There are scholars, ex and current JWs on the site. They’ll give you more PDFs and actual documentation than you can shake a stick at.

Honestly the pedophile stuff is only icing on the cake for me. The other stuff like the flaws in the New World Translation, their badly flawed chronology and whitewashed history in the “Proclaimers” book did more for me than anything.

I personally don’t care if you don’t believe the pedophile stuff. Mormons are told not to go to anti-Mormon websites because “Satan is trying to shake them from the true faith” just like the JWs. Scientologists are the same way.

I’m sure the Society is still scaring the crap out of everyone to not look on the Internet for answers to questions which they never seem to give a straight answer for. Why do you think this is? Either the people on the “Internet” are absolutely wrong – or their absolutely right. THere are some crackpots on the website link I gave you above, but there are way more genuine people just looking for straight answers – no unlike yourself.

You choose what you want to know. I just pointed you in the right direction. It’s up to you to walk through the door and find out for yourself.

DM

Please define “systematically”. Are you implying that there is a concerted effort by those at higher levels amongst the Witnesses to conceal hundreds, if not thousands of abusers and put them in positions or oversight elsewhere? Let’s have some substantiated details of those charges or at least a web site that is trustworthy.

>Additionally, whatever they read from the platform at the Kingdom Hall is often far different from the separate letter that is to the Body of Elders only – and additionally what they teach at elder school. I have the books with notes to prove it.

If you have something substantial that applies to abuse cases, then what is it exactly? Don’t imply that the congregations are told one thing and then elders are told at their meetings to secretly move abusers around, keeping them in their oversight positions. Really now.

>And known molesters do hold positions as elders. I know ones that do. Personally.

Were they actually found guilty, or did they confess? Is it on record at some courthouse? Please provide a way for me to verify and then we’ll see.

>What I meant is the Watchtower society never has apologized. And in the litany of cases settled a couple years ago the condition for settlement was that the victims were never to speak to the press about what actually happened.

So how do you know there was no apology if the victims never said anything?

>I’ve lived on both sides myself. Which goes to show that personal testimony is in no way an indicator of what is true and what is not.

That’s the truth and is why I’m looking for substantiated facts for what you have implied. So far, I’ve seen nothing but claims and innuendo of cover ups on a grand scale. I’d really like to see the evidence.

Since you are so well acquainted with the situation, perhaps it would be easy for you to post the web sites? My mind is open.

Additionally, whatever they read from the platform at the Kingdom Hall is often far different from the separate letter that is to the Body of Elders only – and additionally what they teach at elder school. I have the books with notes to prove it.

And known molesters do hold positions as elders. I know ones that do. Personally.

As far as abusers apologizing. What I meant is the Watchtower society never has apologized. And in the litany of cases settled a couple years ago the condition for settlement was that the victims were never to speak to the press about what actually happened.

Like I said, the official court docs are online and legitimate.

I’ve lived on both sides myself. Which goes to show that personal testimony is in no way an indicator of what is true and what is not.

DM

Your comment that:

“Courts are overflowing with cases of elders being moved and reappointed”

is what you’d like to believe, but just isn’t true, unless the charges are being brought are phony or very old.

Overflowing? C’mon. If you really believe that, it’s because you are a victim of the propaganda of anti-JW’s who are desperate to prove that the Witnesses are somehow “wrong” so that they can feel better about having left.

Years ago, the Witnesses issued rules, read publicly at every Kingdom Hall, that those who have been involved in child abuse, even in the case of repentance and a clean record for many years, should never hold a position of responsibility in the congregation. That was preceded many years prior to that announcement by similar proclamations in their publications. Sure it is possible that some would conceal their past and get appointed. And it is possible that some ignored the rules and recommended former abusers. But that would be very rare and very wrong in the eyes of 99.999999999% of the witnesses, especially those in charge at the higher and highestst levels.

>They still have never apologized for their treatment of abuse victims.

How would you know that the abusers never apologized?

Their is no comparison between the Catholic record and the record of the Witnesses. I mean really, how often is it that a Catholic has an abortion or has sex out of wedlock and some punishment happens?

Comparing the two religions is a joke.

The witnesses are clean, not because they are without error, but because, in the vast, vast majority of cases they apply the formula for handling wrongdoing as stated in the Bible. For the most part, Catholics do not. That’s just a fact that I know from once being a Witness and from having many close cousins and even a girlfriend who are/were Catholics.

Look man, follow the truth wherever it takes you, even if it’s not what you want to believe. And investigate, but be warned that there are many on the internet who are anti-JW’s, desperate to prove the witnesses wrong because of the position that they know they are in.

There is almost always gonna be serious distortions from people with axes to grind in any situation.

But as far as the Witnesses go, I’ve lived on both sides. I know what is true and what is BS.

My best,

Al

I don’t disagree it happens in all religions. What I disagree with is their self-righteous attitude of being “better” than other religions when they’re quite simply not. And in the case of the Catholic Church that I mentioned above, the JWs are worse in my opinion. It is the JW’s hypocritical attitude that makes them a target.

In EVERY religion, these cases of serious wrongdoing are going to happen. EVERY religion, get it? Even in Biblical days, garbage like this happened in the Christian congregations.

The difference between the JW’s and other religions is that in the vast majority of cases, they take action against the wrongdoer. They disfellowship or remove him from the congregation.

It is extremely rare for that to happen in the vast majority of other religions.

A wise man will take note of “the difference”.

Al Oliver, ex-JW