At my last hall there was an elder assigned for this purpose. He was about retirement age himself, and though in generally good health, somewhat gaunt. Such are the vagaries of the English language that when referring to him and his special duties from the platform, he was more than once referred to as "our elderly and infirm overseer" - which brough some guffaws - instead of "overseer for the elderly and infirm."
Bodhisattva
JoinedPosts by Bodhisattva
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How about an Overseer for the Elderly??
by Mulan ini was telling my daughter in law about this ongoing saga, with the elders and my mother.
she isn't a jw, and attends a christian church.. when i told her about calling the local elder, who is the presiding overseer, she asked me why i called that elder.
"is he the one in charge of helping the elderly?
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Another JW urban Legend
by NikL inwell i got e mailed another jw urban legend...er experience.
maybe you have heard it before but if not.... .
i received this great experience, well worth sharing.. .
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Bodhisattva
No doubt other religions have stories very, very similar to this one. But one element makes it clear that this one is from the One True Religion(TM):
...my son told him to wait so he could go to the car and get some tracts for him to read...
Yes, other faiths have high-falutin' stories about accepting Jesus and not being down on yourself, but how many can claim they represent God's own publishing concern? -
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Watchtower leadership say We Don't Make Rules!
by ozziepost inan announcement on the official web-site of jehovah's witnesses is causing some 'eyebrows to be raised'.. the watchtower society have announced that they "avoid making rules and regulations beyond those provided in the scriptures, and they do not follow traditions that contradict bible teachings.
emphasis is placed on personal application of bible principles and the value of a sound, bible-based conscience.. this comes as a surprise to many thousands in the jehovah's witness community who have become accustomed to the changing rules and regulations imposed compulsorily on its members.. it should be noted in the watchtower society's statement that "emphasis is placed on personal application of bible principles".
this will come as a surprise to many of its members.
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Bodhisattva
I'm laughing at YK's comment, because it is so true. But consider how the Watchtower differs from other instances where the English word "not" has lost its meaning.
The Calvary Chapel claim to not be a denomination, and so no one has to "cut your ties" with your old church and upset their family. The Unitarian Universalist's chief creed is that they do not have a creed, and this results in churches where Wiccans sit next to conservative Republicans - in those congregations that have any conservative Republicans - and neither insists that their own beliefs must be followed by everyone else.
Brand X is not a toothpaste, but it gets your teeth clean. Brand Y is not a car, but it gets you from point A to point B from $450 per month. Brand Z is not a soap, but at least you don't smell so bad after using it.
On the other side we have "I'm not a telemarketer," "this isn't multi-level marketing," and "we don't make rules." The latter lead to the PO of my old hall muttering "no rules" all the time, usually after putting forward suggested guidelines on something of earth-shattering importance, such as where to sit in the kingdom hall. In the course of months such non-rules changed from 'leave the back rows open for families with small children who need to get up a lot and be near the restrooms' to 'leave the back rows open for older ones who have a hard time walking up the aisles to the front seats (and who need to get up a lot and be near the restrooms)' - the one thing that didn't change was the faces in the back rows.
They won't change their habits to make it easier for you. They won't warn you that Brother S seems to hang around children a bit much. They won't talk to you if you accept life-seaving medical treatment. But they're willing to die for you, if the rules say the must. Join Jehovah's Witnesses today!
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Highlights from Feb 8,2002 Awake
by LDH in1. qfr page 30 comment reads:.
i enjoyed the article "cathedrals--monuments to god or men?
" (june 8, 2001) but isn't it true that jws build rather large kingdom halls and asembly halls?.
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Bodhisattva
Yeah, I've never heard anything said about quick-builds in praise of the organization.
So if one only beats his wife moderately and makes sure no one else is around while he molests a child, he can be a proud Jehovah's Witness elder.
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Is this a JW editorial?
by NikL ini got e mailed this editorial today.
it was supposed to be from the minneapolis star tribune newspaper.
i went to their website and sure enough it is there.
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Bodhisattva
Yes it sounds JWish. It's inaccurate and potentially libelous in places.
Pope John Paul broke his silence... But the problem that the pope has never acknowledged is that a systemic practice of sexual abuse has emerged involving not only individual clerics but also the church hierarchy, including himself.
First off, John Paul died years ago. John Paul II has not been implicated to my knowledge in the systematic moving around of molestor priests, although he may be culpable if, as is likely, he had some knowledge of the practice. But he himself has not been accused of "the practice of sexual abuse"! They are asking to be sued for slander. Blithering idiot. -
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Circuit Assembly Bklyn NY -Saturday 4/6/02
by worf inmy sister went to the circuit assembly this past weekend here in bklyn ny.. they had a young sister on the platform helping to promote pioneering.the interesting point about this is that this young sister is attending college full time and actually said this in front of the audience.she brought out that she is going to college full-time and that since she "has only one more year left, she will wait to pioneer when she is in her last year of college because maybe then it probably won't be so hard.
" these were her exact words.. i find this to be very interesting.
those of us who have done parts or experiences or talks for circuit assemblies know that each talk and each part is scrutinized in practice sessions prior to the assembly in front of the circuit overseers.
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Bodhisattva
JT -
If you mean that baptism is down to one third of the goal, i.e. three instead of nine, then there has been about a 67% reduction. The construction "three times fewer" is also acceptable to express one third as many. The expression "300% drop" - or any decrease greater than 100% - is not possible when something expresses only magnitude. I once saw a mattress ad touting "300% less" dust mites. Of course, 100% less than any number would be zero dust mites, which is ideal, but they really meant one third as many, or three times less. If you jumped from 5,000 dust mites to -10,000 dust mites, a 300% reduction, the question would be what is a negative dust mite? And jokes could follow.
Of course if instead of nine being baptized, three are baptized and twenty-one announce their disassociation at the same assembly, then you would have a net loss of eighteen, or a 300% drop in the increase!
BluesBrother: Heard about 1 only at Buckingham, PA within the last couple years.
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WTS says you are free to do what we tell you
by ozziepost inthe may 15 issue of the watchtower contains a discussion of the question: would it be advisable for a true christian to attend a funeral or a wedding in a church?.
the tone of the wts view is set in the very first line our taking part in any form of false religion is displeasing to jehovah and must be avoided.
nonetheless the last line of the article states whatever the situation, the christian should make sure that the decision will not interfere with his preserving a good conscience before god and men.. so apparently it's a personal decision for the jw as to whether he/she will attend a funeral in a church or not.
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Bodhisattva
None of your quotes from the article say "quiet observer," but then again it is implied, and to spell out something implied would be unwatchtowerlike; they expect people to read between the lines and thus believe they have gained special knowledge.
As to being only an "observer," this may be a change. Not a few witness weddings have included "unbelieving" siblings as groomsmen or bridesmaids, and the reverse also is true. But now, it would seem one is not permitted to be part of the wedding party of one's non-Witness brother or sister! This further separates families. Because many non-Witnesses plan their weddings a year or more in advance, how many young Witnesses must now say to their brother, sister, or old friend, "I'm sorry, I have to pull out of your wedding party, but I am allowed to observe your wedding!" For some, it might be the last straw; for others, the thing that finally gets them to thinking about this religion.
How much heartache will be caused when, while planning a funeral, Witness relatives say they cannot eulogize the dead? "But you knew Aunt Rita the best!" Eulogies are already forbidden at Witness memorial services, but it is odious to require Witnesses to participate only as "observers" when a relative or close friend dies.
Is this loving your neighbor as your self? What part of loving God whole-souled requires one to act like a mere acquaintance during a family's time of joy or grief?
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The Osbornes...ie OZZY
by teenyuck ini have been catching up on "the osbornes" which is on mtv.. i read the comments made in various newspapers and saw them on the tonight show.
they are hysterical!!!!.
the show is a few months in the life of ozzy osborn and his family....he is a wasted, drugged out nut...but very funny!.
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Bodhisattva
His children seem a tad maladjusted.
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GOVERNING BODY'S PLAN TO GROW YOUNGER
by Dutchie insince the sect's leadership had painted itself into a corner a change had to come about.
governing body members were required to be of the "anointed" class, composed of men who became witnesses as adults before the year 1935. this excludes younger men, and limits the governing body to an older group each year.
few men in their 80s or 90s are up to running a corporation.. during the mid-1990s the witnesses attempted to sidestep the problem by beginning to appoint a few younger men who had earlier declared themselves to be of the anointed.
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Bodhisattva
We can expect the right food at the right time per the usual. For instance, it was made clear in 1976 that we should not expect Armageddon to come definitely in 1975, and just four years later we learned that this applied even to expectations emanating from Brooklyn and its publications.
In late 1995, only a year after someone born in October, 1914 would have reached the ago of "special mightiness," we learned that chronological calculations were not to be made based on the 1914 "generation."
About 2030, once perhaps even Ted Jaracz's new boys have died off, we should get new light telling us that the governing body, created in the 1970's, is no longer needed, but that Jesus can direct even non-anointed men to lead his chosen people. He just can't do it himself, he needs a printing company. What? Outsourcing? He needs a holding company.
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New blood policy
by rhett ini just got the newest copy of the watchtower and in it there's new light!
as it turns out they have a new understanding of the scripture at psamls 156;23 and because of it accepting blood transfusions is now a matter of conscience.
their reasoning behind it is that apparently it was revealed to the gb that to keep numbers up it would be best to allow this matter to be a conscience decision because too many of the current members were dying off because of this and they want to keep their numbers up.
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Bodhisattva
Alas, this is what they'll have to do one day, but I know this is an April Fool's thing, for there is no verse 23 in the 156th Psalm.