I can't think of a better name than Jehovah's witnesses. I might return to lower case "witnesses" that's all. They are Jehovah's "name people", like it says in Acts 15. Plus it's the name under which they refused to fight for the Nazis and others. Worth keeping.
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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What could be other alternative names for the Jehovah's Witnesses ?
by Finkelstein inhow about .... the international brotherhood of stupidity.. the righteous zombies club .
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Analysis of 2017 vs 2016 Yearbook reports for Europe
by Splash inso these countries roughly constitute europe.. here's how well they did in 2017 vs 2016:.
2017 peak pubs.
2016 peak pubs.
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slimboyfat
Very interesting display, thanks.
Poland has been decreasing for years. Why? A few reasons possibly. For one I think the population of Poland itself has been declining due to migration. This doesn't explain the extent of JW decline however. Initially Poland was one of JWs' greatest successes in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. So as with Japan, Poland's decline might to some extent be in proportion to its previous meteoric rise. Poland also has a strong Catholic national identity to fall back on of course. There is a strong "anti-sect" discourse in Eastern Europe, especially relating to JW refusal of blood. East Europeans find this disregard for human life particularly offensive. Plus nationalism has been on the increase in Poland as the rest of Europe. As has been mentioned, Polish apostates seem to be active and effective as well.
Another statistic I find intriguing is the increase in Ukrainian congregations at a time when their publisher numbers are decreasing. If it wasn't for the increase in Ukrainian congregations then the Europe wide figure would be over 100 congregations lost.
Netherlands and Denmark continue long term decline.
Baptisms are down in the majority of countries, even as the WT has stressed getting baptised young,
Greece lost 5% of its congregations in a single year, which is higher as a proportion than the United States.
An interesting statistic I thought might be worth calculating is baptisms per publisher. This would probably be a good indication of future decline because you need a certain number of baptisms each year to cover deaths and losses. Worldwide the figure is over 3%, but for declining countries it is much lower. Poland has just over 1% which I think is the worst in Europe and Japan has just under 1% which I think is the worst in the world. As long as baptisms remain so low these countries will continue long term decline. When JWs were growing strongly in the 1980s and 1990s they were baptising 7 or 8% of their publisher numbers per year.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
I've watched a few broadcasts in the last few days. I don't take pleasure in saying this, but it strikes me just how unlikeable most of the GB appear. (I can only say "appear" because I can only go by their appearance on screen) Morris is the worst. He seems like a horrible man: arrogant and stupid and has no concern for anyone else. Herd and Loesch just seem like they don't care. They are literally reading script the whole time. Jackson seems a more genuine person, but very deluded. The only one who seems anywhere near normal or remotely likeable to me is Mark Sanderson. Once the honour of being appointed wore off, I wonder if he started to consider exactly what he's got himself into here. Yet he still seems reasonably cheerful.
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2017 Service Year Report Worldwide - INDIVIDUALLY LISTED LANDS and COUNTRIES
by darkspilver innow available:.
2017 service year report worldwide: table with individually listed lands and countries.
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slimboyfat
Unless they rapidly change in dramatic fashion. I have got a plan ready for use, they want to get in contact.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
Dreary I don't know exactly, at least a few. But the idea that the explanation offered for the cancellation of two broadcasts in a row is as given is risible.
Even if it cost an absolute fortune to broadcast the Gilead graduation in different languages (which I don't believe) it still doesn't explain why it was such an urgent priority all of a sudden.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
Well whatever the reason, as usual, the "official" reason simply doesn't add up. Like with the closure of the book study, and so much else.
Gilead wasn't considered important enough in recent years to even warrant mention in the yearbooks. And previous annual meetings have been posted and translated with no fuss. Only this year it causes a problem. Why?
I think they've completely run out of money and/or have got some serious crisis going on at headquarters.
By the way the 143rd class of Gilead had 48 students. Every single one was sent back to the country they came from as their "assignment". Not a single new missionary was created, nor has been for the last 7 years apparently. They couldn't afford to keep producing missionaries. Because Watchtower has been running out of money for a decade or more. Now it looks like they're completely broke.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
Well has anyone got any better explanation?
The fact is Gilead hadn't been covered in the literature for years. Where are the articles about class 140 or 141 for example? I can't find any. Yet the graduation of 143 was so important they had to cancel JW broadcast? Give me a break.
Then they cancel January too. In past years they posted the annual meeting with no fuss. Now they need to cut the January broadcast to make it possible?
Have we seen the last ever JW broadcast in November? Are there no insiders who can tell us what is really going on?
Watchtower is winding down operations that's for sure.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
I've just looked it up. Last year's annual meeting was available in full in English, German and other languages. This year they say they can only broadcast the annual meeting by cutting the regular broadcast. Something is afoot. Has Watchtower collapsed already?
While we are on the subject, the idea that Gilead graduation was so important that they needed to halt regular production to show it in December is ludicrous. Gilead has been so downgraded that granduaions had not even been covered in recent yearbooks or watchtowers. It was clearly brought back to plug a gap, not because it was so important.
Something is afoot.
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The watchtower does not have the resources
by pepperheart inif you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
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slimboyfat
January broadcast cancelled too!
Annual meeting posted instead. (In previous years the annual meeting has been posted without it interfering with JW broadcast.)
I told you so. Watchtower is finished! Maybe Watchtower has already collapsed and the GB fled?
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2017 Service Year Report Worldwide - INDIVIDUALLY LISTED LANDS and COUNTRIES
by darkspilver innow available:.
2017 service year report worldwide: table with individually listed lands and countries.
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slimboyfat
I see Russia has been removed from the listing and added to the "other" column. Which produces an overall decrease. Comparison of this table with yours should reveal exactly how many Russian JWs have been lost in the last year.