i was thinking the other day that the watchtower society used to sell the mag's and books to people at the doors for a set price.
i know that realisticly they need to cover costs but everyone knows they made profit off of their sales and still do through the donation method now in place.
what i wonder is how did they justify selling for a set price when it clearly says in the bible "you recieved free, give free".
Garybuss
Your take on this is interesting...and i hadnt thought of this before but they they are a glorified conference organisation, publishing empire, banking institution, construction and real estate....marvelous...just like the huge conglomerates of the 80's...I half expect to see Gordon Gekko sat behind a desk with his slick back hair and cigars....well maybe without the cigar...wouldnt want to be seen to be a total hypocrite would he??
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im new to this site so please dont laugh when i ask this...but i am having difficulties with the terminologies.. what are they?.
g
And I meant DUBS??!!!!
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im new to this site so please dont laugh when i ask this...but i am having difficulties with the terminologies.. what are they?.
g
Im new to this site so please dont laugh when i ask this...but i am having difficulties with the terminologies.
What are they?
G
i was brought up in the 'truth' for many years until i was 20 or thereabouts and now being on the outside looking in i see not only jw's for what they really are but i believe i see religion for what it really is too.. consider this point, and this reminds me of a song written by alanis morrisette entitled, forgiven which is a pretty cool stab at religion itself if you read the lyrics closely...one part of the lyrics is 'we all had our reasons to be there'.
if you came into the truth, consider the reasons why, what were the circumstances of your life...were you searching for something.
even if they were brought up in it...consider the reasons why their parents started to believe.
You took the words right out of my mouth...
i can't help but notice in almost every thread related to the subject, people mentioning who is or isn't going to be destroyed at armageddon.
this is a flawed understanding of the entire concept of armageddon.
scripture makes it clear that this is a war strictly against ungodly/antigodly entities (possibly some individuals).
Steve2
LMAO...the sarcasm is fantastic...keep up the good work.
it should be most interesting.
1 out of 3 in my actual congregation has a heavy drinking problem.
i'd say that's the 'sin' that is way, way overlooked by the wtbts.
An elder who was into his Single Malt Whiskeys used to give me a wee dram as they say in Scotland...trouble is I was only 16...not that im bothered or was bothered; he was one of the few elders that can live and let live...lovely bloke actually as well as his wife....shame they are as misguided as the rest.
*** w03 6/15 p. 12 imitate jehovah, our impartial god ***.
imitate jehovah, our impartial god.
12-13 imitate jehovah, our impartial god ***.
There was another example of this and i apologise for not remembering where in the bible it is contained (maybe those who are more in the know can assist) but apparently some guy was hiding from wicked angels...(it could be in Sodom and Gomorrah thinking about it) and the angels were asking that the men in hiding be sent outside so the wicked angels could have relations with them...Whoever it was though didnt give the men he sent women out to satisfy them instead!!!??? and apparently whoever he was was blessed by this....now a couple of points here...one its certainly not impartial and two...does this indicate that women are to be treated less than men??!!!....from a discrimination lawyers point of view...i find this irreconcilable.
No elder has been able to explain this one to me...i wonder why???
i was brought up in the 'truth' for many years until i was 20 or thereabouts and now being on the outside looking in i see not only jw's for what they really are but i believe i see religion for what it really is too.. consider this point, and this reminds me of a song written by alanis morrisette entitled, forgiven which is a pretty cool stab at religion itself if you read the lyrics closely...one part of the lyrics is 'we all had our reasons to be there'.
if you came into the truth, consider the reasons why, what were the circumstances of your life...were you searching for something.
even if they were brought up in it...consider the reasons why their parents started to believe.
I was brought up in the 'truth' for many years until i was 20 or thereabouts and now being on the outside looking in I see not only JW's for what they really are but I believe I see religion for what it really is too.
Consider this point, and this reminds me of a song written by Alanis Morrisette entitled, Forgiven which is a pretty cool stab at religion itself if you read the lyrics closely...one part of the lyrics is 'we all had our reasons to be there'. If you came into the truth, consider the reasons why, what were the circumstances of your life...were you searching for something. If you were brought up in the 'troof' then ask yourself why your parents were in the truth or what circumstances they were in before such time.
Even if they were brought up in it...consider the reasons why their parents started to believe. Whilst i havent conducted any surveys or conducted any academic research into this i can bet we were not truly happy with our lives, we had void that needed to be filled. Along comes a JW who shows us the scripture which says that 'happy are those conscious of their spiritual needs' and BANG the void starts to be filled with the indoctrination of JW teachings (or any other religion that has happened to pass through our lives).
From the people I have spoken to I realise that religion as a whole catagorically works for those at the top, the pope in catholicism, whoever is at the top of the mormon church, the bishops in the Church of England etc etc. For the minions who believe this drivel, the religion serves as a crutch upon which to hang your life; it gives purpose to those who for whatever reason are not capable of developing their own purpose at that time.
Consider the days old where in ancient civilisation men and women existed on the land and they knew but didnt fully appreciate why the sun came up in the morning and went down in the evening; when rain came it made crops grow and that they ate as a result. One of the more intelligent of the people realises that this and starts to develop ideas and bring to the others attention, this 'wonderous coincidence'. People realise that what he is saying could actually be true and start to follow him.
Seeing this newfound power he has he realises that this can work to his benefit egotistically or even financially if hes lucky and so offers himself as the mediator between the elements and the people; he says that unless people recognise that he is their mediator the elements will not come and they will all die. A new religion is born...
Contrast this stoneage or early history example with today; organised religion involves men all of whom suggest that they are gods mediators, none offer any proof but people follow them. Its fundamentally wrong and serves only to assist those at the top i.e the alleged mediators.
Any organised religion in my opinion is as dangerous as the next one and I firmly believe that worship (if you choose the believe in god or a creator) is truely personal and no man should ever dictate how or when that should take place....any other views.
this is part of a letter that rutherford wrote to the german empire before ww 2. .
in the declaration of facts, rutherford wrote: .
the present government of germany has declared emphatically against big business oppressors and in opposition to the wrongful religious influence in the political affairs of the nation.
Interesting point; if they were gods mouthpiece then surely they should have known; just goes to show that it is grossly blasphemous to suggest that any man (without proof) is gods messenger.
i was thinking the other day that the watchtower society used to sell the mag's and books to people at the doors for a set price.
i know that realisticly they need to cover costs but everyone knows they made profit off of their sales and still do through the donation method now in place.
what i wonder is how did they justify selling for a set price when it clearly says in the bible "you recieved free, give free".
I take you point wholeheartedly... I put a post on this site some weeks ago about education and how the society in general do not encourage it; the same is for business isnt it? They encourage small service enterprises and smaller supply businesses but they counsel their members about expanding or should i put it (pursuing the treasures of the world). Given that they are a large multinational enterprise themselves doesnt it seem convenient that they do not want us to acheive the same status?
No wonder maybe that is because the would prefer us NOT to understand about supply chains, sales agents, and distribution; because we will see the organisation for what it is, one big supply chain or marketing channel. Consider it this way, apologies for any inaccuracies...not been part of the borg for a long while now!!
1st Level - Watchtower and Bible Tract Society
2nd Level - National Branch Offices
3rd Level- Congregations
4th Level- Publishers????!!! (incidentally why are they called publishers?...they dont publish anything in the literature sense)
5th Level- General Public...
If that isnt a marketing channel i will eat my hat.
