There is only one later edition, not "editions." It was published in 1985. On the last page of the Foreword the opening line of the old paragraph that begins "While inclining to view the pronunciation 'Yahâ˘weh´' as the more correct way, we have retained ..." has been changed to "While many are inclined to view the pronunciation 'Yahâ˘weh´' as the more correct way, we have retained ..." That's it. So they, Fred Franz really, backed off from the personal view that Yahweh is "more correct," whatever that's supposed to mean.
careful
JoinedPosts by careful
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Long live consistency
by psyco in.
(the kingdom interlinear translation of the greek scriptures, wt 1969, p. 23).
between yahweh (more correct) and jehovah (more familiar), they decided to use the more familiar (jehovah).. between stake (more correct) and cross (more familiar), they decided to use the more correct (stake).. đ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł.
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Reddit thread - âOrganization Finally Suggesting to Plan for Retirementâ
by LongHairGal inthis information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i donât go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. donât know what to say except that iâm so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
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liam2 days ago
careful
If this is true, it is a big change.
The redditer who posted this on exjwreddit took one paragraph that had the phrase; "Retirement" and made it seem like the Watchtower is telling everyone that they should make Retirement a priority.
That's not what the article is saying. See link below.
Many thanks for the info and link, liam. It sounded too far off the long-held party line to be true. My impression is that the ex-Witness group on reddit is not the most critically and accurately thinking bunch!
There have been plenty of unexpected organizational changes in the last few years, but this supposed one seemed too bizarre.
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Wythenshawe Kingdom Hall - Sold
by AdamCzarnobay ini was slightly surprised to see that wythenshawe hall has been sold.
it's now a mosque.
this one had an attached flat where the co and his wife lived, i wonder what accommodation they put them in these days..
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dozy:
How "Lutheran" really is the university? It might be that its something of a historical name without a direct connection nowadays
Check out these links:
https://calendar.lr.edu/event/lutheran-theological-southern-seminary-opening-service
https://calendar.lr.edu/event/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-3rd-annual-prayer-breakfast
Doesn't appear to be entirely secular, eh?
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Jolene Chu and Ollimatti Peltonen publication
by careful injust published in cambridge university press's elements in new religious movements series, a short book or oversized pamphlet is now available by two witnesses, jolene chu from warwick and ollimatti peltonen from the selters branch.
https://www.amazon.com/jehovahs-witnesses-elements-religious-movements/dp/1009509764.
it's small, just 84 pages, including the bibliography.
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careful
Just published in Cambridge University Press's Elements in New Religious Movements series, a short book or oversized pamphlet is now available by two Witnesses, Jolene Chu from Warwick and Ollimatti Peltonen from the Selters branch.
https://www.amazon.com/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Elements-Religious-Movements/dp/1009509764
It's small, just 84 pages, including the bibliography. Peltonen gave a talk at the Cesnur convention in Bordeaux, France in June on those who come back to the WTS after leaving. It was called "'Reaffiliation and âReconversion' to the Jehovahâs Witnessesâs Community: Motivating Factors Behind the Process.
After a 7-page intro, there are 5 headings: History, Doctrine, Identity, Organization, Interaction.
Here are the two copyright pages:
Among the interesting things here that struck me in this abstract is how toned down "false Christianity/apostate Christendom" is. It's simply called "mainstream Christianity" with nothing negative attached. Although this publication is billed as unofficial, surely the GB had to read and approve it. Is this yet another example of the many changes taking place in their collective mind?
Your thoughts?
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Wythenshawe Kingdom Hall - Sold
by AdamCzarnobay ini was slightly surprised to see that wythenshawe hall has been sold.
it's now a mosque.
this one had an attached flat where the co and his wife lived, i wonder what accommodation they put them in these days..
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Thanks for the further work, blondie. I wonder how being a professor of religion at a Lutheran university works into that scenario. I also wonder if the so-revered GB is even aware of such a thing, or if they are aware of it, whether they simply don't want to touch it. They might lose an appointed man (assuming Foster is such), something in short supply these days.
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Theocratic Warfare and Taqiyya
by aqwsed12345 inthe concept of strategic deception exists in several religious and ideological contexts.
in this article, we will explore and compare the theocratic warfare doctrine of the watchtower society and taqiyya in islam.
both concepts have parallels in their mechanisms of permitting deception for religious purposes but differ significantly in their application and historical roots.. 1. theocratic warfare: the "rahab method".
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You can add well-known OT/LXX scholar Eugene Ulrich of Notre Dame to that list of Skehan and Tov. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Developmental Composition of the Bible, Supp. VT 169 (Leiden: Brill, 2015) 154.
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Reddit thread - âOrganization Finally Suggesting to Plan for Retirementâ
by LongHairGal inthis information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i donât go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. donât know what to say except that iâm so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
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If this is true, it is a big change. Anyone have the org. link?
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Wythenshawe Kingdom Hall - Sold
by AdamCzarnobay ini was slightly surprised to see that wythenshawe hall has been sold.
it's now a mosque.
this one had an attached flat where the co and his wife lived, i wonder what accommodation they put them in these days..
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careful
Blondie, I have long appreciated your well-researched and informative posts here. That said, I have a problem with this statement:
But a jw can't donate money to another religious organization or accept money in pay for work done from a religious organization.
There are bros/sisters who work or have worked for colleges and universities run by Catholic and Protestant religions. I knew a sister who worked at a Protestant one as a postal clerk. I asked her whether her paycheck was from the postal service or the college. She said the latter. She was in good standing in the cong. and loved the FS.
Right now and for years, there is a brother named Edgar Foster in good standing who teaches part-time at Lutheran Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. He got a PhD from the University of Glasgow and has a blog defending the org and its beliefs:
https://fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.com
Here is a description of a course he teaches from the university's online catalogue:
And another of a teaching award he received in 2016:
So it appears either that things have changed or there was some long-standing "exception" in this regard. I knew that sister many years ago.
What do you think?
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The WatchtowerâStudy Edition  | January 2025 Husbands, Honor Your Wife
by RULES & REGULATIONS in14 a husband who physically or verbally abuses his wife needs to take additional steps to repair his relationship with jehovah and with his wife.
what are these steps?
first, he recognizes that he has a serious problem.
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liam,
I can think of numerous sisters, both single and married, who would absolutely cherish (one group) and hate (other group) your pic! I had to lol! To me it looks like the cover pic of the underground Witness "Handbook for Single Sisters".
As for R&R's OP: conspicuous by its absence is any ref. to calling in Caesar to protect the wife. How they don't want to touch on that! The scenario they portray looks entirely in-house, as if sistersâin the predicament of being married to a guy who could give a rat's ass about what the scriptures say or of having a "relationship with Jehovah"âdon't matter.
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Does god punish children for their parents sins?
by moomanchu inezekiel 18: 1-4 , âthe word of the lord came to me: âwhat do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of israel: âthe parents eat sour grapes, and the childrenâs teeth are set on edgeâ?
as surely as i live, declares the sovereign lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in israel.
for everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the childâboth alike belong to me.
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careful
What people want to believe themselves (or what they want to believe the scriptures say) and then what the scriptures themselves do say are usually two different things. That said, from a purely historical perspective, there does seem to be an evolution of thought within the history of the Hebrew Bible itself.
For example, acc. to the Mosaic Law (in a dramatic date perspective, prior to David) David should have taken vengeance sometimes but did not. Indeed, he should have been stoned himself for arranging Uriah's death, but he was not. So the contradiction between Ex. 20 and Deut. 18 that you point out can be easily conceived ofâagain from a purely historical perspectiveâas simply an evolution of religious thinking within the Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish faith, that is, "our ancestors used to believe that our God Jehovah takes vengeance for the sins of fathers upon sons. But we Jews [by the date of Ezekiel] now know that isn't how God operates. Each person is individually responsible for his/her own actions."
That's a nice tidy explanation, but then we encounter in the NT, which is supposed to be more loving and tolerant than the OT, Matthew's report that the Jews responsible for wanting Jesus dead exclaim, "Let his blood come upon us and our children" (27:25), clearly a return to the spirit of Ex. 20.
Go figure! If we want any sort of crystal clear theology rooted the Bible, we're dreaming. It's generally pretty murky stuff, full of contradictions or at least what look like such on the surface. Enter the theologians.