the watchtower—study edition | august 2020. study article 32. walk humbly and modestly with your god.
jesus is depicted in the heavens.
next to him stand some of his co-rulers.
wonder why head shaving for brothers hasn't been banned for jw's since it identifies with the 'skin head' Arian brotherhood?
I wondered that because you certainly wouldn’t have seen it in the UK, when I was young, because of the association with skinheads.
A shaved head was far more a mark of someone to avoid than a beard when I were a nipper. In fact I think men with beards gave off a rather jovial, kindly sort of vibe in most people’s minds.
during covid-19 crisis our hall decides to double the amount sent to hq from our local account.
the resolution is unanimously supported, no questions asked.
has anyone else had this happen?.
Pistol - Oh my - I can't believe what they told your family member. They make Jehovah out to be like a loan-shark collector for the mafia.
Exactly. It’s called “protection money”....“donate“ or you’ll loose your eternal life!! What a scam.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/10/former-jehovahs-witness-elders-call-for-mandatory-reporting-of-child-sexual-abuse?fbclid=iwar13k3rzferkzvjj5lbxegzhjr1dkfw34gqchgms4gdmhjufcv24hpzjcco.
two former jehovah’s witness elders have called for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, saying the organisation believes it is “answerable only to god”.. duncan corbett, who was an elder for 18 years, told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that the protection of minors and the handling of abuse claims must be taken out of the church’s hands.
“let them deal with the sin and the authorities handle the crime,” he told a hearing in london.. lloyd evans, another former elder who now campaigns against religious fundamentalism, said: “this is a group that feels they are answerable only to god … they don’t feel as though they need to yield to any regulations that are imposed on them.”.
think the case for Mandatory Reporting has been well made by so many representatives to the Inquiry, that it is bound to call for it in its Report, which they "hope" will be published in the Summer of 2021.
I’m not convinced mandatory reporting will ever become law in the UK. I don’t think the experts will all fully agree to it. The worry is it stops kids coming forward if they think all adults will betray their trust, as the kid sees it. Remember much of it takes place in the home and because of the emotional blackmail involved there are many kids that will continue to suffer rather than countenance being removed from their family. Abuse within families is extremely complex and kids need to have somewhere to turn, someone who will take each case individually. For example you may have a situation where a kid is being abused by a mentally disabled sibling. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be stopped but first and foremost the kid needs to trust to open up. This is why, so far, it hasn’t been mandatory.
By the way m not making a judgement call I’m just explaining why it hasn’t happened so far. As Blondie would say “Not supporting , just reporting”
(By the way this wouldn’t apply to Jehovah’s witnesses I’m talking about groups like child line etc who aim to get kids coming forward as a first step.)
will i ever make it to new york?
i feel if i ever did make it to new york i would never want to leave again.
what do i know about new york?
Ahhhh the look of absolute adoration in the audiences eyes. I can absolutely relate. Stunning. Just mind blowing.
i have just had a glitch in logging in to my bank account.
the consequence of which was to start from scratch and re-register.
on doing so i looked at the small print and noted that the bank was obliged to include a passage on the modern slavery act of 2015. the purpose of which is not simply to avoid and exclude complicity with human trafficking but to treat all customers, staff and business partners with appropriate human consideration and dignity.
Half Banana don’t worry.
The kids who are the adults of tomorrow will not tolerate such behavior from their faith. Watchtower will soon have zero followers as youngsters are far more aware of things such as modern slavery etc
they don’t go to conventions .
they don’t go to assemblies.
they don’t go to meetings.
What I hear is they have virtual fieldservice meetings and simulate even the car ride to the field
Now that really is insane. I know we often call them bonkers (sometimes unfairly) but this really is!
The farce of singing along to the songs in your own home is also hilarious.
funnily enough I think that’s the one thing that makes sense. Singing is good for the soul and since it’s not very safe to do so in groups in-person, I think singing together on zoom is the one form of worship that seems legit/pleasurable.
dressed from the waist up,
I would love it if everyone had to stand up at some point.
now I’d pay good money to see that!!🤣🤣🤣
a few weeks ago; a witness couple from the midwest reached out to me after 25+ years.
they said they were doing a letter writing campaign and decided to reach out to me… they called on my personal cell phone, which was a little surprising.
a few days ago, a couple that i knew from over 40 years ago, sent me a text, again to my personal cell phone.. i assume that they just googled my name to get the personal info.
Anders In their rolodex
Now THATS something I haven’t heard talked about in a good while😉
great talk interrupted.... https://youtu.be/hlgwyfhtihm.
Exactly right. I don't really pay attention to anything much anymore when I do happen to go to a meeting, but they still may do the thing where an elder in the audience has a copy of the talk and reviews how closely the speaker follows it, especially for speakers from other congregations.
Exactly. All it would take is an experienced elder who knows the outline of the talk and it would get shut down. The fact he has a paper bible, mentioned problems with those “high up” In the organization and, finally, focusing on “confessing the name of JESUS” to be saved (with only a super brief, off-hand mention of JEEEEEEEEEEhova once, aaand....game over!
i notice that in the recent instructions for new regular pioneers (2020-08-s-236-e) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.. these include:construction oversight, assembly hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter bethelites, remote volunteers, bethel consultants, hospital liaison committee members, patient visitation group members, disaster relief committee members, local design/construction department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth.
approved assignments also include assisting with kingdom hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at assembly halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class .
when i was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work i was told i could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which i did.
I’ve been searching for that article for some time, if that’s the one that issues new organisational direction in the voice of the “Lord” himself. It must rank as one of the more bizarre WT articles in the archive.Gosh if they announced the hourly time counting in that 1943 Watchtower in the voice of the “Lord” then that absolutely proves they claim to be prophets - or claim that god does indeed speak through them via their Watchtower vehicle.
i notice that in the recent instructions for new regular pioneers (2020-08-s-236-e) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.. these include:construction oversight, assembly hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter bethelites, remote volunteers, bethel consultants, hospital liaison committee members, patient visitation group members, disaster relief committee members, local design/construction department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth.
approved assignments also include assisting with kingdom hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at assembly halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class .
when i was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work i was told i could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which i did.
The phrase “some time should be spent on the ministry each month” at the end gives the game away. It indicates there were some “pioneers” who were fulfilling their entire monthly quota using time spent on assignments and none on the ministry. In order to avoid this massive loophole the society are instructing pioneers to break down their hours to indicate that at least a few of the hours reported include actual time spent on the ministry.
You bet!
Earnest It’s mainly just an excuse for elders and other males to retain the title of pioneer without EVER having to do any preaching and DEFINITELY not to strangers in the ministry (ie not to your own kids or other JWs kids).
I imagine the borg is happy as it serves to keep the appointed men away from worldly people who might inform them of Watchtower’s dubious history!!!
