blondie

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Posts by blondie

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  17

  How To Talk About Interpretation With Jehovah's Witnesses.

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this from my book: good news for jehovah's witnesses.

  before we discuss any doctrinal issues, i would like to distinguish between what i believe is proper versus improper interpretive practice.... so you know what i can accept as biblical and what i can't accept.. basic guidelines for validating doctrinal claims`).

  i. there must be at least one scriptural reference that can be cited for support of any doctrinal claim or position.. ii.

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  blondie

  About 50+ likes from me.
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  4

  Share This?

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i notice now that ops have a "share this" in the upper right hand corner.

  i know how to do it on fb, how do we do it here?.

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  blondie

  I notice now that OPs have a "Share This" in the upper right hand corner. I know how to do it on FB, how do we do it here?
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  31

  Does the WTS have a clergy class

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this can be confusing because the wts has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.. "a congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" wt 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 wt october, p. 20, pp.

  7, but 2022 in the wt publication, frequently asked questions about jehovah’s witnesses, page 13, the wts inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "following the model of first-century christianity, jehovah’s witnesses have no clergy-laity division.

  all baptized witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work.

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  blondie

  This can be confusing because the WTS has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.

  "A congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" WT 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 WT October, p. 20, pp. 7, but 2022 in the WT publication, Frequently Asked Questions About Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 13, the WTS inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "Following the model of first-century Christianity, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no clergy-laity division. All baptized Witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work. Witnesses are organized into congregations of about 100 believers. Spiritually mature men in each congregation serve as “older men,” or elders. (Titus 1:5) They do so without being paid for their services."
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  35

  What is "Brazen" conduct according to new 'Shepherd the Flock of God' book

  by TastingFreedom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is brazen conduct according to the watchtower?.

  here are some references from the new flock book:.

  they have really pushed the envelope to bundle a bunch of things into one really evil word.

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  blondie

  Exactly, DOC! "This is the "catch-all" if they want you out but cannot really find you guilty of a "real" offense." Not only that, the WTS has df'd some people retroactively. That is, doing something that was not a df'ing offense, but changed later by the WTS to a df'ing offense.
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  17

  How Murderers In the Congregation are handled

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't have the link but i am trying to post this, this is from a previous post on jwn.

  watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. dear brothers:.. we received your letter of december 17 in which you inquire about handling a situation involving a brother who has been guilty of serious violation of the law in the past.. you explained that you received information indicating that this brother ?committed several murders and crimes before his baptism.

  you ask if law obligates some action on our part.

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  blondie

  Thanks, Atlantis for posting that!
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  22

  1914- responsible for the biggest decrease in JW's?

  by joey jojo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  theres a couple of threads re: 1914 on the board right now and it got me thinking.. the jw doctrine of the 1914 generation is a key doctrine , yet it is probably the number one reason most have left over the decades.. 1975- within one generation.. 1995 - new understanding of the word generation.. 2010- overlapping generation first mentioned- some anointed survive armageddon.. 2015- infamous overlapping generations chart featuring david splane.. its obvious the org is changing the goalposts and constantly trying to squeeze as much time as they can before they have to abandon this altogether.

  or will they come up with something new?.

  does anyone else think this ever changing doctrine is responsible for the biggest loss of members?.

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  blondie

  The WTS taught some time before 1925, that the end was coming in 1925. In 1925 95,000 members attended the "memorial." In 1926, only 25,000 did. Quite a drop in membership. (for info on this teaching https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/1925.php ) "The converse occurred after 1925 came and went without incidence. Memorial attendance dropped by three-quarters, from 88,544 in 1927 to just 17,380 in 1928. (Watchtower 1955 p.366; Yearbook 1929 p.55) (Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose p.313) It is estimated that as many as 75% of publishers left the religion and by 1935 memorial attendance was still only 63,146.3 It took until 1940 to once again reach the same number of Watchtower followers as the pre-1925 era."
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  17

  How Murderers In the Congregation are handled

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't have the link but i am trying to post this, this is from a previous post on jwn.

  watchtower bible and tract society of new york, inc. dear brothers:.. we received your letter of december 17 in which you inquire about handling a situation involving a brother who has been guilty of serious violation of the law in the past.. you explained that you received information indicating that this brother ?committed several murders and crimes before his baptism.

  you ask if law obligates some action on our part.

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  blondie

  I don't have the link but I am trying to post this, this is from a previous post on JWN

  Watchtower Bible And Tract Society of New York, Inc

  Dear Brothers:.

  We received your letter of December 17 in which you inquire about handling a situation involving a brother who has been guilty of serious violation of the law in the past.

  You explained that you received information indicating that this brother ?committed several murders and crimes before his baptism. You ask if law obligates some action on our part. law enforcement authorities have no knowledge of this matter.?

  As elders, you have no obligation to reveal information of this type to the authorities. Any information that you have obtained while fulfilling your duties as elders is strictly confidential. What he does about paying his debt to Society is largely up to him and his conscience. Since he is apparently a fugitive from the law, he obviously would not qualify for any extra privileges of service in the congregation.

  You state that you have one report of his smoking marijuana with his co-workers which may have been after his baptism. We assume that is the reason that you feel a need to meet with him. Since he is a dedicated brother and he is presently attending the meetings, there is a need to investigate to determine if some type of congregation activity is necessary. Likely the best approach is to arrange for two elders to talk to him informally to make some discreet inquiries about his current conduct. If there appears to be substantial evidence of serious wrongdoing, then a committee should be formed to hear the case.

  As we believe you understand, it is imperative that the elders maintain strict confidentiality about his past. If the elders inadvertently reveal his past wrongdoing, undoubtedly it will result in major repercussions to him and his wife. So handling this case calls for good judgment and discernment. We trust you brothers can handle things appropriately. Write to us again if you need further direction.

  We pray Jehovah's direction as you endeavor to fulfill your weighty responsibilities as shepherds of the flock. We send our warm Christian love.

  Watchtower Bible And Tract Society
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  12

  Would a JW accused to be a murderer (in a judicial committee) be reported to the police?

  by psyco in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am wondering if a jw accused to be a murderer (or any other serious crime except csa) in a judicial committee would be reported to the police.. if i sexually abused or molested a child, i would not be reported to the police.. what about if i killed a person: would i be instead?.

  it is not a matter of being right or wrong but i am only curious to know if there is at least a sort of coherence regarding the internal policies for serious crimes....

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  blondie

  I know there is a letter on how to handle members who are murderers while a member and before they were a member, but not caught. I will try to post it here when I get a copy.
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  43

  I'm Back--Blondie

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, i am posting again.

  i could not for awhile technologically and it is now fixed thanks to simon.

  thanks, simon!

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  blondie

  ozziepost, I haven't looked at or read at WT for over 2 years. I have put my research skills to other things. But as far as general ideas, I can't think there is not a comment on JWN that might not cover it. If not, I always check www.jwfacts.com for past and current info on many subjects. Maintained by an exjw who lives in your general area (?)
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  19

  I Found Some Extremely Rare Rutherford Recordings

  by Nosferatu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was blown away when i found these watchtower records with rutherford on them.

  these aren't the ones that were used door to door.

  these are 16 inch records that were sent to radio stations to broadcast rutherford over the airwaves.

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  blondie

  The congregation I was in growing up was the original congregation in the area and had a lot of things, like that, the phonograph they used to play Rutherford's records at the door and the records. I took both records and player home and listened to them. Hard to sleep through talks like that, he boomed it out. It gave me some perspective of what life was back there for WTS members. It made me imagine when the drove around with the sound cars blasting out those talks to the neighborhood in general. https://i.pinimg.com/564x/03/e8/bd/03e8bd7d62d0c56f7b0fea4132353a8a.jpg