Sometimes a bad argument made in support of your position is worse than no argument at all. I am sure this type of nonsense is liable to disconcert more JWs than it reassures.
slimboyfat
JoinedPosts by slimboyfat
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March 2018 Broadcast - When quotes become rumors
by Listener inthis months broadcast is presented by losche and he discusses the need for trust in the fds.
the following is transcribed from the 12.30 mark.. satan also has the scheme to spread rumors about our brothers including the faithful slave.
the method of spreading rumors is not new.
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slimboyfat
I didn't say anyone owed me an explanation. I didn't think the simple observation that a Trinitarian countercult writer was chosen to write the introduction is the end of the world. But it is interesting, given Franz's opposition to the Trinity and the Christian countercult and, I thought, worthy of note at least, if nothing more. So I initially made a very brief comment about it. It perhaps indicates that the current copyright holder is closer to the Christian mainstream than Ray Franz was himself, to spell out the obvious implication. Ray Franz could easily have become a celebrity among countercult Evangelcials if he wanted but he chose to have no ties. These distinctions may not be important to many of us but they clearly were important to Ray Franz. Whether in turn that should be important to the copyright owner or to the reader is another question. And again, not the end of the world, but interesting for discussion, which I thought was the point of the forum. Black and white thinking I guess is what dictates that no observation even slightly contrary to the prevailing mood is viewed as legitimate. If I'm going to be attacked for making that simple observation, then I might as well point out the obvious that politeness may otherwise inhibit: the long delay was unnecessary, the additions add little, that ebooks can be free if wide distribution is your main goal, in addition to the initial observation that Ray Franz himself avoided association with the countercult because he did not share their Trinitarian opposition to JWs.
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slimboyfat
The worst thing about that naos controversy was the WT article that cited verses where the word wasn't used. And when pointed out didn't correct it.
JWs have basically avoided the issue for the last 40 years.
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slimboyfat
I would ask and accept help from people who know how to publish ebooks and print on demand books. Such help was offered by people on this forum and elsewhere. This could have been done within weeks at the most. Instead we were told the matter was in hand and would be published within weeks. I would publish ISofCF too, and save needless energy making a new introduction and other changes. You could do that later in another edition if you really want, if it takes years. Personally I would not charge $9.99 for the ebook either - unless I needed the income I suppose. Because I didn't write the book and I would want as many people as possible to read it.
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slimboyfat
Evidently Ray Franz felt it was more important for his work to fall into the hands of his trusted friends than to hand it off to a younger and more pro-active party.
Ray Franz, as I recall, made no provision for the publication or transfer of the rights to his books after his death.
His wife naturally inherited those rights since he died first. It was Cynthia's decision leave the rights to her friends in her will, not Ray Franz. Ray Franz's apparent lack of concern about what happened to his books was much commented on at the time.
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slimboyfat
I think that Ray Franz's intention to include the material does not equal permission from the copyright owner in law. I suspect Ray Franz would have made sure this was in order if he had got round to it himself. Has the current publisher done so?
The reasons for cynicism are these.
1. There is no good reason why the book could not have continued to be published when Cynthia died in 2013, in the original format, just as it had continued to be published in 2010 when Ray Franz died.
2. We were promised at the time that the book would be available within weeks. Instead it has taken nearly half a decade. Why?
3. It is still not actually available in print yet. It's promised for a few weeks' time, but we've been here before. I hope it does get released, but on track record we shouldn't count our chickens yet.
4. $9.99 in certainly not expensive, but it's not as cheap as it might be either, for an ebook if your main intention is the widest circulation possible. Unfortunately between the delays, changes, and ebook charges, it seems fair to conclude that wide distribution, as quickly as possible, does not appear to have been the priority of the copyright owner.
5. It's terrible that anyone suffers illness or through the illness of others. But to deflect any valid criticism for poor decisions over many years on that basis is what is cynical.
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slimboyfat
My copy of the Great Crowd booklet says "Copyright 1992 by John Mitchell All rights reserved". Do they have permission to reproduce the booklet from the copyright owner? It would be ironic (but again not the end of the world) if after all this fuss, they published this material without permission from whoever owns it.
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slimboyfat
It's not the end of the world that someone from Watchman has written an introduction. But to ask whether Franz would have approved, I think is relevant to people who are interested. That's all.
And is it possible to regret Deborah Dykstra's loss and difficult time over the last few years. But at the same time think she hasn't handled the publication of the book very well? Which predates illness and death of her husband by years. I think this is possible. There has never been any reasonable explanation why publication didn't continue after Cynthia's deaths 2013, just as it had done after Ray Franz himself died three years earlier. So far it is available as an ebook. If it does actually come out as a physical book too even better. There is no reason why a book can't be released in print simultaneously but we'll need to wait and see what happens.
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Merger or Consolidation in Scotland?
by The Fall Guy inaccording to the borg's web site, the kilbirnie kh on the ayrshire coast of scotland appears to have been terminated and the congregation now has to travel even further to share the irvine kh in ayrshire.
word is that numerous jw's in the area have been involved in a congregation "shuffle.".
anyone got any details on the sale or the "personnel" switching?.
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slimboyfat
No I asked about this on a previous thread and no information was forthcoming.
As I recall, there were congregations in Stevenston, Ardrossan and Kilbirnie at one time. Isn't that right?
Apparently the Kilbirnie congregation was moved to Stevenston but still called Kilbirnie. And now it's moved to Irvine but still called Kilbirnie. And who knows what happened to Stevenston congregation? Maybe it was closed because of bad publicity. But I also heard a rumour that Kilbirnie ran out of money.
Sorry can't add much but speculation.
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Funny News From My Old Congragation - Elder Fight!
by pale.emperor ini haven't stopped laughing since i heard this.
a pimo in my last congregation told me that an elder has been removed from his elder position.
apparently he grabbed another elder by the throat, put him up against a wall in the back room and punched him in on the nose... during an elders meeting on thursday evening after the meeting.. the congregation were running round like headless chickens wondering what to do?
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slimboyfat
Strange they should argue over something there's a clear WT ruling on.
There's probably background to the dispute in other issues as it's hard to believe many elders would go out on a limb to defend the rights of DFed people.