I thank you all for your frank resonses. I have not yet posted this to Facebook. I will continue to tweak and amend
outsmartthesystem
JoinedPosts by outsmartthesystem
-
6
I am thinking about posting the following to my facebook page to help make the general public and my community better aware. Thoughts?
by outsmartthesystem ini will apologize ahead of time for the longevity of this post.
most of my posts are short, to the point, and light hearted.
but even i have a serious side.
-
-
-
6
I am thinking about posting the following to my facebook page to help make the general public and my community better aware. Thoughts?
by outsmartthesystem ini will apologize ahead of time for the longevity of this post.
most of my posts are short, to the point, and light hearted.
but even i have a serious side.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
I will apologize ahead of time for the longevity of this post. Most of my posts are short, to the point, and light hearted. But even I have a serious side. Many of you are aware that as a boy, I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. Many of you know Jehovah's Witnesses as that seemingly peaceable group of people that have a quirky habit of knocking on people's doors. But what I am willing to bet, is that most of you are unaware of the problems of sex abuse of children in that organization on a world wide basis. I happen to believe that the abuse of a child is the most egregious, despicable and cowardly act that a human being could possibly perpetrate. But equally nauseating is the lengths that an organization will go to in order to cover it all up.
This is not a knock on religion or church as a whole. Pedophiles exist both inside and outside of church environments. The problem exists when members of the church, who are untrained in the ways of how to investigate and handle child abuse allegations, attempt to handle it themselves anyways, without the inclusion of the police. You see, the ruling faction of the Jehovah's Witness religion (The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society), instituted a rule decades ago that still exists today. It is known as the "Two Witness Rule". Using a couple of different cherry picked scriptures taken out of context, the gist of the rule says "an allegation against a member of the organization must be accompanied by either an admission of guilt from the accused, or TWO eye witnesses to the situation. If neither of those two criteria are met, then the church elders are not allowed to act on the situation." I trust you now see the problem. How often is an instance of child abuse actually witnessed by two people?
Thus if a family comes forward to the church elders with an allegation that their child was molested by a congregation member, the church elders will do nothing about it, so long as the above criteria has not been met.......unless.....they live in a state that REQUIRES them to report it to authorities. Even then, according to Chapter 12, Point 18 in the secretive guideline, or manual, for church elders known as the "Shepherd the Flock of God" book, (which I have a copy of) the FIRST step church elders should take when learning of an abuse situation is not to contact the police.......but to contact the branch office of the Watchtower Society immediately and await further instruction. Depending on whether or not the state they live in has mandatory reporting laws will determine whether or not the local church elders will be instructed to call the police. In the effort of fairness, the manual goes on to instruct church elders to "never suggest to anyone that THEY should not report an allegation of child abuse to the police or other authorities." But I have two problems with this approach. The first is that it should be the bounden duty of any clergy member to immediately report any allegation of child abuse to the authorities that are qualified to investigate the problem......REGARDLESS of what state laws say. It should be a matter of doing the right thing and protecting the child first and foremost. The burden of notifying and cooperating with the authorities should not be the sole responsibiliy of the victim.
The second problem is that even if the local authorities are notified (either by the church elders if they are located in a mandatory reporting state or by the victim or the victim's family), and the accused is later found to be guilty in a court of law, strictly from a social/congregational standpoint, the elders will do nothing unless the perpetrator admits to the accusation, OR there were TWO eye witnesses to the offense. No action against the guilty party will be taken. No announcement of a pedophile in their presence is made to the congregation. Aside from the obvious publicity that may surround such a court case, there would be no way for any congregation members who have children to know that there is a pedophile in their midst. And that is the point. Parents shouldn't have to rely on searching for police reports or media coverage to find out if there is a danger in their church. That should be information that is lovingly and willingly shared by church clergy for the protection of all. Furthermore, what if the perpetrator moves far away? If he is a convicted molester, he will have to register as such no matter where he resides. But will the members of the NEW Jehovah's Witness kingdom hall he now attends (this is what they call their churches) KNOW his history unless they do a background check on him? How could they? No congregational action was taken against him in his former congregation because there weren't "two witnesses" to the crime he was convicted of, therefore they feel there is no reason to warn others.
To make matters worse, if you, as an individual congregation member, were to do a background check on a new member of your congregation, and discovered that he was a convicted child abuser, you may be obligated to keep quiet about it! Remember, just because a court found him guilty, doesn't mean the "two witness" rule has been met. And if the "two witness" rule hasn't been met, then congregationally speaking, he is innocent. If you, out of a sense of duty to protect children, warn others about him, YOU may in turn be accused of slander against the perpetrator and potentially subject to disfellowshipping (excommunication) and subsequent mandatory shunning by your former friends and yes, even your family. All for doing the right thing and warning others of the danger in their midst.
I do not personally believe that the policies and procedures that the brass of the Watchtower Society have put in place are the results of men that actually WANT children to be abused. Rather, I believe that policies and procedures such as the "two witness rule" are the sad byproducts of what happens when men seek FIRST to protect an organization. Why else institute such an egregiously unempathetic rule if not to eliminate or at least contain the amount of damage, both financially and from a public relations standpoint, that abuse cases bring? Again, my issue isn't that there are pedophiles within the ranks of Jehovah's Witnesses. There are pedophiles that belong to all sorts of different churches, groups, and organizations. My issue is the rules and regulations imposed by the leadership of the Watchtower Society that enable abusers to fly under the radar, thus putting more and more children at risk every day.
The next time a Jehovah's Witness comes to your door, ask them about the morality of the "two witness rule". Odds are, whomever is at your door won't know what you are talking about. Unfortunately, most witnesses are blissfully unaware that this rule even exists. By nature of this, they are similarly unaware of the child abuse problem that accompanies it. They are unaware for two reasons. One is that the rule is really only expounded upon in the secret elders manual mentioned earlier. And this manual is off limits to anyone who is not a church elder. The other reason is that the Watchtower Society keeps strict information control tabs in place. Jehovah's Witnesses are taught to ignore any and all information that comes from former members OR that is critical of their organization or leadership. Obviously accusations of the facilitation of child abuse is quite critical.
The purpose of this lengthy post was not just to rant on a particular religion. My hope is that through the efforts of social media, the general public can make a difference. If enough Jehovah's Witnesses are made aware of this problem, some of them may begin to inquire of the validity of the accusations. And if enough of them are concerned, it may force the leadership of the organization to rebuke this woefully inhumane practice of protecting pedophiles.
-
25
Did You Ever Wonder What Goes Thru People's Heads When They Realized You Were A Witness?
by minimus inlooking back at it, they must of thought we were really weird!.
funny story: yesterday i had to pick up meds for my mom and when they asked her date of birth, i couldn't remember!
the cvs druggist looked at me in a strange way until i mentioned, "sorry, but i was raised a jehovah's witness and i never celebrated her birthday".. she laughed, asked for my id, then whispered what her birth date was.. you gotta wonder what they must be thinking!.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
I tried very hard not to come across as an uber-zealous bible thumper. So when people found out....they'd be like "really? YOU are a JW?" I wasn't socially inept......so they must have found this hard to believe
-
32
HELP I have until next Wednesday
by KariOtt ini have an oppertuinity to try ttatt on an elders wife who is a pioneer who showed up today.
she is willing to meet me one on one to discuss how pedofiles are protected, the blood issue, the flip flpos, how they teach theocratical warfare and hate.
i agreed to only use watchtower and awake publications.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
I agree with Gingerbread and The Searcher. I seriously doubt she has any interest in TTATT. She wants to expose an apostate. My own wife feigned interest in my research on the organization under the guise that she "valued" facts and truth.....only to team up with her father to make sure I got ousted. Tread lightly
-
26
Wife update
by problemaddict inif you want the short version, scroll down to "short version".. .
so i am at 1200 posts or so (only about 6 were probably of note), and i still havenlt told my story and probably won't for some time.
basically, i was a born in who has served in other countries, as an ms, and given talks etc... my wife and i were in foreign language, have co's we have counted as close family friends, and were basically the golden boy and girl of their respective areas.
-
-
-
46
Lurkers and Apologists, can you please explain.....
by DATA-DOG in..from the scriptures why.... 1) material wealth is a sign of jehovah's blessing in our modern day.. 2) why jehovah blesses the growth of chicken populations, but allows active jehovah's witnesses to die in field service, or on the way to conventions, and on the way to celebrate the memorial?
3) why jesus is not your mediator?
bibles and a concordance only.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
Data Dog - What magazines are these ridiculous stories in?
-
17
tower attacking families to save ones from apostates
by Crazyguy ini spoke with some one that recommends i step lightly for he said the tower may use there attorneys to attack me recommend to my wife to leave me (spiritual endangerment) and use their attorney's to then help her get complete custody of the kids.
has anyone heard of these guys doing this?
i don't doubt this guy former elder and bethelite and all, just wondering if any one here has experienced this or knows of this happening?
-
-
outsmartthesystem
PM me. My divorce is not yet final (upcoming child custody evaluation by a psychiatrist prior to final hearing). But I have put together a 100 page brief that I gave to my attorney. I do not yet know how helpful the brief will be.....but it focuses on 9 different areas. Areas of concern as to why it is NOT in the best interest of my children to be in HER SOLE physical and legal custody. The key is to make sure NOT to attack the religion. Religious views and upbringing is protected by the 2nd ammendment. But bringing up concerns such as health and welfare.......alienation from the parent.....alienation from the greater community.....etc is perfectly acceptable.
-
17
tower attacking families to save ones from apostates
by Crazyguy ini spoke with some one that recommends i step lightly for he said the tower may use there attorneys to attack me recommend to my wife to leave me (spiritual endangerment) and use their attorney's to then help her get complete custody of the kids.
has anyone heard of these guys doing this?
i don't doubt this guy former elder and bethelite and all, just wondering if any one here has experienced this or knows of this happening?
-
-
outsmartthesystem
The local elders will indeed promote your wife to leave you for spiritual endangerment. That's what happened to me. Looking back at all the puzzle pieces I can now see that this plan was launched months in advance.
But I would highly doubt that any Watchtower lawyers would be involved. Whether your wife knows it or not......the Watchtower Society doesn't give two shits about her. The only time the Watchtower would ever volunteer THEIR lawyers for the benefit of a measley little sheep is if the court case has the potential to cost THEM money or bad publicity.
-
50
Lying to children
by jwfacts inzac's first tooth just fell out, and so people are telling him that the tooth fairy will come with money.
zac asked me if the tooth fairy is real.
i am at a loss as to what to say.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
Paul
This is how I have handled it. My ex is as "nose to the grindstone.....hardcore" as a JW can be. My daughters are 6 and 4. It has been a year since we split. And I have made more progress with my girls in one year than I had ever though imaginable. I know for a fact that "the other side" is teaching them how much Jehovah hates birthdays and holidays etc etc. I also know that "the other side" is making sure to inform my children that Santa and the Tooth Fairy etc etc are not real and how bad it is to lie.
So what I decided to do is make a comparison. I openly admitted to my children that no....Santa is not real.....nor is the Tooth Fairy. But why not use our imaginations and pretend as though they ARE real? A child's imagination is something of a wonder. If you just let a small child be free.......what is fantasy becomes SO real to them......even though deep down inside they KNOW the real truth.
My oldest was a little skittish at first when we talked about the tooth fairy. She had seen "Rise of the Guardians" and was intrigued. I admitted that the tooth fairy isn't real.......but it's SO FUN to pretend! When she told me she was worried about it being a "lie" I responded by asking her if she likes to play "princess" with her sister. Of course she said yes. So I asked her if she was REALLY a princess. She said, "well, no....we just pretend". I said, "exactly. There is nothing wrong with pretending. What's the difference between pretending that you're a princess for the day and pretending that the tooth fairy brought you money?" It was like a light bulb went off in her head.
What I am saying is that kids WANT to pretend. They WANT to use their imaginations. And once the stigmatism of it being a "lie" is put to rest.....imagination will take over. She gets SO excited when she has a loose tooth now because she can't wait to put it under her pillow and see what the tooth fairy brings her. She knows the real truth.....but she allows the excitement of fantasy to rule......as she should.
That isn't to say that I disagree with those that DO tell their children that such things ARE real. If I was in a different position.....I might do the same. But I don't want my ex to ever be able to tell my children that I've lied to them.......therefore.....insisting to them that any of these fantasies is real is not an option for me.
-
33
Ray Franz blamed for 1975 false prophecy
by EndofMysteries ini was raised a jw and as a kid my family made brief mention of apostates in bethel that falsely prophecied about 1975 and were kicked out of bethel.
i was shocked after i got out and learned that him being removed had absolutely nothing to do with 1975. i think that partial lie spread is what kept my relatives in.
1975 a big let down/false prophecy, then they are told that a governing body member and many in bethel are found apostate and cleaned out, etc.
-
-
outsmartthesystem
"Ray Franz was put on the governing body in 1971 but for when they first started mentioning the 1975 which I think was around 1968 or so that is correct. My family told me/believed that there were many apostates in Bethel and all of them were responsible for 1975, and because they believed that, they never had a problem with what happened because they thought it was an apostate thing."
Yep. When you revise your own history (whether through publications or word of mouth) and then prohibit your subjects from reading or discussing anything you don't approve of......you can accomplish anything.