2024-08-August-Edition-of-Watchtower!

by Atlantis 51 Replies latest jw friends

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  FragrantAddendum

  So it's more decoding of the secret code. Elders don't mark people any more (probably because doing that leaves a trail leading to Bethel, is against various privacy laws and could lead to lawsuits).

  WT is at its heart a lover of control and is not going to relax that control in any meaningful manner. So the new "arrangement" is to have the R&F do the marking. How exactly do they decide to do that? Is there a congregational meeting where the congregation meets to discuss the matter as set out in Matthew 18?

  I'm hazarding a guess that the answer is no. That the elders still decide on marking and somehow communicate their will in a way that doesn't leave a paper trail that is usable in court.

  Try to pretend that marking happens spontaneously at the congregation level and has nothing to do with the GB, or their servants, the elders. 🙄😑
  

  The good old boys club, their wives, the gossip mill, the cliques, and the elite have always marked people.
  

  
  
• 

  FedUpJW

  Are there any legal consequences if the Borg continue to use the old term?

  I would think there would be.
  

  Judicial: adjective 1: of or relating to a judgement, the function of judging, the administration of justice
  
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  NotFormer

  "Judicial" catches them red-handed, taking the law into their own hands. Especially when they make in-house decisions on criminal matters, namely CSA cases.

  But the other aspect is that it describes a parallel legal system that punishes people for "crimes" that are often seen as innocuous by governments.

  Committee of Elders doesn't sound any kinder to my ear, but if they tried something different like "Committee of Investigation" or something similar, it would still have that fake legal ring to it.

  Of course, they could drop the pretense of being God's police and simply have a chat with someone who stumbles and ask them to try not to do it again.

  But the ones at the top love having a say in the minutiae of the day to day lives of the congregants. This is the system created by Rutherford, Knorr and weaponised by Jaracz. It's a bed that the current GB have to lie in.

  You'll note that their instinct is not to wind back the harsh system, it is to disguise it and try to hide it from the eyes of prying governments.
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  FragrantAddendum

  ...and it goes back even further than rutherford...

  ...in russell's time...

  
  

  ...and in the time of the first century apostate so-called "apostolic fathers"...

  

  for centuries gb-style apostates have twisted the scriptures in an antichrist way in order to establish "kingdoms" now that are in opposition to what christ taught

  "one is your leader, the christ, whereas you are all brothers"

  it's cool to see all those fake kingdoms now being dissolved
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  Jeffro

  Some aspects of these changes such as ‘no longer using the term disfellowshipping’ might appear significant, but are just ‘smoke and mirrors’. Changing the terminology is essentially meaningless, and the term ‘disfellowshipped’ has not been included in announcements since the 1990s. Congregation members already aren’t informed whether a person is being shunned due to ‘disfellowshipping’ or ‘disassociation’, nor are they told what the person is supposed to have done.
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  BluesBrother

  Thank you Atlantis… you are priceless !

  So they are reverting to the way it used to be with marking. It is now a personal thing if you become aware of their unchristian habits… Just imagine saying that , “ We are all meeting up in the park for a picnic , everyone is invited.. Except for you Bro ….. “

  Do you think that will motivate him to draw closer to the congregation?
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  Jeffro

  Me, earlier:

  Some aspects of these changes such as ‘no longer using the term disfellowshipping’ might appear significant

  The machine-translated article that was made available actually says the term "outcast" will not be used anymore, and some reviewers have taken that as referring to the term "disfellowshipped" (and it was with those in mind that I said the above). However, it may actually indicate some other term, e.g. "expelled", that won't be used anymore. In any case, it makes no difference to the intentionally vague announcement that "[name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses".

  The policy continues to employ emotional manipulation (actually more so) to retain members, and also continues the practice of shunning any who reject JW beliefs in favour of some other religion or no religion. I'm hopeful that governments such as that of Norway will see these paltry changes for the bait-and-switch that they are.
  
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  Saroj

  They want to bring back as many POMI as possible. There are so many. In the last 10 years, 2.5 million people have been baptized but the growth has been 750,000. Even if we calculate 30% of the deaths, in the last 10 years alone there have been over 800,000 disfellowshipped and inactive people. But there are many more because some have been there for 20 or 30 years. Very few new disciples are made, especially in Europe and North America. In the coming years there will also be a slowdown in Asia and Africa. The only hope for growth is the return of the POMI. This could lead to a decline in quality: many of these leave because they have problems. Congregations will weaken. It will get worse and worse for WT.
  
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  slimboyfat

  Not been following this. So, have they accepted gay marriage yet?
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  JW GoneBad

  Really...in WT world scheming to end a marriage is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses top 3 worse sins next to CSA & Apostasy? I know CSA cases & related concerns are very problematic among Jehovah’s Witnesses and the ex-JW community (aka Apostasy) is growing by leaps & bounds. But was it that necessary to specify 'Scheming To End A Marriage' among the top 3 disfellowshipping offenses unless it's really an epidemic among Jehovah’s Witnesses?

  This is how I would summarize the 2024 August Watchtower Study Edition:

  If you're a current JW...not only should you keep a close watch for pedophiles in your congregations...but there must a great deal of JWs who are on the fence...questioning and having serious doubts about their belief system. And if you're a current married JW how intact is your marriage?

  Wow...just Wow!