The Methodist Church is an international organization that is about to have a major break up. The issue of whether or not to conduct gay marriages and whether or not to allow LGBT+ members to become clergy is the dividing point. The Methodist Church wants to change and allow it, but many congregations (especially in Africa) do not. In the end there will be a new conservative/ant-gay Methodist organization splitting from the main church.
truth_b_known
JoinedPosts by truth_b_known
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11
Could this be part of the reason for the WT “big relocation” campaign?
by Hecce incottage grove, minn. (ap) — a struggling minnesota church is asking its older parishioners to leave in hopes of making it more attractive to young families.. .
grove united methodist church in the st. paul suburb of cottage grove is closing in june, with plans to relaunch in november.
the present members, most of them over 60 years old, will be invited to worship elsewhere, the st. paul pioneer press reported.
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Flood over everest
by road to nowhere inmeeting part comment on how the flood covered everest.
that is even more ignorant than mountains being pushed up and eroding in a few thousand years.
and it wasnt cold either.. i should have commented on the bristlecone in the awake that survived the flood.
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truth_b_known
Two words: Continental Drift
...and that friends is how what was once an ocean floor became the Earth's tallest mountain with seashells. In the immortal words of Jesse Pinkman, "Yeah! Science, Bitches!"
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"Fine Witness" diluted in latest experience
by neat blue dog inthe latest jwdotorg experience starts very familiarly:.
danielle, one of jehovah’s witnesses in south africa, found a bag that a customer had left behind in a coffee shop.
inside the bag was a wallet with money and credit cards.. when the owner met her to get it back,.
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truth_b_known
They used the opportunity to tell him why they had gone to such lengths to find him. They explained that as Jehovah’s Witnesses, they try to live in harmony with Bible principles. That is why they are so concerned with always being honest.
Translation - We are pious people. We don't care about you, your bag, or even being honest. What we do care about is appearing good (i.e. better than non-JWs) and we only did this to glorify ourselves among our fellow JWs.
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Were the JWs ever anywhere near a bona fide religion?
by punkofnice inthe religion/corporation has changed constantly since the start.
they appear more whacko than ever.. but, were the jws ever anywhere near a bona fide religion at any time?.
disclaimer: i think all religions are a scam.
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truth_b_known
I would say Jehovah's Witnesses are in a religion that was created around a publishing company for the purpose of obtaining religious tax exemption. Watchtower was, is, and shall be the controlling entity of the religion. As the US Federal government started to crackdown on religion-for-profit, Watchtower changed to ensure it maintained its tax exemption.
We saw this when HQ stopped using Watchtower letterhead and invented the "Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses." In addition, it was common place, even by some JWs today, to invoke the name of "The Society"(short for Watchtower Bible and Tract Society) as an authority on a matter (e.g. "The Society says <insert belief>).
Looking back, JWs were nothing but door-to-door salesmen selling Watchtower publications. That is why members are referred to as "publishers." That's what a publisher does - sells books, magazines, and other printed materials. JWs purchased the books from Watchtower, then sell the books to non-JWs in their ministry, and funds from both sales are then "donated" to Watchtower. Labor to manufacture said publications is donated. It was quite the scam until the America television evangelists started getting fed time for tax evasion.
The new Watchtower business model is to have JWs purchase loans to build Kingdom Halls, which are later sold by the same JWs who bought the loan, and then the JWs donate the money back to Watchtower. Its the same scam, but with real estate rather than books.
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Ever notice a lot of JWs don't have pets?
by JimmyYoung ini was told by several elders to not get a dog when i was looking for one in the 80s.
the end was close and we needed to focus on the preaching work.
i know some have pets but a lot don't.
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truth_b_known
As a District Overseer once said at a District Convention in the 80s -
"Remember it is spelled D-O-G and not G-O-D" in reference to how much time and effort we put into a pet.
My dad always joked that a pet made a ready food supply for the Great Tribulation. He is full of tasteless jokes like that.
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Amazing Read,Check this out!
by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara incurrently reading : 30 years a watchtower slave.
cannot put it down.. this book pre-dates ray franz book "crisis of conscience", written from early 20th century, shortly after the jehovah's witnesses were formed.
the author describes the original true background of the watchtower society as a multi-million dollar publishing company.
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truth_b_known
The author describes the original true background of the Watchtower Society as a multi-million dollar publishing company. The only goal of the society was to push publications to make money.
Proof of this statement - JWs refer to themselves as "Publishers" of the Good News.
Publisher
Noun
a person or company that prepares and issues books, journals, music, or other works for sale.
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3/2020 WT Baptism Rigmarole
by neat blue dog inremember those pesky scriptures about 'put faith in jesus and you will be saved' & 'getting baptized without delay'?
well, in this time of the end ™ we know better, and the latest march 2020 study edition wt sums it all up:.
before you can get baptized, there are a few other things you need to do.
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truth_b_known
The book used in my study was "You Can Live Forever on Paradise Earth." I guess I no longer qualify for baptism. So, I guess I am no longer a baptized publisher of the good news. That would mean I can't be disfellowshipped either.
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AUSTRALIA | Jehovah’s Witnesses form new religious corporations
by jwleaks inthe governing body of jehovah’s witnesses have approved the formation of an additional management corporation for jehovah’s witnesses in australia and the formation of a new audio visual production company.. on 11 november 2019 a new jehovah’s witnesses company, “kingdom support services (australasia) limited” (kssa), was registered in australia to “promote throughout australasia the advancement of the christian religion as understood and taught by the ecclesiastical governing body” and to “co-operate with or provide financial assistance to persons having similar aims and purposes and to other charitable organizations having similar aims and purposes within australasia or elsewhere”.. the structure and charitable purpose of kssa allows it to provide benevolent disaster relief (‘financial assistance’) to victims of the current bushfires in australia, albeit limited exclusively to “jehovah’s witnesses [who] practice their religion under the spiritual direction of the governing body”.
as of january 2020, the jehovah’s witnesses branch committee in australia, under the direction of the governing body, have formed two disaster relief committees to provide spiritual and material help to bushfire victims in australia that meet the religion’s criteria.. two days earlier, on 8 november 2019 another jehovah’s witnesses company, “avs productions (australasia) limited” (avspa), was registered in australia to “record, produce, publish, and distribute or dispose by way of gift music, photographs, film, animation, and other intellectual property of a religious or charitable nature”.. both new jehovah’s witnesses corporations have registered with the australian charities and not-for-profit commission (acnc) as religious charities.. despite the audio visual and animation production objects of avspa this new corporation also claims to “support members of the worldwide order of special full-time servants of jehovah’s witnesses”.. these two new jehovah’s witnesses companies join the new and controversial management corporation, christian congregation of jehovah’s witnesses (australasia) limited (ccjwa), which was formed on 12 april 2019 to administer congregations, congregation charities, and bodies of elders.
and also to “support members of the worldwide order of special full-time servants of jehovah’s witnesses”.. ccjwa, despite being registered as a not-for-profit corporation with the australian securities and investments commission (asic), is yet to be approved as a charity by the acnc.
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truth_b_known
The Watchtower Corporate Beast grows while the rank and file shrink.
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I am now 73 and the road has been filled with wonders
by Terry ini appreciate all my friends who stop to read what i write and post.
you help me more than you know simply by being there as a sense of 'family of friends' for me to talk to and 'share' thoughts with.i guess if i didn't have stories left to tell or people to listen, i could pack it in and join elon musk in a colony on mars.january 15, 2020. .
which world is this?_________________when the doctor pulled my screaming body out of mom all those 7 decades ago, i landed in a post-wwii world.it was--compared to today's world--an alien planet.the world i live in today has nothing in common with the world in which i grew up.there were no cell phones back then--there were black telephones with a dial-tone and an operator who placed your call.everywhere you found telephone booths!
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truth_b_known
Sometimes I think the modern world has robbed my children of a happy childhood or maybe it is just I look back at my childhood fondly. I heard it said "You know you're getting old when the future gets darker and the past gets brighter and brighter." Then again I heard that age is just a number and how we feel and think is what shows our tru eage.
In any case, happiest of birthday wishes to you Terry!
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Who make up the new memorial partakers?
by jwfacts inwhen the doctrine regarding 1935 being the close of the calling was done away with in 2007, it was not unexpected to see the number rise.
over the next few years it went from around 8,500 to 10,500. this seemed to indicate that there were a couple of thousand people that may have felt they had the calling all along, but too shy to profess it.
for the 30 year period between the mid 1978 and 2007, parktakers had barely dropped.
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truth_b_known
The Watchtower response to all of this is no different than it has been since 1935 - JW partakers are not Annointed; the PROFESS to be of the Annointed.
In general, in less you are a white haired, elderly male who lives at Bethel, most JWs will not accept you as one of the Annointed. Half of the Memorial attenders could partake of the emblems this year and the Watchtower couldn't care less.