recently i saw a link to an article from the st. petersburg times (one of these links on the side of this forum to sometimes old articles).
it was an article about jws and their preaching work.
imo, middle to favorable.. but the one thing was from a door where the jws are saying they're not here to convert anyone, they just want to share a scripture.. what sort of bs is this?
I heard it said regularly for 30 years.
I think it's just a platitude to try and get householders off the defensive. I've heard it justified with the tack that they need the right heart condition and then God will draw them.
Complete crap of course...
in this video the popular saudi cleric sheik yahya al-jana discusses the joys of paradise, saying that men will have the strength of a hundred men in paradise and will be busy tearing hymens, while the virgins of paradise, whose breasts are like pomegranates, become virgins every time again.. the cleric also explains it is mostly men who enter paradise noting that women in general are bad because they refuse to wear the veil, they wear tight clothes in shopping malls, put on perfume and jewelry, and use filthy social media platforms.
source.... this is what young men from conservative muslim families are raised on.
is it any wonder islamic countries treat women appallingly?.
No idea how far such ideas stretch into the psyche of the majority of adherents but I don't think views like this can be considered harmless eccentricity. This is not the Westboro Church - these people do reach a global audience of malleable minds. The number of Muslims from stable, long standing Western homes that are prepared to make the one way trek to ISIS controlled areas or commit acts of terrorism in the lands of their birth shows how indoctrinated ones can become. That's not to mention the countless number of those already in Muslim lands who are very receptive to the message these nutjob preachers are prepared to peddle.
that's right folks time to kick back , pour a cold one and in take in some tunes.. what are you listening to right now ?
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu87294pvx8.
Check out the BBC 6 Music Maida Vale sessions from this week. My faves:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n3zm0/broadcasts/2015/10
In fact, just listen to 6 Music.
will we submit to theocratic direction now?.
absolutely we will follow your directions.we the bethel family in the u.s.have been re-assigned to the field.we accept.. as traveling o/s because of advancing age and medical conditions we have been assigned as special pioneers.we accept.. oh!
we just received a new directive now we are re-assigned as regular pioneers.we accept.. we are now enjoying abundant blessing.we are grateful and contented,brimming with joy in our old old age.we are so close,very close to the end of our journey(lives).soon no more pain or sorrow.peace at last awaiting to be raised from the dead..
As a younger man I never really was worried about having children. My wife and I never really expressed even a future desire to raise a family.
Our first child was not planned but I am eternally grateful to drunken passion that we did start down the road of raising a family.
Now, with a lovely family, I could not imagine facing the latter half of my life without the joy of having children. The thought of simply having memories to look back in my old age, rather than being able to consider the hopes, aspirations and future achievements of my kids and, hopefully, their kids seems a less positive way of approaching those final years.
Of course, not everyone can have a family but to have made the choice simply because you thought the end of world was coming and you would do it in the paradise is a crying shame.
so we all know how ineffectual the preaching work really is.
we also know how much the wts hypes up the scope and scale of the global preaching effort.
what the gb should be doing however is emphasising the ineffectiveness of the preaching work.
How about...
This is a very interesting paragraph because it confirms something that is supported by other scriptures. The illustration of the broad and narrow paths shows that salvation will only be achieved by a minority. The understanding of when humanity will become faint out of fear is not during the majority of the period of the last days but immediately pre-Armageddon as they realise judgement is upon them.
Jehovah has an express wish for all to gain repentance. This paragraph shows the signs are, on their own, not going to be enough for people to recognise the severity of the situation and seek Jehovah.
Survival through Armageddon is for the minority so that places a massive emphasis on the preaching work and the efforts made to reach as many people as possible.
so we know that wt settled out of court for an undisclosed sum and that presumably there was a 'gagging order' attached to the settlement.. not having really thought about what a 'confidentiality clause' meant before, i assumed in the past that it meant that you weren't allowed to disclose the amount of the settlement or any details about it.
but from the total and absolute silence once the settlement was made, i can only assume that it is a total gagging order.. how can the courts allow such a restriction to be put on a victim?
protecting the abusers and allowing the institution to cover up the lengths they go to to avoid admitting their guilt?
She didn't quickly agree a deal though.
She spent years going through a litigation process that the WTS fought every step of the way.
I think it became clear to everyone that the WTS would never publicly change policy for one person. If CC had stuck to her guns re principles then she would get nothing. No procedural change. No compensation. No way of paying her bills.
She has achieved loads. She got lots of publicity against the WTS. She has made it a hell of a lot easier for others to come forward. I suspect she has or will influence some change in policy, even if it's to just reduce the risk of successful litigation against the WTS in the future.
I think she has done what any pragmatic and sensible person would do - make sure you walk away with something.
CC can hold her head up high. I really hope she can move on now and put this nightmare behind her.
so we know that wt settled out of court for an undisclosed sum and that presumably there was a 'gagging order' attached to the settlement.. not having really thought about what a 'confidentiality clause' meant before, i assumed in the past that it meant that you weren't allowed to disclose the amount of the settlement or any details about it.
but from the total and absolute silence once the settlement was made, i can only assume that it is a total gagging order.. how can the courts allow such a restriction to be put on a victim?
protecting the abusers and allowing the institution to cover up the lengths they go to to avoid admitting their guilt?
The view from the pro JW community is that she took the money and run, reneging on her claim that she did not care about the money but wanted to force the WTS to change their policies.
but no girls allowed!
as of january, women won't be accepted as volunteers, at any of the job sites!.
it has to do with the rooming arrangements.
because i haven't put in a single dime for over a year now in the box at the kh.
the usual custom is to put money in there right after the meetings.
but heck, i already spend so much in car fuel just to attend - i don't care really if the gb starves and dies.. oops.. anyway, do the elders take note who's donating and who's not?.
There are two ways of knowing who contributes what here in the UK. One is through payments by cheque or electronic transfer into the bank. The second is through the gift aid arrangement. This is where the congregation can claim back the taxable element of the donation if the donor is a UK tax payer. Donations under GA have to be identified back to the person who made them.
I have done the job of accounts servant and I knew exactly how much was being donated and by whom when it came to about 60% of the donations. This was some time ago and now, with the prevalence of electronic transfer I would expect this figure to be higher.
A while back, appointed men where encouraged to have a GA donation arrangement. I refused as I thought it was a point of principle that donations should be unsolicited and anonymous.
To be honest though, I have never donated much. It was only ever on sporadic occasions and I have not given the org a penny since 2012 when I started waking up.
long time lurker here.
i'm a fifth gen born-in baptized jw.
to say i've been struggling with doubts is an understatement.
Welcome. There are lots of people here in all states of disentanglement from the WTS. You will find support, empathy and encouragement here. Sometimes we disagree with one another but the good thing is it is allowed and we've learnt that instead of having to hate someone just because of one point of disagreement we can find lots of common ground and be a positive and productive community.
Welcome again!
