https://nltimes.nl/2023/12/11/jehovahs-witnesses-suing-dutch-state-discrimination .
the jehovah’s witnesses have sued the dutch state for discrimination, the religious organization informed trouw.
they consider it discriminatory that the government investigated them, but no other religious organization, for their handling of sexual abuse cases.. utrecht university conducted the investigation involved, following publications in trouw in which sexual abuse victims within the jehovah’s witnesses described what happened to them, and published the results in january 2020. utrecht university concluded that 60 percent of sexual abuse victims were very critical of how the jehovah’s witnesses handled their cases, scoring the handling a 1 out of 10. many victims were traumatized by how things were handled, the researchers said.. sander dekker, then the minster for legal protection, ordered the investigation at parliament’s insistence because the jehovah’s witnesses failed to arrange an investigation themselves, as the catholic church did at the time with the deetman commission.. the jehovah’s witnesses cooperated in the utrecht university investigation but unsuccessfully tried to stop the publication of its results.
It’s easy for loyal JWs to ignore bad news when it’s presented in the popular media… it’s notoriously unreliable, after all…
…but…
…when it’s a matter of official Public Record, more and more testimony and personal experience backs it up, and the Org keeps losing over and over and over (i.e. God doesn’t miraculously deliver them or provide a victory against all odds)…
…it becomes harder and harder to simply hand-wave it all away.
lett has announced in the latest video update that jehovah has dignified the brothers by now letting them to choose for themselves whether they want to have a beard or not -.
https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/.
this applies worldwide and to all brothers in any position..
It’s funny…
…back in they day, one of the more compelling (and less dodgy) arguments the WT leadership used was that a clean-shaven look was viewed as respectable… in The World.
Ten bucks says the current crop would rather gargle with broken glass than admit anything in The World can even be respectable.
lett has announced in the latest video update that jehovah has dignified the brothers by now letting them to choose for themselves whether they want to have a beard or not -.
https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/.
this applies worldwide and to all brothers in any position..
Damn, he looks like Mitch Pillegi from The X-Files.
recent news about beards is getting lots of attention.
it made me wonder if any guys will return to the church under the impression that 'so much has changed'.
back when, i knew a couple guys who were outspoken about beards, seeing it as an issue, and was never terribly moved by their viewpoint.
The whole shtick has been - at its core - staying out of loyalty, fealty, and obedience to “God’s Exclusive Earthly Organization”.
But…
…the more they attempt to mainstream, the less grip they have on that claim, because going out of their way to be “seperate” - i.e. different - from Babylon the Great / Satan’s World was an integral part of “proving” that claim.
Once that claim is gone - officially or otherwise - what would be the point in going back?
beans ?
( human beans ).
to those of you that believe in god: do you all believe the same thing ?.
The souls of the dam…
…oh, wait, that’s Cthulhu.
governing body update #8. beards--see page 3 #2. page 1.--https://imgbox.com/qs27zbgh.
page 2.--https://imgbox.com/r4jz1fvm .
page 3.--https://imgbox.com/wynbxegx .
FedUpJW - “…it will make it more difficult for any males in congregations to use either one as a tool to fade.”
Very astute… I hadn’t thought of that.
And definitely on-brand.
🤔
governing body update #8. beards--see page 3 #2. page 1.--https://imgbox.com/qs27zbgh.
page 2.--https://imgbox.com/r4jz1fvm .
page 3.--https://imgbox.com/wynbxegx .
Ron.W. - “…Why have they done it I wonder?”
It’s a concession that costs them nothing, widens the pool of “qualified brothers” to keep things running at the grassroots level, and they were able to spin it in a way that reinforced the Org’s authority.
what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?
perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?
or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?
ThomasMore - “The Argentina facility exists for a reason. I suspect that it will eventually serve its purpose."
KerryKing - “Please tell me more! I haven't heard of this, very curious!”
They’ve built a luxury gated compound in Buenos Aires to potentially function as a secondary HQ.
Some of us think that when the legal problems eventually become too hot, they plan to permanently relocate there.
Joke’s on them, though…
…Argentina and the US have a mutual extradition treaty.
latest gb update.
only took them 20 years to see beards are acceptable in society.
.
My dad compared the beard prohibition to the requirement for Israelites to have fringes on their robes.
To identify each other whilst abroad, but more importantly, to stand out.
Not fitting in was the point.
Different for the sake of different.
latest gb update.
only took them 20 years to see beards are acceptable in society.
.
Ecumenical outreach?
LGBTQ friendly?
Jesus on a cross?
