Baptists Sex Abuse

[Dustparticle]

https://www.star-telegram.com/living/religion/article222576310.html

 

Edit: To provide context to post

 

Quote

 

More than 200 people — current or former church members, across generations — shared their stories of rape, assault, humiliation and fear in churches where male leadership cannot be questioned...

The Star-Telegram discovered at least 412 allegations of sexual misconduct in 187 independent fundamental Baptist churches and their affiliated institutions, spanning 40 states and Canada.

 

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by rocket

[Brother Arellano]

When you live in a country where 1 in 400 people is a registered sex offender, things like this really don’t surprise me. It’s just further confirmation we are living in  the latter part of this system of things. 

Edited December 13, 2018 by Brother Arellano

[shali]

1 in 400?!!! I don't like those numbers at all.

[Brother Arellano]

1 hour ago, shali said:

1 in 400?!!! I don't like those numbers at all.

There are currently over 1M registered sex offenders in the US. It’s an insane number. We see why now the FDS helps us appreciate the need to be aware of our children and keep the, safe. 

[SheyZ]

Such horrible news. Sad to say this happens in Jehovah's organization. There are lawsuits out there. Just recently an elder in US was disfellowshipped for immoral conduct with sisters and children.(my dear sister's daughter and granddaughters + others) That's why for years the Governing Body says never be alone with someone behind closed doors. Thankfully because of all the press in recent years, the Brothers have put this on JW.org. for ALL to be clear and see where we stand.

We Humans are all corrupt. We always need to be aware of what can happen and what to do. From Publisher to Governing Body. Matthew 10:16. I understand this scripture is talking about preaching in this crooked world. But we always need to be awake to wickedness that can surround us in or outside of the congregation.

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/legal-resources/information/packet-jw-scripturally-based-position-child-protection/

 

 

[Bek]

16 hours ago, Brother Arellano said:

There are currently over 1M registered sex offenders in the US. It’s an insane number. We see why now the FDS helps us appreciate the need to be aware of our children and keep the, safe. 

Over 1m is a huge number, but if we were to believe scientists, the true number of pedophiles is about 13m in the US alone. 

 

Here is the source:

 

https://theweek.com/articles/479986/pedophilia-guide-disorder

Edited December 14, 2018 by Bek

[Brother Arellano]

I’ll admit the number is much higher. But hard to quantify. Conviction rates for sexual crimes can be very low. Personally I try to avoid hyperbole. For example the stated article, while very believable has no sources to verify the facts.   That’s why I used the registry. It’s people who have been proven to be sexual deviants. 

[Bek]

19 hours ago, Brother Arellano said:

I’ll admit the number is much higher. But hard to quantify. Conviction rates for sexual crimes can be very low. Personally I try to avoid hyperbole. For example the stated article, while very believable has no sources to verify the facts.   That’s why I used the registry. It’s people who have been proven to be sexual deviants. 

It looks like sex offenders is a broad term that includes all kinds of sex crimes, not just child abuse. In light of that, over 1m sex offenders for a country of 325m is not that big. Last night I thought the figure was only about pedophiles. If we were to believe the above article, then pedophiles alone should make up 13m in the US. Add to that generic sex offenders, then the figure becomes humongous. 

 

Here is another article that puts a figure on pedophiles in a given society ranging from 0.5 to 5 per cent, depending on the definition of pedophilia. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28526106

[Brother Arellano]

3 hours ago, Bek said:

Here is another article that puts a figure on pedophiles in a given society ranging from 0.5 to 5 per cent, depending on the definition of pedophilia

 

I think you are getting stuck on the numbers. I only used a number to show the vastness of the problem. I am not disagreeing with you that it is a huge problem. Whether it is 1 or 20M it is too many and a very serious issue that cannot be solved in this system of things. So, instead let's focus on ways that we can protect ourselves and our families until Jehovah corrects this problem once and for all time What steps have you and those in your congregation taken to safeguard yourselves?

[Bek]

12 hours ago, Brother Arellano said:

 

I think you are getting stuck on the numbers. I only used a number to show the vastness of the problem. I am not disagreeing with you that it is a huge problem. Whether it is 1 or 20M it is too many and a very serious issue that cannot be solved in this system of things. So, instead let's focus on ways that we can protect ourselves and our families until Jehovah corrects this problem once and for all time What steps have you and those in your congregation taken to safeguard yourselves?

I am sorry if I appear to be making too much emphasis on the figures.It is just that they are incredibly big and I am just learning how dire the situation is. The good thing is that in the West, countries are more open and report such crimes more or less truthfully while in my part of the world things are very different. As far as I know, we do not even have a sex offenders register and no relevant figures. So we are in the dark when it comes to sex crime. For example, I have read somewhere that Russia, which is about 150m people, has only a few thousand sex offenders on its register. Statistically, it should have half of what the US has. I think it is important to know the true scale of the problem, if you want to protect yourself adequately. 

 

Speaking of protection, I have a 10-year-old son whom I teach to stay away from strangers. My congregation also follows the latest guidelines from the FDS, sometimes, in my view, taking it to the extreme. I once asked an elder to take my son to the cinema because I cannot do it myself due to illness. He was very reluctant to do that, saying it was not appropriate for him. I could not believe my ears and was very sad that things have got to such a state because of some child abuse cases in the past.  

Edited December 16, 2018 by Bek

[carlos]

On 12/16/2018 at 9:16 AM, Bek said:

My congregation also follows the latest guidelines from the FDS, sometimes, in my view, taking it to the extreme. I once asked an elder to take my son to the cinema because I cannot do it myself due to illness. He was very reluctant to do that, saying it was not appropriate for him. I could not believe my ears and was very sad that things have got to such a state because of some child abuse cases in the past.  

Yes, it's very sad that it has come to this point. When I was a child it was normal for adults to caress or kiss a child appropriately. Now the world has reached a point where you cannot get close to a child without people wondering if you are some kind of abuser. People who like to play with children were once seen as nice, now they are seen as creepy. It's clear that this is Satan's world, and he has taken something beautiful and turned it into something disgusting and dangerous. Most people are well-intentioned but due to that one molester among a thousand we all need to take special measures.

 

On the other hand, given that this is the situation, the Slave gives us good guidance on how to prevent abuse. This includes measures that sometimes make our life much more complicated, but help us avoid dangerous situations. Last Saturday I was in service and a friend called and asked me to go with him to a study. He studies with two children, 12 and 14, and he was waiting outside in the freezing cold because their mother was not home. We no longer conduct a study with a kid alone or do anything with a kid alone. That shows we are really interested in the protection of children and are open to suggestions and improvements.