oppostate

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Posts by oppostate

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  7

  Will JW's flock to Google+?

  by HintOfLime in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it's like facebook... but unlikely to be specifically mentioned in any sermons for a while.... that makes it "ok", right?.

  - lime.

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  oppostate

  I'm there, it's like FB but not so similar. And... Thanks to a very active bro who invited me. And I'm inviting 12 more in return. Yup, it's a grand ol' JW love fest going on.
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  23

  THE HEBREW LANGUAGE

  by lepavoux in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in english we read from left to right, but in hebrew they read from right to left.. now the tetragrammaton yhwh (yahweh) we read god's name in the english from left to right,but is this correct?

  should we not be reading the name from right to left?

  if we did this the pronunciation would it not be in the opposite direction?

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  oppostate

  The pronunciation wasn't really lost. The Hebrew alphabet does use some of its consonants as helper vowels. Josephus says the tetragrammaton was written with four "vowels" not with any four letters or four consonants.

  Look at the word for Judah, which is Yehudah in Hebrew. It's spelled Yod-Heh-Waw-Dalet-Heh and the pronunciation sounds like Yay-hoo-DAH with the emphasis on the last syllable.

  If you take the letter Dalet out you're left with Yay-hoo-AH with emphasis on the last syllable. And if you take the Dalet out you have the letters Yod-Heh-Waw-Heh left which is the spelling of God's personal name.

  Now Yay-hoo-AH is very close to how it is pronounced in Arabic today, Ya-hoo-ah, and spelled with the same four letters in the Arabic alphabet which is derived from the same source as the Hebrew alphabet.

  Now the W letter has changed to V in many languages, and it did in Hebrew where David is no longer pronounced Da-weed, and in Arabic it's Daoud, but in Modern Hebrew David sounds like Da-veed, much like a Spanish pronunciation of David.

  So from Yah-hoo-AH to Yay-hov-AH as the change goes and in Latinized transliteration (from some medieval monk) you get IEHOVA, which came to English as Jehovah and Spanish as Jehová (Hay-oh-VAH).

  Okay, enough linguistics, but anyway that's my rationalization of it.
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  24

  WHY have District Conventions??

  by RagingBull in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  during sunday's program of the dc..."donations" came up and there was mention of using "debit and credit cards" wow!....

  so i started thinking... we have an assembly hall in our town?

  10 mins from where we have our conventions.

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  oppostate

  M.m. wrote: " Profit from renting hotel rooms?"

  I worked at the rooming dept. desk at several DCs and one of the perks of having a list of approved hotels is that the Society gets so many free rooms as part of the contract.

  Knowing this, however, if a single mother with children needed a place, we were to contact her local congregation elders and see if the congregation could help her with arrangements.

  Only the "creamy" top of the Society would get the free rooms, GB members, Bethel Speakers, foreign missionaries brought home, etc.
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  10

  Why do you think the list of Service Group members isn't posted at KH?

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why do you think the service group members list isn't posted on the kingdom hall announcement board anymore?

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  oppostate

  blondie wrote: " I forgto add that some people were elder groupies and would only go to groups with that elder presiding."

  I must admit that's the way my service group has always been. A very laid back, always taking a long break at a pastry shop kind of group. The main reason most JWs' kids like to go in service is the break time routine. Elders and Pioneers who insist on no breaks aren't very popular.
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  89

  2011 District Convention "Let Us Be Bored and Confused Into Obedience"

  by ranmac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this has already been discussed but i need to vent.. i just spent the most painful weekend of my life sitting thru this years dc.

  what an unbelievably pointless, soulless and demeaning spectacle the assemblies are.

  the three days were a blur of monotanous droning and brainwashing.

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  oppostate

  Go drulz wrote: " There were some very attractive people, but also a lot of fat slobs"

  Dear fellow, your Christian conscience doesn't prevent you from being judgemental of people based on their outward characteristics and body shape? I think the dear bro who you consider "obese" and call a "fat guy" and was nice enough to want to share a songbook with you would probably feel hurt at your lack of tact and Christian love.

  I'd pray for forgiveness if I were you and make sure I'd try to see beyond the attractiveness of the flesh to the inner person of the heart, based on the spiritual body not the carnal appearance.

  BTW you really didn't notice several bro's, especially the one with a walkie talkie, that you seemed to meet up with you wherever you went in the arena? Well, most JWs probably sized you up and didn't want to get into an argument with you, you swaggered in there with the purpose of looking for a spiritual word fight, no wonder only a couple of people even acknowledged you.

  Just sayin'

  :-\
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  43

  I have a question on the Circuit Accounts Scam thread

  by gubberningbody in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i didn't want it to get buried and i'd really like to know.. so i knew pretty much what he was saying was true, but what i don't get is how the creative accounting works.. i mean you have to show expenses on the ledger - and i mean real expenses, like the co/do expenses along with receipts.. you have actual costs for the power coming into the building.

  the paper supplies and cleaning supplies.

  the vacuum cleaners and mops and other sundry items, and you have to have receipts for all that.. i also know that when you made a "donation" it was off the books at the circuit level as far as accounts were concerned.. but how is money not being accounted for?.

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  oppostate

  jay88 wrote: "Russel started a series of corporations. There were 50 stockholders who could vote. This number never changed. Russel gave away "stock" in exchange for contributions but that stock was not voting stock. He later got most of that back anyway."

  Isn't now the number of stockholders still 500, who meet at the annual corporation meeting and have the power of vote?

  Note this description from a 1971 WT:

  *** w71 12/1 pp. 725-727 pars. 31-35 What Its “Right Condition” Means for Us Today ***

  31 On September 30 through October 2, 1944, a special Service and business Assembly was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., where the registered offices of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society are located. On the opening day the Society’s president addressed the gathering of 5,000 on the subject “The Theocratic Alignment Today.” The following day the public address was on the subject “One World, One Government.” The Society’s annual business meeting was postponed from this day to the next day, Monday, October 2. This business meeting, which began at 10 a.m. was noteworthy. How so?

  32 After the Society’s directors and its officers were elected by the shareholders there represented, consideration was directed to six amendments that were proposed for the Charter of the Society, which was a Pennsylvania corporation incorporated sixty years earlier, in the year 1884. These would amend Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. The first amendment resolution that was adopted proposed the enlarging of the purposes of the Society so as to assume properly the great worldwide work that lay ahead. Also, this amendment put God’s name, Jehovah, into the Charter. Amendment Three did away with the original charter’s provision that fixed one’s membership in the Society on the basis of one’s money contributions to the Society; henceforth the membership was to be limited to not more than 500, all of whom were to be chosen on the basis of their active service to Jehovah. As the Watchtower issue of November 1, 1944, said in its report: “This amendment will have the effect of bringing the charter as near to Theocratic arrangement as the law of the land permits.” All six amendment resolutions were adopted.

  33 It was necessary to get the approval of the State court so as to make all these amendments legal. The following year (1945) the Amendments were duly recorded and thus became part of the Charter. With such an amended Charter the Watch Tower Society has served as a legal instrument of the anointed remnant worshiping Jehovah at his “sanctuary” or “holy place,” ever since.

  34 Nicely timed, though the anointed remnant was then not aware of it, came the publication of the leading article entitled “Organized for Final Work” in the October 15, 1944, issue of The Watchtower. Right on its heels, in the November 1 issue came the leading article announcing “Theocratic Organization in Action.” Under appropriate subheadings this article discussed “President,” “Diakonos, Servant,” “Qualifications,” “Governing Body,” and “Theocratic Conduct.” The term “president” here did not refer to the president of the Watch Tower Society, but paragraph 12 said: “The elders in the congregations, who were also spiritual overseers thereof, presided at meetings of the disciples. Any elder thus acting as chairman of a meeting would be the president of the gathering on that occasion.” Under the subheading “Governing Body” paragraphs 33, 34 said: “In the first century it was the group of the apostles in particular, together with the body of elders that they associated with them at Jerusalem, that made up the visible ruling body of Jehovah’s Theocratic organization on earth. . . . That governing body was not made up of perfect men.”

  35 In the article that followed the above, in the same issue of The Watchtower, namely, “The Theocratic Alignment Today,” paragraph 3 said: “The visible governing body of the Theocratic organization is and must be appointed only by Jehovah God the Supreme Ruler, and Christ Jesus the Head of His church. Its purpose is to issue directions and spiritual provisions to all God’s people. Acting in harmony with the governing body, all the Theocratic organization and its associates act in unity throughout the earth.”
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  49

  Inactive (i.e. not reporting) witnesses won't survive armageddon

  by Mickey mouse in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  did anyone else catch this in the talk at the convention 'are you behaving as kingdom citizen?'.

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  oppostate

  Notice the wording on a 1988 WT about the action of turning in a field service report:

  "This will demonstrate his affiliation with the theocratic organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and his submission to it"

  It's all about "submission" to an organization, that's pretty clearly stated.

  Then comes the punchline in parentheses:

  "(This would also be true of all others turning in field service reports.)"

  So that's it, if you turn in a field service report you're acknowledging your submission.

  And isn't that just how the GB likes it.

  Our being meek little good do-bees submitting to their organizational rules?

  Not turning in your purported time means you're not being submissive to them.

  *** w88 11/15 p. 17 par. 9 Helping Others to Worship God ***

  9 The two elders will inform the student that when he qualifies for and shares in the field service, he may turn in a field service report and a Congregation’s Publisher Record card will be made out in his name. This will demonstrate his affiliation with the theocratic organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses and his submission to it. (This would also be true of all others turning in field service reports.) The discussion should also cover Bible counsel, such as is outlined on pages 98 and 99 of Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry. Hence, this would be an appropriate time for the student to obtain a personal copy of that book.
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  10

  Why do you think the list of Service Group members isn't posted at KH?

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  why do you think the service group members list isn't posted on the kingdom hall announcement board anymore?

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  oppostate

  Why do you think the Service Group members list isn't posted on the Kingdom Hall announcement board anymore?
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  14

  Greg Stafford Jehovah's Witnesses Defended book...

  by Tuesday in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey everyone, just wondering if there's an online version of this book?

  i don't know what it is about me but i have this natural aversion to actual paper books and would much rather read them online.

  if anyone has an electronic copy shoot me a pm, or knows of a link where i can get an e-copy, links, i checked amazon and it's not an option to download for a kindle or anything.. the ongoing anal-retentive research for my project continues, any help would be fantastic.. thank you!.

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  oppostate

  Frankly after reading what materials Greg S. has online at his website I'm not so sure he's defending the JW religion as much as defending his own view of Christianity, (which in many instances is not necessarily in agreement with the WT).
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  139

  Some observations from the KM Elder School I wanted to share with you.

  by miseryloveselders in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my school was a couple weeks back, and it was interesting to a degree.

  to be honest with you, it reminded me of a police crime scene investigation with yellow tape.

  what i mean is, in one respect it was business as usual.

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  oppostate

  Best news from the School at Holyoke Kingdom Hall in Mass. was shared during the ride home.

  It seems Everett Rodrigues (Pronounced ROD-ricks by him so it sounds more American) who

  used to be a CO in Mass and R.I. was recently appointed as DO, but didn't last long and after a

  few months as DO has been ASKED TO STEP DOWN due to some miss-handled ABUSE matter.