Posts by Doubting Bro

39

WT Society Has to be Forced by Courts to Reveal Hidden Child Abuses

by flipper in

in one of the new pieces of information in the new elders manual - section 5:18 - it shows how elders are instructed to keep all judicial committee information private from media or attorneys.

keeping in mind how secretive the wt society has been in hiding child abuse within the jehovah's witnesses notice these instructions to elders now.. it states, " if a member of the media or an attorney representing the accused ( or possibly victims ) contacts the elders , they should not give him any information about the case or verify there is a jc.

rather, they should give the following explanation, " the spiritual and physical welfare of jehovah's witnesses is of paramount concern to the elders, who have been appointed to " shepherd the flock ".

Doubting Bro

Again it depends on the state. I'm not sure what the count is (here in the US) but the last I checked it was around 35 states that required clergy to report with the other 15 either not specifically mentioning it or not addressing it in their laws.

In states where there is mandatory reporting, privilege is not provided for child abuse cases.

Here's a nice summary: http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/clergymandated.cfm

Given the problems with religious organizations and child molesters, I hope the remaining 15 states follow the other 35 and mandate that clergy report these horrible crimes and protect the the children within their flocks.

To be fair, this issue is way bigger than just the little WTS. With only about 1 million members out of 300 million people in the US, there are far bigger fish to fry.

111

ks10-e (official release), Letter from Bro. who scanned it! Newer version with BOE LTRs

by yknot in

while an earlier version was made available privately the time has come to 'progress'.. conscious class and ex both strongly adhere to not keeping things 'hidden' in regards to wts publications, talks and documents which are circulated in order to maintain it's position.. another wonderful poster (who has yet to give me permission to name) has 'reduced' and 'bookmarked' the first full copy link i was given by our 'winner'.. in this newest and final 'clean' copy link you find two other additions besides the reduction/bookmarking..... the brother who uploaded the entire book wishes all to have a copy that includes both boe ltrs (pre-ks ltr and spiral binding ltr).

also another development has occurred.... the brother responsible for this book being brought into light and put forth for public consumption and discussion has requested i post this letter explaining to 'us' (jwn posters/global audience) and 'them' (wts of penn & ny).. i ask you give attention to his words/ experiences as he is representative of a newly emerging demographic within the conscious class.

so without further ado i give you his link and the 'stage' if you will to 'brother johnson'....... [link removed - contact ynot for further info - lady lee].

Doubting Bro

Brother Johnson - when I read your words I think of my dad who is just a few years younger than you. I will say this, if the WTS had more men like you, they wouldn't have the problems they have now. Thank you for your hard work. Know that it is greatly appreciated and the concern you've shown for those you know and those you don't is apparent. So while the WTS may not view you as valuable any longer, I guarantee that those you come in contact with everyday think differently.

Your courage and determination is to be commended. I wish I could met you in person to give you a big man hug!!

ynot - you are awesome as well, hugs to you.

86

Oompa

by palmtree67 in

jw
friends

he was in a very bad motorcycle accident on tuesday and is in the icu.. i think we could all send our oompa good vibes, prayers and healing angels.. .

.

Doubting Bro

Best wishes for a speedy recovery oompa!

17

ks10-E p70 - Elders told NOT to involve themselves in what individuals do with regard to petty gambling solely for entertainment!

by LUKEWARM in

30. greed-gambling, extortion: (i cor.

5:10,11; 6:10; 1 tim.

3:8; it-1 pp.

Doubting Bro

Guess the March Madness pools are pretty popular at Bethel!

Although, I have to say that there is really no harm in playing the March Madness basketball pools, betting $1 per hole on the golf course, playing football pools and fantasy football. I know gambling can be bad for some folks but its harmless for the most part as long as the dollar amounts are low.

I was always under the impression that ALL gambling was a df'ing offense so thanks for that snippet from the old manual Blondie! Guess my college football pool is acceptable after all!!

37

Comparing the old elder's handbook to the new...

by undercover in

as i've read through the new elder's book, something kept nagging at me about it.

then i went to compare one passage in the new book to the old and it hit me.

i've mentioned it on a couple of posts, but i wanted to start a thread on it.... what hit me was that the new book was like an instruction manual to supervisors in a plant.

Doubting Bro

Yeah, but the only sections that were ever used in the old book were the rules and regs anyway. No one really paid attention to the other sections.

11

Secret Elder Book PROVES the JWs have a Clergy Class

by VM44 in

the jws and the watchtower often say that they have no "paid clergy class.".

but the new secret elder book that is supposed to be confidential and only seen by the elders and not be accessible to anyone else in the congregation proves beyond any doubt that the jws do have a clergy class!.

they might not be paid, but the elders are a select, elite group among the witneeses.. so much for the boastful claim by the watchtower that they have no special clergy class..

Doubting Bro

And it also proves that no clergy privilege exists since they not only consult with others outside the JC but accord to 7:15 they will divluge not just the circumstances but the actual names of those involved when speaking with the branch.

The fact this is in writing and out in the public space should help attorneys in going after the society in child abuse cases. I believe the CA court ruled that the fact they are bringing in multiple parties throws out clergy privilege. Especially since the clear, written direction is to NOT inform the accused that the JC is speaking with anyone else.

I was knew these were kangaroo courts where you are basically guilt until proven innocent but this shows how much the cards are stacked against someone facing a JC.

28

KS10-Chapter Seven Discussion

by yknot in

chapter 7 from 'shepherding the flock of god' published by the wts of penn/ny is part of their worldwide bible educational work.

the wts is a non-profit whose publications are not for sale but are freely given to those who show 'genuine' interest..... while not required, a donation is always joyfully accepted .

while admittedly my feelings were hurt by "the boys" yanking my 4shared files.. anywho.... the other part of my brain says 'it ain't personal' and just a game.....hey yall get out of 'whatever' your normal task is right!!

Doubting Bro

You rock Ynot!! Fantastic

36

KS10 Chapter Three

by yknot in

chapter three from 'shepherding the flock of go' published by the wts of penn/ny as part of their worldwide bible educational work.

the wts is a non-profit whose publications are not for sale but are freely given to those who show 'genuine' interest..... while not required, a donation is always joyfully accepted .

well i was going to stick to the boe ltr for a 'pre-view' but somebody deleted my sendspace links.

Doubting Bro

MLE - just reading your post comparing the WTS to a prison gang. I never thought of it quite like that but your description is dead on. You know, I always think of the mafia or gangs in general of being at least cult-like. Maybe not a religious cult, but a cult nonetheless.

It's this sort of conduct that screams CULT to most and the level of control in the WT Talmud would make the Pharisees of Jesus day a bit jealous.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like going to Bethel with a bullhorn and reading Matt 23 and substituting the word GB for the word Pharisees.

32

started a firestorm on facebook

by mimimimi in

last friday i posted something supportive of gays on facebook - it was as follows: put this on your status if you know or love someone who is gay.

my wish is that people will understand that being gay is not a disease nor a choice- people who are gay are not looking for a cure but acceptance and equal rights... 93% won't copy and paste this.

will you make it your ...status for at least one hour?

Doubting Bro

Scully - that's interesting. This particular CO went out of his way to tell people that acting on gay impluses was no greater of a sin than acting on hetro impluses. He used to live in an area with a large gay community and I wonder if that influenced his reasonability on the subject.

32

started a firestorm on facebook

by mimimimi in

last friday i posted something supportive of gays on facebook - it was as follows: put this on your status if you know or love someone who is gay.

my wish is that people will understand that being gay is not a disease nor a choice- people who are gay are not looking for a cure but acceptance and equal rights... 93% won't copy and paste this.

will you make it your ...status for at least one hour?

Doubting Bro

I had a CO once ask me whether I thought being attracted to the same sex was a choice or something you were born with. And, no he wasn't hitting on me, it came up in conversation somehow. I told him I wasn't sure but it seemed that some people were born with that inclination. He actually agreed and told me the WTS agreed as well? I've never seen a reference but this CO wasn't a young man and you would think if anyone would be saying it was a choice it would be him.

Of course, he said that those folks had to sacrifice alot to be a JW and that Jehovah would "fix" them in the new system. He said it was acting on the impulse that was bad, not having it. He also compared it with an unmarried straight person. Acting on the impluse outside of marriage was wrong (in his eyes) whether it was gay or straight.

Actually, I was impressed with his openness for a 70 y/o CO.