report from the chicago sun-times.. note the arrogant assumption that non jw's have no clue why they are of a particular religion.. also the optimism about baptisms ("scores" = at least 40).. plus, there's that word qualified again!.
expatbrit.
tina, get down there with your placards and megaphone!.
What is this lie? "Jehovah's Witnesses don't have a separation of clergy and laity." When did the R&F become equal to the elders, CO, DO etc? And when did the GB start sharing their position with anyone? And when did 'sisters' start having the same authority as 'brothers' at the meetings? I must have missed some announcements or something.
esther
i've always been taught that each disciple of christ has a scriptural obligation to preach, and to do so in imitation of jesus and his disciples.
they did this by house to house, in synagogues, and in the marketplaces.
this is one thing that has always kept me close to jehovah's witnesses.
As Amazing says "the Watch Tower Society insistence that ALL go door-to-door to carry out their preaching mission is in error." We also have the scripture in Matthew 10:14, which says "Wherever anyone does not take YOU in or listen to YOUR words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off YOUR feet." I have not seen anywhere in the bible where it says that you are to keep returning to people who are not interested. So how can it be scriptural to annoy people by frequently going back to them when they have said that they are not interested? There are several television programs with bible talks, which is also a successful method of preaching. Then there is the scripture in Acts 20:35 "There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving." If this is read in context, it shows that we should be giving help physically, not just preaching to people. There is a lot more to be said on this subject, but I feel this is enough for now.
esther
well, here it is, the final lesson in our language course to prepare us for this weekend's sydney bbq.. how ya been goin'?.
there'll be time at the end of this lesson to review the full course.. today we're going to consider what to say to those experiencing emotional distress, or how to recognise it in someone you meet.. 1. the old man's shot through = my husband's left town.
2. can i bot a fag?
How about 'bring a plate', meaning to bring a plate of goodies, not an empty plate, of course?
esther
regardless of scriptural implications, creating special categories of service such as colporteur, pioneer, special pioneer, etc.
was a brilliant move.. the prestige, status and few little perks associated with those committing to being full-time workers is miniscule compensation for their sacrifice of time, lifestyle, income and educational opportunities.. yes, the hour requirements have dropped on several occasions.
how many on the board know that the regular pioneer requirement was once 150 hours a month, then 1200 hours a year, than 1000, now 90-vacation/assembly time?.
I pioneered for a few years, during which time I had to have an operation. This was the time I started to find out how uncaring the elders are. At first, I thought it was just the congregation where I was attending, and that it 'would be put right in due time'. How naive! I did not realise it then, but it was the beginning of my long-drawn-out exit from the WTS.
esther
here's a snippet from www.watchtower.org:.
jehovah's witnesses provide personal and group instruction in the bible at no charge.
if you would like to have a qualified bible teacher visit you in your home or at some other convenient place, this will gladly be arranged by jehovah's witnesses.. .
Expat you say "Exactly what qualifications are they referring to? In order to be qualified, a person has to have graduated or completed a recognised course." Well, they have passed a course. Admittedly, this is not really as a Bible teacher, but they are certainly qualified as a WT bs teacher.
esther
the following is a recent jw advertisement about their upcoming conventions.
it can be found on the jw-media.org site under recent news.
i will quote them in italics and then make my own observations.. jehovah's witnesses office of public information.
Oops, I forgot to put in my last letter how annoyed I always was with all the extra public talks, especially at the end of the program. I am, of course, talking about the closing prayers. The ones where they gave a rundown on the program. Utterly boring!!!!! They used to annoy me even more than the day text. Always made me think of that scripture in Mark 13:40 about those who make long prayers as a pretext.
esther
when an organization makes myriad rules regulating every aspect of living, fertile minds devise side-steps, technically non-violations.
as with the complicated u.s. tax code, "loopholes" are found.. two cases in point most can identify with:.
1. no need to sit, if already standing, for a national .
outnfree, got to admit that not being able to communicate about spiritual things is a really good thing, especially for the df'd one. Just think, this prohibition is really doing a favour for the poor df'd and da'd ones. I should think that the society would really be upset if they realised that.
esther
when an organization makes myriad rules regulating every aspect of living, fertile minds devise side-steps, technically non-violations.
as with the complicated u.s. tax code, "loopholes" are found.. two cases in point most can identify with:.
1. no need to sit, if already standing, for a national .
TMS, you are so right when you say that genuine, faithful servants of Jehovah are trying to find a way around the directives of Jehovah's "Faithful Slave". It is against the natural love between family members, and hurts the ones who are faithful to the "Faithful Slave" as much as those who have offended the organization.
Englishman, "The sad part is that most dubs behaviour eventually comes down to "Can I be DF'd if I do this?"" It is, sadly, very true that the poor deluded dubs spend so much time in fear of being considered unworthy by the WTBTS that they don't have time to consider whether or not God approves of the action
esther
incredible tale of jaw-dropping, eye-popping dishonesty from the borg!.
my father, who continues to be in the borg, managed the construction of one of those 48-hour wonders several years ago.
just a few months later, someone had a "welcome to the neighborhood bonfire" um, using the new kh as the bonfire.. the new hall was, of course, insured and application was duly made for payment so that another soaring, magnificent testament to man's spiritual longing could be constructed.. well.
Liberty, your quote "The best is yet to come however, when this congregation must pay back the building loan with interest and then sign over the ownership back to the Watch Tower Society when it's all paid for" is right. To add further to this, the Watch Tower Society asked for interest-free loans from the rank and file to help with the building projects, as well as donations. It would be interesting to know if they actually paid back the loans, or whether the lenders only asked for it back in dire emergencies, feeling they would be frowned on otherwise
esther
the following is a recent jw advertisement about their upcoming conventions.
it can be found on the jw-media.org site under recent news.
i will quote them in italics and then make my own observations.. jehovah's witnesses office of public information.
The food preparation for the conventions were the best places for the young ones to meet prospective mates. It was also a very good excuse to leave our seats before the end of the sessions, and a place to chat to ones from other areas. It was much better if there was no speaker in the food preparation area, of course. We got to enjoy ourselves and feel that we were being real christians. Boy, how interesting are talks and demonstrations when doing work was more fun?
esther
