they have made so many strategical mistakes it's hard to keep track.
some changes within the last decade or so that are contributing to declining numbers of jws:.
1. elimination of book study groups, the most informal, enjoyable and sociable of the jw meetings, contributed to loss of sense of community among jws.. 2. policy of consolidating kingdom halls.
In this internet age, a slow decline is inevitable no matter what they do.
Many decisions are reactionary, some decisions might mitigate monetary loss and keep longtime members in the pen.
Other decisions are in desperation as things slip away. I fear how desperate things might get when the decline becomes really apparent and they grasp at the reigns harder.
the new broadcast is - predictably - about being loyal to the gb.it's a shut up and sit down message.. one of the funny things they keep bringing up is the correlation between the gb and moses.those who don't listen to the gb are like korah.. this is a false choice, why?let's look at a quick comparison.
(this is from the point of view of the bible).
was moses directly picked by god?- yeswas the gb directly picked by god?- well no, we actually are not told how the gb are picked and why the qualify.. did god talk to moses?- yesdoes god talk to the gb- no, they admit they are not in direct communication.. did god inspire moses to write laws and judge.- yesdoes god inspire the gb to write laws and judge.- no, they admit they are not inspired, and they are always wrong and need to change things all the time.. did god give the israelites undisputable proof that moses is his channel?- yes, many miracles visible to everyone one around happenddoes god give jws undisputable proof that the gb are his channel?- no, there is no proof, actually contrary.. was moses ever wrong?- nohas the gb ever been wrong?- every time.
Excellent logic in the OP.
video is entitled "beware of deceit" he uses the letter of jude to show that current day apostates are deceitful and that they use "trickery" to and "twist facts" to try to "grab our mind".
warning: your head might explode.
especially past the 5:30 mark.
The 1910 article reminds me of doublespeak and doublethink.
those with substantial experience as jws will likely agree that judicial matters are handled with considerable inconsistency.
elders certainly vary in skill level, understanding, compassion or even knowledge of the talmudlike watchtower rules.
the punishment and, it is actually punishment, for similar offenses can result in anything from private or public reproof to disfellowshipping or sometimes an elder will choose to simply offer private counsel without even bringing the matter before the body of elders.
bit of a long winding topic title but the thread on the dub in the bunker video made me think of what thing the wts does that are seen as basically impossible for anyone else to do and therefore evidence of holy spirit and god's blessing, yet those same things are done by the rest of the world day in, day out.. i have a few examples:.
- ability to buy a feck off big printing press and print thousand of magazines an hour.
only that every other big publishing organisation uses the same presses to do the same thing.. - ability to get inexperienced people to act using an acting coach as well as produce feature length films with reasonably high production value levels and special effects.
Very good point. In terms of disaster, other religious groups also go to help out as well, and come to the aid of members and non-members as well.
I've noticed Watchtower loves to trumpet how they helped, but Jesus said not to blow one's trumpet, to do such things without fanfare. Also Watchtower loves to receive insurance checks and sends elders to convince people to hand the checks over.
any idea what could have happened to song 151?
what logical reason could they have had to skip a number.
is the number 151 now an evil number accordig to new light?
Perhaps it overlaps with song 149 and 150.
last weekend was regional convention and mark sanderson was the bethel speaker for the last talks every day.
his talks were video streamed from zurich to other cities in switzerland, austria and germany.
one interesting point was that he wore an apple watch, stainless steel edition (link).
Not "Now they cant wear a 700$ watch?? Jesus" but "Would Jesus wear a $700 watch?"
my wife was playing the "stay loyal" convention that she taped the other day and i noticed the brother said something that wasn't in the outline.
during one of the talks friday on shunning he said "can you imagine if apostates were allowed to stay in the congregations?
the congregations would be a garbage heap instead of the spiritual paradise they are now.
Ha! The truth is "apostates" don't want to stay! They just want to freedom to leave without being shunning by friends and family...the freedom those of most denominations have.
video is entitled "beware of deceit" he uses the letter of jude to show that current day apostates are deceitful and that they use "trickery" to and "twist facts" to try to "grab our mind".
warning: your head might explode.
especially past the 5:30 mark.
Here's the thing: I don't even think the quote was falsified by reading further down. Russell seemed to simply added some qualifying backtracking to cover himself.
this statement may seem odd at first.
you may think of jehovah's witnesses as being an american religion in a country where freedoms exist and are prized.
you may think of the organization's legal battles in the supreme court to protect certain rights and freedoms.
Agreed on the OP.
"Freedom of religion" seems to grant freedoms more to religious organizations than to individual religious adherents. Cults take advantage of this.
