Strictly speaking, of course I should not be posting here, but it's horse for courses. Some could not bring themselves to post before jumping ship, and that is understandable. But it is important for others to vent and attempt to understand things by discussing with other people who get it.
thedog1
JoinedPosts by thedog1
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43
Disciplinary Actions
by Cold Steel induring a disciplinary procedure, what would the response be if you wanted representation?
an advocate?.
why don't they have a group of unbiased men, a prosecutor to present the case against you and an advocate that would represent the accused?
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thedog1
Hi humbled,
that account, as we know, is about Abraham offering up his son. So this impacted on you in some way. Let me know how this affected you. Would like to know.
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43
Disciplinary Actions
by Cold Steel induring a disciplinary procedure, what would the response be if you wanted representation?
an advocate?.
why don't they have a group of unbiased men, a prosecutor to present the case against you and an advocate that would represent the accused?
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thedog1
ok, cantleave, I can understand your antipathy to the governing body, based on your experience. I stated in a previous post that I have some misgivings now about the sort of mind control that goes on in the org, where you cannot express how you feel at the risk of sanctions from the gb. A number of years ago, a close relative of mine was df'd unjustly. At the time I wrote a letter to the branch office in the country I was then living in, asking the bros what they were going to do about it, and accusing them, in a diplomatic sort of way, of living in an ivory tower, and not being attuned to the ordinary bro or sis. At the time, my wife was sure I would be severely censured, as I was, as I am now, serving as an elder. Amazingly, the branch wrote back to me in a very kind way, saying that they were continuing to investigate the circumstances of the case and would review it in time. They wanted to assure me that they were not in an 'ivory tower' and did care about the bros and sis in the congs. Anyway, the close relative was eventually re-instated and told that he should never have been df'd. He was never given a full apology and has never felt the same about the org since. His wife almost gave up but hung in there and is still a JW, as is he. He used to be an elder and had given his whole life to the org. So, understandably, he is bitter to an extent. I do not want to or intend to be an apologist for things that are wrong with the org. I too struggle with the lack of accountability and the complete lack of opportunities to express any doubts or misgivings. These things are part of human nature, our questioning nature. Jesus message is one of love, but even Jesus did counsel to view others as 'a man of the nations and a tax collector' if they did not listen to repeated counsel. Jesus' love was very encompassing, but he did not preach a form of unconditional love, that no matter what you do, it is all right with him. This sounds a bit dogmatic to some people, but Jesus has standards. He is willing to forgive, but we can also take advantage of that. I am not saying that this is what you mean exactly, but the scriptures do counsel to remove the wicked man from among yourselves, as Paul said. This is not to say that we should not be able to question the GB, and as I do not know the details of what you mention, how could I form an opinion on it, even if that opinion had any merit in your eyes, which it probably would not?
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43
Disciplinary Actions
by Cold Steel induring a disciplinary procedure, what would the response be if you wanted representation?
an advocate?.
why don't they have a group of unbiased men, a prosecutor to present the case against you and an advocate that would represent the accused?
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thedog1
humbled, not too up on how to pm, tried to click on link on the top of your last post to pm, is that how you do it? But it showed an error message. Would like to respond to your msg on page one, but I don't understand it fully. Can you explain it a bit more? Sorry, did not quite get it?
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thedog1
jean luc, not necessarily true about no love between them. Don't count it out completely, there are some people who serve as elders together who actually like each other. Gasp!
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73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
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thedog1
ok, I will, still digesting lots of things, not only CoC but various other topics aired on this site. But I will let you know when I finish it or anything that strikes me on the way.
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thedog1
Am I the only currently serving elder on here?
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43
Disciplinary Actions
by Cold Steel induring a disciplinary procedure, what would the response be if you wanted representation?
an advocate?.
why don't they have a group of unbiased men, a prosecutor to present the case against you and an advocate that would represent the accused?
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thedog1
While I realise some on this forum, such as cantleave, are somewhat exercised on this subject, I was simply stating my perspective on the issue. I do not have any qualifications in psychology, though I have a great interest in this subject and have read a number of books on it, but do not consider myself an expert by any means. The procedure in the congregations of JW's, for those who accept it, is that the body of elders are placed in a position to form judicial committees when members of the congregation act in such a way that they breach the standards that they voluntarily signed up to by becoming a Witness in the first place. This is not to sound legalistic, that is not what I am trying to sound like, but simply to emphasize that those who become Witnesses agree to play by the rules as set down in the scriptures. Fair play to you, cantleave, if, as an elder, you did not feel adequately qualified to have a negative impact on the lives of others. That is fine, your choice. Adustments, you say that nepotism plays a part, and friendship also. I remember a case I served on where a friend of mine was before the committee. I think I have mentioned somewhere on the forum that I decided to serve on the committee because I had an insight into his thinking. We ended up disfellowshipping him because we viewed him as not being truly repentant. If I had been influenced by friendship maybe the outcome would have been different. Desirous of change, even though the fact that someone had committed the sin many times could be viewed as a 'practice of sin', if the person shows repentance then the repentance is the determining factor. Adjustments, the factors determining repentance often revolve around what the person has done since they came to realize that they have done something that they need to repentant for. Have they apologized to the injured party, for example, if that is possible? Have they tried to right the wrong? Tears, or the lack of tears, are not an important factor in themselves.
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73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
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thedog1
Interesting. I did read a book about his theories. It was called, fittingly, E=mc2, (can't get the squared 2 in the right place!) I also like this quote attributed to him. "Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomena as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."
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43
Disciplinary Actions
by Cold Steel induring a disciplinary procedure, what would the response be if you wanted representation?
an advocate?.
why don't they have a group of unbiased men, a prosecutor to present the case against you and an advocate that would represent the accused?
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thedog1
Hi to all the recent respondees (if that is a real word) to my words here. Just want to think about this for a bit and then respond again as some of the comments warrant a considered response. Won't be long though.