Knowsnothing

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Posts by Knowsnothing

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  7

  Total lack of doubt is poisoning our society

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you are so damned smart?.

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  Knowsnothing

  Terry, I don't consider myself smart. There is always something to learn...
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  58

  The "Secrecy Policy”

  by Celestial in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i've given this recent lawsuit quite a bit of thought and come to sound conclusions.

  after examining other organization's child-protection policies (namely churches), what i've come to realize is there's a one-size fits all solution that's socially acceptable; all information obtained through witnesses and confessions by organizational personnel is be used to aid and abet law-enforcement.

  there's no in-between or anything short of this objective that's socially acceptable.

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  Knowsnothing

  Here's a question. Given that in the congregation it is considered of first and foremost importance to "obey God above men", who get's the priority on confession of child molestation, the congregation (the elders), or the authorities? Obviously the authorities, but according to Celestial's logic...

  In view of the above statements, congregation elders can do little next to nothing to aid and abet law-enforcement by collecting information from their congregants. At best, they can route information to the respective authorities, but ultimately, an eyewitness has to cooperate with the authorities and corroborate their observations in a court of law. In all practicality, it shows initiative on the part of an eyewitness to contact the authorities from the onset.
  
  The only other way an elder would know anything is if a molester voluntarily confesses something to an elder.

  Eyewitness corroboration isn't the the only testimony available. Depending on the length of time that has passed since being abused, forensical analysis is useful as well. Of course, forensics doesn't apply to this case.

  “For Plaintiffs expert to be allowed to provide her opinion that churches must report "confirmed" child abuse to parents, other adults, and public officials, the Court must rule that her opinion is now the law in California, and the California Clergy-Penitent Privilege is no longer good law.”

  I agree with this. The Clergy-Penitent Privilege must be taken down, or at least have an amendment added that makes an exception for punable acts. Of course, how do JWs even get to have a say if they can't even vote....

  If the Clergy-Penitent Privilege is destroyed on behalf of Jehovah's Witnesses, they'll have no means to “ID these people” through the process of confession.

  Confession need not be the only way to "ID these people". Besides, if the elders cannot inform the congregation of the specific actions of an individual, then how exactly does confession lead to the congregation's need to guard their children from the perpetrator?

  What about Jehovah's Witnesses child protection policy do you want to change?

  Stop the two witness rule. Children are vulnerable, and abuse can go on indefinitely, so long as it's only a child's word vs. an adult's.

  If someone confesses, that should be the last time abuse can ever come from that person. Obviously going by the books isn't going to cut it, and there needs to be a much more robust system to prevent this from happening after the first reported offense.
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  58

  Website by MODERATE JWs who recognize issues with the religion

  by Hermano in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  found this website this weekend by jws who recognize there are issues within the organization and are calling for change.

  this is the type of forum moderate jws needs, imho.

  glad to see moderate jws are out there and are doing something.. http://www.jwreform.org/.

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  Knowsnothing

  From the site:

  Therefore, like faithful servants of God in times past, our people feel it is their duty before Jehovah to speak up and speak out when the need arises. As did the Lord Jesus himself, we do not look the other way when we see any injustice done to God's people.

  We strongly believe that the religious leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses will receive a heavy judgment from Jehovah if they continue on their present course with regard to these matters. It is time for change. It is our hope and our faith that through the voice of his people, Jehovah will see to it that matters are set straight.

  My comment:

  There is no such thing as a reform movement in a cult. Even if they succeeded in toppling the powers that be, they in turn would take that position and soon start the same cycle over again. Prophecy would now be interpreted as having been fulfilled in them, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

  In fact, I'd say the whole 'Protestant' movement helped create a lot of different cults and that the mother cult is Christianity itself.

  TL;DR Successful cults are successful.
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  59

  Just venting - I hate the Society.

  by donny in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Knowsnothing

  This sounds like the Milgram Experiment, only it isn't an experiment, and the Watchtower cannot ever be questioned.

  Let's hope your son comes to senses one day.
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  25

  When there are hundreds of thousands of toys in the market, why buy your your child the magic toy

  by Mr Facts in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when there are hundreds of thousands of toys in the market, why buy your child the magical toy?..

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  Knowsnothing

  You see Mr. Facts, all toys are magical. They play on the imagination.

  Allow me to illustrate your point further. When there are hundreds of thousands of books that don't condone divine violence, why raise your children by the one that does?
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  9

  A JW Sparlock Apologist!

  by Diest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had posted a few comments on cedars sparlock song on youtube.

  mostly that i didnt feel that parents should manipulate their children into behaving.

  i also didnt think parents had the right to raise thier children in such a crazy restrictive way.

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  Knowsnothing

  Lost, I still believe there is a way to get through. If they've ever gone to Disney Land, enjoyed any good Sci-Fi in a book or on tv, seen Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, etc.... then all you have to do is point out to them that unequivocably nothing supernatural ever happened while being entertained with such things.

  I found this part of the response ironic:

  With all of that said, I'm curious... why waste so much energy fretting over that part of that DVD? Why not make a video about REAL problems, like child abuse, neglect, animal abuse, domestic violence, etc. No offense (literally... I'm not trying to offend you or be sarcastic), but did you even watch the DVD?

  Hoooooooo boy! Wait till you tell her about Candice Conti! And why not let the WT make a video on those subjects, or better yet, address it's own problems on child abuse? Hypocrite.
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  9

  A JW Sparlock Apologist!

  by Diest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had posted a few comments on cedars sparlock song on youtube.

  mostly that i didnt feel that parents should manipulate their children into behaving.

  i also didnt think parents had the right to raise thier children in such a crazy restrictive way.

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  Knowsnothing

  Sigh... this is what is so depressing about any deeply held ideology/belief/dogma/political stance, etc.

  Diest, why don't you just respond, then, that any dramatization of the Bible that includes violence, miracles, any thing of a sexual nature, and so on should also be kept from children?

  Tell that lady to stop going to Disney Land, stop watching tv, and to pull that kid from school. See how she responds...
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  67

  This was my 'Sign'

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in my previous post i mentioned that i'm staying in the org because i think i got a sign from god...some of you asked a lot of questions about my sign and even shared the society's view on asking for signs which i didn't know.. i didn't disclose exactly what the sign was.. some of you asked me what it was and even stated that i know that you all would pick apart and prove that my sign was just a frivolous excuse to hold on to the org.. maybe you were right.. so i've decided to tell you all exactly what it was---no embellishments or exaggerations.

  i would love to hear your opinions since i'm still in a terrible mess.sometimes i'm 100% this is not the truth then other times i'm 60%....i feel if god was giving me a sign i'd be 100% this is the truth you know?.

  so i woke up that morning and organized to go meeting.

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  Knowsnothing

  MsGrowingGirl20, your sign is about as full-proof as a crackhead praying for $20 to buy some crack, and low and behold, he finds $20 tucked away in a drawer.

  Understand that coincidences are a fact of life, and that your "sign" is nothing more. Say you hadn't heard that talk. You might still have been asking for a "sign" a week later. 2 weeks. 3 weeks. FINALLY, a talk comes on, dealing with doubts. Was it 1.) God answering, 2.) your refusal to accept the obvious, 3.) a coincidence?

  Before you come to the conclusion it was God, you have to accept there are other explanations for these types of things, and rather, I bet you that brother giving that talk didn't even address any of the specific doubts you had/have. He may have briefly mentioned them, skimmed over them, told you with a text, doubt it bad, trust in Jehovah, all matters will be resolved, and just waved that magic wand in front of you.

  The doubts don't cease to exist, untill you have addressed them. You might think you can go back, but they will just keep nagging you. You will see the fallacies. Trust me, after ~1 year of leaving the JW's, but then going to KH shunned for the sake of holding the family together, even when I tried to believe, my logic would just cut away at their fallacious logic. Their open-ended questions, vague statements, inconclusive answers, and their classic "wait on Jehovah".

  Put yourself in the shoes of a catholic that hears about all the church corruption, then hears something similar, "wait on God". It's no different. The religion is broken, and it just doesn't want to admit it.
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  65

  The Watchtower Punished: Society loses legal battle over child abuse case

  by cedars in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  it's taken a while, but i've finally managed to put up an article on this remarkable court case.. a link to my article is below:.

  http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.

  i've tried very hard to make the article as factual as possible by reading and comparing the various documents available.

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  Knowsnothing

  Cedars, what a jackass this apologist. Then, to top it off, another poster tries to ease off in saying that an individual is free to report such a thing to the authorities, but upholds that is still not enough to take action in the congregation.

  What a load of bullocks. Thank you for your hard work and time dedicated to bring this matter to other's attention.
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  8

  The Known Universe

  by sizemik in

  1. social
  2. current

  worth a look .

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  http://www.wimp.com/knownuniverse/ .

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  Knowsnothing

  That blows the mind. Thanks sizemik.