Posts by Stephanus

23

Watchtower Lies Hurt Victims

by silentlambs in

if you read the 97 watchtower cited below you are given the impression that a child molester who is known(that is confessed) would never have privileges in the congregation arrangement.

is that really the case?

in a conversation with the service department it was plainly stated to me personally that a child molester could re-qualify again after a long period of time had passed.

Stephanus

I have a friend who posts to a politics newsgroup mainly about justice issues; his motto is "What about the victims?"

The important thing about justice is not only that it be done, but that it be seen to be done. The trouble with the letter you quote is that it ignores any involvement by the law; it sounds like they are happy to keep the guy out of the reach of the authorities, so long as he kowtow to the elder and the almmighty WBTS. Not something you'd like to receive if you wanted to see some real justice for the victim done, I'd imagine.

18

To all the British..{way-way-off topic}

by zev in

jw
friends

at work i had this discussion with some of my buds, ..... what is the thing about the british, and irish, with drinking warm beer?

or at least room temperature?.

when i've done that, it dont do anything for me.

Stephanus

It seems to be a uniquely British Isles thing; even Asterix in Britain, written by a couple of French guys, lampoons the warm beer thing. This ex-British colony (Australia) prides itself on the drinking of copious amounts of ice-cold beer.

4

How Does Field Service Work?

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

is the territory to be covered announced beforehand?

is there a certain member of the congregation who keeps a roster of territories covered and when the next visit is due?

if so, how easy would it be for an outsider, particularly one with a contact inside, to find out where the next territory to be covered is?

Stephanus

Is the territory to be covered announced beforehand? Is there a certain member of the congregation who keeps a roster of territories covered and when the next visit is due? If so, how easy would it be for an outsider, particularly one with a contact inside, to find out where the next territory to be covered is? I could see this as a very effective way of efficiently doing a letterbox drop, say of leaflets advertising SilentLambs' site or AJWRB without wasting resources doing an entire suburb. With a leaflet turning up in a householder's letterbox a day or two before the Field Service visits, the householder might be more likely to ask questions which put the Dubs on the spot. The leaflets could be changed from week to week so as to stop the Dubs from being able to develop a step by step refutal of them. Done properly, this sort of work could reduce the number of conversions even more than the current dismally low rate.

12

Fear and paranoia plague me again

by LostMyReligion in

jw
friends

i really like being here on this board.

i come to read it every day, and now i have the pleasure of reading others responses to my posts and commenting on theirs.

but, i am beginning to feel a resurrgence on that fear and paranoia that kept me from speaking up before.. after posting my notes on the convention, i began to feel a little guilty for ridiculing them when i know my son belives (as a result of my teaching) so strongly, and when i know so many good sincere friends at the kh who also believe so.

Stephanus

LMR, of course these articles are making you feel guilty about the stance you've taken, they're written by master manipulators with over a hundred years of practice! Don't back down now because they've made a blanket statement meant to frighten less determined ones back into the fold (or slaughteryard!). That's precisely what they intend to do. No, stand firm and continue to do what you're doing, holding up to the light the ridiculous statements of a controlling, human organisation which presumes itself to be God's voice on Earth!

26

7-15 01 wt comment

by silentlambs in

wt 7-15-01 page 21. are you truly tolerant?.

(balance is needed).

of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant.

Stephanus

God does not need protection, Fred, He's big enough to look after Himself, IMO! If people passing themselves off as God's org are covering up sin, then the one who exposes that sin is God's man; cf. Nathan and David, Jesus and the Pharisees, Malachi and other OT prophets who exposed the corruption within the God-ordained priesthood. You do no favours to Jehovah by letting paedophiles enjoy protection in His name, Fred. Bill knows this and has taken the brave stance he has, when he has everything to lose, because he knows that a corrupt organisation which hides behind the name of Jehovah only brings shame to that name.

26

7-15 01 wt comment

by silentlambs in

wt 7-15-01 page 21. are you truly tolerant?.

(balance is needed).

of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant.

Stephanus

It's the paedophiles you DON'T hear about that concern me, Fred. The ones the elders decide have shown repentance enough that they decide to hide his sin from the congregation, even the members who have children who are potential victims of this monster. The elders should go to the police first and have no involvement at all, instead of trying to play judge. There was a case here in Wollongong where the elders of the Corrimal congregation were blasted by a judge for covering up for a paedophile and handling it "in house" rather than notifying the authorities. Interestingly the article appeared 2 weeks after one of your mates was bragging to me about how pure "Jehovah's organisation" is, and how full of paedophiles the other churches are.

This is the issue Bill Bowen is fighting the Tower over, Fred: even though the rules now seem to say that the authorities should be called, there is a strong culture of handing everything over to the elders which persists in the Org. The elders being human are all too susceptible to the temptation to sweep scandal under the carpet in order to project the image of a harmonious KH.

26

7-15 01 wt comment

by silentlambs in

wt 7-15-01 page 21. are you truly tolerant?.

(balance is needed).

of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant.

Stephanus

Ah, that's Artie, The Strongest Man In The World, the superhero from The Adventures of Pete and Pete, scourge of evil-doers everywhere, including those who hide paedophiles in Kingdom Halls. No wonder you're scared, Fred!

26

7-15 01 wt comment

by silentlambs in

wt 7-15-01 page 21. are you truly tolerant?.

(balance is needed).

of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant.

Stephanus

I dunno Fred; ask the Literature Servant who mysteriously doesn't have any magazines for him to peddle, or the elders who don't allow him to go out in field service. Face it Fred, the Watchtower is shitscared over all this; they'd have d'fed him months ago, but lacked the courage of their convictions in the face of careful scrutiny by the media, and possibly by the authorities over this scandal (and the scandal is paedophiles being protected by elders, not that an elder should turn whistleblower). Good to see you're standing up for the right of the WBTS to protect child molesters from the full weight of the law, Fred. Perhaps it's time to publish another one of your diary pages on the subject.

Bill, I don't see how a mention of a sin in other religious groups means that someone is feeling guilty about that sin in the 'Tower. Just looks like their old method of deflection and projection to me. When there is a "True Christians should not..." article on the subject, you'll know that the 'Tower is having second thoughts about the practice.

26

7-15 01 wt comment

by silentlambs in

wt 7-15-01 page 21. are you truly tolerant?.

(balance is needed).

of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant.

Stephanus

Of course they're not serving Jehovah, Fred! They're shunning the one guy who's had the guts to take on the culture of paedophile protection within the 'Tower; if they'd just clean up their act and stop protecting child molesters, the claim of "Jehovah's clean organisation" wouldn't ring so hollow. By exposing this filthy mess, Bill Bowen is doing more for the society than the boys in Brooklyn.

BTW, Bill, never post between 3:00pm or 5:00pm, or this troll will be your first respondent.

13

Wouldn't have so many converts huh.

by esther in

jw
friends

ok, so i got my idea from bugeye's wife's thread.

if the wtbts decided to change its doctrine so that the age for baptism was 30 years, the same age as john and jesus, would everyone who was baptised under that age have their baptism invalidated?

if so, what would happen to any disfellowshipped ones whose baptism was invalid?

Stephanus

Actually, this is a good idea in light of recent reports of dwindling baptismal numbers. If people under thirty have their baptisms invalidated (perhaps reclassified "provisional baptisms" or some such), then anyone who lasts until thirty will help swell the baptism figures. Could be an interesting way of fiddling the books when the numbers become really embarrassing.