Posts by Earnest

47

Court confirms:--Severe Criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses is Justified!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

court confirms: severe criticism of jehovah's witnesses is justified!.

https://docdro.id/axa555i.

petra!.

Earnest

If the English translation of the court judgement by the German association JW Victim Help is accurate, there were ten items involved in the charge of defamation against Regina Spiess.

The court found the following statements were true and, therefore, not defamatory.

That the plaintiff (Jehovah's Witnesses in Switzerland) operates a "practice of ostracism contrary to human rights" and does not grant their members freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
"Saying something sweet, asking how the day was, or hugging the child [excluded from the community] - that is no longer possible. Children experience permanent fear."

The court found that the accused acted in good faith in believing the following statements to be true and so they were not defamatory.

1. "There is a two-witness rule that favours sexual abuse: the suspicion of a sexual offence against a child should only be investigated if there are at least two witnesses for it, which is naturally never the case. In case there aren't two witnesses, the elders should put the matter in Jehovah's hands, i.e. remain inactive. The victim must remain silent, otherwise he or his family may be excluded."

2. "Most people simply do not know what a problematic community Jehovah's Witnesses are. They don't seem extreme to the outside world, at best a little old-fashioned. However, a broader awareness is gradually emerging of the serious forms of violence that people experience in such groups."

3. "InfoSekta [specialist unit for cult issues] judges Jehovah's Witnesses as a highly problematic group that tries to manipulate their members down to the level of existential identification. Community guidelines violate the physical, psychological and social integrity of their members."

4. "In addition, Article 18 provides that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion - a right that the Watchtower Society claims but does not grant to its members."

The court found that whether the following statements were true or not, they were not defamatory.

"Believers keep dying after traffic accidents or women giving birth."
"There is hardly a Jehovah's Witness family without excluded family members: parents, siblings, or children with whom no contact is allowed."
"Young people can hardly develop prospects in the Jehovah's Witness community: Often they cannot learn the profession that suits them because higher education is considered a waste of time...".
"And they have only limited knowledge about the world, because secular friends are forbidden and they could not have many social experiences..."

It needs to be kept in mind that Jehovah's Witnesses in Switzerland were not on trial, they were the plaintiff. What the court determined was whether what was written about them was both defamatory and either true, or believed to be true by the journalist. While this was a victory for Regina Spiess and InfoSekta, I doubt it will have greater ramifications.

45

Rolf Furuli Disfellowshipped Last Week

by Sea Breeze in

well known norway elder and watchtower doctrine apologist, (rolf furuli) was disfellowshipped a few days ago for the crime of expressing opinions contrary to some watchtower dictates.. like wt leadership in the past, they have no problem eating their own..

Earnest

slimboyfat : Yes they’ve certainly departed from the “teachings handed down to us”.

Yes, to everything you wrote in this post. But I think it goes further. The belief that God is using the faithful and discreet slave to dispense food at the proper time, together with the light growing brighter, meant that providing there was some scriptural support for a new teaching it would be accepted almost without question. It is even feasible that there could have been "new light" about the relationship between Christ and God or other core beliefs, and it would have been accepted. But to change the understanding of the faithful and discreet slave itself means that tomorrow it may change again, so why accept something as true from an oracle which was never what we thought it was and may be something else tomorrow.

17

11 More Documents--Kingdom Hall Trust and Other Stuff!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

11 more documents, a bunch of stuff!.

2020--sample accounts sheet—congregation bank version.

kingdom hall trust documents.

Earnest

tiki : #15..."relevant circumstances"....so they retain determination of what serious incidents comprise....

This is in their position as Trustees of the Kingdom Hall Trust. It is in addition to steps taken by the Body of Elders to safeguard children in each congregation.

17

11 More Documents--Kingdom Hall Trust and Other Stuff!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

11 more documents, a bunch of stuff!.

2020--sample accounts sheet—congregation bank version.

kingdom hall trust documents.

Earnest

Delegated Authority pursuant to clauses 31-35 of the Articles of Association of The Kingdom Hall Trust

Child Safeguarding
12. The Trustees delegate to the Body of Elders the function of taking reasonable steps to safeguard child beneficiaries of the relevant Congregation.
13. In exercising this function, the Body of Elders shall adhere strictly to Jehovah’s Witnesses Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection, as may be from time to time revised, updated or replaced, as well as any relevant direction or guidance from the Britain Branch Office of Jehovah’s Witnesses (Branch Office).
14. The Body of Elders of the relevant Congregation will provide the Trustees with reports on allegations of child abuse which occur at a Kingdom Hall.
15. In all relevant circumstances, the Trustees will report serious incidents to the relevant charity regulator and/or statutory agencies.

11

2019 New World Translation Matthew-Acts--PDF!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2019 new world translation matthew-acts.

click the first dark grey bible.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/ petra!

Earnest

truth_b_known : I recently read the entire New Testament in the NIV translation. Very eye opening in regards to what the Bible says versus the Watchtower's version of the Bible.

Keep in mind that the 2011 Preface to the NIV explains its principles of translation thus:

The first concern of the translators has continued to be the accuracy of the translation and its faithfulness to the intended meaning of the biblical writers. This has moved the translators to go beyond a formal word-for-word rendering of the original texts.

As the translators decide what the intended meaning of the biblical writers is, this translation is more often an interpretation without being bound by the wording of the original texts.

11

2019 New World Translation Matthew-Acts--PDF!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2019 new world translation matthew-acts.

click the first dark grey bible.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/ petra!

Earnest

slimboyfat : Thanks, it looks excellent. I wish I could get my hands on a hard copy.

At the 2019 Annual Meeting:

Brother Samuel Herd highlighted the benefits of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition) that can be accessed online. He then released the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition) from the books of Matthew through Acts in print form. Publishers may request a copy through their local congregation.

30

Would Watchtower Ever Risk Setting Another Date

by Number 6 in

there was a 50 year gap between the failed dates of 1925 and 1975.. memories fade, people die, and who cares what was said 50 years ago.. most jw's now in the religion werent there when 1975 was a thing.

even my mother who was baptized in 1974 who i do remember speaking about it back in the day, can barely remember what the fuss was about.

for active jw's who are doing all there studying online now, its practically impossible to find any wt contemporary reference to 1975.. i read recently (sorry i cant source it right now) that at the time, even watchtower may have taken the view that even if they knew 1975 was wrong, the short term gains would far outstrip those who left leading to an overall net gain so it was a risk worth taking.

Earnest

Vindication, Book I, 1931, pp.338, 339 states:

There was a measure of disappointment on the part of Jehovah's faithful ones on earth concerning the years 1914, 1918 and 1925 [and 1975], which disappointment lasted for a time. Later the faithful learned that these dates were definitely fixed in the Scriptures; and they also learned to quit fixing dates for the future and predicting what would come to pass on a certain date, but to rely (and they do rely) upon the Word of God as to the events that must come to pass.

So, no more predicted dates. Just events.

20

Did they use to applaud after reinstatement after being Disfellowshipped, but then it stopped?

by ThomasCovenant in

i don't remember disfellowshippings happening very often and announcements about being re instated but i think i remember that we used to clap hands if someone came back after being disfellowshipped.

but then i think clapping wasn't allowed.

am i correct in my recollections?.

Earnest

In the Kingdom Ministry of February, 2000 this question was discussed. It quoted The Watchtower of October 1, 1998, p.17 which said :

“We must remember, however, that most in the congregation are not aware of the particular circumstances that led to a person’s expulsion or to his reinstatement. In addition, there may be some who have been personally affected or hurt—perhaps even on a long-term basis—by the wrongdoing of the repentant one. Being sensitive to such matters, therefore, when an announcement of reinstatement is made, we would understandably withhold expressions of welcome until such can be made on a personal basis.”

The conclusion was that applause at the time of reinstatement would not be appropriate.

You may also be interested that on the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting (and, presumably, their current counterparts) there are no rules forbidding applause if it is done spontaneously, but we normally do not applaud each presentation.

This was clarified in the Kingdom Ministry of April, 1972 and confirmed in the Kingdom Ministry of May, 2008.

4

Trevor Pope and Jesse Hemery

by BereanThinker7 in

jw
friends

does anybody know anything about trevor pope?

he compiled some ideas from jesse hemery and wrote a book on end times called "a bible study investigation into our relationship to god and into the time of the end" .

its interesting so far and its already hard enough to even find any writings about hemery or info on his goshen fellowship.

Earnest

In a plug for the book in 2013 the publishers say this about Trevor Pope :

Trevor Pope the editor of this Bible study investigation has been an independent free Bible student for some seventy years. His current beliefs on the return of Jesus Christ were formed in studies and discussions in the 1950s with Jesse Hemery, one of the most respected Bible students of his generation. Hemery printed some of his thoughts privately, but they were never professionally published. Here they are commended to all Christians interested in the Lord’s return for they offer a broader understanding of the subject than is normally available.

9

Jehovah’s Witnesses Reject Plasma Injections for COVID-19

by Rattigan350 in

jehovah’s witnesses reject plasma injections for covid-19.

https://www.newsintervention.com/jehovahs-witnesses-reject-plasma-injections-covid-19/.

the jehovah’s witnesses have issues with modern medical information because this is seen as against the tenets of the religious faith.

Earnest

Thanks, John Redwood. I have read your article in JW Survey and find it convincing. It makes more sense to me that this directive comes via a Circuit Overseer rather than directly from the Watchtower Society. It is not that it is contrary to Society policy but it is not the way I am accustomed to the Watchtower Society expressing themselves.