Most JW's believe that the Bible is the 'Truth' not their Governing Body etc. The Witnesses try to live by bible standards and admit they are not 'inspired' but look to the Bible for guidance and as they say they are imperfect so get things wrong. Any Witnesses that make comments to say they are perfect need to go back and study. I'm not a JW but have friends that are and I did study with them for some years and despite remarks to the contrary it's not a bad religion or a 'cult' (using Cult in a negative way) but one that is trying to live by Bible standards. As for child abuse they, the GB, have given new directives to the elders that the police/ relevant authorities, are to be involve and any paedophile to be disfellowshipped from the congregation. The the majority of elders are not trained policemen or trained counsellors but men who are trained in biblical matters and it's hard for them sometimes to come up with the right answers and they should go to the Governing body where research is done to help them find answers to whatever problem comes up. But like all men in all walks of life no one is perfect. I was sexually abused by 'good Catholics' in my childhood and if I was to tell my mother I would have been called a liar and my mouth washed out with soap and water. In my childhood priests and Catholic congregation was see to be above reproach and they were seen to have the 'Truth' also. We know differently now as I'm no longer a Catholic but just a bible student and have been for decades. I don't condemn all Catholics as some are very sincere but there are those that are right so and so's. The same in the JW religion. Good people and bad people same as any other religion or walk of life so why pick on the JW's. By the way the Catholic religion was once viewed as a cult as were many other religions. Maybe those that use the word cult in a derogatory fashion should look up the proper meaning in a dictionary as it is not a derogatory term although now used as one. I know some really good and kind JW's and some that are not apprehensive of discussing deep matters and are very intelligent people. My husband and I have had some really interesting conversations with JW's but we don't go out to knock them but learn how they think. Some people call themselves JW's but are not JW's so beware who you talk to or get your information from. JW's are just witness to Jehovah (Or Yaweh if you prefer) and to Jesus. Yes they do believe in Jesus as they view him as their messianic king.
Poppycat
JoinedPosts by Poppycat
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New BBC article on JW abuse
by snare&racket inis religion doing enough to root out abuse?.
he would go upstairs, on the premise that he was saying a prayer with his niece, then sexually abuse her.
mark sewell was sentenced to 14 years in prisonafterwards, the elders told her that as it was only her account against that of sewell, nothing more could be done.
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Request for Research Help: WTS Views on Intersex Individuals
by Oubliette inrequest for research help: .
several recent threads have gotten me started on an essay and i need some research help.
does anyone have access to anything the wt has ever published on intersex people (they might have used the now-outdated term: hermaphrodite)?
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Poppycat
Why do the Governing body of JW's condemn people that are born with gender problems and have so called 'Sex change' operations. My friend who leads a happy life and was married to her husband in 2005, although she lived with him for some years before legally marrying him, has been told she cannot become a JW unless she leaves her husband and goes to the local Kingdom hall dressed as a man. She has had a letter from her doctor saying that she is female which she showed to the elders but despite this they put this condition on her. She is not a baptised Witness but has been associated with the witnesses for some years and they treated her as the female she is and the Watchtower originally said she was to be treated as a sister and then after her and her husband got married they came to her and said she had to live as a man. She was really upset as was her husband and both do not associate with that congregation although a kind sister has continued studying with both of them and has known my friend for around 40 years. There seems to be no ban on my friend and her husband going to the kingdom hall. She lives in the UK and before 2005 she could not get her birth certificate changed as the UK considered birth certificates as 'historical Documents'. My friend was registered as a boy initially and for a time she was brought up as a boy but as a baby she had some sort of genital surgery that was kept from her and she only discovered this when she was 18 years old. But the crux of the matter is she is female and her husband is not gay or bisexual but just a nice normal guy that people like and respect. She is a kind and caring person and she says she still believes in the Bible and she and her husband still study with the kind sister who was a nurse and knew of my friend's background. The society sent a letter to say that 'because she had lived as a 'man' for some years prior to her getting medical help she must live as a man to become a JW. This is totally ridiculous as she looks like a woman and acts like one and thinks like one and even some witnesses who know her said it would be an abomination if she was to go the hall dressed as a man or leave her husband. I find it all very puzzling indeed as one minute and to her face the elders treat her as a woman and are nice to her husband and also members of the congregation also speak to her despite all this. I just find this all so confusing and unkind. My friend has searched the bible from cover to cover and finds nothing in it that forbids Christian people from having necessary operations if they are born with gender problems. She was born with a gender problem. She does not take hormones and yet she has the figure of a woman and does not shave or the like and to make her dress in men's clothes she'd look like a woman dressed as a man. I find the whole thing totally cruel and confusing that the WT would do this to her. She is sad that she had to back off as when she was told she had to be a 'man' to be a JW by the local elders it really badly upset both her husband and and herself. She still does, with her husband, attend the memorial, but feels that she cannot attend other meetings due to the way she was treated. I find it confusing that one minute she was to be treated as a woman and then subsequently told she had to dress as a man and leave her husband if she wanted to become a JW.