Jack Ryan

For today's WT study w18 December par. 16
If a criminal who deserves to die, and mocks Jesus to his face even during the crucifixion itself (read the whole passage), only has to profess he wants to be remembered by Jesus at the very last minute, then the whole purpose of needing to get people baptised and dedicated as JW's is rubbish.
This passage suggests belief in Jesus is enough and that even as late as your dying breath you can be redeemed! So works are not what saves you, being baptised is not what saves you, being identified with a certain church is not what saves you. Belief and faith in Jesus is what saves you and even mocking Jesus can't kill you if you have a last minute change of heart.
Reading this properly has serious consequences for the validity of WT theology, and I always had trouble with this passage when I was in as I couldn't understand why we had so much pressure to go door to door as much as possible and strong arm people in bible studies. The passage suggests Jesus only required we spread the good news so they could believe and not fanatical pestering of people to beome part of a fundamentalist religion.

So the real answer is then.... similar to how sinning elders stay in power....
the key to "The Best Life Ever" is   DON"T GET CAUGHT!!!
Even in suicide....
you'd better be successful at your attempt OR you will be disfellowshipped by the Elder's who will then tell all other JW"s they are not allowed to even pray for you anymore.
once disfellowshipped there is no future resurrection hope for you
 

just read the suicide part of the book and it said this:
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
81. A suicide attempt may be the result of deep despair or major depression.
Elders should deal carefully and compassionately with
such a person. In most cases, a judicial hearing is not required.
—Ps. 88:3, 17, 18; Prov. 15:13; Eccl. 7:7; g 4/14 pp. 6-9.

Here some points I noted not sure if these r different from the previous edition:
medical marijuana is a personal choice
Any allegations of child sexual abuse r to b given to the legal department to tell the elders how to proceed.
Also specific instructions to not make abused persons face their accuser
The elders should all b made aware of any sexual predators and if they move the new congregation elders should b made aware including parents of children in the congregation. This is only done if the legal department says to.
Victims of abuse or their parents r to b advised that they can go to the police and r not to b discouraged from doing so.
Masturbation is not pornia and is not really covered. Not sure if this is new and the org is backing away from discussing it.
Probing sexual questions r to b avoided during a judicial committee
Sexual offenders r not to receive any major privileges in the congregation, possibly minor ones such as handling mics after an extended time has passed.
The elders r to clearly tell people that they r being invited to a judicial committee and what the meeting is about up front.
Things they r still clinging to:
Still sticking to the two witnesses rule for child abuse
it says that attempted suicide victims may b subject to a judicial committee ( someone that has mental illness should not b subject to more trauma I find this to b so disgusting)
Of course all the other ridiculous invasive restrictions we all have experienced
Highlights from the book above (2019 links added)
The three year rule is re-iterated without specific mention of "three"
An elder or MS will be removed if he allows his adult DA'd child to move into family home
An elder can be removed for filing for bankruptcy
The language around the definition of rape is better - no more references to the woman having to scream
The stayover rule is still there. If you stay in the house of a member of the opposite sex, and two people know about it, it's a judicial matter.
"Abhorrent" forms of porn are now a DF offense. Gay, Lez, child, violent, bestial.
Gluttony is now listed as a DF offense. Not sure if it was there before
They have narrowed the definition of apostasy: " Deliberately Spreading Teachings Contrary to Bible Truth " the end of that sentence used to read "as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses"
I think this the first time they explicitly stated that marking talks can be given based on misconduct from unbaptized minors
There's a whole new section on CSA. It seems like an improvement overall and includes the child no longer having to confront her rapist in most cases, but it still doesn't have the promised female representation from Jackson's promise to the Australian court.
Willingly taking blood remains an automatic disassociation offence.
Reinstatement is "several months, a year or even longer"
Ownership of kingdom halls. They make clear that regardless of what it says on the title, a congregation does not OWN their own kingdom hall.
jw.org email - all correspondance between elders is now via the elders private account on jw.org. I guess they want to make sure they know EVERYTHING
Congregation file: Still they say the best place to keep it is at the KH. Therefore, paper records of all judicial matters should be in those files. ALL CSA RECORDS HAVE "DO NOT DESTROY" WRITTEN ON THEM
Here's the entire section on legal action as a result of judicial action. I think it's worth noting that it demonstrates that they will leave you alone if you write a legal letter:
 
IF THE ACCUSED THREATENS LEGAL ACTION 18. If the accused threatens legal action against the elders, the elders should suspend proceedings and promptly telephone the Legal Department. 19. If a member ofthe media or an attorney representing the accused contacts the elders, they should not give any information about PREPARING FOR JUDICIAL HEARINGS CHAPTER 15 “SHEPHERD THE FLOCK OF GOD” the case or verify that there is a judicial committee. Rather, they should give the following explanation: “The spiritual and physical welfare of Jehovah’s Witnesses is of paramount concern to the elders, who willingly provide spiritual assistance to congregation members. The elders extend this spiritual assistance confidentially. This makes it easier for those who seek the elders’ help to do so without worrying that what they say to the elders will be divulged later. Consequently, we do not comment on whether elders are currently or have formerly met to assist any member of the congregation.” If there is a need to do so, the elders may obtain the inquirer’s name and phone number and inform him that their attorney will contact him. The elders should then promptly telephone the Legal Department. 20. Ifthe authorities request confidential congregation records or ask that elders give testimony regarding confidential congregation matters, the elders should promptly telephone the Legal Department.
 
This seems like a big change below as it codifies what we have all been hearing about ownership of KH's:
 
OWNERSHIP 2. A Kingdom Hall is dedicated to the worship of Jehovah. Whether the property title, or deed, is held in the name of a local corporation or by means of a trustee arrangement or it is held in the name of a legal entity managed by the branch office, no congregation should conclude that it “owns” the Kingdom Hall. However, it is the responsibility of the congregations using the property to care for it and see that it is used in harmony with Kingdom interests. 3. As many as three or four congregations may be assigned by the branch office to use the same Kingdom Hall auditorium in order to make full use of the facility and to keep expenses to a minimum. The branch office will generally correspond with only one of the congregations using the facility regarding legal, property, and related matters. Usually, this contact congregation holds the documents related to the Kingdom Hall and the property on which it is located. This is for practical reasons only and does not provide a basis for the contact congregation to make unilateral

To be clear:
The new rules now allow elders (para. 15) to go to the authorities once an allegation of CSA has been made without fear of retaliation by headquarters. AND two witnesses aren't needed to do this (even though two witnesses are still needed for judicial action🙄). In addition to this, emphasis is given that the reporting party will not bring reproach on jehovahs name. Para. 14- "But what if the report is about someone who is a part of the congregation and the matter then becomes known in the community? Should the Christian who reported it feel that he has brought reproach on God’s name? No. The abuser is the one who brings reproach on God’s name."

Dear brother Judas Iscariot,
Your assignment as Apostle will be maintained due to Jehovah's new light (Pr 4:18). You had been serving faithfully for many years and there's a lot of evidence of God's blessing your life.
Please, be sure to deposit the 30 pieces of silver to the worldwide work as proof of your repentance.
Please accept our christian love,
Kenneth E. Cook, Jr. Samuel Frederick Herd Geoffrey William Jackson Mark Stephen Lett Gerrit Lösch Anthony Morris III D. Mark Sanderson David H. Splane

The governing body believes the following to be true:
Three months later = dfd; six years later = no problem
Someone might say "I'm glad I waited to tell on myself"
Confessing is optional, he might just get busted and still be in the clear.
"Serving faithfully" can include covering over serious sin for years
God blesses those that are covering over serious sin
The congregation can telepathically detect secret sins and will not respect you.

If it was a crime can you imagine a judge saying "well nobody found out you robbed the bank because you covered it up. Well done you can continue as the bank manager and not go to prison."
unless...
"evidence of God's blessing" IS not getting caught - lmao 😂🤣

I didn't see your previous post before posting the following thread:
 

The governing body believes the following to be true:
Three months later = dfd; six years later = no problem
Someone might say "I'm glad I waited to tell on myself"
Confessing is optional, he might just get busted and still be in the clear.
"Serving faithfully" can include covering over serious sin for years
God blesses those that are covering over serious sin
The congregation can telepathically detect secret sins and will not respect you.

If it was a crime can you imagine a judge saying "well nobody found out you robbed the bank because you covered it up. Well done you can continue as the bank manager and not go to prison."
unless...
"evidence of God's blessing" IS not getting caught - lmao 😂🤣

just read the suicide part of the book and it said this:
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
81. A suicide attempt may be the result of deep despair or major depression.
Elders should deal carefully and compassionately with
such a person. In most cases, a judicial hearing is not required.
—Ps. 88:3, 17, 18; Prov. 15:13; Eccl. 7:7; g 4/14 pp. 6-9.

How dare publishers attempt suicide ! Clearly, they should be threatened with being disfellowshipped. Jehovah's congregation needs to be kept clean from people who try to kill themselves.
This is a fork from an earlier thread:
 

I believe there's a complaint ongoing in New York which might name the GB as managing agents of WTBTS. If it succeeds, its effects will be... interesting.

That is also my answer for them:
YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORITY OVER ME !!!

It also looks like it’s proof that the Canadian lawyer for the Watchtower perjured himself as an officer of the court to their Supreme Court

Public protest against Watchtower shunning policies in São Paulo

you think an oral review is cheating
you think cart witnessing is cheating
you can provide explanations of most of the prophecies in Daniel and revelations from memory.
you have fond memories of Shasta lemon lime and cheese danishes.
you can rhyme giv'n and heav'n, and can sing about molested bees with a straight face.
you (rightfully) believe that Caleb and Sophia is an unholy abomination.
Anything I missed?
 

And it took how many years for their "Guardians of the Doctrine" to realize things weren’t right with this issue?

In previous decades, when someone was disfellowshipped, they were told their time would be 6 months. Now it’s a full year?
Why did that change from 6 mo to a year? and are they getting more ppl to come back with the increased time? With the less members staying in the org, you would think they want to lower the “jail time “
Also are there any other religions that gives you months or years of time out, if you commit a sin, even if you actually want to come back?
Also any former elders here? Why is there a standard set time for everyone? And why can they reject someone’s letter who wants to come back? Don’t they need more members ?

It's crazy to me that now a lap-dance is fornication/porneia. Which means it is also grounds for divorce!

I was sitting beside a friend who expressed his discontent over the explicit detail in a magazine "that kids are supposed to read as well"

I’d like to know under what facts they would not consider this sexual immorality. Like if the stripper wasn’t really into it so you didn’t feel you got your money’s worth?

Although this will leave open the question of what exactly gyrating means.... LOL