the official watchtower 2006 service year report is not out yet, but i have it on good sources that this year's increase on publishers number is 1.9%.
the average number of publishers will be around 6,500,000. .
here's the % increase for this decade:.
As witnesses we were constantly reminded of Isaiah chapter 2 which tells us that in the final part of the days the mountain of Jehovah ( his earthly organisation) would be firmly established and rise above all other mountains and to it all nations "must stream" to it.
By there interpretation there should be a solid line of people coming into the organisation, and certainly not a decline nor any slow growth.
Gumby
has anyone on this board ever used john 5:23 when talking to jw's?.
unfortunately, one of my friends is currently in a "bible" study with the jw's (and has been since last year).
i asked my friend to ask the jw what john 5:23 means, so my friend did ask the jw who was conducting the "bible" study.
The bible also says to honor your father and your mother........so, should we worship them as we do god?
I don't feel your point makes any validity as to Jesus being equal to god in all aspects just because it says to honor him as you do god. The point in John isn't qualifiying the word 'honor' as being of equal value in all contexts. If the scripture said to honor your parents as you honor god, it wouldn't mean that all are equal in nature anymore than the scripture that states for men to love their wives along with the scripture that tells us to love god.
Honor doesn't mean equality on all levels.
hon·or  ( n  r) n. 1. High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate. 2. a. Good name; reputation. b. A source or cause of credit: was an honor to the profession. 3. a. Glory or recognition; distinction. b. A mark, token, or gesture of respect or distinction: the place of honor at the table. c. A military decoration. d. A title conferred for achievement. 4. High rank. 5. The dignity accorded to position: awed by the honor of his office. 6. Great privilege: I have the honor to present the governor. 7. Honor Used with His, Her, or Your as a title and form of address for certain officials, such as judges and mayors: Her Honor the Mayor. 8. a. Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity. b. A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms. c. A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity. 9. honors Social courtesies offered to guests: did the honors at tea. 10. honors a. Special recognition for unusual academic achievement: graduated with honors. b. A program of individual advanced study for exceptional students: planned to take honors in history. 11. Sports The right of being first at the tee in golf. 12. Games a. Any of the four or five highest cards, especially the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of the trump suit, in card games such as bridge or whist. b. The points allotted to these cards. Often used in the plural. tr.v.hon·ored, hon·or·ing, hon·ors 1. a. To hold in respect; esteem. b. To show respect for. c. To bow to (another dancer) in square dancing: Honor your partner. 2. To confer distinction on: He has honored us with his presence. 3. To accept or pay as valid: honor a check; a store that honors all credit cards. Idiom: honor bound Under an obligation enforced by the personal integrity of the one obliged: I was honor bound to admit that she had done the work. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin.] hon or·er n. Synonyms: honor, homage, reverence, veneration, deferenceThese nouns denote admiration, respect, or esteem accorded to another as a right or as due. Honor is the most general term: The hero tried to be worthy of the honor in which he was held. Homage is often in the form of a ceremonial tribute that conveys allegiance: "There is no country in which so absolute a homage is paid to wealth" Ralph Waldo Emerson. Reverence is a feeling of deep respect and devotion: "Kill reverence and you've killed the hero in man" Ayn Rand. Veneration is both the feeling and the reverential expression of respect, love, and awe: Her veneration for her mentor never wavered. Deference is courteous, respectful regard for another that often implies yielding to him or her: The funeral was arranged with deference to the family of the deceased Gumthegreat |
Anyhow, as usual just another load of boring rubbish
Negativity is what the organisation is all about.
Since they believe that Satan has power over everything on the planet......except for them.....it's easy to understand just why they demonize anything not coming from them. They feel they must name every sin as if a good christian cannot differentiate what is good and what is bad........just like any other cult does.
Gumby
i also believe in santa clause and that david beckham has a phd.
seriously though, i have only been here a short while but it has been more than enough to convince me to hand in my resignation.
i have telephoned our sec, and told him that i am stepping down.
if satan wanted freedom..shouldn't he search for the truth if nothing else is working?
(truth sets free?).
isn't that what a rebel wants?
my mother and i were discussing the fact that she was told by a minister of the jehovah's witnesses upon being asked whether mother was going to be attending a book study at her local kingdom hall and mother requested whether she could wear slacks she was told that it would not show respect to jehovah and that women in the kingdom hall should "dress appropriately" by wearing skirts or dresses.
after discussing this, my mother and i feel that the manner of dress of a jehovah's witnesses, whether man or woman is totally irrelevant to respect to jehovah god.
clearly, even if one were to present themselves at hall in rags, that person is not disrespectful to jehovah if his mind and heart are open to god's word.
i don't get to check this board too often and if it has already been discussed, i apologize.
just curious if there was ever a big announcement.
if so, can someone post the link?
I wonder what the witnesses will say when nukes are being dropped and religion is still standing? The tract should have read,
"Worldwide Catastrophy is Near"....then maybe they would at least get one prediction correct.
False religion being destroyed by the governments is supposed to happen before the rest of mankind is annihilated according to the witnesses, but little do they know the coming war isn't directed at religion.... at least worldwide.
Gumby
what a ride it has been!.
i was [and had been for a full year] sure that leaving the jw's was the right thing to do, before i showed up here.
still, the journey was just underway then, and this forum has been a wonderful aid in that journey.. i remember the first few weeks, when i discovered that some of the posters here [mouthy, jst2laws and his wife (joysabelle i think)] had aided me earlier thru emails in the first of my earliest contacts, before i knew of jwd.
and one funny little green claymation character that always makes me smile, the little Gumbastard
*packs up his 1972 Ford Pinto with nutsack polishin tools and heads for Jeffs house for a free shinin*
Seriously Jeff, it's been a pleasure having you here as I've ALWAYS enjoyed your posts as have many others.
Gumby
walking down memory lane: 124 columbia heights,.
many thoughts and experiences related to life at bethel come flooding in, especially here at jwd, where your questions and answers jog my memory.
some of the following i've already mentioned elsewhere, some comments are new.
3) Brother Knorr had a paper printed out for young brothers with "the problem": information on what dosage of potassium nitrate (salt-peter) would prove helpful.
What a dummy he was. Salt peter only make a guy not be able to get his dinger erect, wheras a pic of a lady like the one below make a guy never want sex ever again. He shoulda just gave all the masterbatin guys a picture of her to keep under their pillow.
hi chaps .... any help appreciated.
i am having a ridiculous conversation on another forum with a poster who insists that mizraim is not supposed to indicate the land of egypt within the bible texts.. she claims that freemasons (yep - i know) have shoe-horned egypt into the narrative to draw attention to the pyramids and the world of the occult.. i know that this is whacky stuff and my reasoning with her is not actually helping, as she insists that mizraim is a different land altogether, regardless of my pleadings.. i have searched the internet to aid my quest for knowledge, but i haven't found anything particularly useful to date.. so, can anybody who understands the original language explain to me why the name mizraim was altered to read as egypt?.
thanks .
Ok, I translated it but could only do so in sloppy english. Here ya go,
Mizraim was da bruva of cush who, togetha along wiv phut and canaan, made up da amite branch of noah's descendants. mizraim's sons were ludim, anamim, lehabim, naphtuhim, pathrusim, casluhim (out of whom came da philistines), and caphtorim. in orda fa mizraim's name to ave any meanin, egypt must ave already bin founded (and also divided into uppa and lowa egypt). he as bin compared to main man menes, who reunited da turfs as one egypt.
Bruddah Gumby