i got this email from my cousin.
i don't know if it is true, but it looks like the society is being run out of africa...... things are really heating up in this wicked system & the end will be here shortly.from a brother in the zimbabwe bethel.
******hi to you all,zimbabwe is going through a very difficult time.
Most branches across the world are cutting back , so this isn’t a specifically Zimbabwe matter. (The Harare branch and the KH building program isn’t financed locally but paid for primarily by the London branch , but don’t let Mugabe know!)
The small France Bethel has been asked to lose a further 20 volunteers which they can barely manage to do and there are cutbacks for many other branches. The WTS is running out of money and fast - one presumes that the Brooklyn sell-off has ground to a halt.
wt november 1st has a two page article on how the early sahidic coptic version of the new testament translated god with an indefinite article in john 1:1 and argues this supports the new world translation's rendering "and the word was a god".
online witness apologists have been using this piece of evidence in support of the nwt for a few years now.
in particular solomon landers promoted the coptic version of john 1:1 in discussions with evangelicals and other who oppose witness theology.
Interesting find. The WTS seems to allow researchers to read material that they would be very unhappy if the R&F had access to.
"according to jehovah's witnesses leaders in yerevan, at the end of the reporting period, 78 of their members remained in prison for refusal to perform military service or alternative labor service on conscientious and religious grounds.
representatives of jehovah's witnesses stated that all of the prisoners had been given the opportunity to serve an alternative to military service rather than prison time but had refused because the military continued to retain administrative control over the alternative service...the law on alternative service allows conscientious objectors--subject to government panel approval--to perform either noncombatant military or labor service duties rather than serve as combat-trained military personnel.
the law took effect in 2004 and applies to subsequent draftees and those serving prison terms for draft evasion.
I think that all JWs will take alternative service if the option exists. The issue in Armenia is that alternative service isn't really alternative as it is , to all intents & purposes , run by the military , so is unacceptable to many (including Quakers , some Baptists & others , as well as JWs). The WTS is trying to appeal through the European Court of Human Rights...
Background ... http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav031006.shtml
here's the text of the letter:.
christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.
to all bodies of elders.
So it is in print in the 11/08 KM?
Yes. I'd PDF a copy if I knew how to do it!
One wonders now that they have changed the title of the PO whether a change to the equally unscriptural "Governing Body" expression would be in order.
Maybe not - Ray Franz wrote about Ed Dunlap's useage of the term "Central body of elders" in the mid / late 70's which was hated by many of the GB as it gave no indication that the body presided over others.
***
w7710/1p.598TheChristianCongregationandItsOperation***The more than 40,000 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the earth cooperate with a central body of elders at Brooklyn, New York.The expression was shelved , never to be used again.
here's the text of the letter:.
christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.
to all bodies of elders.
This is now public knowledge as it is mentioned in the Nov KM.
i remember reading years ago the book "the inside story of jehovah's witnesses" by w.c. stevenson.
it was a book written by a former british circuit overseer who was then out of the movement.
i believe it was published first in the u.k. under the title "1975--year of doom.
It is a common surname , but there aren't too many of that age or initials.
There are 2 William C Stevensons aged in their 70's mentioned in the 2008 UK Electoral list. One is associated with a Sylvia Stevenson , the other with a Edeltraut Stevenson. Could it be either of these? Is his wife mentioned in the book?
it says her ather died in 1971,the hospital got a court order to give him a blood transusion,but he died any way.. she came from kent..
This woman is gradually selling her story across the media with her friend Rachel Underhill - getting rather tiresome.
She certainly has gone into new areas since becoming an ex-JW - online psychic & occult reading for £66 anyone (guardian angels included at no extra charge) ... http://www.lisamagdalena.co.uk/
She also guarantees extra guests at weddings - useful if you don't have too many friends or are looking for that extra special celebrity line-up ... "Spending time with Lisa made it easy for us to create the perfect environment for our wedding day. She also helped us to create loving and divinely inspired vows as part of our sacred union. In the presence of Lisa, Mary Magdalene, Jesus and Buddha we could not have asked for a more perfect day."
successful business man and claims to be a jw.
.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article804813.ece.
Guy seems fairly typical of a rich businessman on the "verge" of the truth - known a few of them over the years. The wealth & high standing usually help them to avoid too much trouble - they usually cultivate relationships with COs , Bethelites etc by offering hospitality. Two guesses where the CO stays when he visits the cong or the Bethel brother stays for assemblies!
The one curious factor is the political donations , which would normally be a DF matter. I'm guessing they were made via companies rather than individually , so he could claim that they were corporate decisions ( ie made by a body of directors ) rather than individual donations if he got any grief ( which he probably wouldn't , anyway ).
our po...who is really full of himself....reckons that he is reading a special letter tonight, he says he isn't allowed to tell fellow elders before the public reading.
just a word of caution....our po...is one who loves all the mystery and secrets, so my inkling is that it will be a crock of crap.
however it may prove to be interesting...i will tell you after meeting tonight.
We had a clumsily worded letter from the British Branch moaning about the standard of dress & grooming and releasing the special "How to dress when visiting the Bethel" brochure that was posted on here a few months ago.
i just posted this to oracle's thread but didn't want to hijack it so i thought i'd start my own.
i think emails are a potentially effective way of conveying information to jw's, they love firing them off to all their friends.
could we get some information in under the radar in this manner...?.
They might well read it , but I doubt that they would make any connection.
As JWs , we block out the fact that 99.9% of the population disagree with us.
