cofty

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Posts by cofty

• 
  169

  Are the statistics out yet?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  isn’t it about time they released the report for the service year?

  or have they stopped publishing it?

  did they released selected figures at the annual meeting as they usually do, such as the memorial attendance or record number of pioneers?

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  cofty

  African JWs are not likely to be a significant financial asset to the organisation. Ultimately that is what the leadership care about most.

  The steady increase in western Europe is a puzzle.
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  58

  Did the ransom sacrifice even work?

  by Sharpie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  shower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.

  as per doctrine.

  is still alive in heaven right now correct?

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  cofty

  the value of that life is applied to those who have committed the crime

  Actually that was invented by Rutherford the lawyer.

  Russell taught, much like all evangelical churches, that Jesus' death was vicarious punishment - see Isaiah 53. Barbour thought that was unjust leading to their split.
  
  
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  169

  Are the statistics out yet?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  isn’t it about time they released the report for the service year?

  or have they stopped publishing it?

  did they released selected figures at the annual meeting as they usually do, such as the memorial attendance or record number of pioneers?

  1. 
  2. 
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  cofty

  Worldwide = 0.4%

  USA = -1%
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  18

  A problem, a provision, a promise

  by JW Answers in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  short message of help showing forth the correct gospel for today.. the problem with mankind, the provision for mankind, and a promise to mankind.. jws teach that works save.

  the bible says that only christ saves if we believe / trust upon him..

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  cofty

  I don't think that rejection of a supernatural worldview merits a label.

  I was raised a JW, spent a decade as a born-again christian before eventually rejecting faith as a virtue.
• 
  18

  A problem, a provision, a promise

  by JW Answers in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  short message of help showing forth the correct gospel for today.. the problem with mankind, the provision for mankind, and a promise to mankind.. jws teach that works save.

  the bible says that only christ saves if we believe / trust upon him..

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  cofty

  SB - Are you aware that the authenticity of the Muratorian Fragment is highly suspect?

  The fact that some NT authors cited other NT authors doesn't begin to answer my challenge.

  All your work is ahead of you.
• 
  18

  A problem, a provision, a promise

  by JW Answers in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  short message of help showing forth the correct gospel for today.. the problem with mankind, the provision for mankind, and a promise to mankind.. jws teach that works save.

  the bible says that only christ saves if we believe / trust upon him..

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• 

  cofty

  by the Chinese,

  Eh? WTF?

  according to Wikipedia

  Ah okay
  
  
• 
  21

  Face-Masks - don't stop infection OR transmission!

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. current

  pores in surgical face-masks = 600 microns.

  coronavirus = between 0.125 & 5 microns.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qomrgfyfdie&t=227s.

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  cofty

  Masks catch droplets but droplets were never the issue. At the very beginning the big fear was that C19 would be an aerosol virus - turned out it is. All the experts told us that masks were pointless.

  Then they closed down the economy and weaponised fear. Then they opened up the economy but everybody was now too afraid. So back to masks. Here is something you can do to allow you to go back to work/shops/cinema/pub/school and stay safe.

  Masks were all about psychology and nothing at all to do with science.
• 
  15

  bringing up the 1954 Walsh Trial

  by enoughisenough in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i went back into this forum a little ways and found quite a bit of discussion on the walsh (1954) for those newly out or those who don't know of what i write, you should really check it out.

  anyone who is a jw or studying with jw should see material from this trial.

  my take away...the printed materials of the wtbts were to believed over the bible and if you didn't believe the wt teachings over the bible, ( even though they admit to false prophesy )you would be disfellowshipped and deserving of death.

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  cofty

  Some of the statements about complete obedience to the Watchtower can seem like rather odd admissions by the leaders from our perspective,

  They were utterly deranged by any sane perspective.
  
  
• 
  18

  A problem, a provision, a promise

  by JW Answers in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  short message of help showing forth the correct gospel for today.. the problem with mankind, the provision for mankind, and a promise to mankind.. jws teach that works save.

  the bible says that only christ saves if we believe / trust upon him..

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  2. 
  3. 
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  cofty

  Sea Breeze - You are making the common mistake of treating the bible as if it was a single book written by one author. There was no agreed cannon for centuries after the life of Jesus. Gospels and epistles circulated separately along with many more that were later excluded. The ones that made the cut show significant differences - not only in the historical data - but also in the theology of their authors (clearly not eyewitnesses of Jesus by the way)

  For example the Jesus of Luke and Acts had a very different understanding of soteriology than did Paul.

  Salvation by faith was a theme of Paul and Mark but not of Luke. Honest exegesis forbids us to wrench passages from Paul and pretend that other writers would agree with them when their own words prove otherwise.

  Jesus' own words show that he expected 'the end' in his own lifetime. He taught his disciples to abandon their own families because of how urgent the times were. He was a dangerous false prophet who died for his grandiose claims about being 'King of the Jews'.

  All your colourful diagrams about events thousands of years in his future would be a total puzzle to him.
• 
  18

  A problem, a provision, a promise

  by JW Answers in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  short message of help showing forth the correct gospel for today.. the problem with mankind, the provision for mankind, and a promise to mankind.. jws teach that works save.

  the bible says that only christ saves if we believe / trust upon him..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  cofty

  Sea Breeze - I didn't suggest ignoring any passages in the bible. I pointed out the unmistakable fact that Paul and Jesus agreed about amost nothing.

  Jesus was a failed Jewish apocalyptic prophet. He told his disciples to abandon their families in order to follow him. The end was literally nigh!

  According to Jesus the key thing was to keep the Law of Moses even more meticulously than the Pharisees.

  Love of god was to be shown in practical love of others.

  In the light of his execution and the failure of his prophecies his disciples went back to their wives and children and eventually invented a new interpretation of Jesus' life and ministry. Much like Rutherford did in the early 20th century and like every apocalyptic cult has always done.

  Allow each bible writer to tell his own story in their own context.