JW Insider

I can't tell what you mean here. Seems like some words got smashed?

I was an atheist visiting the KH w/my gf who was studying, and I observed them for months and also went to a day of a district convention when it struck me what was most different about JW's was that their behavior improved to the extent that they got together as a group. This I contrasted with every other group I'd been with. To the extent the group grew in size, to that extent it became unruly and more badly behaved.

This is why I always look at the historical context.  The truth was very different then. The entire human society was also much more strict and more authoritarian than the present day. This is why it is not good to look back... look only at the present time.  My husband and I often discuss our parents.... so strict..... post world war 2 discipline.  Women also more submissive to husbands.  The  mindset was different then.
Our books also went into the historical aspects much more. A good example is Babylon the great has Fallen... also the blue truth book - not as simplified as today. 
The problem now is that there is no discipline in the world and almost any form of morality is acceptable...

So true. I was killed once (not kidding) for a couple of minutes. As a pedestrian, I was standing on the curb but with one foot in the crosswalk waiting for the light to change when a man who wanted to get through the "long yellow" in time angrily sped around a car that was stopping for the yellow. I was thrown across the street, and his windshield hit me in the chest in a way that stopped my heart for a minute or so and produced lots of broken ribs and a bilateral pneumothorax as a bonus. I even had the out of body experience in the ambulance remembering from "above" seeing them remove my tie and cut off my shirt and T-shirt with a pair of scissors. I was hit only 3 blocks from the hospital they drove me to.
I got $10,000 from his insurance. But we never bothered to push for more. I admit to being about one foot into the crosswalk even though the driver actually came up slightly on the curb. Brothers still chide me for leaving so much "on the table."
But my son was hit very softly by a car that partially sideswiped his car, and they both got out and saw there was no damage. My son, a lawyer, even took pictures of the non-damage. A few months later he gets hit by a lawsuit that puts another passenger in the offending car and claims that there were serious injuries. Our insurance (Geico) got all the details and photos from my son, who showed them how this suit was baseless and frivolous. We were sure they would fight it. But they paid the party some amount under $10,000! We couldn't believe it.
I'm seeing a couple of law offices that advertise for CSA lawsuits with hour-long commercials on TV. I understand that the primary lawyer who takes on cases against the WTS (Zalkin) has a backlog of over 100 cases in the US. Also, they will hardly take on cases that only involve rank and file because it is harder to prove "agency" to the WTS which is considered the source of the money. They only want MS and elders. This way even if the WTS did nothing wrong, they still can claim "agency" to the WTS (where the money is).

No wonder I can’t get them to answer the phone.

No scorn came from me. I merely quoted scriptures associated with those who would try to make predictions about the times and seasons. If you felt scorn, perhaps that is why the scriptures speak of the Word as "sharper than any two edged sword:"
(Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Your words on this topic fit a pattern of unhealthy words that most of us have seen from others either working from door-to-door, or on the street. And these patterns are all the more prevalent online. Personally, I have seen about a dozen persons who have presented themselves as some kind of prophet, with the same strong assurances as you that they are 100% correct in their predictions about the near future. Specifically, of course, there is nothing wrong with the idea that the end of the parousia could come before 2034. It could come today, or it could come at any time Jehovah wills. If we are "awake" to this fact, we will be patient and be more concerned about our Christian personality, not making predictions which show ourselves to be presumptuous.
(James 5:7-11) . . .Be patient then, brothers, until the presence of the Lord. Look! The farmer keeps waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, exercising patience over it until the early rain and the late rain arrive. 8 You too exercise patience; make your hearts firm, because the presence of the Lord has drawn close. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you do not get judged. Look! The Judge is standing before the doors. 10 Brothers, take as a pattern of the suffering of evil and the exercising of patience the prophets who spoke in the name of Jehovah. 11 Look! We consider happy those who have endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is very tender in affection and merciful.
Even if the end of the parousia were 1,000 years off, the instructions for those who stay spiritually "awake" do not change. If we are in the "dark" we will be trying to make predictions, and trying to focus on the "times and seasons" which are not in our jurisdiction. But we are not in the dark about those things we should focus on instead.
When 2 Peter 3:17 speaks of having "advance knowledge" it is important to note that this "advance knowledge" is the knowledge that it would come as a thief, unpredictably, whether immediately or 1,000 years from now. That's exactly the opposite of trying to put a time prediction on the parousia. Second Peter says that people even in his day were already ridiculing the fact that this day of judgment (parousia) hadn't come yet. Were Christians supposed to answer this ridicule by assuring naysayers that they knew it would come within a few short years?
(2 Peter 3:8-18) 8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. 10 But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 as you await and keep close in mind the presence [parousia] of the day of Jehovah,. . . 14 Therefore, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace. 15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness. 18 No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . . .
Similarly, the letters of Timothy put the emphasis on healthful words, which help us avoid being puffed up with presumptuousness, or abusive speech, or wicked suspicions.
(1 Timothy 6:2-8) . . .Keep on teaching these things and giving these exhortations. 3 If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, 4 he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words. From these things spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions, 5 violent disputes about trifles on the part of men corrupted in mind and despoiled of the truth, thinking that godly devotion is a means of gain. 6 To be sure, it is a means of great gain, [this] godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. 8 So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.
(2 Timothy 1:12-14) . . .For I know the one whom I have believed, and I am confident he is able to guard what I have laid up in trust with him until that day. 13 Keep holding the pattern of healthful words that you heard from me with the faith and love that are in connection with Christ Jesus. 14 This fine trust guard through the holy spirit which is dwelling in us.
(Acts 15:29) . . .Good health to you!”
 

The number of current translations that insert the "a" in John 1:1 would not be as important as those translations that were made back when koine "NT" Greek was still a spoken and living language. For that we would look to early Latin, Coptic, Syriac, or Aramaic translations. Unfortunately some of these languages, just like NT Greek, didn't use the word "a." You could choose to put a "the" in front of a noun or entity, or you could leave off the "the" on purpose, and that could sometimes (not always) imply the word "a."
For example, if you were pointing to a rock, you could say "This is the rock" or "This is rock." If you didn't use the "the" you might mean:
"this is the rock" or "this is a rock" or "this is rock [not wood, not just a clod of dirt, not styrofoam, not paper, not scissors -- but it is made up of the substance we identify with rock/rockiness/rocky"]. All three of those choices are possible linguistically in NT Greek when the "the" is left off. And it would have been was very easy in NT Greek to repeat the word "the" which had already appeared just before it in "the word was with the god." (No capitalization in the Greek text.) In English, the phrase "the god" is simply translated as God, not "the God." But then you lose the differentiation between "the god" and "god." Adding an "a" to "god," and a capital "G" to "the god" is one way to do this.
Fortunately there is an early translation from the time that NT Greek was still a living language in speech and writing. And that language did make use of a word equivalent to the word "a." It's the Sahidic Coptic translation of John 1:1:
https://www.scribd.com/document/14960597/Coptic-John-1-1
https://www.scribd.com/document/25496486/Translating-Sahidic-Coptic-John-1-1
The Coptic translators rendered John 1:1 in this way (Transliterated):
1. a. Hn te.houeite ne.f.shoop ngi p.shaje
1. b. Auw p.shaje ne.f.shoop n.nahrm p.noute
1. c. Auw ne.u.noute pe p.shaje
Literally, the Coptic says:
1. a. In the beginning existed the word
1. b. And the word existed in the presence of the god
1. c. And a god was the word

Of course! Why would any advertiser make any exaggeration at all? It is the most reliable bedrock indicators of truth there is—almost up there with propoganda.
And when the TV news anchorperson looks you in the eye, you just know you’re getting truth and nothing but the truth!

No scorn came from me. I merely quoted scriptures associated with those who would try to make predictions about the times and seasons. If you felt scorn, perhaps that is why the scriptures speak of the Word as "sharper than any two edged sword:"
(Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Your words on this topic fit a pattern of unhealthy words that most of us have seen from others either working from door-to-door, or on the street. And these patterns are all the more prevalent online. Personally, I have seen about a dozen persons who have presented themselves as some kind of prophet, with the same strong assurances as you that they are 100% correct in their predictions about the near future. Specifically, of course, there is nothing wrong with the idea that the end of the parousia could come before 2034. It could come today, or it could come at any time Jehovah wills. If we are "awake" to this fact, we will be patient and be more concerned about our Christian personality, not making predictions which show ourselves to be presumptuous.
(James 5:7-11) . . .Be patient then, brothers, until the presence of the Lord. Look! The farmer keeps waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, exercising patience over it until the early rain and the late rain arrive. 8 You too exercise patience; make your hearts firm, because the presence of the Lord has drawn close. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you do not get judged. Look! The Judge is standing before the doors. 10 Brothers, take as a pattern of the suffering of evil and the exercising of patience the prophets who spoke in the name of Jehovah. 11 Look! We consider happy those who have endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is very tender in affection and merciful.
Even if the end of the parousia were 1,000 years off, the instructions for those who stay spiritually "awake" do not change. If we are in the "dark" we will be trying to make predictions, and trying to focus on the "times and seasons" which are not in our jurisdiction. But we are not in the dark about those things we should focus on instead.
When 2 Peter 3:17 speaks of having "advance knowledge" it is important to note that this "advance knowledge" is the knowledge that it would come as a thief, unpredictably, whether immediately or 1,000 years from now. That's exactly the opposite of trying to put a time prediction on the parousia. Second Peter says that people even in his day were already ridiculing the fact that this day of judgment (parousia) hadn't come yet. Were Christians supposed to answer this ridicule by assuring naysayers that they knew it would come within a few short years?
(2 Peter 3:8-18) 8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. 10 But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 as you await and keep close in mind the presence [parousia] of the day of Jehovah,. . . 14 Therefore, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace. 15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness. 18 No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . . .
Similarly, the letters of Timothy put the emphasis on healthful words, which help us avoid being puffed up with presumptuousness, or abusive speech, or wicked suspicions.
(1 Timothy 6:2-8) . . .Keep on teaching these things and giving these exhortations. 3 If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, 4 he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words. From these things spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions, 5 violent disputes about trifles on the part of men corrupted in mind and despoiled of the truth, thinking that godly devotion is a means of gain. 6 To be sure, it is a means of great gain, [this] godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. 8 So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.
(2 Timothy 1:12-14) . . .For I know the one whom I have believed, and I am confident he is able to guard what I have laid up in trust with him until that day. 13 Keep holding the pattern of healthful words that you heard from me with the faith and love that are in connection with Christ Jesus. 14 This fine trust guard through the holy spirit which is dwelling in us.
(Acts 15:29) . . .Good health to you!”
 

The number of current translations that insert the "a" in John 1:1 would not be as important as those translations that were made back when koine "NT" Greek was still a spoken and living language. For that we would look to early Latin, Coptic, Syriac, or Aramaic translations. Unfortunately some of these languages, just like NT Greek, didn't use the word "a." You could choose to put a "the" in front of a noun or entity, or you could leave off the "the" on purpose, and that could sometimes (not always) imply the word "a."
For example, if you were pointing to a rock, you could say "This is the rock" or "This is rock." If you didn't use the "the" you might mean:
"this is the rock" or "this is a rock" or "this is rock [not wood, not just a clod of dirt, not styrofoam, not paper, not scissors -- but it is made up of the substance we identify with rock/rockiness/rocky"]. All three of those choices are possible linguistically in NT Greek when the "the" is left off. And it would have been was very easy in NT Greek to repeat the word "the" which had already appeared just before it in "the word was with the god." (No capitalization in the Greek text.) In English, the phrase "the god" is simply translated as God, not "the God." But then you lose the differentiation between "the god" and "god." Adding an "a" to "god," and a capital "G" to "the god" is one way to do this.
Fortunately there is an early translation from the time that NT Greek was still a living language in speech and writing. And that language did make use of a word equivalent to the word "a." It's the Sahidic Coptic translation of John 1:1:
https://www.scribd.com/document/14960597/Coptic-John-1-1
https://www.scribd.com/document/25496486/Translating-Sahidic-Coptic-John-1-1
The Coptic translators rendered John 1:1 in this way (Transliterated):
1. a. Hn te.houeite ne.f.shoop ngi p.shaje
1. b. Auw p.shaje ne.f.shoop n.nahrm p.noute
1. c. Auw ne.u.noute pe p.shaje
Literally, the Coptic says:
1. a. In the beginning existed the word
1. b. And the word existed in the presence of the god
1. c. And a god was the word

The number of current translations that insert the "a" in John 1:1 would not be as important as those translations that were made back when koine "NT" Greek was still a spoken and living language. For that we would look to early Latin, Coptic, Syriac, or Aramaic translations. Unfortunately some of these languages, just like NT Greek, didn't use the word "a." You could choose to put a "the" in front of a noun or entity, or you could leave off the "the" on purpose, and that could sometimes (not always) imply the word "a."
For example, if you were pointing to a rock, you could say "This is the rock" or "This is rock." If you didn't use the "the" you might mean:
"this is the rock" or "this is a rock" or "this is rock [not wood, not just a clod of dirt, not styrofoam, not paper, not scissors -- but it is made up of the substance we identify with rock/rockiness/rocky"]. All three of those choices are possible linguistically in NT Greek when the "the" is left off. And it would have been was very easy in NT Greek to repeat the word "the" which had already appeared just before it in "the word was with the god." (No capitalization in the Greek text.) In English, the phrase "the god" is simply translated as God, not "the God." But then you lose the differentiation between "the god" and "god." Adding an "a" to "god," and a capital "G" to "the god" is one way to do this.
Fortunately there is an early translation from the time that NT Greek was still a living language in speech and writing. And that language did make use of a word equivalent to the word "a." It's the Sahidic Coptic translation of John 1:1:
https://www.scribd.com/document/14960597/Coptic-John-1-1
https://www.scribd.com/document/25496486/Translating-Sahidic-Coptic-John-1-1
The Coptic translators rendered John 1:1 in this way (Transliterated):
1. a. Hn te.houeite ne.f.shoop ngi p.shaje
1. b. Auw p.shaje ne.f.shoop n.nahrm p.noute
1. c. Auw ne.u.noute pe p.shaje
Literally, the Coptic says:
1. a. In the beginning existed the word
1. b. And the word existed in the presence of the god
1. c. And a god was the word

“I advise you to buy from me gold (Bitcoin) refined by fire (Energy) that you may become rich.” (Revelation 3:18a)

A recent article called "Bitcoin is Time" made the case that Bitcoin is essentially a clock. (Father Time aka GOD)
Buying bitcoin from god refined by fire to become rich. Spiritually rich. Not with yellow rocks but “rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21)

Here is an illustration Jesus once offered to the people of Israel:
How to be "rich toward God"?
Saint Paul explained what that gold is when he told Timothy to give orders to wealthy Christians “to work at good, to be rich in fine works, to be liberal, ready to share, safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future.” Only by expending themselves in this way could they “get a firm hold on the real life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
This is the purpose of Bitcoin and now your purpose should you listen to Jesus.

(Luke 21:8) . . .He said: “Look out that you are not misled, for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The due time is near.’ Do not go after them.
(Mark 13:32, 33) 32 “Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father. 33 Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is.
(Luke 12:46) the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting him and at an hour that he does not know. . .
(Acts 1:7) . . .He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times or seasons that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.
(Matthew 24:36)  “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) . . .However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. 3 Let no one lead you astray . . .
(1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2) . . .Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night.
 
 

So true. I was killed once (not kidding) for a couple of minutes. As a pedestrian, I was standing on the curb but with one foot in the crosswalk waiting for the light to change when a man who wanted to get through the "long yellow" in time angrily sped around a car that was stopping for the yellow. I was thrown across the street, and his windshield hit me in the chest in a way that stopped my heart for a minute or so and produced lots of broken ribs and a bilateral pneumothorax as a bonus. I even had the out of body experience in the ambulance remembering from "above" seeing them remove my tie and cut off my shirt and T-shirt with a pair of scissors. I was hit only 3 blocks from the hospital they drove me to.
I got $10,000 from his insurance. But we never bothered to push for more. I admit to being about one foot into the crosswalk even though the driver actually came up slightly on the curb. Brothers still chide me for leaving so much "on the table."
But my son was hit very softly by a car that partially sideswiped his car, and they both got out and saw there was no damage. My son, a lawyer, even took pictures of the non-damage. A few months later he gets hit by a lawsuit that puts another passenger in the offending car and claims that there were serious injuries. Our insurance (Geico) got all the details and photos from my son, who showed them how this suit was baseless and frivolous. We were sure they would fight it. But they paid the party some amount under $10,000! We couldn't believe it.
I'm seeing a couple of law offices that advertise for CSA lawsuits with hour-long commercials on TV. I understand that the primary lawyer who takes on cases against the WTS (Zalkin) has a backlog of over 100 cases in the US. Also, they will hardly take on cases that only involve rank and file because it is harder to prove "agency" to the WTS which is considered the source of the money. They only want MS and elders. This way even if the WTS did nothing wrong, they still can claim "agency" to the WTS (where the money is).

So true. I was killed once (not kidding) for a couple of minutes. As a pedestrian, I was standing on the curb but with one foot in the crosswalk waiting for the light to change when a man who wanted to get through the "long yellow" in time angrily sped around a car that was stopping for the yellow. I was thrown across the street, and his windshield hit me in the chest in a way that stopped my heart for a minute or so and produced lots of broken ribs and a bilateral pneumothorax as a bonus. I even had the out of body experience in the ambulance remembering from "above" seeing them remove my tie and cut off my shirt and T-shirt with a pair of scissors. I was hit only 3 blocks from the hospital they drove me to.
I got $10,000 from his insurance. But we never bothered to push for more. I admit to being about one foot into the crosswalk even though the driver actually came up slightly on the curb. Brothers still chide me for leaving so much "on the table."
But my son was hit very softly by a car that partially sideswiped his car, and they both got out and saw there was no damage. My son, a lawyer, even took pictures of the non-damage. A few months later he gets hit by a lawsuit that puts another passenger in the offending car and claims that there were serious injuries. Our insurance (Geico) got all the details and photos from my son, who showed them how this suit was baseless and frivolous. We were sure they would fight it. But they paid the party some amount under $10,000! We couldn't believe it.
I'm seeing a couple of law offices that advertise for CSA lawsuits with hour-long commercials on TV. I understand that the primary lawyer who takes on cases against the WTS (Zalkin) has a backlog of over 100 cases in the US. Also, they will hardly take on cases that only involve rank and file because it is harder to prove "agency" to the WTS which is considered the source of the money. They only want MS and elders. This way even if the WTS did nothing wrong, they still can claim "agency" to the WTS (where the money is).

It's good counsel about sexism. And I recall being impressed that she explained that her "Thinking" moniker was not to be taken as a reference to any pride in thinking ability or habits, but merely as a reference to what should be a necessity for all of us. My sexism wasn't in regard to misunderstanding the moniker as any kind of bluster but the fact that I had never noticed any real gender hints after years of participation. I just had a feeling that if she was a sister she would say so on  a forum like this, perhaps even inadvertently. And of course, I don't read everyone's every word, so I figured I might have even missed a gender reveal.
Now that you mention private conversations, of course, I have a different impression. I now have the impression that she intended not to reveal this fact to everyone, and I can figure many reasons a sister (or any female) might not wish to let people know on such a forum as this.
The actual thought of Thinking being female came across to me as a choice recently when she said this:
First of all, that kind of a statement stands up to self-righteous brothers (even potentially on this forum) in a way that no one would attempt unless they were either a frustrated elder, brutally honest, or a sister who was aware of problems, and brutally honest. Any brother who had knowledge of multiple cases of victims mentioned in the ARC would have been either an elder himself, or a sister who had known or spoken with multiple victims. Sisters are the most common victims and are much more likely to speak voluntarily with other sisters than with brothers. I thought of it as a possibility but somehow still preferred to think "he" was a brutally honest elder, who had perhaps known one of the cases, and had perhaps been driven to a site like this based on the experience.
This reminds me that I meant to ask @Thinking about one of the ARC cases, as I had come to believe that this victim was never telling the truth, or was projecting the abuse claims onto the wrong perpetrator. Something is off about one of the cases that got a lot of attention in the ARC.
 

Thanks for taking the time to clarify your position. I'm not agreeing, but I understand your belief much better.

I would not be so sure that genuine victims will get a better deal with this program. It may be that handling complaints on a case-by-case basis, as was being done, will be more to their advantage. Governments with their agencies, not to mention lawyers, tend to seriously erode funds meant for victims. Plus, it has already been revealed that those churches that did sign on, to much fanfare, are subsequently dragging their feet and are being as uncooperative as possible. CC is right. These things tend to be facades, with everyone taking bows while raiding the till, and the victims don’t fare nearly as well as you might think.
It may turn out to be more like the vaccine court in the U.S. Though you can sue a manufacturer for every other defective product, you cannot sue for a vaccine injury. Pharma managed to legislate themselves immunity. There is a vaccine court for redress, funded in part by surcharges on each vaccine given. Ask any injured party and they will tell you that their cases are almost invariably denied, and it is only by fighting it out with lawyers that they may, after a few years, get a few thousand dollars, seldom very much. This is true even in cases of permanent paralysis.

I actually think the statement is a little clunky—for it doesn’t account for the reversal— and that i could have written it better, along the lines I have already said. 
Still, it is such a white-hot issue, and some are trying to milk it for various reasons, that maybe it is just as well not to risk looking “defensive”—state what has been stated, and move on. 
It is a good deal to have resolved. I am sure they are happy to do that. I am sure victims are happy, too. That is the nature of any reconciliation. People are happy when it is done.
I liked how Holly Folk did not shirk from taking on lawyers. Essentially, if you have money, someone will devise a means to take some of it. It will not be a completely fictional means, for that will seldom produce results. It will be something that is real, but overstated, exaggerated, and legitimate cases will be mixed with more dubious ones. It is in lawyers’ interests to portray people as victims, whatever happened to them was not their fault. Accordingly the “cult” mantra is hugely popular with them. At times, one wonders if they to some degree have invented the idea, for they surely benefit from it.
It is not just CSA. That is but a tiny part of the iceberg. In my community, there are about twenty legal firms that advertise on media, and some of them do it virtually non-stop. I can remember a time when manufacturers were the prime sponsors of TV shows. Now they are sidled aside by lawyers. What does that tell you as to the nature of society?  It amounts to a global society-wide transfer of funds, with barristers netting a third.
I was a defendent in such a case. I don’t think many people have not had some such experience, unless they have taken care never to do anything in life. This one involved a house I rented out. Insurance kicks in and you have little to do with it, but if you don’t know that in advance, it is very disconcerting. Even knowing it in advance, it is not comfortable. The suit was for $6 million and the settlement was for $200K. “How can the insurance companies afford this?” I asked my agent. “They can’t,” was the reply. “They just keep raising their rates.”
”My lawyer got me 5 million dollars, 18 times what the insurance company offered.” Such ads are staples on TV. In satire, I append the following to them: “All my neighbors rejoiced with me. Then they opened their premium bills.”
My teenage daughter’s car was hit—not her fault—and within days the other insurance company was hounding me to “settle.” Settle what? I was not accustomed to this new normal. They offered thousands of dollars if only I would settle. Finally I told them, “I don’t think this is going to cost you a dime. Pay a few chiropractic bills and that will be the end of it. But I am not signing anything away, for I don’t know what the finale will be.” They paid a few bills. I never did settle. There was never any reason to. I was probably a chump. I probably should have hit them up for as many thousands as I could. I just didn’t know that mindset, and concepts like “honesty” got in the way. The latest prompting from TV lawyers is that you call them immediately after your doctor to find out what “your accident is worth.” I am of the generation where you didn’t call them at all. You had insurance, the other party had insurance, you relied upon them for fair compensation, and were seldom dissatisfied with the result.

(Luke 21:8) . . .He said: “Look out that you are not misled, for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The due time is near.’ Do not go after them.
(Mark 13:32, 33) 32 “Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father. 33 Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is.
(Luke 12:46) the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting him and at an hour that he does not know. . .
(Acts 1:7) . . .He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times or seasons that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.
(Matthew 24:36)  “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) . . .However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you 2 not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. 3 Let no one lead you astray . . .
(1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2) . . .Now as for the times and the seasons, brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night.
 
 

I think we all know of a suicide or two among the brothers. But if your anecdotal example is about someone jumping in front of a train, it was a story about someone else I know nothing about. The two I know of related to Bethelites were not train-related. And they were many years apart. Overall, I'd say that Bethel did not have much of a problem at all in this regard. The US Army, on the other hand . . . or even New York University (NYU) has had as many suicides in a year, as Bethel has had in four decades.

So true. I was killed once (not kidding) for a couple of minutes. As a pedestrian, I was standing on the curb but with one foot in the crosswalk waiting for the light to change when a man who wanted to get through the "long yellow" in time angrily sped around a car that was stopping for the yellow. I was thrown across the street, and his windshield hit me in the chest in a way that stopped my heart for a minute or so and produced lots of broken ribs and a bilateral pneumothorax as a bonus. I even had the out of body experience in the ambulance remembering from "above" seeing them remove my tie and cut off my shirt and T-shirt with a pair of scissors. I was hit only 3 blocks from the hospital they drove me to.
I got $10,000 from his insurance. But we never bothered to push for more. I admit to being about one foot into the crosswalk even though the driver actually came up slightly on the curb. Brothers still chide me for leaving so much "on the table."
But my son was hit very softly by a car that partially sideswiped his car, and they both got out and saw there was no damage. My son, a lawyer, even took pictures of the non-damage. A few months later he gets hit by a lawsuit that puts another passenger in the offending car and claims that there were serious injuries. Our insurance (Geico) got all the details and photos from my son, who showed them how this suit was baseless and frivolous. We were sure they would fight it. But they paid the party some amount under $10,000! We couldn't believe it.
I'm seeing a couple of law offices that advertise for CSA lawsuits with hour-long commercials on TV. I understand that the primary lawyer who takes on cases against the WTS (Zalkin) has a backlog of over 100 cases in the US. Also, they will hardly take on cases that only involve rank and file because it is harder to prove "agency" to the WTS which is considered the source of the money. They only want MS and elders. This way even if the WTS did nothing wrong, they still can claim "agency" to the WTS (where the money is).

Did you miss the sewing bee she was carrying on about? (Sorry  )

Thanks for taking the time to clarify your position. I'm not agreeing, but I understand your belief much better.

I already put it in context: As long as this “channel” is in line with Bible principles, then Christians can have confidence in it can’t they?  Your context is erroneous, because it is up to us to make sure that they are in line with Bible principles (make sure of all things) If we did not make sure, then we would just be like any other people who have confidence in anyone who claims to be a prophet or “channel” from God. Why not have confidence in Charles Manson, Jim Jones or David Koresh? Many people did.
I have for a while seen a pattern emerge with ex-Witnesses. It always seems to be those who have not done their research, who have not made sure of all things, who have not “made the truth their own". They had put all their confidence not in the Bible, but in imperfect men, who are fallible and make mistakes. Then when the mistakes of these men disappoint them, then they lose their confidence in them, (which is not surprising of course) and leave. But had they (the ex-JWs) been reasonable, and remembered that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) they may have been able to figure things out, work things trough, like the rest of us have. It doesn’t matter if they are anointed and so full of holy spirit till it pours out of their ears. They are still imperfect and make mistakes. Just like ALL the faithful men and women in Bible times. The only one who could claim perfection was Jesus. And yet Jesus dealt with all these imperfect people. Why? Because they wanted to follow him. They wanted to be his disciples and let Jesus teach and guide them. So, when the GB want to follow Jesus, and want to be his disciples, and want to encourage others to be his disciples, they will allow Jesus to teach them and guide them. This is why they will want to base everything on the Scriptures, because this is where the teachings and guidance from Jesus is found. In the ARC hearing, one of the councilors was puzzled, and even a bit upset that the JWs want to follow ancient guidelines from 2000 years ago. I rest my case.