Posts by smiddy

41

48% Capacity at Kingdom Halls - A post on reddit

by berrygerry in

there was a letter read this week, followed by a talk about all the changes that are coming in the next couple of months regarding merging congregations in the area (va/md/dc) - the letter said that the kh's in the area are only being filled to 48% capacity.

this was music to my ears as i have noticed the decline in attendance in all the neighboring congregations.

they will sell some kingdom halls and merge some congregations.

smiddy

Wasn`t it just a few short years ago they said they would need more KH`s because of the expected increases ?

And they had a program to fullfil this need ?

On the one hand they quote the scripture that says something like ",In the last days 10 men out of all nations will take hold of the skirt of a jew and will say we will go with you people because we have heard Jehovah God is with you people".

An expected increase /influx of many people wanting to join this religion.

And then on the other hand we have ," In the last days the love of the greater number will cool off " obviously denoting a decrease in believers.

A great exodus of people leaving the religion

Which is it Watchtower ?

Remember they also said for decades that the annointed numbers would decrease as we got closer to armageddon ,then for about 35 years the number never dropped below 8000 annointed ,then lo and behold the numbers actually started to go up so that at this date they are well over 14000-15000 annointed or maybe even more.

So if their are any thinking JW`s left in the organization its no wonder the attendances are dwindling

14

Asking a Jew about the Name "Jehovah"

by David_Jay in

jehovah's witnesses...that's the trademark of the religion, the use of the name "jehovah.

" if there is anything jws and non-jws can agree on is that this one thing sets them apart from everybody else.. i have only had witnesses come to my door less than five times since i left in the 1990s.

i guess they don't work the territory i live in often, or perhaps after that first time (which was still after the year 2000) they have marked the words "jew who knows a lot" or something in their notes on my address.

smiddy

Thank you David Jay ,

I appreciate the Jewish perspective coming from someone who obviously understands better than Christian scholars how the Jews view things relating especially to the Old Testament / Hebrew Scriptures.and the use of the Tetragrammaton.

I can understand but dont agree with the Christian Scholars having an agenda in playing down the Jewish view while promoting Jesus Christ in the New Testament /Christian Greek Scriptures.

They are looking after their own interests.

However

With regard to Jehovahs Witnesses using the name Jehovah in the new testament /Christian Greek Scriptures they published a word for word translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures ( The Kingdom Interlinear ) a couple of decades ago and nowhere is the tetragrammaton ,the four hebrew letters representing Gods name found their .Nor is their any Greek letters that substitute for the four hebrew letters representing Gods name found in the word for word translation.

So their is no basis for the WTB&TS to insert the name Jehovah in the Christian Greek Scriptures using their own publication. ( KI)

None of the Apostles or any of the Gospel writers or anyone else including Jesus ever uttered the name Jehovah nor did anyone utter the four hebrew letters of the tetragrammaton to infer such in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

8

Serena Williams engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian

by ttdtt in

wonder if tony or splaine will be invited to the wedding :).

i am sure it will be at her kingdom hall to praise her great dod jehober.. http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/entertainment/serena-williams-engaged-alexis-ohanian/index.html.

smiddy

Now that it has been confirmed Serena is pregnant and expecting a girl according to Venus ,i wonder if Serena is thanking Jehovah for her pregnancy as she used to thank him for her wins on the tennis courts.

I also wonder if the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses are now appreciative of Serena Williams praising Jehovah for her wins now that she is an unwed woman and pregnant to an unbeliever ? or worldly person.?

Will they remain silent ?

OK , she may not be baptised ,but she has been outspoken about her beliefs and praising Jehovah her God on the world stage

and the JW religion have been silent about that

Will they remain silent ?

14

Can we talk confidentially?

by wheelwithinwheel in

jw
friends

the lot video shows what most elder’s offices are like.

actually it a pretty well-equipped one and with the video context is, without a doubt, org-approved.

but let’s face it.

smiddy

The thought that Elders dont speak confidential matters with their wives ? I almost choked in my beer.

OK ,some dont ,but I believe they are a minority.

7

Walking The Line

by millie210 in

a recent comment in another thread inspired this one.. the comment concerned a family who owned a bakery and got counsel on the icing and cake decorations.. the cakes reflected the theme of worldly holidays of that time.. the family was told to sell the bakery.. then, we have the case of jalessa castillo, a young u.s. journalist who happens to also be a pioneer in a congregation.

she was covering religious topics (among other topics) and it seems that got stopped?.

at least when you look online now it is very hard to find her name in the byline of anything religious in nature.

smiddy

We all know the obvious ones, such as being a policeman/woman

I personally knew two policemen who were JW`s and one was a motor-cycle cop.who carried a gun ,the other was re-assigned to desk work and he was an Elder in good standing.

this was back in the 70`s-80`s in Australia.

In an adjoining congregation was a self employed sign writer who was doing work for a butchers shop at Xmas and was harrassed by the Elders for doing Xmas decorations on the butcher shop window ,and was DF. for defending his position of being employed by them .

It was common knowledge back then if you were self employed as a tradesmen you would not do any work for any church organization .

As I said this was back in the 70`s-80`s.,how different it is today when the GB sell their properties to religious organizations for $$$$$$$$$$

23

What Kind Of Psychological Conseling Do You Think Jehovah's Witnesses Need When They Find Out It's Not The Truth?

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i personally would like to see they get the very best but haven't a clue how to do it what are your benevolent words of wisdom, should a person do a deep research on his own a kind of self medication or should they brush up on some psychology,, who should they trust because after you leave you got big trust issues.. i don't know about you but to me it was a real shocker, i was totally into getting their worthless bull shit out of my head.

i choose the self medicate path and did as must research as time would allow,, science was a biggie for me, it was enjoyable learning to get so much bull shit out of my head..

smiddy

Seriously: I think they just need to come here on this board ,you couldnt get more effective counsel more positive encouragement / feedback anywhere else but here.

The people on this board have been their done that and they have first hand experience of everything anybody has gone through .

I think ,what shrink ,pyschologist ,counsellor who has no experience / one on one with a Jehovahs Witness can possibly know what an ex JW is going through , only those who have been through this crap .

And they are all on this board .

Take advantage of them my friends,

7

Jehovah /Yahweh which is it ? or something else yet to be revealed.

by smiddy in

if jehovahs witnesses are using the wrong name of god "jehovah" how would that affect your worship ?.

2. if yahweh is the more correct name of god of the bible how does that affect your worship ?.

3.jehovahs witnesses put great emphasis on gods name ,sanctifying it treating it as "holy" and that jehovahs witnesses are to make it known in all the earth .

smiddy

1 . If Jehovahs witnesses ARE using the wrong name of God "Jehovah" how would that affect your worship ?

2. If Yahweh is the more correct name of God of the Bible how does that affect your worship ?

3.Jehovahs Witnesses put great emphasis on Gods name ,sanctifying it treating it as "Holy" and that jehovahs witnesses are to make it known in all the earth

,What if they have got the name wrong all of these years.?

4. What if they have had the name wrong for the past 100+ years.?

2

Will your great grandchildren go to school in this system of things?

by compound complex in

mine won't, and i have that on good and reliable second-hand authority.

.

maybe, third-hand .

smiddy

We were told in the early sixties that our pre-school children would never have to go to high school .

My sons are now 55 and 49 respectively .

And of course my great grandchildren and even there great grandchidrens children will all go to school in this system of things.

Whatever government is in power at that time .

One thing is for sure it wont be a Theocratic Government. by Christ Jesus / Jehovah.

21

Convention Horror Video for J.W.'s Young Children

by The Searcher in

in part 3 of remember the wife of lot, prepubescent j.w.

kids are going to be shown something which demonstrates that the org condones watching disturbing horror content.

the "direction" the wtbts is taking is breathtaking.

smiddy

Thats what its come down to in the JW religion ,scare the crap out of the young children with the consent of the JW parents so that they wont leave the religion as is obviously happening nowadays and their trying to put a brake on it.

12

And the dumbing down continues...

by NikL in

maybe it's complete in light of this sundays wt study...“what you vow, pay”.

it is all about paying your vows and especially focuses on three types.. 1 your dedication vow (baptism).

2 your marriage vow.

smiddy

However, I say to you: Do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;35nor by earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.36 Do not swear by your head, since you cannot turn one hair white or black.37 Just let your word ‘Yes’ mean yes, your ‘No,’ no, for what goes beyond these is from the wicked one.

I hope this is not off topic ,however ,

Isnt taking an oath on the Bible in a court of law,or a Governmental Royal Commission the same as swearing on the Bible ?

Geoffrey Jackson and an Elder were obviously not aware of that scripture .