DJ

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Posts by DJ

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  182

  Watchtower to pay for Silentlambs trip

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from silentlambs (bill bowen):.

  on thursday of this week world wide work money will again be spent to protect a pedophile.

  in addition it will also be spent to pay money to a disfellowshipped person in order to find a way to prevent them from assisting the court case of abuse survivors.

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  DJ

  Only to a point. Because if the abuser is turned into the authorities it's because he has already abused a child. The criminal act is not erased and a child is already damaged. The question is: Will it ever be possible to erase these criminal acts before they happen? Our only hope is to wait on Jehovah.

  SOJ,
  

  I understand that there will always be criminals and victims until Jesus returns but the point that I was trying to make was for the prevention of new victims. When the elders forgive a confessed and seemingly repentant child molester without submitting him to the authorities for appropriate actions that are determined by the criminal legal system to be appropriate for the crime.....they are in essence letting a molester free to molest again, maybe a different child and the cycle continues. There is a price to be paid for crimes which is for the good of not only the community but also for the chastening of the criminal and monitoring of his behavior in jail for his own good.The court system has considerations for remorseful criminals. This is God's legal arrangement in Romans 13. The molester has broken the laws of the land. The law to report or not is not the issue. The wt should see that obeying Romans 13 is more important than the lack of a law to report. The other responsibilty that the elders have to the community and their own flock is not to make judgements about who is telling the truth and who is not when it comes to a criminal act. They are not the police that God has arranged for the Christian to be obediant to. They are not the jury or the judge. Here is where they are out of bounds. Would an accused murderer of a child within the congregation be handled by the elders too? The answer is yes if one follows the two witness rule for crimes. It is clear that the two witness rule does not apply to crime but to other sin. Child molestation is a crime. The elders should be taught by the society to report all matters of possible crime to the proper governing authorities who are appointed by God. The elders should not have to carry that burden. It is wrong. The elders are given the authority by God within the flock to handle spiritual matters/sin not crimes.
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  19

  Did you ever really fear Jehovah?

  by Tower Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just put a new mp3 audio on my site by bill & laura althaus.

  it's from 1996 at the witnesses now for jesus convention in pennsylvania.

  you can hear it at: http://www.towertotruth.net/audio.htm

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  DJ

  Hi Towerman,

  I relate to what you have written. It took me years to discern that I was fearing a man made organization who falsely claimed to speak for God. That is the key needed to be free from them. There needs to be a 'divorce' in one's mind of the God of the watchtower and the true God of the bible. It sounds so simple yet it is very complex for the person seeking the real truth. Satan fights them hard to keep them blind but God prevails for those who trust Him. love, dj
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  182

  Watchtower to pay for Silentlambs trip

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from silentlambs (bill bowen):.

  on thursday of this week world wide work money will again be spent to protect a pedophile.

  in addition it will also be spent to pay money to a disfellowshipped person in order to find a way to prevent them from assisting the court case of abuse survivors.

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  DJ

  SOJ,

  I agree that some sins should be handled by the elders but criminal activity is for the authorities not the elders. There is a distiction. When a molester confesses and even seems to appear to be repenant to an elder that does not mean that he/she should not be disciplined by the authorities that God uses. The watchtower magazine admits that child molesters rarely change and the molested usually are not lying. Isn't it best too err on the side of caution for the protection of the children in the flock?

  It is possible that the wt didn't give out info about convicted molesters because of confidentiality reasons. It would have certainly been in their favor to atleast say that instead of pointing a case of a non-jw molester. I would have liked to hear what Bowen said to the legal dept. as well. I must admit that was a mistake on the part of Dateline's producer but I doubt in my heart that anything suspicious was being covered up. It was probably a time factor in the editing. I wonder if it is possible to obtain that information. The cases of molestation victims is heartwrenching, don't you agree? It is just sad to know that it could be prevented by using Jehovah's legal authorities (of criminal acts) in the first place. I know that you understand me and it is ok to disagree with the wt policy and still be loved by Jehovah. He knows.
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  182

  Watchtower to pay for Silentlambs trip

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from silentlambs (bill bowen):.

  on thursday of this week world wide work money will again be spent to protect a pedophile.

  in addition it will also be spent to pay money to a disfellowshipped person in order to find a way to prevent them from assisting the court case of abuse survivors.

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  DJ

  SOJ,

  I appreciate you answering me. Thanks.I do understand that not all accused are guilty but isn't that why we have the governing authorities (Romans 13). The police are equipped to determine who is lying better than regular citizens. Although they make mistakes too, it is their job to try to determine the facts and are trained to do so. This is God's arrangement according the Paul's words.

  Why wasn't the molester that was sent to jail that you spoke of mentioned on Dateline by the watchtower when asked. Did you see the show? When the legal department told the elder to "Leave it to Jehovah" when he reported a molestation accusation to them, I was horrified that they put their policies before God's legal arrangement of justice. By claiming that God will take care of it in due time is basically ignoring the arrangement that He oversees as punishers of evildoers. It may not be the law in many states to report child molestation but it flies in the face of common sense and concern not to.love, dj
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  61

  BIG TEX & CRUZANHEART -- 20 YEARS TOMORROW!!!! (6/4/83 to 6/4/03)

  by cruzanheart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  big tex, honey, it's been a grand ride so far and i look forward to the next 20 years.

  you're my soulmate, my lover, my best friend, and never, ever boring.

  i love you!!!!

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  DJ

  Awwwwwww. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GUYS!
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  5

  Do jws distinguish contrition from attrition ?

  by A Paduan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  do jws distinguish contrition from attrition ?.

  i apologise i shouldn't have been that way - or - i'm sorry about that, i shouldn't have done that (reality being because i think i might be going to get in some sort of trouble or suffer a loss)

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  DJ

  In some instances...no they cannot make the distinction imo. They see it as disobedience to God because the wt said so. The feelings of guilt laid upon them by the elders masquerade as conviction from God. Although part of the mind knows that the wt is wrong, one is void of the ability to understand personal conviction if it varies from what they teach. It is a mind control governed by fear which disallows the accuracy of own's own thoughts. The mandatory lock step conformity on all matters of personal conviction is what makes it cultish.
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  172

  Jesus was gay - says academic

  by ISP in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  jesus was gay - says academic

  jesus was gay and so were at least three of his 12 disciples, according to an australian academic.. .

  dr rollan mccleary said jesus's astrological chart, clues in the scriptures and biblical translations, all played a part in his conclusions.. in a forthcoming book, he attempts to present st john's gospel in a new light to back up his claims, reports the herald sun.. dr rollan mccleary, a university of queensland phd graduate who now lives in melbourne, has just been awarded his doctorate for a thesis on gay spirituality.. an anglican and a qualified reader of astrological charts, dr mccleary said the planet uranus figured prominently in jesus's astrological chart, as it did with many gays..

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  DJ

  ISP,
  It is obvious to me that Paul did not quote Jesus' parables because he first learned of Jesus on the road to Damascus after Jesus was resurrected. He was blind to who Jesus was before that and persecuted the Christians until Jesus literally blinded him and spoke to him. He had a different relationship and experience with Jesus than the apostles did. In other words....Jesus didn't speak in parables to Paul. He spoke in parables to the other apostles who lived with Him on earth.

  As far as Paul teaching that the Gov'.s are under the authority of God goes....that makes perfect sense when you consider that just before Jesus was taken away by the authorities, he said to them that they could do nothing that His Father had not wanted them to. His death was a good thing for those who believe in Him and it pleased God to do it, because thru his death...we have life. God works all things to good for those who trust Him. Your reasonings are unsound and simple to clear up just by reading the bible through like a book. It does say that rulers hold no terrors to those who do good....meaning not to break laws etc, or you will be punished. Paul also teaches that if you should suffer for doing good...Reading the NT from the beginning to end and not choosing out single passages is what gives the whole picture.
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  26

  Toronto Area XJW-Meet Up

  by RAYZORBLADE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to those interested, there is an xjw meet-up scheduled for this upcoming saturday: june 7, 2003. .

  http://exjw.meetup.com/members/ .

  last one was quite good, and i look forward to the next one.

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  DJ

  Thanks herk. You did a great job as Toronto's tour guide! I really appreciate that. I hope to come there one day soon. love, dj
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  25

  Things my Dad taught me

  by DanTheMan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  things my dad taught me.

  children don't need encouragement or coaching - unspoken expectations and incredulousness and anger when they are not met are the way to go.. newspapers, national geographic magazines, and fraternal organizations are much more interesting and more worthy of a time investment than children are.. children are noisy nuisances.

  keep reminding them of this by yelling whenever they make too much noise, accidentally get in your way, or otherwise annoy you or complicate your life.

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  DJ

  Wow, what an emotional thread. I relate to some of the faults, Dan...mine had a few of them too. I am his daughter for sure...I hate when I act like him and I am mindful of it but I also understand what he must have been feeling to make him act out. My dad was loved by people it was just his kids that were terrified of him. He had this way though, of bandaging my knee when I fell that made me feel so safe and loved. I never knew what kind of a mood he would be in and my heart would race when I came in the front door in fear. He always left the last piece of chicken on the serving plate and offered it to us kids...even though I could tell that he was still hungry, he happily served it to whoever asked. He sat at the head of the table with a large chef's knife and peeled the skin from fruits and handed us each a slice on the tip of his knife. He hit us and he yelled about everything but we always had shoes and a full stomach. He belittled us and made us feel that we would never be anything valuable and I thought that maybe I hated him. He was my dad and I love him now more than I ever thought that I could. He is dying and I don't want him to yet. He had stress, like we all do and the jw stresses were what caused his fits of rage imo. He never felt safe or loved when he was growing up. His parents were Italian immigrants who thought it would give him a big head if they told him that they loved him. He told us that he loved us and I believed him but he didn't always show it. He worked hard and he raised 5 kids the best way that he knew how. That's enough for me. He is my friend because he raised me and Lady...I loved your poem. I think that I may have written it too, it just never made it onto paper. Did I mention that I love him.
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  14

  Strange Memories..

  by breal in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  about 6 or 7 years ago after being df'd and shunned by family and friends for so many years.. i got to thinking that perhaps if i tried to get reinstated.

  not entirely sure that i really wanted to or if it was simply an idea to do this and then just did a slow fade (if that is really possible) - then i would be able to be around my family and friends like old times again.

  i even attended a few meetings in the new city i had moved to.

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  DJ

  (((((((((((breal))))))))) I, in a sick twisted way enjoyed reading your post because I could relate to some of your pain. It is comforting to know that one isn't alone. Thanks for sharing and feel free to vent anytime. love, dj