Posts by konceptual99

25

anyone else had this following convention

by freeandcontent in

so my mam visited today.

she recently went to convention in north east england, newcastle i think they still have them at.

before she left she said (this is her exact words btw) "you have put me in a difficult position and i can't come to see you anymore".. she told me that as i live with my partner and we are unmarried that she can't visit anymore.

konceptual99

I've heard people suggest that shunning and DFing may get watered down. I think the precise opposite and the convention is a great example.

Shunning of DFed ones, especially family members, is being reinforced regularly.

They are reiterating counsel about how those who are not DFed but faded and known to be committing sins are treated.

I suspect we shall see more "nice cop, nasty cop" narratives over the coming months and years. Treat those with genuine doubts and problems that are causing them to miss some meetings with love. Treat those who are more cynical or outspoken with their views more harshly.

I was watching Hadriels recent video (jw watch) and noted that the WTS has tweaked Jude 22. They say:

Also, continue showing mercy+ to some who have doubts

Yet most other translations say something like the following:

New International Version
Be merciful to those who doubt;
New Living Translation
And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
English Standard Version
And have mercy on those who doubt;

The way they word it means they can argue that mercy only needs to be shown to some who doubt - implying others that doubt don't have the right to expect mercy. Who determines the rules for this conditional mercy? Who do you think....?

31

Availability Crisis of Conscience.

by Ben131895 in

most of us are desperately waiting for the availability of a legal crisis of conscience.

deborah dykstra provided us with two updates.

on december 12, 2015 there was a clear statement about the copyright which stopped all illegal activity in spreading electronic versions & prints.. finally, she promised a new update by or before may 6.. so far no new update.

konceptual99

That, Sevan, is the $1m question.

There seems to be 3 main factors:

1 - Copyright

A big issue seemed to be the legal formalities around copyright ownership. If you read the details on the link I posted to Commentary Press you will see that the current copyright holder has been working hard to establish that ownership and prevent unauthorised print and electronic copies from being distributed.

2 - Content

Since sorting the copyright it would appear the copyright holder has been working to make sure the manuscript is up to date and in a format suitable for modern publishing and has the correct assets (e.g. photos). This apparently includes the work required to support other languages.

3 - Publisher

According to my reading of the info on the website, the copyright holder is working with a publisher to get both print and electronic versions delivered and published. I also read into this that this also includes the global audience, presumably other languages as well.

Bear in mind this is just my reading of what has been posted online about this so I would welcome any corrections from those more knowledgeable than me on this.

The copyright holder has faced some criticism and comment on here since there are routes to doing rapid electronic publishing as well as low cost short digital print runs. I am sure that some feel there are different ways of approaching the project and would not do things in the same way.

The long and the short of it however, is that none of us are the copyright holder. We don't have the responsibility she has. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and say "you should do it like that" when you don't own the problem. Regardless of what any of us think, the copyright holder is trying to get there and we all hope the day that CoC is available once again is not far away.

49

New Monthly Broadcast - BE LOYAL! - Shut Up and Sit Down!

by ttdtt in

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.

konceptual99

There's no document blondie, at least not in the UK AFAIK, but the CO sure as hell knows when a congregation is not paying their subs and the s**t from that storm definitely only runs downhill.

10

Trenton NJ Convention... Some Brief mpressions

by Room 215 in

peak attendance (sunday): 5,645; 26 baptized.

general impression: "convention light"-- i.e.

entertainment value:(previously nil) now enhanced by leavening the boring talks with interspersed video.

konceptual99

You're right JSE, it is deplorable. JWs really don't see this however. The figures are massaged and spun. They brag about things like 1.9 billions hours being spent in the ministry and 260,000 people coming in over a year but no one actually does the simple maths to works out that means it takes 7300 hours to bring ONE person in - that's over 300 days of 24/7 preaching.

Put another way - that's over 8.5 YEARS of preaching as a regular pioneer (70hrs a month)

Put yet another way - that's over 50 YEARS of preaching on a high cong average of 12 hours a month.

For ONE person.

However you slice and dice it the preaching work is the most ineffectual effort ever put forth.

49

New Monthly Broadcast - BE LOYAL! - Shut Up and Sit Down!

by ttdtt in

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.

konceptual99

Agree 100% with your summation of the psyche of most elders sir82. I still think it would be hit elder and MS levels. So let's hope you're right and I'm wrong on this one.

49

New Monthly Broadcast - BE LOYAL! - Shut Up and Sit Down!

by ttdtt in

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.

konceptual99

I'm tellin' ya....
Mandatory tithing, or at least, mandatory if you want "privileges".

Really? I think if they do that then they will be sealing their own fate as far encouraging men to step up. I was accounts servant for years and I knew exactly what elders and MSs were contributing through standing orders and the tax reclaim forms. It was only about 15% of the body. Even if you double that to take into account cash donors it's still less than 50% of the body. This was the best part of 10 years ago and I really, really doubt it's improved.

31

Availability Crisis of Conscience.

by Ben131895 in

most of us are desperately waiting for the availability of a legal crisis of conscience.

deborah dykstra provided us with two updates.

on december 12, 2015 there was a clear statement about the copyright which stopped all illegal activity in spreading electronic versions & prints.. finally, she promised a new update by or before may 6.. so far no new update.

konceptual99

I read Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom recently as a PDF on Scribd. Not sure if this is a legal distribution or not.

There are zero legal electronic copies of CoC and ISoCF. AFAIK there is no way of purchasing a print copy other than the second hand market on ebay/Amazon etc. Any PDF you read is being distributed without the permission of the copyright holder.

The copyright holder provides updates on her efforts to get this published once again here:

http://www.commentarypress.com/copyright/

18

I have no prblems with "new light"

by Doug Mason in

there is nothing wrong with accepting new ideas.

even apostle paul changed his mind when he "saw the light".

indeed, i hope to learn new things every day.

konceptual99

Completely agree with the sentiments expressed.

Just a side point however. The term "new light" has been deprecated in JW language. They don't like to use it specifically for all the reasons above. They like to obfuscate the changes and call it things like "increasing light" and "refinements".

Semantic BS of course but the use of "new light" when talking to a Witness tends to mark one out as not keeping up with "increasing light".

21

Stand Up Comedy about JWs

by usualusername1 in

jw
friends

hello all,i have just signed up to do a comedy course.

it starts in september.in order to get a headstart, i did my first 5 minutes tonight about jws.i explained that i celebrated my first birthday last week.

bemusement and a tittle.explained that if you could choose between hare krishnas and people standing at a trolley/cart as a religion who would you choose?got a laugh.explained that the whole world will be destroyed if you do not listen to our message, yet we are not prepared to initiate a conversation at a trolley.big laugh.

konceptual99

I've thought about it but would be worried that it's a bit too narrow, especially since people do not know a lot less about Witnesses than we think and therefore the context and set up risks getting too long winded. With general religiously based stand up there is more understanding of the basic premises you typically use.

69

There is a new letter to elders about Child Abuse

by ttdtt in

anyone see that there is a long letter on how to handle child abuse?.

konceptual99

Could you post it on the notice board? I reckon I could leave a letter on the board for weeks and no one would notice. The problem is getting it there. Hall cleaning perhaps?