OnTheWayOut

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Posts by OnTheWayOut

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  50

  Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i don't know if a commercial will come up and i can't find this on youtube as it is probably copyright material or i am just not in a good search pattern today.

  anyway, try to view this if you haven't seen it:.

  https://rutube.ru/video/0ba7a3ee7e89dbbc730c4af32032e33b/?ref=logo .

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  OnTheWayOut

  Vidiot, I think they are a ways off from internet-only. But it could happen. They have the money already, and their business model is dead. I see them still trying to keep a physical presence, maybe they can just have the mega-church-style Assembly halls.
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  53

  Just wrote my DA letter....

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i planned on fading but the elders now want a shepherding call and we are just done.

  i know that many play the game to try to stay in, but i'm not a game player and neither is my wife.

  our families already shun us because we reached out to a disfellowshipped family member.

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  OnTheWayOut

  ...can't they?

  They can do whatever they want, sometimes BOE's break their own rules or one member convinces another to agree to be a second witness to hearing things said that actually were not said.

  SO WHAT? Let them do as they do. Do what you must do.
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  53

  Just wrote my DA letter....

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i planned on fading but the elders now want a shepherding call and we are just done.

  i know that many play the game to try to stay in, but i'm not a game player and neither is my wife.

  our families already shun us because we reached out to a disfellowshipped family member.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Thanks for this update. There really is no hurry to such a decision. In this case, the badgering might make your wife want to DA, or the lack of badgering might make you both decide it isn't necessary, or something else. You've already made your giant leap in understanding TTATT.
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  23

  ... and keep fighting

  by nevaagain in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last week we had the cos visit and i wanted to share my experiences with you.

  some background info on me, i knowttatt and am fully awake, my wife also knows my doubts and read a few things on the internet but she is still 100% commited to the truth, saying everything on the apostate sites are lies.

  so right now i am in just to keep the status quo.

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  OnTheWayOut

  The substitude added that it is indeed the WT being on trial here, because they were
  apperently trying to keep the brothers from going to the authorities. .....
  Now the real CO tried to shoot it down, saying that the elders would never tell the parents not to go to the
  police and the allegations have no claim.

  That's Watchtower history reinventing itself. Regardless of past policy, they throw more current policy in the faces of members (even CO's) so often that they believe Watchtower never tried to prevent going to the police. It will work on members but the public, certainly the Australian public, will hear otherwise via the questioning. And since otherwise is the truth, it will stick with the public worldwide that JW's avoid reporting.
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  50

  Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i don't know if a commercial will come up and i can't find this on youtube as it is probably copyright material or i am just not in a good search pattern today.

  anyway, try to view this if you haven't seen it:.

  https://rutube.ru/video/0ba7a3ee7e89dbbc730c4af32032e33b/?ref=logo .

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  OnTheWayOut

  Replies to page 5:
  
  Blondie, the protection of children must be first. The justice for victims must come ahead of hurting Watchtower. I do not have the answers, but I like the thoughts you offer. I do not deny bias in my case. But where I discuss forest fires and this getting out of control for Watchtower, it comes from a bystander to the pedophile issue who was never victimized but wishes to see pain put upon the organization that magnified the problem. If I were ever a participant in the problem (iow, if I were ever an elder on a judicial matter that helped sweep things under the rug) I would hope that I could apologize to the victim and be as helpful as possible to the authorities now. I would be even more upset at Watchtower when I saw what they had done with my help, so I would more so want them to experience pain.

  millie210, I just can't help but think about the "Cosby effect." An issue that seems dead-and-buried arises and several individual victims learn that they can have their voices heard. Despite the statute of limitations or other factors, the issue gains momentum and people are swayed to the side of victims. It's only sad that the vast majority of Americans (and I hope it's just Americans) would care more about Cosby and less than 50 victims than they would ever care about Watchtower and it's possibly thousands of witnesses.

  Vidiot, I do highly wonder about your point A having validity. Even without details on names and congregations, it could happen anyway. The Roman Catholic Church is huge, but it was crippled by the scandal. Even without so many families declaring their abandonment, they have ceased church activity and have certainly withdrawn their children from church activity.
  While your point B is interesting and possibly valid, I also know that if the sh*t hits the fan, Watchtower would throw all the necessary elders under the bus if that put them in a better position.

  Cattails, I have to assume this is correct about many congregations. I climbed the ladder to elder rather quickly in my first congregation without hearing about this, and the gossipers may have always been leery of me because of my title. I didn't hear about it, but I have heard so much since leaving.

  Flipper, that's what I think. I think the JW's will be among the last to know details because they will follow marching orders to steer clear of the stories. But people will keep asking them about the issue. If the Roman Catholic Church were going door-to-door, it would have happened to them.
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  53

  Just wrote my DA letter....

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i planned on fading but the elders now want a shepherding call and we are just done.

  i know that many play the game to try to stay in, but i'm not a game player and neither is my wife.

  our families already shun us because we reached out to a disfellowshipped family member.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Closure can be awesome. You have made a great leap.

  So, what's the process? We send our letter to a few elders....

  That's the end of it. Don't worry. You don't have to take their calls and you don't have to do more even if they ask for you to specifically say something in writing. You are done.
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  50

  Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i don't know if a commercial will come up and i can't find this on youtube as it is probably copyright material or i am just not in a good search pattern today.

  anyway, try to view this if you haven't seen it:.

  https://rutube.ru/video/0ba7a3ee7e89dbbc730c4af32032e33b/?ref=logo .

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  OnTheWayOut

  Blondie, my respect for you and what you have accomplished in the ex-JW community knows no bounds. You have definitely been put through the ringer and your brave attempts to do something about it are amazing to me.

  I was never directly aware of child sexual abuse in any congregation I was in. When I first entered the ex-JW community, that was not my issue at all. I assumed that it was a problem like it might be in any religious group, but have since learned better. The issue is far larger by percentage than it is with the Catholic Church. We all know that the biggest problem is that Watchtower swept these things under the rug time and time again in order to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name.
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  15

  Does the RC have the names of the 1006 abused victims?

  by Dumplin in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i've updated my jw wife on the highlights of the rc proceedings each day as they occur.

  but tonight she said something that made my blood boil (which i am usually in complete control of).

  she said something to the effect that victims need to not dwell on what happened and let it control their lives.

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  OnTheWayOut

  I am confident that it is as Listener says: Victims can voluntarily contact the commission and a lot of support will be provided to them.

  Regardless of whether the RC connects them with support from elsewhere or actually does something about providing that help, they are doing a huge service and should stay focused on that- allowing these victims to be heard in a way that people stop and pay attention and believe them. That's way more than Watchtower did.

  And your blood should boil at this. While, of course the primary thing is that the victims get help and move on, your JW wife is shifting the subject from our point of view. Our point of view is highlighting that God's organization is not all that members might think it is. She's taking her cognitive dissonance and shifting to thinking about innocent people being abused by wolves in sheep's clothing and what kind of help they need so that she can leave the organizational part out. The RC is not just there for revealing a thousand monsters that claim to be JW's. The RC is pointing out what part the Watchtower had in making things worse for these victims.
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  449

  Labeling one self "Atheist" is Unscientific

  by LAWHFol in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have not meet all atheists, and it would be foolish for me to assume that all atheists, share the same prototypical view points.

  i am inclined to feel that this classifies the views of a large percentage of atheists.

  "atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.

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  OnTheWayOut

  often the Atheist will then Move on one of two Supporting Arguments 1. "Evil exists, therefore God Does not Exist" or 2. "The Bible is Flawed, therefore God Does not exist".

  Start with Number 2. ....therefore, the Bible is not the word of a god or else that god is flawed.

  Back to Number 1. Incredible evil and injustice exist, therefore the wonderful god that people have created does not exist.

  All we can do is say that there is no evidence of God. It is not totally unrelated to agnosticism. They say "I don't know" and an atheist says "I see no evidence." Often, it is the (totally conficting) anecdotes that make agnostics unsure. That's as far as atheism can go- NO EVIDENCE.

  Science recognizes that it is totally impossible to prove the non-existence of Big Foot, ancient alien astronauts, and Flying Spaghetti Monster.

  By your "unscientific" claim, I can freely start a religion based on Big Foot being the descendants of alien astronauts that built the pyramids in order to sacrifice to Flying Spaghetti Monster. You must not say I am wrong because you cannot "prove" such a thing.
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  50

  Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i don't know if a commercial will come up and i can't find this on youtube as it is probably copyright material or i am just not in a good search pattern today.

  anyway, try to view this if you haven't seen it:.

  https://rutube.ru/video/0ba7a3ee7e89dbbc730c4af32032e33b/?ref=logo .

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  OnTheWayOut

  Punk, I share your hope, and agree pn knowledge and interest..