Posts by truthlover

110

A Concerned Elder Speaks

by Franklin Massey in

jw
friends

a lot of talk has centered around information dispensed at the recent km schools.

many brothers feel there is a "tightening up" taking place.

i had a recent experience that you may find interesting.. after the meeting i was working with our cobe on some congregation tasks when out of nowhere he said, "have you looked up any extra information about higher education since the km school?

truthlover

Am I reading the stats above wrong??

It shows that out of a small 211 sample - 51% got their high school vs a grand total of 36 % and 22% had some college vs a grand totalof 23% - the numbers for JW's drop when looking at the post grad college vs grand total

The 51% category was the highest out of all the sampling and I know where I live it is mandatory that to get a job, people have to have grade 12 and in the truth here, at least, they say some community education i.e. tech, nursing entrance, etc.. so its just not the plumbers and cleaners we are looking at around here.. and if they are, believe me, they have the best in the material world - most have new cars,trucks,vans, etc.. a lot of elders are self emp in other services and make money at it...elders in the congr.--- 1 engineer, 1 heavy equip operator, 1 manager, ms - 1 heavy equip -- all requiring more education than normal, yes pioneering is encouraged, with continued college education discouraged.. and with the new instruction, things may change, time will tell - but it's not all gloom -- I do know my BIL and friends years ago were upset they did not get a better education - but then they just did not get the educ.. they quit at grade 11 and did not go pioneering or anything else spiritually speaking --

If the society pushes this thought on the elders - they will lose them -- and then what -- as it is the birth rate in the US is dropping greatly, so is productivity and salaries -- this equates to a lack of converts and contributions to support the building work in Walkill and Paterson

I think they are painting themselves into a corner...

36

Anyone want to share emails that they wrote to the BBC about the program this morning?

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

i know many of you have sent emails to emma britton, who hosted the show this morning with our own cantleave and angus.

(btw, you guys did amazing!).

i sent my email to her as well and wanted to see if anyone else wants to share their emails.

truthlover

Cantleave and ANgus:

Is this interview anywhere on a link

21

Blood Ban and Your Pets

by compound complex in

how irrational the society could be was experienced by the sister-in-law of ex-bethelite william (bill) cetnar when .... at the suggestion of her veterinarian, she had a blood transfusion given to her poodle to prolong its life.

she couldn't believe bill [cetnar]when he told her that the society would say she had violated god's law.

at his urging she wrote the society on the matter and the response she received informed her that she had done wrong.

truthlover

There is a QTR somewhere about what you feed your animals -- part of it does state that they should be given foods that do not contain fillers that contain blood products... I too find this crazy, seeing the my cats eat just about anything live, as God intended them to do, and try to find packaged food that does not have something added.. it cost a bundle ...................

JESUS did not die for animals, he died for the humans, the blood decree, albeit, looked at improperly today, was directed toward the human population, not animals - animals do not have a hope of everlasting life if they put faith in Jesus' sacrifice...

24

God and the Meaning of Life: Where I Now Stand

by neverendingjourney in

fifteen years ago, jehovah god was as real as the ground below me.

as it turns out, my belief was founded on lies, half-truths, and a burning desire on my part to possess a theory of everything, something that tied up all the loose ends and make sense of the world.. i stopped going to meetings nearly six years ago, and ive mostly given up the search for the ever-elusive theory of everything.

im not really a science guy, but ive read a few books on atheism and biology in the past few years.

truthlover

MLE:

I agree with all you have said -- you put it so succintly (is that spelled right?).. live for today, do what you can to make life better for those you love, and maybe for a stranger, don't worry about the future, the majority of any book are people's opinions, we are all human and mostly end up with the same answers, and they are no further ahead than another person, no matter how educated they are, we are all of the same destiny and after that who knows.......

64

Call me paranoid, but its possible that this 30 hour initiative is a weeding out process....a cull if you will...

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

we've discussed a few potential reasons why the wt is promoting april 2011 as a month of special activity.

reasons include manipulating statistics, and trying to provide some kind of spark to increasingly apathetic and discouraged congregations.

i'm sure there are others i'm missing too, feel free to include those.

truthlover

Jookbeard:

It's funny that you relate the WTBS to a company and their sales targets -- I have thought about this for years, especially as my background is in retail marketing and sales targets and building up the sales force - I see it at every meeting at the hall and chuckle to myself how people are motivated by machination of the mind..

I saw myself doing the same thing and although we always did make our targets, it impressed on me how manipulation gets the desired results and unfortuantely in this case, the results are life altering, using Jehovah to achieve the target of a publishing company who build, build, build and tell the pubs to give,give,give to get life....

TL

9

Rev 20- Fire and Brimstone(Sulphur) Forever-Bible Scholars please

by truthlover in

when the devil and demons,and wild beast are cast into this lake of fire and brimstone, are they destroyed forever or are they being tortured forever?

does early language tell us exactly what is meant by this scripture?.

and if those who will not listen to god( who are supposed to be perfect by then) after the 1000 years are declared wicked, and are thrown into this lake, does the second death indicate they being perfect before the judgement was passed, the sentence had to be worse that just the first death,?

truthlover

Ding,Dan, PS and Leo --

thanks so much for your insights -- a great help

at least this gives me some ammo as I was stuck!

TL

9

Rev 20- Fire and Brimstone(Sulphur) Forever-Bible Scholars please

by truthlover in

when the devil and demons,and wild beast are cast into this lake of fire and brimstone, are they destroyed forever or are they being tortured forever?

does early language tell us exactly what is meant by this scripture?.

and if those who will not listen to god( who are supposed to be perfect by then) after the 1000 years are declared wicked, and are thrown into this lake, does the second death indicate they being perfect before the judgement was passed, the sentence had to be worse that just the first death,?

truthlover

When the devil and demons,and wild beast are cast into this lake of fire and brimstone, are they destroyed forever or are they being tortured forever? Does early language tell us exactly what is meant by this scripture?

and if those who will not listen to God( who are supposed to be perfect by then) AFTER the 1000 years are declared wicked, and are thrown into this lake, does the SECOND DEATH indicate they being perfect before the judgement was passed, the sentence had to be worse that just the first death,?(where death ended all sin) and they too will be tortured forever?

HELP!

4

To Any Elder- Princes In the Earth

by truthlover in

during any elders school, was it ever mentioned that you would be princes in the earth after armageddon?

i know that in the past, this has been hinted at in the wt but was wondering if this carrot was dangled, seeing that a lot of elders are now stepping down and out.. thanks.

.

truthlover

During any elders school, was it ever mentioned that you would be Princes in the earth after armageddon? I know that in the past, this has been hinted at in the Wt but was wondering if this carrot was dangled, seeing that a lot of elders are now stepping down and out.. thanks

12

Elders and liability issues

by wannabefree in

elder, have you contacted the society's legal department and asked if they would recommend you carry a personal liability insurance policy?.

it would be interesting to hear their response.

would they say yes, no, or that is for you to decide.. the society has been sued and has paid out big settlements.

truthlover

With the advent of the new elders book, is this issue covered in that they are being told to get coverage??

It would seem that someone who is suing the society would also include their home congregation and the elders... would the congregation then be involved? Or could, if the lawsuit was won by the plaintiff, the hall be lost because of the win? If there is a win, could the elders lose their homes,etc?

TL

14

Is the April 2011 Auxillary Pioneer 30 hours official ???

by RubaDub in

we were not at the meeting last weekend and just wondering if the "30 hour" rule for april 2011 pioneer hours was actually read to the congregations ???.

rub a dub.

truthlover

It is official -- due to the memorial season, they want more out in service -- asking for 30-50 hours for the month of April in the letter-- they said this is the only month they will be giving this privledge