(NWT 1984 Hebrews 10:25) . . .not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together. . .
The latest translation will be used to emphasize the meetings are important rather than just gathering together.
NEWSWEEK: After Ban, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia Harassed by Police During Religious Services
by AndersonsInfo 51 Replies latest jw friends
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Splash
The latest translation will be used to emphasize the meetings are important rather than just gathering together. -
TheWonderofYou
"do whatever you can and as much as you can under the circumstance"
'As honest and law-abiding citizens what whould they have done immediatly in 2016 after the new anti-terror law in Russia entered into force?
They would have stopped acting against the law, as already mentioned in previous postingst! They would have realized that this state wants to proctect citziens from any danger of terrorism and would have been therefore the first honest and law-abiding people to support the Yarovaja Law, and this exemplarily.
They would have stopped religious evangelization going from house to house and meetings and would have so shown that they dont want to fight against the Russian church or defame it even if they knew that the orthodox church supported the law because it didnt want a foreign funding, because itself doesnt receive a foreign funding or because fundings may be misused by illegal dangerous cults and terrorists. So any financial transactions from abroad would have been stopped immediatley, and no literature with theocratic ministry phantasm would be handed out.
Instead of being honest and law-abiding they fight the law and rouse the internal community against the anti-terror law and instead of being an example of obidience in quick obidience and so helping all the other evangelizing churches they attract attention to evil methods and many complicated marginal dogmas like the theocratic ministry and denial of obidience to the state by propaganda in 2016 on the convention with a video about bunkers and awaitable persecution for meeting after a state forbids to meet.
They waited for the court and that was to less. I dont expect any decision of the european court of justice or human rights would that would be made in some years would impress the Russians. Dont the Britains not also disrespect the Europan Court of Justice already? Russians will certanly not pay compensation like the austrian goverment payed out to JW after the complaint at the European Court of Justice.
Anyway, So they bring much harm with their head-in-the-sand policy and their disobidience to the state.
They are not doing whatever they can and are not obdidient under these circumstances, themselves.
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snowbird
Publications studied in the past ... then the Bible ...
We see which is more important, don't we?
What about the Scripture that says when they persecute you in one place, flee to another?
Sylvia
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Drearyweather
Russia is not fighting terrorism or extremism, but just propelling itself into becoming an authoritarian government. No wonder, the US state department official commented:
“The United States is extremely concerned by the Russian government’s actions targeting and repressing members of religious minorities, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, under the pretense of combating extremism.”
http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-ban-russia-religion-590350
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EdenOne
The ban in Russia is a god send for the WT leadership because it totally diverts the unwanted attention of the flock to the ARC and allows them to play on a familiar territory: play the persecution card, act victim-like, display martyrs. And then they will bundle the ARC conclusions with the Russian ban as if they were all part of persecution from satan-controlled authorities and claim the end is near .... what else is new in this strategy?
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OrphanCrow
wonder: Instead of being honest and law-abiding they fight the law and rouse the internal community against the anti-terror law and instead of being an example of obidience in quick obidience and so helping all the other evangelizing churches they attract attention to evil methods and many complicated marginal dogmas like the theocratic ministry and denial of obidience to the state by propaganda
Yes, this is what the WTS had the Russian JWs do in 2010:
The WTS launched that tract campaign in Russia immediately following the Tanarog court decision that declared the congregations in that area to be 'extremist'.
By judgment of 11 September 2009, the Rostov Regional Court granted the prosecutor’s claim, ordering the liquidation of the Taganrog LRO as an extremist organisation and the banning of its activities.
On December 8, 2009, the Tanarog congregation lost its appeal.
The WTS printed the tract in 2009. It was their response to the unfavorable ruling in Tanarog. They actively distributed their propaganda, that contradicted everything that the Tanarog ruling addressed, in response to not wanting to obey the law. They disagreed with the Russian court so they openly and aggressively used a recruiting tool to attack the court's decision.
To read what happened in Tanarog - this gives the Statement of Facts and the court's rulings in Tanarog - you won't find that anywhere on the WTS tract but they had to submit it as part of their submission to the ECHR in 2014:
Application no. 32401/10. TAGANROG
That tract campaign happened in 2010. That was followed up with other religious/political activism projects like a letter writing campaign in 2014(5?). Each time the WTS has had the JWs mount one of their "religious" campaigns in response to not being happy with Russian laws and having court rulings go against them, the Russian authorities have responded with making the laws stricter. Coincidentally, the laws have tightened in exactly the areas that the JWs insist on making their religious/political message the most annoying that they can.
Spread religious propaganda around Russia that tries to recruit members at the same time as speaking out against the State? Response: no more evangelizing allowed. For everybody.
Flood Putin's office with emails and letters? Response: anti-spam attacks laws.
The WTS deliberately provokes and uses their "army" of "pacifist soldiers" to stir up dissension as retaliation for being told that they are lawbreakers. And the JWs have been trained to go from shiny faced smiling people to being masters of harassment on a moment's notice from headquarters.
The JWs are lawbreakers. That is their job. That is what they are trained to do.
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sparrowdown
Failure to attend JW meetings is NOT a disfellowshipping offense because it is NOT a bible law.
The verse talking about not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together is NOT talking about twenty first century JW meetings that's a shameless misuse of the scripture by WT. Even if (which it most definitely is not) it was talking about JW meetings it's a suggestion NOT a law. You cannot be disfellowshipped for NOT attending meetings. No elder can force you to attend.
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OrphanCrow
EdenOne: And then they will bundle the ARC conclusions with the Russian ban as if they were all part of persecution from satan-controlled authorities and claim the end is near .... what else is new in this strategy?
I am waiting to see if the WTS launches the Australian JWs into action to mount an attack on the Australian authorities for "spreading ugly lies and slander" about them.
Like they did in Russia when the courts ruled against them.
A tract campaign detailing the grievances against them and their protests to the ARC. Title it "Could It Happen Again? To the citizens of Australia" and then open it with the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses being banned in Australia during WW2.
Where is the letter writing campaign directed at Angus Stewart and Commissioner Peter McClellan? Or better yet, to the Queen of England, who set the terms of reference for the Royal Commission? They could write letters to Buckingham Palace, protesting their innocence, stressing their reputation for being law abiding, etc.
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zeb
for "spreading ugly lies and slander" .. well they will have to tell the r&f jw what lies and slander.