i can confirm (as there seems to be some doubt) at the service meeting last night during the item about the new watchtower, a letter was read by the po.
the public talk is to be 30 minutes long.
this is to allow for more association and ministry.. lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed.
Lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed
Was this point stated in the letter to the congregation or in a separate letter to elders only? Thanks in advance. If it was in a letter read out loud, I find it a little interesting.
a few observations from (indirectly) talking to a couple of hlc members who have recently attended meetings with his in brooklyn:.
(1) any hope that the wts will further reform the blood policy is wide of the mark.
the wts is very happy & settled with the current situation (whole blood + 4 components = nono everything else ok).
Legally , HIS are confident that Jws have covered their asses.
From a source I have spoken to (fwiw), I get that same feeling. They are confident and feel that legally - public perception aside - they are covered. Also there is confidence that because of the WT legal restructuring, the assets (ie money) are safe. It was a confidence many here might find disheartening.
They have a non-spoken policy in place to allow minors to be transfused (the days of kidnapping kids from hospitals are long over).Any other liability is satisfied by the policy of Jws being told constantly that it is a conscience matter & the absolute right of a competent adult in most countries to decide his / her medical treatment.
The following is just my observations on how this looks to play out:
Because of the above the blood policy may be becoming a moot point already. The WT has gone to great lengths lately to put in writing that it is a JW's personal decision. In fact I think it used that exact phrase or something very similar in the last km on blood, and then stressed the personal decision aspect throughout. So from this point on I think they will lay the decision totally on the individual. Advances in medicine will meet them half way and bail them out. They will never publicly renounce the blood doctrine, so for those who died in the past...oh well and good luck trying to find the assets if you try to sue.
We know the how this actually plays out in practice, but as we speak legally they are establishing a document trail that lays it at the feet of the individual for future would-be cases.
I also find it interesting that the lawyers are now arguing not so much in defense of the doctrine itself, but instead on the right and in defense of the adult JWs and parents to make a personal decision, thusmitigating the legal backlash should the patient or parent wake up from the WT fog one day and try to sue. In other words, "Hey it was always your personal decision".
I have to wonder about the conscience of those behind this.
Axel
i need to vent i guess.
it's been a little while since i've even looked at the board.
i've tried to make a break to somehow get my life moving again, and i never wanted to be one to write a good bye post.
I need to vent I guess. It's been a little while since I've even looked at the board. I've tried to make a break to somehow get my life moving again, and I never wanted to be one to write a good bye post. I guess I somehow know inside that growing up a jw is something that you can never really leave. And so I find myself here again. But this time out of desperation and a need to vent. I feel my life circling the drain hole and I don't know what to do about it. I feel lost, more lost than I can express. As I write this I am wiping my eyes as I truly feel trapped with no way out. I have to admit, in my years as a jw I felt my life had more direction. I know that it was misguided and harmful, but there is something to be said for direction and purpose. To have what I thought was the Truth exposed and ripped from under me has shaken me to my very core. I don't quite know what to believe in or where to go. I believed so strongly before and now to discover that I was so wrong has made me unsteady and unsure. I am finding it hard to trust my own judgement in anything now. And so now I am living my life in a state of paralysis, afraid to make any moves as they might be the wrong ones, on the other hand I feel why bother. I start projects and can't seem to finish them, for fear they won't measure up. I find myself frozen from starting anything fearing it will turn to dirt, and I will have failed yet again. I can't decide the what or why of anything. It has pained me so much. I was not always like this. Now it is beginning to affect me in ways I don't seem to be able to control, and it scares me to death. I feel like I am in a tunnel with a train heading for me and I can't seem to get off on the track. I tell myself to move and my feet feel stuck. I am considered pretty good at what I do, but I find myself with absolutely no motivation to do it anymore. I have associates that look and feel foreign to me now. And the anger that I thought I had worked through is still here and more deeply rooted than I think I have the ability to root out. My family is all in, and probably so for life. Am I really any better off? I want to curl up and just go away. Thanks for letting me vent a little.
hey everybody, i had an interesting time pushing a tract that i don't believe in this weekend.
i had to develop my own method of placing it without having to talk about it, since i fear if i was confronted by someone asking "do you people think you're the only true religion", i might break down and tell the person at the door "no, i don't".
the witness at the door with me would scream in terror, and i would be insta-dfed.
Sorry I didn't address your question directly. I got so tied up with trying to get the pic to show up :). But I would also say just do what you have to do and take it at your own pace. Take comfort in knowing that many have been there, and I'm sure that there are many more 'still in' who feel the same as you do, and wondering if they are alone in there feelings also. I remember when I first learned of the 'fake ringing the doorbell trick' - I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. Axel
hey everybody, i had an interesting time pushing a tract that i don't believe in this weekend.
i had to develop my own method of placing it without having to talk about it, since i fear if i was confronted by someone asking "do you people think you're the only true religion", i might break down and tell the person at the door "no, i don't".
the witness at the door with me would scream in terror, and i would be insta-dfed.
Even IF every jw placed all 50 of their alloted tracts, it would still be a failure if success is measured by reaching, not even all, but most of the world field. Here's why. IF every jw receives 50 tracts, and IF every jw places EVERY tract, they would only reach about 300 mil. persons. This is only a fraction of the 6.7 bil. world population.
To put it in perspective, it was reported a few days ago that the U.S. population alone has just reached 300 mil. This means that even by the most successful standard, if all 6 mil. jws just covered the U.S., every other person on the planet wouldn't even get a whiff at this tract.
The chart below illustrates this. the red sliver represents 6 mil. jws, the blue is the extent of the world population they would reach if EVERY jw placed EVERY tract they receive -- doubtful -- and the green the rest of the doomed world. The second chart shows how many might survive if the jws increased to 9 mil. as a result of the campaign -- and that is highly unlikely. The currently teach that not each individual will have to get the message, but I would say this shows they fall far short of even that.
Hope this works
Axel
no hype - no rumor please.. anyone who still goes to the hall might hear something during the announcements.
i will be going myself and will be sure to report back what is said, if anything.. from channelc.. .
http://www.channelc.org/cgi-bin/eboard30/index.cgi.
The Annual Meeting is this week...usually pretty dry, but who knows...
.
is it just me or is dr. z (dieter zetsche) the coolest mofo around these days .
Not really an expert, but some of it is marketing. From my understanding the recent Hemi isn't a hemi in the truset sense, as the cylinder heads are polyspherical, not hemispherical. They do however, retain the valve configuration. The old design was considered at the outset, then dropped.
http://www.caymannetnews.com/cgi-script/csarticles/articles/000041/004145.htm .
letter to the editor .
no such thing as 'watchtower' teachings .
For you BluesBrother, this may be the article you were looking for:
w98 3/15 Living Up to Christian Dedication In Freedom
3
Someone may argue that the way the Witnesses speak about the Watch Tower Society—or more often just "the Society"—indicates that they view it as more than a legal instrument. Do they not consider it to be the final authority on matters of worship? The book Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom clarifies this point by explaining: "When The Watchtower [June 1, 1938] referred to ‘The Society,’ this meant, not a mere legal instrumentality, but the body of anointed Christians that had formed that legal entity and used it." The expression therefore stood for "the faithful and discreet slave." (Matthew 24:45) It is in this sense that the Witnesses generally used the term "the Society." Of course, the legal corporation and "the faithful and discreet slave" are not interchangeable terms. Directors of the Watch Tower Society are elected, whereas Witnesses who make up ‘the faithful slave’ are anointed by Jehovah’s holy spirit.4
In order to avoid misunderstandings, Jehovah’s Witnesses try to be careful about how they express themselves. Instead of saying, "the Society teaches," many Witnesses prefer to use such expressions as, "the Bible says" or, "I understand the Bible to teach." In this way they emphasize the personal decision that each Witness has made in accepting Bible teachings and also avoid giving the false impression that Witnesses are somehow bound to the dictates of some religious sect. Of course, suggestions as regards terminology should never become a subject of controversy. After all, terminology is of importance only to the extent that it prevents misunderstandings. Christian balance is required. The Bible admonishes us "not to fight about words." (2 Timothy 2:14, 15) The Scriptures also state this principle: "Unless you through the tongue utter speech easily understood, how will it be known what is being spoken?"—1 Corinthians 14:9.
Axel
my relatives that are still witnesses, always hate it when i say one thing to them, more then any others ... .
"are you going to church tonight?
"were you at church?".
When they extend the magazines to hand to you, say just a minute as if you are going to retrieve a donation. Then come back with a piece of religious literature (it can be anything, just make sure it's religious -- preferably with a big cross displayed).
Then as you reach for the magazines with one hand, simutaneously offer your religious literature with the other. Watch the slight hesitation and subsequent recoil by most jws.
my relatives that are still witnesses, always hate it when i say one thing to them, more then any others ... .
"are you going to church tonight?
"were you at church?".
After they invite you to the Sunday meeting reply:
"Sure, and next week maybe you can visit our church for some fellowship too".
