BluesBrother

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Posts by BluesBrother

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  5

  Police raid a Kingdom Hall in Norway and question elders

  by cachito in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  police raid a kingdom hall in norway of jehovah's witnesses and question elders.jehovah's witnesses want to cooperate with the police and explain why they have an arc of alleged crimes.

  they claim that their elders are priests and must maintain confidentiality ... however ... the watchtower headquarters does not ask elders to refer to themselves as priests, that would be a disfellowshipping offense.

  and they do not ask their elders to maintain confidentiality ... they must give the information to high ranking officials within the watchtower hierarchy.

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  BluesBrother

  Would somebody please put a copy of that letter translated into English ?

  I could not get to it on this device.
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  9

  Will you be giving a 'Witness' when your name appears in the obituary?

  by was a new boy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  'he remained faithful to jehovah up to his death.'.

  i guess that means he never got in trouble with the elders.. .

  'he enjoyed spreading the good news about god's kingdom and helping others...'.

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  BluesBrother

  I don’t care what they say about me or what they do with my bones before I am cremated. I contend that funerals are for the benefit of the living who are bereaved, not the dead.

  Since I am still known at the Hall I dare say my nearest and dearest would ask for a J W service.. I don’t know what they could say about me though.
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  15

  Do JWs now allow some gambling?

  by mickbobcat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i had seen a video evens did where he said that jws now say if you gambling for entertainment its ok. anyone have any link to the cult actually in print or video saying this?.

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  BluesBrother

  Well Well..... I missed that revision when I downloaded the Shepherding book. They have relaxed the rules.

  Back in the nineties, the last Judicial Committee I sat on dealt with a bro. Whom I was told had been found gambling with lottery scratch cards. During the process I learned that all he had done was to give some loose change to a local charity and received a “lucky number scratch card” ,

  Even then, I knew that in a more enlightened congregation an elder would simply have had a word in his ear and that would be the end of it. However I had to go along as we read him scriptures about “the god of good luck” and how serious the sin was. He was duly Judicially Reproved..

  Times change, don’t they?
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  21

  Headship and WT's Changed Understanding

  by Bobcat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i don't think anyone has mentioned that the february 2021 study wt (p. 15, 16; par.

  8) changed wt's long standing view on headship within the congregation.

  wt used to view all baptized males as being the head of all baptized sisters.. this view led to such absurdities as a sister having to wear a head covering on a bible study because her baptized 10 year old son was sitting in on the study with her.

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  BluesBrother

  I did not see this as a changed understanding. The article says:-

  “To know if she should wear a head covering, a sister would need to answer these three questions:

  1. 1. Does the activity require that a sister pray publicly or teach from the Bible while a baptized brother is present?​—1 Cor. 11:4, 5.

  2. 2. Even if a baptized male is not present, would this assignment normally be done by a baptized brother?​—1 Tim. 2:11, 12; Heb. 13:17.

  3. 3. If the sister is married, is her husband present while she publicly prays for others or teaches them from the Bible?​—1 Cor. 11:3.

  If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then a sister should wear a head covering. If the answer to all those questions is no, then she does not need to wear a head covering”

  .........................

  so is a sister takes her baptised son on a Bible study and prays, she should cover her head.
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  33

  Research question

  by JeffT in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm doing a little background research for a novel.

  what is the craziest thing you heard a witness say was demonized, and what did they do about it?.

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  BluesBrother

  I don’t know whether to scoff at this article or to feel a little scared. See what you think.

  ...Awake 1986 22/8. “The Demons controlled Me”

  
  

  “ I WAS a spirit medium, a sorcerer, a male witch. I employed divination. I looked for omens. I bound others with spells. I practiced black magic and voodoo. “.................

  
  

  “Once I became upset with my grandmother and wanted her to be hurt. I called to the demons, asking specifically that she should cut herself —that afternoon she cut herself with a knife.

  Practicing voodoo, I used articles of clothing and made an image of my brother. I wanted to keep him from bothering me. Afterward, whenever he came within ten feet (3 m) of me, he got shooting pains in his chest and had difficulty breathing. So he learned to keep away from me.

  Later, an acquaintance scoffed at my ability to summon the demons. I knew he dealt in drugs. So I told him he would be arrested and then be released. The demons did just what I requested. Within two months the man was arrested. Afterward the charges were dropped, and he was released. The man never questioned my abilities again.”..............

  
  

  “Then, in my communications with the demons, I began using these names when I spoke with them. And it seemed that whenever I dealt with a particular demon, that one’s personality and the way he worked differed from that of another demon I would call upon. I thus came to know scores of demons by name.”

  The demons, of course, didn’t want me to study. But I knew that what I was learning was the truth, and I was not going to give it up even though the demons tried to stop me. They would hit me while I was in bed. Once a blow to the head was so severe that it took hours for the pain to subside. I prayed to Jehovah for help, and after that he kept them out of my room.

  However, the demons didn’t give up. From outside my bedroom, they would rattle the windows. They kept it up all night, so that I could only get a couple of hours of sleep. They were trying to wear me down. But I kept praying to Jehovah and going to all the meetings of the Witnesses, and Jehovah helped me.

  True, the demons have great powers. They can even kill people, as they did Job’s ten children. (Job 1:18, 19) And I’m sure they wanted to kill me, since I had been their servant to whom they had granted special powers but who had abandoned them to serve their enemy, Jehovah God. So Jehovah’s ability to protect me is proof that we need not fear the demons.”

  
  

  “
• 
  33

  Research question

  by JeffT in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm doing a little background research for a novel.

  what is the craziest thing you heard a witness say was demonized, and what did they do about it?.

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  BluesBrother

  I remember the story of a smurf walking down the aisle of a kingdom hall. Does anyone remember that?

  Yes, when I was still allowed to post on J.W.Talk there was a Witness who insisted this was true.. The story was well known even over here.A sister I knew said she had taken the toy away from her toddler and her behaviour showed a marked improvement.

  Any form of entertainment that they dislike can be dismissed as demonic. An old elder, now dead, used to say it about Michael Jackson. I have heard it said of Harry Potter films ....... mind you a lot of them love Star Wars .....
  
  
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  24

  The choice of being alone has never been clearer.

  by pistolpete in

  1. social
  2. current

  something i've noticed is that marriage was the thing for those born before 2010. but today's culture of divorce laws slanted to favor women has forced men to think carefully before signing the marriage certificate.

  most of my friends have no intentions of getting married.

  all of them have gotten vasectomies, so there is no chance of being blamed for a pregnancy.

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  BluesBrother

  Marriage is an arrangement that has served mankind well since the dawn of time. Every culture (to my knowledge) has it it some form and families have raised the next generation with input from both parents.

  Would we be better off free to roam, have casual partners and be independent? When you are young it may look that way if your marriage is not happy. I accept that many stiii end up alone as divorcees but if you can weather the bad times many do find happiness together as older couples.

  My wife and I have been through it all but now in later years when health fades and strength recedes, we are very glad to have each other. I am totally grateful for her care of me and she says she is glad that I am still here

  I’m just saying that life, and marriage is a marathon not a sprint and you need a long term view.
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  23

  DPA Blood ASAP

  by manicmama in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am in need of the current copy of the newest dpa blood card as some of the jw's in my mothers congregation are asking about if she signed the latest copy after she passed today.

  i am curious as to why they are asking about this specifically and not offering condolences on the loss of my mother.

  there has been some shady interactions leading to my mother requesting me to talk to certain elders to request that certain people not interact with her further.

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  BluesBrother

  If I were asked this question, I would stall it , saying that now is not the time for such things and you have too much to think about right now. It is wrong in my view for them to pursue this when a sister is deceased. Whatever the reason, it cannot be good for your Mother’s memory.

  I am sorry about your Mother’s passing and offer my condolences.
• 
  11

  Announcing The WatchtowerHelper Chrome extension

  by wtwrhelpclub in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a new free chrome extension opens up watchtower study articles on jw.org to global discussion!

  the extension lets you highlight, comment, and add footnotes.

  you can also view other's highlights and posts, all without leaving jw.org!

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  BluesBrother

  Tell me if I have got this wrong.. this extension allows you to call up the study article, read and comment and share comments with others all within the JW .Org website...The hope being that J W’s and ex JWs will engage in fruitful, meaningful conversations.. Is that right?

  I say that there are some hopes of that happening. JWs will never want to engage with us if they grasp that we are ex. And anti. They are not allowed to so will not use it. We will be wary of anything that links us back to J.W .org in case we become “outed” .

  Dubs and ex Dubs are like oil and water, they do not mix.
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  24

  Belgium: Jehovah's Witnesses in court to respond to incitement to hatred

  by yalbmert99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  belgium: jehovah's witnesses in court to respond to incitement to hatred.

  february 16, 2021.. https://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/les-temoins-de-jehovah-devant-le-tribunal-pour-repondre-d-incitation-a-la-haine/article-news-1392951.html.

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  BluesBrother

  Translation according to this machine

  ”GHENT (Neth.) - The non-profit organization behind the Jehovah's Witnesses is appealing against the conviction for inciting discrimination and hatred or violence against ex-members who have left the community. This is confirmed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of East Flanders.

  A former jehovah's witness went to the Ghent prosecutor's office in 2015 and stated that once the members had left the group, they would be expelled and socially completely isolated on the orders of the organization ...”