bemused

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Posts by bemused

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  11

  JW child taken out of hospital - now cured of cancer

  by Xanthippe in

  1. social
  2. current

  jw child cured according to bbc this morning.

  if you remember the child's parents took him out of the southampton, uk hospital against the doctors' advice to have proton beam therapy for his brain tumour in prague.

  interesting follow-up article..

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  bemused

  Great news. Isn't science wonderful?!
  
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  28

  JW Child Abuse Makes 'Private Eye'

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  following on from the recent thread about wt losing an appeal concerning the uk charity commission (sorry, i can't do the link) i'm pleased to report that this matter is covered in the latest 'private eye' (20 march - 2 april issue).. it's a one-third page article (p.34) under the heading 'child abuse' and the headline 'silent witnesses'.

  it reports the case accurately, mentions several criminal cases and the ongoing high court compensation case.

  it includes some of judge mckenna's comments..

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  bemused

  Vidiot - 'Or they could be trying to provoke some sort of crisis because they're both stupid and arrogant.'

  Yes, I guess they might think that they can somehow paint themselves as victims and thus keep the support of their congregations who might otherwise begin to wonder what all the fuss is about. Doomed to failure I'd have thought, especially on this issue, but desperate people do desperate things.
  
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  28

  JW Child Abuse Makes 'Private Eye'

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  following on from the recent thread about wt losing an appeal concerning the uk charity commission (sorry, i can't do the link) i'm pleased to report that this matter is covered in the latest 'private eye' (20 march - 2 april issue).. it's a one-third page article (p.34) under the heading 'child abuse' and the headline 'silent witnesses'.

  it reports the case accurately, mentions several criminal cases and the ongoing high court compensation case.

  it includes some of judge mckenna's comments..

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  bemused

  The WT really have been monumentally stupid here. Actually, the evidence requested might arguably be disproportionate, but for some pig-headed reason they knowingly went down an incorrect legal route (judicial review) and then timed out on the correct channel (charity tribunal).

  I suppose they could be trying to provoke some sort of crisis but it seems more likely that they are just both stupid and arrogant.
  
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  32

  CO kept mispronouncing "debt"

  by Red Piller in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so, this happened a while ago - but i never posted on it.

  during a co visit, he gave a talk relating to jesus ransom (i think) and the "debt" that was owed by sin, etc.... he kept saying "debt" and he kept pronouncing the "b".

  so it sounded like "deb-t".

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  bemused

  Just Kidding said: During a recent WT study I attended, the magazine reader kept mispronouncing "heirs" as "hairs"!!!

  Hmm - puts a whole new complexion on changing your will to cut off your heirs.
  
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  28

  JW Child Abuse Makes 'Private Eye'

  by Joe Grundy in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  following on from the recent thread about wt losing an appeal concerning the uk charity commission (sorry, i can't do the link) i'm pleased to report that this matter is covered in the latest 'private eye' (20 march - 2 april issue).. it's a one-third page article (p.34) under the heading 'child abuse' and the headline 'silent witnesses'.

  it reports the case accurately, mentions several criminal cases and the ongoing high court compensation case.

  it includes some of judge mckenna's comments..

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  bemused

  That's great news Joe - well done.

  As others have said, Private Eye has a high readership amongst the establishment (partly because they're worried they might appear in it). You can be certain that the Charity Commissioners will be aware of this article and will want to do a thorough job on the WT's abuse problems knowing that the Eye's spotlight is on them.

  Like you, I was surprised at the extent of the data request. No timeframe was mentioned but going back a few years I bet there are many skeletons lurking in the WT closet.

  The headline was good and may be picked up by the popular press ('Silent Witness' is a popular BBC crime drama in the UK).
  
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  32

  Do JW Children Still Call Adults "Aunt" and "Uncle"?

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was young we were taught to refer to other adult jws as aunt or uncle.. was this also the case in other countries and does it still happen?.

  was it just a custom or has the literature ever commented on it?.

  thanks.

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  bemused

  I was never a JW but I called close friends of my parents uncle/auntie when I was young and I think this was a pretty widespread practice amongst my friends' families as well.
  
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  14

  I'm a father first!

  by FatherFirst in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi guys, this is my first post; i thought i should introduce myself.

  i was raised and spent most of my life a jw before i was disassociated, because i refused to stop seeing a non witness girl.

  i must say their decision to cut me off from my family and friends although initially traumatic ended up being the biggest blessing in disguise of my life.

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  bemused

  Welcome to the forum!

  I was particularly struck by your comment about the blood doctrine. How could anyone let their child die just because the leaders of a religious sect that is notorious for changing its mind say so? It's beyond me.

  I'm sure it must be traumatic to have no contact with your family but remember that's their choice, not yours.
  
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  20

  What are the Witnesses Afraid Of ?

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if the witnesses have the truth and have been going to meetings for many years and every week they learn how to be effective in the ministry and learn about the bible on sundays and every week have a family worship night, why are they afraid to talk to anyone who doesn't agree with them or question their beliefs?

  if they have the truth then nothing can refute it.

  the truth is the truth.

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  bemused

  I guess from a fully-in Witness point of view, it's hard to reconcile the fact that the religion they are devoting their life to and which they fully believe is 'the truth' only manages to attract and keep about 1 in every 1000 people, despite an enormous preaching effort from the rank and file. Two explanations are:

  A. Their religion consists of nothing more than dubious interpretations of an ancient book, that wouldn't convince any thinking person in the internet age.

  B. People don't join their religion because they are being controlled by Satan.

  From their perspective, A is obviously a non-starter, which leaves B. I don't know about you, but I'd be afraid if I thought 999 out of every 1000 people was possessed by Satan.
  
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  19

  JW going to prestigious university

  by ivanatahan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

  in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

  naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

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  bemused

  Do everything you can to get in. Whilst going to a prestigious university like Oxford doesn't guarantee success, it's a hell of a good start.

  JW parents take an interest in their children just like parents everywhere. I suspect your mother is proud of you deep down, despite the GB's rhetoric. If you're concerned about the subjects, perhaps you can just say that PPE is a popular course (which it is) covering a range of topics.
  
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  76

  WT loses appeal in UK!!!!!!!

  by Viva la Vida in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  the wt lost its appeals regarding the charity commission inquiry.

  here is the ruling:.

  http://www.charity.tribunals.gov.uk/documents/decisions/watch-tower-ruling-03mar15.pdf.

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  bemused

  It would be great if Private Eye got involved. In particular they would put pressure on the Charities Commission to justify why WT UK should retain its charitable status.

  I'd have thought the original Independent article and this latest court judgement would be enough to get their investigators on the case, plus perhaps some links to the Candace Conti case in the US to give some wider background.