Posts by Pahpa

8

Does Ray Franz teach/believe in the Trinity doctrine???

by beavis in

i have heard recently that raymond franz teaches or believes in the trinity doctrine?

is this a true statement?

from all of the research i have done, i have found this to be untrue?

Pahpa

Someone once told me that in the rabbincal schools opposing views were accepted as long as they had scriptural basis. I think this toleration would be a good idea for Christians as well. We can reach different conclusions on doctrines depending on how we interpret scripture. The Bible was not written as a definitive text book. Rather, it was written as a guide to live morally and upright. And, interestingly, when the Bible speaks of the final judgment each individual is judged on "deeds" not doctrine.

Christians can disagree on doctrines. But we still should always show respect and kindness toward one another.

25

Can a brother buy his way eldership ?

by KAYTEE in

jw
friends

can brothers buy their way to stardom (eldership) .

have you known anyone who got to being an elder because of his financial status or by having a broker working for him.. i knew a brother who had been out of the borg for many years, who on his return purchased a carpet for the kingdom hall.. this must have prompted the elders to see his spiritual qualities, because soon after he progressed up the so called ladder, to arrive at a "glorious elder".. have you come across this sort of thing?.

kt.

Pahpa

I know of two incidences where elderships were bought. And in both cases, the "brothers" had committed adultery and were disfellowshipped for a period of time. Both had successful jobs. And their largess to the C.O. helped their standing. It took a few years but they both became elders in the congregation, one of them the P.O.

I always questioned the appointments since the scriptural qualifications said that an overseer should be "irreprehensible" and should have "a good reputatioin with outsiders." Everyone, inside and outside the congregation, knew the circumstances. And it was a joke in the small rural communities where these elders presided.

9

THE UNITED STATES INVESTMENT COMPANY AND CT RUSSELL

by badboy in

jw
friends

russell held shares in this company he supposely set up.. what happened to his company ?.

.

does it still exist?.

Pahpa

Badboy

Many thanks for the information. Pahpa

6

They finally found me...

by P&C in

jw
friends

knock on the door this morning.... a nice little witnoid lady is at my door... hands me a tract (i think it was a memorial invite)...and says.... "i'd like to give you an invitation to an "event"...that the whole community is talking about".... how sad... they resort to lying and misrepresentation... on the simplest of matters.. i handed it back and said no thanks... she turned and left.. that is the first contact the borg has had with me in almost 5 years... hope it's another 5 before i see one again.... p&c.

Pahpa

Since I live in a private retirement community, I never have personal visits from JWs. But in the last year or so, I've received phone calls. I could tell it was usually from elderly sisters who probably can not go from door to door but can count time by calling on those that the other members fail to reach.

I've heard that the door to door ministry has fallen off in recent years. With both parents working today, it is difficult to find people at home. And private communities have been built in many areas making access impossible. The Society is locked into the past and doesn't seem to use other means to reach the public. This has been the downfall of many other businesses.

9

THE UNITED STATES INVESTMENT COMPANY AND CT RUSSELL

by badboy in

jw
friends

russell held shares in this company he supposely set up.. what happened to his company ?.

.

does it still exist?.

Pahpa

Badboy

If you find the post will you share it with us? I've been looking for this information for some time. Is this one of the corporations that Russell formed to avoid paying support to his wife? Wasn't there other corporations as well?

37

What is love?

by onacruse in

"love my enemies.".

"love those who love me.".

"love my family.".

Pahpa

"Love" in the English language covers a large territory. The Greeks qualified love by different words: Agape, eros, philia, storge, etc. It depended upon what kind of "love" was being described. Unfortunately, we don't have this differentiation in our language.

23

Who Currently Heads the WTS?

by kwr in

who currently is the president or in charge of the wts and is there a board and who are the members?.

.

tia.

Pahpa

The president of the Watchtower Society is no longer considered the "head" of the organization. The position is now relegated to the legal requirements for a corporation. And he oversees the business end of it. The power and authority of "spiritual" matters remain with the Governing Body. And this is the area that most effects JWs worldwide. (When they "sneeze" the rest of the members get the "cold.")

24

Is it just because i was raised a JW?

by helncon in

yesterday (sunday) we went to our daughters church for family service as they have these at the end of each term for the kids club (sunday school) and if you don't know about my beliefs that i don't have any and i am one not wanting to have anything to do with any religion.. anyway there are a few things that caught my attention during this service as i normally tune out but they were talking about how jesus was telling a parragul (sp?

) about sowing the seeds and then it all came flooding back of the memories about how the jw used this, and you know it was strange as this church was saying things almost identical to what the jw would say.. this is not what i was wanting to mention but i thought this was interesting.. so after all the service they have a morning tea for everyone afterward and i got talking to the minister/father/pastor (don't know what the head person called) wife and the subject come about christmas and i told her that this was not as important as when jesus died and that he wasn't even born on 25th december she was taken back that he was not born on this day as i told her he was born earlier in the year and i explained how this is the reason, she was gob smacked!.

i thought this was common knowledge so i wonder if she will go back to her husband and ask questions if this is true.. so i ask the question is it common knowledge that jesus was not born on this day and it is a pagan holiday or is it a jw thing.

Pahpa

Dear Renne

I feel strongly that each Christian has to make these decisions. I once celebrated the holidays because it was the custom and practice of my neighbors and friends. I don't think the average churchgoer has ever considered the origins of these days. Certainly, the question is never brought up in church. I wonder why?

For the churches, it is a lucrative time of the year since many parishoners who don't regulary attend service for the rest of the year will attend on Christmas and Easter. So, the leaders of the church have no incentive to discourage the celebrations. I've talked with many Christians who do celebrate. The only defense they offered was that they honor Christ in spite of the pagan connections. It still begs the question whether this is the Christian way of doing things? It is clear that the faithful Israelites as well as the early Christians avoided even the appearance of compromise.

Let me ask you why you, as a Christian, celebrate the holidays knowing that most of the customs and rituals are of pagan origin and are not found in the Bible?

8

Does Ray Franz teach/believe in the Trinity doctrine???

by beavis in

i have heard recently that raymond franz teaches or believes in the trinity doctrine?

is this a true statement?

from all of the research i have done, i have found this to be untrue?

Pahpa

I think Ray Franz has purposely avoided discussing doctrines. He encourages people to study the Bible and reach conclusions based upon that study. In his book In Search Of Christian Freedom, chapter 5 "The Faithful and Discreet Slave" under the title "Personal, Individual Responsibility" (p.167) he underscores the need for each individual to be responsible for faith rather than following a leader or an organization. The whole concept of the "faithful and discreet slave" is that the slave knows what the master expects and does it will be rewarded by the master upon his return.

24

Is it just because i was raised a JW?

by helncon in

yesterday (sunday) we went to our daughters church for family service as they have these at the end of each term for the kids club (sunday school) and if you don't know about my beliefs that i don't have any and i am one not wanting to have anything to do with any religion.. anyway there are a few things that caught my attention during this service as i normally tune out but they were talking about how jesus was telling a parragul (sp?

) about sowing the seeds and then it all came flooding back of the memories about how the jw used this, and you know it was strange as this church was saying things almost identical to what the jw would say.. this is not what i was wanting to mention but i thought this was interesting.. so after all the service they have a morning tea for everyone afterward and i got talking to the minister/father/pastor (don't know what the head person called) wife and the subject come about christmas and i told her that this was not as important as when jesus died and that he wasn't even born on 25th december she was taken back that he was not born on this day as i told her he was born earlier in the year and i explained how this is the reason, she was gob smacked!.

i thought this was common knowledge so i wonder if she will go back to her husband and ask questions if this is true.. so i ask the question is it common knowledge that jesus was not born on this day and it is a pagan holiday or is it a jw thing.

Pahpa

I don't think it's necessary to discard everything we learned as JWs. Many of the beliefs predated the Watchtower. Russell borrowed much from other belief systems as noted by James Penton and others. Christain individuals have to make decisions based upon scripture, not upon popular customs.

As far as celebrating the holidays, one should seriously ask the question whether or not the customs associated with them are based upon the teachings of Christ or that of the pagan religions. Most encyclopedias document the origins (and even the dates) as coming from pagan sources. In view of God's warnings in scriptures to Israel and to the church about keeping oneself "pure and undefiled" it is proper to give consideration to these matters.

I remember reading an old Baptist publication years ago that gave the same arguments against celebrating Christmas as do some religious groups today. (WWCG, Watchtower, etc.) We shouldn't dismiss these points just because we no longer accept the Watchtower as an authority.