Unless someone captures all of the members of the Governing Body on video engaged in some sort of sex orgy [now, there's a thought to make you vomit!], I tend to doubt that the WTBS will ever totally cease to exist. After all, it's hard to "kill" an idea, be it a good or a bad one, a beneficial or an evil one. The doctrines of the Watchtower society and its teachings on many issues are protean, always shifting and changing to suit the interests of the organization. Moreover, a good number of Witnesses seemingly accept these changes [under the guise of what they call "new light"]. I may be wrong, but I think that Jehovah's Witnesses will be around for a good number of years, in one form or another. The question is: in what form will they remain, or rather, what form will they assume in the future? Will they go "mainstream," or at least draw nearer to mainstream religion? Or will they become even more radicalized and retreat even further to the "fringes"? Will New York Bethel maintain its [up until now] centralized control, or will the Jehovah's Witnesses in other countries "break out of the orbit" of Brooklyn and achieve relative autonomy?
Rapunzel
JoinedPosts by Rapunzel
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31
What do you think will be the society's undoing?
by cognac ini think all the lawsuits and then the exposure to these lawsuits... .
what do you think?.
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Does the "24 Elders Class" constitute a New Class?
by Rapunzel ini was wondering if someone could kindly answer my question: is there a new, "24 elders" class of people?
i was baptized a long time ago - in 1976. i also faded a long time ago; i left in '78 or so.
in any case, at that time, the witnesses generally spoke of two groups or classes of people - the so-called "annointed" consisting of the 144,000 with the heavenly hope, and the so called "large crowd" whose hope was to inherit an earthly paradise.
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Rapunzel
Hello. I was wondering if someone could kindly answer my question: Is there a new, "24 elders" class of people? I was baptized a long time ago - in 1976. I also faded a long time ago; I left in '78 or so. In any case, at that time, the Witnesses generally spoke of two groups or classes of people - the so-called "annointed" consisting of the 144,000 with the heavenly hope, and the so called "large crowd" whose hope was to inherit an earthly paradise. But recently, I have read about the so-called 24 elders group. Is this "new light". Exactly to whom does this term apply? Does it refer to the Governing body? I would appreciate any info that you could give me. Thank you.
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My friend wants to know how to stop the JW's from knocking at her door
by Velvetann ini wonder if anyone here can help my friend.
i have no idea how to stop the witnesses from knocking at her door.
she has ms and its difficult for her to stand at the door.
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Rapunzel
It seems to me that your friend can post a "NO TRESPASSING" sign. The Witnesses will have no choice but to respect such a sign. If they do not, I would suggest that your friend call the police. There's no reason why a woman in an ailing,debilitated condition should have to suffer harassment by Witness goons.
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"secondary worship", obeisance, Jesus
by NanaR infriends:.
i have a question for the researchers here.
i tried to do a search, but the word "worship" brings up way too many posts to filter through.. i remember as a young jw being told that jws render "secondary worship" to jesus christ.
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Rapunzel
I understand that the term obeisance is a technical, specialized term when contrasted with the term worship. However, for what it is worth, the term obeisance is a French term [in French,you add an "s" and write obeissance] meaning simply "obedience." The French term obeissance derives from the verb, obeir, meaning to "obey." Perhaps this etymology can shed some light on the technical term obeisance. Perhaps the term connotes the idea that people should obey and heed the words of Jesus without worshipping him. Perhaps the term obeisance implies that Christians should make their behavior conform to Jesus' words without imlying that Christians should worship him; they should limit their worship to the Father alone. As I have said, I am not sure how the term obeisance is contrasted in technical terms with the word worship; and I have no dictionary of religious terms at my disposal. However, I am sure of its etymology; English took it from the French.
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Mir'i-am
by Aleman inin this topic i will put a text in which i ask everyone here to see if they fall under what mir'i-am did.
the text is num.12:1-10.. 1now mir iam and aaron began to speak against moses on account of the cush ite wife whom he had taken, because it was a cush ite wife he had taken.2and they kept saying: is it just by moses alone that jehovah has spoken?
is it not by us also that he has spoken?
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Rapunzel
Aleman: You write about wicked people "stirring false ideas and pagan ideals" into other people's heads. I think that you're mixing your metaphors, there, vato. I think you're taking the expression, "instilling false ideas and pagan ideals," and confusing it with the expression "to stir up trouble" [meaning to raise a brouhaha].
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Mir'i-am
by Aleman inin this topic i will put a text in which i ask everyone here to see if they fall under what mir'i-am did.
the text is num.12:1-10.. 1now mir iam and aaron began to speak against moses on account of the cush ite wife whom he had taken, because it was a cush ite wife he had taken.2and they kept saying: is it just by moses alone that jehovah has spoken?
is it not by us also that he has spoken?
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Rapunzel
I have a question: Why doth the Bible repeateth itself so much: and wherefore doth it repeat itself so much? Why beith itself so redundant; and why doth it employ such redundancy so as to become utterly redundant? For it is redundant, nay is it quite redundant, so much as that all people might look upon its redundancy while weeping and gnashing their teeth, making their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth heard from Judea to Samaria, and from Samaria to Judea. And lo! from the lands of Judea to the lands of Samaria shall their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth be heard by whomsoever haveth ears to hear their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth.
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Are there any of Jerry's kids here?
by Rapunzel indoes anyone have a song that they especially like?
as everyone knows, the dead were not a studio band, so i am particularly interested in people's favorite concert renditions of a particular song either in their memories or on bootleg tapes [for example, "ripple" or "st.steven" or "dark star" or "sugar magnolia", recorded in head trip colluseum, san francisco in '74] .
i'm also interested in people's concert experiences.
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Rapunzel
Damn that Gregor really pissed me off! I thank everyone ELSE for their comments. I don't think that there will ever be another band like the Dead [oh by the way, Gregor, fans of the Grateful Dead band are called "dead-heads," and don't blame me because I did not coin the phrase.] The thing about the Dead is their phenomenal ability in improvosaton. They are virtuosos of improv. And they're so eclectic! There's something in their music for everyone. There's "Dark Star," "China Doll," and "Bird Song" for people into jazz. They also do a lot of blue grass and folk, since that's where their roots lie. And of course, there is rock and roll. My personal favorites are "Sugar Magnolia" [I love Cajun music!]; "Sugaree"; Tennessee Jed; Playing in The Band"; "Ripple"; Brokedown Palace; among others.
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Are there any of Jerry's kids here?
by Rapunzel indoes anyone have a song that they especially like?
as everyone knows, the dead were not a studio band, so i am particularly interested in people's favorite concert renditions of a particular song either in their memories or on bootleg tapes [for example, "ripple" or "st.steven" or "dark star" or "sugar magnolia", recorded in head trip colluseum, san francisco in '74] .
i'm also interested in people's concert experiences.
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Rapunzel
Gregor - This is the second time that I have been called hard-hearted an/or lacking in compassion by people who are painfully inadequate in reading skills; and, what's more, I'm sick ot it. I am neither hard-hearted nor lacking in compassion. For more that fifteen years, I worked in Taiwan as a professor. I came to love my students as if they were my own children, and I gave my heart and soul to my job.
As another poster pointed out, I was referring to Jerry Garcia and his band, the Grateful Dead. In fact, everyone except you understood my allusions and to what I was referring. So I have to wonder: What's your problem? At your age, surely you must have heard of the Grateful Dead and the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco. Did you ever hear the joke - "Who are the Grateful Dead, and why do they keep following me?" It's a joke - one which you would not understand, so I will not even try to explain to you.
Gregor, did you know that your name is an allusion also? It refers to Gregor Samsa who is the protagonist in Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis." Did you know that? In any case, I was NOT referring to Jerry Lewis, nor was a making fun of the children for whom he has raised funds [by the way, before becoming a professor, I worked with mentally challenged and disabled children]. I don't know what your problem is, but I resent your accusation. You should really take a reading skills course.
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Rapunzel
Gregor: Your misspelling the word "environment" does not bother me. However your racist language advocating genocide by means of a nuclear assault on the Chinese is disgusting. You should know that there are Chinese-American and other Asian-American people on this website. As far as I can determine, you made your comment in jest, but it is still indefensible. By the way, I taught as a professor for sixteen years where I taught Chinese students. I loved them with all my heart, as if they were my own children. I would greatly appreciate not reading your suggestion that China be attacked with nuclear weapons. And I would also point out that racist language is forbidden on this discussion board. If you have a point to make, you can surel do so without recourse to racial epithets or to advocating nuclear annihilation.
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Rapunzel
DT - In my humble opinion, this is NOT AT ALL a reputable source. I don't believe a word of this article. And even if the article were true, who could possibly give a fast flying fig? It astounds [and saddens] me when I think of the scourge on society that these god damned tabloids constitute. It's enough to make a person weep when one thinks of all the trees that have been cut down for paper to print these cursed rags. It's a scandal on par with that of the Watchtower and Awake. I truly don't understand how - in the modern industrial world, where the general level of literacy and education is quite high - there could be so many people who read these garbage-spewing tabloids. If nobody bought these things, the companies would soon go out of business. I'm no snob with a grudge against popular culture. But these rags are a scourge in so many ways. Environmentally, they are disastrous. They are insult to people's intelligence. It's almost impossible to successfully sue them or take legal recourse against them, no matter how outrageous the tripe that they print. Oh, I know, I'm ranting, but I am particularly interested in journalistic ethics, so you can imagine how I "see red" when I think about how these tabloids poison people's minds. And to think, they have zero accountability!!!! They publish the most warped and perverse lies, and there is virtually nothing that anyone can do about it.