Posts by belbab

31

Simple explanation why "Anointed" # going up (from the CO)

by InterestedOne in

i asked the co, if the heavenly calling was closed in 1935, why is the number of anointed going up?

he simply said that the society no longer says when the heavenly calling was closed.

have they discarded the 1935 teaching?

belbab

I believe that the governing body orchestrated the increase in the memorial partakers.

A while back, the poster Cyberguy, quoted from a WT article here:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/67145/1/The-power-struggle-in-Brooklyn-as-exemplified-by-the-March-1st-Watchtower

I made a comment on that thread, but no one picked up on it.

If you read that article, what is your take on it. Were they, or were they not encouraging certain ones of the other sheep that were extremely conscious of their responsibility to proclaim the "good news" to come forth and proclaim themselves as bread munchers and wine sippers?

An aside note on this, it does not ask for experts in Bible research or Bible knowledge. It wants those who are over- zealous for the preaching work world wide, which leads me to suspect that this article originated from the service department, the domain of Teddy Jaraszt.

Did the number of partakers increase after this article was published?

belbab

71

1984 WT cover, 1914 Gen That Will Not Pass -- How many of 16 alive today?

by FatFreek 2005 in

those people on that cover were supposed to represent a group of people that would still live on into the new order.

in your best guess, how old were most of those 16 people at the time the photo was taken, and how many do you suppose are still alive today?.

remember, that wt was printed in 1984, nearly 27 years ago.

belbab

Questions:

Did these people volunteer to be in this picture? Were they asked? If they had doubts did they acquiece to be in the picture anyway.

I suppose we will never know.

May they all rest in peace.

belbab

15

Gilead school was built as an Armagedon bombshelter for Bethelites!

by Witness 007 in

rutherford's book "enemies in 1937 said america would become a fascist catholic country and start armagedon...so where do you hide the bethel family?.

watch 82 8/15 p.10 "...for the safety of the bethel family a place was built in south lansing new york...it was never needed for that purpose...later transformed into a missionary school...".

watch 81 12/15 p.28 "rutherford believed that intense persecution against the witnesses may require them to leave headquarters...thus he built a building in upstate new york that could be used to house the bethel family...".

belbab

I believe at the Madison Square Gardens incident, all the ushers were provided stout walking canes to be used as a defense. I believe there is a photo somewhere showing, Rutherford and maybe also Knorr carrying those sticks.

5

Does the WTS have a Media Relations Department?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

wikipedia: media relations involves working with various media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner.

typically, this means coordinating directly with the people responsible for producing the news and features in the mass media.

the goal of media relations is to maximize positive coverage in the mass media without paying for it directly through advertising.. .

belbab

I have been out for a few decades.

Back when I was in, they had what they called Public Relations Department at each district assembly and larger and I believe even for circuit assemblies. I worked in that department for awhile.

When they had the big assemblies in New York, they WT sent articles to all the major papers and news outlets. Then the news outlets made special editions of the newspaper and sent and then distributed them only in the assembly locales. All Jw s gobbled them up they were only distributed to the local crowd who thought they were distributed all over the city.

Perhaps others on here will have more recent comments.

belbab

23

Why are witnesses being "Persecuted" in certain countries?

by finallyfree! in

for the most part this "persecution" is confined to countries where political balance can change on the drop of a dime.

watchtower witnesses who go door to door will speak of their religious views which include not voting or supporting the political parties.

where the watchtower control a percentage of the population through their kingdom halls and they turn people off from voting they have in effect formed their own type of independant political organization.

belbab

Jehovah's Witnesses is an American Religion!

Foreign countries look at the infiltration of Jehovah's Witnesses as an Americanization of their way of life in their countries and they object to it.

Take the door to door work for an example. When Russell started the method of spreading his message he sent his people out to reach others, by climbing into a horse drawn wagon loaded with books, and going from farm to farm in rural America along with other snake oil pedalers. Ever since then door to door work has become an obsolete, outdated, ineffective, in your face, sacrament of their religion. yet they continue to insist on it. A dictionary definition of sacrament: :” a Christian rite (as baptism or the Eucharist) that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality.” So, door to door work is a symbol from which you get kudos from God, even though it is the most unproductive method of reaching people today.

Knorr sent two missionaries to Communist China , Jones and King. He insisted they go door to door, and they obediently obeyed those instructions as an unchangeable, unmodifiable strict commandments of Jehover himself. They were thrown into prison, solitary confinement for five and seven years, respectively. Very little progress has been made in that country by the Witnesses. Yet, if you look up on the net, Christianity in China, you will find other religions have made substantial gains in Communist China.

I was sent as a missionary to Muslim, Pakistan. Again, American arrogant stupidity were the instructions. Knocking on doors when the husbands were away working, and trying to talk to their women. Futility! A few years before I got to Pakistan, there was another missionary, a single man, who used to go out in the villages for several weeks at a time. He would go and play a mouth organ in the open areas of the villages, and the children would come around, then adults would also come and he would give them a simple message about the "Kingdom". He was removed from the missionary home, why? Because when he returned to the home, after some days in the desert villages, he would come back all dusty and smelly, and the other orthodox missionaries found it offensive.

I hope you get the drift. I hope you can see the "foreigners" point of view.

belbab

43

2011 district convention

by obarac in

jw
friends

somebody know the theme of this years district convention or is still top secret?.

belbab

By not publicly announcing the locations and details of the district assemblies are they trying to control the flock, crowding them in the sheep pens til they smother from the heat, thirst and crowding?

Are they not allowing the brudders to choose what locations they would like to attend?

Why would they want to do that? Money, Money, Money.

They want to maximize attendance at different menus. If they own the facility they want to fill it to the rafters.

If they are paying for a venue, then they want to make sure there are enough credit cards available to pay for it.

They are using electronic cattle prods.

What do you think?

Stubborn minded sheep need to know so they don't get eaten alive.

belbab

17

The Hawaii - Educational Facility (The truth about it)?

by DaCheech in

jw
friends

is this place just a coverup for a place where the upper class bethellites, can vacation 5star style & make people believe the money is for the good news?.

what's your info?.

what's your suspitions?.

belbab

Consider the reasons for building the facilities at the end of Rutherford's day, around world war two, at South Lansing NY. Later NH Knorr converted those facillities into the the Gilead school The design was not convenient for a school. One big auditorium on the main floor with large dining facilities at one end of the building. Upstairs was all dormitiories.

In those days the WT relied heavily on the scripture, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies then flee to the mountains" Probably still do.

I suspect the facilities in Hawai are for similar reasons. If the headquarters in New York, "got surrounded" figureatively, they would have a place to flee to.

When I went to Gilead at South Lansing, NH Knorr had a private refuge above the Library. and a place to park his cadillac out of site in the basement garage. No one knew when he showed up there on weekends, maybe the farm servant. I knew when he was there, because the farm servant found a girl friend in the Gilead class from Quebec where I knew her quite well, well enough for her to tell me when he was there.

I also seem to remember from years on this board, that there seem to be facilities in Alaska where the brass could take refuge for vacations.

belbab

15

Mary Magdalene

by palmtree67 in

i've been reading the gospel of mary magdalene and have come across some interesting things.

for instance:.

1. she obviously had a great connection to jesus, but was not present at pentecost.

belbab

Hello Shelby,

In your reply to my post you address me as Dear Belbab and wish me peace. Thank you for your good intentions. However, I find the rebuttal you have provided to several of the points I have made, anything but peaceful, but rather disturbing and conflicting with my understanding of the century old records of the Bible.

In your post you state that, ” I am told by my Lord, he is using me” implying, I assume, that you have direct access to the one you call “my Lord”and he gives you information and explanations that the rest of us have no access to. Why did he have to wait two thousand years before completing his account of the events that took place during his ministry. If that is the case, and if I am not too presumptuous, could you please ask the one you call “My Lord” to explain some of the following points for me.

You state that Mary previously was a temple prostitute. If so why didn’t “My Lord” chase her out of the temple when he threw out all the rest of the money changers from the temple.

You say that Mary knew that Jesus was going to die for her and others, yet Mark simply reports that Jesus said: She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Mark 14:8. Others came to the tomb to anoint his body also. Nothing is said that they came because they knew he was their ransom sacrifice.

You inform me that, the one Jesus loved was Lazarus, aka "Simon the Leper"... also known as the apostleSimonthe Zealot (Kananaios). John 11:3, 36; 19:26 You are saying that Lazarus was the one present at the crucifixion and received the care of Jesus’ Mother. In John 12:10, a number of days before Jesus’ death it says that “the chief priests consulted that they might putLazarus also to death;” From that time on, Jesus did not walk openly among the Jews, why then would Lazarus?
The records of Jesus death show that the chief priests kept close watch over all the activities, they even knew exactly when Jesus died, even before Pilate. They knew enough to secure the tomb. What was Lazarus doing in open view to the Romans and the priests without being captured?

Could there not be a possibility that Jesus loved two of his disciples? Maybe even more?
You say that the apostles were all asleep the night Jesus was taken. Were they all in a synchronized sleep? Could not some be more alert than others. Jesus came and aroused them to vigilance three times. He said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, (after all, they each must have eaten several pounds of lamb a few hours before). Could not some spirits be more willing and more awake than others? If all of them were in a constant deep sleep then who recorded the events of that night? I don’t think Jesus was given a chance to write his own memoirs after he was captured. In Acts 10:39 Peter says: And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree. What reason should I have to deny the truth of their witnessing?

I hope my request is not too much of a chore for you and the one you call “My Lord”

…belbab, with a small b.

24

Are there any former missionaries here?

by Newborn in

jw
friends

not sure i've ever read any experiences from former missionaries here (but i'm sure there has been) .

but it would be very interesting to know how you feel about it today.

everything you sacrificed.

belbab

I forgot to say, that the letter of dismissal from the missionary home and loss of all (bullshit) privileges came directly from Knorr's office in Brooklyn. His secretary who wrote the letter, tried to soften the letter as much as he could, but the harshness and severity of the cruelty showed through that Knorr was responsible. I wished I had kept a copy of that letter.

I don't wish to recall any more.

Goodnite.

belbab

24

Are there any former missionaries here?

by Newborn in

jw
friends

not sure i've ever read any experiences from former missionaries here (but i'm sure there has been) .

but it would be very interesting to know how you feel about it today.

everything you sacrificed.

belbab

As Palmtree mentioned above, I was sent to Pakistan as a missionary in 1960. A missionary in the WT is someone who has gone through Gilead School. Nathan Homer Knorr told our Gilead class, "Go to your assignments and die there if necessary." I have written this on this board several years ago.

I got sick in Pakistan, the first week I was there I got a fever of 104 fahrenheit. I was sick all that summer. High summer temperatures, very poor living conditions. When the zone servant (Jones ?) came after about four months he didn't believe I was sick, and gave a bad report back to Brooklyn. I was given a notice to leave the missionary home immediately, and removed of all my servants position and speaking privileges. I stayed on in Pakistan for about a year after that, on the shit list. I finally borrowed some money from members of my old congregation in Quebec City, Canada and came back.

I learnt later that when they send missionaries to a foreign country, the Society has to give the goverments a guarantee that they will pay expenses for the person to leave, if they get into difficulty such as sickness etc. Fat chance.

My experiences in Pakistan were so bad, I do not want to talk about it even to this day.

belbab