Posts by NeonMadman

21

Congregation Elders got a letter from headquarters on "Sexting". I guess this is the latest trend causing problems.

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

last week, my coboe, formerly known as the po, read a letter from ny giving directions on how to handle cases of "sexting" in the congregation.

i've vaguely heard of sexting in news articles.

i'm thinking though, the branch isn't going to send out a letter unless there's a trend.

NeonMadman

In some areas, teens involved in "sexting" are being prosecuted as purveyors of child pronography (in some cases, teens have been prosecuted for sending pictures of themselves nude - see "Legal Cases" on the Wikipedia article about Sexting). That's probably why elders are required to contact the Legal Dept. if teens are found to be involved with this activity. With so much uproar among the "worldly" media, it was inevitable that the Society would feel the need to take a strong stand on the issue.

Was this letter read to the congregation, or was it a confidential Body of Elders letter?

2

Did you really pay attention at conventions or assemblies?

by donny in

a co-worker of mine whose family (2 daughters, wife) are jw's related a funny story yesterday.

his wife and daughters missed the friday portion of the convention last week in order to attend a wedding of a worldly relative.

at dinner she mentioned to him that she would go to the convention this friday to make up for the one she missed.. he then asked why and she said so she could get the information she missed.

NeonMadman

I used to pay attention and take notes, even when I was having doubts about the org. I kept hoping for some "new light" that would lift some of the legalism and clear up the inconsistencies. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer.

1

Who Were the Israelites' Doctors?

by maputo95 in

jw
friends

the jws are very opposed to alternative medicine, it seems.. just who were the physicans, doctors or healers of the israelites under moses and the suceeding rulers of the ancient jews?.

help, anyone please!

!.

NeonMadman

Actually, I would have said that the JW's are very skeptical of conventional medicine and are prone (as individuals) to jump on most any alternative medical craze that came along. It's not as bad today as it was in the days of The Golden Age magazine, but the proclivity to be suckered into any quack cure that comes down the pike is still alive and well in many JW's.

26

are 12 step programs a cult? Discuss..

by avishai in

jw
friends

what qualities would you say they share w/ other high control groups?.

NeonMadman

I went to Overeaters Anonymous meetings when I was a JW for a while. At one point, some of the members started opening their sharing time by saying, "Hi, my name is xxxx, and I'm a food addict." This caused a major uproar in the groups I was meeting with, since the 'accepted' phrasing was, "Hi, my name is xxxx, and I'm a compulsive overeater." Lots of people argued passionately about their opinions as to whether people should be allowed to use the alternate wording. This, along with some less blatant things, struck me as being rather cultic, even when I was a JW.

55

JW replies on my Shunning article

by besty in

i have a google article on shunning -.

http://knol.google.com/k/why-jehovah-s-witnesses-practice-religious-shunning#.

its had almost 15,000 page views :-).

NeonMadman

Since he took a position that the disfellowshipping practice of the JW's is completely scriptural, perhaps you could ask that he provide scriptural support for the following aspects of that procedure:

(1) that the elders handling such cases of sin should do so in secret

(2) that in no case and at no time should the congregation ever be informed as to what the sin was, only as to the outcome of the hearing, which they must accept without question

(3) that witnesses would not be permitted at such hearings, except within very specific guidelines, and then, that these witnesses could provide testimony only and then be dismissed, not allowed to observe other parts of the hearing

(4) that the person 'on trial' would not be permitted to make any record of the proceeding, even taking notes

(5) that there would be no appeal from the decision of the committee except to another identical 'star-chamber' hearing.

19

Aluminum Poisoning by Charles T. Betts - download link

by VM44 in

charles truax betts was a dentist that wrote about the dangers of aluminum poisoning.. many of his articles were published in the golden age magazine during the 1920's and 1930's.. he wrote a book with the title "aluminum poisoning", the second edition being published in 1928.. it may be obtained at this webpage:.

file name: betts_aluminum_poisoning_2ed.pdf.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/h8wuuz.

NeonMadman

Thanks, VM!!

45

sex offender wants chaperone to kh

by nelly136 in

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/aleqm5jvfmefxqjo3kj0srix3w_8n5jtkwd9geetog3associated pressconcord, n.h. a new hampshire sex offender is asking the state's highest court to allow him to go to church with a chaperone.the case of 35-year-old jonathan perfetto of manchester marks the first time the new hampshire supreme court is being asked to rule on whether a probation condition that effectively bars church attendance violates a person's constitutional rights to religious freedom.. perfetto was convicted in 2002 of possessing child pornography.

a condition of his probation is that he have no contact with children.

a lower court denied perfetto's request to attend jehovah's witnesses services with a church elder acting as a chaperone.. the new hampshire civil liberties union and perfetto maintain the chaperone would eliminate any risk to children.

NeonMadman

So are we to understand that the court order for him to 'have no contact with children' actually prohibits him from being in any public gathering where children might be present? Can he go to a movie? To a park? A restaurant? How about for a walk? Is he supposed to stay in his house alone all the time because he might accidentally encounter a child if he goes out somewhere? That seems to me to be an unreasonably broad interpretation of the order. Of course, if he were in jail, he wouldn't be able to do those things (though there would still likely be a provision for him to attend religious services if he wanted). But the court seems to have decided that he isn't dangerous enough to need to be locked up - that's why he was granted probation.

Also, it doesn't seem unreasonable that going to a religious meeting with a chaperone might be a way for him to be able to still have a spiritual life (though I would question his choice of religion and would be seriously skeptical about a JW elder as the choice of chaperone). In principle, however, he should not have to give up his religious freedom completely because he has been convicted of a sex offense, though effective measures should be taken to assure that he does not have an opportunity to interact with children in a way that violates his court order.

With as little regard as I normally have for the ACLU and its daughters, I'm not sure the NHCLU is so far off the beam on this one.

30

So, you blew your chance to go to college because of JWs? Don't give up!

by cabasilas in

i got the jw "bug" as a teenager.

witnesses called at our door when i was nearly 11. my parents are deaf and i was the oldest hearing child, the default interpreter for them in that era before relay services and professional interpreters.

they had no interest in jws, but it started to spark an interest in me.

NeonMadman

I received my Bachelors degree last year at the age of 57. It can be done.

19

Aluminum Poisoning by Charles T. Betts - download link

by VM44 in

charles truax betts was a dentist that wrote about the dangers of aluminum poisoning.. many of his articles were published in the golden age magazine during the 1920's and 1930's.. he wrote a book with the title "aluminum poisoning", the second edition being published in 1928.. it may be obtained at this webpage:.

file name: betts_aluminum_poisoning_2ed.pdf.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/h8wuuz.

NeonMadman

This link seems to have expired. I'm preparing some material on this topic to present at my church and I'd love to get a copy of this material. Does anyone have a current link?

44

Is It Possible That Obama Is The Antichrist?

by minimus in

jw
friends

.

NeonMadman

I think that if Obama were the Antichrist, he'd be more effective at what he does.