Posts by SimonSays

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

To the original poster. Sorry your thread got hijacked. Perhaps this will give an answer to the question you posted, that you did everything that you were supposed to do, but never got anything in return. I don’t know at what point your belief system changed, but God knows and understands the needs of his people, and by that I mean true worshippers. It is not a give and take scenario by which you could demand something in return other than through pure of heart and prayer.

Example:

Romans 3:10-12New International Version (NIV)

10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away;
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

The Second Law: God Doesn't Need Us but We Desperately Need Him

Last Sunday we started a new sermon series called The Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life. In this series we are discovering the basic principles of the Christian life that meet us where we are and take us all the way to heaven. The First Law teaches us a fundamental truth: He’s God and we’re not. All spiritual reality must begin at this point. Until we have settled the issue of whose God and who’s not, we’re still in spiritual kindergarten. And as long as we fight against God’s right to be God, our lives will be miserable and we will be angry and deeply frustrated. But when we finally come to the place where we can rip the Big G off our sweatshirt, then we’re ready to move on.

That brings us to the Second Law, which builds directly on the First Law.

Law 1: He’s God and we’re Not

Law 2: God Doesn’t Need Us But We Desperately Need Him

As it is stated, this law tells us something about God and something about us. To say that God doesn’t need us means that he is totally and truly sovereign over the universe. He’s the boss, the ruler, and the Lord of all things. That means he alone has true freedom. Go to any Bible college or seminary and you will hear learned (and sometimes heated) debates about “free will.” But when we use that term, we almost always refer to human free will. Years ago I used to expend a lot of energy in those debates. And I was always on the side of those arguing for human free will. As I look back, that seems odd to me now since the term “free will” appears nowhere in the Bible. Here’s the truth of the matter. Only one person in the universe has free will. Find that person and you’ve found God. Our “free will” is drastically limited, his is not. He can do whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it, which is the proper definition of free will. It’s true that we humans have important moral choices to make and it is also true that God will hold us 100% accountable for those choices. But any “free will” we have is strictly derivative. The “freedom” we have to obey (or to rebel) is freedom that God has given to us.

The Second Law also tells us something about God’s transcendence, which the Bible indicates to us when it tells us that God is high and lifted up. Transcendence means that God created the universe and is separate from it. The universe is not an extension of God or a necessary part of God. He existed in and of himself long before the universe was created. This law also points us to God’s holiness. This is a hard attribute to define because it is basic to whom God is. As one writer put it, holiness is what makes God God. It’s the “goodness” of God that separates him from his creation. It involves purity and separation from sin but goes beyond that. We might say it this way: If God were not holy, he would not be God at all. Finally, this law impresses upon us the truth of God’s immensity. All power and all wisdom and all majesty reside in him alone. He inhabits all things and his presence fills every part of the universe. There is nowhere you can go where he is not already there.

No One … Not Even One

Not only does this law tell us something about God, it also tells us something about who we are. To say that we desperately need God reveals our inherent weakness. We are sinners by birth, by nature and by choice. The true condition of the human race is revealed in these penetrating words of Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Even a casual reader is struck with the universal emphasis of these words: “no one … not even one … no one … no one … all … no one … not even one.” It’s hard to miss the point. The whole human race has rebelled against God. As a result, when God looks down from heaven he can’t find a single righteous person. Not even one. He can’t even find anyone who truly seeks him. Sin has so warped the human heart that no one does anything truly good in his sight. We are all “worthless” in his sight. That last part is a pretty tough bottom line. How can you square the word “worthless” with the fact that “God so loved the world?” Why would anyone love a “worthless” person? The answer goes to the very heart of the Second Law. God loves us in spite of our sin and not because of some supposed worth he found in us. To put it in crass terms, he found nothing worth saving in us but he saved us anyway because that’s the kind of God he is. That thought is both humbling and thrilling. None of us deserved God’s grace. If we deserved it, it wouldn’t be grace at all. Any “worth” we have to God is worth that he gives to us. We have value because he values us, not because of anything in us.

The Second Law exposes our phony independence, our casual arrogance, our sinful pride, and our obsessive need to be in control. It tells us that we aren’t in control and we weren’t ever in control, not even when we thought we were.

We can find this concept in numerous places in the Bible:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

“The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (I Corinthians 8:2).

“Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God” (II Corinthians 3:4-5).

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

BJ, in all seriousness, this is why Young witnesses come to this forum to gather what they consider to be the truth (TTATT) by opposing people that believe they have understood scripture and it didn’t meet their expectation through erred teachings. Perhaps by someone who was flawed, but that doesn’t mean the inspired word of God is. If you’re truly an elder, the premise of questioning bible truth constitutes doubt of what you are teaching.

Given that premature, then how can you honestly believe or expect Jehovah’s Holy Spirit to guide you to teach others. There is no double standard in the WTS as claimed here. That is precisely the reason of baptism, that you have fully understood scripture and are willing to dedicate yourself to God.

The presumption here by some ex-witnesses that have become atheist or evolutionist confirms that notion; they never understood scripture and never took their baptism seriously if indeed they ever were. This is why some witnesses have gone through rebaptism, perhaps because they were to young, they were not rely baptized by other faiths, or they just didn’t understand the value of baptism.

It is one thing to appreciate your own understanding of scripture, but is another to criticize God’s Holy Spirit. Perhaps you need to meditate on that.

Example:

For instance, in 1996, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, in a convention conducted in Denver, Colorado, debated the matter of re-baptism. A position paper, issued by the conference, declared that Methodists who were baptized as infants should never be baptized again. The document explicitly stated: “Whether a baptized infant grows up to be a professing Christian or not, that baptism stands valid.”

This position is flawed in many particulars, having no scriptural support whatsoever.

New Testament Precedent

While on his third missionary campaign, the apostle Paul came to the city of Ephesus. There, he encountered twelve men who formerly had been baptized (with the type of baptism administered by John the Baptizer). One might be inclined to conclude, therefore, that the apostle would have accepted these men as they were, and merely organized them into a church.

Such was not the case, however. After questioning them as to the nature of their earlier baptism, and determining that their pre-baptism instruction on the previous occasion had been lacking in essential particulars, Paul immersed these men into Christ (see Acts 19:1-5).

This case clearly demonstrates that in order for one’s baptism to be valid, accurate teaching must precede the rite. Otherwise it is but a meaningless exercise, and not based on faith (Romans 10:17).

True Baptism — A One-time Act

Genuine baptism is needed only one time in a person’s life. Once a person has been baptized, according to the full complement of scriptural instructions, he or she never has the need to repeat this “new birth” process (cf. John 3:3-5).

After a person has entered the family of Christ through baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13; cf. Galatians 3:26-27), he or she is a part of the church, the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15; cf. Ephesians 2:19-22). The new Christian thus has access to all of the spiritual benefits of the “in Christ” relationship (Ephesians 1:3). As a son or daughter of God, within that sacred environment, the Christian petitions the heavenly Father for his or her personal needs by means of prayer (see Acts 8:22,24; cf. James 5:16), including forgiveness for sins as a child who will err (cf. 1 John 1:8; 2:1).

Baptismal Qualifications

Unfortunately, there are many sects in today’s world of “Christendom” that practice a “form of baptism,” but one that is contaminated by the accompaniment of a variety of doctrinal errors that invalidate the process. It is the case, therefore, that many who have been administered what was called “baptism,” need to submit to the ordinance again — this time with a more accurate understanding that precedes the event.

Here are some situations in which “re-baptism” would be warranted.

Infants

If one was “baptized” as an infant, thus was lacking personal faith (Mark 16:16; Acts 11:21), he should repudiate the meaningless earlier rite, in which he had no decision-making power (even though his parents were sincere in subjecting him to the procedure). He, in genuine faith, should submit to the command in the proper way. Infants have neither the need nor the ability to respond to the gospel of Christ.

Baptism without immersion

If one was “baptized” in some fashion other than by immersion (which actually expresses a contradictory concept, since “baptize” means “immerse”), then he should yield to the proper form. True baptism pictures the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sinner is buried in, and raised from, water (cf. Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12), just as the Lord was buried, and then raised from the dead.

True baptism validates one’s faith in the death and resurrection events. Being sprinkled with water, or having water poured upon the head, is no baptism at all, and such substitutes are without sanction in the New Testament. They are post-apostolic innovations.

Baptism without repentance

If one was “baptized” without this act having been accompanied by genuine repentance, such a procedure similarly was ineffectual. I once heard about a man who emerged from the baptismal pool, turned to his wife, and said: “I hope you’re satisfied!” No “baptism” which lacks the proper motive (and other prerequisites) can have validity in the divine scheme of things.

Baptism without faith

If one is “baptized” without a sound faith basis, his ritual would be of no avail. One might feel, for instance, that Jesus was a good man (perhaps even a “perfect man” — as the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” allege), but deny that Christ is the Son of God (i.e., deity), and yet, for various other reasons, desire baptism. No baptism, grounded upon such a spurious “faith” could be accounted as genuine.

Baptism without purpose

If one has yielded to baptism for some purpose other than that which is supplied by inspired teaching, he, in reality, has not obeyed the Lord. Baptism is never defined as “an outward sign of an inward grace”; it is not a mere representation of redemption for those already received.

The purpose of the act is “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), to have sins “washed away” (Acts 22:16), to put the candidate “into Christ” (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27), or into his “body” (1 Corinthians 12:13), at which point he is “saved” (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21). The common resistance to the biblical proposition, namely that baptism is preliminary to salvation, constitutes a bold rejection of the plain testimony of Scripture. One cannot be immersed “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), if he believes his sins have been remitted already.

A person’s soul is too valuable, the plan is too simple, and the remedy too easy to access, for a person to “gamble,” hoping that a former “baptism” will be alright — in spite of the deficiencies associated therewith. If there is any question in one’s mind regarding a previous “baptism,” he should be safe and do it right.

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

Oh! I get it; Knorr was a Hypocrite for fulfilling a legal requirement to travel back then. So because he was a witness, Mark 12:17 didn’t apply. So what your saying is Clergy need to be like you, OUTLAWS. So any Clergy that travel are Despicable/Hypocritical Leaders regardless of having to satisfy any legal requirements. Well can’t argue with that philosophy thanks for clearing that up.

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

Behind the iron curtain. Brings back memories when Nathan Knorr was a speaker there and he along with 700 hundred people were arrested because the Catholic Church did not wish the Jehovah’s Witnesses to gather, similar to what happened in Argentina with the Buddhist. I can’t recall if it was 1945 or 1949. As told by G. Henschel

Some things don’t change as the Jews attempted to stop the Jw’s in Israel a month or so ago. Yes other religions fair so much better as humans to sanctify Gods works.

I wonder what type of idiocentricities on not to think about literature behind the iron curtain with fascism and government control. What did they call that propaganda? I love an intellectual conversation.

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

And there you go folks. You heard it from the horse’s mouth.

PUT COMPLETE TRUST ON THIS MAN SINCE THE TRUTH IS IN HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! \

This is your champion, good luck.

Just like the

Pharisees

A member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity.

o A self-righteous person; a hypocrite.

And

Sadducees

1. a member of a Jewish sect or party of the time of Jesus Christ that denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits, and the obligation of oral tradition, emphasizing acceptance of the written Law alone.

of old, just looking out for their own will being as high priest instead in believing and trusting in God the ransom he brought forth for your benefit. Just as them that only used scripture to benefit themselves back then has it come again in you people here? TRUST in one hypocrite on what another hypocrite is saying. I love how the mind works.

How insulting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

160

"The organisation is imperfect, but it doesn't affect my relationship with Jehovah"

by Alive! in

i've noted active, devoted jw's state the above.. and, it's not a problem for me to remain trusting of god, i just don't trust religions or men.. recently, a member of this forum stated that he remains an active jw, in the family of god's people, wanting to encourage and do good - whilst recognising that the pastoral leaders (the gb) have shipwrecked the faith of many, being unsound scripturally etc, etc.. stop and think about this - the bible says to not follow after those who lie and hurt the faith of "little ones".. the pharisees were accused of traversing over lands and expending much energy to make a single convert - only for that convert to end up worse of than he started off with.. it's one thing to not believe this is the 'truth' and feeling the awful pressure of managing ones life, trying not to lose ones family.. it's quite another thing to declare oneself to be a christian believer of god's jw household, and somehow believe the god of love would use corrupt liars to parade as jesus' brothers in the urgency of last days.

really?

and, to then visibly promote faith in corrupt men, and try to bring converts into a place where the rulership is wrong.. some of us are dying from hurt here.......give me a break..

SimonSays

Interesting. At what point did the governing body become infallible. You seem to forget the GB are just people like the rest of us, and are subject to sin like the rest of us. When something goes array, God cleanse his house. Several GB’s have been disfellowshipped in the past. Remember Raymond Franz, a person you people admire here. Whatever excuse you wish to place on him, he was removed for the right reason, regardless if you agree with it or not.

The Governing Body are servants to shoulder the load of spiritual food. It’s incumbent upon them and the bethel house to make every attempt to fully understand scripture. All the questions that have been asked and misrepresented here have already been researched and scrutinized by them. Through prayer they trust in God that all decisions coming out of Bethel are correct, and if it isn’t they correct it. They don’t inadvertently hide anything.

The elders are there for the same thing. To shepherd the flock, but they’re not above them. At least in the USA maybe things are done differently. Why do you think so many disfellowshipped elders or ex-witnesses are here, because God cleaned house, and since they refuse to see their error of not taking responsibility for their own actions and have not repented, then they will continue to spew lies in order to confuse the younger generation into not believing in God all together. This also goes for active Witnesses that think by cloaking themselves here no one knows, but then again God does. So who is fooling who? The spiritual power of Christ sacrifice is upon us. Each person is responsible for their own salvation. The GB or Elders are not there to save your souls because they can’t, but to go through the same journey of salvation as instructed by Jesus and passed on to his Apostles for all to appreciate the ability of being one of God’s creation he has loved to a point of patients for us to redeem that sacrifice. So it is God’s Judgment not man’s that scripture holds the truth for.

So don’t confuse the perception of God’s channel. To the Catholics, the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, in other words, the Pope is acting Christ that through prayer the Holy Spirit makes him infallible. They call that The “Papal infallibility” and the Catholic Bishops are “Apostolic Succession” in other words Apostles. The GB doesn’t frame themselves with such high expectations other than through prayer. No imperfect soul can cleanse or forgive sin. Jesus Could because his was perfect, and eventually the apostles could through Christ, but that’s because Jesus gave them that power directly.

Whatever the case maybe. For those that still believe in God, It is no longer a time to separate but unit all Christian faiths for the greater good through Christ our savior to accomplish what he started in 33 C.E.

Being a Witness of YHWH is not just a mission but a reckoning of love and faith towards your own salvation. I wonder do any of you have that type of commitment as you do with your regular lives anymore to speak of love not hate, happiness not bitterness, appeasement not anger since that’s what it seems your arguments are, why haven’t you found it. HMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

17

JWs are being told Watchtower is financially strapped because they forgave Kingdom Hall mortgages!

by PokerPlayerPhil in

here's why the governing body did that little line on jw broadcasting, i have a source still inside new york and being as sneaky as ever, the watchtower is claiming they need the cash because they forgave the kingdom hall mortgages!

not all the kingdom halls are hitting the targeted monthly donation-revenue range, they are still asking other kingdom halls to pony up cash for kingdom halls that can't afford the "recommended donation rate".

pure evil, that's the jehovah"s witness watchtower theocratic war in action!

SimonSays

Here I thought you people were on to something, and yet again got disappointed. Yeah, shame on them for informing their members on how open they are with their finances, and how they would like all to continue the mission with that in mind.

I wonder who’s better, you?

http://www.forbes.com/top-charities/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2014/12/10/the-largest-u-s-charities-for-2014/2/

http://www.forbes.com/companies/catholic-charities-usa/

http://on-this-rock.blogspot.com/2013/03/does-church-spend-47-on-charities.html

http://www.economist.com/node/21560536

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/religious-people-donate-more-to-church-and-charity

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/mar/19/frank-keating/does-catholic-church-provide-half-social-services-/

https://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/180-americans-donate-billions-to-charity-but-giving-to-churches-has-declined

http://www.trusteesofdonations.org/

https://www.barna.org/barna-update/congregations/41-new-study-shows-trends-in-tithing-and-donating

ETC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20

Israeli town council cancels Jehovah’s Witnesses event

by Watchtower-Free in

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.652440.

anti-missionary group yad l'achim had claimed christians were planning a 'mass baptism' and launched protest campaign in ra'anana.. the raanana municipality has canceled an event organized by the jehovahs witnesses in israel, concerned that the religious groups meeting would hurt the feelings of the public.

the event, which should have been held saturday in the raanana municipal sports center, was canceled following pressure by the anti-missionary group yad lachim.

SimonSays

Yes it’s a shame that Gods public works can’t be stopped, not even by governments.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.654581

Protest against Jehovah’s Witnesses seminar in central Israel turns violent

Hundreds show up to protest event, which is being held after a district court overturned the municipality's decision to block it.