Posts by freddo

38

1974 Special Meetings

by NeonMadman in

as we all know, armageddon was just around the corner in 1974. at the district conventions that year, it was announced that there would be two special meetings during the month of september; one would be for interested people (e.g., bible studies, family members, inactive, etc.

), and the other would be for baptized publishers.

these were to be held in place of the service meetings for the two weeks, iirc.

freddo

Nice catch, Neon!

And perhaps surprisingly you can find these letters on the WT CD-ROM. Certainly for 2014 anyway. They are there in all their glory in the August 1974 KM. Including:-

(italics theirs)

"... we do know that God's judgment is to be executed within the lifetime of the generation that saw the beginning of the "last days." Jesus Christ said: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur." (Matt. 24:34) Accordingly, the generation of people that witnessed the events of 1914 C.E. is the one that will also see the "great tribulation." Already nearly sixty years have passed. Those persons who were at an age of understanding in 1914 are diminishing in numbers. ..."

Note the "age of understanding" which of course made all of us back then believe that the very last of the generation would have to have been born well before 1914.

If we take age 10 as a minimum "age of understanding" then of the generation that would by "no means pass away" there are only forty verified people alive in the world born on or before Jan 1st 1904* as of February 13th 2016.

If we take age 13 as a minimum then there are only four born on or before Jan 1st 1901*.

*According to wiki's List of verified oldest living people.

24

Harry Holt - JW elder sexually assaulted 8 girls over 4 decades

by OrphanCrow in

church elder who sexually abused vulnerable children was invited to speak at first victim’s wedding.

a church elder who sexually abused vulnerable children was invited to speak at his first victim’s wedding, a court heard.. a court was told harry holt, 71, now of rutland street, nelson, went on to attack seven more girls as young as nine after the jehovah’s witnesses failed to report him to police.when the matter was raised, a local beat officer advised parents to ‘just keep your children away from him’, the court heard.. holt is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of attacks against eight girls in scotland dating back over 40 years.. .

full article at link..

freddo

Scum.

105

Does anyone think Jehovah is protecting the org. despite all the talk about THE ARC ?

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i've been thinking this for a while.

even before the arc scandal.

it seems no matter what, the org.

freddo

@Fisherman

So am I to infer from your post that the "one true religion (jw's)" is excused by what the Catholic church does?

To paraphrase O/C "you are deflecting ... address why JW's leadership (and you) regard "child abuse" as a "sin" instead of both a sin and a crime"

@tor1500

No worries - tired eyes is all!

105

Does anyone think Jehovah is protecting the org. despite all the talk about THE ARC ?

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i've been thinking this for a while.

even before the arc scandal.

it seems no matter what, the org.

freddo

@tor 1500

I'm sure your last post was very interesting but unfortunately without paragraph breaks it's hard to read.

41

Disfellowshipped for celebrating Xmas?

by Theburstbubble in

i could really do with some advice on what's acceptable when you leave.

we have left of our own accord about 6 months ago.

we didn't celebrate xmas this year but have just celebrated my daughters birthday.. a friend of mine who is still a witness told me that an elder had approached her and asked if we had celebrated xmas and that if we did it was a df offence as is classed as apostasy!

freddo

@theliberator

Nice catch about Geoffrey Jackson at the ARC. - Welcome by the way.

Problem is knowing how the org works this is how I think it would play out.

Local elders: "... celebrating Xmas Freddo ... D/f'd"

Freddo: "Look what GJ said - here's the transcript!"

L/E: (taking transcript) "Hmmm, let's think about this."

They scurry off to phone "mother" at the branch.

After a few days of to'ing and fro'ing branch will come back and say to L/E

"Well GJ was talking generally. He was being as cautious as a serpent but as innocent as a dove. Each case is different. Is Freddo causing "divisions"? Is leaving him be going to "protect the flock" or will it "embolden others as to badness"? Is there anything else he has said or done that might be very understandably be misconstrued as apostasy? Hmmmm? Think carefully? But it is your decision. (And the CO is making assignments for the upcoming assembly and you wouldn't want to sully your opportunity for that privilege would you? Hmmmm? OK I added that bit!) Will your decision "root out evil"?

You have a good day my brothers! Jehovah's blessing on your deliberations."

12

Life is good...

by Theburstbubble in

evening all, a few of you may remember my turmoil in leaving the wt well i'm happy to say i've finally moved on.

we celebrated our daughters birthday for the first time ever with a few close friends and it was magical.

our daughter loved it!

freddo

Excellent news!

105

Does anyone think Jehovah is protecting the org. despite all the talk about THE ARC ?

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i've been thinking this for a while.

even before the arc scandal.

it seems no matter what, the org.

freddo

In answer to the original question - I do not believe Jehovah protects anybody.

41

Disfellowshipped for celebrating Xmas?

by Theburstbubble in

i could really do with some advice on what's acceptable when you leave.

we have left of our own accord about 6 months ago.

we didn't celebrate xmas this year but have just celebrated my daughters birthday.. a friend of mine who is still a witness told me that an elder had approached her and asked if we had celebrated xmas and that if we did it was a df offence as is classed as apostasy!

freddo

OK, ex-elder here.

Yes Xmas - not cuz it's Jesus birthday two and a half months late but because it's happy Saturnalia, pagan see? - will get you DF'd.

Timescale? As Talesin said.

The guideline "we" as in whenever the elders had a school or the CO would "clarify" the elder guidelines was 2 to 3 years of inactivity before you might get a "leave it in Jehovah's hands" if you aren't causing a stir in the congregation.

So my advice would be - don't put up lights, flashing Santa or a fir tree in your living room if you are living in an area where you were known as an active jw. Ever. Because someone will be "stumbled" of course.

40

Next steps for the Austrailian Royal Commission

by Coded Logic in

since the watchtowers' lawyers have (a) failed to make any recommendations to the arc that would bring the watchtower up to date with "best practices and procedures" (b) have failed to submit a proposal for victim restitution (c) have failed to secure funding for a redress scheme and (d) have completely dismissed all the arcs' findings - what's the royal commission's next course of action?.

i see two possibilities:.

) negotiate a settlement with the watchtower.

freddo

I may be wrong but I thought the commission would "only" be able to make findings and recommendations for lawmakers. It has the power to summon, fine and even imprison but only on grounds of "contempt of court" as in refusing to appear or provide requested evidence. Hence GB Jackson was dragged screaming and kicking to the stand.

It's (final) findings are "fact" I believe as in when the ARC has "found that" something is the case it carries the same weight as a law court finding and its findings can then be used (as a sort of precedent) to be used to support lawsuits for victims of abuse.

But I don't think that of itself it can (e.g.) say WT Oz must pay $50,000Aus to every victim but it can recommend financial redress amounts to the lawmakers (government?) of Australia.

Someone will be along to correct my thoughts I'm sure.

Edit: Sorry Smiddy - I didn't read your post before posting mine!

29

WBTS goes to Court of Appeal (Charity Commission investigation)

by Mephis in

after a number of high profile cases where both children and survivors clearly weren't adequately protected, the charity commission here in the uk launched an investigation into the wbts as a whole here in britain.

the main concerns are around the child safeguarding policies being inadequate.

wbts have fought every step of the way so far.. wbts have been to the high court, who told them to complain to the proper tribunal.. wbts have been to the proper tribunal, who told them that too darn right there were suitable grounds for the charity commission to want to investigate their inability to protect children.. and now the wbts have gone back to the court of appeal to demand that the charity commission inquiry be halted.. i hope the court of appeal tells them that, yes, they too need to have proper safeguarding measures for children and to get on with co-operating with the investigation.. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-commission-defends-its-investigation-into-jehovahs-witness-charity-in-the-court-of-appeal.

freddo

So when is a verdict expected? Days? Weeks? Months? How does it work?