this can be confusing because the wts has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.. "a congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" wt 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 wt october, p. 20, pp.
7, but 2022 in the wt publication, frequently asked questions about jehovah’s witnesses, page 13, the wts inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "following the model of first-century christianity, jehovah’s witnesses have no clergy-laity division.
all baptized witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work.
Talking about taxation made me think.... When I worked there was the concept of a “benefit in kind” . That was something that your employer gave you as a perk of the job but was not money,e.g. a company car or a heavily discounted mortgage. The value of this was estimated and you were taxed on it.
If you added up all the perks that live in Bethelites receive, accommodation, food , laundry etc , what would their true income be? They would have a tax bill......
it has been interesting for me to learn the various ways that the jws twist the scriptures to fit their own dogma.
(of course jws aren't alone in that, but that's another topic.
) two quick examples of jws not following or going beyond the bible are blood and birthdays.
As a principle of life it is perfectly sound , eg, how many youngsters get into trouble through bad company?
It is taken to extreme by the WT when they say that association with non believers will undermine your faith. Well , it can if they show you that you are wrong, but a real faith based on knowledge and sound arguments will not be easily affected.
i am wondering if a jw accused to be a murderer (or any other serious crime except csa) in a judicial committee would be reported to the police.. if i sexually abused or molested a child, i would not be reported to the police.. what about if i killed a person: would i be instead?.
it is not a matter of being right or wrong but i am only curious to know if there is at least a sort of coherence regarding the internal policies for serious crimes....
In my experience, the question has never been asked within the Society, at least I have never seen it commented on. Supposing a man confessed to a murder that had happened some years ago ? I don’t know, I guess these days they would ask the Branch Office what to do.
I do recall the exchange of words at the Australian investigation into child abuse. The presiding judge asked the elder “ So what if a member confessed to murder , would you keep that quiet?”
The elder said “No” .
is it okey to express your love for jesus as a jehovah's witness?.
it should be, even though it would lift some eyebrows in the congregation.
let's see what jesus said:.
I don’t see how you could be criticised for it . After all they have studied how Jesus laid down his life for us. If I went and if I commented, then I would do so and make a spirited reply to anyone that questioned it.
In my childhood we had an old brother who was what my wife would call “ one of the real anointed “. He was always speaking of “ The Lord “ as though he was close to him, and he did not mean Jehovah.
what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.
here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.
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I am not so sure about harm to children from this stuff. I grew up with the same teachings and same scary pictures in the Paradise book as everyone did . It never affected me at all.
Kids love violence… it does not seem real. We had the cartoon characters doing “ Bam, Splat, Your Gone” and it was funny. The nursery rhymes and fairy stories had violent themes. I recall looking at my nieces book of Raold Dahl ( Sp?) horrible stories, just the same.
To me , somehow all the WT stuff seemed much the same when I was that young . The good people survive and the baddies get their come-uppance so all is well..
That is how my very young mind saw it anyway. It was when I was older that I started to see the terrible side of the message.
not according to this verse:.
(mark 3:28, 29) truly i say to you that all things will be forgiven the sons of men, no matter what sins they commit and what blasphemies they speak.
but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit has no forgiveness forever but is guilty of everlasting sin.”.
Many dubs do not really want to believe this . I have heard it flatly denied by those who cling to the one or two Wt paragraphs that weasel around it saying “We don’t know exactly who will die”….
The main teaching is absolutely clear . Any non JW is to come to a grisly end at the hand of God. This was a major factor in my awakening. I had wrestled with it for years and kept shelving my disquiet with it . Couple that with the passing of too much time , and the penny finally dropped.
the latest video release 4/4/22 (lesson 44 'don't give up') in the comic series of caleb & sophia just got weirder.
the plot is about caleb & sophia preaching door to door, caleb with his father and sophia with her mother.
it shows each of them having doors slammed on them four times.
“Some PIMI old timers would prefer if those JW cartoons were excluded from meeting programs in congregations with no children of applicable age.”
Some? All the old timers I talk to hate any video content of meetings, let alone the kiddy ones that are treated with pure contempt
If I were a dub parent I would vet any Caleb and Sophia video before I showed it to children . It is not right for the Borg to teach directly to young kids . Some of the videos are just “off”
This one seems set to put any kid off going door to door, which they are not doing currently anyway.
does anyone know what year?
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This is all news to me. My WT memories go back to the late 50’s and we were always against the repetition of prayers as they did in Christendom. The Lords Prayer was always seen as a guide only...
what do people usually think of when they buy a house?
"i will probably live here for a long time" (you're invested with your time), "i will save money by building equity over time".
(you've invested in yourself financially for the long run) of course, i wouldn't be able to list the numerous reasons why people want to buy a house.
As a large corporation body with substantial land and “ real estate “ they can hardly preach against home ownership. The majority of dubs I know in this area have mortgaged homes they own.
Come to think of it , I know of several young pioneer couples who set out years ago to live simply in a bedsit or caravan until Armageddon. Then a baby came along, they stopped pioneering got a house... their subsistence window cleaning became a successful cleaning company, and now they do nicely......ce’st la vie......
regarding the governing body update 3 video on resuming meetings in person, i am wondering:.
what is the purpose of wearing masks and to sit keeping distances if you shake hands and hug each other before and after the meetings?.
Well......you are not supposed to shake hands and hug...... not around here anyway.
( I wonder if they do though?) I’ve not been.!
