Posts by dothemath

7

Acquitted from sins?

by dothemath in

this is in reference to romans 6: 7.............often quoted from the platform- "for he who has died has been acquitted from his sin"

if the talk is regarding the future of people who have died, it's evident they will all (except those committing an unforgivable sin) have a second chance.

yet other talks emphasize the necessity of living in harmony with god's standards, and that they could be subject to a severe judgment..................eccl.

dothemath

This is in reference to Romans 6: 7.............often quoted from the platform- "for he who has died has been acquitted from his sin"

If the talk is regarding the future of people who have died, it's evident they will all (except those committing an unforgivable sin) have a second chance.

Yet other talks emphasize the necessity of living in harmony with God's standards, and that they could be subject to a severe judgment..................Eccl. 12: 14- "for the true God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad".

Depending on the talk's theme.........either one approach or the other is used to support the view of the speaker.

I was wondering if anyone familiar with other religions has any thoughts or explanations to their view of these scriptures.

1

District Convention

by dothemath in

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does anyone have information about what's being released this year?

i always like to have a little advance knowledge.. or any other interesting facts about the program.. from the title "godly obedience".......i'm assuming it's all about obeying the society, with warnings every 1/2 hour about apostates, etc.

dothemath

Does anyone have information about what's being released this year? I always like to have a little advance knowledge.

Or any other interesting facts about the program.

From the title "Godly obedience".......I'm assuming it's all about obeying the Society, with warnings every 1/2 hour about apostates, etc.

29

#2 Talks

by dothemath in

brothers assigned #2 talks have no work to do at all as far as i can see.

if you're even a moderately good reader, you could look over it for about 2 minutes ahead of time.. when someone doesn't show up for the reading, and another brother fills in "short notice", there really isn't any noticeable change in the talk, or how it's read.

in other words, just about anyone could do it.. and then the counselor has to come up with terms about how well the brother read it.........etc., etc., etc.. the commendation is pretty much identical every week for this part.. the sisters have to do extensive research on their parts, but the younger brothers who don't do the #4 assignments have got it very easy..........for most, it's about a 5 min.

dothemath

My attitude's all wrong?...........all I see is that a lot more could be accomplished than just a dry reading from the stage.

When brothers had to include an introduction and conclusion, then they had to think about what they were reading, and would benefit from it a lot more.

They want people to do more personal study, yet this doesn't require any at all.

90

How many of you are still in?

by IP_SEC in

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i just thought i'td be neet to get a poll of how many people on this board are still meeting attending, time reporting publishers, who believe the wts is all crap?.

dothemath

I still attend.......though not as often. It would disrupt the family too much to change things at present.

I'm no longer one of the elders, at least............that was just a matter of time as my attitude has changed so much, and it was obviously evident from the platform, in one way or another. (guess I shouldn't go into too much detail on that right now)

There are things I agree with, as far as the Bible goes, but it's impossible to have the same old zeal when there are so many things I find totally outrageous.

55

Did You Ever Think The "End" Was Going To Happen In Your Lifetime"?

by minimus in

jw
friends

although i was considered an exemplary jw, i never really could see it happening.

still don't.

dothemath

I know of several brothers who openly criticized others for putting money into RRSP's...........(retirement savings- Canada). This was even mentioned in comments from the platform on one occasion.

Some would say...........why bother with that?.......the end will be here long before you retire, what a waste?

Of course now, the ones who did invest their money this way are far better off then the ones who denounced them for saving for retirement.

29

#2 Talks

by dothemath in

brothers assigned #2 talks have no work to do at all as far as i can see.

if you're even a moderately good reader, you could look over it for about 2 minutes ahead of time.. when someone doesn't show up for the reading, and another brother fills in "short notice", there really isn't any noticeable change in the talk, or how it's read.

in other words, just about anyone could do it.. and then the counselor has to come up with terms about how well the brother read it.........etc., etc., etc.. the commendation is pretty much identical every week for this part.. the sisters have to do extensive research on their parts, but the younger brothers who don't do the #4 assignments have got it very easy..........for most, it's about a 5 min.

dothemath

Brothers assigned #2 talks have no work to do at all as far as I can see. If you're even a moderately good reader, you could look over it for about 2 minutes ahead of time.

When someone doesn't show up for the reading, and another brother fills in "short notice", there really isn't any noticeable change in the talk, or how it's read. In other words, just about anyone could do it.

And then the counselor has to come up with terms about how well the brother read it.........etc., etc., etc.

The commendation is pretty much identical every week for this part.

The sisters have to do extensive research on their parts, but the younger brothers who don't do the #4 assignments have got it very easy..........for most, it's about a 5 min. preparation time.

Is this how it's going in your cong.?

46

KM article -tip minimum 15%

by stillajwexelder in

we got a command at the service meeting tonight - the km article on the summer district conventions said if we are dining out we really should tip 15-20% minmum -this was repeated twice = good to know the witnesses are getting less tight

dothemath

So should you tip 15% of the bill before tax is added on, or after?

If you go by the total bill (tax included) you're adding a tip on for the gst (in Canada anyway).

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

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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.