I would be grateful if anyone could share knowledge of how the Philippine branch is being impacted by the downsizing. It has two large residential blocks both of which are especially built with Japanese knowhow to resist earthquakes. Also, the population is poor on the whole, and not everybody has the resources to obtain tablets and smartphones for a digital ministrty. Any information would be appreciated.
Nicholaus Kopernicus
JoinedPosts by Nicholaus Kopernicus
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Bethels all downsizing within a year?
by Formerbrother inwhy is there a huge cull going on of all bethels around the world?.
about 80% cull within the next year?.
some have been in bethel for decades and will be sent packing, the 20% of bethelites who stay will have to do their own food, laundry and clean their flat.
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One Reason Why I Could Never Again be an Elder
by Nicholaus Kopernicus inthere appears to be several crises inflicting themselves upon the wtbts all at once.
the crises are likely related....financial difficulties - hence the increasing publicity given to contributing money.
reduced production - probably related to above (literature and building principally).
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
Interesting perspective. Most of the BoE in my congregation are "born ins" as you put it. There are 4 or 5 ex-elders who like me, were proselytised. Of the ex-elders, one was deleted due to DF, and one deleted for sponsoring his children for a higher education, but the others resigned. Two of the resignations were due to abherrant BoE behaviours.
I have refused several shepherding visits which they said would be focussed on "reaching out". I explained that the visit would be a waste of time as my reaching out is now dead and without hope of a resurrection. They were so shocked that I said this but they have not approached me since.
I would contend that being an elder is (in the medium to long term) inimical to the maintenance of good physical and mental health. A quite risky occupation in many respects.
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One Reason Why I Could Never Again be an Elder
by Nicholaus Kopernicus inthere appears to be several crises inflicting themselves upon the wtbts all at once.
the crises are likely related....financial difficulties - hence the increasing publicity given to contributing money.
reduced production - probably related to above (literature and building principally).
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
I am aware that many churches have designated individuals responsible for child protection - not necessarily the priests/pastors/ministers themselves.
The training is widely available and can be fine tuned to a particular organisation's structures. Whilst there is no legal requirement to undertake such training by church representatives to the best of my knowledge, yet I'm aware of lay church members seeking it with clergy approval to forestall the risks identified in previous enquiries.
The WTBTS on the other hand is so highly centralised, insular and pyramidal that they are remote from best practices, lack sensitivity to others' needs, and do not yield to evidence. Their risk management skills are focussed on property rather than on protection of children.
The child protection training is legally mandated for many health/care professionals. Any such professionals who are beneficiaries of this training and are sware of the policy/practice of WTBTS will become conscious of the huge shortcomings in WT practice and process. Their stance is very distant from any paradigm which could be considered Christian. That's why I opined that love is sinking in the organisation. Legalism is dominant.
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One Reason Why I Could Never Again be an Elder
by Nicholaus Kopernicus inthere appears to be several crises inflicting themselves upon the wtbts all at once.
the crises are likely related....financial difficulties - hence the increasing publicity given to contributing money.
reduced production - probably related to above (literature and building principally).
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
There appears to be several crises inflicting themselves upon the WTBTS all at once. The crises are likely related....- financial difficulties - hence the increasing publicity given to contributing money
- reduced production - probably related to above (literature and building principally)
- love shortage - focus on caution with and separation from Bro's and Sis who dissent in any way and/or defer to scripture above WT literature and pronouncements therein
- child endangerment - corporate interests of WTBTS take precedence over child safety and which in itself is a sign of love shortage
Level 3 mandatory training provides a thorough understanding of child protection by covering a breadth of topics relevant to anybody with a responsibility for safeguarding children and young people. This includes... child development and negative influences on it; parenting capacity; the forms of abuse and signs of abuse; recognising and responding to abuse, with specific guidance on note taking and recording your concerns; lessons learned from recent serious case reviews; the legal framework; working together and good practice.
Level 2 mandatory training is designed for anyone who comes into contact with children through their work or leisure activities and aims to provide a practical awareness of the issues relating to the protection of children.
BoE are not provided with any of the above levels of training (including level 1 not mentioned here). They have a policy furnished from the USA and which likely does not reflect the legal nuances of protection legislation outside the USA (nor perhaps inside the USA!). BoE are instructed to approach their branch upon receipt of any allegation of child abuse. There is no indication that those in the branch who might receive such a call are themselves the beneficiaries of any of the training levels mentioned above. The policy which is put before elders to follow, is one which has empirically demonstrated the priority of protecting the want of the WTBTS for secrecy, rather than protection of the child. This in turn is giving rise to very polemical controversies and causing some governments to give attention to the WTBTS which attention they'd probably he happier not to receive. So too is it engendering consternation on the part of many brothers and sisters who become aware of the situation and contributes to them embarking on a path of dissent by stealth.
I have recently undertaken level 3 mandatory training and would like to share just a little of the content which serves to show the gulf between the thinking and likely actions of child protectors, verses the callous and didactic self interest pursuits of the WTBTS.
Definition of child abuse:"The abuse of children ocurs when there is deliberate or non-deliberate mistreatment; or when the direct or indirect actions of an individual or organisation fail to protect children from significant harm or affects diversely their physical, psychological and emotional development of wellbeing".
Readers may readily see the WTBTS fitting into that part of the definition which I've highlighted in bold. Were the WTBTS the example of love which they so frequently assert, then their present functioning would not so readily fall into place in the highlighted definition surely.
Hidden child abuse:"One of the biggest problems in determining the presence of child abuse is the fact that much of it goes unnoticed or unreported."
The way the WTBTS deals with the matter is such that it reinforces abuse events being unreported. The channel of communication is designated narrowly as the BoE and the branch legal desk. There is no evidence that this channel of communication serves to protect a child at risk.
The trained carer vs the untrained elder:"There may be occasions when a vulnerable child discloses to you about abuse that he or she has suffered. In this situation, you must remember that there are specialist police officers and social worers trained to investigate such disclosures.
In such circumstance, you may want to ask the child a lot of questions about the alleged abuse that has been disclosed. You must remember however that this is not your role.
In a situation where a child discloses, your role is to find out just enough about the alleged abuse in order to make a decision whether or not the disclosure should be referred. You may need to ask the child to clarify what is being said. You must ensure in these cases that you never use questions that would lead the child to give you a certain response.
It is essential that you do not 'contaminate' any of the evidence provided by the child by asking leading questions or putting words into the child's mouth as this could affect the case, should it later end in court.
If possible, you should write down phrases and words whilst the child is talking. These will be useful to trigger your memory when you come to recall and record your full notes following the disclosure.
Immediately following the disclosure, it is very important to record exactly whet the child said in as much detail as you an rememmber. It is very important to use the dhild's own words and vocabulary even if the words do not make a great deal of sense. It is vital that the record is of what the child actually said rather than your interpretation."
The paradigm above is one of listening and noting carefully, and being ready to refer the situation to individuals with the appropriate level of expertise - the Child Protection teams as part of local authority social services here in the UK. This paradigm serves to protect the child.
This is just a very small amount of the level 3 training. Yet it is readily noticeable that there is a huge gulf between that expected of those care professionals (listen, record, refer to appropriate expertise) who might receive a dislosure, and BoE who could receive a disclosure (contact branch legal desk). Were a member of a BoE to also be a care professional, how could he limit himself to the guidance of the WTBTS? He would be putting his professional registration at risk! Even if a member of the BoE were not to receive a disclosure, how can he continue as an elder knowing the gulf and indeed conflict between that expected in his elder role and that expected in his professional role? Surely he must conclude that the policy of the WTBTS is one which - de facto - sacrifices child safety in favour of the organisation's preferece for secrecy? Surely he must see that the "legalism" articulated by Ray Franz is alive and well in this 21st century, and that within the WTBTS love sinking? -
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THE WTBTS AND "PARTIAL DISTINCTIONS" (JAMES 3:17)
by Nicholaus Kopernicus indraw close to jehovah.
chapter 22 - is the wisdom from above at work in your life?.
paragraph 18 - not making partial distinctions, not hypocritical"godly wisdom rises above racial prejudice and national pride.
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
Draw Close to Jehovah
Chapter 22 - Is “the Wisdom From Above” at Work in Your Life?Paragraph 18 - “Not Making Partial Distinctions, Not Hypocritical”
"Godly wisdom rises above racial prejudice and national pride. If we are guided by such wisdom, we endeavor to root out of our hearts any tendency to show favoritism. (James 2:9) We do not give preferential treatment to others on the basis of their educational background, financial standing, or congregational responsibility; nor do we look down on any of our fellow worshipers, regardless of how lowly they may seem to be. If Jehovah has made such ones recipients of his love, we should certainly deem them worthy of our love."
Yet many of the "distinctions" demonstrated in the institution of Jehovah's Witnesses are not really within the sphere of influence of brothers and sisters to deal with. An example of this, is the very deep antipathy of the institution of Jehovah's Witnesses towards any of their affiliates who happen to excercise their freedom of choice to wear a beard. Then indeed there are distinctions.
Yet this portrayal of having a beard as a negative is not new. For example, In this 1942 text "The New World", Jesus is depicted having been baptized as a clean shaven, and Caucasian male.Similarly, in a slightly later text (The Kingdom is at Hand" - 1944) Jesus is again depicted as a clean shaven Caucasian...
The depiction of Jesus as clean shaven continued for some time so that in the "Paradise Lost Paradise Regained" text of 1958, Jesus is shown at the event depicted in John 11 like this...
But that was in the 1940's and 1950's! Surely the institution of Jehovah's Witnesses has graduated beyond and above such blinkered parochialism! Well actually no! When has your congregation received a speaker from another congregation wearing a beard? When have you spotted a brother with a platform assignment at an assembly or convention wearing a beard?
The legacy of the authors of literature published by the WTBTS lives on and "making partial distinctions" is alive and well in 2015. I ought to know - I've had a beard for decades and experienced this partial distinction first hand!
Thus, in that "not making partial distinctions" is equated in the Holy Bible with being the beneficiary of "wisdom from above" - then where is the wisdom of the institution of Jehovah's Witnesses from? In my experience there has been historically, and continues to be presently, significant and entrenched distinctions between clean shaven and bearded brothers and that such was initiated then, and maintained now, by the leadership of that same institution.
This is but one example. There are also partial distinctions against fathers who sponsor their children for a university education. Those youngsters who are graduates are also made to be negatively distinct from others. The leadership of the WTBTS has such a lot to answer for!
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Is it true? Heard a rumor WT postphones Disfellowshipping until further notice!!??
by Olivia Wilde ini am not sure if it's true but i heard from a good source that wt has given instructions to elders to postponed disfellowshipping members from wrong doing/gross sin until further instructions given by headquarters.
i heard some jws were just reproved either privately or publically.
has anyone else heard anything like this recently?
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
It would certainly be a relief if the policy of disfellowshipping were to be quietly dropped. However, in that the evidence is that the WTBTS is a cult, the removal of the disfellowshipping sanction would be a significant loss of control for the cult. Then again, there is the problem of many individuals having internalised disfellowshipping in their own minds such that even although there is no announcement about an individual's having been expelled, congregation members nevertheless stop talking to you and avoid you - rather like pre-emptive disfellowshipping. That can he hurtful too.
In my case, I am de facto shunned just because I twice answered up at WT study (carefully using quoted references from published WT literature) pointing out that elders can only expect the obedience which they frequently demand, if their decisions are based on scripture. Otherwise, how can you give a rebuttal to the accusation that you are a "man pleaser" or "follower of men" I reasoned. I also explained that they are confusing "peitheo" (listen, persuaded, but translated as obey in Heb 13:17) with "peitharcheo" (obedience to authority).
So even if the policy of disfellowshipping were to be halted or relaxed, their way of marginalising some individuals at a congregation level continues to be problematic. But there are consequences nevertheless, for since I answered up I have discovered that there are 12 other dissidents in my congregation - they do communicate with me. Of course, the WTBTS gets not one little penny from me in contributions - absolutely nothing. My fellow dissidents also give nothing! This all started with the local BoE's blowing a wind and kicking the sheep.
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THE ORGANISATION BOOK - 2015 EDITION
by Nicholaus Kopernicus inpage 8 - para 10the book states that "jesus christ occupies an elevated position in the heavens, and much authority has been given to him.
" the paragraph goes on to reference ephesians 1:22 (jesus is "head over all things with regard to the congregation") and philippians 2:9-11 ("god exalted him to a superior position...).
the authors of this revised text avoid mention of jesus' revelation in matthew 28:18 namely, that "all authority has been given me in heaven and on earth".
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
Page 8 - para 10
The book states that "Jesus Christ occupies an elevated position in the heavens, and much authority has been given to him." The paragraph goes on to reference Ephesians 1:22 (Jesus is "head over all things with regard to the congregation") and Philippians 2:9-11 ("God exalted him to a superior position...). The authors of this revised text avoid mention of Jesus' revelation in Matthew 28:18 namely, that "All authority has been given me in heaven and on earth". That this is diluted to "much authority" in the text is truly eggregious. The Bible explains that we honour God by honouring his Son... "For the Father judges no one at all, but he has entrusted all the judging to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." John 5:22,23Thus, how does it honour Jesus to assert that he has been given "much authority" rather than "All authority... in heaven and on earth"?
Page 13 - para 5
The 2005 edition of the Organized book did not allude to elders' decisions being the result of Jesus having given direction to them. Rather, it stated on page 36 - "Spiritually qualified men would give evidence in their life that they are directed by holy spirit. They would be producing the fruitage of the spirit....". This is quite different in that the text is saying that Christians are doing their best to ensure that their life, decisions, treatment of others etc, is convergent with the teachings of Christ. Well that's how I see it anyway.
I can't bear reading any more of it for the time being - thoroughly inaccurate material so far and I've only read up to chapter 3 and critiqued it rather sparingly. Yet, before I finished reading for the day, I couldn't help but look up "lie" in the Insight volume and discovered this very pertinent information..."Jehovah God allows 'an operation of error' to go to persons who prefer falsehood 'that they may get to believing the lie' rather than the good news about Jesus Christ. (2Th 2:9-12)." Of course, the citation of 2 Th 2:9-12 in the Insight volume is a reference to the man of lawlessness. How ironic! Yes indeed, it seems like the Governing Body and their affiliates really are "believing the lie"! Perhaps Almighty God is allowing that "operation of error" to go to the GB and its writing committee! -
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Are Circuit Overseers next?
by Londo111 inlast year saw the elimination of the district overseer...and circuit overseers now must retire at 70. how long until the circuit overseer is no more?
of course, the role might still exist, they would simply not get paid.
they would have to care for their own expenses.
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
Many Filipinos have ignored WT counsel not to migrate. In consequence, the Manila Bethel has sent a dutchman and his wife to take on the role of Circuit Overseer for Filipinos in Europe. He is based at the Bethel in Rome. Initially, he visited Filipinos in England by using Easyjet. He was met at airport and cheuffered around by brothers. Now however, he has to drive himself from Rome in a vehicle several years old! Maybe the cash crisis has resulted in this change. If so, then the suspicion of some on this thread of CO's being next for fiscal retraction may be a reality before long. Many BoE's would be pleased to have less visits and be left to their own devices more than at present. One authority figure interfacing with other authority figures achieves nothing positive.
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Are Circuit Overseers next?
by Londo111 inlast year saw the elimination of the district overseer...and circuit overseers now must retire at 70. how long until the circuit overseer is no more?
of course, the role might still exist, they would simply not get paid.
they would have to care for their own expenses.
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Would Jesus have been disfellowshipped by the "Elders" of his day . . . . . .
by Dunedain ini bet jesus would have been df'd by the "elders" in his day.
lets think about it, jesus hung out with "worldly" people.
his closest friends were known prostitutes, money collectors, men of "prominence" in the world of that day, non "beleivers" of the "faith" like samaritans, and many others that todays "elders" would have deemed "unworthy".. jesus spoke against the "organization" and "elders" of his day.
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Nicholaus Kopernicus
I concur with Dunedain. Additionally, Jesus wore a beard and would be disdained by the Watchtower leadership for such. He was in many respects a victim of the self-serving leadership in 1st century. So too would he be a victim of of today's appaling leadership. Similarly, John the Baptist would be treated dreadfully and not least because of his being scantilly attired. His appaling treatment by today's Watchtower leadership would be inspite of James' counsel to be accepting and respectful to those wearing "vile raiment".
Some young JW's reject the arrogance of the GB and pursue higher education. They and their parents are marginalised within the organisation as a result. Yet the GB, by deprecating such individuals, ignore the Divine counsel to "lead a quiet life and mind your own business" (1 Th 4:11) and not "be a busybody in other peoples' affairs" (1 Pet 4:15). Their arrogance (would make Nebuchadnezzar look humble) is such that these scriptures are not seen as applying to them. Thus they proscribe some things and prescribe others for the flock. So presumptious!
I understand that the WTBTS monitors this and other "apostate" sites. Be it known to them that I know they defy Jesus' counsel wherein he says, "Let those who have ears to listen, listen well." They ignore many scriptures, mis-apply others, and distort many more in an essentially eisegetal NWT and appalingly written magazines and texts. Be it known to them that I, my family, and my friends are taking the only action we can - refraining from making financial contributions.
We discretely talk to others about the newspaper reports of child abuse and sucessful victim lawsuits. We also explain to others, the WTBTS's tendency to contest most cases and its excessive use of denial. So it is increasingly easy to get individuals to abstain from making contributions.
However, there is one important factor which makes it easier for my Bros and Sis to go on contributions strike. This is the demeanour and communication style of the GB on JW Broadcasting. So thank you GB for lending a hand, albeit unwittingly on your part!
