slimboyfat

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Posts by slimboyfat

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  61

  2018 Service Year Report - Released on jw.org

  by Drearyweather in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  2018 service year report of jehovah’s witnesses worldwide.

  see details of the global preaching work of jehovah’s witnesses from september 2017 to august 2018.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2018-service-year-report/.

  average publishers preaching each month: 8,360,594 (2017 - 8,248,982).

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  slimboyfat

  Wow number of congregations is down. I may be wrong but I think that’s the first time ever that the number of congregations has gone down. (Even following 1975 the number of congregations didn’t actually decrease, I don’t think) This is the most telling statistic.

  Other figures can be fudged. People can inflate hours, roll over reports and increase the peak number, count people on the phone link for the memorial when they were not counted before, and so on. But you can’t inflate or exaggerate a congregation. It either exists, holds meetings, and pays its bills, or it doesn’t.

  So the most verifiable statistic of JW growth, the number of congregations, is now in decline.
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  5

  Population growth and demographics

  by dropoffyourkeylee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some recent news articles stated that japan's low birth rates are related to their population decline, and gave a link to the following article which i find interesting.. https://www.thoughtco.com/age-sex-pyramids-and-population-pyramids-1435272.

  the age-sex pyramid graph is enlightening.

  it makes me wonder what the age-sex pyramid for jws looks like and how it compares to the population as a whole.

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  slimboyfat

  Thanks shepherdess. I don’t know if I made the comment before, but obviously the Australian JW population graph would be more meaningful if it could be compared side by side with a graph for the Australian population as a whole. Are JWs aging more rapidly than the general population? I suspect so, but it would be interesting to see it visually.
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  5

  Population growth and demographics

  by dropoffyourkeylee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  some recent news articles stated that japan's low birth rates are related to their population decline, and gave a link to the following article which i find interesting.. https://www.thoughtco.com/age-sex-pyramids-and-population-pyramids-1435272.

  the age-sex pyramid graph is enlightening.

  it makes me wonder what the age-sex pyramid for jws looks like and how it compares to the population as a whole.

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  slimboyfat

  I think shepherdless posted some graphs for the age profile of JWs in Australia and New Zealand. Also diachronic analyses that show the average age of JWs is increasing rapidly.
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  18

  Latest on Greg Stafford

  by Nitty-Gritty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for all those who know who greg stafford is/was.

  the former "apostate/apologist and author of three dissertations and other books, is on page 2 of the march 2016 meeting work book.

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/jw-meeting-workbook/march-2016-mwb/meeting-schedule-mar7-13/welcome-memorial-guests/.

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  slimboyfat

  To answer careful: Stafford has been promoting “Jah” and “Jah’s Witnesses” as names for around a decade or so.

  Stafford’s reasoning for using Jah instead of Jehovah is like this. He argues that the New Testament probably used the divine name in the original, but he admits that he cannot prove this. So his position is somewhat weaker than JWs. However Stafford is convinced that the divine name is important and he points out that, even if the divine name is not restored to the New Testament as a whole, even evangelical critics must admit that the shortened form of the divine name Jah appears in Revelation 19. Since this form of the divine name is securely in the New Testament text Stafford makes his case that this is the form Christians should use.

  Additionally is does also serve to position himself precisely where he is ideologically: closer to JWs than mainstream Christianity, but nevertheless distinct from JWs.

  I don’t know anything about the number, composition or spread of “Jah’s Witnsses” but I find it entirely plausible that Stafford has built up a small community of like-minded people through online and local networks.

  Edit: Sorry that’s right, he settled on the full title - Christian Witnesses of Jah. Not terribly elegant and a bit of a mouthful.
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  18

  Latest on Greg Stafford

  by Nitty-Gritty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for all those who know who greg stafford is/was.

  the former "apostate/apologist and author of three dissertations and other books, is on page 2 of the march 2016 meeting work book.

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/jw-meeting-workbook/march-2016-mwb/meeting-schedule-mar7-13/welcome-memorial-guests/.

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  slimboyfat

  Very interesting to see this latest video, thanks. I’m probably one of the few people who has read practically everything Greg Stafford has published (in books and online), although admittedly my interest has dropped off in recent years. I think he’s had a tough time and I have often wondered what his ultimate goal is now in promoting selected JW beliefs independently of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Falling between two stools, and so largely neglected as irrelevant, can’t be a terribly comfortable place to be.
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  41

  Cambridge professor just went full retard ...

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  ever heard of david runciman?.

  he's a professor of politics at the university of cambridge, no less.. he's also a complete retard, for want of a better word.

  according to prof. runciman, six year old children should get the vote, so as to counteract britain's aging population.

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  slimboyfat

  In the earlier post you mentioned the age when you are legally responsible for your actions (10) and in the later post you talked about the age of consent (16) and to buy alcohol (18).
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  41

  Cambridge professor just went full retard ...

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  ever heard of david runciman?.

  he's a professor of politics at the university of cambridge, no less.. he's also a complete retard, for want of a better word.

  according to prof. runciman, six year old children should get the vote, so as to counteract britain's aging population.

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  slimboyfat

  What is the age of legal responsibility? Is it 10 in England and 12 in Scotland?
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  41

  Cambridge professor just went full retard ...

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  ever heard of david runciman?.

  he's a professor of politics at the university of cambridge, no less.. he's also a complete retard, for want of a better word.

  according to prof. runciman, six year old children should get the vote, so as to counteract britain's aging population.

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  slimboyfat

  I responded to a comment about Dawkins and to the original post about children voting. (I added this later you may have missed it) Is that a problem?

  Not only is the Cambridge professor a retard for exploring a radical idea, but my response doesn’t meet the specifications for the debate either.

  Say LUHE would the world be a simpler place if you would just tell us what we can say without being retards or deviating from the script and we’ll just repeat after you?
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  41

  Cambridge professor just went full retard ...

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  ever heard of david runciman?.

  he's a professor of politics at the university of cambridge, no less.. he's also a complete retard, for want of a better word.

  according to prof. runciman, six year old children should get the vote, so as to counteract britain's aging population.

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  slimboyfat

  I missed the Cofty episode where Dawkins transformed from a wise oracle to being tragically out of touch. What gives? Have Peterson, Harris, Dennett and others suffered a similar fate?

  Plus I welcome radical ideas because they make you check your assumptions. I just don’t see the worth in labelling people “retard” just for thinking outside the box.

  To me the important thing about voting is that it’s voluntary and the person has the ability to make their own decision. Most children don’t care about voting or may rely upon parents if asked to make a decision. Those are the main problems with children voting as I see it. But if there are a few children who want to vote and have their own ideas about who they want to vote for, on what basis do I say they are not allowed? It’s not such an easy question to answer really, because many adults lack such interest or independence yet they have the right anyway. Do we say they are not allowed just because they are children and for no other reason?
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  32

  The Noble Fir

  by Oubliette in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the noble fir.

  the fir tree stands silently in the corner of our living room: proud, erect, strong.

  even unadorned, it is beautiful.

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  slimboyfat

  Yes oubliette was a good poster.