Mephis

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Posts by Mephis

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  35

  Another Outright Lie Published 2/17 WT

  by LostGeneration in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  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.

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  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.
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  42

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

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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

  table of contents.

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

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  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.
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  42

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

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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

  table of contents.

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

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  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.
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  33

  Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

  by konceptual99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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.)
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  33

  Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

  by konceptual99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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/ ).
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  33

  Petr Muzny: A Law Professor Explains His Faith

  by konceptual99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  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.

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  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}.
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  101

  HELP needed from folks in UK, esp. in Scotland!

  by WTS Archive in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tl;dr: if you live either in scotland or in other parts of uk and you don't mind traveling, you might be able to help a fellow ex-jw by being present during a courtcase where she alone has to face more than two dozens of jws who have ruined their business.

  please contact me directly for details on when and where the court case will be held (i will know these details in few days probably).

  ps.

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  Mephis

  If it's been in the local newspaper, any link to, or image of, the story they printed?
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  9

  Speculation? What would Watchtower be now if it had fully embraced the internet / technology 20 years ago

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this has probably been discussed before so please feel free to include links as well.

  so what would wt be now if it had encouraged it's members to use the internet or technology for spreading the good news.

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  Mephis

  One of the reasons for them initially trying to stamp out internet use was that initial surge of JWs online leading some to getting non-approved information and then asking awkward questions. (I remember the various bits about it in the 90s in their publications - "would you invite an apostate into your home?"). At the time, digital media was limited by access and cost (metered connections at 56k!) so it wasn't even a way for them to reliably distribute the WT as a text document.
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  8

  Watchtower Study Article 23/10/16 from August edition

  by BluesBrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-august-2016/do-you-see-the-need-to-train-others/.

  much of the article is the usual thoughtless mush that we have come to expect these days.

  the rank and file bros. are urged to reach out to train the new ones... .

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  Mephis

  What I got from that is that they know that they're not converting people on the doorstep, and the little paragraph at the end there about perseverance hints at far more than just 'new ones' feeling it's all a bit pointless. The problem with the men who stay inside really not wanting to climb the WBTS leadership ladder is making them increasingly shrill about it. Probably is not helped by them trying to guilt elders into doing even more.
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  61

  Trump supporters want to repeal 19th amendment

  by keyser soze in

  1. social
  2. current

  seriously, you can't make this shit up.

  and these same people will accuse hillary of rigging the election after she wins:.

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-supporters-repeal-19th-amendment-article-1.2828571.

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  Mephis

  I'm glad it only sounded like you were conflating the two things LoveUni. :)