neverendingjourney

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Posts by neverendingjourney

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  48

  Why are some of you guys calling this new arrangement tithing?

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at the risk of being shouted down, i thought i'd point out that "tithing" means giving 10 percent of your income to a church.

  it comes from the old english word teogotha meaning tenth.

  i've seen nothing that establishes tithing in the watchtower.. while i'm all in favor of pointing out the watchtower's lies, hypocrisies and faults, the language we use matters.

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  neverendingjourney

  I've don't have any experience with using the words "tithe" or "tithing" where it meant anything other than compulsory donations of 10 percent of your income. Within Mormonism tithing means 10 percent of your income. Every time I had this discussion (mostly door-to-door) with people of assorted Pentecostal churches they always understood it to mean 10 percent. That doesn't mean the term doesn't have flexibility, but I've never it encountered it.

  But what would you call it?

  That's a fair question and one that I haven't given great thought to, to be honest. It seems like this is more akin to passing around a collection plate. They're becoming more aggressive in putting the issue out in front of the members. They're taking steps to have members establish a set amount of money on a periodic basis.
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  48

  Why are some of you guys calling this new arrangement tithing?

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at the risk of being shouted down, i thought i'd point out that "tithing" means giving 10 percent of your income to a church.

  it comes from the old english word teogotha meaning tenth.

  i've seen nothing that establishes tithing in the watchtower.. while i'm all in favor of pointing out the watchtower's lies, hypocrisies and faults, the language we use matters.

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  neverendingjourney

  At the risk of being shouted down, I thought I'd point out that "tithing" means giving 10 percent of your income to a church. It comes from the Old English word teogotha meaning tenth. I've seen nothing that establishes tithing in the Watchtower.

  While I'm all in favor of pointing out the Watchtower's lies, hypocrisies and faults, the language we use matters. If you claim they've established tithing and they've done nothing of the sort, you instantly lose credibility.
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  18

  How did HQ handle the increase of new JWs leading up to 1975?

  by Zoos in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this new donation arrangement under the pretense that so many new halls are needed to accommodate the worldwide increase has me wondering.

  the numbers in the current annual reports don't show anywhere near the increase as there was leading up to the 1975 debacle.

  so how did the gb of the time handle a genuine need for more kingdom halls?.

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  neverendingjourney

  Now here we are in 2014 with publisher growth somewhere between 1-3%, and yet there's this UNPRECEDENTED, EPIC NEED to build more shit.

  In my opinion, this is the single most important aspect to keep an eye on. If the Watchtower moves increasingly in the direction of being real estate flippers, it would signal to me that a new type of leadership has emerged.

  From an outsider's perspective, why not convert your labor force from door-to-door literature salesmen to a no-cost construction crew? Makes all the sense in the world. The only obstacle, presumably, is decades of focus on the preaching work as the hallmark of the one true religion. That hallmark, however, is no longer paying the bills.
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  10

  Surprising how WBTS became EXACTLY what Russell was against.

  by Fernando in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  *** jv chap.

  15 p. 205 development of the organization structure ***.

  however, brother russell emphasized that they were not attempting to set up an earthly organization.

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  neverendingjourney

  Brother Russell emphasized that they were not attempting to set up an “earthly organization.”

  Remember the "Religion is a Snare and a Racket" signs from Rutherford's days? That was a carryover from that view. Religion was bad. But they weren't a religion. They were a group of god's true servants gathered together to warn mankind before Armageddon arrived...shortly. Nowadays the Watchtower claims clergy status for elders in certain instances. The pretense is gone.
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  103

  That does it ! I'm leaving ! ! !

  by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  leaving the university with my degree!.

  exams are finished and it's just a matter of days before i walk.. i was certainly stressed about doing this.

  i'm older than my classmates and armageddon was sooooo close!

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  neverendingjourney

  Congrats!
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  27

  MTS & Gilead: Can we talk about how much of a FAILURE these 2 schools were/are?

  by Black Man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know quite a few from both of these schools who basically crashed and burned once they got into their assignments.

  graduates of these schools would be thrown into foreign territorities or remote areas without a good visible means of support and would get emotionally, mentally, financially burned out.

  post your experiences or of those you know that went to these pitiful excuses for educational institutions..

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  neverendingjourney

  There was a guy from my old hall who went off to MTS. He was an MS/Pioneer who had enormous self-esteem issues and was a bit of a wreck. He was a nobody in the real world. Nevertheless, he knew how to play the system. He applied to MTS and was accepted. When he returned he tried to use his influence to get back at elders who had passed him over for an elder slot. He made sure everybody knew he'd studied the top secret elders book while he was there.

  He was sent off to an assignment in a rural part of the U.S. and didn't last very long. He was the type who wanted the title but didn't want to put in the work. I started fading around that time, but I heard there were one or two more assignments he found ways of getting out of. Eventually I lost touch with almost everyone I knew at the hall. I talked to an active Witness a year or two ago and he told me the MTS grad had eventually been disfellowshipped. Not sure what for, though.
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  19

  Guns and Roses fans?

  by nonjwspouse in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'm not one, but just caught the biography on tv.

  i happened to have met axel roses ( as he called himself by then) parents in a friend's neighborhood in indianna.

  when axel would come home for a visit in the midto late 80's police cars would always end up at the house.

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  neverendingjourney

  Your initial post came at a time when most in the U.S. were still asleep.

  I was a huge GnR fan growing up. My JW parents found the tapes and threw them away.

  Axl was out of control. I'm surprised he kept it together as long as he did to have left a mark on the history of rock and roll.
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  143

  Letter to BOE: Adjustment in process for appointing elders and ministerial servants

  by pixel in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hello, you read it here first!.

  governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

  to all congregations.

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  neverendingjourney

  As long as WT policy continues to be that the elders are to call the Legal Department at the local branch office FIRST when they hear of any child abuse, WT will continue to be held responsible for protecting pedos.

  Or its an effort to disclaim liability by showing that (a) they have a mandatory policy that elders contact the branch when a child abuse case arises and (b) showing that they always give the same advice: contact the authorities where required by applicable law. If pedophilia went unreported it was either because the elders didnt' contact the branch despite the mandatory policy being in place or because the elders failed to follow through on the branch's instructions.
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  43

  New Atlanta Assembly Hall Has raised 3.4 million Dollars... GONE

  by James Jackson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.

  my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..

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  neverendingjourney

  There's a real simple fix, in my opinion. Instead of your volunteer workforce wasting its time in pointless "field service," convert them into a construction crew. Let publishers count their time for building projects. Train them to perform useful tasks. Then flip those properties a few years after they've been built. Leadership could simply give out lame excuses for the sales and the flock would either buy it or not ask questions.

  The infrastructure is already in place. If the Watchtower ever moves in that the direction, it will signal to me that the men running the organization are more cynical than I imagined.
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  43

  New Atlanta Assembly Hall Has raised 3.4 million Dollars... GONE

  by James Jackson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.

  my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..

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  neverendingjourney

  I agree with everything CommitteeChairman said.

  What I will follow with interest is whether cash-flow troubles will necessitate a change in the religion's views on higher education. How can you expect to sustain your organization when your members aspire to be window washers, or in the parlance of today's political conservatives, "takers?"