The Christian Conservatives in the US really don't like scientific progress. They rather go warmongering in a country that doesn't share their own ideals than try to benefit humanity. The several large, funded telescope programs (Hubble, Kepler, Webb) have recently proved several times and in several ways that earth is not unique and that life could possibly exist in planets as close as 100 lightyears and they can't have that, it undermines almost all Judeo-Christian religions.
Anony Mous
JoinedPosts by Anony Mous
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12
Another giant leap backwards for mankind...
by darthfader inhttp://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388293,00.asp.
what we could lose if the james webb telescope is killed.
nasa's james webb telescope, the successor to the hubble, is on the chopping block.
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122
This convention blows
by Anony Mous inseriously, half day in (already had an argument with the wife this morning about individuality in the organization in which she conceded that a lot of it is based on looks) and this is already getting on my nerves.
i'll post a rebuttal based on my annotations later in the week but one thing i got to get off my mind: saying the feminist movement (women going to work instead of staying home) and the diversity laws (allowing for homosexuality - but also religious freedom, racial discrimination etc.
) caused a lot of the problems in our world right from the stage.. there are less people here than last year - about 500 less..
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Anony Mous
Back. I went out for a few hours in the afternoon so I missed a large part of it. Still, the "God will replace <blah> with his Kingdom" and then a misspeak "God will replace all religious organizations I mean all organizations, all corrupt businesses, all governments, all religious organizations that mislead people" and replace it with wait for it... God's Organization. Wait? What happened to his Kingdom that would replace the rest of the world? I'll have more after the weekend after I go over the notes.
Apparently the EHCR went in favor of Armenian witnesses in a case of military service so that was a special letter. Yay, 2 new rags. Simplest brochure ever and simpleleler brochure. All good and well except for the last page. Jesus gave his life for us. Ask JW's to understand the Bible correctly.
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CO's arrangement finishes????
by wolfman85 inhow true is that the circuit overseer's arrangement ends in 2011?.
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Anony Mous
The current CO batch has 1 more visit left though (I think) so what Gayle said might be correct. However the current CO has said nothing about anyone who might replace him and we chalked it up to the way he "governs" his sheep but hey, we'll see.
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122
This convention blows
by Anony Mous inseriously, half day in (already had an argument with the wife this morning about individuality in the organization in which she conceded that a lot of it is based on looks) and this is already getting on my nerves.
i'll post a rebuttal based on my annotations later in the week but one thing i got to get off my mind: saying the feminist movement (women going to work instead of staying home) and the diversity laws (allowing for homosexuality - but also religious freedom, racial discrimination etc.
) caused a lot of the problems in our world right from the stage.. there are less people here than last year - about 500 less..
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Anony Mous
Seriously, half day in (already had an argument with the wife this morning about individuality in the organization in which she conceded that a lot of it is based on looks) and this is already getting on my nerves.
I'll post a rebuttal based on my annotations later in the week but one thing I got to get off my mind: saying the feminist movement (women going to work instead of staying home) and the diversity laws (allowing for homosexuality - but also religious freedom, racial discrimination etc.) caused a lot of the problems in our world RIGHT FROM THE STAGE.
There are less people here than last year - about 500 less.
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12
I was cutting the grass today and.........
by Iamallcool ini was cutting the grass today and i noticed there were many pieces of 'glasses' spread over a small part of the yard.
i was wondering where did the 'glass' come from, so i took closer look at the ground, i discovered there is a top of the big rock that is slightly just above the ground level.
i do not know if they are diamonds.
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Anony Mous
Lol. I got drunk in your backyard and smashed a bottle over the rock (or your neighbors threw a bottle over the fence). Diamonds? Please.
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3
Donations within the congregation
by Anony Mous inspurred by godrulz question regarding tithing, here is the "voluntary donation" graph for one congregation (https://anonfiles.com/cdn/1310042378588.pdf).
i know this is statistically not precise enough as the data set is small but it shows the trend of worldwide work donations.. for those that have no insight into the different funds:.
worldwide work = sent to the branch offices for various expenses (mostly given as a donation for watchtower literature).
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Anony Mous
Yes they do still charge interest. Sadly, I do not have access to the documents but it is approximately 2.5% interest rate. The conflicting reports are because a) the Bible says not to and b) many don't know it and believe because of a they don't c) Some congregations may qualify for a break if they are considered poor enough and "the work" is considerably expanding in that area (such as foreign speaking and ASL). ASL especially because the equipment isn't cheap (we have an ASL congregation in my area - they have a lot of high-def, remote controlled camera's, TV's, projectors, playback and recording equipment, business internet line for broadcast).
@sir82: For our project, in the RBC financial plans it was calculated as if we will be charged interest though. Maybe they're relying on faulty documentation or maybe the WTBTS has two weights and measures (a public and a private one) or maybe they're extending an existing line of credit. I have no access to that documentation though.
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Donations within the congregation
by Anony Mous inspurred by godrulz question regarding tithing, here is the "voluntary donation" graph for one congregation (https://anonfiles.com/cdn/1310042378588.pdf).
i know this is statistically not precise enough as the data set is small but it shows the trend of worldwide work donations.. for those that have no insight into the different funds:.
worldwide work = sent to the branch offices for various expenses (mostly given as a donation for watchtower literature).
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Anony Mous
Spurred by Godrulz question regarding tithing, here is the "voluntary donation" graph for one congregation (https://anonfiles.com/cdn/1310042378588.pdf). I know this is statistically not precise enough as the data set is small but it shows the trend of Worldwide Work donations.
For those that have no insight into the different funds:
Worldwide Work = Sent to the branch offices for various expenses (mostly given as a donation for Watchtower literature)
Kingdom Hall Fund = Sent to the branch offices for building and repairing Kingdom Halls
Local Congregation = Kept and used for the local expenses. Local expenses include a 'tithe' from the WTBTS for the Circuit Overseer Fund which pays for CO's gas and car lease (~$70/month, other expenses made by the CO are charged separately whenever the CO comes) and the Kingdom Hall Assistance fund (~$55/month) which is a type of insurance fund for emergency repairs (which also get charged back to the congregation afterwards). It is recommended that any leftovers be sent to the branch in a 'non-interest bearing fund' which apparently is set up as a savings account but is very hard to get stuff out (they won't allow large sums to be taken out without prior authorization).
Special funds = Set up for large projects such as renovations, new builds and expansions for that congregation. We needed to raise about $250,000 so I guess we'll need an interest-bearing loan (2.5% interest per year) for a revolving 10 years + fee's if you can't pay the full amount for the month + fee's if you can't make the payment within the 10 years from the WTBTS. The WTBTS also disallowed use of our 'savings' account (>$10,000) with them for this project.
I made a trend line only for the Worldwide Work, the rest of the funds are trending fairly flat. You could argue this is because our special funds or the economy but it felt it was already going in a downwards trend over the years (don't have the accurate data though) and the economy has been looking up recently.
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Is immorality escalating?
by jworld ini got the convention update from my mom, who attended this past weekend.
sounds like the society made the claim that immorality is escalating at a faster clip.
is that true?
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Anony Mous
* 50 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade in 1973
- You think abortions weren't practiced before 1973? The fact that it can now be done in a safe manner without endangering public health is a benefit. It's also a benefit that less children are orphaned because their parents didn't want them in the first place. And who defines abortion as immoral in the first place? Did you know nature by itself aborts about 20% of all conceptions? If the growth inside a woman's body can't survive outside the body, can it be considered a person?
* Infanticide in countries that limit the amount children a married couple can have (read: males only)
- I think that has largely stopped. Off course these are usually caused by ideological (religious) thinking, not logical, reasonable people.
* Marriage being redefined
- As to what? Marriage is the contract between two people as to property. If you don't like certain people marrying (blacks and whites for example) you should go back to the 60's.
* Organ harvesting happening in countries such as China and Belgium
- Illegal organ harvesting in Belgium? Do you know where Belgium is or were you watching Fox News? Legal organ harvesting is done in the US as well (check your drivers license if you want to participate) and saves a lot of people. Off course there are always people making money off criminal things, doesn't mean the world is becoming a worse place because of it. In the long term you could see it as evolution.
* Euthanasia being sold to the public as "mercy killing"
- Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's immoral. Euthanasia is a valid way of ending suffering on your own terms. I think it would be more immoral to prevent somebody from doing so based on religious ideologies. Again, it's a way of nature, sick and old animals go off to secluded places to die or position themselves as prey in order to save the healthy and the young ones from predators.
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Help Please. Mother says she can prove I will die using the bible alone, no WT literature
by scooterspank inshe says she can prove i will die if i'm not in the "truth" strictly using the bible .
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Anony Mous
Tell her to go ahead. She will merely be using out of context scriptures mined from Watchtower publications to show this. See here for the arguments: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/salvation-only-for-jehovahs-witnesses.php
As any good debate, you should have insight in the arguments and sources that are going to be used and prepare your case in advance. Also account for the red herrings, straw men arguments, No True Scotsman etc.
If you have to counter this with the Bible, then use equally mined scriptures from other ministries that prove that there are more ways to God. Using the Bible you can prove anything. You could focus on the love of Jesus and God and read Bible commentaries (bible.cc) on the verses she will use.
The best thing to do is use logic and lead them to the conclusions by themselves. TheraminTrees and QualiaSoup on YouTube has some great videos to disprove the whole god-thing and also one of their videos disproves that only one religion is acceptable if God existed. See also here: http://godisimaginary.com/i5.htm
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An Open letter to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses (Elders/ Ex-Elders)
by stuckinamovement inif you are an elder or an ex-elder please add a comment.
i hope that the governing body will see this.
it is too bad it has to be on an anonymous forum.
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Anony Mous
So far nothing. I'm kinda busy with 'worldly' stuff lately as well as collecting data for my next project. Either way I'll keep you updated. I have gotten some fresh addresses which I can tailor the message to.