As for other countries not included on the list, there are the United Arab Emirates such as Abu Dhabi; Brunei; and Dubai. Neither are Oman; Jordan; Syria; Somalia; nor the Sudan on the list. Ditto for North Korea. However, Turkey is on the list, so it can be assumed that "the work" is legal there.
Rapunzel
JoinedPosts by Rapunzel
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66
HERE'S THE 2007 SERVICE YEAR REPORT
by Mary ini'm not sure if this has been posted yet, so i took the liberty of scanning a copy.
here is the figures for the 2007 service year report.
interesting that over 9,000 partook at the memorial last year when the numbers should be going down.
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66
HERE'S THE 2007 SERVICE YEAR REPORT
by Mary ini'm not sure if this has been posted yet, so i took the liberty of scanning a copy.
here is the figures for the 2007 service year report.
interesting that over 9,000 partook at the memorial last year when the numbers should be going down.
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Rapunzel
I think that the "thirty other lands" that they mention are places where the Witnesses are banned. You'll notice that countries such as Algeria; Tunisia; Morocco; Yemen; China; Iraq; Iran; and Egypt are not on the list. Neither is Tibet, but then again, Tibet is occupied by China.
I was heartened to read the Myannamar (Burma) IS listed among the countries where the Witnesses are free to operate. I guess the generals who control the junta in that country have a heart after all.
Taiwan is listed because they are NOT part of the People's Republic of China; Taiwan has never been a part of the People's Republic of China. Taiwan's political system is far from perfect. However, Taiwanese enjoy a degree of religious freedom that is totally unimaginable in China. Not only does Taiwan tolerate the Witnesses, there are also Mormons; Baptists; Pentecostals; Evangelicals; Moonies; Hare Krishna; Falun Gong; and even Scientologists - all of which are banned in China
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Rapunzel
"Hey, do you have a cigarette that you could give me?
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Rapunzel
When I first read your thread's title, I thought that you were talking about Ozzy Osbourne's group. It's too bad really. The rock group, Black Sabbath, was a seminal one in the Heavy Metal genre.
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25
Christianity in a nutshell?
by gaiagirl in"the belief that a jewish zombie who can make you live forever in paradise if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree".. .
pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?
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Rapunzel
"Jewish Zombie"? Is he, by any chance, associated with Rob Zombie, a.k.a, "White Zombie"?
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Rapunzel
By "abductee" do you mean someone who claimed to have been abducted by aliens who performed medical exams on their human captives?
Or, do you mean someone who was forcibly kidnapped and held against their will by other Witnesses?
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75
The "Historical Jesus" and Christian Faith
by Narkissos inin the wake of lovelylil's recent threads on the "historical jesus," a side question.. let's assume, for the sake of the discussion, that the four canonical gospels are not historical accounts of jesus' life, but a much later elaboration of christian faith in narrative form -- there are many reasons for such a proposal, but i'm not going into them right now -- let's just assume.. what do you think would be better or worse to find out in the historical field, from the perspective of christian faith:.
1. that there was no "historical jesus" at all, and that the gospels are essentially a religious myth made (hi)story, "the word made flesh" so to say;.
2. that there was a "historical jesus" completely different from the christian saviour -- for example, a galilean apocalyptic prophet and political zealot, trying to cleanse the nation and the temple from both the roman occupation and ritual disorders, with no interest at all in starting a new universal (i.e.
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Rapunzel
I would say that, from a Christian perspective, number one would be worse; from the perspective of a believer, it would be devastating.And yet, although I'm not a believer in any revealed religion, I think that choice number one is how it is.
As I have said before, human beings are creatures that have always sat around and told stories to each other. All of our "truths" are merely stories and narratives. And because Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all religions of the Book - the [printed] Word - our foundational cultural narratives have been put down in writing.
If I may, I would like to quote a passage from the author, Imre Kertesz, who writes in the novel Liquidation - "I believe in writing - nothing else; just writing. Man may live like a worm, but he writes like a god. There was a time when that secret was known, but now it has been forgotten; the world is composed of disintegrating fragments, an incoherent dark chaos, sustained by writing alone. If you have a concept of the world, if you have not yet forgotten all that has happened, that you have a world at all, it is writing that has created that for you, and ceaselessly goes on creating it..."
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56
Were You Ever Counseled Because Of What You Wore (or didn't)?
by minimus inafter reading the thread about what is acceptable to wear and not wear in a factory run by jehovah's witnesses, i wondered whether any here ever got counseled or in trouble because of their fashion sense or attire.
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Rapunzel
When I was in France, in 1976, I was "counseled" ["harassed" or "taunted" are actually better words for the treatment] for wearing my hair unacceptably long. To this day, I still remember attending a meeting before field service. Although there was only one woman ["sister"] present, the elder in charge of the meeting quipped - "Well, it seems like we have have two sisters present today." This witticism drew chuckles and smirks from some of the brothers who were there. Of course, he was referring to me as the "second sister." Also one time, I was put in with the sisters on a food distribution line at a convention. In the 70's in France, selling food was strictly limited to "the sisters."
Of course, it is entirely a question of local standards. I found it a little ironic actually, because I remember clearly that the younger sisters in that same French congregation had the habit of wearing very, very tight-fitting blue jeans. It looked like they had had their jeans spray-painted on. But that was alright because that was the custom throughout all of France at that time. Guys wore their hair short, and young women wore their jeans tight.
On the other hand, the situation was quite different in Miami a year earlier, in 1976. There, the sisters would never think of wearing jeans or any other pants to the Kingdom Hall. In fact, they sneered at the women in the "worldly churches" who wore pant suits to church. So,I guess it all comes down to local mores and customs. Also, I have heard that some halls are more "liberal" and lenient than others.
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Any Independent Confirmation of Magi's "Travelling Star"?
by Rapunzel ineveryone is familiar with the biblical legend of how the magi were led to jesus' birthplace by following a roaming star that came to rest over bethlehem.
i would like to know if there are any recordings outside of the bible of this event.
are there any ancient chinese, persian, mayan, etc.
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Rapunzel
Everyone is familiar with the biblical legend of how the Magi were led to Jesus' birthplace by following a roaming star that came to rest over Bethlehem. I would like to know if there are any recordings outside of the Bible of this event. Are there any ancient Chinese, Persian, Mayan, etc. sources that speak of such an occurrence? According to tradition, Jesus was born in the period from the year 7 B.C. to 4 B.C. I'm sure that such a wondrous celestial phenomenon as a travelling star would have attracted the awe of astronomers the world over. Such an event would certainly have been recorded. Some people may mention a confluence of two heavenly bodies, but in mind, this is not the kind of phenomenon that is being described in the Bible account. The account describes a mobile star that comes to rest over a given spot. Has anyone ever tried to analyze astronomical records made at that time to verify if there is a recording of the event?
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Memorial Billboard!
by Robert7 inthis kind-of goes with the thread "why not use mass-media".
i got this email forwarded to me by a relative.
i guess it could have been photoshopped.... wow, someone actually advertised the memorial on a billboard.
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Rapunzel
Sorry - It's a "livaria catolica" - a catholic bookstore.