@OnTheWayOut You have hit that nail on the head. I can't for the life of me understand why even the most indoctrinated JW can't see that for what it is.
But wait..."Listen, obey, and be blessed" (thinking portion of this equation has been deleted)
last night i was listening in as my spouse was on the phone line.
there was a big "local needs" talk announced and it was speculated to be about the congregation reshuffling.. that ended up to be the case.
i thought i used to lay it on thick from the platform....... this was the ultimate spin job - worthy of political office or a spot on the governing body.. one thing that stood out "while the numbers may not necessarily indicate it, it is clear jehovah is speeding up the work".
@OnTheWayOut You have hit that nail on the head. I can't for the life of me understand why even the most indoctrinated JW can't see that for what it is.
But wait..."Listen, obey, and be blessed" (thinking portion of this equation has been deleted)
i've always been currious as to how i would look with a beard so i've finally committed to doing it.
over the next 30 days i'm going to grow out a full chin to ear beard.. .
ps: any suggestions or advice on how to grow a beard would be much appreciated!.
Beards are cool!
so the wife was sick and stayed home from the meeting.
she tuned in through the phone so she could listen.
she had the phone on speaker and therefore i could overhear what was said.
humblepotato, I have never heard of KH Donate. Sounds..... odd. But should I be surprised, no.
I still think they are trying to work their way over to tithing. (Or rather, now they are there.) Wondering if it was brought up in this weekend's two day assembly, which, of course, I did not attend.
mann377, I also wonder if they are pushing/requiring ALL publishers to register and have a login (and therefore, store a credit card number). I really really really don't know how 90% of the pubs here in my Mom's congregation could do that, it is such a poor congregation.
Should I be asked on behalf of myself and my mother, the answer will be h*ll no. Thanks for the heads up.
will our fearless leaders the gb call a news conference and invite all the major news networks and outlets and put their asses on the line and declare "you are all doomed!
" or will they have the rank and file do all the dirty work while they sit back in their gated corporate country club?!
ask any jdub that question!.
https://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/34840-what-does-the-bible-say-about-dinosaurs/.
amazing how many words can be expended discussing things that people have utterly no clue about..
My eyes!!!! Aaargh, once you read that thread you can't "unread" it!
curious if any of our eu-based members (especially those still in) have heard anything from official wt channels on how the organisation plans to be in compliance with gdpr ("general data protection regulations") by may 2018?
it's my understanding that religious organisations must comply, and that religious data is treated a "protected" and therefore subject to some enhance requirements.. specifically, how will they comply with the following requirements:.
you must disclose to the individual: what data you collect on them, why, and what you do with the data (including what other parties receive the data and what they do with it).
I haven't been able to read all the links yet, but I think the following is problematical for them:
Data protection policy on jw.org says under point 7:
Personal data will not be transferred between branches unless necessary to accomplish the religious or charitable purposes of the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, to which all Jehovah’s Witnesses have consented by virtue of their free and willing decision to become and identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Having been baptised in the early 70s as a young teen in the US, I certainly was never asked or made aware of the records that the Society has kept on me. I am sure that has not changed today. When you open a bank or credit card account, you have to sign a form saying you understand privacy policy, and you get updates in the mail when the policy or the law concerning that has changed. So, how do they think they can prove the (untrue) statement above? Unless things have changed, they don't have signatures on file for each publisher giving permission to collect/keep personal data. Perhaps if they enforce a system where everyone must log in to JW.org to get literature, see videos, and make contributions (with individual accounts with passwords) they will try to sneak this in as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Perhaps the cart witnessing with no not-at-home records (I remember those forms, and turning them in to the congregation with the territory) is a way they've come up with to address this?
some doubt about the bible completely, some partially.
what if the bible turns out to be a product of humans, nothing divine.
would you still believe in a creator?.
I don't believe in God. The Bible is just a collection of old books. Somewhat interesting historically, but I don't equate it to proof of the existence of a God.
according to the official figures in this post 2 years ago - https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/217902/uk-congregations-jehovahs-witnesses?page=4 - the scottish congregations had a combined total of just over £1.845m in their bank accounts.
i wonder how much of that money was siphoned off by the org when their "recommendation" to congregations to hand over their surplus cash was issued.
isn't it tragic that all that money would barely cover the court's fine of $4000 per day which the cult has amassed so far in the padron case.
No, and the ones I know are too scared/dumb/brainwashed to ask.
a pet peeve of mine is that there are numerous christian denominations (other faiths with their 'holy' books too), all claim that their interpretation of their 'holy' book is the correct interpretation.
my conclusion is that either their god is a very poor communicator or simply doesn't exist.. i used to believe all this stuff when i was a jobo and later a church going christian.
i simply cannot, in all honesty subscribe to it all any more.
I always wondered why people wanted to worship a God that made everything so hard, and tested them constantly (for his own amusement?). If God were really a God of truth and fairness, he'd make the truth easy to determine for everyone.
After I really woke up, I realized at heart I am an atheist. None of this God stuff throughout history makes any sense to me.
i have an uneasy feeling inside that something is coming this year or the next.
perhaps a new big announcement that turns jwdom on it's head.. we've seen the statement in the watchtower november 15th, 2013 which said:.
watchtower november 15th, 2013 - page 20, paragraph 17.. .
I have been thinking that they are going to have to tithe as well. Setting everyone up with an account online so they can contribute directly (and NOT anonymously, records can now be kept) and bypassing the local congregations.
Consolidation of halls and making people drive miles away looks good on paper, but I am certain that, where I am, no one will do that long term. The congregation here is so reduced (and poor) but the hall is pretty new and in a great location, so I can see them thinking that they will sell this hall and make everyone drive 30 miles to the next town, which has an older hall not in a good area, not very valuable at all, also with an older, reduced congregation. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.