Posts by Mephis

21

RUSSIA: Many meetings raided and evidence planted

by ZAPPA-ESQUE in

raids on jehovah's witness premises now take place more than three times per month.

these raids on doctrinally pacifist* religious communities often involve many heavily armed and camouflaged officials, with the "discovery" of apparently planted banned "extremist" literature.

legal dissolution of communities can follow.. http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2228.

Mephis

Leave a cult, shill for Putin. Makes sense to me.

US Commission on International Religious Freedom is a bipartisan group which provides information to the US government. On Putin's last batch of 'anti-extremist laws' in May:

“These deeply flawed anti-terrorism measures will buttress the Russian government’s war against human rights and religious freedom,” said USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. “They will make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent, and detain and imprison people. Neither these measures nor the currently existing anti-extremism law meet international human rights and religious freedom standards.”
The anti-terrorism measures would, among other provisions, amend the 1997 Russian religion law by redefining “missionary activities” as religious practices that take place outside of state-sanctioned sites. The new law thus would ban preaching, praying, proselytizing, and disseminating religious materials outside of these officially-designated sites, and authorize fines of up to $15,000 for these activities conducted in private residences or distributed through mass print, broadcast or online media. Foreign missionaries also must prove they were invited by state-registered religious groups and must operate only in regions where their sponsoring organizations are registered; those found in violation face deportation and major fines.
http://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases/russia-uscirf-condemns-enactment-anti-terrorism-laws

No, no these are not 'very good laws'. They're the legal tools of a repressive regime and shouldn't be applauded unless you're keen to see those laws applied against your own beliefs because someone has decided to label you an 'extremist'.

9

Circuit Organization Guidelines English (S-330-E Us)

by wifibandit in

circuit organization guidelines english (s-330-e us) 03/13.

Mephis

Special rules for Governing Body prayers tickled me. Don't interpret prayers. But if it's a Governing Body member saying the prayer then they can choose to have it interpreted for the audience. Must be because those are special prayers with them being so much closer to God. Kind of like how prayers by non-JWs don't count as much as those by JWs, unless someone knocks on the door with a couple of magazines and then it's proof of angels.

21

RUSSIA: Many meetings raided and evidence planted

by ZAPPA-ESQUE in

raids on jehovah's witness premises now take place more than three times per month.

these raids on doctrinally pacifist* religious communities often involve many heavily armed and camouflaged officials, with the "discovery" of apparently planted banned "extremist" literature.

legal dissolution of communities can follow.. http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2228.

Mephis

Been going on a while LoveUni. Think the WBTS even produced a video, from security camera recordings, of police doing it. The Russian state is behaving appallingly in how it's using this law. But as the article in the OP highlights, it's certainly not just JWs getting targeted by it.

39

The increasing WT magazine

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

apart from the interesting block color change for the title strip on the front page.... the new 2017 wt mag has some new (updated printing figures):.

2016: produced each issue: 58,987,000 available in 282 languages .

2017: produced each issue: 61,651,000 available in 294 languages.

Mephis

And, due to the wide range of things it includes - from single sheet invites through to printed books - it's a virtually meaningless figure anyway now.

The digital placement figure is so meaningless that the only people who'll ever see it are the local elders and the CO. HQ have specifically asked for it not to be reported to branch. It stops the little lies being caught out when the grand tally of publisher reports is checked against actual online downloads.

35

Another Outright Lie Published 2/17 WT

by LostGeneration in

this info is from the article "who is leading god's people today" feb 17 study edition.. to help them disseminate bible truth in various languages, zion’s watch tower tract society was legally incorporated in 1884, with brother russell as president.

* he was an outstanding student of the bible, and he fearlessly exposed as false such doctrines as the trinity and the immortality of the soul.

he discerned that christ would return invisibly and that “the appointed times of the nations” would end in 1914.. pretty sickening article overall about how badass the gb is, though this little gem is printed as well, paragraph 12. the governing body is neither inspired nor infallible.

Mephis

Good grief that's an utterly bonkers article. Their 'proof' that they've been chosen as God's mouthpiece (in spite of acknowledging they get it wrong, a lot):

1. They change their minds a lot about what they believe. Therefore that's proof the holy spirit is at work. Because without the holy spirit they obviously could not change their beliefs or something.

2. Angels send JWs to people praying. I'm a little disappointed they don't mention white feathers being found in the vicinity of people who answer the door.

3. They take random verses from the bible, bash them together to come up with a way to forbid something, and that then proves they rely on God's word.

There was a time this pretended to be a religion of bible scholarship. It wasn't, but it tried hard to pretend to be by baffling with BS about Jewish and early Christian versions of the apocalypse. This though, this is drivel. They don't even attempt to explain why (or even how) Jesus chose their apostate religion above all others in 1919, in the hope that eventually they'd muddle their way to something closer to 'the truth' over time.

42

November 1, 2016 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Using and Maintaining Kingdom Halls

by wifibandit in

november 1, 2016 to all bodies of elders re: using and maintaining kingdom halls.

table of contents.

ownership .........................................................................................pars.

Mephis

Sorry, Mephis, but those are the same ideas put forth to US congregations. I assume the WTS has some other way to enforce this.

I can only speak to what happens in Britain with charities, trustees, property decisions, and how that relates to a letter sent to British congregations. But in the US the whole system is different, including the ability for HQ to re-run Menlo Park whenever they choose.

42

November 1, 2016 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Using and Maintaining Kingdom Halls

by wifibandit in

november 1, 2016 to all bodies of elders re: using and maintaining kingdom halls.

table of contents.

ownership .........................................................................................pars.

Mephis

If the KH were owned by the congregation holding the territory it stood on, it would not qualify as a religious non-profit. Even the WTS does not "own" the property but administers it under the same trustee arrangement as the parent non-profit.

British law (as this is British branch letter) is different to that. It's actually possible for local trustees (which the congregation running the Kingdom Hall will have) to refuse the dictats of a centrally organised religion about property. Doesn't change anything for tax purposes really - each is individually registered as a charity. Trustees have responsibility to their charity, not the overall organisation. Of course, no body of elders would take this through the courts if they were told to sell off. But the case law is there to support them if any did choose to do so.

33

Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

by konceptual99 in

this is absolutely feckin' priceless.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/viewpoints-origin-of-life/petr-muzny-law-professor/.

in yet another appeal to authority, jw.org has trotted out a professional to vouch for creation.

this guy is a law professor.

Mephis

Oh no worries sparky. I read French so his profile at his university was enough, but appreciate that having google translate helps verify for yourself. I'm kind of amused by his specialisms seeming to fit the WBTS niche law issues so well. (Consent for medical procedures, rights of minors in relation to consent for medical procedures, conscientious objection to military service, and others.)

33

Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

by konceptual99 in

this is absolutely feckin' priceless.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/viewpoints-origin-of-life/petr-muzny-law-professor/.

in yet another appeal to authority, jw.org has trotted out a professional to vouch for creation.

this guy is a law professor.

Mephis

according to his 'testimonial' on JW.Org, he received his law degree in 2004 and according to prabook he received a Doctorate in Philosophy in 2005. Prabook could possibly be incorrect and this could be cleared up if someone could translate his curriculum vitae into English

He qualified to practise law in 2000, his doctorate was awarded in 2004, he obtained his first tenured position in 2005 and became a professor in 2006. ( http://transius.unige.ch/fr/membres/membres/petr-muzny/ ).

33

Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

by konceptual99 in

this is absolutely feckin' priceless.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/viewpoints-origin-of-life/petr-muzny-law-professor/.

in yet another appeal to authority, jw.org has trotted out a professional to vouch for creation.

this guy is a law professor.

Mephis

Dr. Muzny has a CV posted online. However, I can't read it because it is in French, so I am not sure exactly what he was trained in at university. Interestingly enough, I found a website that says his Doctorate was in Philosophy! According to this website, he received his Doctorate in Philosophy from University Montpellier, France. It can be found here: http://prabook.com/web/person-view.html?profileId=488834

Doctor of Philosophy is just the full form for Ph.D (Philosophiae Doctor}.