The word apostle means "sent one". The common english equivalent would be like we say "missionary". He was training to send them out to preach the Good News, just as Jesus was sent out. If you read in the Bible the selection of the twelve precedes Jesus sending them out to various villages of Israel. As the book of Acts opens you have the 12 together in Jerusalem, but after that we lose sight of them. In his letters Paul claims to have only met Peter and John. Now there are various traditions that place different apostles in different areas. Most of these are rather fanciful but some are more solid, such as the tradition of Thomas preaching in India. The 12 did not stay in Jerusalem as a central governing body or leadership. Again if you read Paul's letters (and Acts) you have Paul acting quite independantly as a traveling missionary. He was commissioned directly by Jesus and was sent out as a missionary from the congregation of Antioch.
donuthole
JoinedPosts by donuthole
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10
My friend needs help with a question about Jesus Apostles.......
by awildflower inthe other day in conversation with her husband, she was bringing out how jesus didn't start a congregation.
he said that the fact that jesus choice 12 apostles to 'take the lead' and look out after the sheep, is proof that the current elder arrangement is biblical.
she didn't know how to answer him and would like your opinions or research on the topic.. so the question is: are jesus 12 apostles proof of an elder arrangement?.
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A good friend of mine was df'd this week.
by wha happened? ina good friend of mine was df'd this week.
he did so much for this organization.
as an accomplished musician and composer, he has contributed so much over the years.his work is in most of the homes of an avg jw.
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donuthole
As a P.s - I would suggest that the removal of song 191 has maybe something to do with the weird, "if your body members, you control" lyric and the imagery it conjured up.
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A good friend of mine was df'd this week.
by wha happened? ina good friend of mine was df'd this week.
he did so much for this organization.
as an accomplished musician and composer, he has contributed so much over the years.his work is in most of the homes of an avg jw.
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donuthole
210 "Make sure of the more important things" is a beautiful piece of music but one of the most difficult ones to sing. Our congregation could never pull it off - of course we weren't very talented musically.
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Why So Much Media Coverage For The DC This Year?
by Bangalore inthis year there seems to be quite a bit of coverage regarding the disctrict convention.
newspapers throughout the us and canada have covered it.
also many tv stations have covered it?
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donuthole
The apocalyptic nature of this year's theme is really lending itself to news coverage due to the sensationalism. Also in the blogosphere there is a buzz because getting a tract announcing the end of the world really gets folks talking.
If the WT really wants to turn it up to 11 then they need amp up the message even more.
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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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donuthole
I'm with PasswordProtected -- I think it is a knee-jerk reaction to how the JW's reacted to this "free night". This pattern has been seen before where the Society allows a certain liberty for a time (such as further educations) but then swings back when the results are not favorable to the Organization.
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TED JARACZ' stroke, latest from Bethel heavy.
by yesidid inaccording to a bethel heavy i know rather well,.
ted is paralysed down his right side,.
however his mind and speech remain unaffected.. .
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donuthole
I think it is quite likely that the current Governing Body might adopt some kind of "laying on the hands" by which the Holy Spirit is gifted to those they wish to use in future service and positions. They will call to attention the chapter of Acts which speaks about the believers in Antioch laying hands on Paul to send him out as an Apostle and also the scriptures where others receive the Holy Spirit from Paul, Peter, etc. who they currently believe constitute the modern day Governing Body. They will note how the Samaritans had to request someone from the Governing Body in Jerusalem, Peter, to travel to give them the Spirit.
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2012 The Movie (The End Of The World)
by Yizuman inhttp://www.whowillsurvive2012.com/.
wow, the special effects in this trailer makes "knowing" look like a cheesy special effects.
movie is due out in november 13th.. .
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donuthole
There was a JW already promoting the trailer on YouTube suggesting it gives the friends a real good look at what the Big-A will be like.
If 2012 brings about any kind of change it will be for the purpose of deception. Be cautious.
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Aspects of the Gifts of theHoly Spirit?
by Rocky_Girl inok, i read this on another thread that the new belief is that the when the bible says:.
galatians 5:22on the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,23mildness, self-control.
against such things there is no law.
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donuthole
The JW's also have the idea that you can "work on" these qualities. I guess that is true enough -- but they are the natural product of a person that has the new nature and indwelling of the spirit. Of course to accept that would mean that JW's would have to accept that all Witnesses could have the Holy Spirit which would be a slippery slope blowing a hole in their two class caste system.
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Were you or someone you know sexually molested by a Jehovah's Witness ?
by flipper indue to the fact there are about 27,000 members of this religion that are known pedophiles, and the information about it is kept in a secret database file, i wonder how many lurking jw's as well as others are aware of the severity of this problem?
remember, it's 27,000 pedophiles that they know about.
what about the thousands that don't get caught?
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donuthole
I know of two cases with the same predator. In the first he assaulted a young child at a congregation picnic, the second child in the Kingdom Library during a meeting. In the first case this was brought before a JC. The child predator denied it and the child was counseled as to why, if were true, why she did not cry out during the assault. Predator is returned to good standing in the Kingdom Hall. Second case is never brought to the attention of the elders because of the treatment of the first child. Predator moves to Mexico to start a congregation - he is not allowed due to the molestation charges. Moves back to this area, continues as an active member of the congregation.
It upsets me when the Witnesses claim that they are doing enough by keeping such individuals out of positions of responsibility. This man was not a servant or an elder. Yet he still had trusting access to children in the Kingdom Hall and he conducted his assaults during congregation activities, EVEN DURING A MEETING!
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Fake Knock and Other Sneaky Tactics During Field Service
by sacolton inyeah, i hated "field circus".
i don't like bothering people on saturday mornings about the latest watchtower & awake magazines and try to convert them from their religon to become a jehovah's witness.
so, what i did was just wait until the group passes by and fake knocked.
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donuthole
Wow! I'm surprised how widespread the fake door-knock method is. I may have tried that once or twice but my main scam was doing the phantom return visit. I would say oh I have a return visit the next town over and when we would get to the street I would look for a house that looked empty and go up and knock on the door hoping that no one one answer, but if they did I would hit them with a standard magazine/brochure/tract presentation. I was semi-OK with the initial call but I really hated to make return visits. I was only comfortable if on the initial call they expressed extreme interest. I didn't like to return on folks that just took the literature. Of course when you are pioneering all anyone wants to do is make "calls" and I rarely had any; hence the phantom return visit. ;-)
Apart from the usual pioneer scams sometimes we would do early-morning witnessing that consisted of a laundromat route. The extreme earliness practically insisted that no one was around to actually speak to, so you just dumped the magazines, and counted the placements for a couple of hours.