Athanasius

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Posts by Athanasius

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  27

  The "Christian Greek Scriptures"

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  from 1950 to 2013, the watchtower and bible tract society has been releasing its new world translation of the scriptures.. my study considers the christian greek scriptures (new testament).. http://www.jwstudies.com/why_does_wts_accept_christendoms_scriptures.pdf.

  i have also provided the pictures that i created for the study.. http://www.jwstudies.com/pix_for_study_wts_accepts_scriptures.pdf.

  please accept the fact that i have no idea whether colours clash or if they match.

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  Athanasius

  Hi Doug,

  St. Athanasius died in 373 AD and was never an emperor, though he greatly influenced the ancient Church. No doubt you had Theodosius the Great in mind as he was the Roman emperor 379-395.
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  6

  I am looking for a page

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hi,.

  i am looking for a scan of: the interpreter's dictionary of the bible, edited by george a. buttrick, volume 1, page 166.. thanks,.

  doug.

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  Athanasius

  The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (Dictionary Editor, George Arthur Buttrick) that I have in my library was published by Abingdon Press, 17th printing 1989. Not sure if this is the edition that you wanted Doug.

  However, page 166 is about the Apocrypha, New Testament. The article begins with: "The NT Apoc, or as it is often styled, the Apocryphal NT, consists of a host of books of all sorts, primarily gospels, acts, letters, and apocalypses--i.e., of books similar to, at least externally, the several kinds of writing in the canonical NT."

  Is this what you are looking for?
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  42

  Do You Think Many Engaged JW Couples Fooled Around B4 Marriage?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was an elder, i had a few couples approach me to confess that they either played around or went all the way.. i suspect there were many more that did not admit to it, though..

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  Athanasius

  I confess. Back in the 1960s I was engaged to a JW girl and we played around. We were in our early 20s at the time and just did what was natural. While we didn't go all the way, still had we confessed we would have gotten into trouble. We were both pioneers and I was a servant in the congregation. This was before the elder arrangement that began in the 1970s.

  Apparently the Holy Spirit didn't have a problem with our pre-marital activity as we were married in the KH, and a year later I was promoted to Theocratic Ministry School Servant. Then when the elder arrangement was initiated in 1972 I was appointed an elder.

  I should also mention that when I served on JCs where an engaged JW couple confessed to "unapproved Watchtower pre-marital activity," I always voted for private reproof, even though the hard-line elders insisted on public reproof. I always stuck to my guns and got the couple off with a reduced sentence.
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  29

  Did Jehovah's Witnesses Plagiarize HWA's False Prophecy Of 1975?

  by Bangalore in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  did jehovah's witnesses plagiarize hwa's false prophecy of 1975?.

  http://livingarmstrongism.blogspot.com/2013/10/did-jehovahs-witnesses-plagiarize-hwas.html.

  bangalore.

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  Athanasius

  David 17, if you are only 17, your comments are understandable as you missed all the excitement of the 1970s. But I was an elder during that time, and though I was skeptical about all the hype coming out of Brooklyn about 1975, most of JWs in my congregation were expecting the big A to happen that year because of what they read in Watchtower publications. Though I kept it to myself, for fear of being labeled an apostate, I personally didn’t believe anything special would happen in 1975.

  However, we had a CO who would begin his Tuesday night comments in 1970s with a stopwatch, and say for example, only two years, eight months, fifteen days, two hours, and 40 minutes until 1975. My cousin, who was in another circuit said his CO used the same gimmick. I’m sure others who were JWs in the early 1970s have similar experiences.

  Why all the excitement if, according to the Society, 1975 meant only 6,000 years of human existence? Why would the Watchtower, in a 1974 KM state that many brothers are selling their homes and spending “the remaining months of this system” in the pioneer service? Somewhere in my archives I have a tape recording of talks given in Los Angeles early 1975 by Nate Knorr and Freddy Franz, discussing the urgency of the times and the nearness of the GT.

  So don’t give me the BS that the Society only said 1975 merely marked 6,000 years since Adam was created. I lived through that time and saw the excitement of the brothers, encouraged by the Watchtower, ending in disappointment when nothing happened in 1975.

  Then at a 1977 DC I heard a DO blame the brothers for expecting something special to happen in 1975. He went on to state that many JWs were disappointed and became inactive because in 1975 Adam had a birthday. The DO railed against those who served with a date in mind, ignoring the fact that it was the Watchtower that encouraged all the excitement and it was the GB that was responsible for the disappointment.
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  14

  monthly report

  by search4truth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone refused hand in monthly report with explanation that this practice is not biblical and what were the consequences of that ?

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  Athanasius

  That's interesting, L3G. Back in the 1960s when I pioneered, I had a non-JW friend that I studied with. We would go fishing and I'd mention a "theocratic thought" or two and count to whole 6 or 7 hours we spent fishing at time in FS. I knew several other pioneers who did the same thing. We also rounded up our hours. So if we spent 2 hours and ten minutes in FS, we'd turn in 3. My guess is that a large percentage of JWs do the same thing. That's why the Watchtower reports show millions of hours spent in FS, but only 200,000 baptized. No doubt 50% of the hours reported for FS are padded.
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  9

  Can You Be Disfellowshipped For Merely Repeating What Apostates Are Saying? Even If You Deny Belief In What Is Said?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  say a person wants to start making fellow jws think and open up their eyes so they decide to just repeat what they have read on some apostate site but deny any agreement with what read.

  how many times do you think he could do it before being called into a committee, and eventually be disfellowshipped?.

  how long could someone last playing that cat and mouse game walking on the edge repeating apostate criticism but denying agreement?.

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  Athanasius

  If you say you read it on an "apostate" site, this will raise a red flag and the JW will close his or her mind to what you have to say. It might be better to mention that a nice person you met in FS had questions and told you about the issues raised by "apostates." Explain that the person was very sincere and really wanted answers. Then ask the JW if they can answer the person's questions.
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  35

  Anticipating future changes in the organisation - crystal ball gazing

  by yadda yadda 2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i posted the comment below on another thread on elders stepping down.

  although i left the jw's years ago, i still hold a fascination for the evolution of the religion and am curious on what future trends and developments may occur.

  so i thought i would start a thread on what future changes you think will occur in the organisation as the years go by, either doctrinally or organisationally:.

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  Athanasius

  The JW organization is probably losing more of their members than they care to admit. This will eventually force the GB to make more “adjustments” to stop the exodus and stabilize the membership.

  Therefore, it's possible that after 2014 the Watchtower may gradually become more main stream. While I don't see them accepting the Trinity or Hellfire, they may open Heaven to all JWs, though confine them to a lower level in the Heavenly realm, while the GB rules as "kings and priests." Birthday parties may be permitted and blood transfusions will become a conscience matter. Tobacco use will become a lesser sin, meaning one could be removed as an elder or MS, with privileges restricted, but not DFd. The GB may even stay out of JW bedrooms and allow most sexual sins to be handled by one elder; much like Catholics confessing to their priests. But the Watchtower leadership will still take a hard-line toward what they perceive to be "apostasy.”

  The GB may also take a few more pages from the Mormons. Perhaps requiring all young JWs, once they reach the age of 18, to spend two years in missionary work, either locally or in a foreign country. After the JW finishes his or her missionary requirement, door to door work will become voluntary for the former missionary. Most D-D preaching will be replaced by using TV, Radio, and the Internet to get their message out and to solicit donations. Like the LDS, the Watchtower will require tithing, 10% of each JW's gross income. The GB will be enlarged to 12 members. The Watchtower may even open a JW college. JWU will have many of the business, engineering, and legal classes that you would find at a secular college. But one course that will not be offered at JWU is critical thinking.
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  11

  RNWT Bible only in English

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, the english speaking jw world has got the rnwt bible.. so, 60 percent of the non-english jw world still has to to use / read their old nwt bible.. and reads in watchtowers from 2014 on bible text translated from the english rnwt to their language, and mention the changes with their own bible.. this is a very strange situation!.

  so, like g. jackson would say, the non-english jw world has to wait for some not so warm summers to keep up with the new rnwt bible.. gorby.

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  Athanasius

  Right on Terry. The Watchtower can afford the best. Problem is the Watchtower leaders are so cheap that the Revised NWT is probably another in house version like the old NWT.
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  3

  jesus (apparently) in Old NWT rode into Jerusalem on an anal sphincter

  by hamsterbait in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the (american) witless justified replacing the correct translation of ass with donkey, claiming we would never describe a happy brother as "gay".

  an ass is a different animal from a donkey, making the nwt an inaccurate translation here.. are jdubs sooo filthy minded they think below the waist even in the context of christ riding into jerusalem?.

  how do they translate numbers 31: 34: " 61 thousand asses" remember it is not 61 000 anuses.. .

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  Athanasius

  Ass is the correct term for the animal commonly known as the donkey or burro. The Latin term for the animal is Asinus and the scientific term for these animals is Equus asinus. The term Ass fell into disrepute through confusion with the indelicate term “Arse” meaning the human backside.
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  3

  Money making business

  by Skinnedsheep in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  guesses.

  est.

  number of bibles printed 2,000,000. suggested donation for each- $50-60.

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  Athanasius

  While it's true that leather bound Bibles have a retail cost of $50-$75, the manufacturing costs are a lot less. I used to work for a retail bookstore chain and the discount for Bibles was around 50%. This means that the retailer paid the distributor $25 for a Bible that would be sold for $50 retail. The distributor received a similar discount from the publisher, and the publisher got a discount from the printer.

  Keep in mind that the Watchtower employs slave labor, whereas a for profit printer employs union labor. Since the Watchtower doesn't provide retirement or medical benefits for their workers, the Watchtower has minimal labor expense. The cost of materials would be their biggest expense in producing a Bible. Plus the Watchtower doesn’t have to pay out royalty fees, as the NWT is their own invention.

  So my guess is that the new deluxe NWT costs the Watchtower only $2 or $3 to print.