Robin Jackson Blog

In recent weeks two much publicized cults have been in the spotlight. The first was the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the second was the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ.

Firstly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have come under fire in Australia for breaching Victoria’s Working With Children Act of 2005. An initial 35 criminal charges were filed alleging that mandatory child protection laws were broken. The charges were filed by Mr Steven Unthank in relation to the refusal of the entire Committee of Management for the Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses to comply with mandatory child protection laws, which primarily prevents convicted sex offenders, child rapists, drug dealers and murderers from having access to children across a range of industries and organizations. These include religious organizations.

Mr Unthank issued a personal statement in which he stated that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower Society knew about these child protection laws and refused to comply with them from the outset. Mr Unthank went on to say that even the Department of Justice notified them and offered to assist them to comply. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses completely ignored the offer of assistance.

In my opinion this shows a scant disregard for the safety and well being of the children in the organization. It is common knowledge that Jehovah’s Witness children are made to go from house to house with adults, sometimes with little supervision, peddling watchtower publications. The problem of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witness organization has been highlighted before and more can be read about this at http://silentlambs.com. However, the Watch tower is quick to point out the abuse issues within other religious organizations.

Across the Atlantic a jury sentenced polygamist leader, Warren Jeffs, who heads a breakaway sect of the Mormon church to life in prison. This was for sexually assaulting two underage girls he wed as “spiritual” brides. Prosecutors said that Jeffs had “played a sick game of child molestation under the guise of religious ceremony”. The sentencing came a day after an audio recording was played on which Jeffs is heard telling young teen girls that they would be “rejected by God” if they refused his sexual advances. Mr Jeffs will now have to deal with advances from another kind while spending the rest of his life in prison.

The point I want to get to here is that in all of these cults it is the children who suffer the most. The indoctrination, fear tactics, sexual abuse and spiritual abuse can leave children emotionally and physically scarred. The lack of protection and the utter disregard for children’s rights within these groups are a matter of concern. In South Africa the lack of education and awareness of the issue around abuse in churches and cults is not well publicized and exposed. Many are afraid to speak out and to challenge the abusers and those in authority in these groups. As a result these abusers and peadophiles carry on their business unchecked. 

As long as we adults stay silent the children stay victims and will carry on suffering in destructive and abusive churches.

Over the next few weeks I will make a few of the chapters from my first book, Losing The Faith, available here on my website. Feel free to leave comments after each chapter.

Foreword

“It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you
from the truth.” This statement comes from the movie called
The Matrix, which to me aptly describes what I experienced and
what led to me being awakened to the deception and cover-ups
of an organization that claims to be directed by God and states
that it is the sole channel of communication between God and
men.

From about eleven years of age I truly believed that the
organization known as Jehovah’s Witnesses was rightfully that
which it claimed to be. I was actively involved in the preaching
work as set out and required of every Jehovah’s Witness and
never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would find myself
taking my current stand. For twenty five years of my life I
believed this was “The Truth”. Well, I reached a crossroads in my
life and this book describes what led me to my decisions and how
I came to the conclusion that I was living a life based on just
another religious concept. A concept that can be very damaging
to individuals and families.

My gripe is not with the people in the organization, but it is
with the doctrines that have no sound scriptural backing. The
doctrines that the leaders of this organization enforce on its
followers that cause so much pain and family break-ups. There
are many good people in this organization that I personally know,
and who truly wants to serve God with their whole heart and
mind. They do not know of the cover-ups and deception that this
organization and so many others like it would much rather hide
from their followers.

My conscience does not allow me to stand back and simply
do nothing. I can easily sit back and let it all just pass. Many
choose to do that .They reason, “others are affected, not me.”
Life is all about choices. This is my choice and I have decided to
stand for something. I realize there may be consequences to my
actions and revelations, but so be it.

When I first wrote down these words it had a profound effect
on my decision to make my individual feelings and standpoint
known, rather than sit back and watch more lives devastated.
Furthermore, the experiences I write about in this book are by no
means unique and reflect what many worldwide have had to
endure and come to terms with. The conflict of thought,
depression and anxiety experienced by countless individuals is
just the tip of the iceberg.

This is my story.

It seems as if the courts in South Africa are taking a hard line stance on children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood transfusions.

Court saves Jehovah’s Witness girl’s life

20 February 2009, 06:13
By Kanina Foss

A 12-year-old Jehovah’s Witness girl has received a life-saving blood transfusion that she did not want after a Johannesburg High Court order gave doctors the go-ahead.

The girl, who suffers from leukaemia, was admitted to Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital on Tuesday. Despite being told that a blood transfusion was needed to save her life, the girl and her parents refused to consent to the procedure.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that it’s against God’s will to take other people’s blood, or one’s own blood that has been stored, into one’s body.

The official website of Watchtower, a Jehovah’s Witness organisation to which The Star was referred by the Jehovah’s Witnesses of South Africa, says: “True Christians will not accept a blood transfusion. They want to live, but they will not try to save their life by breaking God’s laws.”The Gauteng Department of Health said doctors consulted the girl’s parents and church elders to explain the need for the transfusion. When their explanations were rejected, they brought an urgent application before the High Court on Wednesday.

The court order was issued on the same day, and the girl was given a transfusion immediately.According to Department of Health spokesperson Phumelele Kaunda, the parents respected the court’s decision.The girl is doing well.SA Human Rights Commission chairperson Jody Kollapen said that in such cases, the right to life took precedence over the right to religion.He said adults were regarded as fit to make informed decisions about their own bodies, but in the case of a child, state intervention was sometimes necessary.

Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that there are often alternatives to a blood transfusion, and they want to be allowed to consider other options.They base their beliefs on biblical text such as Acts 21, verse 25: “As for the believers from among the nations, we have sent out, rendering our decision that they should keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols as well as from blood and what is strangled and from fornication.”In November, the Pietermaritzburg High Court granted an urgent order authorising a blood transfusion for a four-day-old baby boy who was born 15 weeks premature. His Jehovah’s Witness parents had refused to give their consent, despite a prognosis from the doctor involved.

This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on February 20, 2009

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20090220054001117C891248