careful

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Posts by careful

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  20

  Marijuana and JWs

  by Thomasdam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so where does the cult stand on marijuana.

  my wife just visited her parents who are jws and her dad who knows nothing about it said it was a gateway drug.

  he may have heard it on the news but i doubt it.

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  careful

  Perhaps pot fragments, like beard fragments (mustaches) are acceptable now? Whatever the case, I just cannot see Morris and Splane lighting up, or even listening to Cheech and Chong!
  
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  27

  WATCHTOWER has posted a $40,000,000 bond !

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  watctower has posted a $40,000,000 bond following montana's upholding of the nunez v watchtower verdict of 2018. punitive damages have been upheld, and wt has purchased the bond from travelers insurance (35m+ interest)-montana sc will rule later this year on the appeal.. .

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  careful

  Don't know about Morph, but for those poor souls like me who don't know what a supersedeas bond is, here's help:

  "A supersedeas bond, also known as a defendant's appeal bond, is a type of surety bond that a court requires from an appellant who wants to delay payment of a judgment until the appeal is over."
  

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersedeas_bond
  

  So it looks like they're putting up the cash in order to keep the appeals process going. Given the courts' record elsewhere, they may well be fighting a losing battle appeal-wise. They sure do love those legal delays, don't they?

  Thanks for your work Zing!
  
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  30

  Britain's Sharia Courts Look Strangely Familiar

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  up to 85 of these sharia law courts operate in britain.

  creepy!.

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  careful

  nicolaou, spot on observation. A common ancestry indeed. The Orthodox Jews have their private, religious courts. Then various "Christian" groups do: Roman Catholic and certain conservative Protestant sects like JWs, Amish, and others. Then the Moslems. They all have a common origin in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
  
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  18

  Latest on Greg Stafford

  by Nitty-Gritty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for all those who know who greg stafford is/was.

  the former "apostate/apologist and author of three dissertations and other books, is on page 2 of the march 2016 meeting work book.

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/jw-meeting-workbook/march-2016-mwb/meeting-schedule-mar7-13/welcome-memorial-guests/.

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  careful

  His emphasis seems to have changed. Now he's got some small group of followers that he appears to be devoted to shepherding. Earlier he was pretty much just into theology. It's kind of ironic because he's now using electronic media to do his small group shepherding. Therefore, whether intended of not, he's imitating the WTS.

  
  
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  12

  The Atlantic Magazine: A Secret Database of Child Abuse

  by Pants of Righteousness in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't seen reference to this article on the forum, so would like to post a link to an article that was published by the atlantic on 22 march 2019.. .

  https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/the-secret-jehovahs-witness-database-of-child-molesters/584311/.

  only factual matter that i could correct is the number of gb members at the time of the australian royal commission - i'm pretty sure it was 7 at that time..

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  careful

  Thanks for this post, PofR. Care to share the story behind your nic? Sounds like it might be fascinating.
  

  The Atlantic article provides considerable background for some of the things that have been happening on the opposition front recently. That KH break-in in Mass., the theft of the secret documents from it, and their posting on reddit and elsewhere, all help explain things like the GB recently telling the WTS lawyers to go after those posting them, as well as the fatihleaks response:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6255460664475648/truth-transparency-foundation

  There is a lot more to this story, and the Atlantic article writer helps fill in the gaps.

  I will always remember something a CO said soon after Ray Franz's first book came out. Speaking of GB 1 then in power, he observed, "They're running scared right now. I've never seen anything like it." Now it's GB 2's turn. And scared they are, afraid that some of the truth about their widespread lying and bungling of "governance" will be exposed to the faithful. If that were to occur on a major scale where the average Witness would have to see it and deal with it, the results would be devastating within the org.

  The GB's losing control—their greatest fear!

  One other factual matter correction: the old interpretation of the generation not passing away was not "new" after 1975. It had been around long before that.
  
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  1

  Like the Org, a Proestant Store Going Electronic

  by careful in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lifeway books is closing its brick-and-mortar stores and going exclusively electronic.

  it's also cutting back on its publishing in print.. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/march/lifeway-to-close-all-170-christian-stores.html.

  this somewhat supports what sbf has been saying as to modern wts history—at least it's a common pattern.

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  careful

  LifeWay Books is closing its brick-and-mortar stores and going exclusively electronic. It's also cutting back on its publishing in print.

  https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/march/lifeway-to-close-all-170-christian-stores.html
  

  This somewhat supports what SBF has been saying as to modern WTS history—at least it's a common pattern. Bits: "due to declining sales and financial pressures"; "Our ... strategy for the future will be a greater focus on digital channels, which are experiencing strong growth"; "adjusting to this new reality".

  One thing they only touch on is the loss of person-to-person contact. I'm reminded of the parallel in Witness preaching: just make an "electronic placement" instead of engaging a householder in a personal discussion. Is much of so-called "Christianity" going down this impersonal path? How unlike the biblical pattern!
  
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  13

  JW Convicted of Killing Mother and Unborn Baby

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. social
  2. current

  https://www.pottsmerc.com/news/man-convicted-of-killing-cheltenham-girlfriend-and-unborn-child-judge/article_3ad35162-3fa0-11e9-9998-0be53da6ea6f.html.

  peace.

  zing..

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  careful

  Thank you, Simon. Some people here are so determined to blame JWs as a whole for anything that might be even remotely connected to them that they let their hostility interfere with a sense of objectivity. That is sad because it plays into the hands of the org. The org can claim, "See how biased the apostates are!" Valid criticism for poor teachings and behavior is one thing, but just participating in JW-bashing at all costs is not fruitful for helping others see the real problems.
  
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  37

  My mom

  by vienne in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm annie, rachael's daughter.

  mom died yesterday.

  i can't find a way to delete her account here.

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  careful

  Annie, I add my sympathies as well. Rachael and I corresponded a few times, both on topics related to her research and her personal life. I do not know the details of her illness, but she seemed to have lived an active, full life. It may be hard now to appreciate this, but in the coming days you will more and more. It's part of those stages of grief. Best wishes in dealing with all this.
  

  
  
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  6

  Truth and Transparency Foundation

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  truth and transparency foundation receives take down requests from watchtower.

  https://truthandtransparency.org/news/2019/1/13/truth-and-transparency-foundation-receives-four-takedown-requests-from-jehovahs-witnesses.

  on the afternoon of monday december 31, 2018, the truth and transparency foundation (ttf) was .

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  careful

  Thx for the informative post.
  
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  17

  Interpretation of Acts 15:28,29

  by Christianhonest in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  what does the mandate to "abstain from blood" mean for jehovah's witnesses freed from the control of the governing body?.

  it had previously been understood that the best translation of acts 15: 28-30 was "to abstain from blood.

  " however, a careful analysis of the passage shows that the best translation of this passage is "to abstain from (shedding) blood," where the word "pour out," which does not appear in ancient manuscripts and other biblical versions, does.it appears there understood in elliptical form.in the same way it happened in the case of colossians 1: 16-20 where the new world translation of the holy scriptures correctly inserted the word "other" several times, understood there in elliptical form, in the phrase of the original greek "all things ", thus obtaining the correct translation" all (other) things ".even though christianity reaffirms itself in translating this passage as saying that "through him all things were created", because he maintains that jesus is god according to his pagan doctrine of the trinity, multiple biblical passages sustainthe biblical truth that jesus is not jehovah god, but his beloved son that god later used as his creative partner.according to this paul said that "though he existed in the form of god, he did not give consideration to a usurpation, namely, that he should be equal to god, no, rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a slave and he came to be in the likeness of men, more than that, when he was in the manner of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, yes, death on a torture stake, for this same reason, also, god he exalted a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above all else, so that in jesus' name every knee of those [who are] in heaven and those who are [over] the earth and those [who are] under the ground, and openly recognize * every tongue that jesus christ is lord for the glory of god the father.

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  careful

  Yes, welcome to the forum. There are at least two problems with your take on Acts 15.
  

  1. If your interpretation of "to abstain from (shedding) blood" (my emphasis) has force, then what is the point of the next words about not eating meat from animals that have been strangled? Isn't the blood connection obvious? Indeed, weren't Jews required to shed an animal's blood before eating it? That's hardly abstaining from shedding blood!
  

  2. While your interpretation make be mentally creative, why does it run counter the the understanding that genuine biblical scholarship has had for centuries of this passage? The scholars responsible for connecting not eating strangled meat with the need to drain the blood first, and thus with not eating unbled meat, existed long before the WTS, because it is based on Lev. 17:13.