Vincent Toole wasn't at the second case hearing before the Australian Royal Commission. It's no wonder when he failed as the legal lawyer for the Branch to advice when it was appropriate to report accusations and he lied in the first hearing.
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Theocratic warfare. Great video
by stuckinarut2 inwe all recall the appalling example of vin toole during the australian royal commission when he was questioned about"theocratic warefare".
here is a great video that shows how the society has used, and in turn tried to lie about "theocratic warfare".
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cixj9b6sd34.
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Refuting Jehovah's Witnesses Governing Body - Mike Felker
by ToesUp ini found this video very well done.. mike felker is the chapter director of ratio christi at georgia state university.
check out this video on youtube:.
https://youtu.be/grs8m6tdq9g.
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Listener
I've posted his video's before Toes Up and enjoy his presentations. He was never a JW but studied with them for a short period to get an understanding of their teachings and he does a very good job of refuting them.
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UK Charity Commision reports on Moston, Manchester Congregation.
by snugglebunny inhttps://www.gov.uk/government/news/investigation-leads-to-improvements-in-safeguarding-at-jehovahs-witnesses-charity.
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The Commission is still investigating the British Branch and are still requesting for victims to report to them. This is their contact details and request, the link is in the OP
The Commissionencourages people who have been affected by safeguarding in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in England and Wales to make contact with the investigations team at [email protected].
Interestingly, the safeguarding policy does not cover just child sexual abuse but it includes any harm. This is an excerpt from the legal requirements
2. Safeguarding
Safeguarding is a term which is broader than ‘child protection’ and relates to the action taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Safeguarding is defined in Working together to safeguard children 2013 as:- protecting children from maltreatment
- preventing impairment of children’s health and development
- ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care and
- taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
I wonder if the Commission is aware of the shunning policies that children (defined as children under 18) may be subjected to and whether victims have reported to the Commission or whether we need to promote this?
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UK Charity Commision reports on Moston, Manchester Congregation.
by snugglebunny inhttps://www.gov.uk/government/news/investigation-leads-to-improvements-in-safeguarding-at-jehovahs-witnesses-charity.
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The Fall Guy linked to the complete report of the Commission's findings in regards to the Manchester Congregation. Here's the link again.
This is the conclusion from that report
Conclusions
The Commission has concluded that the charity’s trustees did not deal adequately with allegations of child sexual abuse in 2012 and 2013 against one of the trustees. This is because they did not:- Identify one allegation as potential child sexual abuse, believing it to be merely ‘a matter between 2 teenagers’.
- Properly take account of an earlier allegation of child sexual abuse when considering new allegations made in 2012.
- Fully enforce the restrictions the trustees decided to place on Mr Rose’s activities in February and July 2012.
- Consider and deal with potential conflicts of loyalty within the trustee body.
- Keep an adequate written record of the decision making process used to manage the potential risks posed by Mr Rose to the beneficiaries of the charity.
It is the inquiry’s view that the charity’s trustees did not cooperate openly and transparently with the Commission. In particular, they did not provide accurate and complete answers to the Commission regarding the earlier allegation of child sexual abuse and the conduct of the misconduct hearing against the former trustee. The inquiry was concerned that the charity trustees did not report a serious incident to the Commission.
The above matters constitute misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
The charity has a written policy on child safeguarding. It also has internal procedures for the handling of misconduct allegations within its congregation, which are used to deal with allegations of child sexual abuse.
The Commission welcomes the changes implemented to the procedures since the launch of the inquiry for the handling of misconduct allegations and to the child safeguarding policy applicable to the charity. These revisions improve the charity’s written policy and procedures for handling child safeguarding allegations, including by making clear that victims of child sexual abuse are not required to make their allegations in the presence of the alleged abuser, and providing for protective restrictions to be put in place in all cases where an individual is found to have engaged in child sexual abuse by the criminal courts.
The policy and procedures are common to all Jehovah’s Witness congregations in England and Wales and are being examined further as part of the Commission’s ongoing inquiry into WTBTSB. The Commission is also examining as part of the ongoing WTBTSB inquiry the practical measures which will be taken to minimise the risk of the issues identified by this inquiry from recurring in other congregations. Issues of particular relevance to this inquiry that will be examined further in the WTBTSB inquiry include:- the application of the ‘two-witness rule’
- how and to what extent in practice victims will be involved in future Judicial Committees and related procedures the practice of requiring victims to confront their abuser during the judicial committee procedure
- record keeping and disclosure of information to public bodies and individual
The Commission has accused the Elders of that Congregation of misconduct or mismanagement. Reading the report discloses a number of injustices carried out by these Elders in the carrying out of the very duties they have been appointed to do by the organisation. Their incompetence means they are far from being 'beyond reproach' and under the organisations own requirements, do not qualify to maintain their positions.
The organisation may say that they are just imperfect men but to actively try and prevent the Commission from holding the investigations in the first place is wicked.
They may not pay any taxes but because of that they have set themselves up as a charity and are subject to the laws under which the Commission subjects them to. How they must hate it when they now realise how far that Commission is willing to investigate and expose them.
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Russia - Who Will Get the Property of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by OrphanCrow inhttp://www.interessant.ru/politics/komu-dostanietsia-imushchie.
who will get the property of jehovah's witnesses?.
the sect "jehovah's witnesses", recognized as an extremist organization and banned in russia, owned real estate worth 4 billion rubles.
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Listener
Barbara Anderson posted some interesting information regarding Theodore Jaracz and the USSR
In the early 1990s, his sneakiness caused him to almost lose his position. It was after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which was characterized by many of the Soviet Socialist Republics declaring their independence, this taking place from the beginning of 1990 until the end of 1991. After the republics claimed their independence, the GB decided it was an appropriate time to hold a convention in St. Petersburg and dispatched Jaracz to the area to make the arrangements. However, he secretly directed that many conventions be held in countries previously under the control of the Soviet Union. When this came to light after many conventions actually took place unbeknownst to the rest of the GB, to placate a very angry Body, he contritely apologized and promised never to do such a thing again.
http://watchtowerdocuments.org/the-theocratic-life-and-times-of-theodore-jaracz/
Since it was reported that the JWs were given property for a token payment around the years that Jaracz was taking a personal interest in what was going on there and he was secretly planning conventions around this area, I wonder what was really going on. -
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Are Bethelites Buying and Preparing their own Food?
by TakeOffTheCrown insamuel herd made the following statement at the 2015 annual meeting regarding the reduction of services at bethel.. we will be reducing personnel at bethel.
some bethel family members will be invited to serve in the field.
in addition to their regular work, bethel family members will be caring for many of the services that were previously provided by fellow bethelites.. .
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Listener
Given the difficulty that gated communities have in stopping JWs from preaching within their grounds, I wonder what would happen if preachers wanted to knock on the doors of the Bethelites residents? Maybe the vast apostate army could test it out as part of their campaign.
Requesting visitors not to take photos of the outside of their residence is not surprising. They have balconies and at some time or another they are likely to be used. They wouldn't want outsiders to be able to identify who lives where. With the quality of cameras these days, it may also be possible to zoom into the units and see what is going on.
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W.O.W.
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Some Good News About Me (Although Anthony Morris Will Be Furious)
by pale.emperor injust wanted to share with you some good news i'm really excited about.
i have been accepted for university to study psychology and counseling.
my goal is to become a counselor and, in time, to specialize on treating those who have left high control relationships/groups like we all did.. it'll take a few years before im qualified but studying in university has been a dream of mine since i was 12, which was systematically dashed to pieces by watchtower.. .
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Congratulations, such a worthwhile endeavour.
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Has anyone noticed how Tony Morris is always referring to his notes ?
by Chook ini honestly believe he has memory difficulties, him and mr letts iq is not much greater than a rabbit.
no the rabbit wins..
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I always thought it was the aim of the speaker to give a talk without highly scripted notes, just an outline. These guys have had years of experience and either can't do it or cannot speak without themselves being under the limitations and control of dogmatic teachings.
They are simply proving themselves to be like actors in a scripted performance. -
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Is the Watchtower Organization in accordance with God's requirements?
by Listener inberoean pickets has another excellant article presented on their website.
it is written by tadua.
in light of the russian ban there are many valid points made.
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Listener
Beroean Pickets has another excellant article presented on their Website. It is written by Tadua. In light of the Russian ban there are many valid points made.
The organization has always fought fiercely for it's right to worship and have been able to establish those rights under various Governments. The article examines whether the rights they fight for are in fact requirement of true worship.
http://beroeans.net/2017/07/10/2017-july-10-july-16-our-christian-life-and-ministry/Gods Kingdom Rules (kr chp. 15 par. 1-8) – Fighting for Freedom to Worship
It is true that worship involves more than what one believes. But does worship actually require the things that the organization has fought for. The area covered this week is the right to exist as an organization and to meet at kingdom halls and assembly halls, and distribute literature.
So we have to ask, are these things a necessary part of worship in the scriptures or is it again an organizational requirement?
One item that stood out in these paragraphs was the fight to be able to print and distribute Bible literature. Did the early Christians suffer bans on bible literature? This doesn’t seem to have been an issue. Indeed they did not use literature, they only relied on the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels and Letters of Paul and the other apostles as they became available.
So why the need today, especially when we have the whole Bible readily available? Could it be that either deliberately or not, more weight is being given to the teachings in the literature than those taken directly from God’s word? Also is the good news being made unnecessarily complicated as a result, so that the simple clarity that the early disciples preached so successfully has been lost? There are no scriptures to support the right to distribute Bible literature.
What about meeting at kingdom halls and assembly halls? Again there is no scriptural requirement for these. True, the Bible does talk about not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) However, this scripture does not mandate the gathering together in meeting halls. The early Christians met in private homes.
Finally what about the right to exist as an organization? Again, there is no scriptural requirement for an organization, and as mentioned on previous occasions, the word ‘organization’ does not appear in the scriptures. Even the use of ‘association of brothers’ does not qualify as an organized official body. The normal use of the word association is ‘a connection or co-operative link between people or organizations.’ As they were brothers they had a co-operative link between them. To use the word association to prove existence of an organization is disingenuous at best. The Greek word used in 1 Peter 2:17 is adelphotes which means ‘brotherhood’, ‘band of brothers’, which implies an informal group of friends or brothers with the same interests.
So the brothers are fighting in the courts for things which are Organizational requirements, not Scriptural necessities.
Additionally, while these rights have been fought for and established in law in many countries, there has been no effort to fight for these rights in outright Muslim countries, and extreme Communist countries. Other arrangements have been made for these countries. So we ask, was the fight really necessary? Surely if it is necessary for ‘Western lands’ it is also necessary for Muslim and communist lands, and vice-versa. Is Jehovah’s hand short, or does he simply not require such things at all?
When we read paragraph 8, we can only ask how do the witnesses in Russia feel about being under ban yet again in the year of 2017? We would want to have empathy for the witnesses as individuals, but once again it appears that to some extent it has been either unnecessarily provoked or at least incurred, in part due to the unscriptural rules they enforce, such as the policy of complete shunning of disassociated and disfellowshipped ones until reinstatement takes place.