Posts by dothemath

32

Will married partners reunite at resurrection? And what does that imply.

by cyborgVision in

hi everybody, since this is my first post i hope everyone is going to be kind to me :) .

one thing that kind of bothers me, and i?ve seen it bothering many honest jws (yes there are such ones) is whether they should remarry after their mate dies.

it is the issue that, in my experience, many do not even dare to confront, at least from older generation.

dothemath

It's pretty clear from Jesus' words that married people who die "are neither married nor given in marriage".............

Yet I've heard on more than a few occasions elders referring to the scripture in Psalms.......about "satisfying the desire of every living thing", and using this to imply they could look forward to being reunited with their mate.

This was even presented at a district convention, where the elder was being interviewed on the platform, as he had lost his wife some months before.

With the strict rules on what is presented from the platform adhering to scriptural guidelines, I was very surprised they allowed that.

10

Is this the same approach used by the Pharisees?

by dothemath in

.

john wrote that many put faith in jesus, but because of being afraid of getting expelled from the synagogue, they wouldn't confess him.. john 12: 42. it was a powerful weapon back then, and it's still used today.

even when some want to stop being a witness, they're lumped in with ones who are unrepentant sinners, and expelled from the congregation.. wouldn't the pharisees be proud of many of the things done in the organization today?.

dothemath

John wrote that many put faith in Jesus, but because of being afraid of getting expelled from the synagogue, they wouldn't confess him.

John 12: 42

It was a powerful weapon back then, and it's still used today. Even when some want to stop being a Witness, they're lumped in with ones who are unrepentant sinners, and expelled from the congregation.

Wouldn't the Pharisees be proud of many of the things done in the organization today?

14

How many Witnesses will there be in 20 years?

by dothemath in

jw
friends

we've often had the scripture "the little one will become a thousand, small one a mighty nation" applied to the modern-day organization...........often represented as an amazing fulfillment of bible prophecy.. actually anything with a growth rate will increase exponentially in time.

(it's easy to figure out with natural logarithms).

looking back at some previous years, there was some exceptional growth, resulting in large increases every ten years or less.

dothemath

We've often had the scripture "the little one will become a thousand, small one a mighty nation" applied to the modern-day organization...........often represented as an amazing fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Actually anything with a growth rate will increase exponentially in time. (It's easy to figure out with natural logarithms)

Looking back at some previous years, there was some exceptional growth, resulting in large increases every ten years or less.

Example- with a growth rate of 10% per year the total would double in about 7 years...(log 2/ .10 = .693)

With the current rate of 2% , the number of Witnesses worldwide will be doubled in (log 2/ .02= 34.65) almost 35 years.

Years ago there were some amazing rates achieved (ex. over 13% in 1975), but I doubt that will happen again.

Looking ahead, if the growth rate remains approx. the same, there should be in 20 years roughly ..........

6,500,000 * (1+.02/1)20 = 6,500,000 * 1.48 = 9,620,000

Of course, only time will tell what will happen..........if trends continue there could very well be negative growth in a few years, like what is happening in many countries, and maybe the 7,000,000 mark will never be achieved.

52

My Elder Friend Got Announced As Being Deleted.....

by minimus in

jw
friends

for going to my kid's wedding.

he was told he was not "serious", had no "self-control" and "did not work well with the body".

dothemath

I was finally deleted as an elder some time ago............it's actually been great.

So many things I didn't agree with, so it was only a matter of time.

I'm sure the Pharisees would be proud of all the rules JW's live by today.

47

FOND FAREWELL TO THE BI-MONTHLY AWAKE!

by steve2 in

jw
friends

with the jw congregations about to be informed that the ubiquitous awake!

magazine is to be issued just once a month from january 2006, now is an apt time for interested parties to share brief memories and/or impressions about the bi-monthly awake!

magazines, whether poignant, hard-hitting or humorous.

dothemath

I think (if this is true), there must be a huge money problem with the whole organization.

As far as missing the Awake....sure some of the articles were interesting.......but a lot of them were totally useless.

There was one whole article devoted on how to tie your tie properly.........many subjects were totally rediculous to be showing to people at their door.

I'll be interested to see this March KM if all these rumours are true.

10

Funerals

by dothemath in

last year, a faithful sister passed away in a neighboring cong.

she did have some disfellowshipped relatives............i guess everyone assumed they wouldn't show up.

but they did (which they certainly have every right to do).........and it seemed it caused quite a stir.. one elder, who stayed to visit the family, ended up having to apologize to the entire congregation.

dothemath

Last year, a faithful sister passed away in a neighboring cong.

She did have some disfellowshipped relatives............I guess everyone assumed they wouldn't show up. But they did (which they certainly have every right to do).........and it seemed it caused quite a stir.

One elder, who stayed to visit the family, ended up having to apologize to the entire congregation. (Despite not having "said a greeting", or "eating" specifically with the disfellowshipped relative.)

It makes me think of Jesus words to the Pharisees..........."1/10 of mint, etc..........yet forgot about justice and mercy and faithfulness". (Matt. 23: 23,24) I suppose this kind of thing happens rather often.

15

Watchtower Television Advertisement

by The Thinker in

jw
friends

we had the c/o meeting this week and he confirmed on the platform that the watchtower is "experimenting" with television add's in the usa.

he also said that they are on 'community' television and are free.

anyone ever seen them?

dothemath

We've had some ads up in Canada.............I get a laugh about ones showing a husband and wife strolling along a beach around sunset, or some families playing in the park, etc.

In our congregation those things never happen..........everyone's way too busy with "spiritual things".......so the ads seem very misleading.

19

"Obesity Awake- Nov. 8, 2004"

by dothemath in

jw
friends

i've heard many comments about cong.

members won't be presenting this mag..........it's a touchy subject, not to mention the advice in the awake isn't any different than advice from dr. phil, oprah, etc... etc........... one interesting obversation- at the end of the article it doens't say to just "wait on god's kingdom".........this is how the very last paragraph goes.......... "where there's a will, there's a way.

do you have the motivation to do something about it?

dothemath

I've heard many comments about cong. members won't be presenting this mag..........it's a touchy subject, not to mention the advice in the awake isn't any different than advice from Dr. Phil, Oprah, etc... etc..........

One interesting obversation- at the end of the article it doens't say to just "wait on God's Kingdom".........this is how the very last paragraph goes.........

"where there's a will, there's a way. Do you have the motivation to do something about it? As an overweight child or overweight adult, what are your choices? Lose wight of possibly lose years of life. Adopt an active life-style, and feel the satisfaction of accomplishment- even in small things, such as smaller sizes in your clothing!" (exclamation point in magazine also)

Years ago, people with health problems weren't encouraged to get them taken care of.......just had to wait for the "new system".

4

Studying the new "Keep on the Watch!" brochure - Dates but no dates (p14)

by ozziepost in

"if you knew for sure that the impending execution of divine judgment would not come for a few more years, would that change how you are using your life?

if the end of this old system is already later than you expected, have you allowed this to slow you down in jehovah's service?

" - page 14 .

dothemath

For any problem in the world, the answer is always God's Kingdom. That's a great long-term view, but many people could use help in the here-and-now. I feel the organization has become like the Pharisees- lots of rigid rules, yet "have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness...." (Matt. 23: 23,24)

We're actually discouraged from giving to worthy charitable groups............but that doesn't change the fact it is a very Christian thing to do.........

Many people in ancient time served God admirably, even though they knew the end was far off..........it says a lot about witnesses that they always need to be thinking it's very near, or their spirituality goes down the drain.

45

crucifixation or upright stake

by cakes in

hi everyone, i'm new :) i know jesus died on an upright stake and not a cross but i don't know where to find the info on where or when the idea of the crucifixation orginated from.

can someone help me on this please?

thanks in advanced :)

dothemath

In the Theocratic School this year, many of the talks were based on the "Reasoning" Book. When it came to the chapter on the Cross...........I don't recall those paragraphs being covered in any talk.

I'm of the opinion the Society has been wrong on this one for decades, and won't admit to it. They just want people to forget about these little details.

I would feel very foolish now to try and bring this up to anyone in the ministry...........the Bible itself gives more evidence towards the traditional view. (Ex. -sign above his head, not hands.............nails, not one nail in his hands, etc.)