Posts by darkspilver

33

Jesus Knows the Day & Hour Now?

by KillerJones in

i was skimming the july 2016 wt study article and came across a paragraph indicating that, despite scriptural evidence, the governing body indeed feels that god's son now knows the exact day and hour of armageddon.

is this 'new light'?

from the second study article, page 14, pgh 4:.

darkspilver

Well done to KillerJones for probably reading the WT better than most peeps, but...

QFR 1 August 1996

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

12

How to shake up Jdubs...

by Rather Be the Hammer in

i didn't attend the meeting last night, but my in husband came home and was quite shocked because there was a letter announcing that there will be no wt-library cd-rom any more, and..... no more calendar.. he said there was a lot of talking and noise when that was announced.. i didn't expect the calender to go, by the way.

and my husband sounded really concerned, talking about how society is cutting down.

i love it when he says with a tone of surprise in his voice: 'you were right, now they want us to do everyting digital, and throw out the printed stuff.

darkspilver

Rather Be the Hammer 7 hours ago
i didn't attend the meeting last night, but my IN husband came home and was quite shocked because there was a letter announcing that there will be no WT-library cd-rom any more, and....

I'm calling you out on this....

Think your husband is shaking YOU up .... haha

Yeah, he trolled you good

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

14

The more things change, the more they stay the same

by OutsiderLookingIn in

oldskool wrote on another post that "the 'truth' is an experience, and the 'beliefs' are designed to get you to behave as a member of the experience.

" i've read a lot here about the many changes to the wtbts in recent years.

but this got me thinking about the practices or, for the most part, non-practices that make someone a jw.

darkspilver

No wind chimes?! I did not get that memo; very much enjoy and have them, as do a couple of JW families I know.

From the 1981 Watchtower 1 June:

Questions From Readers

● Would it be wrong for a Christian to use wind chimes in his or her home?

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

5

Church of Christ, Scientist

by lrkr in

we were in boston this weekend and stayed at a hotel in the back bay, close to the hq of the church of christ, scientist.

these guys have an impressive cathedral and an hq setup that includes a "library for the betterment of mankind" as well as a walk in globe that represents the scope of their religion.

they have similar origins to jws- 19th century mysticism mixed with literal reading of the bible, heavy central control and "democratic" church structures.. but, for some reason, they really annoyed me.

darkspilver

Ahhh Mary Baker Eddy

The dilapadation of their HQ has started. Within 20 years some developer will buy it all and turn it into condos.

Why condos? In London it was converted into a relatively high-brow concert venue which, I might add, I've been too, and more than once.

http://www.cadoganhall.com

For those interested, below is the WT's take on Mary Baker Eddy from the 1st April 1964 Watchtower

The Inspiration Behind Christian Science

“When I was about eight years old, I repeatedly heard a voice, calling me distinctly by name . . . I thought this was my mother’s voice, and sometimes went to her, beseeching her to tell me what she wanted. Her answer was always, ‘Nothing, child! What do you mean?’ . . . One day, when my cousin, Mehitable Huntoon, was visiting us, and I sat in a little chair by her side, in the same room with grandmother,—the call again came, so loud that Mehitable heard it.”

Young Mary Baker continued to be susceptible to spirit influence, as Sibyl Wilbur notes in her church-approved biography: “Mary Baker’s spiritual experiences continued to be grave and unusual, as had been her ‘Voices.’” But in order to appreciate the nature of these experiences it is necessary to understand the circumstances at that time.

“There are people living who remember very distinctly the spiritism craze in Tilton, and who witnessed Mrs. Glover’s manifestations of mediumship. One elderly woman recalls a night spent with Mrs. Glover when her rest was constantly disturbed by the strange rappings and by Mary’s frequent announcements of the ‘appearance’ of different spirits as they came and went.”

“Mrs. Glover told us, as we were gathered there, that, because of her superior spiritual quality, and because of the purity of her life, she could only be controlled in the spirit world by one of the apostles and by Jesus Christ. When she went into the trance state and gave her communications to members of the circle, these communications were said by Mrs. Glover to come, through her as a medium, from the spirit of one of the apostles or of Jesus Christ.”

“Mrs. Patterson conceived and put into practise an admirable though harmless hoax. One day, as Mrs. Crosby has described it, while they sat together at opposite sides of a table in the big nursery, Mrs. Patterson suddenly leaned back in her chair, shivered from head to foot, closed her eyes, and began to talk in a deep, sepulchral voice. The voice purported to be Albert Baker’s [Mary’s deceased brother] . . . Mrs. Patterson expected Mrs. Crosby would shortly recognize the pretense and laugh with her over it. Not so. . . . [Therefore] Mrs. Patterson, with a gaiety which she has rarely indulged, continued the hoax. She pretended to go into another ‘trance’ the following day.”

“There is one simple subject to which we will allude; the current opinion that we must be a Spiritualist or medium . . . But we never were a Spiritualist; and never were, and never could be, and never admitted we were a medium. We have explained to the class calling themselves Spiritualists how their signs and wonders were wrought, and have illustrated by doing them; but at the same time have said, This is not the work of spirits and I am not a medium.”

“Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. . . . Man is spiritual and perfect . . . he must be so understood in Christian Science. . . . Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death. The real man cannot depart from holiness . . . In divine Science, God and the real man are inseparable as divine Principle.” “In reality man never dies.”

“To the five corporeal senses, man appears to be matter and mind united; but Christian Science reveals man as the idea of God, and declares the corporeal senses to be mortal and erring illusions. Divine Science shows it to be impossible that a material body, though interwoven with matter’s highest stratum, misnamed mind, should be man.”

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

18

JWs Letters Target Recently Bereaved

by steve2 in

current media attention in new zealand is focusing on the case of a woman whose male friend died three months.

she received a handwritten letter personally addressed to her and her deceased friend with a series of questions about what happens after death.

the woman was furious and, accompanied by news media, door-knocked the address provided by the letter writer.

darkspilver

I suppose the problem is the WT's use of scriptures such as Eccl 7:2

If you still have the WT Library cd-rom, just search for "obituary" and you'll find stuff like this:

Yeah, I suppose you could - but how many R&F wanting to expand their public ministry would seriously actually do that

No, much better off looking in the WT Index under 'Field Ministry'

This then directs you to the back page of the April 2008 Our Kingdom Ministry:

Comfort the Mourning Ones
1 Losing a loved one in death is a traumatic experience, especially for those who do not have the Kingdom hope. (1 Thess. 4:13) Many often wonder: ‘Why do people die? Where do they go? Will I ever see my loved one again?’ Below are some suggestions for giving comfort to those we meet in field service who are mourning the death of a relative or a friend.—Isa. 61:2.
2 From Door to Door: A householder may tell us that he just had a death in his family. Is he in emotional turmoil? Is the house filled with grieving relatives? In such cases, it may be best not to give an extended witness. (Eccl. 3:1, 7) Perhaps we can express our sympathy, give him an appropriate tract, magazine, or brochure, and excuse ourselves. Then we can return at a more suitable time to share further comfort from the Bible.
3 On other occasions, we may discern that more can be said on the initial call. Though this is not the time to refute wrong views, we may be able to read with them the Bible’s promises regarding the resurrection. (John 5:28, 29) Or we could share what the Bible says about the condition of the dead. (Eccl. 9:5, 10) A Biblical account of a resurrection may also provide comfort. (John 11:39-44) Another option would be to consider the words of hope in Jehovah expressed by faithful Job. (Job 14:14, 15) Before leaving, we may offer What Happens to Us When We Die?, When Someone You Love Dies, or another appropriate brochure or tract. Or we might leave the Bible Teach book, draw attention to the information in chapter 6, and arrange to discuss the subject further when we return.
4 On Other Occasions: If a funeral or memorial service is being held at the Kingdom Hall, will unbelievers be present? Literature that provides comfort could be made available for them. Some funeral homes have appreciated having some appropriate literature on hand for grieving families. At times, funeral notices appearing in the newspaper have opened the way for writing a brief comforting letter to bereaved family members. In one case, after receiving a letter that included some tracts, a widower and his daughter went to the publisher’s home and asked: “Are you the people that sent me this letter? Well, I want to know more about the Bible!” The man and his daughter agreed to a Bible study and began attending congregation meetings.
5 Ecclesiastes 7:2 says: “Better is it to go to the house of mourning than to go to the banquet house.” The mourner is usually in a better frame of mind for listening to God’s Word than the merrymaker. All of us should be alert to recognize appropriate opportunities to comfort those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

69

All 2016 Convention videos in English and all Talk outlines for download

by Watchtower-Free in

all convention videos in english and all talk outlines for download.

http://avoidjw.org/2016-regional-convention/

darkspilver

Virtually all JWs will say they are repentant. A more accurate statement would be this:
"If, however, a baptized Witness commits one of the 27 or so 'bad' acts listed in the JW elders manual and gets caught or confesses and is not able to convince 3 JW men that they are repentant, he or she will be shunned."

Haha, and that, of course, is what I call a politician's answer

Raven was questioning the actual act of 'shunning' and not the reasoning behind it.

Contrary to what Raven evidently wanted to imply, the WT is up front that it does shun former members who have, in their view, unrepentantly sinned in some way. The FAQ, as would be generally accepted for a FAQ, gives a fairly brief but fulsome answer without getting bogged down in all the intricacies of various situations etc.

Thus the bottom line is that the WT is clear that it will shun former members in certain situations.

Yes, you can take issue with what those 'certain situations' are, and if it's fair or even scripturally correct etc etc, but that doesn't change the principle of the act of shunning that the WT says it does do.

BTW, I'm just a messenger

DarK SpilveR

That's all folks!

69

All 2016 Convention videos in English and all Talk outlines for download

by Watchtower-Free in

all convention videos in english and all talk outlines for download.

http://avoidjw.org/2016-regional-convention/

darkspilver

The symposium talk is literally called "Shun unrepentant wrongdoers" ... Seriously? Blows my mind really, because on the other hand, if you type in disfellowshipping and or shunning into the JW.org site, it says we don't shun, but now there is a talk that point blank says shun? Emotional blackmail at its finest.. This one hit home for me as I will be announced as disfellowshipped here soon.

?

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/shunning/

states that:

"If, however, a baptized Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible’s moral code and does not repent, he or she will be shunned."

seems WT is fairly upfront on that side? The q though is what about purely 'inactive' ones.

That's all folks!

DarK SpilveR

12