Posts by triplestrength

17

UK Charity Law Changes

by Paddington Bear in

you may or may not be aware but the charites act 2006 is now in force and it means that from end 2007 charites (including the jw's) will have to proove that they offer public benefit if they are to still retain their charitable status and in turn get gift aid on nearly every single donation and keep their tax exempt status.. the charity law association made some very interesting comments regarding the witnesses in their memorandum that was submitted in evidence to the joint commitee on the draft charites bill.

their comments on the taylorite sect of the exclusive brethren "excluding children from the family home" is also quite relevant.

this is only enidence from an outside body but it shows things could change.. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200304/jtselect/jtchar/167/4061625.htm.

triplestrength

Last Century, (always wanted to say that) I was the MS doing the accounts in my local cong.

I seem to remember that the PO said that EACH cong was a charity in it's own right. I'm assuming this is still the case. But it seems to me that the UK charity commission would wonder about this from a fairly small (overall) organization.

The paperwork from the commision was apparently quite onerous and if every cong in the UK had to fill it in and send it off to a deadline etc then the work for the Commision would be quite large for relativly small amounts. maybe their fed up with it all.

15

Could you get a blood transfusion and not legally be DF'd?

by Burger Time in

ok last night while sobering up from a long day of drinking i started thinking; could doctor/patient confidentiality protect one from being dissfellowshipped?

that is, could one tell a doctor he wants a b.t., but must keep it secret.

the doctor would have a right to keep the procedure from the family or any other interested parties.

triplestrength

In my Doctors surgery there was a woman who worked there who was a witness. She was adament that she would spill the beans on anyone who "did wrong"

Years later I met her after we had both left the Borg and she told me that there were so many child protection issues with the elders families that she became aware of that the elders told her to get another job.

She became very ill because of the stress and was basiclly told she was not fit to be in the congregation and she left.

If someone had a transfusion in this country then they could demand that the fact be kept quiet but if you had lots of visitors and a bag of blood hanging up by the bed someone would notice...

Tricky one as you might need to live and stay in the cong untill you could get out. Also I don't think you could be disfellowshipped as they would say that you had DA'ed yourself. (nice avoidence of responsibility by them I feel)

9

WTF with jesus christ .............

by grewupJWnoselfesteem78-95 in

jw
friends

by jesus returning in 1914 by only directing his attention towards earth...(flip flop flip flop) what does his actual presence consist of?

is he projecting his spirit from heaven..... .

what do they mean by presence now ?

triplestrength

Of course if he was visible then that means the Ransom Sacrifice is null and void, in effect he's taken it back and we're without a hope of salvation.

But why not if he's invisible, after all just because we can't see the wind it's still there having an effect is'nt it? So if he returns then what about our salvation?

3

Blood

by Honesty in

what blood did god prohibit humans from 'taking in'?

triplestrength

Can't eat the blood of a human, so is it ok to eat one?

Never read anywhere that the bible says its wrong to eat human flesh...

Just another example of how bonkers the whole blood thing is.

13

Of fans, caca, and faithful old Grandma's

by sooner7nc in

on monday morning, i'm going to receive a visit.

the visitors will be my sweet mother, who's ok with my views and agrees with many of them, and my grandmother, a faithful, hardcore j-dub.

i haven't been to a meeting in about 4 months.

triplestrength

That sounds like a toughie, hang in there, Its your consience that's important do what's right for you.

117

Your All Time Favorite Song- If You Had to Pick Just One ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

i decided to do a couple fluff threads tonight as my threads have been way too deadly seroius lately !

so if someone told you to pick one song that was your all-time favorite, what would you pick ?

i'd have to say for me it has not changed since the 1971 hit by led zeppelin, " stairway to heaven ".

triplestrength

The boys of summer by Don Henley best song ever.

Of course I never listened to it while a dub cause the Eagles were "bad" (honest!)

3

Mortgage Loans- Help Available

by ronin1 in

jw
friends

i am now employed with a private mortgage company,which is one of the largest providers of fha government insured loans in the states of california, colorado, florida, georgia, indiana, new mexico, maryland, minnesota, mississippi, missouri, south carolina, south dakota, and tennessee.. we offer fha government sponsored loans, 30 year fixed rates currently at 6.5-6.7 percent or lower with no prepayment penalties and the loans are not tied to your credit score.

so persons can have credit scores in the low 500s or 600's and of course 700s.

if approved, persons can use the loans to refinance, reduce their high interest rates, reduce their monthly payments, or for new purchases with as little as 2.5% down.. the up-front fha requirements are:.

triplestrength

Traditionally here in the UK property values increase approx 11% per annum.

So if you were to take out a interest only mortgage, after time you would build equity in your home, so if your intention was to move after a certian amount of time, no you would'nt have paid back any of the loan but you would still have the origanal equity plus the increase in equity since purchase.

so the bit in red at the end of you post I take exception to.

43

How long before you tell people you were once a Jehovah's Witness?

by Trevanian in

jw
friends

most of the people i've met since i left don't know that i spent years of my life as a door knocker.. i have very dear friends who don't know.

i've even had lovers who didn't know.

my last partner knew, and found it vaguely amusing.. i guess i find it deeply embarrassing, although over the years it's become easier to mention it.

triplestrength

I'm a pretty open person but I will wait till I know someone quite well untill I tell them I was a Jdub.

Most people don't care that much in reality except to say that their glad I made the decision to leave.

I always expected to be very alone in the world outside but the truth is that the friends I have now, are because of who I am, not what I belong to. They expect me to be me, not covered up by another's personality.

Over the years I've worked as a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor and found a disproportionate number of ex witnesses in recovery from drink and drugs and to share with them that there is a way forward and out of the mess is a real privelege.

5

New insight on Rev 5 & 7?

by tsar_robles in

well, i must state first that it was not me that caught the following but rather my wife.

while considering the following chapters of revelation we noticed the following:.

av re 5:5 and one of the elders saith unto me, weep not: behold, the lion of the tribe of juda, the root of david, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

triplestrength

Just a thought, but here in england at the end of last year there was a program about John and the book of revelation which really made me think.

Tony Robinson of time team fame made the point that the island that john was on, I think it was Patmos one of the main things that grew there at the end of the first century was what we know as "Magic mushrooms" eaten by the inhabitants quite freely. The conclusion to the program was really that the book of revelation was a drug induced vision by a very old man, Just a thought and it did make alot of sense to me..

7

sanctity of life

by lovelylissa in

it just occurred to me that they say non-witness kids are going to die at armageddon, but abortion is wrong because jah knows us before we are born.

isn't this contradicting itself on the sanctity of life and how jah views us as individual and precious right from the beginning?

triplestrength

I remember asking this question about stillborns a few years ago when I was still active. My mother in law at the time said it was because the still born was not a "Breather" i.e. not taken the breath of life apparently that's what the hebrew word for soul really means.

The answer then did not satisfy me as we all know the witness stance on abortion and the way they feel the unborn is a life. So I asked Why is the stillborn not a life?

My personal belief is that one life is important so much so I cannot understand the Glee that the dub's feel towards the big "A" and the billions expected to die then..