Posts by slimboyfat

posted

88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

The census is a level playing field. Each religion has its own internal measures of membership, but censuses simply ask what each person identifies as.
So for example, when the Mormons claimed 1.1 millions members Brazil in 2010, and yet only 226,000 identified themselves as Mormons in the census, it seems fair to conclude that Mormons in some real meaningful sense overestimate their membership.
At the same time, when Jehovah’s Witnesses claimed 700,000 members in Brazil in 2010, and yet nearly 1.4 million identified themselves as members in the census, it also seems fair to conclude that in a real meaningful sense Jehovah’s Witnesses underestimate their membership.
So there really is a lot of empirical data to support JW figures and to show that they underestimate their membership compared with other groups.
See this chart of census results compared with official memberships.
407
Is Jesus the Creator?
by Sea Breeze in
1. watchtower
2. bible
that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..
slimboyfat

So, what kind of evidence would it take for you to conclude the deity of Christ
That’s easy. If the Bible didn’t say that Jesus is taught by someone else, exalted by someone else, given life by someone else, and given power by someone else, then it might be worth investigating further. Given all those things are said of Jesus, and given that none of those things could ever be said of an almighty God, it is overwhelmingly clear that Jesus is different than and subject to almighty God.
88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

From my observation Zoom means that fewer people attend the KH now, but that more people attend overall if you count Zoom. So, for example, if a congregation had 100 before the pandemic, now there are about 80 in the KH and about 40 on Zoom. Is that an increase or a decrease? Because it works both ways. There are some people who would have come into the KH who no longer do. There are others who attend on Zoom now who didn’t attend before Zoom.
88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

There may be mistakes and occasional inflated numbers at a local level. I am sure there are. But the overwhelming evidence from decades of census results in various countries is that JW numbers are accurate, or in fact understated compared with the published figures of other religious groups.
88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

Okay, apparently it happened November last year! And was announced at the annual meeting. I guess I’ve not been paying attention!
So yeah, all these figures are massively impacted by that change. We need to wait to next year to see what the real ongoing rate of growth is.
Having said that, baptisms, Memorial attendance, and congregation numbers are all up. None of those figures are due to the change in reporting time.
88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

No I think I came before that in a letter, because it struck me as odd that it seemed to be rushed out, as if they couldn’t even wait a few weeks until the end of the service year for some reason. 🤔
88
Annual Report
by St George of England in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the latest report is now available for download on our favourite website!.

george.
slimboyfat

Very interesting! It looks like their best growth for years. When practically all other churches are declining in western countries. JWs somehow manage to keep growing. At first I thought the change in reporting time was the explanation, but that only came in August, is that right? So it would have caught the last month perhaps. Not sure.
The number of congregations worldwide is up. Numbers continue to go up in Zambia and Memorial attendance is now over 1 million. I think that’s only the 5th country in the world to have over a million at the Memorial: United States, Brazil, Mexico, Congo, and now Zambia.
24
Why you need Christmas to understand Easter/Memorial
by Anony Mous in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
so i went to a christmas evening candlelight service tonight and it hit me.

i was primarily doing christmas since leaving the jw for the children.

lots of people do it for family without really thinking of the relevance.
slimboyfat

Amazing how most people who are born in christian countries have christian beliefs. Its mind blowing. Clearly, it must all be true just because of this.
This is one of the cant old New Atheist talking points, along with other greatest hits of yesteryear such as, “I just believe in one less God that you do”, “why doesn’t God cure amputees?” and so on. A lot of people did find these kind of arguments persuasive at the time but they seem to have lost their magic. Although you still see a few holdouts here and there, like aging rockers past their prime.
407
Is Jesus the Creator?
by Sea Breeze in
1. watchtower
2. bible
that's what the word says.

.

colossians 1:16. for by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him..
slimboyfat

Jesus was an angelic being in heaven before he came to earth as a human. He is God’s firstborn, knows God better than anyone else, and is totally obedient to God. After he gave his life as a human to save sinful humans, he resumed his heavenly life in an even more exalted position, but always in subjection and to the glory of God. Jesus, as the image of the invisible God, so perfectly reflects God’s character that he could say that anyone who saw him had seen his Father also. God’s thoughts are unsearchable, but we can have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2.16)
24
Why you need Christmas to understand Easter/Memorial
by Anony Mous in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
so i went to a christmas evening candlelight service tonight and it hit me.

i was primarily doing christmas since leaving the jw for the children.

lots of people do it for family without really thinking of the relevance.
slimboyfat

Isn’t it sad to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus every year only for him to die three or four months later? 😜