a long time since the topic has been raised on jwn.
" according to the majority of scientists, it's all our fault.
our high carbon emissions and increase in co2 are causing changes in our weather.
I don't think any rational person discounts the inevitability that we shall have to face a potentially life threatening impact from something in space. This is the similar to the fact that at some point we shall experience a volcanic eruption or earthquake way beyond anything experienced in the past several hundred or even thousands of years.
What this has to do with climate change is beyond me.
it was announced this week that the theme for the 3 day convention is "do not give up".
these are the words that are spoken to someone who is struggling and is in the process of giving up.
this theme tells me that many in the organization are tiring out and slowing down.
It's "Don't".
It's a great theme. Smacks of desperation, negativity and an awareness from the top down that all is not well in dubland. It says to me that the GB know they are living on borrowed time as far as their eschatology is concerned and they are running out of ideas to keep people motivated and in.
here we are on the cusp of the new year, and the 2017 yearbook of jws has still not been released.
jw.org continues to feature the 2016 yearbook in its list of main publications.
in previous years, the upcoming yearbook's annual report on jws was released in november for the january 1st then the feb 1st watchtower, then earlier in december when it was only featured in the yearbook, then more recently with a couple of days of december 25th.
Maybe no direct quotes but a big shift in emphasis. In years gone by the declining number of partakers was seen as a good indication that the end was near. Now it doesn't matter anymore and there is an implication that those new partakers may be a little deluded.
as far as i know, the "creation" book is out of print ?, am i right?.
well, i was searching for new watchtower articles trying to debunk, for instance, human evolution.
so, i did my homework, for the first time, so as to read past and updated papers and books on human evolution.
Has the extent of plagiarism in the blue Creation book been laid out fully anywhere?
There is a section on the Creation book on jwfacts.com. Scroll down here...
http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/misquotes-deception-lies.php
Much of this is sourced from here:
http://corior.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/misquotations-in-creation-book.html?m=1
There are also a couple of good sites debunking the Origin of Life brochure here:
http://www.tj-encyclopedie.org/Discussion:L%27Origine_de_la_Vie
http://www.thebattles.net/rationality/JW_The_Origins_of_Life_Five_Questions_Worth_Asking.html
We also have a number of threads here on misquotes in this and the other brochure "Was Life Created"
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/196792/blatant-misquote-origin-life-booklet?size=20&page=2
as far as i know, the "creation" book is out of print ?, am i right?.
well, i was searching for new watchtower articles trying to debunk, for instance, human evolution.
so, i did my homework, for the first time, so as to read past and updated papers and books on human evolution.
The WTS gave up years ago trying to do what the Creation book does especially when it comes to human evolution. There were the two brochures a while back but even these are rarely referred to now.
The two tracks the WTS follows now are highly simplistic. One is to extol the wonders of a feature of a particular plant or creature and then finish with open question "what do you think, did the amazing <insert feature here> happen by evolution or was it designed?".
The other track is to pull some Witness who is a professional from any branch of medicine or science and put them up as an example of someone educated that believes in creation.
Both tracks are weak but enough to bolster the confirmation bias of most dubs.
wasn't russia strongly hinted recently to be the king of the north once again, as it tried to shut down the wtbts there?
and isn't the king of the north said to lead a coalition of nations against babylon the great?
so why is the king of the north allying itself with one half of the king of the south, the anglo-american world power?
So you don't think I need to dig out my copy of "Your Will be done on Earth" any time soon??
It probably makes as much sense as anything out there now...
wasn't russia strongly hinted recently to be the king of the north once again, as it tried to shut down the wtbts there?
and isn't the king of the north said to lead a coalition of nations against babylon the great?
so why is the king of the north allying itself with one half of the king of the south, the anglo-american world power?
They keep getting their noses trying to predict the future and interpreting politics to accommodate their BS. Seems like it works.
And when it doesn't then they simply resort to balancing the cognitive dissonance with the good ol' get out of jail card of "Jehovah will put it into their hearts"...
the scriptures reveal that god never takes advantage of the ignorance of anyone.. j.rutherford, jehovah, brooklyn, international bible students association, 1934, p.19.
would that the oligarchy followed suit.. tom..
The org don't just take advantage of people's ignorance they actively encourage wilful ignorance through actions such as discouraging education, suppressing critical thinking skills, spoonfeeding well debunked bad science, circular reasoning, misquoting sources, demonising critics and constant appeals to authority.
They maintain a veneer of transparency and intellectual honesty and lull adherents into a false sense of logical security.
Dubs genuinely believe they are getting the best information via the WTS and that there is no need to go anywhere else.
Fools.
wasn't russia strongly hinted recently to be the king of the north once again, as it tried to shut down the wtbts there?
and isn't the king of the north said to lead a coalition of nations against babylon the great?
so why is the king of the north allying itself with one half of the king of the south, the anglo-american world power?
All faithful dubs are looking to any nation that seems to be opposed to the Anglo-American world power to become the new KOTN.
What they are forgetting is that the one big side effect of globalisation is that the interdependencies between nations are simply getting more tightly wound together making the effects of conflict far greater.
Putin may have re-ignited a real love of mother Russia and promoted a sense of solidarity against the West but he is bright enough to know that very few at home really want to see trade and development with the West closed down let alone anything approaching the days of the Cold War and actual conflict.
This is why his response to the frankly childish efforts of Obama to undermine Trump's impending administration by provoking the Russians is very clever and I speak as someone who can't stand Trump or Putin. He has completely defused the situation, taken the moral high ground and kept things from escalating, not because he is weak but because he knows that he doesn't need full blown conflict with the West to keep his people happy - in fact it would do the opposite.
JDubs are wishing the world into conflict yet economics is forcing the world to cooperate and they just can't see it.
i have two honest questions for everyone here.
i understand that most here want retribution from the courts against watchtower for child abuse allegations.
but let us take away the instances where someone was accused of child abuse and then later put back into a position of authority, such as an elder or an ms. let us just take the cases where a regular publisher or even an appointed person, with no previous accusation of child abuse has come up against that person.
I actually agree in principle with some of the what the OP argues in as much as it not that reasonable to place the blame for every single act of child abuse with the WTS and that there are difficult moral and legal issues around some specific scenarios, especially where local laws are concerned.
The fundamental issue however is that the WTS has supplanted their self proclaimed pastoral role with that of a legalistically based culture of self-preservation. Over and over again victims have been let down by an organisation intent on covering it's own arse. Corporate and individual conscience and moral strength is trumped by the need to minimise any risks to the organisation. This is bad enough in itself but this corporate requirement is then wrapped up in the highly emotive clothing of "protecting Jehovah's name", further reducing the likelihood that individuals on the ground will follow their heart or question the instructions they are being giving.
It's all about loyalty to the organisation rather then to the victim. Their rights, needs and health are at best third place behind the organisation and the alleged abuser.
The WTS has suppressed critical thinking abilities so much that the organisation is plagued by a lack of skills in being able to weigh up difficult situations and make a call. They have no debating skills. They have a lack of logical processing. Individual cognative dissonance has escalated to an organisational level. They can only think in black and white terms which is why they resort to pouring over what their legal responsibilities are, using the law as a benchmark for right and wrong.
In so doing they completely miss the point of the law and their responsibility as pastoral carers to make choices beyond the letter of the law.
Apologists can whine all they like about the over emphasis of blame on the WTS and the conundrums it has to face with this very difficult situations but the WTS is not unique. These issues have not stopped other organisations from learning, improving and taking genuine steps to improve their handling of events yet the WTS seems intent on reverting to type and simply making things yet more legalistic and stepping away from any sort of intelligent thinking on the matter.
