slimboyfat

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Posts by slimboyfat

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  30

  How many different "rules" do Jehovah's Witnesses have to obey? Can you count them?

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  all the big changes for jws since this last fall brought me back to this site, and got me and the wife talking.

  just how many things were we not allowed to do growing up as jehovah's witnesses?

  we were so used to all the rules, customs, and traditions, that we became used to them.. one site i found claims there are 141 unique rules!!

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  slimboyfat

  Far too many to count, if you include reminders and general guidance, such as whether couples should hold hands during prayer, whether a wife can pray aloud in front of her husband at home, whether you can hold seats for friends at conventions, how long to continue a Bible Study that doesn’t progress, how much toilet paper you should use in the Kingdom Hall, whether baptism counts if your toe sticks out, whether you should go to meetings while on holiday, whether sisters can do the accounts and other tasks for the congregation, and on and on. There have been literally hundreds of specific instructions issued over the years through the Watchtower, Kingdom Ministry, and now videos, on all aspects of life in and out the Kingdom Hall. It would be a colossal task attempting to list and enumerate them all.
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  If what you fear most is a world full of uncertainty without definitive answers to questions around what you should believe and what you should do, then the JW religion offers the solution by providing clear answers and clear instructions. If what you value most is the freedom from fear about uncertainty, then it’s a small price to pay to hand over to the people providing the answers say over dress and grooming. Handing over power to dictate who you can socialise with, including family members, is a much higher price to pay for the same benefit, yet it’s also a price many JWs are willing to pay.

  This idea that JW religion provides freedom from fear in the modern world full of uncertainty was argued by anthropologist Andrew Holden in his book Jehovah’s Witnesses: Portrait of a Contemporary Religious Movement (Routledge: 2002) based on the work of psychologist Erich Fromm, in particlar his book The Fear of Freedom (Routlegde & Keagan Paul: 1942).
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  I know a congregation where sisters carry the microphones, not because there aren’t brothers to do it, but it’s just become a role set aside for sisters in this congregation. Presumably the CO didn’t object or he would have stopped it. Has that happened other places too or is this an outlier?
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  40

  Was it Designed?

  by Jeffro in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the jw website is currently featuring a piece: the shell of the diabolical ironclad beetle​—was it designed?

  it is part of their regular tedious 'was it designed?

  ' series that purports that very very specific animal species must have been specifically designed because of some seemingly amazing feature.. but they seem completely unaware that this directly contradicts their notion that only very broad 'kinds' were required on the mythical 'ark'.

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  slimboyfat

  To me evolution and design are in harmony, because reality seems to be constructed in such a way that certain kinds of forms reliably result from natural processes. In particular consciousness seems to be a determined outcome. If that is the case, then isn’t it right to talk about the design of the various forms that evolution produces?
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  17

  How Does WT Explain away, "Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord"?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  5now he that wrought us for this very thing is god, who gave unto us the earnest of the spirit.6being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the lord 7(for we walk by faith, not by sight); 8we are of good courage, i say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the lord.

  9wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him.. since watchtower teaches there is only one "you" and not three (soul, body & spirit); how do jw's deal with the fact that scripture says that it is possible for a person to be absent from their body and to be present with the lord in heaven?when i was pioneering, i don't recall a householder every dropping this verse on me; and i'm not sure how i would have handled it if they did.

  what say you?.

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  slimboyfat

  The verse makes sense with JW teaching as far as I can see. Can you explain what you consider to be problematic?
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  Vidiot I think it’s fair to say JWs have been dynamic in their use of media and different peaching methods to spread their message. It’s not just one of the stories they like to tell themselves, there is real substance to the idea that their success can be attributed in part to their regular adoption of different methods and new technologies: from tract and book publishing, slide shows, phonographs, radio, placards, videos, cassettes, CDs, multi language translation software, street carts, letters, telephone. and now video and other online media.
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  Jehalapeno let’s say three years, or more, for anything more substantial that say a locust change or a Gog and/of Magog change. Something that impacts regular practice or end time chronology.
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  If I remember that kingdom news about false religion with the lightning on the cover it was the same one that condemned other religions that tolerate homosexuality. The GB hasn’t changed the rules on that, yet, anyway.
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  86

  Prediction: no more changes for a long while

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way i expect them to go and/or whenever i realise there is a trend and, i mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  so on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active jws, have been asking ‘what changes will the governing body make next?’ perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’.

  maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received.

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  slimboyfat

  I’ve noticed a pattern where things don’t go the way I expect them to go and/or whenever I realise there is a trend and, I mentally adjust for the idea that the trend will continue, the trend stops in its tracks.

  So on that basis, and given many people, including myself, and active JWs, have been asking ‘what changes will the Governing Body make next?’ Perhaps the (disappointing) answer is: ‘nothing much for a while to come’. Maybe they’ve made the changes they want for now, and will wait a while and see how it’s received. Unless there’s a majority on the Governing Body eager to dump 1914, then now might be a good time to do that. Otherwise is there anything big on the to do list? I can’t think.

  I am a bit disappointed with the shunning change because it goes nowhere near far enough. In a way it has unhelpfully underlined that you’re not supposed to have meals / holidays / social events with DFed people. Because, for people with DFed relatives, being able to say hello at the meeting doesn’t cut it. You want to sit down, have something to eat, or go on a trip together. I reckon many JWs were already doing those things with DFed people, just avoiding doing it conspicuously or at the Kingdom Hall. So the new rules are much harsher than what they were doing up to now and restating them in this way only serves to underline that you’re not supposed to socialise.
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  13

  Do COs and Branch Officials Have A Rulebook?

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  elders have a rulebook.

  do cos and their superiors have a similar written set of guidelines setting out everything they're supposed to be on top of?.

  what prompted the question was a statement by jehovax that there is a new elders manual coming out due to the new changes.

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  slimboyfat

  Yes, COs have a book, and there are branch books too. Don’t know where to find them. Atlantis will know!