Mephis

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Posts by Mephis

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  13

  “The Jesus-followers’ first 200 years”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the archaeologist digs and then sifts through remnants from the past, assembling the discoveries into patterns so that stories of the past may be brought back to life.. with almost 850 direct quotations from 50 books, my study sifts remnants from the first 200 years of christianity and sorts them into patterns that may help others to assemble a vessel that can hold ideas, or to form a skeleton where muscle and flesh, heart and mind, may be applied.

  a comprehensive contents listing is provided at the rear of this study.. my study, “the jesus-followers’ first 200 years” is available at:.

  http://www.jwstudies.com/the_jesus-followers__first_200_years.pdf .

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  Mephis

  As ever, a very useful starting place for people wanting to get into the scholarship of a subject.
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  15

  The UK WTS companies' accounts documents for 2015 are currently available to download and here's information plus links

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the uk wts companies' documents for 2015 are currently free to download from the uk government's companies house website.

  the person who sent me this information said that it appears they are testing a new form of the website, so access to documents may in the future revert to a pay per file system.

  therefore, he advises getting copies of documents as soon as possible, as he doesn’t know when the testing phase will finish.

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  Mephis

  Provision of serviced facilities is an internal book keeping charge for the use of the bethel in London and costs of having bethelites etc. The accounts are (independently) audited. It would be fraudulent to 'hide' court costs. Having a pet QC and legal staff may well be covered under serviced facilities but the costs of those will be pretty similar every year regardless of litigation. Actual legal fees will almost inevitably end up under 'exceptional items' in the accounting year they go out - which will be the year ending August 2016, or possibly even August 2017 depending on when they are forced to pay up.

  On general financial state, they've doubled their reserves to £40m which they estimate will allow them to run for a year without any further donations coming in. So they're not broke in Britain. But they do seem to be shifting money around Europe again (see 'grants' increase to £15m) which easily explains at least half of the increase of money going in to British branch.
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  15

  The UK WTS companies' accounts documents for 2015 are currently available to download and here's information plus links

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the uk wts companies' documents for 2015 are currently free to download from the uk government's companies house website.

  the person who sent me this information said that it appears they are testing a new form of the website, so access to documents may in the future revert to a pay per file system.

  therefore, he advises getting copies of documents as soon as possible, as he doesn’t know when the testing phase will finish.

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  Mephis

  The system in the UK would mean that only Companies House (ie the government) would know who has requested something. It's asking for a pdf file to be sent to an e-mail address in return for an online payment - should they go that route.
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  15

  The UK WTS companies' accounts documents for 2015 are currently available to download and here's information plus links

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the uk wts companies' documents for 2015 are currently free to download from the uk government's companies house website.

  the person who sent me this information said that it appears they are testing a new form of the website, so access to documents may in the future revert to a pay per file system.

  therefore, he advises getting copies of documents as soon as possible, as he doesn’t know when the testing phase will finish.

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  Mephis

  It would typically be under exceptional items, but their own costs will be fairly minimal for litigation (Bethel QC and legal team) so the recent British court cases, where costs and/or restitution to others were involved, won't appear in accounts which only cover until August 2015.

  I enjoyed the fiction that their inhouse legal staff told them to fight the Charity Commission's inquiry. Tails don't wag dogs.
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  I heard that Watchtower get Government funding

  by Mozzie in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  being a recognized religion here in australia i heard they get government funding.....if this is true, i don;t see why as they seem to do okay funding themselves .

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  Mephis

  There are also tax exemptions and rebates, which is a form of government subsidy for religions dating back to the assumption that religions do something of benefit for the societies they operate within. You'd have to check the specifics in Australia for those, but in the UK even something as simple as property taxes not needing to be paid every year will save them a lot of money.
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  13

  Another Egyptian relic discovered at Hazor, northern Israel

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  it doesn't look significant, but it is - the jerusalem post reports:.

  the finding – coupled with a sphinx fragment of the egyptian king mycerinus (who ruled egypt in the 25th century bce), discovered at the site by the research team three years ago – are the only monumental egyptian statues found so far in second millennium contexts in the entire levant.the discovery of these two statues in the same building currently being excavated by the research team indicates the special importance of the building, which was likely the administrative palace of the ruler of the city, as well as that of the entire city of hazor.shlomit bechar, a doctoral student at the institute of archaeology, who has been excavating at hazor for a decade, is the dig’s co-director, and oversees the main excavation area.during the course of nearly 30 years of excavations, fragments of 18 different egyptian statues – both royal and private – dedicated to egyptian kings and officials, including two sphinxes, were discovered at hazor.“most of these statues were found in layers dated to the late bronze age (15th-13th centuries bce), corresponding to the new kingdom in egypt,” said ben-tor.“this is the largest number of egyptian statues found so far in any site in the land of israel, although there is no indication that hazor was one of the egyptian strongholds in southern canaan, nor of the presence of an egyptian official at hazor during the late bronze age.”ben-tor added that most egyptian statues found at hazor date to egypt’s “middle kingdom” (19th-18th centuries bce), a time when hazor did not yet exist.“it thus seems that the statues were sent by an egyptian king in the ‘new kingdom’ as official gifts to the king of hazor, or as dedications to a local temple, regardless of their already being ‘antiques,’” he said.“this is not surprising, considering the special status of the king of hazor, who was the most important king in southern canaan at the time.

  the extraordinary importance of hazor in the 15th-13th centuries bce is indicated also by the biblical reference to hazor as ‘the head of all those kingdoms’ (joshua 11:10).”all the statues at the site were found broken into pieces and scattered over a large area, he noted.“clear signs of mutilation indicate that most of them were deliberately and violently smashed, most probably in the course of the city’s final conquest and destruction sometime in the 13th century b.c.e,” said ben-tor.“the deliberate mutilation of statues of kings and dignitaries accompanying the conquest of towns is a well-known practice in ancient times (i samuel 5:1-4; isaiah 11:9), as well as in our time.”the hazor excavations, which began in the mid-1950s under the direction of the late professor yigael yadin, are carried out on behalf of hu.

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  Mephis

  But is it really a 'way-out idea?

  Not in the slightest. I think the first step is to treat the OId Testament on its own merits, as a product of writers writing within a particular culture which has been influenced by other cultures. The influence of Egypt upon Canaan and then later the Israelites could well account for the Exodus story. Less a literal history and more a mythologised origin from within the Egyptian hegemony over Canaanite city states. The Amorites as the Hyksos works so far as one starts from the point that the Israelites are a much, much later development from peoples already resident in Canaan. (I think that's Finkelstein's position still?)

  
  
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  14

  Volunteer workers pushed to renounce to their social rights

  by sp74bb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  surprisingly in spain, a large quantity of bethel volunteers (nice to words to say workers) have received their letter telling they are not anymore required.

  in this country, government obliged bethel to give social rights such as basic social security (doctors, etc..) to the volunteers as they understand that it is a business relationship.. all of them have been pushed to sign a letter stating they renounce to their work and then go outside bethel with not a single right (unemployment, etc...).

  it is really unfortunately but silly from bethel office to arrange it this way.

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  Mephis

  That's really sad that they've all felt obliged to just suck up whatever the GB told them. Not surprising, but very sad all the same.
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  13

  Another Egyptian relic discovered at Hazor, northern Israel

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  it doesn't look significant, but it is - the jerusalem post reports:.

  the finding – coupled with a sphinx fragment of the egyptian king mycerinus (who ruled egypt in the 25th century bce), discovered at the site by the research team three years ago – are the only monumental egyptian statues found so far in second millennium contexts in the entire levant.the discovery of these two statues in the same building currently being excavated by the research team indicates the special importance of the building, which was likely the administrative palace of the ruler of the city, as well as that of the entire city of hazor.shlomit bechar, a doctoral student at the institute of archaeology, who has been excavating at hazor for a decade, is the dig’s co-director, and oversees the main excavation area.during the course of nearly 30 years of excavations, fragments of 18 different egyptian statues – both royal and private – dedicated to egyptian kings and officials, including two sphinxes, were discovered at hazor.“most of these statues were found in layers dated to the late bronze age (15th-13th centuries bce), corresponding to the new kingdom in egypt,” said ben-tor.“this is the largest number of egyptian statues found so far in any site in the land of israel, although there is no indication that hazor was one of the egyptian strongholds in southern canaan, nor of the presence of an egyptian official at hazor during the late bronze age.”ben-tor added that most egyptian statues found at hazor date to egypt’s “middle kingdom” (19th-18th centuries bce), a time when hazor did not yet exist.“it thus seems that the statues were sent by an egyptian king in the ‘new kingdom’ as official gifts to the king of hazor, or as dedications to a local temple, regardless of their already being ‘antiques,’” he said.“this is not surprising, considering the special status of the king of hazor, who was the most important king in southern canaan at the time.

  the extraordinary importance of hazor in the 15th-13th centuries bce is indicated also by the biblical reference to hazor as ‘the head of all those kingdoms’ (joshua 11:10).”all the statues at the site were found broken into pieces and scattered over a large area, he noted.“clear signs of mutilation indicate that most of them were deliberately and violently smashed, most probably in the course of the city’s final conquest and destruction sometime in the 13th century b.c.e,” said ben-tor.“the deliberate mutilation of statues of kings and dignitaries accompanying the conquest of towns is a well-known practice in ancient times (i samuel 5:1-4; isaiah 11:9), as well as in our time.”the hazor excavations, which began in the mid-1950s under the direction of the late professor yigael yadin, are carried out on behalf of hu.

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  Mephis

  Hazor is interesting. The best dating evidence for its final destruction they've found so far, so far as I know, are the remains of an Egyptian table for offerings found beneath the burned destruction layer. The fragments are dated to around 1240 BC (third decade of Rameses II or a bit later) which would mean a final destruction of the city sometime after that. Hazor's often used as the few pieces of evidence which could support a historical conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, but the chronology seems decades out at best.

  To continue the Egyptian influence theme, the Song of Solomon and Proverbs are both considered by modern scholarship to have very strong links to Egyptian literature genres. 'Solomon' as the wisest king of Israel, but doling out Egyptian advice is a fun thought to play with.
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  10

  charities commission in the UK

  by zeb in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i am writing to ask for your help in progressing our inquiries into the watch tower bible and tract society of britain.

  as you may already know, our work is divided into two parts.

  one is an inquiry into the charity’s policy and practices on safeguarding children and adults who are vulnerable.

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  Mephis

  That they're formally looking at domestic abuse and shunning is huge.

  
  
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  41

  Latest UPDATE UK Charity Commission investigation

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  good afternoon,.

  i am writing to give you a quick update about our ongoing statutory inquiries into safeguarding and charities linked to jehovah’s witnesses.. as you may know, one of our inquiries is into watch tower bible and tract society of britain.

  we opened this inquiry in 2014. watch tower then initiated what turned out to be protracted litigation against us.

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  Mephis

  Signing up to the European Convention on Human Rights is not linked to EU membership. So Britain would have to leave the convention too, which is also very possible.

  European law doesn't defend them here really, it's just an extra court they can appeal to and delay things a bit more.