respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  54

  Surprise Surprise. Got a letter from bethel today.,

  by label licker in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals
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  respectful_observer

  When one party secretly tapes a conversation, he or she has an unfair advantage in any after the fact review of that conversation.

  How on God's green earth does a recording of a conversation provide any advantage to one party or the other in an "after-the-fact review"? Most court proceedings these days are recorded. Does that mean that either the prosecution or defense have an advantage over the other? The only person it provides an advantage to is an independent third party who wants to gain an accurate understanding of what was said.

  However, "unfair advantages" in a judicial proceeding might be seen by some as including:

  - not being able to have legal representation or an advocate

  - not having access to, or full knowledge of, the legal/judicial standards and processes used to determine your guilt or innocence.

  It's not like the elders prevent you from having representation or an advocate, or that they restrict you from reading the judicial committee instructions included in the "Shepherd the Flock" book.
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  25

  Watchtower November 2014: Witnesses can't donate blood

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  let us read a recent watchtower publication:.

  many medical professionals and other advocates of blood transfusion appeal to people to donate blood in hopes of saving lives.

  however, jehovahs holy people acknowledge that the creator has the right to say how blood is to be treated.

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  respectful_observer

  I was surprised…I thought they were trying to quietly pocket this teaching.

  So did I. As I read it, I was thinking it seemed even more strongly worded than usual, and that perhaps they might start backtracking on some of the (currently) "optional" blood derivitives in the future.
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  7

  www.jwcartposters.com - has this site been on this forum?

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  www.jwcartposters.com.

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  respectful_observer

  "We are happy to be in a position to create the signage and posters that can be used in this special and historical public witnessing work."

  "Historical"? Sheesh. He needs a proofreader.
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  12

  Nov 2014 WT, much about nothing, or is it?

  by Quarterback in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the article "why we must be holy" ties in obedience as being holy.

  there is a subheading in this article that states " prove yourselves holy by being obedient".

  par 9 quotes three brothers who had some conflicts, but they went along with the org.

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  respectful_observer

  This is quite the issue of the WT. They double-down on blood transfusions, disfellowshipping, reporting service time, summarize the change in how elders are appointed, etc. It's like they've been monitoring the speculation on this site and decided to shoot down all the speculation in one printing.
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  101

  The Watchtower 11/15/2014

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://bayfiles.net/file/1jpu5/qhxxxl/w_e20141115.pdf.

  select "premium download".

  (thanks breakfast of champions).

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  respectful_observer

  In actuality they can NEVER declare that the GT has started. Once they do, they have played their last card. Remember that. THERE IS NOTHING LEFT.

  This is my own opinion, but I think declaring that the GT has started is a great card for them to play. 1.) Whether it has started or not is entirely subjective. 2.) They can claim that only God's people realize it has started (just like only God's people recognized that Jesus had started ruling invisibly in 1914). 3.) The GT has no time table assigned to it, so it can continue for years, decades even, as Satan and this system increase their attacks on God's chosen people.

  The aim is to instill a perpetual fear of the GT and motivate the sheeple to be even more subservient.

  Imagine the perpetual fear many JWs will have once they've convinced themselves they're now living IN the GT. "How can you leave now? We've made it this far! We're in the GREAT TRIBULATION!!!"

  I personally think that they will announce in the next 5-10 years that they've "discerned that we are now living in a state of constant attack by Satan and his earthly representatives. These constant attacks led by false religion's leaders and governments around the world were foretold as a 'Great Tribulation' and will only increase and as we approach the Battle of Armaggedon. We do not know how long this Great Tribulation will last, so how vital it is that we remain close to Jehovah and faithfully obey any direction we receive from his organization." Nothing else will really change, but the GB will use it as one more "turn of the screw" to keep the pressure on and excitement up for a while.
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  16

  BOE * 2014-07-15 Witnessing in public places REVISION

  by WatchTower87 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  boe * 2014-07-15 witnessing in public places revision.

  old version: 2014-05-01 witnessing in public places pdf: http://adf.ly/qagwu.

  new version: 2014-07-15 witnessing in public places pdf: http://adf.ly/r6tsl.

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  respectful_observer

  Paragraph #4:Publishers who apply to distribute literature at these areas are doing so on their own initiative as part of their personal ministry.

  Does that mean next time they come pestering me for a missing Field Service Report slip, I can tell him: "...all my service time last month was of my own iniative as part of my personal ministry, so I didn't feel it was appropriate to report it to an organization isn't affiliated with it."
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  56

  Demon attacks on JW in past, where'd they go?

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the 80's and 90's (maybe even earlier) i remember hearing lots of witnesses talk about "demon attacks".

  whether it was someone studying the bible who then started having strange things happen in their house to people bringing stuff home from yard sales and getting personal attacks and horrible dreams resulting in them dystroying stuff they brought home or getting rid of it.. .

  i also remember hearing a sister say she had to pray in a home with a study because the study started to get attacked.

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  respectful_observer

  I seem to recall about 10-15 years ago, there was "direction" given that sharing accounts of modern day "demonic activity" from the stage and even in conversation was strongly discouraged, as it gave Satan and the demons some measure of attention, honor or respect that they were not due.

  Can anyone else back me up on this?
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  26

  Father denies children inheritance unless they quit Jehovah's Witnesses

  by Tiktaalik in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an article in the sydney morning herald:.

  http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/father-denies-children-inheritance-unless-they-quit-jehovahs-witnesses-and-become-catholics-20140810-102egl.html#ixzz39yziuuvf.

  "from beyond the grave, father-of-four patrick carroll continued a five-decade crusade to steer his children away from being active jehovah's witnesses and into catholicism.. mr carroll wrote into his will that his adult children were not to receive any inheritance unless they met two conditions: attend his funeral and become catholics within three months of his death.. mr carroll died in april 2012. his children attended the funeral but they did not become catholics and challenged the condition in the nsw supreme court in a bid to still receive their share of his estate.. but justice francois kunc last week ruled that mr carroll was entitled to place such conditions on his will.. the court heard that mr carroll's motivation was not so much about imposing his own beliefs but rather the fact he never approved of his children becoming jehovah's witness.. the court heard that mr carroll did not raise his children as catholics, neither he or they had attended church services when they were young and he did not enroll them in catholic schools.. but when he split from their mother lillian in 1959 she became a jehovah's witness and over the next decade the couple's four children, robyn, paulene, anthony and susan, were baptised as jehovah's witnesses.. mr carroll never approved of "their adherence to that faith", the court heard.. "[lillian's] conversion to that faith enraged mr carroll, who for the rest of his life continued to express his very strong objections to lillian's and the children's member of that faith," justice kunc said in his judgement.. the court was told that all four of his children remain active members of their congregation.. in his will, written in december 2011, four months before he died, mr carroll left more than a third of his estate to his four children "dependent upon them becoming baptised into the catholic church within a period of three months from the date of my death and such gifts are also subject to and dependent my children attending my funeral.".

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  respectful_observer

  I've seen JW parents take the same approach with their disfellowshipped children. They've updated their wills to dictate that the disfellowshipped child will receive "X" as an inheritance if they are an active JW, but will receive ZERO if they are not a JW at the time of the parents' death. And same goes for the disfellowshipped child's children. If they are active JWs upon their 18th birthday, they will receive their disfellowshipped parent's portion of the inheritance from a trust; if they are not an active JW, they will receive ZERO.
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  23

  Please contact me if you're in the US and between 18 and 40 and want to be on TV telling your story.

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  contact me through my website at: http://watchtowerdocuments.org/contact-barbara/.

  thank you,.

  barbara.

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  respectful_observer

  Are they only talking to "officially out" ex-JWs, or are they also interested in speaking to those that are still in who would need their identities protected?

  
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  78

  Why do JWs have this* on their FB pages now?

  by Kudra in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  respectful_observer

  Here's another version....