The main thing that "counting time" has done is to teach people how to lie!
cyberguy
JoinedPosts by cyberguy
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17
Stop counting time
by Elsewhere inmost jws are guilted/coerced into going into the ministry by the time requirements.
i can't help but wonder how much time the average jw would spend in the ministry work if the time requirements were dropped.. i know that the only reason i went into field service was because i didnt want the elders coming and counseling me... that was until i figured out how to use theocratic warfare on my time sheet.
any thoughts on this?.
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Congregations receive branch letter about UN
by cyberguy ini don't know if this has been posted on this site yet, but i came across something that indicates that congregations in germany were sent a letter of explanation (or rather, deception) about the societys un connection.. scroll to the end of page -- .
http://www.quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/united_nations.htm.
can someone do a better translation from german to english?
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cyberguy
Thanks GermanJW!
I was off-the-internet the week that thread appeard and therefore missed seeing it!
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Congregations receive branch letter about UN
by cyberguy ini don't know if this has been posted on this site yet, but i came across something that indicates that congregations in germany were sent a letter of explanation (or rather, deception) about the societys un connection.. scroll to the end of page -- .
http://www.quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/united_nations.htm.
can someone do a better translation from german to english?
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cyberguy
Thanks Gem, for that translation!
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Congregations receive branch letter about UN
by cyberguy ini don't know if this has been posted on this site yet, but i came across something that indicates that congregations in germany were sent a letter of explanation (or rather, deception) about the societys un connection.. scroll to the end of page -- .
http://www.quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/united_nations.htm.
can someone do a better translation from german to english?
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cyberguy
I don't know if this has been posted on this site yet, but I came across something that indicates that congregations in Germany were sent a letter of explanation (or rather, deception) about the Society’s UN connection.
scroll to the end of page -- . http://www.quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/united_nations.htm
Can someone do a better translation from German to English?
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30
Earthquakes -- major departure!
by cyberguy intrue, the knowledge book left out any explanation of earthquakes being part of the sign, but this awake article seams to be a major departure from previous explanations.
marche 22, 2002, p. 9).
before his death, jesus foretold events and situations that would give evidence that this world had entered "the conclusion of the system of things.
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cyberguy
This Awake marks a major departure in the Society's explanation of "earthquakes" and the "composite sign" (an expression that doesn't occur in the Bible) Jesus gave. True, the Knowledge Book left out any explanation of earthquakes being part of the sign, but this Awake article seams to be a major departure from previous explanations.
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EARTHQUAKES, BIBLE PROPHECY, AND YOU (Awake! Marche 22, 2002, p. 9)
Before his death, Jesus foretold events and situations that would give evidence that this world had entered "the conclusion of the system of things." That period, he said, would be marked by such things as pestilences, food shortages, and large-scale warfare. He also mentioned "great earthquakes" that would occur "in one place after another." (Matthew 24:3,7; Luke 21:10, 11) Was Jesus referring to our day?
Many say no. They assert that the number of earthquakes has not substantially increased in recent decades. In fact, the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center reports that earthquakes of 7.0 magnitude and greater remained "fairly constant" throughout the 20th century. (Footnote: Some say that any reports of an increase in the number of earthquakes are simply due to advances in technology, which enable more seismic events to be detected.)
Note, though, that the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy does not require an increase in the number or power of earthquakes. All Jesus said was that there would be great earthquakes in one place after another. Furthermore, he stated that these events would mark the "beginning of pangs of distress." (Matthew 24:8) Distress is measured, not by the number of earthquakes or how they rate on the Richter sale, but by the effect that they have upon people.
Earthquakes have indeed caused much distress in our day. In fact, during the 20th century, millions have been killed or left homeless by these disasters. Experts say that many of these deaths could have been prevented. "In developing countries," reports BBC News, "building regulations frequently take second place e to the demands for cheap, quickly built housing to meet the needs of rapid urbanization." Commenting on two recent tragedies, Ben Wisner, an expert in urban disasters, states: "It wasn't earthquakes that killed these people. It was a combination of human error indifference, corruption, and greed."
Yes, sometimes the deadliest factors in an earthquake are human selfishness and negligence. Interestingly, such qualities come to the fore in another Bible prophecy concerning "the last days" of this system. During that time, the Bible states, people would be "self-centered, lovers of money," and "callous." (2 Timothy 3:1-5, The Amplified Bible) Along with Jesus' words regarding the conclusion of the system of things, this prophecy provides clear evidence that we are nearing the time when God will bring relief to distressed humanity from all present causes of pain and suffering--including great earthquakes.--Psalm 37:11.
Would you like to learn more about this Bible-base hope? Contact Jehovah's Witnesses in your area, or write to the appropriate address on page 6.
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So, after reading this, it appears to me that instead of "earthquakes" being part of the supposed "composite sign," the "distress" that people face is the actual factor! This is very interesting, since I don't know how we're suppose to measure how much "distress" we have now compared to what people had 100+ years ago!
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Question.......Re Leo Greenlees
by orangefatcat ini have read and heard here in the forum that one of the members of the govering body was a homosexual and was caught in the act of doing the bad thing at bethel.
was not disfellowshipped?.
could someone verify the veracity of this for me.
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cyberguy
Hey Alan!
Regarding Ewart Chitty, I recall a young bethelite who jumped from the second floor of one of the factory buildings in 1979 just prior to Chitty’s exodus from the GB (the kid lived, but was severely injured and ended up in the hospital for about a month). I recall the commotion as everyone in the factory buildings were running to the windows to see what happened. Someone I worked with was a close friend of Ray Franz and said Ray intimated that the kid jumped because he was mentally depressed because of being fondled by Chitty. I heard rumors from this kid’s close friends that substantiated this claim. However, I also heard that this kid and his family were told to keep everything hush-hush!
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Oral Arguments -- WTBS vs Stratton
by cyberguy intranscript from oral arguments of supremem court watchtower bible and tract .
society v. village of stratton.
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/11mar20020920/www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/00-1737.pdf.
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cyberguy
transcript from oral arguments of Supremem Court Watchtower Bible and tract
Society V. Village of StrattonAny comments?
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WTS "New Light" on Great Crowd
by Amazing ini posted this 28 minutes after someone beat me to it.
i missed stevie1's post because when i looked it was in the "belief's and doctrine" section.
sorry for the goof.
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cyberguy
From Trench's Synonyms of the New Testament, by R.C. Trench, Hendrickson Publishers:
Both hieron and naos are translated "temple" in our English versions. Although it is difficult to say how they could have been distinguished, translating them by different words would have clarified the sacred narrative and made it more precise. Hieron refers to the whole sacred enclosure, the temenos, including the outer courts, porches, porticoes, and other related buildings. Naos refers to the temple itself, the proper habitation of God (Acts 7:48; 17:24; 12 Cor. 6:19), the oikos tou Theou (house of God), the heart and center of the whole. Hagiasma is used to refer to the Holy Place and to the Holy of Holies (1 Macc. 1:37; 3:45; cf. Vv. 37-42). This distinction between hieron and naos is found in secular Greek references to heathen temples and in sacred Greek references to the temple of the true God.
When referring to the temple in Jerusalem, Josephus, Philo, the Septuagint, and the New Testament always distinguish hieron and naos. Often the distinction is explicit. After describing the building of the naos by Solomon, for example, Josephus wrote: "Outside the temple (naou) he constructed a sacred enclosure (hieron) in the form of a square" (Antiquitiates Judaicae 8.3.9). In another passage where Josephus describes how the Samaritians sought permission from the Jews to help rebuild God's house, he used the phrase "to join in the building of the temple (naon) (Antiquitiates Judaicae 11.4.3). Although the Samaritians' request was denied (see Ezra 4:2), they were permitted to "come into the sacred enclosure (hieron) to worship God," something forbidden under the penalty of death to mere Gentiles, who were not to pass beyond their own exterior court (Acts. 21:29-30; Philo, Legatio ad Gaium 31).
The distinction between hieron and naos helps us better understand several New Testament passages. When Zacharias entered in "the temple of the Lord" to burn incense, the people who awaited the return and who stood "outside" (Luke 1:10) also were in the temple--the hieron--though Zacharias alone entered the naos, the "temple" in its narrower sense. We often read of Christ teaching "in the temple" (Matt. 236:55; Luke 21:37; John 8:20), and we might wonder how long conversations could have been maintained there without interrupting the service of God. But this "temple" is always the hieron, the porches and porticoes of the temple that were intended for such purposes. Christ never entered the naos during his earthly ministry, since that right was reserved for the priests. Jesus drove the money-changers and the buyers and sellers with their sheep and oxen from the hieron, not from the naos. Even those profane men had not dared to establish themselves in the temple in its strictest sense (Matt. 21:12; John 2:14).
Keeping in mind the distinction between hieron and naos helps us understand how the prophet Zascharias could be slain "between the temple and the altar" (Matt. 23:35). Here the word translated "temple" is naos, which helps to answer the questions: "Was not the altar in the temple? And if so, how could any locality be described as between the two?" The brazen altar alluded to in Matthew 23:35 was located in the hieron, not in the naos. It was situated "in the court of the house of the Lord (Cf. Josehus, Antiquitates Judaica 8.4.1), where the sacred historian (2 Chron. 24:21) lays the scene of this murder, not in the naos.
Finally, Judas vividly portrayed his defiance and despair by entering into the naos itself (Matt. 27:5)--which was reserved for the priests alone--and casting down before the priests the accurse blood money! Expositors who affirm that naos here stands for hieron should adduce some other passage where the one is used for the other.
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The UN / Watchtower -- a letter to a heavy
by cyberguy ini sent a letter today to a "heavy" in bethel regarding the un issue.
sorry for the formatting, but i'm dumping a word file... here's a section regarding the un:.
the un, steven bates, the guardian newspaper, and watchtower of new york, inc.. dan, i'm sure you are aware of some recent accusations by steven bates, a writer for the guardian newspaper (a british-based newspaper).
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cyberguy
I sent a letter today to a "heavy" in Bethel regarding the UN issue. Sorry for the formatting, but I'm dumping a Word file... Here's a section regarding the UN:
The UN, Steven Bates, the Guardian Newspaper, and Watchtower of New York, Inc.
Dan, I'm sure you are aware of some recent accusations by Steven Bates, a writer for the Guardian Newspaper (a British-based newspaper). He wrote 3 expose articles this past October and November, accusing the Society of lying hypocrisy, due to its having been an "associate" Non-Governmental Organization (an NGO) for 10 years with the UN's Department of Information (the DPI), while at the same time, teaching that it is the "scarlet colored wild beast" of Revelation!
As a quick review, from a recent UN brochure entitled NGOs AND THE UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION: SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
How do NGOs and DPI cooperate?
The Department of Public Information and NGOs cooperate regularly. NGOs associated with DPI disseminate information about the UN to their membership, thereby building knowledge of and support for the Organization at the grassroots level. This dissemination includes:
Publicizing UN activities around the world on such issues as peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law;
Promoting UN observances and international years established by the General Assembly to focus world attention on important issues facing humanity.Organizations eligible for association with DPI are those which:
Share the ideals of the UN Charter,
Operate solely on a not-for-profit basis,
Have a demonstrated interest in United Nations issues and proven ability to reach large or specialized audiences, such as educators, media representatives, policy makers and the business community,
Have the commitment and means to conduct effective information programmes about UN activities by publishing newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets; organizing conferences, seminars and round tables; and enlisting the cooperation of the media.Obviously, the basic problem here is that as an NGO, Watchtower had agreed to "share the ideals of the UN Charter" and run programs of public information on behalf of the UN. Like the supportive role that "cheer leaders" have to a football team, NGO's associated with the UN's DPI, are expected to root for their “team,” the UN! However, when the UN's DPI found out about the Society's apparent duplicity in this regard (i.e., from phone calls from Steven Bates, et al), it was in the process of "disassociating" it, when Watchtower preemptively requested withdrawal.
Subsequently, I understand that a letter of explanation was sent to Branch Committees regarding this matter and that the original reason for seeking "associate" status with the UN's DPI was downplayed as a way to get a "library card." But when it was recently determined that it was much more, Watchtower withdrew its membership. From what I've been told, the same letter was read to the Bethel Family very recently, no doubt to disquiet any fears that would naturally arise from rumors that would surface.
In retrospect, Dan, something smells a bit fishy here! When the original application seeking “associate” status was filed in '92 on behalf of Watchtower of New York, Inc., UN resolutions 1296 and 1297 were active since being initiated in 1968. These resolutions clearly stipulate what "associate" status means and include the summary list mentioned above. Quoting further from the previously mentioned UN brochure:
In 1968, the Economic and Social Council, by Resolution 1297 (XLIV) of 27 May, called on DPI to associate NGOs, bearing in mind the letter and spirit of its Resolution 1296 (XLIV) of 23 May 1968, which stated that an NGO "...shall undertake to support the work of the United Nations and to promote knowledge of its principles and activities, in accordance with its own aims and purposes and the nature and scope of its competence and activities."
Consequently, can you please explain to me how it was possible for the brothers in the Writing Department, who had supposedly been doing exhaustive research about the UN for decades, while attempting to get a “library card” by requesting "associate" status as an NGO from the UN’s DPI, were somehow completely fooled into agreeing to promote the charter of the UN, and making a commitment to be its publicity agency? What in the world were they researching prior to making that request? Do you mean to tell me they never read the UN’s 1968 resolutions of 1296 and 1297? Just what did they think “associate” NGO’s did? I’m afraid this “library card” excuse just doesn’t ring true!
There’s another problem. The DPI requires NGO’s to supply publishing samples to demonstrate compliance with one of its requirements of being the UN’s publicity agents, its “cheerleaders." When the Society made its initial request seeking “associate” status in 1992, it would have had to supply 2 years of samples (now the DPI requires 3 years of samples), attaching them to the DPI application (there were/are other requirements too, like supplying a financial audit from an accredited accounting firm, but these are side issues that need not be explored here). Furthermore, to maintain “associate” status and for DPI to determine compliance, a yearly renewal application with attached publishing examples is expected to be provided. So then, some logical questions follow.
Do you know what samples were supplied over the last 10 years? Were the bizarre changes in the tenor and tone of Awake articles, almost “love affair" about the UN, beginning in the early 1990's, due to some hidden agenda to comply with DPI requirements? Furthermore, joining the WMCA in order to use the swimming pool is considered a very serious act, to be dealt with by a Judicial Committee! How is this UN affiliation any different? Or rather, isn't this much worse? (Compare Rev. 17:1-16)
In any case, wouldn't it be proper to have a letter with an honest explanation, possibly an apology, sent to all the congregations regarding this matter? If it was of such serious concern to have an explanation read to the Bethel Family, why not the rest of us?
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Blood Card Scans for 2001, 2002
by AlanF inhere are scans of the "advance medical directive" (blood card) for 2001 and 2002. also shown is the "identity card" for minors for 2002.. note that the watchtower society cancelled distribution of the 2002 cards, and instructed that jws use the 2001 card until further notice.. card for 2001, page 2:.
card for 2002, page 2:.
card for 2002, page 1:.
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cyberguy
Thanks Alan! You never cease to amaze me! My take on the blood card change of "no allogeneic blood transfusions," is that they were going to allow folks to store their own blood! I highly suspect that there's a power play now raging in Bethel and that more liberal elements are trying to force changes, of course, long overdue!