BluesBrother

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Posts by BluesBrother

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  15

  Are JWs forgetting Jesus altogether?

  by KerryKing in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a relative sent me yesterday's wt study article 46, how jehovah guarantees his promise of paradise.. it's been a long time since i read one of those articles but what really struck me about this one is that, considering it's discussing a fundamental jw belief, it only mentions jesus twice as an aside, and not at all as the central figure like the bible does.

  it actually mentions satan far more in the same article!.

  i don't remember this discrepancy from my time in the org 15 years ago.

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  BluesBrother

  I have made similar observations in the past although there are times when they focus on Jesus .. A District Convention theme a few years back was all about Jesus. There is the big project underway to video the whole life and Ministry of Jesus. The recent Broadcast made the point that Jesus is the final judge of mankind “ and the resurrection is by him….

  So they do recognise him , but of course as subordinate to Jehovah. I still think they could do more to constantly keep him before their flock.
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  20

  Privacy commissioner orders North Okanagan Jehovah's Witnesses to hand over private records

  by yalbmert99 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in b.c.

  , canada, a victory for ex-jws.

  https://infotel.ca/newsitem/privacy-commissioner-orders-north-okanagan-jehovahs-witnesses-to-hand-over-private-records/it92596.

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  BluesBrother

  “The elders who meet with the individual do not share the confidential religious summary with other elders who are not authorized to be involved in the spiritual restorative discipline,"

  That is utter B/s... In my experience the elders talk about it freely among themselves, if not the r&f . Then of course it is written and the Branch Office informed for their record. It is nothing like Catholic confession.
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  44

  2023 Yearly Report UNDER the Microscope

  by raymond frantz in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://youtu.be/pi7sn2rnrke?si=lnvklqct6nuayv2q.

  branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 85 (= down one from 86 from the previous year and quite possibly they are referring to the hong kong bethel that closed down recently).

  number of lands reporting: 239 ( =the same as 2022).

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  BluesBrother

  Thanks for studying those statistics…. It is more than I would have done..

  Really at present the % increases are pretty meaningless . There have been so many changes in recent years due to Covid and lockdown that there is not a true comparison. The Pioneer hours have changed.

  Now they have done away with counting time, one only has to turn up at a F.S. Group or send someone a text … as long as you mention something about it, job done ! You can put a tick in the appropriate box of your NW Publisher electronic report and everyone is happy.
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  22

  General Amnesty For Disfellowshipped

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  future gb: "please come back!

  all is forgiven!".

  would it work?

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  BluesBrother

  An amnesty for all d/fd ? No chance ! For a start it would be unscriptural and just think of the effect on the faithful who have been wronged…

  However, in this time of them revisiting beliefs and procedures, maybe a loosening of the demands on family to shun them .. just treat as non Witnesses….. maybe?
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  67

  Thoughts on annual meeting “new light”

  by FFGhost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so, i finally saw the annual meeting video part 2.. this is the one with the “new light” on who might survive armageddon, vs. those who do not.. in summary, for those of you fortunate enough not to have to sit through it, it’s something like this:.

  old light: once the “great tribulation” starts, that’s it for non-jws.

  the “door of the ark” is closed.

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  BluesBrother

  It seems that in any question now about future events, the answer is “ we cannot be sure so we are not dogmatic “

  Mind you , it seems that survival, according to them, still requires us to go knocking on the Kingdom Hall and say ‘we are sorry, please let us in’...

  Did G Jackson mention the mental cases, the babies beyond reach ? I suppose that is all left to Jehovah who will do the right thing.

  On the one hand I applaud this new found honesty in admitting that they don’t have the answers but on the other hand I can’t help feeling that we used to follow because we thought they DID know... That they had special insight and the Spirit revealed it.

  Is it reassuring to ask your leader and he says (shrug) “I Dunno”
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  7

  crazy ebay listing

  by stan livedeath in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i was searching a sellers listings for my hobby stuff--model railways--and the seller has listed this amongst it.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395090358779?hash=item5bfd3871fb:g:qmyaaoswidnliyfk.

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  BluesBrother

  I certainly remember the Bible translations comparison notes that we had when we first offered the complete NWT in the Ministry. It was to show the “superiority “ of our Bible.

  That might be around 60 years ago, time flies !
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  30

  Pyramid shaped table

  by MissDaSilva in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  BluesBrother

  “It’s fun having the absolute freedom to research everything I’ve wanted to look into for many years.”

  That I can understand. I felt the same when I left.. I suddenly realised I had to make up my own mind about many things that I had relied on the Society to tell me ... it is an interesting journey.

  NB . I don’t see signs and symbols in things that are not there, though
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  13

  Door to Door Witnessing Anxiety

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's not only the jws who do door to door witnessing.

  the independent baptists for the most part have "soul winning", mainly door to door witnessing and leaving tracts, as a tennet of their faith.

  this discussion is interesting:.

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  BluesBrother

  I certainly suffered anxiety going door to door. …It was ok if you were with a good partner and you got along well. The conversation with him/her kept your mind off it . Calling alone was difficult.. I think I felt too much for the people, knowing that I was interrupting their morning. The worst was when you had waited a while and heard the thump of a zimmer frame making its way painfully to the door and you knew that some old person had struggled to get there. I felt awful…
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  8

  Elders get Paid??

  by jwundubbed in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just did a google search to see if i could find out if my old kingdom hall was still there, in the town i grew up in.

  google has generated questions.

  the first question asked how much jehovah's witness elders get paid.

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  BluesBrother

  Utter twaddle ! Elders work hard behind the scenes preparing talks and meeting parts. They travel to Elders meetings and to deliver the talks at their own expense , Secretaries do paperwork, probably computer work these days.... all without payment.

  If I had been on that sort of money it would have been harder to leave.
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  45

  Merry Christmas

  by jhine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so for those amongst us who celebrate the season .

  merry christmas everyone.

  .. jan from tam .

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  BluesBrother

  Sea Breeze , whilst I know that we come from a different culture, to us in Britain the whole idea of presenting a teenager with such a thing is…. Well, scary. I hope all goes well.