DT

Joined

• started 178 topics
• posted 1,239 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by DT

• 
  14

  Which philosophy would you personally value the highest and why?

  by Qcmbr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  thinking about the number of atheist v ag/tec/fhn/sab threads (hehe - i'm only yanking your chains!

  ) and i thought i should make an effort to look at and discuss the rest of the rainbow.

  atheism does not define my influencing primary worldview though you'd be hard pressed to see that from my posts.. i'd be interested in what philosphy , idea, rule(s) most influence you and why - why do you feel they are superior, what do they make you value more or less , what would you be without your philosophy.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  I have been using a basic philosophical approach that has recently been named model-dependent realism, although the ideas behind it have been around for a long time. I think of it as sort of a philosphy of philosophies or as a way of putting different world views in perspective. It primarily relates to sicientific theories, but can also relate to more general ideas and philosophies. Here is a quote from Wikipedia.

  "Model-dependent realism is a controversial philosophical approach to scientific inquiry, which accepts that reality can always be interpreted in a number of different ways, and focuses on how well our models of phenomena are. It claims that it is meaningless to talk about the "true reality" of the model. The only meaningful thing is the usefulness of the model.[1] The term itself was coined by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow in their 2010 book, The Grand Design."

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-dependent_realism
• 
  40

  Did anyone else get somewhat offended by the term "rank and file" that the WT attorney used.

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was just surprised by that term being used by jim mccabe when he said "jonathan kendrick was not a leader or a pastor, he was just a rank-and-file member.".

  i thought that was only an apostate term and also what a put down to us lowly members.

  we are just a rank-and-file person.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  They call them rank and file when it suits them. At other times, they are considered ordained ministers who represent the religion from door to door. I don't know of any other religion that calls its ministers rank and file members.
• 
  34

  Kendrick in good standing in Oakley Congregation ... wow !

  by RubaDub in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  can anyone imagine the what the elders in his current congregation must be going through ?!.

  in their ideal world, they would have df'd him once they knew there would be a trial so they could play the card "he's not one of jw's.

  " but since it occurred in a different congregation and he was already punished, there is little they can currently do.. wow, imagine the buzz in the kh when the info started leaking out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  I found the thread. It wasn't quite the same idea, but it may be helpful.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/224679/1/Operation-Ramsay-Street-worth-a-shot
• 
  34

  Kendrick in good standing in Oakley Congregation ... wow !

  by RubaDub in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  can anyone imagine the what the elders in his current congregation must be going through ?!.

  in their ideal world, they would have df'd him once they knew there would be a trial so they could play the card "he's not one of jw's.

  " but since it occurred in a different congregation and he was already punished, there is little they can currently do.. wow, imagine the buzz in the kh when the info started leaking out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  We had a thread or two a while back about using Google maps to get addresses near Kingdom Halls and mailing them something. I will see if I can find it. There may have been some people already working on it.

  Mailing to neighbors of that Kingdom Hall could be a good test case.
• 
  8

  Doe v. Watchtower, et al./Post-Trial Motions

  by DNCall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to the alameda county superior court register of actions, the society will be bringing post-trial motions in an effort to have the judgment against it reversed.

  in the meantime, it applied to the court for a stay of enforcement of the judgment now in place.

  this is for protection during the time the post-trial motions are argued.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  "I'm no lawyer, but I have to imagine that has been tried in dozens of permutations by other corporations and the courts must be quite aware of it and know how to prevent it."

  I hope you are right, but it's a religion and doesn't have the same kind of oversight. Nobody really knows what the assets are. If they try something, I hope it's found out and people go to jail.
• 
  32

  By the end of the year, what will the org look like ?

  by mP in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  im predicting a loss in both numbers in the us and western countries with significant drop in hours preached particularly in the usa.. commetns ?

  ?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  The Watchtower Society should apologize, admit there is a problem and reform. I can't see them doing that. Also, their sins have been so great that this could cause a mass exodus and could actually increase the number of lawsuits that they have to face.

  My guess is that they will do little in response to this except try protect their assets as best they can. There may even be a few in power who try to take the money and run.

  It might not be too many years until the Watchtower headquarters becomes nothing more than a single website with a few downloads and a donate button.
• 
  8

  Doe v. Watchtower, et al./Post-Trial Motions

  by DNCall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to the alameda county superior court register of actions, the society will be bringing post-trial motions in an effort to have the judgment against it reversed.

  in the meantime, it applied to the court for a stay of enforcement of the judgment now in place.

  this is for protection during the time the post-trial motions are argued.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  It seems that the society would have to move a lot of assets to be unable to pay the judgement, but I wouldn't put anything past them. Didn't they do something similar in France a while back when they were being asked to pay taxes?

  I could almost see them moving whatever they could out of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York and then declare bankruptcy for just that corporation.
• 
  11

  Class action lawsuit - how does one get the ball rolling?

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  unless you've been living under a rock you know that a court in california has found the wts guilty of negligence in covering over child abuse, and the wts has ben ordered to pay $20 million + to the victim.. also, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that there are thousands, probably 10's of thousands, of similar victims of wts coverups regarding sexual abuse still out there.. now that the precedent has been set - now that the wts was not able to settle out of court, and has been found guilty - now that this is international news, and literally millions of people are aware of it - it seems that now may be the time to strike even more deeply.. i am not an attorney, but there are a few who post on the board, and others who have a deeper understanding of legal matters.. what would it take to begin a class action lawsuit against the wts?

  how exactly does the process start?

  does it matter which state it starts in?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  It's my unprofessional opinion that a class action lawsuit is a strong possibility. I'm sure there are lawyers thinking about this. They might want to wait until there are more successful individual cases or this case gets upheld on appeal. When one or more lawyers feels the time is right for a class action, I'm sure we will hear about it.

  In the meantime, there are other cases pending. It may also be a good time for some to settle with the Society for much more money than they could have expected before.
• 
  34

  Kendrick in good standing in Oakley Congregation ... wow !

  by RubaDub in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  can anyone imagine the what the elders in his current congregation must be going through ?!.

  in their ideal world, they would have df'd him once they knew there would be a trial so they could play the card "he's not one of jw's.

  " but since it occurred in a different congregation and he was already punished, there is little they can currently do.. wow, imagine the buzz in the kh when the info started leaking out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  I think it would be interesting to send letters to the people who live in that congregation's territory. The letter could describe the situation and comment on the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses expect their sexual predators to go door to door. It could conclude with a phone number of the hall and a request that they ask to be placed on their do not call list as a way of protesting this policy.
• 
  102

  Is the Borg "really" guilty in the Candace Conti case ???

  by RubaDub in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  full disclosure:.

  i am an active (2-4 hrs/month) 3rd generation jw hovering under the radar.

  been posting here for 10 years.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  DT

  "But I'm still at a loss, in specifics, of what the Congregation should do when a Pedofile/Murderer/Rapist moves in. Do they read from the platform his/her rap sheet from 3 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, etc ???"

  That is a good question. I think it is obvious that the person shouldn't be given positions of authority or be allowed to go door to door. Should it be announced to the congregation? I think it should, but I don't know what all the legal implications are. I think there would be some legal protection for the congregation if he has been baptized and therfore agreed to live by the rules of the religion.