[Alex Murphy]

This Scripture [Matthew 18:15,16] prevents a Jehovah’s Witness being considered guilty of any misdemeanor without two people witnessing the action, unless the person confesses. In the case of child sex abuse, there is virtually never a second witness, and a predatory pedophile is unlikely to confess. This has allowed accused pedophiles to continue operating in a clandestine manner throughout congregations, exploiting Watchtower policies in their favor.

Put simply, Watchtower differentiates between a crime and a “scriptural sin.” Application of the two-witness rule means that even if a court finds a person guilty of abuse, the local congregation may not recognize that the perpetrator has done anything scripturally wrong....

....As late as the 1990s in Watchtower guidelines, two witnesses were required to be present at the same sexual encounter for the perpetrator to be considered as having committed a Scriptural offence....

....The misguided application of the two-witness rule has allowed known pedophiles to not only remain in the congregation but also hold positions of authority. For instance, Rick McLean molested many Witness children over a twenty-year period, yet despite numerous children and their parents approaching congregational elders, they never took any action. The reason? There was never two witnesses to any single event. It wasn’t until 2002 that the Watchtower decided that two witnesses could be from separate incidents....

....As of 2013, Watchtower policies are still woefully inadequate when it comes to protecting children. AAWA therefore makes the following recommendations toward further protecting the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses from pedophiles:

• The two-witness rule must no longer apply to accusations of sexual molestation against children. There is no reason for Jehovah’s Witnesses to apply Matthew 18 to children. The Watchtower does not enforce this Scripture consistently, and it is reprehensible for them to stubbornly insist that this must form the basis of their policy on child abuse.
• All accusations should be reported to the authorities, regardless of whether or not it is the legal obligation in that state or country. The organization should be leading the way in the protection of children, not lagging behind the world’s standards in an effort to protect their own reputation. Congregation elders are ill equipped to handle such accusations, and should welcome the assistance of trained professionals.
• If the accused denies guilt but the police are investigating the matter, the accused should under no circumstances have unsupervised contact with a child in the congregation or be allowed to represent the congregation in field service until the matter is resolved by local law enforcement.
• If convicted by the authorities, an abuser must never serve as an elder, ministerial servant, or pioneer or represent the congregation in field service. It is wholly unacceptable for him or her to receive a position of authority or responsibility, and Watchtower policy should always err on the side of caution for the sake of child safety.

[GraceG]

I could never wrap my mind around the whole, “Only 480,000” people go to heaven.

I would not want to be the 480,000th person in heaving know what kept someone below me from going to heaven was the fact that they had a bad day and stepped on a bug or something and then having to live in heaven for an eternity with that knowledge.... I would be insane with guilt for at least the first quadrillion years....

[Dutchboy88]

We observe here one of the classic results of bad hermeneutics. Until one recognizes that until the blood of Jesus was shed (in the story line), we Gentiles were not grafted in (Eph. 2). This causes all sorts of misuse of the Gospels, including teaching the so-called “Golden Rule”, the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”, the so-called “Keys to the Kingdom” and many other errant doctrines. Thank you for the post, my brother.

[Wurlitzer]

Could never determine which group is more brainwashed, Scientology or JWs.

I witnessed (no pun intended) first hand the brainwashing of JWs in the mid 1970’s as there were 4 of them at my place of employment (one was 1/2 owner) and these clowns we trying to convince everyone at work that the earth would be coming to an end in 1975 and only JWs would survive.

Well obviously 1975 came and went and we were still all around and to a person, they denied they had ever said such a thing.

Just like trying to get a liberal to admit they are wrong these JWs absolutely refused to admit anything then they went on a campaign to fire non-JWs and to hire only JWs.

It was and is a great learning experience of how people can be so brainwashed in a failed belief they will do and say anything and you might as well save your breath. They are the most dishonest of the dishonest.

[jp3]

I was raised a JW from 7yo and quit going around the age of 23 or so. It was a horrible upbringing. I walked away happily. Became Catholic 3 yrs ago and I’m finally HOME, where God has guided me. Now, here’s a little advice...when JWs knock on your door, tell them you were raised a JW and are now Catholic....they move off your property pretty quickly. It’s actually fun to watch them move so fast and stumble over their words of good bye.

[count-your-change]

JW policy and an explantion of it can be found at:

JW.media.org home our families jehovah’s Witnesses and child protection