Posts by Gargamel

19

Can JWs Use Corporal Punishment On Their Children?

by minimus in

jw
friends

can a parent slap or use a "rod of discipline" on their kids?

i know it's politically incorrect and perhaps illegal, but is it a personal decision based upon the scriptures or is it taboo these days?.

Gargamel

I don't know if things have changed in the UK.

I left the org, and was pressured out of the family home, in 1973. I was 16. Although I got away lightly with physical punishments, I heard plenty of whackings from the back room and toilet areas. It sometimes seemed like a competition to see who could make their kids scream the loudest.

My younger sister fell foul of my father's smackings a few times. I don't know if it got worse as she was only 9 when I was shown the exit door. I can still picture a day (at home) when my father was whacking her for some misdemeanour. Naturally, she started crying. He then continued to hit her because she was crying. Logic check: Hit a kid. Kid cries. Hit kid for crying.

19

Your opinion about dating sites?

by nevaagain in

jw
friends

i have been a jw all my life, while i also have a "spiritual divorce", which means i can remarry a jw again.

i am not sure if i want to go that route again and dating in the jw world feels like a struggle sometimes.

with all the rules.

Gargamel

My take on this, which may or may not be right for you:

Live your life doing the social things that interest you and make you happy. It doesn't matter what they are- writing club (local library?), reading group, badminton club, rambling/hiking etc. etc.

You may not meet anyone suitable for a while that way, but you will feel happy. Potential partners (unless they are co-dependent masochists) are more attracted to happy people.

If your needs are more about "friends with benefits" or just sexual, than about a long-term, committed relationship, at least be honest with her about it. If it's more about sexual curiosity (quite possible for someone from a religion that believes in heavy repression), maybe it would be better to avoid the risk of hurting someone and simply go and pay someone for the experience(s).

Whichever route you take, I certainly feel that it's better to date initially with a view to discovering yourself without making promises that yu may later need to break.

Above all, enjoy the journey and - be safe (but not so much that you can't experiment).

20

Dodgy poetry

by Gargamel in

it is a stretch to call my dodgy poetry 'entertainment' but i wasn't sure where else to put it.. .

self-fulfilling prophecy.

precipitation.

Gargamel

This is an example of a poetry form called etheree. The syllable count on each line ranges from 1-10, or 10-1 if preferred. I can't centre text on here so imagine it centred:

Suffer Little Children

Predictions of apocalypse abound.
Terrify your toddlers lest they leave.
Immerse them in the name of men,
drunk with dreams, blood-sodden thugs,
self-delusion oozing
from misleading mouths.
You prey on babes
to obtain
holy
love.

15

£1 million pound fine

by pepperheart in

hi a court in the uk in loughborough have fined the jws over £1 million pounds for the court costs for a child abuse case in loughborough in the east midlands..

Gargamel

Indeed, not a fine but compensation + costs.

I doubt that anything can really be true compensation, but at least it could go some way to making restitution for the lost income caused by disturbance to her education - or pay for her adult education. It will also assist with any therapy costs if she chooses to go outside the NHS for help.

I was surprised to see that leave to appeal was denied, but without seeing detailed reasons, it's not possible to comment in-depth on that.

44

What crime should elders report?

by kramer in

jw
friends

so, i am trying to get my head around what the right position of elders should be when they come across crime is.. i think i get the issuess around clergy confidentiality - and how that might potentially be breached when they talk about it to other elders, let alone the police.. but if people are saying that elders - or clergy of another faith should report crime to the police when it is confessed to the, then where are the boundaries.. so if someone says they should report to police on a confessed example of child abuse, that's one thing.. how about reporting to police consensual sex between a 19year old and 15 year old - which is statutory rape in the uk.

how about criminal fraud if they come across it.

assault on a congregant?.

Gargamel

A very thought-provoking question, and I don't suppose I have an answer.

For a start, I feel that if a crime is in danger of being repeated it should qualify; people who interfere sexually with children are usually repeat offenders.

And then there is a crime where repetition wouldn't be likely to occur (perhaps murdering someone in anger), but the seriousness overcomes being forgiven without legal restitution being made (i.e. probably a lengthy term of imprisonment in this case).

I suppose that if someone drove recklessly while angry and there were no consequences, that need not be reported, especially if they went for therapeutic help on anger management. But if there were consequences like injuring or killing another, again the seriousness ought to take precedence.

If it came to stealing something minor from a shop, undetected, and someone was genuinely remorseful, personally I think that could be dealt with in-house - maybe by making financial restitution anonymously and stripping of "privileges".

No hard and fast rules perhaps, but I suppose the problem would be about leaving such decisions in the hands of people who know the perpetrator personally and who would be biased about bringing a bad name on the organisation.

10

Graph of world population (from 10,001BC to 2015)

by Fernando in

jw
friends

what do you make of this graph?.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=graph+population+of+earth.

.

Gargamel

What I make of it is that humanity was struggling while still emerging from the ice age but gradually found its feet. As conditions improved, the birth rates and death rates approximately matched. 40+ was regarded as old age and many children died from disease. Even until the early 1900s, it was normal for at least one child in a family to die. There were higher birth rates generally, but people lived shorter lives on average. There was a time when being born at the start of winter was practically a death sentence. The spike at the end of the graph is probably attributable to better medicine, diet, sanitation etc. as people live longer on average and childhood death, particularly in wealthier parts of the world, has slowed to a relative trickle. The escalation in population has also taken place against a backdrop of vastly improved contraception. There have, apparently, been signs of population growth slowing. There may be several reasons for this. China, which once contained one third of the world's population, initiated a one child per family norm by making it unviable to have a second. I believe this has recently been relaxed. Although other nations haven't been so up front about it, there seems to have been some tinkering to make families less affordable. This can cause some resentment because rich bastards can have as many kids as they wish,

44

i'm leaving this site forever

by stan livedeath in

as the title says--i'm out of here for good.. the site is full of atheists, communists, 7th day adventists, creationists, believers, deceivers, receivers, football supporters,.

dodgy types, cantleave---and assorted wankers.. so no place for me--because i'm none of the above so dont fit in.

so--this is goodbye forever my friends--its been almost average knowing you.

Gargamel

Blessed are the window cleaners.

43

Chelmsford is green-lighted

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

looks like chelmsford is going ahead after all.

here is the text of a letter to be read out this week:.

to all congregations in britain and irelandre: branch relocation project updatedear brothers:we rejoice to inform you that in june of this year, the governing body gave approval for thebritain branch to relocate to new facilities that will be constructed just south of chelmsford.

Gargamel

From Konceptual99: So that's the vast majority of their monthly target done doing NOTHING towards the preaching work but the figures still go into the pot and they still can walk around the KH and RC with chubbies on boasting about how much they do in "scared service".

-----------------------------------

I'm not a spelling or grammar nazi, but I just had to highlight the typo "scared service" as it was so funny :) - rich in ambiguity.

43

Chelmsford is green-lighted

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

looks like chelmsford is going ahead after all.

here is the text of a letter to be read out this week:.

to all congregations in britain and irelandre: branch relocation project updatedear brothers:we rejoice to inform you that in june of this year, the governing body gave approval for thebritain branch to relocate to new facilities that will be constructed just south of chelmsford.

Gargamel

Financially, it will be a good move for them. Property prices around Mill Hill dwarf those in the Chelmsford area. Even allowing for moving and building costs (mostly wage-free labour), there should be plenty left in the kitty at the end. Also, new buildings can be designed to make the running costs very low these days. If they go eco-friendly, they can have very low electricity bills. Indeed, lighting and perhaps even some of the heating can be funded from solar panels. If they use recycled, running water to power wheels, that can provide even more electricity. It may even be possible to sell some back to the grid - depending on what machinery they want there. Even toilet water can be treated and recycled for showers - it sounds yucky but it happens a fair bit these days; you don't read much about it as the hotels etc. that do it are scared of it putting off the customers. Add to that, new buildings cost less to maintain anyway.

18

If you live in England . . .

by compound complex in

jw
friends

would a jehovah's witness ask you, the householder, "does christ dwell in this home?".

i have recently viewed the lady in the van, which was filmed principally in north london.

i am currently reviewing a transcript of alan bennett's play of the same title, looking for the exact quotation (the above may not be verbatim).. also, in the movie's subtitles, the word "curb" is spelled "kerb" in the original transcript.

Gargamel

Saename said "I loved the British accent."

This is a source of mirth for me - like there is one British accent :)