the jw website is currently featuring a piece: the shell of the diabolical ironclad beetle—was it designed?
it is part of their regular tedious 'was it designed?
' series that purports that very very specific animal species must have been specifically designed because of some seemingly amazing feature.. but they seem completely unaware that this directly contradicts their notion that only very broad 'kinds' were required on the mythical 'ark'.
The JW website is currently featuring a piece: The Shell of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle—Was It Designed? It is part of their regular tedious 'Was It Designed?' series that purports that very very specific animal species must have been specifically designed because of some seemingly amazing feature.
But they seem completely unaware that this directly contradicts their notion that only very broad 'kinds' were required on the mythical 'ark'. Does anyone ever point this out to them?
2024-04-april-announcements and reminders.. languagesafrikaanshttps://pdfupload.io/docs/a85be9ff armenianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/fe57b8a6 chinesehttps://pdfupload.io/docs/e5da00d7 croatianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/452fd4d5 danishhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/a6b8ec28 dutchhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/3ff82dfb englishhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/ef235dbd filipinohttps://pdfupload.io/docs/8a7ebe43 frenchhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/7a04d7bf germanhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/f27daee9 greekhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/02b3db31 haitian creolehttps://pdfupload.io/docs/ae1d93e2 hebrewhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/aecdecf1 hungarianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/fb8eb105 italianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/0bb5d16e japanesehttps://pdfupload.io/docs/6c8d05f3 norwegianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/03ff27f9 polishhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/3e645e96 portuguesehttps://pdfupload.io/docs/541375d0 russianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/be7e2a5c spanishhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/6de127bf ukrainianhttps://pdfupload.io/docs/88b19d49 grandpa!
Mikejw:
I can confirm 100% we do not report Bible studies anymore. All we do is give a thumbs up 👍 that we did some kind of ministry
If this is representative of other JWs, it certainly would explain why Bible Study numbers have fallen off. 🤦♂️In addition to ticking the box, they are indeed still supposed to report the number of Bible studies conducted (including studies with their own children, which accounts for most of them). But maybe a significant number of them are just ticking the box and forgetting to fill in the other bit (though there could also be fewer fudging the number of studies now that they don't have to fudge the number of hours).
The announcements are really pushing Bible studies at every level, with instructions for elders, coordinators, service overseers, and regular publishers (with a 'Worldwide Campaign in September'). The announcement for elders reminds them that Bible studies are part of their "commission to make disciples". But how does that measure up to what the general public is told about JW Bible studies? 😏 See also Are JW Bible studies ‘obligation free’?
it's no longer a year tying to the present (the old pre-1995 generation belief).
realistically, that's the only reason why it mattered.
and if it doesn't really matter what it is anymore, why would jw not do away with it?.
Halcon:
It's no longer a year tying to the present (the old pre-1995 generation belief). Realistically, that's the only reason why it mattered.
Indeed, 1914 is itself tied to their past, which some people imagine to be less relevant for JWs because it is so long ago (often in relation to the very broken teaching about the 'generation'). But their beliefs about 1914 underpin their supposed claim of authority. To abandon their '1914' doctrine, they also need to reinvent their 'faithful slave' teaching as the basis for the 'Governing Body' or the Watch Tower Society or Jehovah's Witnesses having any 'divine backing'.
For more information, see Jehovah Witnesses and 1914—'Faithful Slave' class.
2024-april-elder-manual.. .
https://files.accessjw.org/s/qpctw2hg87t9hxx .
grandpa!.
Biahi:
I briefly looked through it, thank you, Atlantis. It still says that disfellowshipped people should be out for a year or more, makes me wonder what their game is. 🤷♀️
The latest announcements state that the changes to disfellowshipping from ‘governing body update 2’ are not included in the version that was just released and will be in a future revision of the ‘shepherd’ book.
https://youtu.be/-yvykw37rzo?si=vwokohrdq2b53fmh.
by now, it should be painfully obvious that we live in a post tonny morris era where the floods of organizational changes have become possible and a new version of the religion, some have called it warchtower 2.0 is emerging with a soft approach to disfellowshipping practices across the board for all those sinners.
nevertheless 3 groups of people will still be targeted for harsh excommunication, we know the first two well :csa perpetrators and apostates.
More is being made of these changes than is actually the case.
The recent changes do single out people who conspire to end a marriage and child abusers along with apostates in regard to not quickly reinstating. However, it is only apostates who cannot be greeted or invited to meetings. (There is also a category of ‘encouraging wrong conduct’ that could apply to any type of sin but is not specifically identified with any particular type of sin.)
“Extended conversations” and socialising with any disfellowshipped individuals is still explicitly not permitted beyond inviting to meetings and brief greetings at meetings.
The frequency that elders might visit disfellowshipped individuals (excluding apostates) has increased from once a year to every few months (though it is unclear whether this happens in practice), but elders occasionally checking up on disfellowshipped people also is not new.
None of the changes mention disassociated people, including those who elders have decided had ‘dissociated by their actions’.
y'all i am an unmedicated bipolar.
i had a mania streak and slept with my bf who is of the world.
i am pregnant from this.
You don’t seem to understand how pregnancy works. If your story is this inconsistent with the elders, you will probably be disfellowshipped unless they are particularly gullible.
General advice to someone in such a situation would be to build up a support network outside the religion prior to putting yourself at risk of social isolation.
And don’t rely on the kneejerk rumors that ‘everything is easy now, you just have to say sorry’.
and as a reminder to all my atheist friends, here's a list of 12 facts on the resurrection most scholars (skeptic, jewish and otherwise) agree to.
2000 years ago a man announced that he would be killed and while he was dead, he would resurrect himself from the dead.
just wow!.
Already responded to those unconvincing ‘proofs’ recently. https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/users/18346/Jeffro/posts?nav=next&sort=posted&posted=20240224223813#4884876684165120
The new list is just more of the same poor argumentation.
Happy Easter though.
y'all i am an unmedicated bipolar.
i had a mania streak and slept with my bf who is of the world.
i am pregnant from this.
Yes, there’s something familiar about the inability to get the timeline right…
y'all i am an unmedicated bipolar.
i had a mania streak and slept with my bf who is of the world.
i am pregnant from this.
Sydney:
Hello everyone I had sex with my 'worldly' bf 7 days ago. It was after I was baptized. I went and talked to the elders and they said they won't do anything but they are setting up a panel for me of three elders.
You may well have had sex after you were baptised as well, but the events described indicate you more likely became pregnant prior to baptism.
y'all i am an unmedicated bipolar.
i had a mania streak and slept with my bf who is of the world.
i am pregnant from this.
Sydney:
Y'all I am an unmedicated bipolar. I had a mania streak and slept with my bf who is of the world. I am pregnant from this. I don't know how the elders will deal with it. Is there any way that I could just anul m baptism or something I got baptized 2 weeks ago btw.
Based on the timeline, you became pregnant prior to baptism, suggesting you either knew you were pregnant when you were baptised, or at least knew that it was a possibility. If it were not disclosed to 'elders' that you were engaged in sexual activity with someone not your husband, this would also affect the elders' decision in determining the sincerity of repentance.
