Posts by Splash

20

Australian Child Abuse Royal Commission - Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower to appear on 10 March 2017

by jwleaks in

latest date just published for case study 54, jehovah's witnesses and watchtower.

the public hearings will commence friday 10 march 2017 at the child abuse royal commission's hearing rooms in sydney.. http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/10908a67-70c5-4103-94cc-dac096fdb585/case-study-54,-march-2017,-sydney.

the scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:.

Splash

Since the ARC first investigated JW's, WT have released a number of new instructions and policy documents.

My guess is that buried in those new documents are words and sentences, intentionally placed, which can now be used as evidence of changes, or intent of changes being made.

Whether these new instructions materially affect the way child abuse is handled in the congregations is another matter, and one that the ARC will have to hunt through the fog of Theocratic Warfare Strategy to correctly ascertain.

The WT is an experienced master of practised deceit. Only extreme levels of scrutiny will expose their craftiness, trickery and lies.

13

Didn't G. Jackson tell the ARC that JW's don't smack their kids?

by Splash in

the wt book "family life" (1978) had something to say on this topic:.

*** fl chap.

10 pp.

Splash

The WT book "Family Life" (1978) had something to say on this topic:

*** fl chap. 10 pp. 131-132 pars. 2-5 The Value of Disciplining in Love ***
"Many child psychologists put a “hands off” sign on children [...] But in his Word, God says: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” (Pr 13:24, RSV) A few decades ago, particularly in Western nations, books on child training, with their theories of permissiveness, flooded the market. Discipline would inhibit the child and stunt its development, the psychologists said; and as for spanking, just the thought of it was horrifying to them. Their theories collided head on with Jehovah God’s counsel. His Word says you ‘reap what you sow.’ (Galatians 6:7) "
"A spanking may be a lifesaver to a child, for God’s Word says: “Do not hold back discipline from the mere boy. In case you beat him with the rod, he will not die. With the rod you yourself should beat him, that you may deliver his very soul from Sheol [the grave] itself.” Again, “Foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy; the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.” (Proverbs 23:13, 14; 22:15) If parents hold their children’s life interests dear to them, they will not weakly or carelessly let disciplinary action slip from their hands. "

The latest mention of it is from a 2006 WT which still condones it:

*** w06 11/1 p. 5 Reliable Advice for Raising Children ***
What the EXPERTS Say . . . What the BIBLE Says
On Discipline:
Dr. James Dobson wrote in The Strong-Willed Child (1978): “Corporal punishment in the hands of a loving parent is a teaching tool by which harmful behavior is inhibited.” On the other hand, in an article adapted from the seventh edition of the popular book Baby and Child Care (1998), Dr. Benjamin Spock said: “Spanking teaches children that the larger, stronger person has the power to get his way, whether or not he is in the right.”
With regard to discipline, the Bible states: “The rod and reproof are what give wisdom.” (Proverbs 29:15) However, not all children need physical punishment.

When I was small it was common for kids to be taken out and smacked for not being able to sit still for 2 hours straight. It happened at every meeting, especially the late night mid week ones.
Despite WT still considering this acceptable to the point of being desirable, I've not seen it quite so much recently.
Maybe parents are deciding for themselves that there are better ways, and it's just the old guard in each congregation who sit and silently fume when children are not marched out the back for a good beating.

35

February 13, 2017 BOE Re: Memorial and Special Talk

by wifibandit in

february 13, 2017 to all bodies of elders re: memorial and special talk.

Splash

What a dilemma for them.

Cast off and shun the inactive ones so they have no detrimental influence on any active ones, or plead for their return to keep the numbers up because no one is coming in via the preaching work anymore.

Either way, there's no Grand Increase anymore.
Something is "speeding up in it's own time", but it's not what they expected.

4

Audio Of JW News Report On Radio - Child Abuse

by pale.emperor in

jehovahs witnesses and the goddard enquiry made the news on bbc radio 4. it talks about how they've deliberately destroyed evidence after being told to hand them over to the courts.. listen to the first minute then fast forward to 33mins:.

https://youtu.be/5sz7szs8sei.

Splash

WT statement to the BBC reporters at 42:00 onwards:
"Congregation elders diligently abide by legal responsibilities that rest upon them."

The WT do not explain any legal responsibilities that rest on these untrained, legally ignorant elders, and statements like this from the WT are simply throwing elders under the bus by saying these responsibilities rest upon THEM. This, despite the WT having complete and unchallengable control over the actions of the elders in every single congregational decision they make.

What's their phrase for everything? "Call the WT Legal Department."

When under legal pressure it changes to "Don't look at us, look at the elders."

Cowards.

12

Intelligent Disobedience

by George One Time in

did you notice the expression "intelligent disobedience" in the febuary 2017 broadcast (at 7:30)?.

it was used with the illustration of a guide dog for blind persons, that sometimes has to disobey it's owner.. what a fine example for us!

.

Splash

"You know, we can compare our training, our power of reason, to a blind person using a guide dog. Now an untrained dog would be very helpful to a blind person. It would bark when others were around, for example. However a dog trained in specific skills is amazingly helpful. The dog knows when to stop at curbs, walk around obstacles that the person right (sic) run their head into. A guide dog is also taught a skill called 'intelligent disobedience', and even if the blind person encourages the dog forward it won't obey, but it will pull the person back from danger.

Now, it can take a year or more of training for the dog to learn the amazing skills that are so helpful to a blind person. Likewise, our raw, untrained power of reason can help us to a degree. However, it can be amazing if we take the time to train it."

32

Refuting Watchtarded Reasoning - 1. "If a doctor tells you to abstain from alcohol, you wouldn't inject it..."

by Island Man in

i'm hoping to start a series of posts refuting common, fallacious jw reasoning that they repeat to support their teachings or defend their organization.

in this first installment i will be tackling the common fallacious analogy used by them to equate eating blood with receiving a transfusion.

feel free to share your own refutations on each thread.. "if a doctor tells you to abstain from alcohol you wouldn't go injecting it into your veins, would you?".

Splash

"If a doctor told you to abstain from meat, would you have an organ transplant in order to save your life?"

I've used this before and it literally just kills the discussion dead.

43

2520-607 = 1913

by schnell in

jw
friends

i love math, i love calendars, and somehow, this always gets me.. 2520 - 607 = 1913. not 1914.. 2520 - 606 = 1914. from what i understand, russell realized this.

he had previously used 606 bc, of course, but then he switched it to 607 bc.

i know there was something about no zero year, so it actually should be less one, correct?.

Splash

From 607 BCE I understand how the 2520 years can add up to 1914, but I don't understand the arguments against the WT years calculation.

The WT say there are 2520 years from 607 BCE (forget that this isn't a correct date to start with).
It doesn't mention months or gregorian or lunar or anything, just "years".

If I were to ask a Jewish person "what year will it be in 15 years time?" they would look at their calendar, do their sums, and tell us the year. They wouldn't convert to lunar, misplace the leap-months, start adding days etc, they would just add 15 Jewish years to get a result.

The 2520 years is the same.
To my mind this is a non-argument that any JW can demolish just by adding 2520 years to 607 BCE.

The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, is always in autumn. This is in the month of Tishri and corresponds typically to some time in September but occasionally October. It was instituted as a celebration in Lev 23:24-25.
Add 2520 autumns (Jewish years) to any Gregorian date, and you get the date 2520 years later.

To conflate this with all the lunar, leap, Jewish, Gregorian stuff is exactly what WT do to prove a point.

The fatal error in WT calculations is 607 BCE, not the 2520 year calculation.

74

This site should be called Anti-Jehovahs-Witnesses Cry-babies

by the-Question in

so, you left because of a bad example(s).. why all the whining?

nothing better to do with your time?.

you at least know far more about the bible than any church-goer?.

Splash

people refusing to think call those that DO "trolls".

JW's refusing to think call those that DO "apostates".

74

This site should be called Anti-Jehovahs-Witnesses Cry-babies

by the-Question in

so, you left because of a bad example(s).. why all the whining?

nothing better to do with your time?.

you at least know far more about the bible than any church-goer?.

Splash

I left because the truths I learned at baptism are no longer the truths today, and today's truths will be changed again tomorrow. It's like chasing shadows. What I was told was vital spiritual food turned out to be junk food.

If the GB don't even know what's going on, why should I trust them?

Or as the WT itself put it:

-- g70 4/22 p. 8 Changes That Disturb People

"Yes, millions of persons have been shocked to learn that things they were taught as being vital for salvation are now considered by their church to be wrong. Have you, too, felt discouragement or even despair because of what is happening in your church? A businessman in Colombia expressed the effect the changes have had on many."Tell me," he asked, "how can I have confidence in anything? How can I believe in the Bible, in God, or have faith? Just ten years ago we Catholics had the absolute truth, we put all our faith in this. Now the pope and our priests are telling us this is not the way to believe any more, but we are to believe 'new things.' How do I know the 'new things' will be the truth in five years?"

I've faced up to it, JW's are no closer to the truth than anyone else.

You can continue to pretend if you like - good luck to you.

33

"It is the victims right to approach authorities" The weak excuse used by the society

by stuckinarut2 in

we have seen that the society falls back on the line "it is the victims right to approach the authorities" during all the abuse claims.. they use this excuse to try and defend the passive lack of action in failing to report suspected cases of abuse.. a comparison came to mind:.

if we came across a person lying in the street who says they were hit by a car, would we say "it is your absolute right to call the paramedics and police"?.

or would we take the initiative and call those authorities ourselves to help the person?.

Splash

For at least 35 years the position of the WT was:

*** g79 3/8 p. 12 Living with Law—Now and Forever ***
But for handling most differences between Christians, men well grounded in Biblical principles are available in the congregations. They are even now helping many to resolve such matters without the public notice and consequent reproach of court action. In some cases Christian love may even move one to “suffer injury” rather than harm the good name of the congregation before those outside.

But there was an adjustment in 2014:

*** lv (God's Love - 2014) p. 223 Resolving Disputes in Business Matters (footnote)***
In rare instances, one Christian might commit a serious crime against another—such as rape, assault, murder, or major theft. In such cases, it would not be unchristian to report the matter to the authorities, even though doing so might result in a court case or a criminal trial.

Plus there's the difference between what's written in the pages and what's said by the elders.
It would be very rare for an elder to condone going to the police. For a start he would need the agreement and concensus of other elders, and for the majority, contacting the police is just too shameful for the congregation.