I'm not sure how you define "rampant," but the Australian Royal Commission uncovered the fact that the Aust. branch had 1,000+ reports in the course of 50 years or so. Not sure what historic publisher numbers are but the most recent peak was 68,000, so averaging way less than that in terms of total numbers.
Cadellin
JoinedPosts by Cadellin
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29
CHILD MOLESTATION: How have they been able to hide it for so long?
by Zoos ini was in the organization until 2011. .
i n-e-v-e-r heard of this problem.
not even a whisper.
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Cadellin
Yes. We are in the throes of a change that will make life very, very hard for most life on this planet. And it's not just another "doomsday cult," but sound science. Period.
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Head Coverings for Women
by Diogenesister inwatchtower's ignorance around the historical background to many biblical directives has had a very negative effect on the lives of witnesses.. for instance paul said women should cover their heads because in corinth prostitutes walked the streets plying for business with their heads uncovered.
hence head coverings were never a symbol of headship but a directive very specific to that period, as was the blood directive!!.
watchtower leaders have been lawyers, businessmen, civil servants and door-to-door book salesmen, never, ever historians or biblical scholars.
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Cadellin
Christian Guy--Excellent post! I enjoyed your sound reasoning and learned some new things.
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Involved(ish) with a JW Man.
by BNG-713 ini know there are several posts about witnesses and non-witnesses in regards to relationships.
i couldn’t find anything specifically that spoke to me, so i would love some third-party advice and thoughts.. i have never been someone to pursue a stranger from the internet.
earlier this year, i became friends with someone on a video game.
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Cadellin
I feel for you. You sound like a fairly level-headed and together person. Is this young man still living at home? At 22, if he is a good JW, that is to be expected. But it will mean that while he will be a very nice person, he will also be acres behind you in terms of life experience and maturity. That might not come across at first but it will be there. Aside from that, the religion has the potential to be a huge deal. I wouldn't go so far as to say "RUN," but oh boy, be super super careful and don't make any quick decisions.
One other thing--generally, the number of single young women outnumber young men by about 10 to 1. In most congregations, young single men, especially if they are half-way good-looking or intelligent, attractive, etc., have their choice of girls. Which raises the question as to why he is seeking female companionship online. This in no way is meant to suggest you are not attractive or anything like that--of course! But it is just another flag. I'm just saying this in general, not trying to imply anything about you personally.
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CHILD MOLESTATION: How have they been able to hide it for so long?
by Zoos ini was in the organization until 2011. .
i n-e-v-e-r heard of this problem.
not even a whisper.
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Cadellin
i had it hammered into me at an early age - not to bring reproach on jehovahs name. everything had to be dealt with internally ..if at all.
This is exactly true. Bringing reproach on Jehovah's name was the absolute worst thing you could do and if you were a good JW, you would tolerate ANYTHING in order to avoid that. That was the be-all and end-all of your activity and if it meant that little children got hurt in the process, well, they would be taken care of somehow, either invisibly by angels and you would not know about it but Jehovah would OR in the New Order. Now, that seems so crazy but it is honestly the way I was raised and it was accepted by everyone that I knew of in the congregation.
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Why do we see only brown-colored people in USA detention centers?
by Wonderment inwhy are for the most part brown-colored people held in detention centers?
where are the rest of illegal immigrants?i think the question is valid -- as one website noted: "the u.s. government does not maintain reliable demographics of who is in immigration detention..." (https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/detention-statistics).
a canadian woman not too long ago said to me (spontaneously - i did not bring up the subject) the following words when she heard the live tv news broadcast, which dealt about the immigrants being held at dozens of detention centers in usa: "i am canadian, and i have been living here illegally for 29 years.
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Cadellin
@frozen2018 I think that's a Canada goose.
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hey i'm new here
by damienexists inheyo, my name is damien, i'm a trans teenager, and i'm a non practicing jehovah's witness, or deist.
i came here to find other people like me and also to ask if i can be a practicing jehovah's witness and be trans?
or would i have to say i'm cis and hope they believe me?.
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Cadellin
Damien, you have your whole, amazing life ahead of you and you deserve to be true to who you are. JWs will not accept you as a trans person (at least, not the last time I checked) which means, to continue as a JW, you will have to continue in your born gender. IF they actually had the "truth," maybe it would be worth it but a close and careful examination reveals that they do not.
But do not take my word, or anybody else's. Investigate their teachings yourself. And best wishes for your journey!
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The Utterly most appalling terrible JW music video you will ever see
by Diogenesister in........so far to date.
you've been warned....https://youtu.be/jjjnt5l5ts0.
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Cadellin
Okay, honestly, I thought it was kind of adorable in a hokey way. I agree with the poster who said that the truly appalling videos are the ones professionally made by the WT. This was so obviously homemade and yes, kind of cringeworthy, but kind of sweet and naive at the same time. This just showed people who genuinely appreciated having a new KH. Compared to the professional-level emotionally-manipulative propaganda videos being churned out by the WT (like the bunker features), this was mild.
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Cost of Attending the International Conventions
by RubaDub ini have never been invited/requested/applied to any international convention, other than it happening to be our own convention in new york city where we were already assigned (i think back and maybe this happened two times or so when i was growing up).. anyway, people here keep commenting about the cost to attend; the inflated airfares, rooms, transportation, etc.. does anyone have some actual numbers to provide?
i realize that the cost of attending a convention in a different country will be affected by some variations in airfare from the departure city but generally how much do these things cost?
are they comparable to a tour from an expedia, travelocity or other travel site?.
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Cadellin
My mother-in-law went as a "delegate" via a WT-arranged tour to an int'l convention in Hawaii a few years ago. She paid an exorbitant amount, considering she was already in the US and that Hawaii already is a tourist destination (meaning you can get pretty good deals via Hotwire, etc.). I cannot recall the exact amount now, but it was easily twice what she would have paid through a package deal via Hotwire or Expedia.
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This Year's "Love" Conventions -- The JW Version of "Love-In"
by Room 215 inreports from the locals who attending the recent "love never fails" convention reported little-to-no references to the more brutal jw doctrines, i.e.
no mentions of the blood ban, no mothers refusing to take phone calls from her estranged daughter, no bunkers, etc.... just lots of "warm and fuzzy" videos featuring loads of hugging and tears at places across the globe.
are they getting soft?
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Cadellin
It's become (or trying to become) a charismatic religion, all about how you feel, which was exactly the kind of strategy that the WT derided back in the 80's (when I was pioneering). Forget "new light," --it's all about "WT-lite."