Syme

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Posts by Syme

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  41

  If you have been inactive for over a year can you get disfellowshipped?

  by cognac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've read conflicting things so was hoping to get this clarified.. .

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  Syme

  cognac,

  One year of inactivity is too little. You can still be DF'ed, if a JC offense exists and is proved, just like any active jw.

  The only exception that I remember from the elders handbook is this: if one is inactive for MANY years (i.e. more than 10) and if he lives in ANOTHER area, different from the one he used to be active, and NO-ONE in that new area identifies/knows him as a JW, only then a JC wouldn't need to be formed, because that person would be the same as a worldly person anymore.

  But, one year of inactivity? In the same area? In an area where you are known by the neighbours as a witness (regardless of standing)? JC forming is almost certain, provided of course that you commited a DF offense.
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  40

  Jehovah's Witnesses are the only people who don't practice war and who preach worldwide!

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is what somebody has been telling me, trying to convince me aside from anything one can say or cause reason for doubt, as the evidence that they are the true religion and true people of god.

  they are convinced because while 'all other' christian and other religions support war, troops, etc, jw's don't and they are the only one's who carry god's name and preach.

  nothing else matters.

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  Syme

  JWs don't go to war, not because they are pacifists, but because they consider themselves citizens of "God's government" and thus cannot serve in another government's army. If Jehovah recruited them in His armed forces, be sure they would sign in and take the sword to slain unfaithful ones. Jehovah's Witnesses "of old times" (i.e. Israelites) did just that, when they (so the myth goes) conquered Canaan. Besides, they expect from Jehovah's "government" to bring Armageddon, which is a total war, as total as it can be, and bring the violent death of about 7 billion people worldwide, the 99.9% of the world population. ALL JWs expect that, and almost all are comfortable with that. Is that their idea of "hating war"? Ridiculous claim.

  As for the preaching stuff, a load full of Christian denominations do more or less the same thing: Door to door (Mormons), handing leaflets, tracts, brochures (almost all of them), web sites, TV stations, TV net broadcasting, the list is endless (and valueless).
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  18

  Just watched a documentary on the Mormon church and I reckon they have got far more scandal and issues with BS doctrins than the witnesses ever did

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  must admit i didn't know a lot about the mormon church, so i decided to spend my saturday night exploring them on you tube.

  after having viewed it i reckon the watchtower dosnt even come close to the scandal and total bs that surrounds the mormon church.

  this is just 2 examples.

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  Syme

  Pessimistic note:

  Mormons are far more wackier than the JWs, but they are still around; which means that the WTS is not likely to 'go down' any time soon.
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  42

  What are the ODDS Jehovah's Witnesses are the ONLY TRUE religion?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the entire organization shoves all its chips into the center of the table on one bet: they are the only mouthpiece of god on earth.. what are the odds to this bet?.

  the statistic for christian denominations make jw's 1 out of 41,000 opinions.. a chance of 1 in 41 thousand is a tough bet.. _________________________.

  if abc tv broadcasts shark tank and your tv receives mister ed .

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  Syme

  The odds of JWs being the only true religion is 0 in 1,000,000.
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  3

  Worldwide Internet usage & WT hopes

  by Syme in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Syme

  The following picture depicts every device in the world that's connected to the Internet.

  Note that the areas that are significantly online are only the US, Europe and Japan. In other words, areas where the WT preaching has little effect nowadays, and we might add that they are in a phase of stagnation, if not shrinking.

  What about the areas that experience the growth, aka South America and Africa? As you can see, they are far from being highly connected to the net.

  Even China, in spite of the J-dubs' hopes that the "Website" will reach every Chinese person, we see that the Net usage is not particularly high, compared to the West, let alone the fact that jw.borg is banned there.

  So, why all the fuss about the super-duper website that is going to advance the Jw preaching? It is clear from that map, that the GB's expectations from the Website (and the new TV) are a little bit too high. Unless they have another agenda, which they do: it is clear that all this website-hype has one practical (and reachable) goal: to keep the j-dubs in Western countries in the flock, and keep them occupied. There is not going to be any other significant gain from the Internet usage by WTS in the near future.

  
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  68

  New December KM with changes all over

  by pixel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  is not on the public website yet, but here it is, full more changes:.

  to the 2015 school:.

  bible highlights: brothers as- signed this part will have two min- utes to consider one interesting and practical scriptural point from the weekly bible reading.

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  Syme

  I gave a good laugh with the 2 minutes the speaker has for the Bible highlights!

  In 2016 School (if there are jws), the part will be reduced to "1 minute or less"
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  40

  Letter Re: JW Broadcasting

  by pixel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  re: jw broadcasting.

  dear brothers:.

  we are writing to inform you of an exciting initiative that was announced on october 4,.

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  Syme

  Hm, Roku, huh?

  So they start mentioning private companies in Society letters, and collaborate with them.

  Didn't the GB themselves turn down various offers from computer software companies to give them the rights for their translating program? So no, working with companies is not bad? Isn't the "JW Broadcast" a dedicated resource? How can they give the rights to a worldly company belonging to Satan's corrupt system?
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  13

  The "Good Cop/Bad Cop" Alternating GB Theory

  by ILoveTTATT in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Syme

  Interesting theory; but I think you should swipe the Knorr/Franz duo.

  I think Fred Franz was a true believer; delusional of course, maybe *the* most delusional of all, but that is the nature of a really true believer, after all. Everything in Franz's life and writings speak of that. Gee, he even stayed celibate for his whole life, like a medieval monk. When Knorr became President instead of him (although being older in age and in the 'truth'), Franz didn't care. Even when he did become President after Knorr's death, he wasn't a real leader; he was more like a symbol, or the Society's "wise man". The real power was the then-new GB committees.

  On the other hand, Knorr was, and acted like, a business man. Remember all the business-like things he introduced: special training for house to house preaching, Gilead training, DFing and tightening of the membership rules (smoking, for instance), and a lot more. He was authoritarian just like Rutherford, and when the GB was established in 1971, it marked the decline of his power, which may have led to his quick decline of health after that, and his untimely death.
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  28

  Whatever happened has a lesson for us!

  by Kalos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when my dad left jws, his stoic remark was: it was not a total wastage; after all i learned something good about the witnessestheir resolve to continue with their original claim that they are the appointed channel of god, even when they know in their heart of hearts that they are not.

  why cant i imitate that sort of resolve in doing something worthwhile?

  he thus echoed confucius who said: to be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.. a poor choice we made, some obstructions or some resistance are almost always viewed with fear and anxiety.

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  Syme

  Kalos, very interesting post!

  Just one tiny objection: amateurs didn't build the Ark; beacause there was no Ark at all. As a man of science (as I suspect you are), you should know that. Professionals did build the Titanic, true, but professionals also built every ship, airplane and vehicle that didn't sink and didn't crash.

  Of course, that has nothing to do with your main idea, with which I agree. We should learn from unfortunate experiences of the past; e.g. someone who as a result of TTATT learns to develop critical thinking and avoid any future similar snares, yes, that one has learned from the past. However, a guy/gal who leaves the JWs only to fall in the trap of another organized religion, well, that one didn't learn from mistakes, since they still let religious wackos strip them of their money and their thinking skills.

  P.S. Interesting username. It means "good" in my native tongue
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  9

  Everyone asked to take their literature back to the KH?

  by MrMonroe in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  may be bullshit or just confusion, but here's a post at a facebook ex-jw page:.

  "so last night i performed one of my occasional meeting attendances, and whilst watching the kids and planning my exit strategy in the event of a walking dead style zombie outbreak, i think i heard them read a letter saying that the brothers are now to destroy all old literature in their possession if it's in bad condition, or return it to the elders if it's in good condition, but you can no longer keep any old literature... hmmm".

  anyone know anything about this letter?

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  Syme

  I read a similar letter in a bullettin board of a certain KH; similar, not exactly the same.

  I posted the info on the following thread:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/284792/1/Strange-letter-to-local-congregations

  What you heard sounds even more serious, though. If that's the case, I hope it will shake some older j-dubs and wake them up. (yeah, maybe I'm just being optimistic)