347 please
raymond frantz
JoinedPosts by raymond frantz
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71
Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool March 2024
by DerekMoors infor those still interested in lloyd's fall from grace, i made up a chart of my own.
april 2023 is when he put out his "things are bad" tin cup begging video, and he got a small surge to 592 on the 13th of that month.
i'm also using his all-time peak of 897 from november 2022.. for march, we're gonna say a modest -15, putting him at 352. i'm also curious as to when he might hit 300 and then 200. if he keeps up with an average of -20 every month, he'll be at less than 190 before the end of this year.. happy guessing everyone..
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Update on Russian ban
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/four-jehovah-s-witnesses-sentenced-to-seven-years-each-in-russia.
the following is an update in relation to the russian ban on jehovah's witnesses as it appeared on reuters on the 30th january .
jan 30 (reuters) - a russian court has sentenced four jehovah's witnesses to seven years each in prison after finding them guilty of coordinating extremist activities, according to a spokesman for the religious group.. .
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raymond frantz
after finding them guilty of coordinating extremist activities, according to a spokesman for the religious group.
Looks like they were not just rank and file they were organising meeting
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Update on Russian ban
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/four-jehovah-s-witnesses-sentenced-to-seven-years-each-in-russia.
the following is an update in relation to the russian ban on jehovah's witnesses as it appeared on reuters on the 30th january .
jan 30 (reuters) - a russian court has sentenced four jehovah's witnesses to seven years each in prison after finding them guilty of coordinating extremist activities, according to a spokesman for the religious group.. .
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raymond frantz
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/four-jehovah-s-witnesses-sentenced-to-seven-years-each-in-russia
The following is an update in relation to the Russian ban on Jehovah's Witnesses as it appeared on Reuters on the 30th January
Jan 30 (Reuters) - A Russian court has sentenced four Jehovah's Witnesses to seven years each in prison after finding them guilty of coordinating extremist activities, according to a spokesman for the religious group.
Russia's Supreme Court designated Jehovah's Witnesses as "extremist" in 2017, liquidating and banning the group's nearly 400 chapters across the country. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2022 that the ban was illegal.
Since then raids, interrogations and jailings of adherents have occurred with some regularity in Russia, which counted roughly 175,000 active believers at the time of the ban, according to the group's Russian website.
"Russia continues to shamelessly misemploy its anti-extremist legislation to ban, imprison, and at times beat and torture Jehovah's Witnesses," the spokesman, Jarrod Lopes, told Reuters by email.
Russian officials have previously denied
allegations of mistreatment or torture of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Some 790 members of the group have been criminally charged or are under investigation for their faith, with 147 sentenced last year, Lopes said.
"Russia's legal system has become a cathedral of what it hates - extremism," he said.
Religious life in Russia is dominated by the Orthodox Church, which is championed by President Vladimir Putin. Some Orthodox scholars view Jehovah's Witnesses as a "totalitarian sect."
Last week, a six-month trial against four men in the southwestern Russian city of Samara concluded with guilty verdicts and seven-year sentences for each.
The men, Aram Danielyan, Denis Kuzyanin, Sergei Polosenko and Nikolai Vasilyev, were charged based on hidden recordings of worship services and personal conversations about their faith, as well as electronic evidence which Lopes said was planted in a computer belonging to a defendant by an "FSB technical specialist" during a search.
Separately, a woman in the nearby city of Tolyatti was given two years' forced labour for the same crime on Jan. 25, the same day as the four men were sentenced, according to the group's Russian website.
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Lloyd Evans Patreoff Pool February 2024
by DerekMoors inhappy new year!
time to give us your vote for lloyd's fall from grace this month.. december 6th he was at 406. as of today, january 3rd, he's at 388. that is exactly, on the dot, where he was january 3rd of last year!
he's lost all gains from his begging videos and reminders and tin cup waving and etc.. so, fire up the shrooms and let us know where you think flab boy will be on february 2nd.
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raymond frantz
361 now!!!
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29
Patterson New Visitor Centre & Museum Announced
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum.
january 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the patterson visitor center, located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, new york, u.s.a. the feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “first-century bible village.” brother isaiah miller, who works in the museum department at bethel, said: “the bible village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience.
studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” after her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “this museum made me feel like i had been transported back to the land of ancient israel.
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raymond frantz
BoogerMan3 hours ago
@ Raymond Frantz - According to info I saw recently, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York recorded donations in excess of $700m in 2022-3.
We can only guess at how much the orgs global empire is raking in, via all of its tentacles & revenue streams
Indeed they have more coming in than going out!
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Patterson New Visitor Centre & Museum Announced
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum.
january 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the patterson visitor center, located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, new york, u.s.a. the feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “first-century bible village.” brother isaiah miller, who works in the museum department at bethel, said: “the bible village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience.
studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” after her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “this museum made me feel like i had been transported back to the land of ancient israel.
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raymond frantz
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum
January 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the Patterson Visitor Center, located at the Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson, New York, U.S.A. The feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “First-Century Bible Village.” Brother Isaiah Miller, who works in the Museum Department at Bethel, said: “The Bible Village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience. Studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” After her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “This museum made me feel like I had been transported back to the land of ancient Israel. It was beautiful!”
The feature museum realistically portrays the animals, food, plants, and daily habits of those living in a first-century Israelite village. For example, the olive trees in the museum were fabricated using handcrafted molds of olive trees in Israel. Visitors can grind grain using a full-scale millstone and step aboard a fishing boat similar to the ones Jesus and his disciples used. One brother excitedly remarked: “I felt like I had stepped into the Bible account where Jesus said to the sea: ‘Hush! Be quiet!’” (Mark 4:39) As visitors tour a replica of an ancient synagogue, they can visualize themselves sitting and listening attentively to God’s Word being read aloud.
Another unique aspect of the museum is the opportunity to learn about first-century life by conversing with “Israelite villagers,” who are portrayed by brothers and sisters. Visitors can participate in various trades and tasks that were common in Jesus’ day. Ten-year-old Marcos said, “My favorite part was when I helped the Israelite carpenter build a stool!” “That was my favorite part too,” said eight-year-old Rebecca. “I also loved grinding the wheat to make flour.”
Along with the feature museum, there are three other sections in the visitors’ center. “First-Century Bible Coins” is an exhibit that features original first-century coins, including a rare tetradrachma. “All Your Sons Will Be Taught by Jehovah” is a museum that familiarizes visitors with a number of theocratic schools and underscores the benefits of divine education. “Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News” recounts faithful examples of brothers and sisters in several lands who faced persecution and shows how Jehovah’s organization loyally supported them.
The money making museum scam:
This is one of the first museums the Watchtower has created and with over 38 to follow across the globe in different Bethels in the next few years.
Now, why would the Watchtower like to build museums? The answer is easy, MONEY. The only driving power behind this organisation. Now, let's consider for a minute or two how this endeavour will add more money to the Watchtower's coffers.INCREASED GOVERMENT FUNDING:According to the American Association of Museums, 24.4% of museum funding comes from the government. Another 36.5% of the funds come from private donors, 27.6% from revenue, and 11.5% from investments. However, funding from federal, state, and local agencies may account for more or less of an individual museum’s budget. For instance, the Detroit Institute of the Arts receives nearly half of its yearly funding from local government sources. Now let's translate that in jw terms.If for example the yearly running costs of a museum is let's say 10 million dollars nearly as half of this money will be from local or national government funding. Now, real museums have real expenditure, buying or leasing artifacts, maintaining the building, paying employees. But what about a JW museum? All employees are free volunteer Bethelites, the museum is housed within the existing premises of Bethel, and the so-called artefacts are nothing more than old publications donated by brothers and sisters. It wasn't that long ago that the Watchtower was requesting brothers and sisters who have very old literature (books, brochures, records, tapes, videos, etc.) to donate those to the WHQ so that these can be displayed as ARTIFACTS in their new museums!!!
Albeit this time around the bought a few coins and replicated some of the props from first century village the build in Australia to film Jesus life!
So, in a typical Watchtower fashion, these museums can cost next to nothing to set up, then make fictitious numbers for running costs and then get the local government to fork up the bill to the tune of millions of dollars or pounds whatever the local currency is for that country.Dont forget the are expanding this scheme to 35 countries, so it must be successful.So in other words the Watchtower has found a new money stream to finance its Bethels and the organisation in total one that wasn't there before and it is far more reliable from the dwindling donations of its members. Now there is a lot more to say on this subject and I will be returning soon with more information.
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Conscription FEARS to END? Jehovah's Witnesses in EUROPE?
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/conscription-fears-across-europe-could-end-jehovah-s-witnesses.
as the clouds of war are gathering fast over the european continent many countries including britain are contemplating a return to conscription and some form of mandatory military service.
considering the fact that the watchtower fought long and hard especially in europe for the right of its believers to abstain from military service it is very interesting to see how this new development will affect the watchtower across europe.
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raymond frantz
jhine28 minutes ago
I am in the UK and can't say that l am aware of all the news and papers talking about it .
Jan from Tam
Yes it was on many newspapers, GBN news, BBC etc
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Conscription FEARS to END? Jehovah's Witnesses in EUROPE?
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/conscription-fears-across-europe-could-end-jehovah-s-witnesses.
as the clouds of war are gathering fast over the european continent many countries including britain are contemplating a return to conscription and some form of mandatory military service.
considering the fact that the watchtower fought long and hard especially in europe for the right of its believers to abstain from military service it is very interesting to see how this new development will affect the watchtower across europe.
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raymond frantz
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/conscription-fears-across-europe-could-end-jehovah-s-witnesses
As the clouds of war are gathering fast over the European continent many countries including Britain are contemplating a return to conscription and some form of mandatory military service. Considering the fact that the Watchtower fought long and hard especially in Europe for the right of its believers to abstain from military service it is very interesting to see how this new development will affect the Watchtower across Europe. To my understanding it depends in which European country you reside. In countries like France, Germany or Britain where large populations a form of secular service will be accepted as an alternative to serving in the army (such as working as a firefighter) whereas in other countries with small populations this will not be allowed as an alternative and prison sentences will return at a minimum to counteract public feeling and entanglement. With that in mind this issue will become another explosive situation fir the Watchtower and its membership since most your male Jehovah’s Witnesses will think twice before they decide to become the martyr for the Watchtower.
Here are some recent quotes from across Europe in regards to this recent development.
Canon fodder?
“Europe’s armed forces, particularly those on the border with Russia, now realise they don't have enough manpower,” said Vincenzo Bove, professor of political science at Warwick University, who specialises in conscription. "They clearly see conscription as a solution to that."
“Whether this is a good idea in terms of deterring a potential Russian invasion, we’re not really sure,” he continued, suggesting there was a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of conscript armies compared to regular forces.
Owing to the complexity of modern warfare, Bove questioned if conscripts could be properly trained to use the advanced equipment or tactics employed today in the short time available.
Besides economic concerns about the inefficiency of compulsory military service – with massive numbers of people prevented from doing something where they could be more productive – Bove raised ethical concerns about sending civilians into battle with little experience.
Having served in the Italian Navy for 15 years, he said: “Three years isn't enough to teach the basics of warfare… even using basic weapons requires a lot of training.”
“Some countries are talking about three-month programmes… that’s nothing. They won't even learn how to salute,” Bove added in jest.
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/conscription-fears-across-europe-could-end-jehovah-s-witnesses
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Is Jesus God?
by Sea Breeze ini know that a lot of historical names have claimed to be a god.
but, jesus arguably claimed to be god.
scripture says he's the creator.
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raymond frantz
Jesus addressed the issue head on in John 10 where he pointed out to the Pharisees that if even those referred to in the Psalms (be they judges or angels) can be called “gods”, so much more can Jesus the messiah rightly be called “God’s Son”.
I'm on the same boat, Trinity for me is another cult, if you don't believe it you are being called names and expected to go through mental gymnastics to be made to see what is not there. I'm a good old Arian and a pre-Nicean Christian where conversation on the subject was free albeit heated at times. I'm not going to accept a doctrine that was forced upon Christians from a pagan emperor Constantine that thought he can be a Christian theologian as well a murderer and a pagan
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AAWA back on track with Blood Activism?
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/aawa-raising-the-blood-issue-again.
the following appeared on the good man project website and it is an interview with lee elder, the current leader of aawa and his latest activism on the blood issue ,worth reading.... lee elder is the founder and acting director of ajwrb (advocates for jehovah’s witness reforms on blood).
ajwrb is a non-profit educational association operating under the umbrella of aawa (advocates for awareness of watchtower abuses).. born and raised as a jehovah’s witness, lee is part of the fourth generation in his family to follow this faith.
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raymond frantz
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/aawa-raising-the-blood-issue-again
The following appeared on the Good Man Project website and it is an interview with Lee Elder, the current leader of AAWA and his latest activism on the blood issue ,worth reading...
Lee Elder is the founder and acting director of AJWRB (Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reforms on Blood). AJWRB is a non-profit educational association operating under the umbrella of AAWA (Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses).
Born and raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Lee is part of the fourth generation in his family to follow this faith. He was baptized at the age of nine and started serving as a regular pioneer at fifteen. After completing college, he continued his service as a ministerial servant, and regular pioneer. He was later appointed as an elder where he held various responsibilities within the congregation, such as Book study conductor, Congregation Secretary, and Watchtower Study Conductor.....
Lee’s interest in the Watchtower’s blood policies was heightened following a significant exchange with his primary care doctor in the early 1990’s. This, coupled with the distressing experiences he witnessed among Jehovah’s Witnesses, led to numerous unanswered questions.
After an extensive period of study, Lee concluded the Watchtower’s blood policy was flawed from its inception. Sharing this conclusion with other Jehovah’s Witnesses risked charges of apostasy and expulsion, with even the closest family members being required to shun. This was the mechanism Watchtower had used to suppress dissent for many decades. The advent of the internet, however, enabled a remarkable change.
In February of 1997, having been rebuffed by a member of the Governing Body, Lee opened a website titled “New Light on Blood” to expose the various irrational and unscriptural aspects of the policy. Soon, he was contacted by numerous Jehovah’s Witnesses who were struggling to deal with Watchtower’s policy. Many of these were other elders, as well as HLC (Hospital Liaison Committee) members, and various organization officials. Over the following year this group reformed as AJWRB and set out on a mission to reform the Watchtower’s blood policies.
Although no longer active as a Jehovah’s Witness, Lee continues to advocate for Jehovah’s Witnesses, and educates both patients and the medical community about the irrational aspects of Watchtower’s blood policy. He envisions a future where all members will have the opportunity to make fully informed choices about their healthcare without the constraints of coercion and mandated shunning.
“Lee Elder” is a pseudonym Lee adopted while still an active Jehovah’s Witness elder in the mid 1990’s. This alias enabled him to retain his standing within the Jehovah’s Witness community while spearheading an initiative from within the Watchtower Society to reform its blood policy. His dedication for seeking reform of the Watchtower’s blood policy is driven by his concern for fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses and their families. Lee contributions have been acknowledged through publications in the British Journal of Medical Ethics and interviews with the BBC. Frequently cited in medical journals, Lee currently serves as the Vice President at AAWA.
Here, we talk about the issues AJWRB tackles.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Now, to the main focus of Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood (AJWRB), the issue of blood transfusions. Not for the life-and-death medical emergencies, but, rather, for the issues around the blood issues requiring ongoing care and medical treatment. What has been the position for decades of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on blood transfusions?
Lee Elder: Elements of the Watchtower’s blood policy have been stable for many decades. Namely, that whole blood transfusion is prohibited, along with the primary components: red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. However, their position on the use of the 200 plus plasma proteins has been in a near-constant state of flux beginning in the 1950’s. While there were numerous reversals in the 1950’s, the trend was unmistakable, and by the 1980’s they were permitting 100% of blood plasma fractions.
Numerous members of AJWRB pressed the Watchtower for an explanation as to why these blood products were acceptable when some of them, like albumin, are much larger by volume than platelets – which are not allowed.
In response to the rising criticism leveled by AJWRB, physicians, and medical ethicists, in 2000 the Watchtower responded by changing their policy to permit the use of all blood fractions from not only plasma, but the remaining blood components (red & white cells, and platelets).
Additionally, unreleased Watchtower documents showed the Watchtower leadership was on the cusp of permitting Jehovah’s Witnesses to predonate their own blood, and had printed and shipped advance directives to this effect, but suddenly changed their minds and withdrew them in late 2001. The policy has been static since that time, so as it stands, Jehovah’s Witnesses may technically use 100% of blood as long as it is fractionated.
This includes the largest of all blood proteins – hemoglobin which transports oxygen. If a stable and FDA approved hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) is developed, it would likely solve many of the problems their policies have created. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been using Hemopure (an HBOC developed from bovine hemoglobin) on a compassionate use basis for about 20 years, and it is approved for use in South Africa. However, the dream of artificial blood has proved elusive for Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as the military.
https://www.ajwrb.org/watchtower-approves-hemopure
Jacobsen: What was the position of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on this stuff before the change in the 1960s on the policy?
Elder: Answered above. If you want more detail look here:
https://www.ajwrb.org/the-historical-perspective
Jacobsen: There’s more than one elephant in the room. Here’s one, if we did not have the scientific and secular revolutions, and medical technological and technique advancements, we would not know about this – nor would the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In that, this only became an issue in the light of the advancements of modern science, medical technology, and secular society, not Jehovah’s Witnesses culture. Obviously, the justifications for the Jehovah’s Witnesses come from the Bible. My bias aligns with the analysis of the brilliant and articulate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter, Francesca Stavrakopoulou (who I absolutely adore as an intellectual), i.e., the Bible is a collection of storybooks or a collection of opinions reified into some divine or transcendental truth status. It is an analysis of fellow traveler humanists, by and large. What is the mixed status of the Jehovah’s Witnesses towards science and medicine in general terms?
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE:
https://www.jwupdates.com/post/aawa-raising-the-blood-issue-again
