Posts by careful

46

Can somebody explain the songs and songbook obsession?

by careful in

i've been out a while and have only put in a rare appearance at a memorial or brief visit at a convention/assembly to keep people off my back, so i haven't kept up on the songbook.

but one thing i've noticed that the org.

has been doing that they never did when i was in is all these "supplemental songs" that keep appearing.

careful

I've been out a while and have only put in a rare appearance at a memorial or brief visit at a convention/assembly to keep people off my back, so I haven't kept up on the songbook. But one thing I've noticed that the org. has been doing that they never did when I was in is all these "supplemental songs" that keep appearing. Atlantis has a recent post regarding some more. In it they reschedule the song singing in Feb. and Mar. and then there is this strong instruction to practice these new songs and really get them down before singing them:

When the music, lyrics, and choral arrangements become available in your language on jw.org or JW Broadcasting, follow these four steps: (1) Listen repeatedly to the music or choral renditions of the songs until you know them well. (2) Analyze the lyrics, and try to memorize them. (3) Sing the melody together with the lyrics until you have mastered each song. (4) Rehearse the new songs a few times during your Family Worship session until your family is comfortable with them.

In the bigger picture what in the world is going on here? Since the appearance of the new songbook, the org's actions totally break the protocol that they used to have regarding the songbook. It used to be that they'd come out with a new one every couple of decades. In other words, it didn't occupy their time much. It wasn't high on their list of priorities. Now they seem obsessed with constantly wanting to tweak the songbook, add this song (delete that?), etc.

It cannot be just that technology that is making this easy to do. Some back at HQ must either be putting a bug in the GB's ear, or the GB themselves must be on this kick, to constantly give attention to the songs/music. They seem quite unsatisfied with what they used to be satisfied. Furthermore, they've got these pretty awful music videos they've been throwing on the end of the monthly broadcasts, here probably in an effort to reach out the young.

Since we know that the org leadership never gives their true motives for such administrative changes, and if on rare occasion they do say something, it's always BS, does anyone with some ties inside the secret walls of the org have any insight into what's really going on here?

17

the Remnant

by Esse quam videri in

when was the last time anyone recalls hearing the word 'remnant', in meetings or conversation?

is it something still discussed?

[i haven't attended in 20 years, so no idea].

careful

Blondie to the rescue—as usual!

45

Closest to the truth?

by punkofnice in

i know many jws that state that the watchtower corporation is the 'closest to the truth'.

thus they quiet their cognitive dissonance.. i don't have access to a corporation library any more.

is this a stance that the watchtower corporation has actually claimed?.

careful

PON, thanks for the thread.

When I was in and gradually discovering the corruption of the org, I remember having a conversation with one close bro. that I could open up to about it. Our conclusion was as you put above. So I asked him, "OK, so starting this Saturday when we go out in service, we should tell the householders, 'Come on, join up with us. We've got all sorts of issues, but we're much closer to the truth than the churches are'?" He got visibly upset. Last I heard, he's still in. Some years after this conversation, after I'd faded, I visited him at work and he cut me off (a real Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde routine). The truth was just too dangerous for him...

15

Hands up.........................

by The Searcher in

jw
friends

................who ordered the chinese takeaway?????????

?

careful

It looks Korean, not Chinese (???). Some of Kim Jong-un's boys at work? Perhaps due to anything connected with the WTS? Perhaps this is, in their minds, payback after they busted some poor slob for trying to smuggle some WTS literature/electronic data into their "paradise"? Maybe they just sent out a minor electronic attack to anything with JW in the name.

9

NWT 2013

by truthlover in

the old nwt contained a byline that indicated westcott and hort was used in the translation of this bible.

(they are not mentioned in the 2013 release) but you and i both know that their wordings in scripture remain in the new release.. if you check their background, you will find some serious issues with these translators which the society used.

has anyone googled wh for their spiritual qualifications to include them in the nwt??

careful

TD1914, I couldn't agree more.

I fault them for ignoring some of the bigger questions that arise from the study of ... criticism of the Bible, such as the many contradictions in the Bible that they don't acknowledge. Instead they try to "explain" them away.

I suspect they just cannot handle this sort of truth. That's why they get hostile to anyone who asks about this kind of thing. They have to live in a fantasy land. Simple minds cannot acknowledge such truths and still maintain faith.

32

Undeclared changes to the 2013 NWT

by Doug Mason in

in the following from the 2013 edition of the nwt, the watchtower society indicates that when it released its initial 1950 edition, it considered the greek text provided by westcott and hort as its master text.

as a result of these additional masters, the wts made some undeclared changes to the 2013 nwt.

it does not list these changes or give any explanations.. greek text: in the late 19th century, scholars b. f. westcott and f.j.a.

careful

Wonderment, thank you for your work!

Of course, the NWT translators have made a point that in this revision the older versions of the NWT have become more readable, often in spite of the difficulty of the Hebrew (see, for example, Gen. 48:22; Ex. 1:21; Job 12:5-6). So why did they only partially do so here? They are willing to change "Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed" to "Honor the son, or God will become indignant," but not provide a meaningful translation for "perish in the way." Doesn't that seem odd? In hundreds of other passages they opted for the renderings in translations like the NIV, NEB, and so on, so why not here? Taking refuge in the difficult Hebrew while having the courage to work with that same handicap elsewhere seems inconsistent, eh?

For instance, consider these intelligible translations:
"and you are struck down in mid course," NEB.
"and your way come to nothing," NJB.
"and your way be doomed," NJPS/Tanakh.
"and your ways will be destroyed," NIV.

Wouldn't one of these renderings have been suitable here, rather than leave the reader wondering what the phrase means while the org. claims to make the Scriptures understandable?

2

Large print revised NWT?

by careful in

in the jan. jwdotorg.

broadcast posted by wifibandit here,.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4737040503537664/jw-broadcasting-december-2015.

careful

In the Jan. JWdotOrg. broadcast posted by wifibandit here,

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4737040503537664/jw-broadcasting-december-2015

the main chair Mark Noumair is using a large print soft binding revised NWT with the same gray-silver laptop color as the small revised NWT released a few years ago. Later in the vid the sister using the black laptop seems to have one too. So is this out and available to average publishers? If so, does it replace the old large, brown hard-cover print one from 1984? What are the features that make it different from the standard sized gray-silver Bible? Would some here with this new edition fill the rest of us in on it?

Thanks.

32

Undeclared changes to the 2013 NWT

by Doug Mason in

in the following from the 2013 edition of the nwt, the watchtower society indicates that when it released its initial 1950 edition, it considered the greek text provided by westcott and hort as its master text.

as a result of these additional masters, the wts made some undeclared changes to the 2013 nwt.

it does not list these changes or give any explanations.. greek text: in the late 19th century, scholars b. f. westcott and f.j.a.

careful

Thanks Splash. What does "perish from the way" mean? If they were looking to make the revision more intelligible, they missed something here!

17

JW Sites?

by EternalPettingZoo in

long time lurker who just created an account.

i was raised a witness, never dunked, have new jw bride ( why u ask?

um... i do love her, just not the dub side, which is raising its little head more and more now) and a little 5 month old that i would like to have other options in life than a full time pioneer married to a 23 year old ms who works for his daddy's janitor business.

careful

"without bias"---now THAT'S funny!

30

New British terror attack just occured train station!

by Witness 007 in

a man yelling "this is for syria" slashed a strangers throat and was quickly tasered by police and arrested.

video avalible...looks like war is coming soon.

careful

LINKS:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3347632/Tube-terror-knifeman-screaming-Syria-blood-spilled-slashes-man-s-throat-Tasered-police.html

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/05/suspect-custody-after-stabbing-leytonstone-london-underground-station