| Author | Message | ||
     Anonymous |
March 22-24: Convention for EX-Jehovah's Witnesses A convention (actually, we call it a "Get-Together") for people who have left Jehovah's Witnesses will be held in Kansas City in March. Here is an overview: When: March 22 (Friday) to March 24 (Sunday), 2002 Where: Radisson Hotel - Kansas City Airport 11828 NW Plaza Circle Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. Web site: http://www.exjw.info Message board: http://pub41.ezboard.com/fbeyondjehovahswitnessesfrm13 Why Kansas City? Well, it's near the exact center of North America! We've only just begun promoting the event and we've already got 15 confirmed attendees. We're sure we'll be getting many more. Our primary focus is on healing and information. However, we expect to have a lot of fun, too! For full details, including a schedule, please see the web site. | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Othello sued in sex abuse case This story was published 1/23/2002 By Shirley Wentworth Herald Basin bureau OTHELLO -- A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against the Othello Spanish Jehovah's Witnesses congregation and its New York governing body, alleging they covered up the sexual abuse of a child. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane by Erica Rodriguez, 23, now of Sacramento, Calif., also seeks unspecified damages from Manuel Beliz, the man who abused her, and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Rodriguez, who testified in Adams County Superior Court that she was raped weekly between the ages of 4 and 11 by Beliz, won two criminal court trials. Beliz, 49, first was convicted in 1998, but that conviction was overturned. He was convicted a second time last year, and his 11-year sentence was reinstated....Rodriguez said after she moved to California at age 12, an elder in the church she attended there also began abusing her, which went on for four years. She said when she reported the abuse to church elders, the man was removed as an elder but not disfellowshipped from the church...Although Beliz was disfellowshipped from the church, he was reinstated as an elder shortly before the trial. Rodriguez said she called the Watchtower legal department to ask why. "This guy said, 'It's none of your business, don't call again,' " she said....Under Jehovah's Witness church policy, congregation members report transgressions of other members to a judicial committee made up of three or more church elders -- none of whom are women... See - http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2002/0123/story5.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness case judge misinformed, court told CALGARY (CP) — The judge who ruled that a Jehovah's Witness teenager must get blood transfusions for her leukemia wrongly believes that all members of the sect blindly follow dogmatic views, the girl's lawyer told court yesterday. In a judgment that is forcing the 16-year-old girl to get blood transfusions, provincial court Judge Karen Jordan said Witnesses don't challenge strict teachings about rejecting blood transfusions.>>> Since the provincial court judgment in February, the girl has been forced to have 12 transfusions and is scheduled for 18 more. In her ruling, Jordan pointed out that the girl has all her life been a devout Witness — to the extent that she now lives a "sheltered" life.>>> "The evidence satisfies me that religious teachings provided to (the girl) concerning blood transfusions have been dogmatic," Jordan said in a written judgment.>>> Article at: http://www.thestar.com/ | ||
| Anonymous |
Teen forced to have blood transfusions called prisoner Daryl Slade Calgary Herald A 16-year-old Jehovah's Witness who is being forced to undergo blood transfusions for leukemia has told how she is a "prisoner" at a hospital where she is tied to a bed. The Ontario native -- known only as Mia -- is fighting a court order that requires her to have the treatment in Alberta, even though blood transfusions go against her religion.--- The girl's father, who went against his family and the church's strict teachings by agreeing to the Alberta treatments, said his daughter's statement was "choreographed" by church elders. See - http://www.nationalpost.com/news/national/story.html?f=/stories/20020410/600118.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Teen Jehovah's Witness fights forced transfusions Alberta court told leukemia victim wants U.S. care CALGARY (CP) — It is cruel and inhumane to hold down a drugged 16-year-old Jehovah's Witness girl on a hospital bed and force her to receive blood transfusions against her religious beliefs, her lawyer told a packed court yesterday. "She fights back with all the strength that she can muster," David Gnam said of his leukemia-stricken client. "It defies common sense and human compassion to continue this battle." The girl is asking the Court of Queen's Bench to overturn a lower court ruling that says she isn't mature enough to refuse blood transfusions. She wants to go to the U.S. for treatment that doesn't include blood products.+ ++The court also heard a motion to have Gnam as well as the lawyer representing the girl's mother — who supports the girl's wishes — removed from the case. Robert Calvert, the lawyer representing the girl's father, who wants his daughter to get the transfusions, said the two lawyers work at an Ontario law firm that solely represents the Witnesses' Watchtower Society. He claimed the lawyers "preserve" the Witnesses' religious views and don't give their client "objective advice." +++Although the girl's doctors say she is getting the best available treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, Gnam said the transfusions are nothing more than experimental. +++Under the current treatment, her doctors say she has a 40-50 per cent survival rate. Without blood products, they claim she will die. Found at: http://www.thestar.com/ | ||
| Anonymous |
Alberta appeal court rules Calgary Jehovah's Witness must have transfusions April 26, 2002 EDMONTON (CP) -- A young Jehovah's Witness from Calgary will have to continue getting blood transfusions, even though they go against her religious beliefs, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled Friday. And in a move that increases the prospects of doctors completing her treatment over the next two months, the court refused to declare the case of such importance that the Supreme Court of Canada should hear it. The 16-year-old girl, who suffers from leukemia, is not mature enough to make a decision that's crucial to her treatment, the high court said in upholding earlier rulings by lower courts. The girl has already undergone 19 transfusions and is scheduled to undergo another one next Monday at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. *** The girl has gone to court a dozen times in her effort to stop the transfusions, saying she doesn't want to die but insisting it is within her religious rights to refuse treatment. The girl's Calgary doctors have said the treatment gives her a 40 to 50 per cent chance of beating the cancer, but without blood transfusions, she would likely die. *** The girl's lawyer, David Gnam, had asked the court to indicate in its eventual written ruling that the case should go to the Supreme Court because of its importance. But Justice Jean Cote said the Supreme Court has limits on how many cases it can hear and must set its priorities. (Edmonton Journal) ex + http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Jehovahs-Transfusion.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Ohio town law makes door-to-door evangelizing a First Amendment issue BY HELEN T. GRAY Knight Ridder Newspapers Posted on Fri, Apr. 26, 2002 (KRT) - The two women, neatly dressed and smiling, approached the first house on the tree-lined street, Bibles in hand, religious tracts in their tote bags. Like many Jehovah's Witnesses, going door to door is something that Leslie Donigan and Vicki Reid do frequently in Kansas City. But if they were in Stratton, Ohio, they'd be breaking the law. In 1998 the little village of Stratton passed an ordinance that requires anyone going door to door for any purpose - religious, political or otherwise - to identify themselves to authorities and obtain a permit. The Jehovah's Witnesses sued, challenging the ordinance as a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of speech provision. The case has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to rule by July. The high court's ruling is of interest to many groups, including religious groups like the Mormons and evangelicals who may also engage in house-to-house visits. But the law is so broad that it also would apply to political candidates, anyone going door to door for a cause and Girl Scouts taking cookie orders. One question is whether this is a freedom of speech issue or a freedom of privacy issue. Does the constitutional right to freedom of speech protect going door to door, as the Witnesses say? Or does a municipal government have the right to regulate this as a way of protecting its residents' privacy rights, as indicated by the Stratton ordinance? ****© 2002, The Kansas City Star. See rest of long article at http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/3143519.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
Beavo! It is about time to stop all of those fanatics from invading people's privacy. I think that the first amendment should protect, first of all, the people who are continuously invaded by many of the fanatic cults searching for new converts. | ||
| James Payne |
This is a clever tactic used by the JW cult as a smoke screen- the real issue is not freedom of speech but freedom of religion. They claim the 1st amendment protects their right of free speech, including their right to come on your property uninvited and unannounced to recruit unsuspecting people into a dangerous and destructive cult. There is a difference between freedom of religion and coercive cult manipulation. Clearly that is not what the framers of our constitution had on mind when using the word religion. Free exercize of religion and sneaky, cleverly disguised decption are two completely different things. Let's not allow them to pull the proverbial wool over our eyes as well. I know of the dangers involved as I fell prey to their empty promises and false hopes only to come to my senses and see them for who they truly are. | ||
| BAC |
Why don't JWs celebrate birthdays and holidays? | ||
| Anonymous |
Ex-Jehovah's Witness tells of her `escape' By Richard Scheinin Mercury News Posted on Sat, May. 18, 2002 Diane Wilson of Morgan Hill spent nearly half her life as a Jehovah's Witness, and her memories are bitter ones. For 25 years, she says, she was taught to not ask questions and eventually to shun her own daughter, who had left the Watchtower Society. Wilson became involved with the Watchtower, which has about a million members in the United States, in 1968 and was baptized a Witness in 1970. She was 21 and recently divorced, living on the edge in Santa Clara County with a young child. As she tells it, she was emotionally ``vulnerable'' and soon found herself in a rigid religious organization that expected -- and got -- complete obedience from its members. ++They sent someone over to teach me the Bible, which turned out to be their version. They said they were there to teach me the ``truth'' -- because it's either them or it's false Christianity. Not much room for interpretation? When a religion is legalistic and controlling and saying, ``It's either our way or the highway,'' that's when it's a problem. I think the Scriptures have many gray areas, and people should be free to think about and interpret them. But the Jehovah's Witnesses take those gray areas and make them black and white. And this is when they get into their doctrinal zigzags: First, you're told this is the way. But then something changes and they announce, ``We have new light. Jehovah has shown us that this is the way.'' It can go from Point A to Point B to Point C and back to Point A, and there's always a Scriptural justification. Their doctrine on rape has changed 12 times over 30 years, and it has wreaked emotional havoc over women. If a woman is raped at knifepoint or gunpoint and she doesn't scream, it's fornication. It's not rape. So if a guy tells you, ``I'll kill you if you scream,'' and you believe him, you haven't been raped. That was the doctrine for a long time. They zigzagged for years. In 1993, they finally said, ``No, rape is an act of violence. It's not sex at all.'' So with the doctrine on rape, you had a 180-degree turn. I was raped when I was 33, and I know the havoc this creates. I went to see the elders' judicial committee and was told this was an infraction of the rules because I didn't scream. They had no compassion for me at all. I don't understand why you stayed after that. You get hooked, because there's always the fear that Jehovah's going to kill you at Armageddon if you leave. I also found out later, they have methods of mind control. They get you to believe that they are the supreme authority, the channel between God and mankind. They literally say they're God's mouthpiece. ++ In my experience, affluent neighborhoods aren't so receptive to the Witnesses. But you go to some of these poorer areas -- people want those nice houses in the picture book. ++You're not allowed to date anyone who's not a Witness. You're not even allowed to have a friend who's not a Witness. ++A t age 14 with her confession to me that ``this religion is weird and when I'm 18, I'm leaving. Until then, I'll be obedient.'' She left home, she left the Witnesses, all in one day, on her 18th birthday. What was your relationship with her after that? I was not allowed to talk to her. She was ``disfellowshipped.'' What does it mean to be disfellowshipped? You're thrown out. The elders throw you out. See, that's why the elders are so feared. They hold your life in their hands. They stand up in front of the congregation and say your name and announce that you have been disfellowshipped because of conduct unbecoming a Christian. And then everyone in the congregation has to act like you're dead. If they pass you on the street, they look the other way. I go shopping in the store sometimes, and if a Witness sees me, they leave their cart and go running. How did you leave the Watchtower? Were you disfellowshipped? No. I made a public announcement that I was leaving. That's called ``disassociating.'' I wrote a letter: ``This letter is to notify you that I am leaving the Watchtower organization.'' Disassociating is considered the worst thing you can do, to leave the organization, because you're turning your back on God. I've not turned my back on God. ++How did you treat your daughter between the time she left and the time you left, three years later? I shunned her for three months. My husband shunned her for three years. ++People are hurting, and I just feel it's time for the veil of secrecy to be lifted. Maybe it'll save someone from wasting half their life, the way I did. Only a part of http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/3289656.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Hassan" To: xxxxx Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2002 5:38 AM Subject: NBC's Dateline- Pedophilia in the Jehovah's Witnesses forTuesday, May 28th NBC's Dateline- Pedophilia in the Jehovah's Witnesses for Tuesday, May 28th I have now confirmed that Dateline has booked the program outlining the JW molestation issue for Tuesday, May 28th. This looks to be a certain date unless some type of tragedy or international problem should preempt the program. Well now you have it, get your VCR¹s warmed up! Regards, Bill Bowen Silentlambs.org (Steven Hassan was interviewed for this segment.) ------------------------------------------ Steven Hassan M.Ed LMHC hassan@freedomofmind.com Resource Center http://www.freedomofmind.com "I know but one freedom & that is the freedom of the mind" Antoine de Saint Exupery | ||
| Patty Badger |
What about the shunning of a mother that has left the J.W.'s. I have lost 11 members of my family because of this. I have 2 great grandsons that I've never gotten to see & 6 grandchildren that I can't be around & 2 daughters & my 94 year old father. Is there anyone else out there that has been thru this torture? I'd like to hear from you. Patty Badger, Saxxylady@earthlink.net | ||
| Anonymous |
Allegations Along the Watchtower By Elisa Batista 2:00 a.m. May 25, 2002 PDT Between the ages of 4 and 11, Erica Rodriguez was raped once a week by a member of her Jehovah's Witness congregation in Othello, a bucolic town of 5,800 in central Washington state. Rodriguez's story and others like hers are posted on Silentlambs.org, a website launched by an ex-Jehovah's Witness who was dismayed at the lack of action taken by the congregation against members he claims are sexual predators. "Silentlambs offers them a place to put up their stories," said William H. Bowen, the website's founder. "To put it on paper is a form of healing." Most recently, Bowen has accused the Jehovah's Witnesses of excommunicating members whose stories were posted on Silentlambs.org. +++ Those who say they've been abused and their attorneys contend the current attention paid to sexual abuse in religious institutions is due to the courage of victims to come forward –- and not from information on websites such as Silentlambs.org, Survivorsnetwork.org, Factnet.org and Thelinkup.com. But they also say the websites have been instrumental in victims' healing. The websites, run by people claiming abuse, offer personal and mostly anonymous stories, news articles on the current scandal in the Catholic church, legal advice, discussion boards and tips on where to go for therapy. --- "Those two websites (Survivorsnetwork.org and Silentlambs.org) have been enormously instrumental in giving refuge and information to survivors looking desperately for resources they can trust," said Jeffrey R. Anderson, an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota, who has pursued 500 sexual abuse cases against churches of all denominations in the last 20 years.--- The Jehovah's Witnesses congregation, with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, denies it has excommunicated members who have contributed to Bowen's website. But David Semonian, spokesman for the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, admitted the group sometimes looks at the website "when necessary." He also said it attempts to "readjust (the) thinking" of those who post material critical of the religion on the Web. "This is what the Bible directs," Semonian said. "If someone is writing or causing dissension, we would meet with them -- two elders (congregation leaders) usually -- and discuss the matter. If indeed, he were causing dissension as the book of Ecclesiastes describes it, we'd 'readjust the man in a spirit of mildness.' You'd calmly discuss it together so you can bring them back to their senses. There is no automatic excommunication. We want to keep our members." --- Rodriguez, 22, recalled reporting what she claimed was regular abuse to two elders. She said they promised to "take care of it" and told her that if she told anyone else she'd be "disfellowshipped" or excommunicated. No action was ever taken by the congregation against her perpetrator, Manuel Beliz, an elder. A few years ago, Rodriguez reported the abuse to Sacramento police. Beliz was tried and convicted of raping her. He is currently serving an 11-year sentence in a Washington prison. Rodriguez is now seeking damages against the Jehovah's Witnesses, charging it knowingly harbored a child molester, she said. Anderson said the Othello congregation violated a mandatory child abuse reporting law in Washington. "A lot of pain and suffering could be prevented if they would forget about the church's image, take sexual abuse seriously and start reaching out to the victims," Rodriguez said. See complete article at http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52484,00.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Hi everyone, I would like to voice my opinion to all ex-jehovah's witnesses. do you not find it selfish of you to want to leave the organization? This is just my opinion, but what if God wanted you there so that he(God)could work through you to glorify him(God) by helping someone to the truth which is( Jesus Christ). Just as he(God)uses all righteous people. But, then you decide that you dont want to do it GOD'S way. think about it. In this material world there is good and bad in everything. nothing is perfect. ALL religions in the material world have good and bad in them. None of them are perfect. So no matter where GOD puts us, were there to do his will and not ours. Remember we all make misstacks.(mistakes)even Moses made mistakes. Just keep looking for the truth(Jesus Christ)and one day we'll see him face to face. GOD BLESS YOU AND PRAISE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness teen not expected to survive; blood transfusions halted July 2, 2002 CALGARY (CP) -- The Alberta government has given up its efforts to force a teenaged Jehovah's Witness to receive blood transfusions as part of her leukemia treatment, saying the treatment has not been successful. ///Doctors now say the girl has only a 10 per cent chance of surviving and they're prescribing palliative care. In a makeshift courtroom at Alberta Children's Hospital on Tuesday, a judge ruled that there is no longer any reason for her to remain in the province's care. /// from http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Jehovahs-Transfusion.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Women allege abuse by Jehovah's Witness Paul McEnroe Star Tribune Published Jul 3, 2002 Two women who alleged they were sexually abused when they were children by a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Annandale, Minn., filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Wright County. The women claim they were abused at various times by Derek Lindala of South Haven, Minn., while on church-related outings and at Lindala's parents' home. The abuse reportedly happened during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Lindala wasn't available to comment. One of the women, Heidi Meyer, 22, said during a news conference Tuesday that she was between 10 and 12 years old when Lindala molested her many times. She said that when she reported to her parents that she'd been abused, elders ordered her to stay silent or risk being shunned by church members and losing membership in the congregation. The other woman who sued is requesting anonymity and is identified in the suit as Jane Doe. Both women live in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities. ---"I was molested repeatedly by a member who was allowed to remain in good standing," Meyer said. "I came forth, and the elders of the church determined that I mistakenly interpreted the entire incident. They said that if I were to speak out, I'd face a judicial committee for spreading slander and gossip. That's a very powerful threat." Anderson, who has filed sexual abuse cases against Catholic priests and leaders in the Mormon Church, attacked the Jehovah's Witnesses' national organization, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York City, saying its policy is to have elders confront people who allege abuse. ---Bill Bowen, a Jehovah's Witnesses elder from Kentucky whose nonprofit organization helps sexual abuse victims in the church, said thousands of members have come to his organization seeking counsel. "They live in absolute terror if they go public with their stories," Bowen said. "People like Heidi Meyer are heroes." -- Paul McEnroe is at pmcenroe@startribune.com extracted from http://www.startribune.com/stories/614/3033760.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness died after crash injuries A Jehovah's Witness whose legs were crushed in a road accident caused when an ice cream man from Stretford dropped his cigarettes died after refusing a blood transfusion, a court heard on Tuesday. Margaret McCracken, 57, was trapped between her camper van and a parked car that was shunted backwards when it was hit by the ice cream van. Both her legs were smashed and one had to be amputated but Mrs McCracken refused a blood transfusion because of her religious beliefs and died two days later. At Manchester Crown Court the ice cream salesman, Himat Singh, who was working for his family business despite never holding a driving licence, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for two years. +++Himat Singh was told by Judge Anthony Ensor that bending down to pick up cigarettes while driving was a case of gross criminal negligence. "I take account of the fact she refused a blood transfusion because of her faith as a Jehovah's Witness, but there is no doubt that but for your poor driving this lady would have been alive today." +++Mr Long said the issue of Jehovah's Witness's beliefs has been decided by case law, adding: "The fact somebody has refused treatment because of religious principles is not a defence."+++ http://www.thisistrafford.co.uk/trafford/stretford__urmston/news/STRETFORD__URMSTON_NEWS1.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Secret database protects paedophiles The Jehovah's Witnesses organisation keeps a sex offenders register that nobody outside the church is allowed to see, a former "elder" tells Panorama. Bill Bowen, who has spent his lifetime as a Jehovah's Witness and nearly twenty years as an elder, says the organisation covers up abuse by keeping this database secret. His sources indicate there are 23,720 abusers on the list - who are protected by the system. "They [the Jehovah's Witnesses] do not want people to know that they have this problem", he tells Panorama. "And by covering it up they just hurt one person. By letting it out, then they hurt the image of the church." ...According to the Jehovah's Witnesses' interpretation of the Bible, allegations of child abuse must first be reported to the organisation's legal desk. The police are sometimes never told. Action can only be taken within the congregation if there are two witnesses to a crime or a confession from the accused. And if a member of the congregation is suspected or even convicted of child abuse, this fact is kept secret. Bill Bowen, from Kentucky in the United States, resigned as an elder in 2000 in protest at this child protection policy. He told Panorama: "These men remain anonymous to anyone outside the organisation and anyone really inside the organisation unless you are personally reporting the matter." ...Alison Cousins was let down by the Jehovah's Witnesses' policy on child protection When Alison Cousins was abused by her father she followed the procedure she had been taught - she turned to one of the elders. Unknown to her at the time, her sister had also reported her own abuse by their father in the same way. Despite having known for three years that Alison's father was a paedophile, the same elders sent Alison back home, where she continued to be abused. In the end Alison went to the police and her father was sentenced to five years in prison. ...Little over a year ago, Bowen, as a concerned elder, rang the legal desk and asked for advice on how he should handle a suspected case of abuse in his congregation. The advice was: "You just ask him again: 'Now is there anything to this?' If he says 'no', then I would walk away from it... "Leave it for Jehovah. He'll bring it out." extract from http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/audiovideo/programmes/panorama/newsid_2119000/2119903.stm | ||
| childofgod |
JW does not believe in the second death or the fact that hell is real. Well I just have some news for them. Rev: 19:20 - And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had recieved the mark of the beas, and them that worshipped his image.These both were cast alive into a lake of FIRE BURNING with brimstone. There are more verses in the bible to prove it such as: Matthew 25:41 & 46 Matthew 5:29-30 Luke 16 (The Lazarus story) Rev 21:8 (all sinners will have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the SECOND death. All this is more than enough proof the bible says spacificly what will happen and the JW change it to what they want it to be. Well they will have God to answer to for that. Note Rev 22:19 (And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.) Thank you. Childofgod. | ||
| Anonymous |
Church's stance attacked Jul 26 2002 By Staff Reporter, Evening Mail A man whose son was sexually abused by a Jehovah's Witness has criticised the church after leaders said they would consider keeping the paedophile in their ranks. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims Jaswant Patti is still a member of the church... A Jehovah's Witness spokesman confirmed the church is carrying out an internal investigation into the case, after which Patti could remain a member if he shows "genuine repentance". Patti was jailed for five years in 1999 after he was found guilty of four offences of indecent assault and one other serious sexual assault against two boys, then aged nine and 14. ...The father of one of the victims said: "The church has a policy of disfellowshipping which can be applied to a person who has got a smoking problem and finds it hard to give up. "Why is it Jaswant Patti, who has been convicted and whose name will be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life, hasn't been disfellowshipped?" The spokesman for the UK headquarters of the church said..."If someone has committed repugnant acts they will be disfellowshipped but it depends on a person's attitude. "If a person shows genuine repentance it might not mean they are expelled. That's what the elders in the congregation would have to determine. "To be one of Jehovah's Witnesses you have to be morally clean and we try our utmost to keep the depraved out. The person would have to go a long way to prove they're genuinely repentant. "If they remained a member they would never occupy a position of responsibility." ex http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm?objectid=12065705&method=full | ||
| Anonymous |
Former elder excommunicated for speaking out on sexual abuse The Associated Press 7/26/02 5:55 AM DRAFFENVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A lifelong Jehovah's Witness said he was expelled from the tight-knit religious group after publicly criticizing the church's handling of allegations of child sex abuse. William Bowen, a former church elder, said he was excommunicated -- or disfellowshipped, as the denomination calls it -- after a brief hearing Wednesday. +++Bowen complains that child-sex allegations are generally not reported to secular authorities by the Jehovah's Witnesses because of the church's closed nature and its insistence on handling problems internally. Bowen said he plans to appeal the decision, which was made at a closed hearing where he was not present. +++Bowen said. "The real crime is, now they're going to silence anyone in the organization who needs help or support." Being disfellowshipped requires members to shun the person who has been expelled. Bowen is the fourth Jehovah's Witness disfellowshipped this year for speaking out on the issue. | ||
| Anonymous |
Ousted Members Contend Jehovah's Witnesses' Abuse Policy Hides Offenses By LAURIE GOODSTEIN William Bowen always considered himself a devout Jehovah's Witness. As a child, he felt it was his duty to go door to door passing out the church's magazine, The Watchtower. Later, as an elder in his Kentucky congregation, he said he saw it as his duty to inform church officials that a fellow elder had abused a child. But when Mr. Bowen contacted the church's headquarters in Brooklyn, he says, he was rebuffed. Frustrated by the church's inaction and by its confidentiality provisions, which he said prevented him from sharing the information with others, Mr. Bowen resigned as an elder in December 2000. A year later, he started a group to monitor child sexual abuse in the church. Late last month, Mr. Bowen, 44, was excommunicated from the church. Behind a locked door, with plastic bags taped over the windows to ward off onlookers, he said, three church elders meeting at the church's Kingdom Hall in Draffenville, Ky., found him guilty of "causing divisions." The punishment was "disfellowshiping" — complete shunning. In the past three months, four other people have been expelled from the Jehovah's Witnesses after accusing it of covering up the sexual abuse of children by its members. For Mr. Bowen and other critics of church policies on sexual abuse, the expulsions are part of a concerted effort to keep such abuses quiet. Expelled Witnesses say the church's own policies and culture conspire to conceal abuse. A panel of church elders, all men, meets in secret to decide each case, a procedure which critics say prevents members from knowing there is an abuser in their midst. To prove an accusation, a child must have a witness to the incident, a condition that is usually impossible to meet. "This is evidence for the world to see how the Jehovah's Witnesses treat abuse survivors and those who try to protect them," said Mr. Bowen. "They silence them with the threat of disfellowshiping." +++ the shape of the scandal is far different than in the Catholic church, where most of the people accused of abuse are priests and a vast majority of the victims were boys and young men. In the Jehovah's Witnesses, where congregations are often collections of extended families and church elders are chosen from among the laypeople, some of those accused are elders, but most are congregation members. The victims who have stepped forward are mostly girls and young women, and many accusations involve incest. The scope of abuse in the Jehovah's Witnesses is a matter of considerable debate. The church has recently been sued by eight plaintiffs in four lawsuits alleging abuse, one filed in July in Minnesota. Mr. Bowen says that his victims support group, "silentlambs," has collected reports from more than 5,000 Witnesses contending that the church mishandled child sexual abuse. The church keeps a database of members and associates who have been accused or found guilty of child abuse. Mr. Bowen said church sources had told him the database contained the names of more than 23,000 people in the United States, Canada and Europe. The church says the number is "considerably lower," but will not say what it is. +++The elders are the ones required to judge whether someone has committed a sin like child abuse. If the abuser confesses and is forgiven, the only notice given to the congregation is an announcement that the person has been disciplined. No reason is announced. However, the elders report the person's name to headquarters, where it goes into the database so that abuser is banned from serving in a position of authority. "If a person can cry a good tune, there are virtually no repercussions and nobody besides the elders ever knows," said Jean Kraus, who said she went to elders in her Queens congregation years ago accusing her former husband of abusing their daughter. She said that he confessed, was reprimanded and was still an active Witness. "They told me that he wasn't a wicked man, that it was a weakness," she said. +++If the accused denies the allegation, the victim's testimony alone is not sufficient unless there is at least one other witness to the act. The church says its policy is based on a scriptural injunction in Deuteronomy 19:15 that says two or three witnesses are necessary to prove a man has sinned. Heidi Meyer, a third-generation Jehovah's Witness in Annandale, Minn., said she went to her elders in 1994, when she was 15, to say that from the ages of 10 to 13 she had been repeatedly molested by a fellow Witness eight years her senior, the older brother of a friend. The only eyewitness was her brother, who had once seen the man grab her buttocks as she got out of a car. The elders asked explicit questions that made her uncomfortable, she said. According to an internal Witness document "Pay Attention to Yourself and to All the Flock," the elders must determine in which category the accusation fits: if it was "uncleanness," a one-time touching above the waist; "loose conduct," touching below the waist or more than once above; or the most severe, "porneia," direct sexual stimulation or activity resulting in orgasm. Each offense carries different penalties, with the most severe for porneia. The man she was accusing insisted that Ms. Meyer had misinterpreted what happened. The elders agreed. "I was expecting spiritual guidance," Ms. Meyer said. "I was expecting them to genuinely, sincerely attempt to find justice and protect the rest of the congregation from this same thing happening. And none of that happened." She, like several other alleged victims and their relatives, said in interviews that the elders warned her against reporting the abuse or talking about it with other members. "They told me if I spoke about it with anybody, I needed to be careful because I could face a judicial committee for gossip or slander," she said. "If they felt I had committed that sin, I would be disfellowshiped." Ms. Meyer says she learned only years later that Amber Long, another young woman in the congregation, had at age 12 gone to the elders with her parents to report that she had been molested by the same man. Ms. Long, who is now 23, said she and her parents received a letter from the Witnesses advising her to "leave it in Jehovah's hands." "They said we shouldn't hold ill feelings about our brothers," Ms. Long said. "Since there weren't two eyewitnesses, they said there wasn't much they could do." Neither Ms. Long nor Ms. Meyer is still active in the Jehovah's Witnesses. On July 2, the two women filed suit against the man they accuse of molesting them — Derek Lindala, 30, of South Haven, Minn. — the local congregation, and Jehovah's Witness headquarters. Mr. Lindala did not respond to a message left at his home seeking comment. Barbara Anderson, of Tullahoma, Tenn., said that when she and her husband lived and worked at church headquarters in Brooklyn in the 1990's, she was asked to gather information about child abuse in the congregations. She said she handed over to church leaders dozens of letters complaining about how cases were handled. For her it was a revelation. "Jehovah's Witnesses like to say that we have one of the most crime-free organizations," Mrs. Anderson said. "But all problems are taken to the elders, and the elders keep them quiet." She said that the documents prompted an internal debate among church leaders, and that when there was no action, she left headquarters disheartened in 1993, after 11 years of volunteering. +++On July 25, Mrs. Anderson was excommunicated. A week later her husband, Joe, who had earlier resigned as an elder after 42 years, was also expelled.+++ | ||
| Anonymous |
Guilty of Religious Activity - the Prosecution Case. UZBEKISTAN Igor Rotar, Keston News Service, 29 August 2002 As Keston News Service has reported (see KNS 23 August 2002) a member of a religious minority, a Jehovah's Witness, has for the first time ever been convicted under an article of the Uzbek criminal code (Article 156 "incitement to national, racial or religious hatred") specifically aimed at religious activity. Keston has now seen a copy of the prosecution statement against Marat Mudarisov on 6 August made by the investigator at the department of Internal affairs in the Akmal-Ikramovsky district of Tashkent, police chief Khamid Khaidarov. According to this document, "Marat Mudarisov has been a member of an unofficial religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses since 1993. Marat Mudarisov has distributed religious literature, has called on citizens to join the Jehovah's Witnesses and has promoted the activity of his organisation over other religions, thus creating the conditions for inter-religious strife. On 20 July Mudarisov was invited to a discussion [by the National Security Services, the ex-KGB] of Akmal Ikramovsky district in Tashkent. When searched, he was found to be carrying religious literature which is banned from distribution in Uzbekistan..." +++Unusually the Jehovah's Witnesses tried to seek protection from the official organisations, but this attempt failed. According to Aleksandr Simontsev "On 22 August, we tried to reach the office of Sayera Rashidova, the Uzbek Parliamentery Ombudsman [the human rights representative elected by parliament], but she would not see us and sent us to the Ombudsman's chief adviser, Tatyana Matirnyuk. Matirnyuk told us that our complaint was pointless, as the Jehovah's Witness organisation was not registered in Tashkent. +++ http://www.keston.org/020829UZ.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness teen dies of leukemia Sep. 6, 2002. 01:00 AM By Carol Harrington CALGARY — A 17-year-old Jehovah's Witness girl who received dozens of blood transfusions against her wishes died yesterday of leukemia in an Edmonton hospital. Since she was diagnosed last February with acute leukemia, Bethany Hughes fought a very public court battle that split her parents and pitted the teen against the Alberta government. ---Throughout court proceedings, judges consistently went against the findings of psychiatrists and bioethicists who argued that Hughes was a mature minor. The courts awarded the province custody under the Alberta Child Welfare Act. The courts concluded the teen was pressured by her religion to refuse the transfusions and that she didn't have a free, informed will. Doctors gave Hughes a 40 to 50 per cent chance of beating the cancer with intensive chemotherapy and blood transfusions. But after four months of treatment, cancerous legions appeared on her back She originally told the court that her refusal to accept blood was for religious reasons. From www.thestar.com | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness teen's dad lashes out at church The Edmonton Journal; Journal News Services Saturday, September 07, 2002 ===A day after she died of leukemia, Bethany Hughes' long fight with her father and the courts took a series of dramatic twists. First, her grieving father held a news conference in Edmonton announcing he intends to sue the Jehovah's Witnesses, claiming it destroyed his family and caused his daughter to fight against blood transfusions that could have saved her life. David Gnam, a Jehovah's Witness lawyer, interupted Lawrence Hughes, argued with him and accused him of lying during the news conference. Meanwhile in Calgary, Bethany's own lawyer announced that Bethany herself would be speaking from the grave -- through a video she taped in the summer to be used in court if she died -- to ensure no young Canadian has to go through what she did. "She told me shortly prior to her death that she wished me to pursue all reasonable legal avenues, right through to the Supreme Court of Canada, in an effort to vindicate her charter rights," said lawyer David Day. ===Her father, Lawrence, announced Friday he is launching a class-action lawsuit against the Watchtower Society, the legal group that represents the Jehovah's Witnesses. Speaking on the steps of Edmonton's Cross Cancer Clinic where his daughter died a day earlier, Hughes says he was excommunicated and shunned after fighting the church's stance against blood transfusions for Bethany. "It's been a long nightmare," he said. "A lot of times I thought I'd wake up and it would all be gone. It's basically destroyed my life and ruined me financially as well." ===Lawrence contends that since mid-July, when Bethany went to Edmonton for chemotherapy treatment without blood transfusions for her acute myeloid leukemia, he had no access to his daughter other than by telephone. Lawrence had split with the religious group and his family, soon after consenting to blood transfusions for the teen. His wife and daughter moved from the Calgary home last June and Lawrence has since filed for divorce, which includes seeking custody of his youngest daughter. "I'm holding the Watchtower Society responsible," he said. ===Bethany will be buried in Calgary next week. © Copyright 2002 Edmonton Journal http://www.canada.com/edmonton/news/story.asp?id={AB74EEB8-866C-40AA-BA2A-E9CB8DB9370F} | ||
| Anonymous |
Cardiologist wins malpractice suit Sep 6, 10:05 PM By Brian Monroe FLORIDA TODAY VIERA -- After five years of legal maneuvering and six days of court testimony, a local cardiologist felt "great relief" Friday after a jury found him not negligent in the death of a 50-year-old wife and mother who died days he operated on her blocked heart. Dr. Robert Morris, an invasive cardiologist, operated on Susan Rampino in 1997 after she came to him complaining of chest pains that had persisted for nearly seven years. Rampino said she felt fatigued, had aching joints, night sweats and that periodically her heart would race. But what would make Rampino's usually routine surgery more difficult -- and eventually deadly, some experts said -- was her directive that she not receive blood or blood products because of her beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. ///Hours after the operation, however, the area around the stent clotted up. Other doctors and medical staff at Holmes Regional Medical Center tried to help Rampino, but her condition deteriorated. Morris didn't get a call until 2 a.m. -- four hours after Rampino complained of chest pain. While trying to force a stronger wire through the more difficult blockage, it punctured a smaller vein. A heart bypass team took over and was able to stabilize Rampino. Still, they said she needed blood to replace what was lost in surgery. Experts for both sides presented different reasons for why she passed away four days later. During the trial, some doctors said Rampino's heart was more than 50 percent dead before Morris started operating, others said that a blood transfusion could have saved her life. Her surviving family members -- husband Dominick and son Chad -- brought the medical malpractice suit in 1999. They sought nearly $2 million in lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. Attorneys for Morris, however, countered that he did nothing wrong and that it was Rampino's decision to not have a blood transfusion that killed her, not any surgical errors. ///"It was just a very sad situation," Martinez said. "You have to respect other people's faith and wishes but, then again, also accept the consequences." http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA29139A.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
'Silentlambs' speak out about sex abuse By Christine Clarridge Seattle Times staff reporter Several former Jehovah's Witnesses stood outside a Kingdom Hall church near Green Lake yesterday with a tiny toy lamb whose mouth was covered with black electrician's tape. The symbolically silenced lamb — delivered to the door of the fellowship hall — represented the 5,000 members of the 6 million-member church who claim to have been sexually abused by leaders or others in the church. They further claim to have been silenced or ignored when they sought the church's guidance and protection. The news conference was one of about 16 across the country called to bring attention to "silentlambs," an organization planning a march on church headquarters in New York on Sept. 27. Started by a former church member who said he was dismayed by the way the church covered up allegations of abuse, silentlambs is calling for changes in church policies. "We want to open the doors, " said Bruce Baker, a former Jehovah's Witness leader in Oregon. "We want Watchtower headquarters to turn cases of abuse within the church over to the police and let the police handle it.'' National church leaders could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman recently told The New York Times that the church's policies on sexual abuse were based on the Bible and were exemplary. ***Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that emphasizes biblical literalism and the imminent end of the world. Members are best-known in the secular world for giving out religious tracts and for not celebrating holidays and birthdays or allowing blood transfusions. Former members said the church's policies and culture conspire to conceal abuse. The small group of activists in Seattle included several ex-church members who have been "disfellowshipped" or excommunicated, as well as one woman who claimed the church did nothing to protect her and her sister when they came forward with claims of abuse. She said she went to her church leaders to ask for help because her stepfather, who had also sexually abused her, was abusing her younger sister. Her stepfather, who has since been disfellowshipped by the church, never paid a legal price for what she said were years of abuse. ***According to Bill Bowen, founder of silentlambs, there have been more than 5,000 current or former members nationwide who say that the church mishandled allegations of child sexual abuse. Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com. Found at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134530329_jehovah06m.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Woman blames affairs on church The Toronto Sun, Sep. 11, 2002 By IAN MCDOUGALL, TORONTO SUN A woman suing the Jehovah's Witnesses for $700,000 testified yesterday she blames the church and sex abuse from her father for her extra-marital affairs. The woman also admitted under cross-examination by defence lawyer Colin Stevenson that she and her husband engaged in a menage a trois that led to the birth of a baby. "I told (my husband) every time it happened," she said. "I don't understand why we have to talk about this. That is a private issue." ---She launched her suit in 1998, naming the church and two elders, Brian Cairns and Steve Brown, as defendants. She alleges the church tried to hide the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and discouraged her from seeking psychiatric counselling. http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/rnb/archives/00000811.html | ||
| littlenothing |
I am an inactive Jehovahs Witness who was molested by my father. Everyone protected him and called me a lier. Even my own family members who were supposed to protect and love me. Now that I am inactive they throw it up to people and say things like "see SHE left the truth because she can't handle all the lies she told. I am not the one who is lying though. My story has not changed in all of these years. The last time I saw my father in person, and was alone with him he started talking about *what happened* like it was no big deal, then he goes and tells people he didnt do it AND has a family member corner me and tell me that they had proof that I was lying. They also have sent another family member to ask me to write a noterized letter saying that I lied about the whole thing because I was mad about something. The elders never even had a meeting with me about it instead they told my father that I was just rebelling agains the religion and family. I felt like I was the only one being treated this way and then I saw the special on Dateline NBC and it really hit me hard to know that the organization that I loved allowed so many people to be hurt. I do not blame God but I do blame the people that make the overall decisions for not handling things in a law abiding way and protecting innocent children. | ||
| Anonymous |
Abuser posed no threat: church elder Shannon Kari The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, September 17, 2002 TORONTO -- An elder at a southwestern Ontario congregation of the Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday defended a church decision to allow a man accused of having sexually abused his daughter in the mid-1980s to report himself to authorities. Steve Brown testified in Ontario Superior Court that the abuse had stopped and there was no reason to suspect the two younger children in the family were in danger when elders in the Shelburne congregation learned of the allegations in December 1989. Victoria Boer, 31, is suing Mr. Brown, two other church elders and the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society for $700,000, alleging "gross negligence" in refusing to report suspicions of child abuse as required by law. Ms. Boer, who is permitting her name to be made public, alleges she was sexually abused by her father between the ages of 11 and 15, until her mother intervened. The father has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he is not a defendant in the lawsuit. A church committee did not expel the father or make the allegations public, Mr. Brown said. "He was repentant and fit to be a member of the congregation," the church elder said. "We were not sitting with a man who was determined to continue a course of wickedness." ex http://www.canada.com/ottawa/news/story.asp?id={B7D7247C-58E8-48CB-A4B6-70FECD58B76E | ||
| Anonymous |
'Clean image' took priority Colleagues concealed sex abuse to protect faith - Witnesses elder By James McCarten / The Canadian Press Friday, September 13, 2002 Back The Halifax Herald Limited Toronto - Two church elders from an Ontario group of Jehovah's Witnesses were more worried about the "clean image" of their faith than they were the well-being of a young sexual abuse victim, one of their former colleagues said Thursday. Harald Momm was one of eight elders in the Shelburne, Ont., congregation in 1990 when he learned one of their young disciples had accused her father of sexually abusing her several years earlier. But fellow elders Steve Brown and Brian Cairns were more interested in protecting the accused, Gower Palmer, than they were the welfare of his young daughter, Momm testified. "They didn't want to have anything to do with the law of the land ... they wanted it kept quiet, and we didn't agree with that," he told lawyer Charles Mark. "This has been going on for 13 years and all I ever got out of it is: 'It is important to keep a clean image. Never mind about the victims.'" Brown, Cairns and the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society of Canada are among the defendants in a civil suit launched in 1998 by Vicki Boer, Palmer's daughter and herself a former Witness. Boer, now 31, alleges the defendants failed to allow her adequate treatment for the abuse she suffered between the ages of 11 and 14 in the family home in Shelburne, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. Rather than immediately inform the Children's Aid Society and permit Boer to seek counselling outside the church, she was required, according to Biblical principles, to confront her father and allow him to repent his alleged sins, the suit alleges. ---Meanwhile, Palmer - the remaining elders convinced of his spiritual repentance - rose through the ranks and enjoyed a level of privilege within the congregation normally reserved for the most respected members, said Momm. Boer's 58-year-old father continues to live in Shelburne and has never been criminally charged. ---While victims of sexual abuse normally aren't identified in public, Boer has agreed to allow her name to be publicized as part of her effort to promote what she alleges is widespread abuse within the confines of the church's congregations. --- http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/09/13/f105.raw.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Abuse charge against Church gets Jehovah's Witnesses ousted BY BOBBY ROSS JR. Posted on Sat, Sep. 28, 2002 Associated Press TULLAHOMA, Tenn. - Joe and Barbara Anderson have been abandoned by their peers. Their son won't talk to them, and won't let them see their 3-year-old grandson. For more than 40 years, Joe and Barbara Anderson were faithful Jehovah's Witnesses, preaching door-to-door and winning more than 80 converts to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. But now the Andersons are outcasts, excommunicated from the religion they served. The couple's transgression: Sowing discord in the faith by alleging that the denomination has protected pedophiles and concealed hundreds of child molestation cases. ''Our son and daughter-in-law think what we've done is so horrible,'' Barbara Anderson, 62, said at her sycamore-shaded rural cottage about 65 miles southeast of Nashville. ***Four Witnesses, including Barbara Anderson, were excommunicated after NBC's Dateline aired their concerns in May. Joe Anderson, 67, was disfellowshipped, as the church calls it, in July over a letter to headquarters questioning his wife's treatment. Barbara Anderson worked as a researcher at Watchtower headquarters in the early 1990s and a church official asked her to look into the handling of sexual abuse cases. She said she found hundreds of allegations on record, but kept secret, in church files. She said church elders used Scripture to argue ''you're not to make an accusation against an older man unless there are two or three witnesses,'' she said. ``No molester is going to have any witnesses, that's for sure.'' ***Undeterred, Barbara Anderson co-founded Silentlambs, a support group for church victims. Headed by former Kentucky church elder Bill Bowen, Silentlambs claims the denomination keeps molestations secret, won't let victims warn other members about abusers and shuns those who speak out. ***In the closed society, anyone who is a Witness must cut off contact with disfellowshipped members, even relatives. The Andersons' son, Lance Anderson, 41, a church elder in Mishawaka, Ind., said the intention isn't to punish his parents but to lead them to repentance. The son said pedophilia is a global problem but that only God -- not man or government -- can stop it. ''I love my parents dearly, but the message they have chosen to accomplish this is harming good people,'' he said. ``They are putting themselves, really, in harm's way.'' *** http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/4163522.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witness guilty of sex charges BY JANE HUNT October 14, 2002 12:31 A SENIOR member of the Jehovahs Witness Congregation in Ipswich has been warned he could face a jail sentence after being convicted of two offences of indecent assault. John Pickrell was today found guilty by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court of indecently touching a schoolgirl while giving her a piggyback on a beach and kissing another girl's foot. +++Sentence was adjourned for a pre-sentence report until the week beginning November 11. Pickrell, who has no previous convictions, was released on bail but was warned by Judge Beddard that he could be facing a jail sentence. | ||
| Anonymous |
Jurors Convict Mom Of Murder For Toilet-Drowning Infant POSTED: 2:39 p.m. PDT October 24, 2002 RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Jurors who convicted a woman of second-degree murder in the toilet-drowning death of her newborn son may not have realized that they could have convicted her of involuntary manslaughter. Donna Michelle Knight's sentencing was postponed for at least two months by Superior Court Judge Ronald Taylor so defense attorney Grover Porter can question jurors to determine if they misunderstood instructions. One juror claimed the panel didn't know involuntary manslaughter was an option. Knight, 37, was convicted June 14 of murdering her son in September 1999. The 10-woman, two-man jury returned a second-degree murder verdict, which calls for 15 years to life in prison. Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of four years. Deputy District Attorney Deena Bennett had sought a first-degree murder conviction, arguing that the unmarried woman intentionally killed her baby after concealing her pregnancy because she was afraid of repercussions from her Jehovah's Witness church. Bennett said the religion considers sexual relations outside of marriage grounds for excommunication. >>> Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. >>> http://www.nbc4.tv/news/1739114/detail.html | ||
| Anonymous |
<Spam Deleted by Administrator> | ||
| Anonymous |
JEHOVAH'S WITNESS DIED FOR HER FAITH BY JENNIFER SYM 10:30 - 07 November 2002 A devout Jehovah's Witness died after she refused a blood transfusion which could have saved her life. Norma Kissoon was so committed to her faith that, even as she lay seriously ill in Leicester Royal Infirmary, she and her family told doctors she could not accept the treatment. +++ 68-year-old Mrs Kissoon, of Braunstone Town, desperately needed one after she suffered complications following a routine procedure to check for heart disease, an inquest in Leicester heard. She had undergone an angiogram at Glenfield Hospital, which involved inserting a needle into her thigh. The results showed no trace of heart disease, but the procedure had triggered internal bleeding and she was admitted to the LRI after feeling unwell at home. Consultant Dr James Reid said a senior house officer spoke to her about a blood transfusion. He said: "We were aware she was a Jehovah's Witness and he said without a blood transfusion there was a risk of death. She was clear she did not want it even it if was life-saving. "I think it is more likely she would have survived had she allowed a blood transfusion or clotting agents to be given. "The issue was discussed by four doctors and the surgical team. "Throughout she was consistent in refusing it, even if this was putting her life at risk." The inquest heard Mrs Kissoon died on the operating table in the early hours of February 4 as doctors fought to save her. A post-mortem examination found blood loss was the cause of death. Consultant vascular surgeon Professor Peter Bell said in a statement: "A blood transfusion at almost any stage in this treatment would, on the balance of probabilities, have saved her life. "Despite multiple attempts for the family or her to accept this, she would not." +++Mrs Kissoon's husband, Frederick, attended the inquest but declined to comment afterwards. | ||
| Anonymous |
Banned church member sues Jehovah's Witnesses By BRIAN JUSTICE, The Sunday News Staff Writer November 09, 2002 A Normandy resident who was disfellowshipped from Jehovah's Witnesses is suing the organization for $7 million on grounds the alleged action against her was wrong. Barbara Joanna Anderson filed the lawsuit Thursday in Coffee County Circuit Court. She is seeking $2 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages. The defendants are listed as: * Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. * Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania Inc. * Watchtower Enterprises LLC. * Watchtower Foundation Inc. * Watchtower Associates LTD. * Kingdom Support Services Inc. * Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. * Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses. * The Watchtower Group Inc. * Manchester Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Elders. * Lawrence A. Seely, Gary Hobson, Dale Dormanen, Robert E. Matthews, David Semonian, J.R. Brown, and John Does No. 1 through No. 4. Mrs. Anderson and her husband, Joe, had publicly spoken about alleged sexual child abuse being widespread among the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination. The Andersons are members of the Silentlambs, which was organized to stop what they say has been repeated sexual abuse permitted because of Jehovah Witness bylaws. Mrs. Anderson had said the denomination has a policy that does not require pedophile incidences to be reported to law enforcement authorities. She added that Jehovah Witnesses say they handle such matters in house. However, Mrs. Anderson said what in effect happens is pedophiles end up being protected by a cover-up which allows them to continue their illegal actions. She added they are often moved about through the denomination's many locations, which allows them to continue their actions. She said child sexual abuse cases have occurred in Coffee County. Mrs. Anderson said her and her husband's efforts to help change the system have resulted in retaliation from the denomination. The Andersons have been disfellowshipped by the Kingdom Hall in Tullahoma where they attended. Disfellowshipping, the equivalent of excommunication, is the harshest punishment handed down by the organization against members. Shunning is included as part of the punishment, which separates families. Mrs. Anderson said she is no longer able to see or communicate with her son, Lance Anderson, or his family who live at Mishawaka, Ind. She added that Lance is a practicing Jehovah Witness and is bound by the denomination's rules. ---Mrs. Anderson says in the lawsuit that she can "no longer pursue her work to assist Jehovah's Witnesses who are child abuse victims because they are prohibited from speaking to a disfellowshipped person. "This has caused irreparable harm to victims who are barred from taking to her." ---©The Tullahoma News 2002 seen at http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6011345&BRD=1614&PAG=461&dept_id=161052&rfi=6 | ||
| Anonymous |
Uzbek court convicts Jehovah's Witness of criminal incitement Source: Associated Press Publication date: 2002-11-29 TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) -- An Uzbek court on Friday convicted a Jehovah's Witness for inciting hatred in the first criminal proceeding against the Christian group in this Central Asian nation. Marat Mudarisov, a road worker, was given a three-year suspended sentence by Judge Sherzod Usmonov at the trial in an Uzbek neighborhood court. Mudarisov, who has maintained his innocence, said he would appeal. ...[John] Burns said similar prosecutions against Jehovah's Witnesses are in progress in at least two other cities in Uzbekistan. The group says it has at least 3,000 members in this former Soviet republic. Much of the case against Mudarisov revolved around allegations that at the time of his arrest he had a pamphlet titled, ``Truth, The Only Truth,'' that argues of the superiority of the Bible over the Quran, the Muslim holy book. ... http://yellowbrix.com/pages/newsreal/Story.nsp?story_id=34760888 | ||
| Anonymous |
Sex treatment programme order for man November 29, 2002 22:50 SENIOR Jehovah's Witness John Pickrell is to undergo a sex offenders treatment programme. Pickrell, 48, of Cedarcroft Road, Ipswich, was ordered to undergo treatment by a judge at Ipswich Crown Court. His Honour Judge Nicholas Beddard also ordered the senior religious figure to serve three years community rehabilitation. Pickrell had been convicted of two counts of indecent assault in an earlier hearing at the court. Both offences were carried out on young girls about 20 years ago. --- He admitted kissing one of the victims on the lips and tickling her bottom, but claimed it was entirely innocent. seen at http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/ | ||
| Anonymous |
Suit charges church coverup Jehovah's Witness group is blamed in abuse of girl By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff, 1/1/2003 14-year-old Dorchester girl and her parents are suing the Jehovah's Witnesses, arguing that the religious group covered up the girl's sexual abuse by a Bible study leader and discouraged her parents from reporting the abuse to police or prosecutors. The girl, allegedly molested in her house by the son of a church elder from the Columbus Park Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Dorchester, was so traumatized by the abuse that she has spent most of the past three years involuntarily committed to local psychiatric hospitals, the lawsuit alleges. Her mother says that while church leaders coddled her daughter's abuser, they socially ostracized her for notifying law enforcement authorities and pressing criminal charges, according to court papers. The lawsuit, filed last week in Suffolk Superior Court, highlights a sexual abuse scandal that has begun to envelop a religious group other than the Catholic Church: Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim 1 million followers in the United States and 6 million worldwide. Those who have filed lawsuits against the church - calling themselves ''silent lambs,'' because they say the church has discouraged them from getting help - argue that doctrine requiring alleged sexual abuse victims to produce witnesses to their molestation breeds an environment that favors abusers and allows abuse to thrive. They also charge that the church's policy of investigating complaints on its own, and discouraging reports to authorities, is illegal. /// The group was also named in a 2001 lawsuit in New Hampshire Superior Court involving two half-sisters who accused a man - the father of one, the stepfather of the other - of sexually abusing them as children in the 1980s. The man, now serving a 56-year sentence for sexual abuse, was a member of the Wilton (N.H.) Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Although the women's mother repeatedly voiced suspicion of sexual abuse to church elders, they told her to keep it within the church, the lawsuit charges. The women charge that New Hampshire state law required the church leaders to report the abuse to authorities. The Suffolk lawsuit outlines similar charges that church elders in Dorchester tried to keep quiet allegations of sexual abuse. The suit alleges that William Broadard, an elder in the Columbus Park Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, appointed his son as a ''pioneer'' in the church, even though he knew his son was a threat to children. The suit alleges that Ronald Broadard had a history of sexually and physically abusing children. Ronald Broadard went to the girl's home in Dorchester, specifically asking to ''talk about God with the kids,'' according to the lawsuit. When the girl's parents agreed, he began meeting with the girl in their home in 1998, when she was about 10. But while he was visiting her from 1998 to 2000, they charge, he was molesting her. The girl's parents alerted authorities in the fall of 2000. The Globe's policy is not to name alleged victims of sexual abuse unless they agree to be identified. Even though Massachusetts did not then require clergy to report suspected child abuse - a law was passed last year after the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal erupted - the girl's family argues that the church leaders were ''guidance or family counselors,'' who were required to report potential child abuse. The girl's parents did not learn about the abuse until their daughter's therapist told them the girl had been trying to kill herself. The girl, who had always done well in school, started having trouble. ''She became suicidal and started acting out and no longer was the angelic, well-behaved child that she used to be,'' said Stephen M. Born, the family's lawyer. In October 2000, Broadard was arrested and charged with two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child and one count of assault and battery. But the charges were dismissed the following year. The lawsuit alleges the charges were dropped because Broadard was found incompetent to stand trial. Suffolk County prosecutors could not ascertain yesterday afternoon why the charges were dropped. Meanwhile, according to the lawsuit, the local Jehovah's Witnesses elders, including Broadard's father, decided only to ''reprove'' him. He kept his title and responsibilities within the church, the lawsuit charges. And when the girl's mother told church leaders about the abuse, they told her she should not talk about it. The church elders told her they would handle the matter and urged her to ''pray more about the situation,'' the lawsuit charges. The girl was committed to psychiatric institutions after she was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the abuse, Born said. ''This is almost like a fresh wound,'' he said. ''The effect of it, the trauma, has been dramatic.'' Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com Extracted from http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/001/metro/Suit_charges_church_coverup+.shtml | ||
| Anonymous |
Minister charged with child rape Jehovah's Witnesses member accused of 1970s sex assaults By JOAO FERREIRA, Standard-Times staff writer NEW BEDFORD -- An Attleboro Jehovah's Witnesses minister yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped two cousins -- including a New Bedford resident -- in his home 24 years ago. Ralph Heroux, 74, of Attleboro, was charged in New Bedford Superior Court with two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. ||| Mr. Heroux was a minister at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall at 88 Commonwealth Ave. in Attleboro during the 1970s when the incidents are alleged to have taken place. ||| The alleged abuse occurred between 1972 and 1979 at Mr. Heroux's residence in Attleboro but was never reported to authorities, according to the alleged victims. ||| Kristi Hynes of Attleboro, a former stepdaughter of Mr. Heroux, said she was one of the alleged victims. She said the case against Mr. Heroux was finally reported because family members realized the state mandated that clergy report sexual abuse of children. She said her mother, a Jehovah's Witnesses member who was married to Mr. Heroux until Ms. Hynes was 12, reported the case to the authorities. When Ms. Hynes was contacted by District Attorney Walsh's office, she told her cousin, Randy Cardoza, a Wareham native who lives in New Bedford. Mr. Cardoza said yesterday he is the other victim. Both said the sexual abuse occurred when they were between 5 and 9 years old. The pair said they later reported the abuse to Jehovah's Witnesses leaders, but the case was never pursued and the pair never came forward again. Mr. Cardoza said that Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in government authority. He said a group of elders, or priests, decide on all matters involving the religious group. "They never released the information to the proper authorities when they should," he said. "There's been a lot of cover-up over the years. The code of silence was so great within the Jehovah's Witnesses organization." ||| http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-03/01-03-03/a03sr017.htm | ||
| Anonymous |
Why is it commomn thought that JW churches do not have windows? | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witnesses Hit With Abuse Suit By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer January 11, 2003, 12:14 AM EST LAS VEGAS -- Four women sued the Jehovah's Witnesses claiming they were molested by a church leader in Nevada over several years beginning in the early 1970s and that church officials covered up the abuse. Dawn Bradley, Amanda Cirone, Annette Reed and Donna Wilkes claim in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Las Vegas that they were abused by Daniel Steven Fitzwater, a former Jehovah's Witnesses congregation leader, from 1974 until the 1990s. In seeking at least $30,000 from various Jehovah's Witnesses entities, the women -- now in their 20s and 30s -- allege church officials knew of the abuse but took no action. "Outcries were made and they were not reported, and because they were not reported to law enforcement other children were molested afterward," said the women's lawyer, Kim Norris. Fitzwater was arrested in 1997 and charged with lewdness with children in an unrelated case. He was convicted of two counts of sexual lewdness in 1998 and is eligible for parole in 2005. Fitzwater couldn't be reached for comment and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. ??? | ||
| Anonymous |
Why is it that JW meeting places do not have windows?? | ||
| Trent James |
They do have windows, in the doors. But, as far as wall windows, who needs them? Are we at the Kingdom Hall to learn about Biblical matters rather than gazing out the window? Also, consider the prospects of vandalism which would be made a lot easier with windows in the building. I believe I have heard of some Kingdon Halls having windows and perhaps more of them, as they are built will also have them. Anyway it doesn't seem to matter to those in attendance. We have very good lighing :-) What has negatively been said here (on the board) about Jehovah's Witnesses can be applied to every Church. Can anyone show me one that is "perfect?" | ||
| Anonymous |
Family's tragic killings give a sister's life new meaning She wants to help former Jehovah's Witnesses. By Walt Wiley -- Bee Staff Writer Friday, January 17, 2003 Blaming church policy for the deaths of her sister's family, Sharon Roe plans to make a career of speaking out and helping former members deal with breaking from the Jehovah's Witnesses church. Roe's sister, Janet Bryant, 37, died almost a year ago in a rural Oregon mobile home along with her four children at the hands of her husband, Robert, also 37, who then killed himself. *** The Bryants left California in 2001 after Robert's landscaping business failed and he had a bitter split with family members and the Jehovah's Witnesses Shingle Springs congregation. Mark Messier Sr., an elder at the Shingle Springs Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, said after the killings that Bryant was expelled from the congregation in the late 1990s after he announced that he no longer accepted its religious teachings. Messier said Bryant also became estranged from several branches of his family, including his parents, three brothers and a sister in the Shingle Springs and Cameron Park areas. Roe, 34, said she believes that Robert Bryant was in a suicidal depression that grew from his being shunned by his former congregation. "There's just no place to turn to when you're shunned. It leaves you completely alone and eventually it just piles up on you," Roe said. *** A cradle Jehovah's Witness who has subsequently left the group, Roe said the need for help for former members was underscored for her after the deaths. In the aftermath, Roe's family cut off all contact with her, she said, leaving her to experience shunning firsthand. *** The tragedy has resonated throughout the ex-Jehovah's Witnesses community and been a topic on busy Web sites that deal with problems of former members, including www.Jehovahs-Witness.com. *** The inadequacy of counseling is compounded by the church's teaching that such services are to be avoided. "You're supposed to depend on the church instead, but if you're cut off, then what?" Roe said. Reacting to the tragedy, she and other ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have come together and agreed that an outreach program is needed for people who have left the faith. *** "Then I'm going to make this my life's work, helping former members whose lives are in crisis," Roe said. "I still have to finish my college degree, but I sure have an incentive now to do that." *** The Bee's Walt Wiley can be reached at (916) 321-1063 or wwiley@sacbee.com. | ||
| Kelly |
www.watchtower.tv -Exposes the "Truth" about Jehovahs Witnesses. Really Good Site! | ||
| Studio101 |
President Rutherford and 7 others jailed for anti war activities, gains martyr status. One of these leaders being L. O. Bliss. These volumes are from the personal Collection of that very Church Leader, L. O. Bliss, and volume 1 is signed. These are in Extra Fine Condition. 1911 Studies...vol. 1 Divine Plan of the Ages (Lamp edition) $450. 1913 Studies... vol. 3 Thy Kingdom Come (Winged Globe ed.) 70.00 1924 Studies... vol. 5 The Atonement Between God and Man (Boxed ed.) 300.00 $800. The partial set [of three]. e-mail: hodgestudio101@yahoo.com | ||
| CanadianObserver |
Canadian TV Program - CBC The Fifth Estate aired January 29, 2003. Incredible exposé detailing the cover up by the jehovah's witnesses regarding Child Abuse. A former Watch Tower Legal Department worker revealed that they advised congregations not to report and that there are pedophiles walking the aisles of Kingdom Halls and going door to door in communities across the country. At least Catholics don't send their pedophiles door to door. A Canadian Observer | ||
| Anonymous |
Jehovah's Witnesses under fire for abuse Ex-members urge politicians to force church to open files Bob Harvey The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, February 01, 2003 An Ottawa woman and two other former Jehovah's Witnesses have teamed up to demand that federal and provincial governments across Canada open up the church's files on child sexual abuse. Kim Sheeler said she and Lee Marsh, of Winnipeg, and Grace Gough, of St. Jacob's, near Kitchener, Ont., sent out more than 1,000 letters to federal MPs, and all the members of provincial legislatures, asking them to watch last Wednesday's The Fifth Estate television documentary on abuse by Jehovah's Witnesses, and then pressure their governments to investigate past abuses. In the documentary, CBC Television told the story of Mike Moss, who was repeatedly molested by his Jehovah's Witness Bible teacher as a 14-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie. His case is just one of more than 20,000 cases that a former church elder, Bill Bowen, of Kentucky, says are on file in the Witnesses' headquarters in New York. Most of those cases have never been reported to police, he said. Ms. Sheeler said survivors deserve to have some kind of closure of cases that were investigated only by church elders, and often dismissed. "There is nothing worse than going through an experience like that and not being believed by the people you trust," she said. Ms. Sheeler said that as a 17-year-old she was assaulted in her family's living room by a member of the church who was later convicted of molesting his own children. +++ Ms. Marsh was also sexually abused as a child. Her family were Jehovah's Witnesses, and she said her late stepfather repeatedly performed oral sex on her, starting when she was 12, and also molested other members of the family. She says church leaders told them never to talk about it, because they were taking care of it. But police were never informed and her stepfather continued molesting other young girls, even after her mother divorced him, said Ms. Marsh. "There has been little action from elders in congregations to help victims, and this has resulted in a situation where men who have been accused of abusing children are free to continue preying on children," she said. +++ However, Mr. Bowen, who now monitors child sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses, says the church's policies hurt children and often prevent police from convicting molesters. He said the church expects untrained elders to first interrogate the children who report the abuse then ask the accused if the allegations are true. "If the parents then want to report it to police, the child is traumatized and the elders have already tainted the whole process of investigation." ex http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=ea2c29e3-4c48-4b63-8a8c-93ddab7fdd89 | ||
| Anonymous |
Trial ordered for Jehovah's elder By Heidi Rowley Staff writer A former Jehovah's Witnesses elder admitted to feeling "lust" toward a 12-year-old congregation member in a statement made to police last December. Louis Anguiano, 38, made the statements to a Visalia police detective after the youth told police that Anguiano had groped and grabbed her. Anguiano appeared in court Friday for a preliminary hearing in which Judge Ronn Couillard decided there was enough evidence for him to stand trial. Anguiano has pleaded innocent to the allegation of continuous sexual abuse. The only witness to speak at the preliminary hearing was Mark Lopez, a Visalia police detective who interviewed the victim, her mother and Anguiano. Lopez said the youth told him about four incidents between the spring of 2001 and February 2002 of Anguiano making inappropriate displays of affection toward her. The first time, Lopez said the youth told him, Anguiano attempted to put some money in the front of Elder her underwear. "She thought it was sexual," Lopez said. Lopez said Anguiano told him they were playing a game, and he tried to put money in her pocket. The victim also told Lopez that on another occasion when she was in the bathroom at Anguiano's home, he offered to brush her hair but was "bumping into" her buttocks with his pelvis. Lopez said the victim and her mother believed Anguiano was "over-friendly" by buying things for her and taking excessive photographs. On one occasion, Lopez said, Anguiano bought the girl, who was 10 or 11 at the time, a pair of small, see-through thong underwear. The girl's mother threw the underwear away. In the final incident, early last year, Lopez said the girl told him she was in her bedroom when Anguiano walked in and asked her to dance. When she wouldn't dance with him, he lifted her out of her chair and pulled her close. Lopez said the girl's mother walked into the room and Anguiano left within a few minutes. +++ "He said he liked to grab her buttocks and did it too much," Lopez said. +++ Lopez said Anguiano said he knew that his actions were wrong and even sent a letter apologizing to the family. from http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/news/stories/20030208/localnews/944157.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Former Jehovah's Witnesses press church to disclose abuse files JAMES MCCARTEN TORONTO (CP) - The Canadian wing of the Jehovah's Witnesses is standing its ground against a group of disgruntled former members who want the church to release a list of known child molesters within its ranks. Three former Witnesses, two of them past victims of sexual abuse, have asked Canada's lawmakers to force the church to allow police to probe what they allege are past cases of abuse within its membership. But while the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada Ltd., the church's governing body, does keep a list of known abusers on file, it's not about to hand it over to police, said spokesman Clive Thomas. Child welfare authorities are notified when abuse is suspected, as is required by law, and they're free to call police if they feel it's necessary, Thomas said. But the church itself isn't legally obliged to disclose the names of known or suspected abusers, he added. "We do keep a record of known child molesters, and these are people who have already come to the attention of the (child welfare) authorities," Thomas said. "(But) there's no duty in law, as we understand it, to report matters like this to the police. That's something that's not required by law." >>> One fundamental principle requires Witnesses to promote the virtues of their religion by way of in-home Bible studies and door-to-door ministry: spreading the word of God, one house at a time. "This mandate has applied equally to known, convicted and accused pedophiles associating within the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses," the letter says. "Some even conduct private Bible studies in the homes of unsuspecting Canadians who unwittingly expose their children to harm because they have no idea that a child molester is sitting in their living room." Thomas said the Witnesses keep the list of names on hand to ensure those with a history of abusing children are kept out of positions of authority within their congregations. >>> "Because of the silence within the Jehovah's Witnesses, the public has no idea who is at their door looking at their children," said Andrew Lusk, who's helping Sheeler, Marsh and Gough in their cause. Lusk said he's hoping the issue of sexual abuse within the church, a hot topic in the United States, is gaining prominence in Canada with the civil suit launched against the church last year by ex-Witness Vicki Boer. Boer accused church elders of failing to obtain adequate treatment for the abuse she suffered as a teenager at the hands of her father in Shelburne, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. She was required to confront her father and relive the abuse in order to give him the chance to repent his alleged sins in accordance with Biblical principles, the suit alleges. Her case was eventually reported to Children's Aid and the police, although her father - who was deemed "spiritually repentant" by the church and rose through the ranks of his congregation, court was told - has never been criminally charged. >>> For Sheeler, who was 17 when she was assaulted by a family friend in her own living room, countless victims will remain silent and their assailants will go about their lives if nothing is done. "We want to see people coming forward; we want to see them feeling comfortable in coming forward to talk about what happened to them," said Sheeler, who left the Witnesses in 1995. "Maybe it'll wake this society up and say, 'Maybe we do have something to work on, maybe we do have a flaw in our policy.' >>> http://www.cp.org/english/online/full/National/030206/n020687A.html | ||
| gsebry |
I am a Jehovah Winess survivor, my family were all witnesses so i was forced to attend till my escape in 1975. Does anyone remember the Holocaust films shown in the Kindom Halls during the early 1970's. I still have severe mental pain from seeing these films as a preteen child. Just wanting to verify my memories as real, my family says the Holocaust films are a false memory. Showing these films then denial of my memory of them is a continous brainwashing effort by my family to deny the child abuse they are guilty of. | ||
| bob |
This religion is a prison. I feel sorry for all of you who are wasting your lives on it... | ||
| Anonymous |
Woman bled to death after refusing transfusion 09:48 Friday 4th April 2003 A young woman died after refusing a vital blood transfusion through religious beliefs days after giving birth at Whipps Cross Hospital. Patience Edema, a Jehovah's Witness, 24, died three days after giving birth to her second daughter, on Tuesday, October 24 last year, from complications after an emergency hysterectomy an operation to remove the womb. At an inquest into her death at Walthamstow Coroner's Court, coroner Elizabeth Stearns said Mrs Edema, of Grange Park Road, Leyton, died from "post-operative complications for which she refused medical intervention, namely, a blood transfusion." Mrs Edema, who was seven and a half months pregnant and had suffered two previous miscarriages in her home country of Nigeria, arrived at Whipps Cross for a routine appointment with her husband Omatseye on Friday, October 17. After a four hour wait they were seen at midnight by a doctor who said she would have to be admitted because of rising blood pressure and possible pre-eclampsia. Mrs Edema gave birth to her baby daughter through an emergency caesarean section on Monday, October 21 after doctors become concerned with her rising blood pressure, and had diagnosed her with pre-eclampsia. They were also worried about the small size of the baby in the womb. There were no complications with the caesarean section, which undoubtedly saved the baby's life, and mother and baby were doing fine under the close observation of hospital staff. Early on Tuesday morning, Mrs Edema started to show signs that she was not well. The doctors noticed she had not passed urine, a fact her husband had pointed out six hours after she had delivered the baby. Doctors became concerned that her face, feet and hands had started to swell and phoned her husband to alert him that she could be bleeding internally. Before the emergency hysterectomy was carried out, the couple were advised by doctors that a blood transfusion would be necessary and could make the difference between life and death. However, they both said no and a form was filled out to say no blood products were to be used during treatment because of their religious faith. After the surgery Mrs Edema was placed on a dialysis and a life support machine in the intensive care unit, where she died on the Thursday at 12.40am. In a statement recalling the events that led up to his wife's death, Mr Edema said: "I am now left alone on a strange terrain to cater for my two daughters as a single parent. All my wife's ambitions and inspirations have been nipped in the bud. Can my life be the same again?" http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/matters/nhs/display.var.715230.Health.0.html | ||
| Anonymous |
Another Church Sex Scandal SOUTHERN MINNESOTA, April 29, 2003 Jehovah's Witness William Bowen, Attorney Jeff Anderson and plaintiff Heidi Meyer announce a civil lawsuit filed against the Jehovah's Witness headquarters on Tuesday, July 2, 2002. (AP) Like any mom, Heidi Meyer fixes boo-boos, serves up breakfast and even reviews some math homework. But every day is a fight for this mom to overcome her past. "Basically any way that he could put his hands on me, he did," she told CBS News Correspondent Jane Clayson. From the time she was 10, until she turned 13, Heidi, a Jehovah's Witness, says she was molested by a member of her congregation. Finally, she turned to the leaders of her faith. And what did they say? "They asked me, do you think this could be a misunderstanding? And I said, no. No, I'm very sure of how his hands were on my body and there's no way to misunderstand that," Meyer said. But the elders dismissed her plea for help and sent her away with a warning: "You need to keep quiet about this. You don't want to drag his name through the mud. You don't want to drag the name of Jehovah's organization through the mud." +++ what silences most victims is that Jehovah's Witnesses require either a confession or two eyewitnesses to any accusation -- making sexual abuse almost impossible to prove. +++ Bill Bowen says by the end of the year he expects at least 100 lawsuits to be filed against the faith. The problem is huge, he said. "It's of global proportions. You're talking about tens of thousands of children who've been molested in the last ten years. Tens of thousands, easily." +++ "These are your spiritual leaders, these are men appointed by God in the eyes of Jehovah's Witnesses, and who was I? You know, I was just some kid." seen at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/29/eveningnews/main551557.shtml | ||
| Dave |
Looks good Kelly! Try this one it has lots of info and its strait to the point. www.jwfiles.com | ||
| Anonymous |
Is there a possibility of the Child Abuse being such a problem among JWs that they are forbidden to have sex (unless you are married)? There are many of them who aren't married and are adults. I would guess every adult has sexual needs and suppressing them causes many problems both mental and psychological. If a man in his 30ies has no sex, suppresses his feelings and desires which are absolutely normal and feels guilty every time he thinks of sexual pleasure, that man has to be damaged for life or in the other case go for sex with children who can be silenced easily. | ||
| queen beetle |
Hello everyone. I run a website called 'lambsMarch'. I came here by way of a serach engine, and I noticed you have a list/link to children who have died from Watchtower's blood transfusion. For those who would like to know, here is a list of JW children killed/presumably/possibly killed by their primary caregivers (We call them Lostlambs): Juri and Lindsey Kostelniuk--Canada--Aug 85 Robert and Benjamin Moore--Wisconsin--Aug 93 Eric Freeman--Pennsylvania--Feb 95 'Baby Boy' Knight--California--Sept 99 Laree Slack Illinois Nov 01 Zachery, Sadie Ann,Madison Longo--Oregon Dec 01 Clayton,Ethan,Ashley,Alissa Bryant-Oregon Feb 02 'Little Boy' Linas France Feb 02 I have been emailed other possible vicitms but need to verify them before making them public. http://pub76.ezboard.com/flambsmarchfrm33 for more info and specific links. | ||
| Anonymous |
Abuse Suits Point at Jehovah's Witnesses Tue Jul 29, 3:28 AM ET By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer SACRAMENTO - Four lawsuits filed in California claim Jehovah's Witnesses officials have been covering up alleged sex abuse of children by congregation leaders, adding to a series of similar suits nationwide. The law firms involved in the suits filed last week in three northern California counties are holding public meetings this week in search of more victims and witnesses. "It is a widespread problem and nothing's been done about it to protect these children, to protect future children," said Bill Brelsford, one of the Sacramento attorneys who filed four lawsuits Thursday in California. "Once they (church leaders) know about it, they don't do anything to stop it," Brelsford said. Church general counsel Philip Brumley said...10 lawsuits were filed before the California suits. William H. Bowen, who was excommunicated from the church after he set up a critical Web site and hot line for abuse victims, estimated 15 to 17 suits are pending, not counting the California cases. Bowen said he has posted more than 1,000 abuse stories on his Web site, and fielded more than 6,000 complaints since 2001. Some of the allegations date to the 1970s. ... "I have literally the last couple months been bombarded with this stuff. These are not liars, they're abuse survivors," Bowen said. "It never stops. New victims are coming in on a weekly basis." Last year, church members or elders in Tennessee and Kentucky were banned from the church after they went public with allegations the denomination has protected pedophiles. One member, Barbara Anderson of Tullahoma, Tenn., worked as a researcher at Watchtower Bible and Tract Society headquarters in the early 1990s, when she said a church official asked her to look into the handling of sexual abuse cases. She said she found hundreds of allegations kept secret in church files. Lawsuits have been filed in Nevada, Minnesota, Texas, New Hampshire. Suits filed last year by members in Maryland, Oregon and Washington also claim church elders told them they would not be believed if they reported the molestation without corroboration by witnesses. Brumley explained the requirement stems from biblical references that no single witness should rise up against any man. But he denied the church discourages victims or their parents from going to police. Where molestation allegations are corroborated, the abuser is banned from the church and is never again allowed to hold a position of authority if the excommunication is rescinded, Brumley said. ex http://tinyurl.com/iiwu | ||
| Anonymous |
YOU WORKERS OF LAWLESSNESS, STOP ANTAGONIZING JEHOVAH'S PEOPLE.REMEMBER:"YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW". | ||
| Anonymous |
Yes and so will you. | ||
| ohkimmykimmy2003 |
i think these sites against the witnesss are disgusting, and full of lies, no religion is perfect, and every person is imperfect, its just so sad that all of u dont have anything better to do with your time then make up these lies and accusations.no matter how all of u feel ,for whatever reason, u were all at one time a believer and a faithfull christian, and u know the truth behind such allegations, unfortunately for all of u your time will come and jehovah will take care of u all, i myself left , and have been in the world for years, but i didnt leave for any of these noncence reasons, and by me just browsing through these sites for the first time out of curiosity, makes my decision for becoming a christian sister once again with my children and husband, if u have nothing good to say about the brothers and sisters dont say anything at all. u may think this is all fun and games , and u all may have your smartass remarks like the one dated friday aug.08/03, but in the end deep down inside, though u will never admit it, u are a victim of satan and he/she whom laughs the loudest...laughs last. dont ever forget that, not everyone is a pathetic fool like yourselves and believes what is written in these sites, i myself have been raised in the truth and i may not have practiced it for some time now, but i know it is the true religion and will one day very soon go back to serving jehovah. i shall check into this site soon again, just to see if u will publish this message that i am sending, or just to see if u dont give the outsider a chance to share thier point of view because if this message is not published then not only will i know, but u will no deepdown inside that , u really are sick minded people and have brainwashed each other. but have fear , jehovah will protect his people and his family , the end is soon comming and u will soon be leaving. u all deserve to be destroyed. im totally disgusted with what i have been reading and seeing on these sites.if u spent this much time on teaching about jehovah and the bible to others and being a christian serving him like the time u put into these pathetic sites as these ones, u may have a happier life and not feel like your trapped in misery like u feel now.i was going to pray for all of u , but i came to the decision that , your not worth my prayer(and im not even a christian at the moment) now.....what does that tell u???????????????????? your probably to stupid to even answer the question. enjoy your apostocy while u can, the end is comming and we all know what is going to happen to all of u and your leader satan will be destroyed eventually. amd 'U WILL REAP WHAT U SOW' if u have nothing usefull to say in return as to regards to my msg, please dont embarrase yourself anymore and dont bother to answer back. just publish this msg and show your not as cowardly as u make yourself to be. | ||
| kimberly |
i think these sites against the witnesss are disgusting, and full of lies, no religion is perfect, and every person is imperfect, its just so sad that all of u dont have anything better to do with your time then make up these lies and accusations.no matter how all of u feel ,for whatever reason, u were all at one time a believer and a faithfull christian, and u know the truth behind such allegations, unfortunately for all of u your time will come and jehovah will take care of u all, i myself left , and have been in the world for years, but i didnt leave for any of these noncence reasons, and by me just browsing through these sites for the first time out of curiosity, makes my decision for becoming a christian sister once again with my children and husband, if u have nothing good to say about the brothers and sisters dont say anything at all. u may think this is all fun and games , and u all may have your smartass remarks like the one dated friday aug.08/03, but in the end deep down inside, though u will never admit it, u are a victim of satan and he/she whom laughs the loudest...laughs last. dont ever forget that, not everyone is a pathetic fool like yourselves and believes what is written in these sites, i myself have been raised in the truth and i may not have practiced it for some time now, but i know it is the true religion and will one day very soon go back to serving jehovah. i shall check into this site soon again, just to see if u will publish this message that i am sending, or just to see if u dont give the outsider a chance to share thier point of view because if this message is not published then not only will i know, but u will no deepdown inside that , u really are sick minded people and have brainwashed each other. but have fear , jehovah will protect his people and his family , the end is soon comming and u will soon be leaving. u all deserve to be destroyed. im totally disgusted with what i have been reading and seeing on these sites.if u spent this much time on teaching about jehovah and the bible to others and being a christian serving him like the time u put into these pathetic sites as these ones, u may have a happier life and not feel like your trapped in misery like u feel now.i was going to pray for all of u , but i came to the decision that , your not worth my prayer(and im not even a christian at the moment) now.....what does that tell u???????????????????? your probably to stupid to even answer the question. enjoy your apostocy while u can, the end is comming and we all know what is going to happen to all of u and your leader satan will be destroyed eventually. and 'U WILL REAP WHAT U SOW' if u have nothing usefull to say in return as to regards to my msg, please dont embarrase yourself anymore and dont bother to answer back. just publish this msg and show your not as cowardly as u make yourself to be. | ||
| Anonymous |
Now you sound like a student of satan, you and your threats. Who do you think you are? You are no more righteous than the next person. You said you were brought up in the truth. Well if you were brought up as a Jehovah Witness, you were brought up in lies. With all your hateful sounding words and your threats of GOD coming to get everyone. You had better check yourself first. You said "I'm not a Christian at the moment." That has to be true because you certainly don't sound like one. | ||
| Anonymous |
http://www.jwfiles.com/ | ||
| Anonymous |
http://www.genocites.com/heartland2919/main2.htm To the long angry post, enjoy the website! | ||
| Faye Oliver |
I would like to get in somebody that went through something what i am going through. I am being disfellowshipped for something i have done and i am 17 this means i am going to lose my mother, father, aunties, uncles, sister, grandfather and grandmother, can you tell me how this is fair? Please someone get in touch with me, I am in the UK. | ||
| Cathy |
My experience as a JW has caused me more mental problems than I had to begin with.I was made to feel guilty about everything from using my own mind to being made to feel guilty if I don't eat something that I totally despise.I could remember gagging on a food item I despised because the "sister"who offered it to me expected me to eat it or be guilty of being an ingrate.I was encouraged to sell my video camera and buy a car so I wouldn't have to depend on someone for a ride to the meetings.I have my reasons for not driving and it is NOT a sin.I was encouraged to associate with and make friends with only Witnesses who were usually too busy or they didn't want to be bothered with someone with emotional problems.I have been stood up several times by "friends"who were to pick me up for service.They[the "friends"]were always gossiping and judging people outside the organization.As for the 17 year old who will be shunned by family I think that is very depressing.I went through a similar situation although I wasn't disfellowshipped.I had a lot of fear,doubt about myself and my own heart condition,fear of being abandoned,and being left alone.If that is "loving"I would rather live in a world of hate[which I presently do live in a world of resentment,hate and negativity]and the JW's taught me well how to develop such mental problems,resentment and hate.I have become a very crude and hard boiled critical woman as a result of the JW's and other outside influences.I would like to thank them for arrogent monster that I have become.I ended up a very bitter and angry woman as a result of their "loving"ways.Also it has refined me as a more assertive person and I can now express myself openly and discern who or what to lash out at. | ||
| Cathy in RI |
I have been corrosponding with a young girl who was disfellowshipped and lost her family and I can honestly say I have been an encouragement to her.I went through a lot of emotional turmoil and identity crises and horrible mental problems AND DENIAL as a result of being in the JW's and when I read the message from the 17 year old girl whose family have turned their backs on her I just had to write to her and give her some kind of comfort in knowing there is someone out there who DOES care.The girl is feeling better since I have been consoling her and it makes me feel better about myself to help someone else out who is suffering from the same sickness[Sickness referred to here is JW's]as me.Cathy in RI. | ||
| Hunyadi |
Visit a webpage (still under construction) addressing the controversy over subliminal and hidden images masked within the illustrations of the publications by the Watchtower Bible Tract Society. A few sample images scanned from various WT publications to check out. Your questions and comments welcome. http://members.cox.net/hunyadi | ||
| Stephanie |
I must say this - My cousin & his wife became Jehovas Witnesses a few years back. The change was not for the good. My cousin got really ill & needed a transfusion or he would die. He was a really good man & loved his wife & kids until he became a Jehovah. He settled for some sort of fake blood?? What's the difference? fake or real? Talk about hipocrit! Anyway, he lived. Whatever they did to him changed him. He began to cheat on his wife, beat his kids etc.. His wife tried to commit suicide. They ended up in a divorce. Jehovas are really bad people. I know many of them. They are hateful & hate everyone but themselves. They say only 144,000 will make it to heaven??? We'll they are wasting their time. | ||
| Kelly |
Wow, this has really been an eye opener to me, this site. I was born into a family of Jehovah's Witnesses and was one for 23 years of my life. I was not a person who would choose to challenge authority so did everything that was expected of me.When I was about 6 years old, my mother married an elder who was the most violent and abusive man behind the door of our family home. At meetings he would spout from the platform about the virtues of being a good husband and father yet would beat my mother and brother, and bully the family in a terrible manner. I can still hear my mother's scream inside my head, we were all sitting at the breakfast table when he locked their bedroom door and beat her upas she had a mind of her own and was not being submissive. He put his fist inside her mouth to keep her from screaming. she came out of the bedroom with blood all over her face, packed us into the car and drove to our congregation prosiding overseer's house for help. A huge committee case was started, involving the circuit overseer of Johannesburg, the Watchtower bible and tract society of Johannesburg (Roodekraans) and the entire committee of elders agreed that my stepfather was in the wrong, and that my family was being abused. The decision was made to disfellowhip him, however he threatened to take them to court, and the watchtower society decided to sweep the whole thing under the carpet and to allow him to continue as an elder. My mother left him and she was visited on numerous occasions by elders, counselling her on how a womans place is with her husband. She endured filthy letters from him for years until eventually her conscience got the better of her and she returned to him, feeling that she was pleasing Jehovah. The cycle started all over again, I was writing my final year of exams in school and returning home each day to violence. My mother wrote to the Society of JW's a couple of times, pleading for some kind of explanation as she could not understand how they could condone his behaviour? she was having nervous breakdowns and ended up in hospital, yet they refused to answer her letters. When I was 20 years old, I had a near fatal car accident where I needed a blood transfusion. I willingly refused one as I feared displeasing Jehovah, and thankfully, I miraculously survived, much to the shock of the doctor's countrywide (my story spread like wildfire)We have all since left this organisation and I am now 28 years old. I left when I was 23 as I was so tired of not living a normal life and not being able to date guys that I liked, because they were non believers. I didn't want to end up marrying some guy who was left over in the congregation just because my choice was so severely limited. I am still terrified everytime I hear thunder in the sky, thinking it is armageddon and I am going to surely die, although a small part of me still hopes that Jehovah reads hearts and will see that I am a good person. I am an attractive girl, yet am hopeless when it comes to meeting men.I seem to be unable to allow the real me to surface, as for the whole of my life I was taught that I was not allowed to be alone in the same room as a man, regardless of whether I was attracted to him or not. I wonder if the fear and guilt ever leave you? My best friend was disfellowshipped and in her committee case, the elders asked her questions such as : Did you reach a climax? Who touched Who first? Did you touch his penis? I must wonder why they require such indepth information when surely a confession would suffice? I finally stumbled accross a group of highly spiritual people who truly awakened me spiritually, and taught me about how we are the creators of our own realities, and about the law of cause and effect...that kind of thing. I was attracted as it was not dogmatic or religious, yet spiritual and I felt that I had finally found the truth and could put the trauma of being a JW behind me, once and for all. Little did I know that I was joining another cult, who slowly began to control my entire life. My inner voice spoke up when I was not allowed to associate with others outside of the cult and I thought 'no!!! not AGAIN!!' no one will ever tell me who I may associate with ever again. They began to emotionally abuse me and tear my self esteem apart until I packed my bags and left, questioning everything that I was, and feeling utterly confused and distraught at once again, feeling that I was on the outside of the 'chosen ones'. Talk about going from the frying pan into the raging furnace. I am still healing from that episode and have FINALLY learnt that it is not necessary to be a part of a group consciousness. All that I need to do is look inside, the answers that I need are all there, and no group has the right to tell me what to do, who to associate with,who to date, decide whether I may talk to my family or not...etc It has been hugely healing for me to discover this site and see that JWs are a cult like the one I have just left. Those of us who have left...we are really the lucky ones, and I thank my stepfather again and again for his behaviour as I fear my eyes would never have been opened if it weren't for him. For all of you who have suffered some kind of trauma, thank the universe for sending those tests your way - you are now free, and as hurtful as your experiences were, they were ultimately leading you to freedom of mind and spirit. | ||
| Anonymous |
As a psychology professor and person who has studied both world religions and cults, it has been my observation that: A) Jehovah's Witnesses are a Cult not a religion and that B)The people attracted to this cult are not much different from those of other cults. That is they are not very psychologically healthy. Cults prey upon weak and insecure individuals and use them to their own advantage. I believe in religious freedom and tolerance. However, I believe that Cults are destructive, evil, and need to be abolished (this would include Jehovah's witnesses). In my research, I have found that JW's do NOTHING to help other people. They are not Christian, for they do not believe in Christ's divinity, and many many of them do not earn a gainful living -- those who do manage to evade income taxes by working for cash. They (JW's) stand up for nothing except themselves and the Watchtower. In my opinion, the Jehovah's Witnesses are far more destructive than Heaven's Gate, or Jim Jones' cult because they have garnered a much larger population and they have managed to deceive the rest of the world regarding their apparent evil. Please, do not allow their doctrine of fear/ greed to "suck" you in. Remember they are a dangerous CULT! They are not here to help but to hurt! | ||
| dianaPalmieri |
The J.W. religion is about 100 years old, and derived from Protestantism. Recognizing this removes some of the 'mystique', and is the first step to detaching onesself. There are many reasons to fear the J.W. religion, and its followers. Witnesses lead dangerously sheltered lives, oblivious (by obligation) to information originating from non-J.W. educational and news sources. This spells a lack of contact with a world of non-biased intellectual pursuit, and accurate information. It is immoral to shield one's children from information, and to frown upon carreer-oriented pursuits, which are said to interfere with the duties of an always-preaching witness. In a just society, the J.W. religion must be more closely regulated by law, and children must be given an opportunity to nourish their minds with serious intellectual material. Limitations to knowledge-acquisition are detrimental to cognitive development and bring about consequences directly analogous to--though perhaps worse than--physical harm. And this is to say nothing of the fact that the J.W. atmosphere is a haven for child abuse: http://www.silentlambs.org/education/jwjustice.cfm?FACTNet | ||
| Anonymous |
IF THESE WAKO,S DONT WANT A BLOOD TRANSFUSION,DONT GIVE THEM ONE,GIVE THEM TO THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE AND WHO WONT BE BURNING IN THE FIRES OF HELL.LIKE THE J.W,S.PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD ARE EASILY LAYED AND ANY CHILD WHO DICTATES TO IT,S PARENTS THAT THEY ARE OF THESE"CULTS"NEED A KICK WHERE THE SUN DONT SHINE.THE CHURCHES IN THESE CASES NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN..GOD WILL DEAL WITH THESE FALSE PROFITS IN GOOD TIME. | ||
| DannyHaszard.com |
I'am Danny Haszard from Bangor Maine usa.Former member of the Jehovah's witnesses.Exited out 1-5-92 was in for 33 years.I was 3rd generation,so they still are holding most of my family hostage.The Watchtower swindled most of my family assets,left me desitute at first but i have recovered much. The worst thing that high demand destructive Bible based cults do to their victims is they 'soul rape' you so you become angry at God. It's been called."surrogate displacement" rage.You become 'mad at the world' and it takes a long time to recover, God is good and gracious and i am stronger for it.I have a counter-cult home page please visit and browse.I am determined to provide education and support to warn others of these,'wolves in sheep's clothing'. peace, http://www.DannyHaszard.com | ||
| tommygun (198.144.44.5) |
All of you need an enema. Has it occurred to any of you that all religions see these types of problems at varying degrees. I am a former JW born and now have chosen to live a life free of god alltogether. I beleive that following religion in general is weak minded. Anything that tells you to put your faith in invisible untouchable unfathomable things is obviously snake oil. I mean,come on! SATAN?the devil? I've got news for you,humans run it,and evil is as humans do. I think that we have proven this fact continually throughout the written history of man. Beleive in yourself and your abilities. God is a crutch and crutches can be knocked out from under you. Religion was used by man to try and understand the world he lived in. We no longer live in that world!(talk about culture shock!) As far as the abuse issues that have been raised,FUCK the bullshit! I as a black man in this country have witnessed injustice to its most appaling degrees. If someone is doing anything to you that doesn't feel right break your foot off in their ass in whatever way you can. Yell and scream until somebody hears you. The biggest thing is self confidence,If your a witness you probably don't have any. If god is taking care of all your problems you don't need to be self reliant,all you need to be is dependant. O.K.ask yourself if god really exists and he did come back or send his son,or whatever,do you really think the god of the hebrew scriptures would save any one of you? Do you really think the god of said scriptures would tolarate anything going on in any of the worlds religions today? Break the shackles and enjoy your life. We may not be here tomorrow. The world could explode! But if it does something tells me that god will have nothing to do with it. TOMMYGUN THe PREACHERS SON (just for informations sake,my father is still an elder to this day) P.S: Come on people,your holding up evolution! | ||
| Anonymous (172.158.189.239) |
Man worship is a crutch. Man sucks! God rules! | ||
| Anonymous (172.158.189.239) |
I'm not a Jehovah Witness. I am a Christian. I am proudly holding up devolution. | ||
| Haszard (68.171.191.165) |
Jesus said,"happy are the pure in heart'.This means that i am brutally honest. I'am Danny Haszard from Bangor Maine usa.Former member of the abusive,Kingdom hall of Jehovah's witnesses Rockland Massachusetts usa. Exited out 1-5-92 was in for 33 years.I was 3rd generation,so they still are holding most of my family hostage.The Watchtower swindled most of my family assets,left me destitute at first but i have recovered much. The worst thing that high demand destructive Bible based cults do to their victims is they 'soul rape' you so you become angry at God. It's been called."surrogate displacement" rage.You become 'mad at the world' and it takes a long time to recover. God is good and gracious and i am stronger for it.I have a counter-cult home page please visit and browse.I am determined to provide education and support to warn others of these,'wolves in sheep's clothing'. peace, http://www.DannyHaszard.com {Note:} What forensic psychologist say about cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh.They are control freaks who will never abdicate control.They will choose death by suicide or a fiery fight to the very end.We can indeed see a comparison with the arrogant watchtower cult. Please link to my site title: Watchtower Whistle Blower www.DannyHaszard.com | ||
| queenbeetle (67.30.105.207) |
Heya, I haven't been here a while, I just stopped in to say 'howdy' and to keep up all the good work. More and more JW's are voting with their feet and their pocketbooks and that's really encouraging. Thousands of abuse victims have come forward, many of them publicly, some of them shouting out about their abuse in the public streets. We are making a difference in tehlives of present and past JW"s and I like to think, future and potential JW's as well. And really, it's all about improving our quality of life, whatever our religious choices. http://pub76.ezboard.com/blambsmarch | ||
| Anonymous (64.185.133.87) |
Visit http://aclu.org/ and send a fax or email to your representative. it takes 2 minutes to let your voice be heard. Speak up, before you can't. | ||
| Undaunted Danny (68.171.191.165) |
Regarding; Jehovah's Witnesses a destructive abusive cult. The Watchtower is big money, being one of the top 40 New York City Corporations making nearly one billion dollars a year. That’s just from one of their many corporations. Unlike in the case of Christians who are persecuted in other lands for talking about Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses are largely persecuted for following the teachings begun during the second presidency of the Watchtower, when Joseph F. Rutherford took over in a corporate flap and began changing doctrines quickly in the Watchtower belief system. He claimed that angels directly conveyed “truth” to some of those in leadership. He coined the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” to make them stand out from being witnesses of Jesus, a typical evangelical __expression (and a Biblical one). Rutherford dumped holidays, birthdays and the 1874 date for the invisible return on Christ, and invented an “earthly class” of Witnesses, since only 144,000 can go to heaven in their teaching. The rest, meaning all 99.9% of Witnesses still alive, will live forever on a cleansed earth, under the rule of the Watchtower leaders in heaven, who will keep them in line by local elders known as “Princes.” If you have been “witnessed to” by Jehovah’s Witnesses and you reject their message, you will likely die “shortly” at Armageddon with all the other non-Witnesses, since theirs is the only true religion, and (if they can live up to all the rules) they are the only ones to inhabit this “new earth.” If you believe Witnesses seem rigid now, any non-conformist during the future “cleansed earth” will be directly destroyed by Jehovah. Even now a Witness will be disfellowshipped for any one of many gaffs, such as smoking, taking a blood transfusion, or even voting. To even vocally question the teachings of the Watchtower will result in complete cutting off, with family and friends usually being forbidden to talk to them. The Watchtower is a truly Orwellian world, in a time when Orwellian societies are nearly obsolete. By their own Yearbook accounts, Witnesses are shrinking in number in many Western countries as of the last three years, as the internet facilitates the spread of information (much of it critical of the Witnesses). Witnesses are cautioned against creating JW-related websites, largely to prevent their members from discovering the history and dirty laundry of this organization on other websites. (There are literally hundreds of former members pages in many languages.) The Watchtower strives hard to control the flow of information to the individual Witness, and prefers that all instruction come through the magazines they carry door-to-door. Without this form of control, even as they themselves admit, they would believe just the same as other Bible believers. My hope is that there will be a day in each of their lives when the Watchtower magazine is no longer needed, and they can go to college, vote for office, and contribute money and time to other, more vital causes in their community. More than likely they will then cease to be persecuted, except in a few societies more authoritarian than their own. peace, http://www.DannyHaszard.com The anguish and the agony of having to renounce the lifelong convictions of one's heart.The surreal horror to know that it was all a lie! {Note:} What forensic psychologist say about cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh.They are control freaks who will never abdicate control.They will choose death by suicide or a fiery fight to the very end.We can indeed see a comparison with the arrogant watchtower cult. | ||
| Undaunted (68.171.191.165) |
Cults always count the lawyers,and count the Kids. How many lawyers do you need??Is the Watchtower corporation corporate raiders? If they are so benevolent,then why all the legal eagles? http://www.dannyhaszard.com/brumley/brumley.htm | ||
| elisa (64.32.117.193) |
Hi. I'm a christian and I'm investigating tha JWs because someone I know is at risk of becoming one. He moved to a JW house for college and is now in the Bible Study with them.I've tried to prove him christian beliefes like the Trinity using the Bible, but they show him one or two verses and not the entire context to prove me wrong. He is believing what they tell him and i'm scarded he could make the mistake of falling into this cult and becoming a fake "Jehova's Witness(JW don't teach abot the Jehova conformed by the trinity as the Bible does.) Anyone who can help me so that I can help him, write to me at elisa_emtg@hotmail.com | ||
| TOMMYGUN (198.144.44.5) |
Elisa, A lot of people may be telling you to find scriptures that will prove to him that the JW'S are wrong in their interpretation of the bible,but maybe they don't realize how mezmerizing witnesses can be.They probably allready have him beleiving that persecution of their beleifs is proof that they are the right path. If he is allready thinking this you may not be able to sway him by scripture. It may not be easy cosidering the witness stance on apostate info,but,Maybe you could get him to look at a site like this very one or any of the many other ex JW sites.There are alot more than I realized. If he is still a resonable human being maybe he will be able to see past the superficial kindness that they show. Or at least give him the knowledge going in that will help him see warning signs in the organization,not to mention the people around him. The truth is you may not be able to keep him from joining them but perhaps he will in time come to realize that what you've shown him is true. there are so many versions of the scriptures...its hard to tell wich will lead you to where you should go,but cold hard facts of the abuse,both physical and psycological my be what he needs to hear. I was born a JW and now I no longer even beleive in god.Sometimes I envy those who have faith in something intangible. I wish I could have that much trust in anything. Bring im' back alive,Elise! TOMMYGUN THe PREACHERS SON | ||
| nwmomike (nwmomike) Junior Member Username: nwmomike Post Number: 47 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 208.24.179.207 |
Elisa, The first and primary is to understand the terms they use and the meanings they pour into them. Otherwise you would think both of you are talking about the same thing but yet you dig further to find out they pour something else into the meaning. JW are more likely to change if you use their own documents and sources as the point of discussion. Then you could move toward what the bible says. Everyone has a different approach. I wish I could remember but you can search the net. There is resources on using the New World Translation as one example: http://www.towerwatch.com/Witnessing/sharing_the_diety_of_jesus_christ.htm Basically some others show how they added words that weren't there to clarify but to change doctrine. Also a book I recommend is "Reasoning From The Scriptures With Jehovah's Witnesses". It walks you through the JW view of a doctrine, some questions you should ask them as well as scriptural rebuttals against it. I firmly believe that instead of trying to force the point you let them arrive at the conclusion themselves and they are more likely to accept it. IT still will be hard for them to face the truth but much easier than just pointing out the errors as their knee-jerk reactions and training come into play. But if you get them out in real discussions and ask them questions sometimes you can get past that. You must stop them from quoting one scripture after another. This is because quoting like that seems to support their beliefs. But if you agree to take them one by one IN CONTEXT you can show them how it does not support their beliefs. The book I told you about gives excellent examples. M or Michael | ||
| psalm5613 (psalm5613) New member Username: psalm5613 Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 192.83.111.72 |
“We have indoctrinated thousands of those who follow after the Watchtower Society that their unscholarly and distorted New World Translation is truly of God. We have actively promoted other texts as being equal to or even greater in importance than Yahweh’s book. Books such as Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and the Book of Mormon are two that come to mind. “Oh, and by the way, both of those books were co-authored by Nakal, the lead seraphim of my southern army. Nakal has played some pivotal roles in the establishment of heretical and apostate groups and cults. It was the demon general Nakal that appeared before Emanuel Swedenborg in 1745 claiming to be God, and telling Emanuel that all truth would come through him. It was Nakal that spoke to Herbert W. Armstrong telling him that the truth would come through him. It was Nakal that guided Charles Taze Russell in the establishment of the Watchtower organization. It was Nakal that appeared to Sun Myung Moon as Jesus on a mountain in Korea in 1935 telling him that God would finish establishing his kingdom through him. It was Nakal that convinced Mary Baker Eddy that she was the woman of Revelation, chapter twelve, who would unlock the mysteries of the dark book of the Bible. It was Nakal that delivered the Qur’an to Muhammad posing as the holy angel Gabriel. It was Nakal that posed as God the Father, and his associate, Pathah, who posed as Jesus. They both stood before the young Joseph Smith, telling him that all the churches were apostate and that the true church would be established through him. Nakal is quite an actor, is he not?” From Interview with Lucifer by Rollin Miller www.interviewwithlucifer.com | ||
| psalm5613 (psalm5613) New member Username: psalm5613 Post Number: 7 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 192.83.111.72 |
Lucifer continued. “In another place he writes, ‘he that hath the Son hath life’…and… ‘these things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.’” Lucifer rose up from the rock and began to pace within the limits of the chains, tugging and pulling, testing their strength. He was silent for several moments, and all I heard was the patting of his feet and the jingle of chain. “He offers them life!” The words seemed to slither from his lips with venomous contention. He continued to pace in a tiny pattern, shaking his head slowly. “Those wretched humans…who are they that God would die for them?” “And rise again, from the dead,” I added. His face contorted into a mask of harshness. “Yes,” he added, “an interesting point. Critical, wouldn’t you agree?” “Very much so,” I replied. “We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, we were saved by His life.” “Ah,” Lucifer said, “more quotes from his book, especially from that accursed apostle Paul. Let me add something else this former soldier of mine wrote in the Bible: “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” Lucifer laughed. “How true that is. If the Lamb of God was killed on the cross, and he never rose from the dead, then all his believers’ faith—and their subsequent salvation—is empty. Thousands of people were crucified…I saw to that. To make my offerings more palatable, it was necessary to either disprove his resurrection, or at least cast doubt upon it. If he did not rise from the dead, he would have been as any other man.” “But he was far from being just another man,” I said. “And that is what was the primary focus of my counterfeits. In most cases, it was necessary for me to show the world that he wasn’t God. Oh, he could be anything else: a wise man, a moral man, a good man; even a prophet. In other cases, I allowed him the resemblance of being a god, having evolved to the point of godhood through a systematic keeping of the law. In a few instances, I even made Jesus out to be Michael, my nemesis, the archangel.” Lucifer laughed. “It is all nonsense of course, but people by the billions believed these and other lies.” “Denying any hope of eternity with the Father.” “Yes,” the dark one replied, smiling. “They became mine…all mine.” From "Interview With Lucifer" by Rollin Miller www.interviewwithluficer.com | ||
| sharon (sharon) Intermediate Member Username: sharon Post Number: 147 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 142.177.75.28 |
psalm5613 ... your link is broken. At least at this moment. Might want to give it a try. | ||
| steelsword (steelsword) Intermediate Member Username: steelsword Post Number: 132 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 207.192.2.34 |
Were gonna party like it's 1975! When it came to satan , michael the arcangel,rail not one accusation against him, but instead let the Lord(Christ) rebuke Him. Did the witnesses realize that Michael didn't come back in 1975. In Love of all GOD's Children Steel Jude 3 amen | ||
| marilyn_m (marilyn_m) Member Username: marilyn_m Post Number: 75 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 24.222.57.138 |
dannyhaszard,I am so sorry that the jw's left you angry at God, I for one did not go through that when I left, but I was angry at the hyprocrites that claim to love one another & then stab them in the back when their not looking.I too still have family in jw's & it makes it harder to move on with your life because part of me will always be tied to that religion because of my family, I can never really leave it all behind me, it's like leaving a bad marriage but having children that keeps you connected in some way.I hope the future will be much brighter for you Danny and if you have not already, I hope you find peace . | ||
| setti24 (setti24) New member Username: setti24 Post Number: 3 Registered: 7-2005 Posted From: 216.43.159.210 |
anybody from Denver CO? They are having a meet up in August. If anyone is interested, let me know -k- Setti | ||
| setti24 (setti24) New member Username: setti24 Post Number: 4 Registered: 7-2005 Posted From: 216.43.159.210 |
anybody from Denver CO? They are having a meet up in August. If anyone is interested, let me know -k- Setti | ||
| lordquad (lordquad) New member Username: lordquad Post Number: 1 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 24.254.31.159 |
New web site up and ready for viewing. It includes three (3) secret books which the Society does not want anyone to know about. Am I breaking copyright law by doing so? No, I am not (hint). http://www.watchtower.cc http://www.quad-central.com | ||
| viet_bong (viet_bong) New member Username: viet_bong Post Number: 3 Registered: 2-2006 Posted From: 70.26.242.23 |
just one question. do JW's consider themselves to be isrealites? if not why do they follow thier rules and not Jesus'? | ||
| exjws New member Username: exjws Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2006 Posted From: 64.74.163.178 |
I use to be a jw’s until I saw through their hypocrisy. They are a stupid willfully mentally blind people their god is the society it is not Jehovah. The name Jehovah is nothing more than a metaphor, their bible, books, magazines, tracks is nothing more than idols! Their elders, governing body living gods to them. For they have no holy spirit they cannot cure the ill raise the dead. They cannot command the heavens! They cannot do a single thing to prove that they have favor before Jehovah. But they will have answer to Jehovah for misrepresenting him |
