Go for the 3 elders who signed the forms.
Watch the WTS back away hurriedly.
Set a precedent.
passwordprotected
JoinedPosts by passwordprotected
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49
Is the WTS preparing for a MASS EXODUS?
by passwordprotected inhobo ken and i were chatting about this yesterday.. the wts has past experience of losing vast numbers of members very quickly.
from their post-25 and post-75 experiences they will know how best to prepare their organisational structure to remain afloat when they experience another exodus.. we're only 5 years from the 100 year anniversary of ct russell walking into the dining room and announcing the gentile times had ended.
since then, millions of people have molded and adjusted their lives and personal expectations based on the date 1914. the wts must know that 2015 is going to bring with it one or two upset jws.... so, is the wts preparing for a mass exodus right now?.
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passwordprotected
Hobo Ken and I were chatting about this yesterday.
The WTS has past experience of losing vast numbers of members very quickly. From their post-25 and post-75 experiences they will know how best to prepare their organisational structure to remain afloat when they experience another exodus.
We're only 5 years from the 100 year anniversary of CT Russell walking into the dining room and announcing the Gentile times had ended. Since then, millions of people have molded and adjusted their lives and personal expectations based on the date 1914. The WTS must know that 2015 is going to bring with it one or two upset JWs...
So, is the WTS preparing for a mass exodus right now?
- downsizing publication output
- downsizing headquarter and branch staff
- not even trying to fight the issues they're facing in Spain; simply shutting up shop
- downsizing meetings
- consolidating congregations, selling of Kingdom Halls
- closing operations in Brooklyn
They surely must have learned from past experience that when they've failed to manage their client's expectations, they lose members. They will know that they can't afford to have a bloated, overly expensive corporation - especially during the financial crisis - when people just stop coming to the meetings in 2015...
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WATCHTOWER 15/10/09 RE. D/F'D FRIENDS
by BluesBrother inthis is the 4th study article, to be studied christmas week as it happens.
title - "maintaining friendships in a loveless world".
para 2 "today, what a pleasure it is to be associated with a worldwide organization whose members follow the pattern set by first century christians.
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passwordprotected
This could have been written about my wife. She "stopped serving Jehovah" and it appeared on the outside that she was "firmly grounded in the truth".
The reality was she was following a false prophet and when she read Luke 21:8 she realised she needed to find the truth.
Like the "sister" in the article, all of her closest friends, some who were like sisters, were typically judgement in the way that only JWs know how.
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my scottish holiday
by badboy ini stayed at a caravan site near fort william, i travelled by the m6 from birmingham to fort william i saw part of the yorkshire dales and lake district on way up, i went to fort augustus and eilean donan, as well as up a mountain track journey .
saw glencoe/loch lomond also a rock near cluanie where a stream flowed in one side but exited the other.. .
gemstone/west highland museum.. saw braveheart games.
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passwordprotected
hilarious responses, ninja. Loving the 6 foot tall Hawkins image.
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passwordprotected
I agree with wobble.
Someone on another thread stated that some need the WTS to be invincible.
I personally don't see the WTS as being invincible and I think the way they refuse basic human rights to their members - exiting members or otherwise- will (and should) come back to bite them big time.
Has anyone actually tried to sue for defamation?
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Friend said they're really emphasizing "Family Worship Evening" at the Convention - why did they get rid of the book study then?
by truthseeker ini just had a chat with a friend i haven't seen for a while.
he knows we're inactive.
he was trying to encourage us by relating what he heard at the convention, saying "the end is near" and then proceeded to tell me that what stood out the most was how many times the society emphasized "family worship" night at the convention.. it got me thinking, why did they get rid of the book study arrangement in private homes if they're so keen on forcing people to have family worship night?
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passwordprotected
Good post.
The cancellation of the BSG in private homes has "massive cock-up" written all over it. From the little I've heard from the convention it jumped out at me that they're already fighting fires re. brothers using the extra free evening to work overtime or get involved in recreation (shock-horror). I wonder if they're regretting giving the R&F that little bit of extra slack.
I mean, think about it; they announce the change 7 months before it's due to take effect, market it as a loving provision and cite gas prices as part of the reason. The gas prices part is what really started to wake me up and make me question. Plus, as gas prices a high as they were last year?
The whole thing smacked of legal knee jerking. I hope it continues to bite them on their Italian suited asses.
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New World Translation, is it the best bible translation?
by littlebuddy inmy jw elder friend said to me that the nwt is the best translation of the bible and that scholars have said as much.
is this true and is it the best?
are there scholars who disagree?.
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passwordprotected
Welcome!
You ask a great question. It's possible to make your own mind up by looking at the WTS's Kingdom Interlinear. Just compare John 3:16 and John 17:3 as they read in the Greek with how the NWT translates them into English.
Also, anytime you see [ ] in the NWT, this is where they're inserted a word into the original language. Many times this is done just to make the wording clearer in English. However, oftentimes it's done to change the original text to better suit the Watch Tower's doctrinal stance, particularly towards Jesus himself.
There's an entry on Wikipedia for the NWT;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Translation_of_the_Holy_Scriptures#Critical_review
Here's a sample;
New Testament
Theologian and televangelist John Ankerberg accused the translators of rendering the NWT to conform "to their own preconceived and unbiblical theology." [ 39 ] To support a view of theology overriding appropriate translation, Drs. John Ankerberg and John Weldon cite several examples, such as the NWT's use of "for all time" in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is reserved for men to die once for all time, but after this a judgment.” Ankerberg and Weldon cite Dr. Julius Mantey on this text as saying, “Heb. 9:27, which without any grounds for it in the Greek, is mistranslated in the J. W. Translation… the phrase “for all time” was inserted in the former versions without any basis in the original for it.” [ 40 ] Strong's Concordance defines the involved Greek term ?παξ ("apax" or "hapax") as either "once" or "once for all". [ 41 ] [ 42 ]
Dr. William Barclay concluded that "the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in the New Testament translation…. It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest." [ 43 ]
Edgar J. Goodspeed, translator of the Greek “New Testament” in An American Translation, wrote in a letter to the Watchtower Society: “I am interested in the mission work of your people, and its world wide scope, and much pleased with the free, frank and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify.” [ 44 ]
Dr. Bruce Metzger stated for the NWT of the Greek Scriptures that "on the whole, one gains a tolerably good impression of the scholarly equipment of the translators." [ 45 ] However, Metzger also cites NWT renderings as instances of translating to support doctrine, stating, "the Jehovah's Witnesses have incorporated in their translation of the New Testament several quite erroneous renderings of the Greek." [ 46 ] He cites the NWT’s comma placement at Luke 23:43 as “In the interest of supporting the doctrine of "soul sleep" held by Jehovah’s Witnesses.” [ 47 ] Another example Metzger offers is the insertion of the word “other” four times in Colossians chapter 1 “thus making Paul say that Jesus Christ is one among ‘other’ created things.” Of this insertion, Metzger states it is “In the interest of providing support of [Jehovah’s Witnesses’] Unitarianism” and that the insertion is “totally without warrant from the Greek”. [ 48 ] Dr. Bruce Metzger characterizes the NWT’s use of “Jehovah” in the New Testament as an “introduction.” He writes, “The introduction of the word ‘Jehovah’ into the New Testament text, in spite of much ingenuity in an argument filled with a considerable amount of irrelevant material (pp. 10–25), is a plain piece of special pleading.” [ 49 ]
Charles Francis Potter has stated about the NWT: "Apart from a few semantic peculiarities like translating the Greek word stauros, as "stake" instead of "cross," and the often startling use of the colloquial and the vernacular, the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best manuscript texts, both Greek and Hebrew, with scholarly ability and acumen." [ 50 ]
Reachout Trust writer Tony Piper concludes it is not a "faithful translation of the Scriptures…", giving as examples Acts 2:42, 46 and 20:7, 11 and he objects that “the NWT translates it to read that the church simply shared meals together” rather than using the phrase “breaking of bread [...] to disguise the fact that the early church celebrated the Lord's Supper more than once a year.” [ 51 ]
Alexander Thomson wrote: “The translation is evidently the work of skilled and clever scholars, who have sought to bring out as much of the true sense of the Greek text as the English language is capable of expressing. ... We heartily recommend the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, published in 1950 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.” [ 52 ]
Thomas Winter considers the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (part of the NWT project) as a “highly useful aid toward the mastery of koine (and classical) Greek”. Winter relates that the translation "is thoroughly up-to-date and consistently accurate.” [ 53 ]
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A T T E N T I O N PLEASE
by purplesofa ini wanted to draw attention as to how a new poster worded the opening to their thread.. .
with renia now gone i feel more confident to tell my story without being belittled.. .
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/179341/1/my-story-my-sins-and-their-consequences.
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passwordprotected
Thanks for posting this up. I noticed it right away on highdose's post. How many others have been reluctant to post here because of Reniaa?
I'm looking for those who have been defending Reniaa and who say we're all wrong for calling her out. I don't see any so far on this thread.
To my mind, this perfectly illustrates why Reniaa should have been censored, not for what she had to say, but the way she was saying it; this forum attracts mostly people who are leaving or have left the control of the WTS. Most, if not all, have been abused or damaged in some way by their overall experience.
To say it's ok for Reniaa to post the stuff she has done is, to my mind, political correctness "gone mad". Should she have a voice? Of course. Should she be called out for some of the crap she's posted (the stuff about having 3 kids blah blah blah)? Yes. Should she have been censured for the way she's put her JW apologist philosophies across (highdose found it cruel and patronising)? Absolutely.
And as I hint at above, Reniaa's entire story smacks of bogusness. Then there's the issue of the matching IP addresses....I could go on.
Good to have you here, highdose.
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my story,my sins and their consequences
by highdose inwith renia now gone i feel more confident to tell my story without being belittled.
i don't want to drone on and on, as having read alot of the experiances on here i find i have alot in comman with everyone.
so i thought i'd just give a short run down of the reasons why i've ended up here.
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passwordprotected
Welcome and thanks for sharing.
The punishments you received just show what a cult the Watch Tower Society is; conform or be punished emotionally and mentally.
Sidenote; it's interesting you felt you couldn't share this due to Reniaa. I wonder if those who chose to defend her behaviour here will take notice of this.
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How many here actually still believe that there is a God??
by annalice inafter being gone from the jw's for many years now , and having done extensive research on the history of god and the belief in him , i can't seem to find any logical way to have a belief in an invisble being up there ruling over us.
how many here still believe?
how many don't?.
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