Posts by careful

44

Is there evidence for networks of abuse?

by slimboyfat in

i tend to avoid the subject because it's too depressing, so i've probably missed lots of discussion about this issue.

but i read a comment on youtube yesterday that shocked me and made me wonder.

the person claimed that many years ago abusers in society generally identified jws as a safe haven for abusers and joined en masse order to exploit the situation.

careful

Kramer, believe what you want. It really happened. If you look at my other posts and comments, they are all real. Regardless of your personal feelings about God, the Bible, etc., the situation in 2 Tim. that I cited reflects a historical aspect of early Christianity. Perhaps you were not exposed to the wild swinging lifestyle of the 1960-1980s, but it was indeed real, and it made inroads into the Witness world.

44

Is there evidence for networks of abuse?

by slimboyfat in

i tend to avoid the subject because it's too depressing, so i've probably missed lots of discussion about this issue.

but i read a comment on youtube yesterday that shocked me and made me wonder.

the person claimed that many years ago abusers in society generally identified jws as a safe haven for abusers and joined en masse order to exploit the situation.

careful

An interesting thought. When I was active I was in one congo that had two male newbies come in around the same time. As I recall, they were baptized at the same assembly. One was the most sexually active person I've ever met. He'd starting having sex with his mom when he was pre-schooler. Even though he was single, he screwed several times a day, married and unmarried sisters, brothers (he was truly bisexual), but he especially liked young girls. He made his living as a private hairdresser who went into people's homes in order to work on their hair. He really was like 2 Tim. 3:6 says. Most publishers, and even the elders, saw him as very lovable. In fact the elders reproved, rather than DFed him time and again. Finally they had to DF him, after he'd broken up marriages and made many young teen virgin girls hot-to-trot, eventually the most powerful elder's 12-year old daughter. From what I heard, he really was a great lover. Many sisters said it was the best sex they'd ever had. One even abandoned her husband and kids to run off with him a while. The sisters used to get together and compare notes on the guy. One elder whose attractive wife he failed to seduce called him a stud.

The other guy came in and right after his baptism, married a really cute, but very dumb, single sister who'd had a background of sexual abuse as a girl. She had a very cute 5-year old daughter. Right after their marriage they moved away, and some years later it came out that the guy was having sex regularly with the young girl, in fact, all through her childhood and teen years. Then he dumped them both and took off.

So your idea couldn't help but make me think of these two since they came in together. They even studied with the same pioneer-elder who was quite oblivious of modern culture (ultra loyal, ex-missionary, big-shot ex-bethelite, truly in JWland). The congo was on a basic level very friendly and thus had frequent low-key picnics, get togethers, dinners, etc., so these two guys were often together at them. That congo in particular went out of its way to love bomb those studying, so these guys were always invited to the social events. Whether they planned all this as established pedophiles I do not know. This was before the internet, but I understand that now there are pedo-chatrooms where these people can get together and plan their attacks. So maybe you are onto something here. It's certainly worth pursuing, but other than the anecdotes like mine, how would you collect the info to do so?

21

A possible reason why the GB are becoming more demanding as things worsen

by Listener in

basically because they feel they are not being blessed.. this is not to say that all gb members feel this way.

the power hungry ones love getting the whip out.

the other members incorrectly look to the old testament for answers.. they are telling the sheep to be faithful, dedicated, self sacrificing, serving to the fullest, whole hearted and obedient.

careful

SBF, they have a precedent. This is exactly what Fred Franz did after the built up the R&F for Armag. coming in 1975.

7

Huge discrepancy between English and German wikipedia articles about JWs

by Zana in

jw
friends

the english version seems fairly balanced.

to me it almost has an apostate feel, citing coc or describing doctrine changes and interesting details about wt history.

but the german version?

careful

Thanks for this post!

32

Canada - Abuse allegations in Newfoundland casting a cloud over Jehovah's Witnesses

by OrphanCrow in

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/abuse-allegations-jehovahs-witness-1.3401468.

abuse allegations in newfoundland casting a cloud over jehovah's witnessesallegations of abuse involving two members of the jehovah's witness religious movement in newfoundland have emerged, though details of the charges are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

cbc news has learned that a former volunteer church elder and his son are facing charges.the former elder is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation relating to allegations dating from 2009 to 2012 in central newfoundland.according to court documents, a second man is charged with sexual assault, with the information referencing a period between may 2011 and december 2013 in a community on the avalon peninsula.cbc news has confirmed that the pair are father and son.a sexual exploitation charge involves anyone in a position of trust or authority who commits an offence against a young person.the matter involving the older accused was called at a provincial court on wednesday.it was set over until next month, when a date is expected to be set for trial.the younger accused is scheduled to make a court appearance later this month.. read full article at link.. *note the very last sentence in the article.

careful

Thanks for the post.

34

How far will they go?

by careful in

i've been drawing back lately and looking at the big picture going on in the org, somewhat like slimboyfat has also been doing, but i am wondering about different possibilities.

so the current gb has modernized recently in various ways.

they have done a strong and sudden about-face regarding the electronic world, from viewing the whole thing suspiciously and condemning bros. use tablets from the platform to suddenly embracing them and causing the r&f to do so to such a degree that old ones are spending hundreds of dollars to buy devices that they have no clue how to use; they have heavily embraced this media for their message, very much like the churches have been doing for years, especially with their jw broadcasting and their caleb and sophia animations.

careful

Thanks to all! Judging from the number and quality of the responses, I think this is the most successful thread I've posted, so I appreciate the input.

OEJ:

how does allowing facial hair or being more flexible on dress help them?

How does Splane's pop music help them? If we say that it is some attempt to increase their appeal and thus increase membership, then doesn't the same reasoning hold for possibly loosening up on the formal dress?

stuck…:
Is pop music or use of "worldly" consultants a "serious issue"? I haven't chosen these but the GB has.

smiddy: thanks for the input. We'll see if they continue following this trend.

listener, berrygerry: How does the pop music change the bottom line? Is that a business change?

lumberjack: I do not see how anything in the OP can register as a complaint. I'm just reporting the org's modern history factually, no emotion, no judging. Then I'm wondering if the future of the trends we see will include changes in dress and grooming. That's all.

Magnum: thanks. Your thoughts are deep and I think I've seen you express them before. You are surely onto something here.

Nicholaus K: Well, maybe, but the CO is their hands-on, mega-loyal link to HQ. Would they give that up for local elders some of whom can be problematic? Of course, you never know…

brand-new and Island Man: I went to the Caribbean while still in, and it was indeed as you, Island Man, put it.

Please keep the input coming.

34

How far will they go?

by careful in

i've been drawing back lately and looking at the big picture going on in the org, somewhat like slimboyfat has also been doing, but i am wondering about different possibilities.

so the current gb has modernized recently in various ways.

they have done a strong and sudden about-face regarding the electronic world, from viewing the whole thing suspiciously and condemning bros. use tablets from the platform to suddenly embracing them and causing the r&f to do so to such a degree that old ones are spending hundreds of dollars to buy devices that they have no clue how to use; they have heavily embraced this media for their message, very much like the churches have been doing for years, especially with their jw broadcasting and their caleb and sophia animations.

careful

I've been drawing back lately and looking at the big picture going on in the org, somewhat like slimboyfat has also been doing, but I am wondering about different possibilities. So the current GB has modernized recently in various ways. They have done a strong and sudden about-face regarding the electronic world, from viewing the whole thing suspiciously and condemning bros. use tablets from the platform to suddenly embracing them and causing the R&F to do so to such a degree that old ones are spending hundreds of dollars to buy devices that they have no clue how to use; they have heavily embraced this media for their message, very much like the churches have been doing for years, especially with their JW broadcasting and their Caleb and Sophia animations. They are rapidly embracing "worldly" ways in music with David Splane's pop tunes and their music videos that end each monthly broadcast. Like the churches they have aggressively embraced child baptism and may well be on the way to infant baptism. They have used "worldly" consultants for a variety of things they never would have before: legal matters, construction, financial advice, reorganizing and downsizing their Bethels (cutting the fat, dismissing the costly old-timers).

Sooo my question is this: how far will they go in this vein? Specifically will they finally allow facial hair and cut the conservative dress they are so obsessed with? Before anyone answers "They'd never do that," it might be good to think about how so many here have been surprised at the above-mentioned changes. I imagine that the GB has surprised us all recently with so many changes that many here have commented that they don't even recognize the old religion any more.

49

The wonderful things you hear AFTER you step down as an elder!

by redpilltwice in

well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.

thank you all for the encouraging replies.

one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.

careful

I quit and quickly I moved out of town and faded. I'd grown a beard and only kept in touch privately with a few bros. who were enlightened about the org's corruption. Then when I was visiting some of them in my old city, I unexpectedly ran into a MS I knew in a sporting goods shop. This guy was a nice chap, zealous and all, but had been passed over many times for appointment as an elder. I was concerned that he'd seen me with my beard and might report me to my fellow "friends" on the elder body and they'd come looking for me to "rescue" me. But it was quite the opposite. He couldn't have cared less about my beard. All he wanted to do was talk about the problems in the old congo, why he still wasn't an elder yet, etc. It was amazing how he opened up to me. The whole thing was quite awkward and I found myself comforting the poor guy, telling him to wait on Jehovah, blah, blah. They really do open up if you let them, far more to someone who's no longer a perceived threat to them.

8

Bethel Family Matters

by WatchtowerReviewz in

using the hilarious song 142 i went ahead and created a sitcom intro about life at bethel.

this is what that song was really created for.

i hope watchtower likes my pitch!

careful

You've labeled Sam Herd as Mark Sanderson!

43

Counsel from Bro Losch (GB Member) to the Elders about the NFL

by James Jack in

while attending a week long training class for elders in patterson, bro losch gave the concluding talk about loyalty to the borg, which i was in awe of(i went more in detail in a recent post about a s.a.d.

where losch was the speaker).

at the end of his talk, here's what he said: .

careful

Well, it's no wonder then that he's not a heavy among the GB members, but a wannabe!