Posts by MrMonroe

20

Convention invitation distribution campaign - Apr KM

by dozy in

had a quick look at the april km - they are having (yet) another invitation campaign to the convention.

slight twist though , in that any invitations not used are to be taken to the convention & used in informal witnessing.. traditional "convention reminders" insert - usual stuff about "jehovah arranging the program" , get early to the stadium , tip restaurant staff , don't make a scene at hotel reception desks if they have messed up your booking , no peeing in the hotel pool etc.

(i made the last one up , but you get the gist.

MrMonroe

It really says Almighty God arranged the program? They really do have a hotline to the Big Guy.

98

It might be better to not even have the Internet. April 15th WT

by life is to short in

ok i was just blown away when i heard this today while driving, at first i thought it was the some old same old but then it went on and it seems like it is on a different level.. the subheading is "guard your heart by exercising self-control.

on page 27 par 17 it says "one way a person could wonder into the foolish course of the "young man in want of heart" is by aimlessly flipping though television channels or surfing the internet.

whether intentionally or not, he might chance upon sexually stimulating scenes.

MrMonroe

I would say their attitude is "You don't need the internet. We'll let you know anything important that appears on it."

Just as they say "Don't read literature published by other religions. It's all false and designed to lure you from the truth" .... and yet from time they quote from other religious publications. "It's OK, brothers. We're so tough and so vigilant we'd never get taken in. So we'll read it and let you know if there's anything you should know."

21

Heard from the grapevine I am DFd. Here is my letter that did not work!

by hoggieman in

it is ok though...my life had nothing to do with them.

here is my letter: .

xxxx xxxxxx.

MrMonroe

If they did make an announcement, it would have been that you are no longer one of Jehovah's Witnessess.

It's a coded statement, of course, and understood by all present that they are no longer permitted to speak to you. But I agree with DT that they would have read your letter as one expressing an absence of fellowship with the "worldwide brotherhood" or "Christian congregation" or whatever they concoct, and have therefore effectively simply passed on your sentiments to the congregation.

How do you know they made an announcement? It will be interesting to see if they advise you, but if they did indeed regard your letter as one of disassociation, they probably figure there is no need to.

39

May 15 2011 WT - study edition out

by just n from bethel in

i don't really care to download it and review it and see how it's the same old same old - but i do like to read up on others doing it here.

:) i'm a lazy leach like that.. so - get to it guys.. www.jw.org.

edit: haha- i said 2001 in the title - meant 2011.

MrMonroe

Here's an uplifting article on page 26, "Following Christ, the Perfect Leader."

Now in what ways shall we follow Christ:

1. By forgiving those who trespass against us?

2. By showing love and consideration to those around us, even those who live a lifestyle different to ours?

3. By condeming religious leaders who impose their will on gullible followers?

Nope: "In the first century, the apostles set a fine example of submitting to Christ’s leadership."

"Our recognizing Christ’s leadership involves submission to his “brothers.” We also demonstrate our submission to
Christ’s “brothers” by cooperating with the appointed overseers in the Christian congregation. By all means, let us obey our Leader and cooperate with those he is using today."

Maybe I'm dumb, but when I read the Bible I see all sorts of lessons Christ taught. I just don't seeChrist barking "Submit! Submit!"

39

May 15 2011 WT - study edition out

by just n from bethel in

i don't really care to download it and review it and see how it's the same old same old - but i do like to read up on others doing it here.

:) i'm a lazy leach like that.. so - get to it guys.. www.jw.org.

edit: haha- i said 2001 in the title - meant 2011.

MrMonroe

Love the picture on Page 20, Witnesses counting time by going "tent to tent" exploiting desperate, frightened and homeless earthquake victims in Haiti.

As if those poor souls haven't suffered enough, these vultures holding Bibles arrive to tell them they ain't seen nothin' yet. Get baptised as a Jehovah's Witness or next time God will really get you.

20

Time magazine-JW's high turnover

by Lunatic Faith in

i know this is a couple years old but i found it referenced on another site and had to share it--assuming it hasn't already been shared.. www.time.com.

MrMonroe

One more morsel added to Wikipedia. Thanks Lunatic Faith.

124

JWN's Night Shift vs Day Shift

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

i'm sure i'm the very last person to notice the day shift / night shift groups of posters but i kinda think it's funny when i pop in on an evening and discover posters i've never seen, but who have 10,000 posts.. that's all.

carry on.

situation "normal".. edit: hi, night crew, i'm on the day crew, btw..

MrMonroe

Yes, it's all ours. No offence intended here, but do you sometimes think that Americans don't realise there are other time zones .... do some think that when they go to bed, the whole world goes to bed? Posted at 9.29pm Melbourne time (5.29am NY time).

11

US denomination survey: JWs among religions with biggest increase

by MrMonroe in

the blindness spreads.. as reported here:.

church membership for more than a third of the nation's largest churches took a hit last year while non-orthodox christian churches are on the rise, a new report on denominations finds.the southern baptist convention, the nation's second largest denomination, reported a .42 percent decline in membership to 16,160,088 members, according to national council of churches' 2011 yearbook of american & canadian churches, released monday.. still dominating the list of the nation's top 25 mainline churches is the catholic church, which posted a .57 growth at 68.5 million members.. but a few church bodies, regarded as cults by some christians, continue to increase in size.. ranked 20th in size, the jehovahs witnesses denomination reported a 4.37 percent gain in membership, with 1,162,686 members total.

seventh-day adventist church, which didn't make the top 25 list for at least the past two years, squeezed in the list this year in the 24th spot.

MrMonroe

The blindness spreads.

As reported here:

Church membership for more than a third of the nation's largest churches took a hit last year while non-Orthodox Christian churches are on the rise, a new report on denominations finds.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's second largest denomination, reported a .42 percent decline in membership to 16,160,088 members, according to National Council of Churches' 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, released Monday.

Still dominating the list of the nation's top 25 mainline churches is the Catholic Church, which posted a .57 growth at 68.5 million members.

But a few church bodies, regarded as cults by some Christians, continue to increase in size.

Ranked 20th in size, the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination reported a 4.37 percent gain in membership, with 1,162,686 members total. Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which didn't make the Top 25 list for at least the past two years, squeezed in the list this year in the 24th spot. The denomination – which observes the Sabbath on Saturdays instead of Sundays – now has 1,043,606 members, up 4.31 percent.

Also, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – also known as the Mormon Church – grew 1.42 percent to 6,058,907 members. Mormons are about 1.7 million members behind the 3rd largest denomination in the U.S. and Canada, the United Methodist Church, down 1.01 percent.

Overall, total church membership declined by 1.05 percent over 2010 to 145,838,339 members.

"The direction of membership (growth or decline) remains very stable," said the Yearbook's editor, the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner.

"That is, churches which have been increasing in membership in recent years continue to grow and likewise, those churches which have been declining in recent years continue to decline."

Churches that grew since the 2010 Yearbook included two Pentecostal denominations, the Assemblies of God, up .52 percent to 2,914,669 members, and Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.), up .38 percent to 1,076,254 members.

"Strong figures from the Assemblies of God and the Church of God (Cleveland, Tenn.) suggest an increase in the number of adherents to Pentecostal groups, though it is impossible to state unequivocally from this table since the other two charismatic churches in the ranking have not reported in some years," remarked Lindner.

Denominations counting the biggest losses in membership included United Church of Christ, down 2.83 percent to 1,080,199 members; the Presbyterian Church (USA), down 2.61 percent to 2,770,730 members; and the Episcopal Church, down 2.48 percent to 2,006,343 members.

Oddly, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., which has 1,010,000 members, reported a 59.60 percent decline in membership due in part to a new methodology of counting members.

Despite the declines, statistics in the report reflect "continued high overall church participation."

The 79th annual edition of the Yearbook reported on 227 national church bodies, representing over 163 million Americans. Figures in the 2011 edition represents about a two-year lag since membership figures are collected by the mainline churches in 2009 and submitted to the Yearbook in 2010.

Ten of the 25 largest churches, however, did not provide updated membership figures for this year's edition.

The largest 25 Churches (ranked by membership):

1. The Catholic Church, 68,503,456 members, up .57 percent.
2. Southern Baptist Convention, 16,160,088 members, down.42 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church, 7,774,931 members, down1.01 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6,058,907 members, up 1.42 percent.
5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no membership updates reported.
6. National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc, 5,000,000 members, no membership updates reported.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,542,868 members, down1.96 percent.
8. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., 3,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
9. Assemblies of God, 2,914,669 members, up .52 percent.
10. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 2,770,730 members, down 2.61 percent.
11. African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
12. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, 2,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
13. The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), 2,312,111 members, down 1.08 percent.
14. The Episcopal Church, 2,006,343 members, down 2.48 percent.
15. Churches of Christ, 1,639,495 members, no membership updates reported.
16. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 1,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
17. Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc., 1,500,000 members, no membership updates reported.
18. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,400,000 members, no membership updates reported.
19. American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., 1,310,505 members, down 1.55 percent.
20. Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1,162,686 members, up 4.37 percent.
21. United Church of Christ, 1,080,199 members, down 2.83 percent.
22. Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), 1,076,254 members, up .38 percent.
23. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 1,071,616 members, no membership updates reported.
24. Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 1,043,606 members, up 4.31 percent.
25. Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., 1,010,000 members, down 59.60 percent (due in part to a new methodology of counting members).