Yes. There was no other option in the end. I lost one friend that I truly cared about, (several years after leaving when she learned I was really done4good), and yes, it still hurts like a bitch.
I would still do it all over again.
d4g
for those of you who left family and friends and had to start over from scratch just to get out of the organization, was it worth it?.
.
Yes. There was no other option in the end. I lost one friend that I truly cared about, (several years after leaving when she learned I was really done4good), and yes, it still hurts like a bitch.
I would still do it all over again.
d4g
http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/maincasescreen.cfm?dist=0&doc_id=2109889&doc_no=s226656&search=party&start=1&query_partylastnameororg=watchtower bible and tract.
started 5/27/2015.
Vidiot - Wait, what?
Is this condition something the court imposed upon them?
They were found negligent specifically because of allowing Kendrick to work with Candice in FS. The negligence charge was upheld in the appellate court. That sets a precedent.
d4g
http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/maincasescreen.cfm?dist=0&doc_id=2109889&doc_no=s226656&search=party&start=1&query_partylastnameororg=watchtower bible and tract.
started 5/27/2015.
Doubting Bro - "The danger to them isn't necessarily the few millions they are going to pay out on this case, its the precedent that's been set and the future lawsuits they are concerned about."
Vidiot - I heard that.
Having the fines reduced isn't enough for them; they want a precedent set that'll completely immunize them from any pedo-related legal trouble in the years to come.
From their perspective, that brass ring is totally worth the risk of having a higher court overturn the current outcome.
This.
WT does not care about the 1-2M they are going to lose. They have reached out of court settlements for far more.
They are still scared shitless of the legal precedent that been been set, and this appeal proves how scared they are.
The subtle twist that played out in the last appeal, was that even though the punitive damages were dropped, based on the court decision that churches are not obligated to inform their members of abuse offenders, WT still needs to prevent these offenders from taking part in activities involving minors, (i.e. in this case the field service), so guess what? It is basically impossible for WT to continue business as usual. They either have to make special arrangements for field service where an elder "in the know" is always taking the group out to ensure that the offender is not working with a minor, or prevent these guys from FS altogether. Either scenario is untenable to WT. Both expose the offender by default.
The court knew what they were doing, and WT is f@cked. This is a win after all.
d4g
do you think any members of the governing body visit this site-jwn regularly?.
how about the heavies in the organization, like the writers, lawyers, and other who work at headquarters?.
for all we know john aquila could be a member of the gb..
It is unlikely they look themselves. They believe their own bullshit too much.
They are also cynical, and perhaps diabolical enough to see nothing wrong or hypocritical to employ someone whom they consider expendable enough to do the job, (JW or not).
d4g
august 2015 awake .
quote in title taken from article footnote.. anyone have information on who gene hwang and yan-der hsuuw in the article are?.
why do they repeatedly state that apes turned to humans when that's not what evolutionists teach at all?.
I cannot believe they actually had the audacity to quote Richard Dawkins again, after he slammed them for quoting him out of context in the old Creation book, in his work, The God Delusion.
Talk about f@cking clueless.
d4g
is the governing body's methods and practices all that much different from the way scientists work?.
some prominent scientists and big media in the 1970's were pushing imminent disaster from global cooling.
now its global warming and they all sweep the global cooling fiasco under the rug and act like it was just one or two rogue individuals.. other examples can be given: scientists being wrong on the eternal universe, black holes, whether eggs or coffee are healthy or harmful, presenting fake fossils, etc.
Some prominent scientists and big media in the 1970's were pushing imminent disaster from Global Cooling. Now its Global Warming and they all sweep the Global Cooling fiasco under the rug and act like it was just one or two rogue individuals.
Let me guess...Faux news?? Hannity? Rush??
In any case, you are missing the point. Understand what science is first. It is a methodology, not a ideology. IF, and I think it is a big IF, scientists said such back in 1970's, it was based on limited information that needed to be tested through a hypothesis. When that hypothesis proved this supposed theory wrong, it went the way of a flat earth. In this case, or in any other, science does not make claim to absolute "truth".
Science moves on, when new information proves a theory wrong, science adjusts and does not dogmatically bind itself to ideology. Comparing the WT to science is about the most ignorant thing I have read on here in some time. The WT simply moves the goal posts, and claim "they never said that".
d4g
in my quest to always understand why jws get so f%$@ed up (yes oubliette, lets review lol) i discovered something today.
in speaking with one of my fellow heathen friends from this site i was talking about maslov's hierarchy of needs in an unrelated subject but i had an epiphany.
witnesses are held at the third level and never make it to the oh so critical top two sections.
So true.
The ones that do make it to the fourth level usually leave at some point. Most struggle to maintain the second level, and hope for the third.
"Acceptance of facts" is the big actualization factor, that the rest of this level pretty much hinges on, so if someone at the cusp of leaving does so because of this reason, they are not too far off from achieving self-actualization at some level.
Btw, Maslow never suggested that one level must become "fully" realized to advance to the next. The idea is to become "mostly" realized at any given level, before one can "care" enough to advance to the next. This also explains very elegantly why many cannot see TTATT, despite intelligence.
d4g
if you are a current practitioner of some religious faith i would appreciate it if you abstained from this thread entirely.
im curious if anyone has had what could be discribed as a spiritual experience.
i'm currently reading sam harris book waking up and it's very good so far.
I don't consider myself "spiritual", unless of course by spiritual you mean zoning out in the family room with Alan Parson's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, (insert other prog. rock album here), a glass of wine, and well...
d4g
ok every one raves on at how miserable and tight wt is, while they are literally swimming in money and assets.
although this may be true this isn't the real issue or the problem to begin with.
the problem is having a long term survivable business plan.
I agree that the many of the organizational changes have to do with helping to ensure their long term solvency, but I don't understand the "think before you open your mouth" part...Just a tad confrontational, and unless you actually took the time to understand the big picture yourself, I doubt you or anyone else would logically come to such a conclusion. That is why your otherwise likely accurate observation was shot down. Use a little tact next time.
Here is why this you are likely correct:
1. The organization has been cutting expenses since they adopted the so-called "donation" arrangement in 1990, (to avoid taxes to begin with), and is now at a point where cuts are hard to come by without massive reorganization.
2. Donations are likely down significantly.
3. Pending abuse lawsuits loom large, (especially in the long term).
4. Also since the "donation" arrangement, the organization must now finance itself through real estate flipping. They have realized how significant the total property values they own are, and how easy it is to get local congregations to fork over both liquid money and assets, and do so within "legal" limits.
They are not so interested in "growth" anymore. They are doing what all corporations do when they plateau from a revenue perspective, they cut costs and focus on profitability. Since they likely do not have an immediate cash flow problem, most of these changes are based on trends that can be extrapolated and forecast. Those forecasts likely do not look too good, mostly due to the intensifying importance and impact of the four issues above.
d4g
our current co has not been in the org all that long, less than 10 years, and already quite a respected overseer.
i know of a few married couples in the spanish congs that are doing everything right, you know, with the theocratic schooling, the pioneering, etc., and... nothing!.
how do some seem to reach certain posts so damn quick, while others cannot make it?!
TTATTElder has it correct.
To some degree or other, the same applies almost anywhere, (in the corporate world). WTS is a corporation, so this should come as no surprise.
d4g