Posts by konceptual99

26

Last of the big conventions?

by NikL in

jw
friends

had lunch with some friends during today's waste of time convention.

they spoke of the rumor floating around that the jws will move away from these big regional conventions and have them at assembly halls and tie them in to kingdom halls.. they seemed to believe it was a pretty reliable source.. i think it would be too good to be true but who knows?.

anyone else heard this rumor?.

konceptual99

Do they till request a donation (that is, payment-per-seat) when the convention is held in a JW assembly hall versus a worldly venue?

Hell yeah. They run through the convention accounts just to guilt trip people into giving.

It's how halls like the Surrey Assembly Hall at Haysbridge in the UK can afford to
donate almost half a million pounds to the WTS and still have almost £5m in the bank.

See the accounts online here.

http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends09/0001090209_AC_20150831_E_C.PDF

I've tracked this for a while and the income has regularly been approx double the expenditure. They could ask the congregations for half the amount they do but this is a neat way of generating income for the main org.

Now add another 10 or 12 events in a year if they moved RCs there, into a building that is paid for, a building they own, a building they don't have to put the outlay into that they do for a stadium.

I bet half the bean counters actually want a reduction in numbers (aka "love of the greater number cooling off") since it will be the hard core left and therefore easier to fill WTS venues with a higher ratio of fee paying punters.

12

Interesting Take on Vows

by konceptual99 in

so yesterday was the wt on vows.. it spoke, in part about two vows.

the vow you make in dedication and the vow of marriage.

here's how it describes them.. the most important vow that a christian can make is the one with which he dedicates his life to jehovah.

konceptual99

It would be very rare, if not unheard of, for two unbaptised publishers to get married in the hall.

12

Interesting Take on Vows

by konceptual99 in

so yesterday was the wt on vows.. it spoke, in part about two vows.

the vow you make in dedication and the vow of marriage.

here's how it describes them.. the most important vow that a christian can make is the one with which he dedicates his life to jehovah.

konceptual99

So yesterday was the WT on vows.

It spoke, in part about two vows. The vow you make in dedication and the vow of marriage. Here's how it describes them.

The most important vow that a Christian can make is the one with which he dedicates his life to Jehovah.

There is no way to undo a dedication vow....He will be accountable before Jehovah and the congregation for any serious sins that he may commit.

The second most important vow that a person can make is the marriage vow.

their marriage is meant to be a lifelong bond.

couples entering marriage must have the view that divorce is not an option

Both seem pretty serious, yes? Both should require much thought, care and consideration, yes? Both should require a level of maturity and experience before being entered into, yes?

This certainly is reflected in how marriage is portrayed.

Here is the image of a couple getting married.

Both clearly not late teenagers or even young adults. They have used similar images in the past - here's one from August 2016. Again, clearly a mature couple.

So that's the second most important vow one can make sorted. How about for dedication and baptism - the most important vow you can ever make? What are the images like for this?

Here's one from 2015...

Is that a person of marriageable age or a young person having made the most important vow they can ever make?

This is an image from a recent JW video aimed at very young children...

Clearly this is setting out the scene that it's perfectly OK for a young child, perhaps only around 10 years old or less, to get baptised - which by implication means dedication.

This is complete double standards on the part of the WTS. On the one hand, they stress the importance of not entering into marriage lightly, something that should only be done once past the "bloom of youth" yet are more than happy for total minors to take the most important vow they will ever take.

Of course kids can answer the questions before baptism. They can also say "I do" really easily too.

How can the most important vow be taken by someone incapable of taking the second most important vow? Easily if you live in WT World.

71

Breaking News, London: Van Ploughs into Pedestrians

by Simon in

3 male passengers then get out and start stabbing / shooting people according to early reports.. but it could have been anyone for any reason, who knows, possibly jehovahs witnesses or amish.. maybe we'll never know the reason but i'm sure there will be people praying for those involved and hashtags.. thus solving the problem once and for all.. just "life in a big city" according to the muslim mayor of london, sadiq khan..

konceptual99

The only fake thing is the staging of the people behind the cordon so that the location is visible. I don't see anything to suggest CNN brought the Muslims along, gave them placards or told them what to say, unless I am missing something. I get the point that they are choosing to push a narrative and there is an element of staging for the camera but I am pleased to see some Muslims are prepared to publicly condemn the actions of other Muslims and to see this on TV.

Don't get me wrong - Muslims should be challenged about their faith and their inability to get a handle on extremism but the last thing our communities need is more hatred and division from the media.

71

Breaking News, London: Van Ploughs into Pedestrians

by Simon in

3 male passengers then get out and start stabbing / shooting people according to early reports.. but it could have been anyone for any reason, who knows, possibly jehovahs witnesses or amish.. maybe we'll never know the reason but i'm sure there will be people praying for those involved and hashtags.. thus solving the problem once and for all.. just "life in a big city" according to the muslim mayor of london, sadiq khan..

konceptual99

A friend of mine is in a coma after this attack. Hope he pulls through

Really sorry to hear this Laika. Hope he pulls through too.

26

Last of the big conventions?

by NikL in

jw
friends

had lunch with some friends during today's waste of time convention.

they spoke of the rumor floating around that the jws will move away from these big regional conventions and have them at assembly halls and tie them in to kingdom halls.. they seemed to believe it was a pretty reliable source.. i think it would be too good to be true but who knows?.

anyone else heard this rumor?.

konceptual99

BB - they have reduced the number of days for CAs at the assembly halls and could easily increase occupancy for a two day convention.

I get the buzz thing but I suspect the finances will drive it forward in the end.

26

Last of the big conventions?

by NikL in

jw
friends

had lunch with some friends during today's waste of time convention.

they spoke of the rumor floating around that the jws will move away from these big regional conventions and have them at assembly halls and tie them in to kingdom halls.. they seemed to believe it was a pretty reliable source.. i think it would be too good to be true but who knows?.

anyone else heard this rumor?.

konceptual99

This has been forecast here several times over the last few years. It's already happening to a degree in some places.

20

This Weekend's Watchtower Study "What You Vow, Pay" from April issue

by BluesBrother in

just some random thoughts here... theme scripture is matt.5: 33 .

we already had a thread explaining that jesus added a "but" after those words.

however, few would argue against the principle of keeping one's word.

konceptual99

There are two reasons for this article I wager.

One is the pay, pay, pay your pledges as pointed out.

The other is a guilt trip about field ministry, meetings, talks etc. For those teetering on reducing their effort, if they are still mentally in enough then this could be enough for them to give themselves a kick up arse and get back to doing more.

11

Christian Church Destroyed by ISIS Rebuilt by Muslim Residents

by cofty in

muslims in mosul have helped rebuild a christian church that had been destroyed by isis.. iraq has one of the smallest, but oldest, christian communities in the world but isis oversaw the destruction of iraqi churches, books and christian spaces during their occupation of the city..... it's heartening to see both the military defeat of isis in mosul and the desire for normal relationships shown by the inter-faith community.. there is hope..

konceptual99

You are right to an extent Spoletta however you are forgetting the group mentality that grows in communities and countries with high control leaderships. Nazi Germany is a great example where great evil was allowed to occur and participated in by those who under different circumstances would have had no part in such atrocities.

The danger of religion and cult like social thinking is that even good hearts are corrupted and tolerate evil behaviour.

The more a society seeks to unconditionally do good to all then the more hope there is.

11

Christian Church Destroyed by ISIS Rebuilt by Muslim Residents

by cofty in

muslims in mosul have helped rebuild a christian church that had been destroyed by isis.. iraq has one of the smallest, but oldest, christian communities in the world but isis oversaw the destruction of iraqi churches, books and christian spaces during their occupation of the city..... it's heartening to see both the military defeat of isis in mosul and the desire for normal relationships shown by the inter-faith community.. there is hope..

konceptual99

I think this is an important point, because I am sure if they felt they were being " bad" Muslims they wouldn't have done what they did?

Of course. They were doing what they thought was good but there are a whole bunch of fundamentalists who would class them as apostates against their religion just as many Witnesses would see your actions in ignoring the command to shun as rebellious as opposed to simply being human.