Part one of a series looking at the Australian Royal Commission’s investigation in the handling of child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witness organisation.
You can support the channel at: https://www.patreon.com/TheraminTrees
--
opening quote: Abuse thrives in silence. It thrives in the silence of communities who tell themselves ‘It’s none of our business’. It thrives in the silence of organisations who elevate public image over private reality. It thrives in the silence of the abused who come to realise no one wants to listen. As your ears adjust to the silence, you can hear the quiet rustle of abusers rubbing their hands.
--
music: excerpt from Kreisler's 'Preludium and Allegro' © TheraminTrees
--
References: The Australian Royal Commission website: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission...
The JW organisation’s rejection of ‘worldly’ non-Members:
--
.... we should not become close friends with those who do not obey God .... Bad associations result in disaster’
—
Watch Your Associations in These Last Days, The Watchtower study edition August 2015
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/ma...
--
‘.... a Christian would not spend time with unspiritually inclined people after work or school hours for pleasure and amusement.’
—
Guard Against Bad Associations, The Watchtower 15 January 1966
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
--
Let the world go along in its way, reaping its bad fruitage in the form of broken homes, illegitimate births, sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS, and countless other emotional and physical woes. —Breathing This World’s “Air” Is Death-Dealing!, The Watchtower [15 Sept 1987]
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
The JW organisation’s ‘theocratic warfare’ policy:
--
.... hiding the truth, which he is not entitled to know, from an enemy does not harm him
.... let it be noted that whenever one takes an oath to tell the truth he is obligated to do so .... To this oath he certainly must be true. Likewise, when a Christian is placed on a witness stand he is obligated to speak the truth if he speaks at all.
—Use Theocratic War Strategy, The Watchtower [1 May 1957]
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
The JW organisation criticises the Catholic Church for being a false religion, an enemy of true worship, meddling in politics and mishandling child abuse cases:
--
Constantine fused such false religion into Christian teachings when he laid the foundations for the Roman Catholic religion.— Kingdom Come 1981
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
--
One such enemy is especially the Roman Catholic Hierarchy .... saturated with pagan Babylonish doctrine and ceremony. —Watchtower 1 March 1968
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
--
More Politicians Than Preachers?—Watchtower 15 June 1993
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
--
Usually these cases are hushed up, and no significant disciplinary action is taken.—Awake! 8 Nov 1990
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1...
--
music: excerpt from Kreisler's 'Preludium and Allegro' © TheraminTrees Full original music tracks used in videos are available to patreon supporters who pledge at the $1 per video level.
