blondie

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Posts by blondie

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  2

  Who is "the Christ" in 1927 per Rutherford

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  n 1926, rutherford reinterpreted the faithful slave from a single person to a group of people.

  thus the interpretation had come full circle, but this time the servant included jesus as well as the 144,000.  so "the christ" is jesus alone, jesus and member of his body collectively as one, or applied only to the members of the body of christ yet on earth.

  three different things.... "seeing then that the servant of jehovah is the christ, and that the christ is composed of jesus and the faithful members of his body, we find it proper to apply the term "servant" to jesus christ alone or to jesus christ and the members of his body collectively as one; and sometimes it is applied only to the members of the body of christ yet on earth.

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  blondie

  n 1926, Rutherford reinterpreted the Faithful Slave from a single person to a group of people. Thus the interpretation had come full circle, but this time the servant included Jesus as well as the 144,000. So "the Christ" is Jesus alone, Jesus and member of his body collectively as one, or applied only to the members of the body of Christ yet on earth. Three different things...

  "Seeing then that The Servant of Jehovah is The Christ, and that The Christ is composed of Jesus and the faithful members of his body, we find it proper to apply the term "Servant" to Jesus Christ alone or to Jesus Christ and the members of his body collectively as one; and sometimes it is applied only to the members of the body of Christ yet on earth." Watchtower 1927 Feb 15 p.53
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  Is the US a democracy or a republic? Yes

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is.

  throughout our history we have functioned as both.

  put another way, we have utilized characteristics of both.

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  blondie

  https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is

  Throughout our history we have functioned as both. Put another way, we have utilized characteristics of both. The people decide, but they do so through elected representatives working in pre-established, rule-bound and intentionally balky institutions such as Congress and the courts.

  The government seated in Washington, D.C., represents a democratic republic, which governs a federated union of states, each of which in turn has its own democratic-republican government for its jurisdiction.

  The relationship between the democratic and republican elements of this equation has been a dynamic and essential part of our history. But it has not always been easy, and in our time the friction between them has become yet another flashpoint in our partisan wars...Republicans, by contrast, have seemed of late to be stressing the role of the republic and its restraint on democracy. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, an outspoken Republican but hardly an outlier, got considerable attention for saying bluntly on Twitter in October 2020: "We are not a democracy."

  Lee then posted online an explanation of what he meant. It said, in part: "Our system is best described as a constitutional republic [where] power is not found in mere majorities, but in carefully balanced power." (just snippets, but reading the whole article carefully shows the difference between the 2 words and how they work together in the US.)
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  Characteristics of a Cult - Heaven's Gate

  by dropoffyourkeylee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  chacteristics of a cult - by my count, wt ticks 9 of the 12 boxes.

  last night i watched a really interesting video (link below) put out by an ex-mormon site discussing the heaven's gate cult.

  the person interviewed had a unique perspective in that he had firsthand contact with that group, specifically the house they lived in and the aftermath.

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  blondie

  chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://freedomofmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BITE-Model-Handout-9-23-16.pdf

  Steve Hassan's BITE Model Characteristics of a Cult
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  JW internal culture is destroying everything that makes a Jehovah’s Witness

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the entire internal religious culture of the watchtower organization is harmful for its current members.

  the culture seems to traverse ethnic and national barriers.

  however, the worst of each culture all around the world appears to have a symbiotic relationship with the religion in an attempt to make the org fanciful in every nation and locality.

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  blondie

  BTW, to clarify this, Ray Franz was not disfellowshipped at the time he left Bethel. He joined and was a jw in a congregation just over the Georgia border in Alabama. An elder in that congregation was so dismayed about how Ray Franz was treated, that elder disassociated himself. At the time, the WT did not disfellowship jws for associating with disassociated jws. Ray and his wife (not disassociated), went to dinner with that disassociated elder and that elders' non-disassociated jw wife. The WTS made a retroactive ruling that if you dissociated with a dissociated jw, you in fact had disassociated yourself. Interestingly, Ray's wife was not considered to have disassociated herself although she had been at that same dinner. Quite hypocritical. So in WT terms, it was later when Ray was in a congregation, he was not disfellowshipped at all, but later was considered to have disassociated himself. I have had to repeat this several times over the years. Ray was my personal friend, and I learned this from him, his wife, the disassociated elder and his non-disassociated wife. (BTW, Ray did not write his first book until 1984 when the WT considered him to have disassociated himself) For further information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Franz
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  Prague Czech Republic Considers WT Registration

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://english.radio.cz/culture-ministry-considers-revoking-jehovahs-witnesses-registration-8841807 .

  culture ministry considers revoking jehovah’s witnesses' registration.

  the czech ministry of culture is considering revoking the religious registration of the jehovah’s witnesses, according to czech radio information.

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  blondie

  https://english.radio.cz/culture-ministry-considers-revoking-jehovahs-witnesses-registration-8841807

  Culture ministry considers revoking Jehovah’s Witnesses' registration

  02/03/2025

  The Czech Ministry of Culture is considering revoking the religious registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to Czech Radio information. The ministry claims the organization has not addressed issues raised in an official warning last September, including pressuring members to cut ties with those who leave and restricting minors' access to medical care, such as blood transfusions. Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesperson David Kulla denies any wrongdoing and calls the potential deregistration discriminatory.
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  Remember they said this was the last of the FB and the helpers would have to take over to lead the flock through the great GT?!

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  that aged well lol.

  since then 4 younger gb members appointed.

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  blondie

  Duran, I think that comment used terms that jws believe in. Not necessarily those outside the WT organization.
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  PENNSYLVANIA SENTENCING OF JW CHILD SEXUAL ABUSER

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/case-update-philadelphia-jehovahs-witnesses-congregation-member-jailed-up-to-4-years-for-sexual-abuse-of-a-young-child/.

  harrisburg — attorney general dave sunday announced that david balosa will serve two to four years in prison for using his standing as a member of a jehovah’s witnesses congregation in philadelphia to befriend, then sexually assault, a young child in 1998.... and https://www.newsbreak.com/daily-voice-525087/3786329373200-4-year-old-abused-by-jehovah-s-witness-gets-justice-pa-ag .

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  blondie

  WingCommander, it could set a precedent. Worked against the Catholic Church, starting in 2002 by a group called SNAP.
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  Reddit thread - ‘Organization Finally Suggesting to Plan for Retirement’

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.

  (i don’t go on jw dot org).

  it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. don’t know what to say except that i’m so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.

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  blondie

  DOC, loss of money is the only thing that moves the WTS to take action, not wanting to support their members, certainly financially.
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  JW internal culture is destroying everything that makes a Jehovah’s Witness

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the entire internal religious culture of the watchtower organization is harmful for its current members.

  the culture seems to traverse ethnic and national barriers.

  however, the worst of each culture all around the world appears to have a symbiotic relationship with the religion in an attempt to make the org fanciful in every nation and locality.

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  blondie

  DOC, I realize there is a down trend, was back in 2001 when I stopped attending anything jw-based. Jws found any way that meant they had less and less reason to go door to door. Stopped even trying to give the appearance of preparing to anything that might interest non-jws to investigate the WTS, didn't make return visits, made themselves feel better turning them over to regular pioneers, never trying to start a "bible study" so they weren't tied down to a specific time, just turned over to regular pioneers. Taking long "breaks," starting out later so "not to wake people up," stopping early at 11 a.m. Counting time for the time they left their house and arrived back home. Faking time. Went out "preaching" only with their own family and faking it, doing errands like picking up dry cleaning, grocery shopping. Making "return visits" on people for 10 years without that person ever attending a meeting at the KH. Writing groups even back then, one phone shared by 15 people, writing letters to family members of people in the obits, freaking them out. One time the WTS commented that some were writing one letter by hand, making 100 copies, and putting them in people's doors and counting 100 hours. I saw all these things happen. I'm sure it has not stopped. Covid just made it worse, easier for people to fake things. The end has been announced by the WTS since 1879, many false starts, and here jws are in 2025 still waiting for Armageddon to come. Less and less contact with someone in person in their so-called preaching work. Will the WTS become an online religion, I have no doubt.
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  5

  PENNSYLVANIA SENTENCING OF JW CHILD SEXUAL ABUSER

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/case-update-philadelphia-jehovahs-witnesses-congregation-member-jailed-up-to-4-years-for-sexual-abuse-of-a-young-child/.

  harrisburg — attorney general dave sunday announced that david balosa will serve two to four years in prison for using his standing as a member of a jehovah’s witnesses congregation in philadelphia to befriend, then sexually assault, a young child in 1998.... and https://www.newsbreak.com/daily-voice-525087/3786329373200-4-year-old-abused-by-jehovah-s-witness-gets-justice-pa-ag .

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  blondie

  Biahi, it many depend on the type of sexual assault, laws can differ on a sentence based on that, not a good I thing, but then I don't make the laws. But one can check their own area as to the sentences for crimes like that and let your local/state representative how you feel about that.