i think i remember that we used to clap hands if someone came back after being disfellowshipped.

  but then i think clapping wasn't allowed.

  am i correct in my recollections?.

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  careful

  Just ask David Splane, "Here's what we believe ..."
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  13

  Sued by inmate, North Carolina concedes Witnesses are distinct faith group, not subset of Protestants

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last thursday poyner spruill, a prominent north carolina law firm, announced a victory in a pro bono case involving religious freedom of incarcerated jehovah's witnesses.

  the poyner team was appointed by the u.s. district court for the western district of north carolina to represent an inmate challenging the state’s policy governing how and when jehovah’s witnesses can worship in prison.

  the state’s policy classified jehovah’s witnesses as a subset of christian protestants and, on that basis, prohibited separate jehovah’s witness meetings—an infringement on religious freedom under the first amendment.

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  careful

  Thanks, Corney. Catholics would qualify with those 7 points too! "Exercise their faith" is exclusively a WTS/NWT term, eh? So if the other side's argument included it, then they must have done so intentionally. You're certainly right that if those other groups got to have separate meetings, JWs should have too. I can't help but wonder what else was up here, maybe some Protestant chaplain wanting to "convert" JWs? Or if the "single person" was Brown, maybe the chaplain was trying to convert him? Or maybe just keep visiting JWs out of the prison? Or maybe it was money? It "would be a tremendous burden on Alexander C.I."

  "he must be unconditionally released"—it doesn't sound like Brown is in any position to tell the judiciary what they "must" do. He wouldn't be making any points there. Again, we'll have to see if this merits any mention at JW-DOT-org.

  "Wasn't it a great witness?"—hmmmmmmmm.
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  13

  Sued by inmate, North Carolina concedes Witnesses are distinct faith group, not subset of Protestants

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  last thursday poyner spruill, a prominent north carolina law firm, announced a victory in a pro bono case involving religious freedom of incarcerated jehovah's witnesses.

  the poyner team was appointed by the u.s. district court for the western district of north carolina to represent an inmate challenging the state’s policy governing how and when jehovah’s witnesses can worship in prison.

  the state’s policy classified jehovah’s witnesses as a subset of christian protestants and, on that basis, prohibited separate jehovah’s witness meetings—an infringement on religious freedom under the first amendment.

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  careful

  Thanks, Corney for the post. The Marshall Lee Brown story seems really bizarre. So if he lives until 102, he can get released!
  

  What were the arguments from the other side? Perhaps that JWs are Protestants because they grew out of the Protestant Reformation, specifically out of Second Adventism, and use a Protestant Bible canon? Or were such theological arguments not important? It will be interesting to see if the organization makes any official announcement about this being a victory for them. It does seem strange that the NC prison admin would not allow JWs to meet separately. It looks like they got what their own stupidity brought on themselves.

  After reading the wiki article I saw this: "He will be eligible for parole at age 63." My math must be off...
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  32

  Witnessing Work to Stop?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my 87 year old dad called me for the first time in 16 years the other day .... just to chat.

  i was floored to say the least since he didn't even bother to call me when my mom died several years ago.

  he called again today to inquire how i felt about jehovah's witnesses.

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  careful

  BC

  It's kind of like if a sane person were sentenced to live in an insane asylum.

  Love it!

  
  
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  33

  2020 Convention streamed

  by Rattigan350 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  2020 convention of jehovah’s witnesses.

  we warmly invite you to watch this year’s three-day convention presented by jehovah’s witnesses.

  as a result of the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, this year’s convention program is being presented online at jw.org.

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  careful

  It looks like someone needs to update the website. If you click on the link "Information for Delegates" at https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/2020-convention-program/, you get info on paying attention to the attendants when parking, not saving seats, etc., hardly needed for an online program.
  

  I suppose that a good gauge to how well the org monitors this site can be surmised in how soon they change this blunder! Posted at 20.33.39 GMT.

  Yes, it's always "the best ever"—yawn. Most of the faithful will probably dress up too. Will they still issue name badges?
  
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  careful

  Thanks, Corney, for the detailed response. You must have the book! Knox looks quite diligent, and polite/diplomatic. The latter is clear from her "initially cautious" instead "fearful and condemnatory," which would have been more bluntly accurate. I like her "comparatively late."

  That Côté article looks worthwhile. I'll read it. I smell Jaracz at work in the Legal Department's (LD) reopening and large growth. It was put out at Patterson, Jaracz's creation and fiefdom The time frame sure fits as does his belligerent personality. Was it him who chose loyal Bethelite Brumley to send to law school and head up the revived LD instead of using one or some of the far more experienced and competent Witness attorneys from outside Bethel?
  
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  careful

  Thanks DM for the post, and thanks SBF for the podcast link. It seems to me that the interviewer was well prepared rather than having a Witness past. At the end Zoe Knox thanks him for his careful reading of her book. To me his questions all seem to come from that, not any other background.

  Three things I wonder about Knox: 1. she said that JWs have been quick to jump on technology and she used the sound cars of Rutherford's time as an example, then the carts of today (she could have used Russell's Photodrama but did not in the interview). Does she realize how they condemned the internet for years, then suddenly did an about face, in other words, what latecomers they have been to this technology?

  2. I wonder if she is at all aware of the lack of legal action the org took during the 1970s and 80s. When I was in, the org was afraid to take cases to court. They were afraid they might lose the legal rights they had established under Rutherford and Covington. The Legal Dept. was a shadow of what it has become today. I know of cases where they failed to support individual bros who took personal legal stands based on the org's dictates, and of individual Witness lawyers, and others, who did not like this.
  

  3. Is she aware of the work of people like Jerome and Vienne? When she says that very little work has been done on CT Russell, is she speaking about peer-reviewed academic material only?