Posts by ABibleStudent

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

I will be glad to answer additional specific questions about how to revise the Tax Code, as I propose. Please read what I wrote in Revise Tax Code to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse or the proposed draft of the bill that I wrote at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lbrkte086omivtt/AADN7PQHNylsdKwbltjHxBUea?dl=0 .

I do not agree with singling out specific organizations to revoke their tax-exempt status like an opinion poll, but I do feel that the aforementioned White House petition will spark debate on this issue and maybe constructive and needed legislative changes. I have already written 99 senators about revising the tax code to protect children from sexual abuse in February 2015, and I plan to write the White House tonight encase the Scientology petition does obtain 90,000 signatures by April 22, 2015.

The worst that can happen by signing the White House petition is that Scientology's tax-exempt status will be revoked. Scientology is very will connected and has lots of money so I do not feel that will happen.

@ never a jw, IMHO I would rather define what is minimum socially acceptable standards of behavior for tax-exempt organizations, instead of attempting to define what are acceptable charitable activities to revise the tax code. Political organizations can be tax exempt. How do political organizations relieve physical pain and basic needs of the needy?

I feel that many more people will agree that tax-exempt organizations should protect children from sexual abuse. A root-cause of organizations that enable and protect pedophiles is that they use undue influence to keep members compliant. If members are not afraid to voice their concerns about issues such as child abuse and how to protect children from sexual abuse, it is very unlikely that an organization will use or condone using undue influence on its members.

@ Half banana, Please read my comments above.

Organizations like Scientology and the Watchtower will never reform without being forced to by suspending their tax-exempt status until they meet basic minimum requirements, or suing them into oblivion. I feel that revising the Tax Code will allow members with doubts and former members to file complaints with the IRS to suspend a dangerous organization's tax-exempt status.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

Londo111 - The Watchtower Society needs to be added to the petition as well...

Hi Londo111,

If you are an American citizen, then write your representative and senators to revise the tax code like I wrote in the thread Revise Tax Code to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse . I have been trying to motivate people to revise the tax code to protect people from undue influence about 4 years including creating a White House petition in the thread

URGENT: Please Sign White House Petition to "Protect Americans from Dangerous Cults: Modify USC Title 26 § 501 Tax Exemption Requirements"

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

39

Petition to Revoke Scientology's Tax Exempt Status

by ABibleStudent in

fyi, if you feel that scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a white house petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.. i signed the petition even though i have mixed feelings about this petition.

i would prefer that dangerous cults like scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and i do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed.

on the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the us.. i do prefer revising the tax code like i wrote about in revise tax code to protect children from sexual abuse .. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,.

ABibleStudent

FYi, If you feel that Scientology's tax-exempt status should be revoked, you can sign a White House Petition to revoke its tax-exempt status at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/revoke-scientologys-tax-exempt-status.

I signed the petition even though I have mixed feelings about this petition. I would prefer that dangerous cults like Scientology be reformed by suspending its tax-exempt status until it makes needed changes and I do not like targeting a specific organization when the whole system should be changed. On the other hand this type of action may help to promote debate about revising the tax codes in the US.

I do prefer revising the tax code like I wrote about in Revise Tax Code to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse .

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

5

Child Protection is Everyone's Responsibility!

by ABibleStudent in

i just completed recurrent child protection training for a voluntary organization that i belong to.

i wanted to share the following information.

i highlighted one statement in bold from the training that i felt was important for adults of any organization to remember.. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,robert.

ABibleStudent

Fisherman - Child Protection is NOT Everyone's LEGAL Responsibility!

Even if I was not legally required to prevent/report a violent crime, I would try to prevent/report a violent crime or actions that I would not want done to me. I guess, I'm more afraid of feeling regret about my lack of action, than I'm afraid of being fined.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

5

Child Protection is Everyone's Responsibility!

by ABibleStudent in

i just completed recurrent child protection training for a voluntary organization that i belong to.

i wanted to share the following information.

i highlighted one statement in bold from the training that i felt was important for adults of any organization to remember.. peace be with you and everyone, who you love,robert.

ABibleStudent

I just completed recurrent child protection training for a voluntary organization that I belong to. I wanted to share the following information. I highlighted one statement in bold from the training that I felt was important for adults of any organization to remember.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,Robert

Moreover, the principles we’ll discuss here are good to know if you have children or grandchildren of your own who are active in clubs or sports.
1. Summarize basic facts about child abuse.
Most victims know their abusers. If you presume that abusers are dirty old men hiding in dark alleys, you are mistaken. In our hypothetical example, Stan was a pillar of the community who maintained a top secret clearance.
Abusers may be young or old, straight or gay, married or single.
Many victims hesitate to come forward. For this reason the problem of child abuse is surely worse than the police reports show. Youth organizations, sports teams, church groups, etc., are target rich environments for the potential abuser.
Most abusers pursue a long-term strategy of isolating a potential victim, gradually taking the relationship into inappropriate areas, and then somewhere down the road, when the opportunity is ripe, they make their move. That’s exactly what “Stan” did in our hypothetical example.
It is highly common for the abuser’s friends and acquaintances to never suspect any wrongdoing by the abuser. The “superstar mentor” is the last person you’d expect to harm a young person. If the adult’s behavior is a little strange, the adult bystanders tend to assume there’s a good explanation. Knowing this, many abusers have clever explanations ready. Over-trusting him, Stan’s friends believed his excuses.
After an abuser is uncovered, friends and acquaintances are apt to look back in disbelief. “How could I be so stupid? There were so many warning signs, but I just didn’t see them.” With Stan, it’s obvious that the heavy volume of texts and calls, sharing of hotel rooms, long drives together, loans, unnecessary one-on-one contact, adult humor, and general favoritism, taken together, showed that he was grooming a victim.
Good people tend to over-trust their organization, too. They are naturally proud of their organization and may presume that the “national office” somehow always keeps the bad apples out. In the Scouting abuse scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, bystanders rejected warning signs about an adult who transferred into their unit, believing that the old unit and/or national office would have caught this guy if he was trouble.
Good mentoring and wicked, sneaky behavior that abusers use to groom a victim overlap. For example, a good mentor will get to know a cadet, where he attends school, what his family situation is like, what his goals and worries are. An abuser might also get to know the cadet in a similar way. The good mentor’s motives are pure. The abuser’s are not.
Consequently, it isn’t easy to spot an abuser. And, there’s a potential for honest bystanders to get hoodwinked by the abuser’s schemes because the abuser presents himself as a superstar mentor.

17

Just another experience

by bradford in

i just wanted to add another piece to the puzzle that is the exile from the organization.

a little background about myself first.

i was not born into the religion, technically.

ABibleStudent

Welcome bradford, Have you read your wife "Crisis of Conscience"? Until your wife can critically think for herself there is a danger that she may be swayed to love the WTBTS more than you.

You can always feel out your wife's feelings by showing her the following videos from Steve Hassan Being a Smart Consumer today. (5:46), How Big is the Phenomenon of Undue Influence? (2:01), and Strategic Interactive Approach explained 2003 (1:23:23).

Best of wishes for you and your wife successfully fading from the wTBTS.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

32

Trying to live the rest of my life without being bitter.

by Bigdummy in

i'm new to this forum.. i was raised in " the truth" from age six and now i am in my mid 60's.

my wife was born in " the truth" and is very strong in the religion.

i have had many experiences during my lifetime with the other members of several congregations.

ABibleStudent

Bigdummy - I told my wife it looks like any other tv evangelical show. She's not happy with me since I just quit going to meetings cold turkey several weeks ago. She says I'm being picky and she said she doesn't know me anymore.

Welcome Bigdummy, It appears like your wife needs to be reassured that you love her.

Have you considered asking your wife questions like Billy the Ex-Bethelite wrote about in exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed? Asking simple questions to learn more about what your wife is thinking and feeling is less stressful on your marriage than saying what you feel.

If you want to help your wife to critically think for herself, ask her simple questions, learn to overcome her using thought-stopping platitudes, get involved in time-consuming, non-JW hobbies that she enjoys doing, have home Bible studies without the WTBTS propaganda, and learn as much as you can about the WTBTS history and doctrines and overcoming undue influence and BITE manipulation techniques.

Best of wishes for you and your wife living together WTBTS free.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

104

The Secret is out....but nobody cares

by MrTheocratic in

i've been looking on this site for some time but never posted.

i'll give a little about myself, but not too much.

i'm a ex-bethelite ( brooklyn )and currently serving as an elder (10 years) (thinking about stepping down) on the service committee.

ABibleStudent

Welcome MrTheocratic, There are many threads on JWN that write about JWs being JWs for social and family reasons and not for WTBTS doctrine. I hope that the trend continues and that JWs critically think for themselves more and more. Maybe one day they will just decide to stop donating money to the WTBTS, or better yet stand-up to the elders and GB.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

15

New to all of this

by Ghiagirl in

i was raised in the truth my whole life, my immediate family are jws and my moms mom is a witness as well as my fathers mom.

other than that the rest of my family are non jws.

i was raised very balanced, my parents never forced the truth on me or my siblings like most of my friends parents did getting baptized at ridiculous ages!

ABibleStudent

Welcome Ghiagirl, I hope that you and your husband live happily together and WTBTS free. The WTBTS is a dangerous cult for many reasons including forcing family members to strictly shun loved ones for not following the WTBTS's petty doctrines.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

21

Sat., March 28th, TV program "48-hours" investigates JW killer, Christian Longo. Focuses on his impersonation of journalist

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/48-hours-investigates-accused-killer-who-impersonated-journalist/ .

48 hours investigates accused killer who impersonated journalist.

march 27, 2015, 8:20 am|a journalist strikes up an unlikely friendship with an accused killer who took his name -- what happened next would become a book and a film.

ABibleStudent

This is a tragic story. I feel sorry for MaryJane, Zachery, Sadie, and Madison.

Unfortunately, JWs will feel vindicated of their beliefs by this story because it shows what happens when JWs leave the Watchtower and that MaryJane and the children are guaranteed to live in Paradise Earth. I wish news organizations would show more stories of successful exJWs leaving the Watchtower, than this kind of tragic story.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert