I believe it is worldwide now...but it didn't start that way. That was one of the issues I had. When they announced the change way back when here in the United States they stated it was Jehovah's direction and a simplifying arrangement and like someone said we didn't want to be "peddlers" - but we were never told that the arrangment wasn't going into affect in the vast majority of the world at that time and that the announcement happened to coincide with the Jimmy Swaggert ministries court cases. I've looked back and though how they will attribute everything to "Jehovah's spirit". If it was his spirit it would have been worldwide from day one. Swaggert was the spirit behind this change in the US.
Metamorphosis
JoinedPosts by Metamorphosis
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6
Donations instead of charges for WT & Awake. Is it worldwide?
by digderidoo inwhen i left the wtbts the change occured where no longer the magazines were being charged for, i think it was about 30p for the pair, but instead it was left for a 'voluntary' contribution.. i have heard from an x jw, who was the congregation accountant at the time that this change wasn't worldwide.
it was only changed because contributions weren't taxable in certain countries.
at the time we were told it changed because we didn't want to be classed as 'book selllers'.. is this the case?
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Holy misapplication of scripture Batman!
by Metamorphosis indon't know who else has to still suffer through meetings from time to time - but something struck me during last nights (thursday 12/6/07) final part from the km.
the part was on sharing our kingdom hope or something.
they list a scripture from hebrews 6 to start and end the km article and also one from ephesians 2. the whole context of those chapters in the bible is our hope in jesus and his ransom sacrifice and intervention as high priest.
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Metamorphosis
Jesus was just another one of God's pawns to get his way with his creation. Why is he so different from other faithful angels? Wasn't he created for some pleasure to God? Do you really think he wanted to die the way he did, or maybe was afraid if he didn't he would be considered unfaithful and be called a demon or devil or something? Just wondering what the real situation was after he was changed from some spirit creature to semen in Mary's womb. It's kind of strange how God can change us from one type of creature to another and back again.
It's all to mystical for me to understand.
Well - the thread really wasn't about whether Christ is real or not, or if those scriptures are valid. it's more about how they consistently use scriptures and list them in various articles that are taken out of context and have nothing to do with what they are applying them to. the normal JW reads only the scripture cited and doesn't really think about the surrounding verses. you will almost always see just one or two verses listed and often they are misapplied. -
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Holy misapplication of scripture Batman!
by Metamorphosis indon't know who else has to still suffer through meetings from time to time - but something struck me during last nights (thursday 12/6/07) final part from the km.
the part was on sharing our kingdom hope or something.
they list a scripture from hebrews 6 to start and end the km article and also one from ephesians 2. the whole context of those chapters in the bible is our hope in jesus and his ransom sacrifice and intervention as high priest.
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Metamorphosis
Don't know who else has to still suffer through meetings from time to time - but something struck me during last nights (thursday 12/6/07) final part from the KM. The part was on sharing our kingdom hope or something. they list a scripture from hebrews 6 to start and end the KM article and also one from Ephesians 2. The whole context of those chapters in the Bible is our hope in Jesus and his ransom sacrifice and intervention as high priest. what's interesting is "jesus christ" was not mentioned a SINGLE time during the whole 15 minute part.
Morph
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Beards and dress clothes...
by B_Deserter ini often wonder about the unwritten rule in kingdom halls that a witness should be in dress clothes and brothers cannot have beards (the beard rule i think is pretty much us-only though).
sure, they won't stop you from coming to a meeting in your work clothes and they might even treat you fine.
but, if you want to go anywhere in the congregation (i.e.
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Metamorphosis
Last night in our Hall an elder referenced a verse in Leviticus on how the priests were to wear certain outfits. He then made the application that this shows that Jehovah cares about what we wear. he said another local church had a sign 'come as you are - god doesn't mind', and that was obviously wrong because of this scripture in Leviticus about what priests were to wear. i wanted to stand up screaming - can you misapply scriputure any more?
Morph
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most disturbing movie scene you've seen?
by knock knock ini haven't seen this topic on here so i thought i'd.... hmmm, maybe it's because it's just too disturbing?
to me, the scene in saving private ryan - the two soldiers in the small upstairs room fighting hand to hand to the death (by stabbing).
i think that is the most disturbing thing i've seen on screen and there were plenty just in that film alone.
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Metamorphosis
As a guy - the torture scene in the last James Bond film where Daniel Craig was tied to the chair w/ the bottom cut out... and getting his balls "scratched" - that makes me squirm every time
Morph
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This WT article makes me mad.... this is evil
by dawg init's bad enought that young people in the wt have to sell magizines, risk shunning when they find out the truth about the gb... but this article really makes me laugh and angry at the same time.
the part that made me the maddest was when the father said he "conquered" the habit, lying bastard!
http://www.watchtower.org/e/200611a/article_01.htm.
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Metamorphosis
As already noted, those who have fallen into the habit of masturbation are often plagued with guilt.
The only ones 'plagued with guilt' are the ones told over and over by the JW's that they should be 'plagued with guilt' over it. i don't think normal people brought up outside of the religion really get guilt-ridden much.
Then at the end of the article it talks about how you should go discuss w/ an elder. Sometimes i think they just get off on that type of stuff.
Morph
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F&DS - to copy/paste food at the proper time....
by Metamorphosis inin another thread there was quotes from two articles:.
organized to accomplish our ministry (1983) p. 151, par.
1. concerning those who renounced their christian faith in his day, the apostle john wrote: they went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us.
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Metamorphosis
There is a lot of repetition. The example you used was not a good one, however. The newer book is an updated version of the other, and not intended to be more than that.
you are correct - that is not the best example - what made me start a post on it however was the day before i saw this quote on this forum i was researching something on the WT CD and noticed multiple WT articles doing the same thing ... this quote reminded me of it the next day and was the easiest thing to grab.
if you do a search on a certain phrase on the CD you'll usually come up w/ multiple WT articles that are almost word for word a few years apart. i doubt any of the mainstream magazines could get away with just re-printing articles over and over with a few minor word changes....
Morph
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Studying To Save Lives Again!
by KnowlegeSeeker_UK ini have served as a jw since 1986, im now nearly 30 yrs old.
i pioneered, i served at bethel then i read the bible............. oh !
hang on..... something doesnt seem right.
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Metamorphosis
2. "no jeans or t-shirts in the evenings after a district assembly was an easy target."...This is the second time I have seen this info....where did it come from? is it in print? was it just announced at at dc? what the hey?
oompa - it was in the KM before this summer's district Convention - the normal pullout sometime around Feb/March about not saving seats, bringing food and not leaving the convention - and they added in that it would be disrespectful to change into jeans when you went out to eat afterwords. i sat there in disbelief the first time i read it - like where the hell do they get off trying to tell people what to wear after the convention...
Morph
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F&DS - to copy/paste food at the proper time....
by Metamorphosis inin another thread there was quotes from two articles:.
organized to accomplish our ministry (1983) p. 151, par.
1. concerning those who renounced their christian faith in his day, the apostle john wrote: they went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us.
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Metamorphosis
in another thread there was quotes from two articles:
Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry (1983) p. 151, par. 1
Concerning those who renounced their Christian faith in his day, the apostle John wrote: “They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us.” (1 John 2:19) Also, a person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization the objective of which is contrary to the Bible and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. (Compare Revelation 19:17-21; Isaiah 2:4) So if a person who is a Christian chooses to join those who are disapproved by God, it would be fitting for the congregation to acknowledge by a brief announcement that he has disassociated himself and is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Such a person would be viewed in the same way as a disfellowshipped person.Organized to Do Jehovah's Will (2005) p. 155, par. 2
Concerning those who renounced their Christian faith in his day, the apostle John wrote: “They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us.” (1 John 2:19) For example, a person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization that has objectives contrary to the Bible and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. (Isa. 2:4; Rev. 19:17-21) If a person who is a Christian chooses to join those who are disapproved by God, a brief announcement is made to the congregation, stating: “[Name of person] is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Such a person is treated in the same way as a disfellowshipped person. The presiding overseer should approve this announcement.Anyone else find it absolutely freaking hilarious how much re-hash comes out in the publications. The quotes above are almost word for word. I've found that a good majority of info that they produce now is just a rewrite or copy/paste almost of a previous article sometime in the years past. there is very little original writing that takes place even though they manage to shove new books and magazines out the door every month.
Morph
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the TOWER ANSWERS BACK on NGO
by tula inwho is responsible for this website operation?
is the tower hidden under this?
know your ngos!
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Metamorphosis
Slightly off topic - but i have always found it hilarious their copy and past method of dispensing 'new' literature. you can see in the above example almost two identical quotes. if you do a search for various phrases in the CD rom you'll often come across multiple articles over the years that are almost word for word of each other. so much for proper food - they just rehash things constantly so they can get another publication or magazine out.
Morph