willyloman

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Posts by willyloman

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  13

  Is Charity Utterly Incomprehensible to Them? (Dec. 1, Wt)

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  once upon a time, monty python had a sketch in which john clease portrayed.

  a businessman approached for a contribution to feed starving orphans.

  he appeared.

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  willyloman

  Nina said:

  That philosophy is completely against the teachings of Jesus, who helped EVERYONE he came in contact with, both great and small. He wasn't just looking for a photo op

  Words to live by!
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  5

  The 'anointed remnant' and the 'Methuselah' syndrome...

  by MacHislopp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a fter having read part of the 2003 wtbs inc.'s yearly report,

  most of the remnant are quite elderly, and over the years the number of those who are truly anointed has been getting smaller.

  - from 1940 until 1971, we have a difference of 17,236 anointed remnant '...who have fallen asleep in death..." and for the

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  willyloman

  Nice work, Mac, showing conclusively the error of this whole speculation... otherwise, "some" of the annointed would have to live to be 200!

  Another example of how these crazy numbers, which we used to take for granted and believe were meaningful, just don't hold up to scrutiny.
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  34

  NEW 2003 Worldwide Service Report

  by Joker10 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for all those curious, here's a look at the new 2003 report.

  jehovah's witnesses have been growing, but not a whole lot.

  a peak of 6,429,351 publishers reported preaching in 235 lands.

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  willyloman

  The number of partakers dropped 195 from 8760 to 8565

  Perhaps a result of that hard-hitting study article in the WT that took 'partakers' to task in strong terms? Guess 195 either died or reevaluated their status.
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  55

  Militant Apostates

  by Rainmakerone in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i'm wondering if there are many truly militant apostates out there....... some real god hating watchtower bashing hard guys....i just read the "bill bowen update" thread and feel that all opposition is good opposition, and knowing that the wt society can see any posts we make, also feel its a shame they can see squabbles among their enemies.

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  willyloman

  designating an articulate spokesperson

  Ah! The critical, and all too often missing, ingredient.
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  5

  The truth about WT 'growth' figures

  by willyloman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any discussion of the wts' numbers and the "growth" these numbers suggest has to take into account the inconsistency built in to their counting methods.. .

  counting time in field service is totally arbitrary.

  you won't find a memo anywhere that specificies exactly how such time is to be determined; it's left up to the individual.

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  willyloman

  Any discussion of the WTS' numbers and the "growth" these numbers suggest has to take into account the inconsistency built in to their counting methods.
  

  Counting time in field service is totally arbitrary. You won't find a memo anywhere that specificies exactly how such time is to be determined; it's left up to the individual. The method of counting time is determined by all sorts of whims. One person's 45 minutes is another's 3 hours. Traveling overseers know this, thus the WTS knows it. Yet they present the number of hours in the annual report as a precise figure and hail the fact that "over one billion hours" were spent in the field ministry last year. The number of magazines placed, return visits made, etc., are often made up on the spot by publishers responding to an urgent phone call asking them for numbers for a report for which the deadline has come and gone. These numbers, too, are categorized and published as factual.

  Counting attendance at assemblies is also arbitrary. Some brothers attempt to count individuals in seats while others determine the total number of seats that exist and subtract the empty ones to get attendance. Some attendees who are out walking around or in the rest room don't get counted, but estimates are often added back in to account for these. Also, those counting will often count everyone, including babies and small children; the number in attendance is obviously far higher than the number of attendees who are baptized. Even "visitors" are counted in the total. This is especially true at the Memorial, where those taking the count are acutely aware of how important it is to maximize these numbers for the annual tally -- which is then presented as a precise number.

  In summary, everywhere a count is taken, it's clear that the numbers are "cooked." So why should anyone believe ANY of these numbers, including those in the annual report related to "peak publishers" or "average publishers" and percentage of growth?

  This is the very Society that in one of its study publications makes the point that if someone has lied to you often, you naturally wouldn't believe anything else they tell you, whereas is someone has always been completely honest with you, there is a high likelihood they are always telling the truth.

  Does anyone really expect the WTS to publish a report that shows they're losing as many people as are coming in and that the numbers are down (again)? Won't happen. These numbers are about as accurate as the circulation figures for "free" newspapers that are thrown on the driveway or left in open racks in grocery stores. The actual circulation of those periodicals? It's whatever the publishers say it is.
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  29

  The Revolving Door; Does Nobody Notice?

  by shamus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  think about a typical dub.. you get brought into the truth.

  the person that brought you into the truth brings in, say, 2 people.

  yourself and another... 1 person stays, the other leaves.

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  willyloman
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  114

  International Freedom Fest going strong

  by Mulan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we are having so much fun talking with everyone.

  there are about 30 here tonight, and we just had dinner, ...............chicken on the bbq, coleslaw, and lots of good appetizers.. angharad, and "her ladyship" (also known as englishman's wife), and inky are in the hot tub, and there are little groups of conversation going on all over the house and outside on the deck.. cruzanheart, bigtex and sixofnine got here a few minutes ago.

  there are 8 from england so far, including a very nice couple who were on my flight from atlanta.. several of us went out on joy and steve's big sailboat for several hours and it was so fun, and relaxing.. tomorrow we get ready for the big halloween party.

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  willyloman

  (reads telegram)

  To the brothers and sisters gathered in Panama City Beach, FL: Greetings!

  (For way more eloquent telegram, see Swan's earlier post)
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  25

  Comments You Won't Hear at the 11-2-03 WT Study

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  comments you will not hear at the 11-02-03 wt study

  review comments will be in black and parentheses ()

  wt quotes will be in

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  willyloman

  A bunch of guys live in Brooklyn and have a direct pipeline to God Almighty... and this is the best they can do? Jeez Louise.
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  34

  NEW 2003 Worldwide Service Report

  by Joker10 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for all those curious, here's a look at the new 2003 report.

  jehovah's witnesses have been growing, but not a whole lot.

  a peak of 6,429,351 publishers reported preaching in 235 lands.

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  willyloman

  Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch (that's knickers in twist for you Brits), remember:

  1. These are "averages"

  2. These are their own numbers, unaudited (see "field service reports, accuracy of")

  3. The WTS has been on a campaign to inflate these numbers for two years now

  The anecdotal evidence from the field is to the contrary, at least in THIS field (U.S.)...

  In our congo, there was serious talk of a split less than two years ago. Sunday meeting attendance was hovering around 180 or so. Now attendance moves in a range between 120-140 on Sunday. There's no talk of a split. Interestingly, the number of cards in the file is about the same as it was 18 months ago. People just aren't coming. JWs maintain meeting attendance figures, but they don't publish them in the WT.
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  23

  Did the JWs take this urban legend and make it an experience????

  by BLISSISIGNORANCE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i received this at work the other day.

  it was sent to myself and quite a few others who work in my department via email.. i have to say, it sounded an awful lot like a story i heard from some dubs.. i just thought it was interesting.................dubs always take everything as their own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

  cheers, bliss.

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  willyloman

  I heard this (dub version) 30 years ago.