This is something I posted after an obvious JW wrote something disingenuous about the Russia ban on quora. It's absolutely swamped with them lately writing all sorts of rubbish but that post by Marc is brilliant.
Anyway I countered a Quora post claiming JWs are law abiding with the following:
Jehovah's witnesses do not obey the laws of the land.
Which laws?
They violate the human rights of their members
The right to freedom of thought and freedom of religion.
The right to free association.
The right to family relationships.
All the above are prevented by their shunning policy. If a minor is baptised and decided they no longer believe as an adult they will loose their friends, family and whole support network. Because witnesses are forbidden to associate with non witnesses (outside of work etc) they loose everything.
The right of children to be safe from sexual predators and for adults to report to the authorities instances of child abuse even if there are NOT TWO WITNESSES which their governing body demands there be. (Interestingly if someone damages Watchtower property it is reported despite there being not two witnesses).
Wow what a load of misinformation! Where does this stuff come from???
I have provided you with two official reports of Watchtowers abuse of its members. The Australian Royal Commission (there are transcripts and you can watch all the proceedings including Governing Body member Geoff Jackson testify). And the recent Norway Ruling on their shunning policy and the 'two witness rule' which is required in order for Jehovah's witness elders to report child abuse. Watchtower has refused to hand over a database of over 22,000 child abusers within their ranks. Please see the Candice Conti case, the first one that didn't slap a non disclosure order on the victim, which they'd quietly been doing for decades. Please just Google child abuse and Jehovah's witnesses. You will be overwhelmed
Then he replied:
confidential documents contain reports of any alleged incidents regarding a broad range of sexual misconduct and is not limited to sexual abuse of minors.
The records include the following:
- The secret Database:
- Individuals who have only been accused of child abuse whereas the charges have not been substantiated.
- Individuals where allegations were made on the basis of so-called “repressed memories,” the validity of which many authorities challenge.
- Individuals who have been accused of abusing children before becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- Individuals who have never been baptized Witnesses, but whose names we are obliged to keep because of their association with the Witnesses. (An example of this would be a non-Witness father or step-father who is accused by his Witness children or step-children of abusing them.)
- Individuals who may or may not be considered child abusers, depending upon the jurisdiction where they live (for example, a 16-year-old boy who had sexual relations with a consenting 15-year-old girl).
- An individual who was guilty of voyeurism.
- An individual who was involved with “sexting.”
- An individual who was involved with child pornography.
- And, to be sure, individuals actually guilty of child abuse.
Those allegations may include anyone who has walked into a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses; any individual who has studied the Bible with us in prison; and every person out of the community that associates with us where we've become aware that there is a child abuse allegation. In each case, we have followed it up and recorded it. That's the reason for those numbers. And, without details regarding these incidents, the claims about the number of alleged perpetrators as it relates to sexual abuse of minors is meaningless.
As director of the Office of Public Information, J. R. Brown, told BBC Panorama, "We do not apologize for keeping such records here in the United States. Apart from being legally needed, they have been very helpful to us in our efforts to protect the flock from harm.
As for the Washington thing it revolved around ONE named person who eventually went to prison. They SPECULATED that it may have been sooner.
And this will continue and we expect it:
Matthew 10:16–18 NASB
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves. 17 But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.