i'm still working on the hebrew bible for my book but looking ahead most of my research had fallen into place as i take month off from research., when it come to the nt most people accept what is commonly called markian priority.
this common theory says that mark was written in 70 ad and then a saying gospel of jesus called q was combined with this to make matthew and luke sometimes around 100 ad.
john as later.
Paul if we assume Acts is true would have been so famous that Josephus would have mentioned him. He didn't. He didn't mention jesus either but that's another issue.
Josephus didn't mention bout Jesus in his writing? Are you sure? Because, I had studied about him mentioning about 'Jesus - who was called the Christ' in his Antiquities
i recently had the sad opportunity to attend 2 jw funerals.
the first was a few months ago and the second today.
the first was my grandfather's and the second of an old friend back from my jw days.
The latest outline dated 10/20 states this in the notes:
Adapt
the material to match the circumstances of the deceased and the needs of
grieving ones. While not overpraising the deceased, you may use events from his
life throughout the talk to show how those in attendance can benefit from his
example.
i recently had the sad opportunity to attend 2 jw funerals.
the first was a few months ago and the second today.
the first was my grandfather's and the second of an old friend back from my jw days.
That was sad.
I recently attended a JW funeral on zoom where after the 30 min talk, song and prayer, a memorial program was arranged by the elders, with a video clip with pictures of the deceased, some clips of the deceased, and some personal interviews of friends and relatives about him. The zoom program was streamed on youtube.
Was different from the usual JW funeral.
jehovah’s witnesses file copyright lawsuit in response to blundering christmas album - listen, obey, and be blessed.
.
https://www.toptutorials.co.uk/jehovahs-witnesses-file-copyright-lawsuit-in-response-to-blundering-christmas-album-torrentfreak/.
Even in the lawsuit they only claim copyright on the “song book” and not individual songs
The lawsuit does say:
Watch Tower is the author and copyright owner of the musical composition “Listen, Obey and Be Blessed” (the “Composition”).
Watch Tower also is the author of and owner of several other copyright registrations
for original works of authorship concerning or embodying the Composition, including: (a) U.S.
Copyright Registration SR 864-110 for a sound recording entitled “‘Sing Out Joyfully’ to Jehovah:
Song 089, Listen, Obey and Be Blessed,” effective as of December 30, 2019
for those who think the organization is going more mainstream think again.
so eating a leftover birthday cupcake is as bad a sin as peter betraying jesus!
(see lloyd evans video) .
I think the video was not about eating a piece of Birthday cake, but Caleb's fear of not standing up to whether he celebrates birthdays or not when his friends ask him.
I find it interesting that the the whole video does not explain WHY they don't celebrate birthdays in the first place. Simply that the bible says so and that the dad will help the son explain it. But where and what reasoning is applied? nothing.
Ridiculous.
The chairman of the Annual meeting announced that the second part of the video will be released where the father explains Caleb why JW's don't celebrate birthdays.
there will be another new generation of watchtower society followers that will be introduced to ''the.
carrot and stick.
'' promise something that will never be attained!.
"Live Forever Eternally " - Really ? That's the name of the book?
The title of the book is "Enjoy Life Forever".
The introductory brochure of first 3 lessons is available for download:
https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Enjoy-Life-Forever-Introductory-Bible-Lessons/
so did anyone catch the january jw broadcast?.
it's the "spiritual content" of what would have been introduced in the october annual meeting, had the october annual meeting taken place.. morris, splane, and jackson introduce a new jw study publication: "live forever eternally - an interactive guide".. details were sparse, but apparently it is a 256 page book (when in actual printed form), primarily designed to be used in its electronic form, stuffed with links to videos.. it is designed to be "just one book" to be studied prior to baptism, where "all 60 questions that baptism candidates have to know" are found in just one place.. the purported reason is to make jw "bible" studies more "productive", i.e., lead to more baptisms.. splane brought out the governing body's "great concern" that 10 million+ "bible" studies are conducted by jws every year, but the number of baptisms has been stuck at 200,000 - 300,000 per year for decades.
so the thinking is, this new book + a "new method of conducting studies" (again, no real detail, but apparently it involves more "discussion" and less "question and answer").. want to know my thoughts?
No matter what - the video about the various study books from the 1940s was a trip down memory lane.
Most of the posters here have spent a minimum of 1 year studying one of those books before getting baptized.
a while back, i suggested that an easy, quick, quiet exit with the signing and dating of a concise and irrefutable document would spur faders and pimos to preempt the elders' interference by quitting quietly first , before a fade or a confrontation.
here is the document .
https://1drv.ms/w/s!avoitfxyvyqghq3gbmkhfyqp_jqp?e=8bttg1.
But what is there to lose by preparing such a document, and presenting it to Numbnuts Elders along with a threat to take Legal Action ?
Hi Phizzy, The problem is not about preparing the document. You have the complete freedom to do it. The problem is that the OP claims that this is "an easy, quick, and quiet way to exit the JW religion".
But it's not. We all well know why and are trying to explain it to him here.
cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.
i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.
(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.
Ever hear of the famous 20th Evangelist H. A Ironside?
This preacher had been using a peculiar phrase to identify his followers.
He used the term “Jehovah’s witnesses.”
(In 1935 this name was officially claimed by the WatchTower for its own.)
Have you ever heard one word about it?
He was acknowledged in the Proclaimers book:
It was not only “The Watch Tower” that pointed out from the Bible that Jehovah would have witnesses on the earth. As an example, H. A. Ironside, in the book “Lectures on Daniel the Prophet” (first published in 1911), referred to those toward whom the precious promises of Isaiah chapter 43 would be fulfilled and said: “These shall be Jehovah’s witnesses, testifying to the power and glory of the one true God, when apostate Christendom shall have been given up to the strong delusion to believe the lie of the Antichrist.”
a while back, i suggested that an easy, quick, quiet exit with the signing and dating of a concise and irrefutable document would spur faders and pimos to preempt the elders' interference by quitting quietly first , before a fade or a confrontation.
here is the document .
https://1drv.ms/w/s!avoitfxyvyqghq3gbmkhfyqp_jqp?e=8bttg1.
We can draft a declaration of our own emancipation from those lies and repudiate their authority.
Similarly, a religion can draft its own policy of disassociating you from their congregation and announce it publicly.
FREEDOM is a concept where you are allowed to do things your way as long as you are not a threat to others.
You have the complete freedom to draft this document and keep it with you. But as soon as you do something that violates JW rules, and the elders feel that you are becoming a threat to the spiritual well-being or the cleanness of the congregation, then they have the freedom to form a committee, investigate matters, and announce your disassociation to the congregation.
Freedom comes with a cost. Remember, we live in a world where people are free to hold on to stupid beliefs. Don't mess yourself around the thoughts of human rights or freedom of religion. It may bite you back.
