As far as I know the GB has stated many times that elders are not clergy, one of the separating points from other religions is the absence of a clergy class, so clergy privilege would be invalid.
jesscd
JoinedPosts by jesscd
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25
If an elder decides he wants to report child molestation to police.
by poopie incan he be sued for violating clergy pertinent privilege by the person that confesses to him?.
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jesscd
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184
Outcome - Banned in Russia - Final
by OrphanCrow ini just watched the live feed from the russian court room and followed the updates on the russian exjw forum.. just waiting for confirmation from other sources...but, it looks like the final (and expected) result is:.
banned.
which means that the wts property in russia now belongs to the russian state..
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jesscd
No matter what I feel about my childhood, no matter what I feel about the JW religion. We all have the right to choose at some point. Yes it isn't pretty. If you are a born in like I was you stand losing everyone and everything you have ever known.
However, as others have pointed out, the banning of a religion...the suppression of beliefs and the freedom to worship is just not right. What if only the Catholic religion, Russian Orthodox, born again Christians, or Atheists were deemed the only way to believe - the only thought process one could legally have?Does the JW cause damage? - no doubt! Does it damage families and indoctrinate the vulnerable? Again, no doubt. But most belief systems in some aspect have these characteristics. If you ask any devout believer of any religion they will say theirs is the only true religion. This also is their right.
As many here I have suffered irreparable damage from my 32 years as a JW - being homeschooled from a very early age and as such a lack of education, socialization, and just normal childhood experiences. Being fraught with guilt and shame over illnesses and insecurities. Sacrificing my early adult years to pioneering instead of advancing a career or pursuing education. Losing every friend and family member I had ever known when I chose to leave at 32 and basically being like a foreigner planted in a foreign land with nothing. And that is just the damage fit to post in a public forum.But despite all, I cannot justify the banning of a religion or belief system. It does nothing but fortify those still in and it creates a scary precedent.
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24
When can I let my guard down?
by hybridous inquick background:.
born-in, but never baptized.
remainder of family still (by all appearances) loyal dubs.
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jesscd
nonjwspouse - love this "it is NEVER wrong to have questions you can't answer, but ALWAYS wrong to have answers you can't question."
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24
When can I let my guard down?
by hybridous inquick background:.
born-in, but never baptized.
remainder of family still (by all appearances) loyal dubs.
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jesscd
I have two young children - ages 5 and 7. Personally I am in between an agnostic and atheist at this point. Their father is a lapsed catholic. Influences aside from us parents include my former 2nd generation pioneer and elder wife JW mother who is now a fundamentalist christian, my 2nd generation still in JW dad and wife/stepmom, and several diehard Catholic relatives on their dad's side.
My strategy has been to be open, honest, and non-judgemental about beliefs - my own and that of others. I have bought several child-friendly books that cover most of the religions of the world to give them a basis. We have even read the My Book of Bible Stories book - but with the view towards this is just one belief system and not necessarily non-fiction.
We recently had a death in the family and that brought up a lot of questions. I answered them the best way I could, including what and why I currently believe the way I do and the fact that I don't have all the answers.
My son who is 5 has chosen at this time to believe in a God and heaven. My daughter who is 7 waivers between not believing at all and believing in a malevolent and horribly mean God who chooses not to save people despite the ability.
As they grow, although not totally possible, I hope to educate but stay out of their personal beliefs and choices as much as possible.
I view my job to be teaching critical thinking and questioning. The earlier you start with this I think the better. I think that way you keep the line of communication open - so if and when they come home after being told certain beliefs they will feel free to talk, ask questions, and be open to a critical though process. -
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Test yourself...Which Religion Best Suits You, what non religion best suits you.
by Giordano insince we have had so many joining up while others have changed their thinking it doesn't hurt to see where we stand now .. this 20 question test is not the definitive test but it may be revealing or affirming....... find out where your religious or nonreligious comfort range is.. i just took it and my #1 choice was that i was a secular humanist.
being a jw was #24........ way way down the list.. www.playbuzz.com/benjaminbirely10/which-religion-best-suits-you.
you start by clicking on the general statement that is closest to how you think.
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jesscd
Buddhism
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Born in baptisms to avoid embarrassment
by Spoletta ini noticed a recent commenter mention an assembly that had only one baptism, a born in.
the last assembly i went to had three baptisms, of which two were born ins.
could part of the motivation for youth baptism be to avoid the embarrassment of an assembly with no baptisms at all?
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jesscd
From my own experience as a born in - one starts getting the guilt trip and scare tactics that one isn't making the truth their own and the parents can no longer protect them at Armageddon when one is around 9-10 years old. Kids who want to "kiss up" or feel the attention they would not otherwise get, get baptized very early. I don't mean to be biased but most boys who get baptized early seem to want the ego boost. Most girls are wracked by fear, guilt, and shame. And again this is coming from personal experience and conversations with my brothers (familial) and many friends. Most teenagers seem to just be sick of being bugged about it.
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Stephanie Fessler v Watch Tower - Trial on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 in Pennsylvania
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://avoidjw.org/2017/02/stephanie-fessler-v-watch-tower/.
stephanie fessler v watch tower.
stephanie fessler was brought up as a jehovah’s witness by her parents, jodee and kevin.
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jesscd
@Pete Zahut and others who have commented on parents culpability - I totally agree. There has to be some responsibility on the parents part here - especially as it continued for a year after the initial meeting with elders.
As for the kids responsibility - fifteen, especially as a naive witness kid is still a very vulnerable time. If this was an older man, would she be considered more of a victim? The girl is a victim, there really is no question and she shouldn't be blamed.
WT as by PA law should have reported, but the parents should have been parents too, and both protected their daughter from further harm and reported the woman. -
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Country Crock Ad.. . .by Bethelite?
by JWdaughter inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j54qnhasng.
so, i saw this ad and it felt so uncomfortably familiar.
and weird somehow.
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jesscd
I actually saw this a couple of weeks ago and thought the same thing, but just thought it was by ex-JW paranoia kicking in...It is the Stepford like voices that really does it ...
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Were you aware of the shunning policy when becoming a JW
by UnshackleTheChains infor those who became jws, were you fully aware of the societys cruel shunning policy whilst studying?
i absolutely had no idea such a policy existed until years later.
it really only hit home when reading the horrendous stories on the internet around 2002. .
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jesscd
As a born in I was quite aware of disfellowshipping when I was baptized at 13. But it really didn't matter - back then in the early 80's unbaptized publishers could get "disassociated" and treated as some disfellowshipped. Pretty much as a born in we were already screwed because at least where we lived if you weren't a publisher by the time you were 5-6 years old you were considered to be from a weak family. Most of us kids had seen what happened if you didn't tow the line - watching 11-12 years olds sitting at the back of the hall without their parents because they got caught in some small infraction at school like trying smoking.
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If this system goes on.
by karter ini heard my hard out jw sister say that for the 1st time in many years and i'm hearing more and more jw's saying that.
years ago when i was in they talked about the new system coming any minute..
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jesscd
I think one of the major head in hands blows post-jw was realizing my own mortality. The fact that I wasn't going to live forever, that in fact my life was finite was a difficult realization after 30+ years as a born-in. But was I had my moment, or rather several moments, I actually felt relief. It meant that I could live my life for now - breathe laugh work help others - all now. I was no longer just biding time until some vegetarian lions and panda hugging fantasy world. I can't imagine the emotional turmoil of my parents nearing 70 who have spent their whole lives in expectation, or my grandmother in her 90's who used to tell me as a little kid (when she was not much older than I am now) that it was just around the corner.