Posts by careful

29

What does "The disfellowshipping of xyz is now rescinded" mean

by cognitivedizzy in

it has happened somewhere i know.

what is it and what does it mean.

careful

Yes, it is real, whether individual ex-elders here have experienced or heard of it or not. It's done, just like DOC said, when local BOEs and/or appeals committees screw up. It's done from HQ. It means that the DFing never should have happened. It's rare but it occurs. A CO explained it to me back in the 1980s. I know of one case of a high powered elder getting wrongly DFed by his enemies, other high power elders who hated him. The service department at Brooklyn (pre-Patterson/Warwick days) had to step in and rescind the DFing.

It's mentioned in the CO manual for a reason (see SBF's quotation above).

15

2019--16 Leaked Videos!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

1-samuel herd-message to accounts servants.

2-roles and responsibilities.

3-resolutions4-collecting contributions5-contribution boxes and their uses6-balance of congregation funds7-recording bank activity8-recording the s24 to the accounts sheet9-setting up and maintaining a bank account10-balance of congregation funds11-setting up a cash box and a cash box holder12-setting up a cash agreement13-making payments with a bank account14-how to add a user to a congregation domain15-ldc update-201916-walk on your way in safety-local needshttps://we.tl/t-wuega8kvbn .

careful

Thanks, Petra!

7

2019-6-Files-English!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

these are the english files, the german files will be posted on a different thread in about an hour.. 2019-10-01-s-67-instructions for merging congregations2019-10-21-malta campaign letter.

2019-10-21-malta information sheet.

2019-malta application form.

careful

Thx, Petra.

Does anyone else find it odd that the org is planning a big blitz on Malta, asking for Maltese speakers living elsewhere to travel there to participate, and states that there is a "rapidly expanding population" there? What a minute. Have the native Maltese people suddenly become more fertile so that the native population is growing? Isn't the increased population there due to refugees and people escaping from Africa? Why would they speak Maltese?

I smell a rat. Are they afraid if they get non-Maltese need-greaters coming in, that the government will send them packing, but if they get Maltese-speakers coming in, there is more of a chance they will be able to stay? Or has the cong there shrunk so much that they cannot cover their territory? Combining congs? Increasing elderly in them? What's up here?

16

Ray Franz - Why The Watchtower Cannot Reform

by Anna Marina in

this is me reading a letter ray kindly sent to me in 2008 explaining why the watchtower was not capable of reform.

the letter is full of wisdom and is very informative.. ray franz's letter to me - why the watchtower cannot reform.

careful

Thx for this post, AM. I can empathize with you since it was only since after I left the org that I came to realize in a fuller manner how difficult it is for intelligent women to be in it. What a trial for you and for other women!

I generally agree that the WT org will not reform. I respect Ray Franz and his efforts, but I do have some disagreements with him. One is that there exists a single possibility for reform: only a massive crisis will ever cause real change in the org. I find it interesting that so far, at least since Rutherford's day, such a thing has not happened to them. Whether it will occur in the future or not, who knows?

Since I lived through the Ray Franz episode as an active Witness, your experience here is also educational for me as an example of someone discovering him after it was over. You did it without coming to forums like this one. That seems unusual.

39

The real dividing line isn’t between apostates and apologists it’s between...

by slimboyfat in

excellent observation from zizek about communist regimes: they didn’t care if people accepted the ideology or took it seriously, so long as people acted as if the ideology was true, that was the important thing.

in fact the regimes were deeply suspicious people who took the ideology too seriously.

people who took the ideology seriously were dangerous because they were prone to noticing the inconsistencies and flaws in the system.

careful

A post by SBF that does not tell about his "joining" some minor religious group or the WTS's imminent collapse—wow, the times must be achanging!

You have point, of course, but let me play devil's advocate and bring up what might be called "loyal success stories" who have spent time learning Hebrew and/or Greek formally, and have remained within the Witness fold: Hal Flemings, Max Wörnhard (who was both a CO and a professor of classics), Rolf Furuli, Edgar Foster, Pavlos Vasileiadis, and Gérard Gertoux. Of course, one could just write these characters off and say "They're an exception." However, given how rare it is to find any JWs who study these ancient languages in a serious, formal manner, such a number should not be so easily swept away. Furthermore, for a theory, like the one you are proposing, to be solid, it should be able to handle contrary evidence, as you well know. Why is it that these types have not crossed the delicate line from apologist to apostate? Obviously they have thought a lot about theology. To them the religion is not just behavior.

Your response?

17

The new JW Bible

by silas hobbs in

jw
friends

i was recently informed that the new jw bible was reviewed by some academic type person who rated it as one of the best translations available.. has anyone heard of this person and if so what is his reasoning for giving it such a compliment?.

careful

Perhaps you heard, or the source you got this info from heard, about comments on the NWT by Jason BeDuhn in his 2003 book Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Bible Translations of the New Testament. Since it came out 10 years before the revised NWT, it can't have covered the revised edition. BeDuhn is a religious studies professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. In his book he discusses a number of translations, but he seems to spend an exceptional amount of time defending the NWT against its critics.

41

Creepy display

by neat blue dog in

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i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..

careful

nbg, thx for this. Yes it does look creepy. The leadership and the sheep seem to have no idea how weird they have become.

2

A&E Cult show replaying on Court TV tomorrow

by careful in

that "cult and extreme belief" show that elizabeth vargas put together and showed on a&e in 2018 is being rebroadcast tomorrow on the court tv channel.

it has several groups including nxvim, warren jeffs, and jws.

for the last it has the case of romy maple—in case anyone missed it and wants to check it out..

careful

That "Cult and Extreme Belief" show that Elizabeth Vargas put together and showed on A&E in 2018 is being rebroadcast tomorrow on the Court TV channel. It has several groups including NXVIM, Warren Jeffs, and JWs. For the last it has the case of Romy Maple—in case anyone missed it and wants to check it out.

15

Russian raid on 50 Jehovahs witnesses

by Diogenesister in

there has been a raid on a large jehovahs witness gathering in norilsk, above the arctic circle, according to the moscow times.. a building with 50 jws inside was surrounded by masked, armed special forces forces who burst into the building and demanded they surrender all electronic devices.. i'll link the article but it's obviously going to drive these witnesses deeper into the religion.

not to mention the images conjured up in the report are likely to be used by watchtower as more fear mongering, since its very much like last year's terrifying assembly videos where witnesses were huddled in a field and surrounded with similarly masked, armed men.. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/22/russian-special-agents-raid-jehovahs-witnesses-resort-as-crackdown-intensifies-a67855.

careful

DG, thx for the post.

44

PIMO Elder with a Dilemma

by xjwsrock in

i haven’t been on here in awhile and this is my second user name because i was busted by my pimi wife on the first one.

i have been basically awake since 2013. i have a super dub wife that i love and don’t want to lose and my sick mom in the hall that is a true believer.

stupid religion has gotten between my wife and i (of course).

careful

I fail to see WHY you want to remain an elder. You don't believe it anymore, right? Some of your duties likely will cause you to have to do things that violate what you now believe. Does staying appointed serve some purpose in your life (like making your wife happy)? Why not just step down and take a well needed breather? Let the stupid fellow elders have their silly way. Does "putting them in their place" really matter now?