We "great crowd" folks benefit more than just by default. We have the "privilege" of being "belongings" that they have been "appointed over." Isn't that special?
I
AM
NOT
A
BELONGING!
Mad Sweeney
JoinedPosts by Mad Sweeney
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47
HUGE, Faithful and discreet slave SEPARATED from other annointed now!!
by EndofMysteries ini almost missed this in my last post, but i just realized how important and must list it.
paragraph 14 from jan 15, 2010 wt last article entitled "jehovah's way of ruling vindicated".
"a few anointed members of "the israel of god" still remain, and as jesus' brothers, they continue to act as "ambassadors substituting for christ (2 cor 5:20) they have been appointed as a faithful and discreet slave class to care for and provide spiritual food for annointed ones and a growing crowd of christians, who now include millions having the hope of living on earth forever.
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The president sit in with the G/B?
by Aussie Oz inthis is made as a reply to a facebook question (not by me) as to why the current president is not of the anointed:.
why is your new president not anonted even tho the watchtower says all presidents should be announted ???
as for the current watchtower presendent; you see back when bro.
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Mad Sweeney
I'm not so sure the president has lost power in these latest moves (8 or 9 years ago now?). He definitely lost power in the 70s when the GB took power as a group, but this latest move seems to give the corporations their presidents and their boards much more power than they used to have. How? Because that's where the lawyers work. The GB are nine old, uneducated guys with delusions of grandeur. The lawyers surely can get them to do whatever they want at this point.
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If Witnesses boast about going to meetings so much.....
by kurtbethel in....then why do they not have the time of their services listed??.
so much for their boast about the preaching work in all lands.. .
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Mad Sweeney
They've told us for years (via rumor and the occasional wink-nod from a bethel speaker) that even in the countries not on the official report there are 'secret' brothers doing the WT's work. They will never deny that they are in every country on earth, but go to western China and ask around the Uighur people. I doubt any of them has ever heard of JWs, let alone ever met one. Same goes for most of the rest of China and the majority of India (which together comprise half the world's population). In other words, the JWs don't even cover half the world, let alone all of it.
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Is The Internet The Worst Thing That Could Happen To The Organization?
by minimus inthe witnesses try to demonize the internet.
in your opinion is the internet the biggest problem for the watchtower organization?.
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Mad Sweeney
I don't think any of us believe the Internet is going to end the WTS existence. But it has, is, and will continue to contribute to it's being an ever more marginalized doomsday cult. At the same time this group is fighting in courts worldwide to gain legitimacy and become an official part of the world's religious system (hypocrisy, anyone?), the Internet is exposing it as an extremist mind-control cult. Someone within the past couple weeks here posted the great quote from Star Wars: (paraphrased) "the more they tighten their grip, the more people will slip through their fingers."
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confused, scared and worst of all, teenager.
by torn in two son inmy dad woke up about 3 years ago and said nothing.
my sister woke up about a year ago.
my mom about a month ago, myself shortly after.
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Mad Sweeney
It's a difficult situation no matter your age but the other posters are right. It is better that you found all this out now than when you're in your 30s, 40s, or even later. Relationships build over time, and you will gain and lose many over the course of your lifetime. I think Black Sheep recommended things like volunteer groups and team sports. I second those comments, especially team sports. If you don't happen to be athletic, join another type of social club that is related to your interests (band, theater, outdoor adventure, whatever). Also, it's not too late to prepare for college. I understand the dangers, but they're not as extreme as the WT would have you believe, and the benefits are greater.
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Kolbrin Bible, Revelation, etal all point to ONE major event
by sinis inthe tracking of a celestial event that left man speachless.
the symbolism that religion extracts from the bible and other texts to give it some "spiritual" meaning, is complete bullshit.
you need to look deeper, juxtapose it with other writings, and look at what the ancients were trying to convey.
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Mad Sweeney
I haven't read the Kolbrin Bible but is the "one major event" the Final Battle between Morgoth and Feanor & Turin? If so, then I'm all about that religion.
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Let the "Tithing" begin!
by The Berean inlast night during the service meeting a letter was read indicating that more money was needed by jehovah's witnesses in order to expand the world-wide work .
it was suggested that each publisher take a piece of paper and write down the amount of money they would be willing to give and hand it to the elders.
it seems to be a cleverway to gather "seed money" by the organization while not calling it a "tithe.
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Mad Sweeney
Or you could give them a Dr. Evil on the pledge slip: "One Million Dollars!"
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Is The Internet The Worst Thing That Could Happen To The Organization?
by minimus inthe witnesses try to demonize the internet.
in your opinion is the internet the biggest problem for the watchtower organization?.
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Mad Sweeney
The internet has been around for awhile and the organization continues to grow.
I'm not sure the growth is in countries where there is widespread Internet. America and western Europe are not growing. The increase in publisher peak doesn't mesh with the number of baptisms. Lots of people are leaving. Lots more are simply fading. Don't believe the hype at the Service Meeting. Look at all the stats in the yearbook and you'll see.
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JW Wife Donates Kidney to Her Husband
by jamiebowers injulia is a jehovah's witness and cannot donate or receive blood.
she says this has led to misconceptions that witnesses cannot donate organs.
but she said the kidney was drained of blood for .
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Mad Sweeney
Thanks for that year. Big help in tracking it down. It was specifically the 3/15/1980 WT, Questions From Readers:
"Should congregation action be taken if a baptized Christian accepts a human organ transplant, such as of a cornea or a kidney?
Regarding the transplantation of human tissue or bone from one human to another, this is a matter for conscientious decision by each one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Some Christians might feel that taking into their bodies any tissue or body part from another human is cannibalistic. They might hold that the transplanted human material is intended to become part of the recipient’s body to keep him alive and functioning. They might not see it as fundamentally different from consuming flesh through the mouth. Such feelings may arise from considering that God did not make specific provision for man to eat the flesh of his fellowman when he made provision for humans to eat the flesh of animals that had been drained of their life-sustaining blood. They may give consideration also to the way people in Bible times viewed sustaining themselves by taking in human flesh. For example, see the account at 2 Kings 6:24-30; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Lamentations 2:20 and 4:10. At John 6:48-66, Jesus spoke figuratively of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. On hearing this discussion and not perceiving the spiritual significance of his words, some of his Jewish disciples were shocked and turned from following him. These accounts illustrate how some humans felt about eating human flesh.
Other sincere Christians today may feel that the Bible does not definitely rule out medical transplants of human organs. They may reason that in some cases the human material is not expected to become a permanent part of the recipient’s body. Body cells are said to be replaced about every seven years, and this would be true of any human body parts that would be transplanted. It may be argued, too, that organ transplants are different from cannibalism since the “donor” is not killed to supply food. In some cases persons nearing death actually have willed body parts to be used for transplants. Of course, if a transplant should require taking in another person’s blood, undeniably that would be contrary to God’s command.—Acts 15:19, 20.
Clearly, personal views and conscientious feelings vary on this issue of transplantation. It is well known that the use of human materials for human consumption varies all the way from minor items, such as hormones and corneas, to major organs, such as kidneys and hearts. While the Bible specifically forbids consuming blood, there is no Biblical command pointedly forbidding the taking in of other human tissue. For this reason, each individual faced with making a decision on this matter should carefully and prayerfully weigh matters and then decide conscientiously what he or she could or could not do before God. It is a matter for personal decision. (Gal. 6:5) The congregation judicial committee would not take disciplinary action if someone accepted an organ transplant."
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The Only Real "Take" You Can Have on the Date of Jerusalems Destruction
by AllTimeJeff ini have a new take on the 587/586 "controversy".
this is of course, speaking for me over 3 years after i left.
i realize that if you are first leaving, this is a big deal.
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Mad Sweeney
The prophet Daniel tells us, “Jerusalem will lie in ruins for seventy years.” (Daniel 9:2, Contemporary English Translation) However, the secular chronology disagrees with the Bible. Their chronology allows only fifty years – not seventy – from 587 BCE when Jerusalem was supposed to be destroyed, until the Jews returned home in 537 BCE.
So what, automagically the year they arrived back in Jerusalem it was no longer "in ruins?" I wasn't aware the Jews had an RBC running their quick-builds back then.
What the JW/607 apologists refuse to admit to themselves is that their belief is NOT based on what the Bible says, but rather on THEIR INTERPRETATION of what the Bible says.