by Atlantis 104 Replies latest jw friends
wisdomfrombelow:
Delivered!
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Biahi:
Delivered!
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DesirousOfChange:
Delivered!
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pette:
Delivered!
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resolute Bandicoot:
Delivered!
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JWpomo:
Delivered:
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KiwiBoy:
Delivered!
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neat blue dog:
Delivered!
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Beth Sarim:
Thank you for your comments!
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Petra! Let me know if I missed anyone!
Petra please send me a pm. Thank you!
I would gladly share a cup of coffee over these files in the breakroom. Thank you for what you do.
How authentic is this.. Looks like a total shift in understanding of what it means to belong to a congregation.
Nitty-Gritty:
Delivered!
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dubstepped:
Delivered! And say hello to your beautiful wife and family! ( Tell her I have tons of recipes she is welcome to. )
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Petra!
Please send me :)
Jozue:
Delivered!
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Petra!
I'm not a lawyer but either there are some additional documents that attach to the Articles of Association of they are pretty useless.
For instance in establishing who can be Authorized Representatives they state that they are members serving as duly appointed Elders, also known as the Congregation Service Committee. However, the Articles do not establish how these Elders are appointed in the first place and by whom. The Congregation members could choose to vote in whoever they wanted if the majority were in agreement.
Who is a member of the Congregation is interesting. The Articles state -
The members of the Congregation shall be individuals who are fully dedicated to Almighty God, Jehovah, baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, are completely in harmony with the doctrines and organizational arrangements set forth by the Governing Body and report ministerial activity to the Congregation. Anyone meeting these requirements who is at least 18 years of age shall be a designated voting member of the Congregation.
Any member who moves from the congregation or is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses shall be automatically removed from membership within the congregation without need for resignation.
The Articles do not set out who this Governing Body is, so it could not be determined if they are in harmony with it or not. It also states that individuals must be fully dedicated to God, this is very vague as it doesn't establish what being fully dedicated requires and although most JWs are dedicated,being fully dedicated is probably not something anyone could do since there is so many other things going on in their lives.
Normally a membership would require the acceptance of an individual or an application. There is no room for this in the Articles. Just because an individual may meet these requirements does not automatically make them a member, otherwise we could all be members of secret societies and not know it.
It states that anyone moving from the Congregation will automatically be deleted as a member. Funny about that but within the Articles, the Congregation is given a physical address. No one lives there so how can they move away from the Congregation. The Articles don't even give a defined area in which members must live.
It doesn't even say whose job it is to determine whether any individual meets all these requirements or not, as to whether they are a congregation member or not. As it is written, no one qualifies, making any voting void. You can't count the votes of anyone who doesn't qualify.
They are actually making reference to two different and seperate memberships. One as a member of the congregation and one as a Jehovah's Witness. The Articles make it clear that to be a member of the Congregation, you must, amongst other requirements, be baptized as a JW. It is an interesting phrase to use and completely unbiblical because baptism in the Bible is to make a public declaration that you are dedicating yourself to God, not that you are part of any religious movement or even God's 'earthly organization' as they like to put it.
These are just a few observations and i would appreciate itif anyone could clarify as there seems to be a lot missing for these Articles to b of any effect.
Listener:
they are pretty useless
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We did our best to get them for you, but if they are useless, then we are very sorry.
Petra!
I hope someone can explain this... Is it worldwide?
Thx petra
Ic
