Examining the Scriptures Daily
The purpose of this site http://examiningthescripturesdaily.blogspot.com/ that started in 2006 has been to give a complementary way to read the daily text from the Examining the Scriptures Daily booklet online as the Watch Tower has not provided it to date. It has been available from two websites with the option to use an RSS feed as well as subscribe via email or follow on Twitter.
Those behind this site are Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The site has always been non-commercial and has never contained anything offensive for Jehovah’s Witnesses. It has been a safe place to visit for any Jehovah’s Witness or anyone interested.
We know many have benefitted from this site.
A few have complained and when questioned on the legality of this site we have provided a response like this:
Thanks for your email and your concern.
The daily text is a private initiative that started because we personally had a need for it. Very soon we understood that many others had the same need. We have done this blog since 2006.
Publishing a small part of a book this way can be done legally based on "fair use".
If this is something that bothers you please feel free to contact the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.So it was a surprise that we were contacted by the legal department of the Watch Tower after more than three and a half years of operation, see below.
Notice of Claimed Infringement
From: Legaldept@jw.org
Sent: Wed 7/22/09
To: ExaminingtheScripturesDaily@hotmail.com
Re: Notice of Claimed Infringement—
http://examiningthescripturesdaily.blogspot.com;
http://examiningthescripturesdaily.googlepages.com; and
http://twitter.com/jwdailytext
To Whom It May Concern:
Without authorization, the above-referenced Web sites contain copyrighted materials of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania’s (Watch Tower). The material reproduced and made available for transmission is taken from Watch Tower’s publication, Examining the Scriptures Daily.
We appreciate that you may have good intentions in compiling and posting such information. However, Watch Tower has not given you permission to reproduce and distribute its materials. Hence, such unauthorized use of these materials violates copyright law.
We hereby request that you take all steps necessary to remove all the infringing material that belongs to Watch Tower from the referenced Web sites and that you advise us in writing within ten (10) days of the date of this electronic message whether or not you will take the requested action.
I have a good faith belief that use of the materials in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
I hereby state under penalty of perjury that this information is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the infringed materials.
Yours very truly,
Richard D. Moake
Associate General Counsel
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
100 Watchtower Drive
Patterson, NY 12563-9204, U.S.A.
legaldept@jw.org
We do not want to exercise our legal right in accordance with Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 107. We do not wish to put ourselves at risk from the Watch Tower Legal Department that might involve a lawsuit. We are therefore forced to remove the offending quotes that the Watchtower Society has filed the complaint about.
For more about fair use visit http://www.chillingeffects.org/fairuse
Why does Watch Tower not want this web site to remain in operation? Why have they not provided similar information on their websites?
We hope that The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society one day adds Examining The Scriptures Daily to any of the official websites and of course in all available languages.
We also hope that the Watch Tower stops with their copyright restrictions on their literature to further the world wide work of preaching the good news.
One strange thing with the license agreement for Watchtower Library is that it seems that you cannot even copy a Bible quote from the CD and email to a friend or put on Internet like a personal blog or website. Please note below.
“You may not do any of the following: Sell the Product or the SOFTWARE; transmit all or any portion of the SOFTWARE by electronic means, such as e-mail; post all or any portion of the SOFTWARE on the Internet, a public network, or any type of electronic message board.” - license agreement for Watchtower Library 2008 CDDo you think Jehovah or Jesus would protect the Bible using copyright laws? Still the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures that is included on the Watchtower Library is under copyright. Jehovah’s Witnesses have copyrighted the Bible. While the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society have not written the Bible, how can they copyright it? Would any Christian believe that God or Jesus will approve of someone that tries to hinder others to read God’s word?
“Let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.” (Revelation 22:17) Today, that invitation is being sounded earth wide. Each year, Jehovah’s Witnesses in more than 235 lands are spending over one billion hours in helping people to take in life-giving knowledge of the Bible. - w08 6/1 pp. 14-15 Water Bubbling Up to Impart Everlasting LifeWhy then does the Watch Tower want to limit the flow of life’s water?
According to Charles Haynes Jehovah’s Witnesses “are exercising their freedom of conscience – the freedom to do what they believe they must do out of obedience to God.”
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16440
Above quote is taken from the same document that is quoted in the book released by the Watch Tower during 2009 “Keep on the Watch!” Conventions, “Bearing Thorough Witness About God's Kingdom.”
According to our conscience trained by Bible studies and the Watch Tower literature we believe God not only approve of this website but we think it is the right thing to do.
We feel sorry for all friends that are in the truth that cannot longer get daily support and encouragement from these sites any more. We hope you can find the daily text elsewhere online.
We feel sorry for all friends that are in the truth and stops reading this now afraid reading and seeing the truth.
We feel by this act The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. and the organization Jehovah’s Witnesses are attacking religious freedom.
It is not only this website and many other websites they have made silent. One example is this site with quotes from the Watch Tower publications that the Watch Tower claimed punitive damages in the amount of $100,000. http://www.qwotes.info/admin-news.htm
Jehovah's Witnesses current pedophile policy year 2012
What is so much worse is how the Watch Tower the organization behind Jehovah’s Witness silences children that have been abused by pedophiles within the organization.
A scary thing is how the Watch Tower silences victims of sexual abuse and rape. Jehovah’s Witnesses harass, threaten and persecute everyone inside the organization that tries to protect the children. The Watch Tower organization takes away the freedom of speech among its members. Even thou the Jehovah’s Witnesses now allows you to go to the police and authorities if you have been molested or if your child have been molested the reality is that in many cases you will end up in much trouble within the organization because you contact the police and authorities and not keep silent.
Many have been disfellowshipped (excommunicated and shunned) from Jehovah’s Witnesses without any or with little possibility of defend themselves just because they tried to stand up for molested children and protect them from pedophiles within Jehovah’s Witnesses organization.
If you question Jehovah’s Witnesses about these things you cannot rely on them telling the truth not even in the court.
“While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it.” - Insight-2 p. 245Do Jehovah’s Witnesses protect pedophiles within the organization? Yes, they do. The policy of Jehovah’s Witnesses is that if a congregation has a known pedophile only a few of the elders in the congregation knows about it. Today the elders, that know they have pedophiles in their congregation, are not allowed to warn and protect the congregation. This is the current policy of the Watch Tower.
Here is an illustration: Everyday around the world parents leave their children in daycare. What if the daycare manager saying: “Your children are welcome to play here at the playground. There are anti-personnel mines here and there and I know where most of them are. But where they are I will not tell you, this is none of your business. Let’s hope no children steps on them and got hurt or killed. You can feel save to leave the children in our care.”
NO LOVING PARENT would leave their children to a daycare in a situation like this. Still this is EXACTLY what happens in the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Only a few elders knows who are known pedophiles in the congregation but the rest of the congregation are denied, not allowed to know who are pedophiles and can therefore NOT PROPERLY PROTECT THEIR OWN CHILDREN!
CHANGE THIS POLICY! GIVE US THE RIGHT TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN AGAINS KNOWN PEDOPHILES WITHIN JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES ORGANIZATION!
A pedophile is also encouraged to visit people from door to door by the elders (leaders) among Jehovah’s Witnesses and this means that if you open the door for a Jehovah’s Witness you might have a pedophile in front of you or your children. And if you are a Jehovah’s Witnesses and preaching in service you can have, unaware to you, a pedophile in your car group together with your own children!
Jehovah’s Witnesses must take community responsibility and NOT allow known pedophiles preach from door to door!
Please help to get all these things changed! You can call or write to Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarter or local branch. You can do it both if you are a Jehovah’s Witness or not.
+1 718 560 5000 is the telephone number to the headquarter in USA. Ask for the Governing Body, Administration Offices or Legal Department.
Here you find the address to Jehovah's Witnesses office in your country
http://www.watchtower.org/address/article_01.htm
Request them to remove the copyright restrictions. Request that known pedophiles should not be allowed to witness from door to door. Request the right to protect our children! Request them to answer you in writing!
If you get a visit from a Jehovah’s Witness ask them to explain why nothing is done to rectify these problems within Jehovah’s Witnesses.
When will there be a public apology from Jehovah’s Witnesses organization to the world? Their policies are behind the pain and suffering for so many children and their families.
It is time to take a stand and protect the CHILDREN!
In a five year legal battle with the Watch Tower Legal Department with an estimated one million plus in world wide work money being used to pay lawyers to prevent victims from receiving compensation. (Think of that next time you put your money in the contribution box at Kingdom Hall or contribute with money for Jehovah’s Witnesses literature.) At the end when discovery was going to allow clear evidence to be presented to a jury of negligence in dealing with abuse. The Watch Tower Legal Department pulled out the World Wide Work Check book and paid around $17 million with gag orders on the sixteen victims to prevent them from disclosing to the public how elders at the direction of the Governing Body were negligent and allowed multiple children to be molested and silenced after they were abused.
“Over a five day period in February 2007, 16 civil child sex abuse lawsuits against Watchtower (the Jehovah’s Witness headquarters in New York City) were quietly settled in three states (CA, TX and OR). The victims involved were essentially coerced into signing ‘gag orders’ that prevent them from discussing the cases.For more information about the child abuses within Jehovah’s Witnesses:
We learned that 16 victims were paid the largest settlement in history of Jehovah’s Witnesses but forced to sign a gag order that forbids them from speaking about their abuse.
Attorney Jeff Anderson successful in over 600 lawsuits over abuse states, “When victims are forced to sign gag orders it is a continuation of the coerced code of silence from church hierarchy. Jehovah’s Witnesses silenced molested kids before the elders and now they are doing it in the courts.”
http://www.silentlambs.org/ and http://www.silentlambs.org/press/index.cfm
Footnotes:
When referring to Jehovah’s Witnesses it also includes all the corporations that build up the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization. Some of them are:
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses
Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses
Kingdom Support Services, Inc.
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New Jersey, Inc.
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Florida, Inc.
Valley Farms Corporation
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses (the highest and responsible leaders for Jehovah's Witnesses policies):
Samuel Herd
Geoffrey Jackson
M. Stephen Lett
Gerrit Lösch
Anthony Morris III
Guy H. Pierce
Mark Sanderson
David H. Splane
