ozziepost

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Posts by ozziepost

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  36

  Meetings

  by OrangeBlossom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you think the wts will ever reduce the number of meetings per week, maybe drop one night a week?

  just curious!

  it seems that everyone is so whipped from working all day, i really think that's why there is such a drop in meeting attendance.

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  ozziepost

  G'day all,

  kes,
  The much quoted Hebrews 10:24, 25 may also be the most mis-quoted! If you look at those verses in context and see that the writer is talking about "drwaing near to God"(verse 22) and not neglecting it.

  OrangeBlossom:
  Whether the meetings will be reduced is an interesting speculation. What we observe, however, is that the meetings are becoming poorly attended. The 'casual attendance'(irregular) rate of 25-30% of the Witnesses' midweek meetings is about the same as the declared statistics of Australian churches generally. In the past, the borg may have boasted that the true Christian congregation is so much better than the churches of Christendom in their appreciation of spiritual things (i.e. meetings). No longer is that the case in Australia. With changed lifestyles it seems that the midweek meeting is due for a change.

  My own viewpoint is that one congregation meeting per week plus a weekly book study is sufficient. For the past couple of years the Theocratic Ministry School has included many topics that could easily be covered in Public Talks. Many of the topics are 'Christian living' type talks. This is particularly true of the Instruction Talk. No longer is this truly an 'instruction talk'. Similarly with the Public Talk. It has long since ceased to be talk for the public.

  suggested meeting format:

  Sunday Meeting - don't call it Public Talk and Watchtower Study, just have a congregation meeting with the W/T and one or two Service Talks included. Some Announcements and songs. And that's it. What else do we need?

  Congregation Book Study; held in private homes during the week.

  Them's my thoughts. But whatever they do, I ain't goin'!

  Cheers,

  Ozzie
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  20

  I Can`t Get To Grips With This FDS Thing.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i`m trying to understand the process by which jw`s link the "faithful and discreet slave" parable to a belief that this refers to a number of people who will go to heaven ie: 144,000.. also, i am trying to understand how, by extension, some of this number comprise a "governing body" that is at the top of "jehovahs earthly organisation".. i really dont understand how these conclusions are reached and would appreciate some input.

  please note that when i posted this question on h20 some months ago i received only 1 reply from friday, who saw fit to ridicule me for my lack of knowledge on this subject.

  i still don`t know the answer!

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  ozziepost

  Another interesting discussion this week. Thanks guys and gals. Some specific comments:

  Englishman and Thirdson: Further to your comment about the individual members ofg the F&DS being 'in the dark' over 'new light', we could also look at the situation from the other side, i.e. from the point of view of those "who take hold of the skirt of a Jew"(Zec 8:23) i,e, the great crowd. I have found for many years that new members of the congregations cannot explain the difference between the F&DS and the GB. Invariable when going through the baptism questions with a baptism candidate, I have resorted to a piece of paper and a pen to draw a diagram to illustrate the teaching that the GB is a small part of the F&DS. Then try explaining how the individual members of the F&DS are also fed spiritually by the collective F&DS.

  Regarding the Insight book 'explanation' I quoted above, I don't think any of us have addressed the reasoning that the borg has for not following the orthodox Christian view that the faithful slave represents the individual Christian. Notice that the Insight book states that it cannot be the case that it refers to the individual because "the impossibility of each and every one of these individuals being placed over “all” his master’s belongings at the same time, the time of the master’s arrival, is obvious"[end of quote]

  It may be obvious to some, but clearly it is not clearly understood that way to millions of others! The article links Matt 24 with Matt 25:14-30. This is the parable of the talents. It clearly deals with the faithfulness of the individual Christian. Verse 15 shows that there were at least 3 slaves "to each one according to his own ability". This is qualities, not people of an organisation. Further verse 21 describes master saying to the slave who had five talents "Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things." Notice though the Master's praise of the slave with the two talents: "Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few thibgs. I will appoint you over many things". So, then, there are two F&DS's! Clearly not one class.

  A little footnote: isn't this the only parable that (in Watchtower parlance) is prophetic? Strange, don't you think?

  Ozzie (trying to be a F&DS)
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  13

  uncle onion is NOT uncle bruce!

  by uncle_onion in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  every body that i have "spoken" to recently has thought that uncle bruce and myself are one and the same!.

  no offence uncle bruce but i wanted to set the record straight.. uo

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  ozziepost

  Aw shucks! and her's me thinking your real name was Bruce Onion!

  Ozzie
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  17

  England 2 Finland 1 !!!... World cup next???

  by digderidoo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what a result!!

  !...so are we gonna do it???.

  is the dream of a repeat of 1966 possible???.

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  ozziepost

  I'm confused! How come we have a guy with an aussie name ('didgeridoo') posting from England and going on about English soccer? Did you colonialists capture some aboriginals on your last trip here?

  Ozzie
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  15

  greetings

  by orbison in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  greetings.

  just wanted to inttoduce myself, i have been lurking for about 4 months,,,

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  ozziepost

  G'day from the land downunder, Orbison. Great name. We all love Roy here. It was those dark glasses that added the look of mystery. He probably had a black eye!

  Hope you get to add to our thoughtful deliberations. if not, just cut and thrust with Sir Fred will do!

  Ozzie
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  11

  Life After Armageddon

  by CoolBreeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was one of many aspects of my studies that gave me real problem.

  i figured out that there was no way i was going to be in any %0.01 survivor group.

  and if i was; all those rules and restrictions wouldn't really make it a paradise on earth for me.

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  ozziepost

  Sir Fred,

  Spoken like a true Rutherfordite!

  Ozzie
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  3

  What concerns Zechariah

  by Zechariah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what concerns zechariah?.

  the abuses of the watchtower society in their misrepresenting both god and the bible are many.

  we all seem to have come to that realization already to our benefit.

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  ozziepost

  Welcome Zechariah.

  For a newbie you've posted a very thoughtful post to start with. Thanks.

  I can only support your concerns. Unfortunately its all part of the W/T conditioning that people are blind to the fact that they don't have to go anywhere else. They already know Jesus Christ. Build a relationship with him. How? By confessing that we are born in sin and he came into the world and was crucified for our sins. That is, not someone else's sins, but ours. Once we get that in our thick skulls, we're nearly there.

  Ozzie
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  17

  Special assembly day

  by comment in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i attended a local special assembly day yesterday.

  didn't seem like too much had changed overall.

  however, i've got some questions.. 1) when did the society decide to revert to allowing witnesses to study more than one book with their bible studies?

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  ozziepost

  comment,

  Guess what? It's changed again!!! I guess the speed of light is too much for those who prepare the SAD program because it's outa date already!

  April KM recommends using THREE publications to "Help More to Become Unbaptized Publishers".

  1. Require brochure

  2. Knowledge book

  3. Any one of:
  God's Word book
  True Peace book
  United in Worship book

  I wonder how the publishers will go trying to explain the many changes in the 'True Peace' and 'United in Worship' books! Will they be dazzled?

  BTW the change to the six month study program was discussed in a KM with the usual expression "It does not seem necessary...." You know the rest. It was all the fault of the R&F as usual when there's a change to a more reasonable position.

  Cheers,

  Ozzie
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  26

  Freddie I'm still waiting

  by buscar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  freddie i asked you explain some of the cr#p you regurgitated earlier.. i'm still waiting for your answers.

  aren't you able to defend your god the watchtower corporation against some simple questions?.

  i'm sure if you went to the elders and told them some interested person you met on the internet wanted answers they would help you to make a good witness for the organisation.. why not ask them fred after all they are there to help you.

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  ozziepost

  Sir Fred,

  May I butt in here. You gave buscar a flippant, dismssive response. As it happens buscar has been waiting 5 years for the elders to help him! I think by now he knows how not to rely on Jehovah's 'loving organisation'.

  Ozzie
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  102

  In there no good in the WTBTS??? or ourselves??

  by jst2laws in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we hopefully all agree it is wrong to reject an entire race because we have found one of its member to be flawed, or to reject an entire concept an the basis of finding a flaw in its argument.

  would not fair people look for a way to accept the good in the concept, modify the flawed portion and rejoice in what was gained from the refined concept?

  it would also be wrong, as the wt does, to reject an entire institution because some of its precepts are flawed.

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  ozziepost

  jst2laws: At the Sydney BBQ this great thread was discussed and the consensus was that you've selected a great name!

  It seems to me that you have softened your approach somewhat in recent posts. Is this because when you first arrived you felt unsure of this place? I hope you can see now that the people who live here are generally quite a friendly, caring lot ready to open their arms in welcome of all.

  I see that you agree that a debt of gratitude is owed to Raymond Franz. Many feel that way, too. You may remember that he considered the WTBTS not reformable. I mention this because you seem to hope for some kind of reformation to take place in the borg. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting! Best to let them be and move on. Jesus was not talking about an organisation when he replied to Peter's much misquoted question: "Whom shall we go away to?" not "Where else have we to go?" The answer was, of course, Jesus, the one who "The Way, The Truth and the Life".

  Cheers,

  Ozzie