Ding

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Topics Started by Ding

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  21

  Field Service

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for those who are still attending meetings, what is happening at your congregation regarding field service now that reporting of hours is no longer required?.

  are the elders pushing for people to go out in service anyway?.

  what is the response?.

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  9

  When Did the Watchtower Introduce the "Generation of 1914" Teaching?

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm looking for help to track down the development of the "generation" doctrine, starting with when the wt first specifically tied the end to the generation of 1914.. russell taught that 1914 would be the end of this system of things.

  when that failed, rutherford started touting 1925.. no need to talk about generations then; it was just specific dates.. when did they first tie the end in to a "generation of 1914" time frame?.

  i also know that they changed the meaning of generation several times.. first, a person had to have been at least 15 in order to have seen the events of 1914 with understanding of what was happening.. i think they lowered that to 10 and then finally it was anyone who was alive in 1914.. of course, now the generation overlaps.. does anyone know someone where all these wt teachings are set out chronologically (preferably with citations to the literature)?.

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  WT History Regarding Vaccination

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for those who don't know wt history regarding vaccinations, in the february 4, 1931 edition of the golden age, p. 293, the organization decreed, "vaccination is a direct violation of the everlasting covenant that god made with noah after the flood.".

  because of this jws and their children often faked vaccinations for school authorities and the like.

  of course, this created serious problems for jws' health.. it also caused legal trouble for jws who were caught disobeying compulsory vaccination laws.

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  23

  "The Truth"

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we all know that jws consider the wt religion to be "the truth" and refer to it as such.. granted, that phrase is used repeatedly in the literature and from the platform.. but it's obvious that much of what the organization used to require jws to teach house-to-house as important truths--even within our own lifetimes--has been abandoned.

  it's been replaced by "new light" and "refined understanding.

  what's meant by "the 1914 generation" is a prime example.. in fact, i think it would be hard to find another religion that has changed so many of its teachings, especially in such a short period of time.. so why do jws still believe their religion to be "the truth"?.

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  5

  Memorial Weirdness

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  those of us with a watchtower background probably see the memorial as normal.. at least, we're used to it.. we can forget how weird it seems to an outsider.. it's like inviting a group out to dinner, having meals placed on the table, and then explaining to them why no one present should be partaking of any of it because it's really intended for someone else..

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  Criminal Cases and Lawsuits Involving WT Coverup of Pedophilia

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  in criminal cases and civil lawsuits against the wt and its elders for failing to report pedophilia, the defense almost always argues that the elders should enjoy the benefit of the clergy-penitent confidentiality protections of the law.of course, we know that the wt has for many years prided itself on not having a "clergy class," but prosecutors and plaintiffs' lawyers are often unaware of that.. if you find out about a case in your area, you might get ahold of the prosecutor or plantiff's lawyer and share with them wt literature such as the april 1, 1981 watchtower (p. 15): "interestingly, jehovah’s witnesses have for years followed the direction of the founder of christianity that 'all you are brothers,' and have no clergy class among them.".

  you might also share with them this article from the april 8, 1993 awake, p. 31:.

  victims of pedophile priests speak out.

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  6

  PM Issues

  by Ding in

  1. forum
  2. tech-support

  my pm mailbox shows that i have one pm, but when i click on it all that comes up is very old pms.

  i wonder if others are having similar issues.. i'd appreciate it, simon, if you would check into this..

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  8

  Development of a False Prophecy

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  based on wt history of repeated false prophecies, here is the way these things seem to develop:.

  1. someone connects unrelated bible verses and comes up with a date for the end.. 2. this date is "confirmed" by outside information, such as pyramid measurements.. 3. they share this "hidden knowledge" with others.. 4. they develop a following of people who are excited to be the only ones on earth who understand "the deep things of god.".

  5. they promote the date.. 6. people laugh them to scorn.. 7. the faithful cry "persecution" and wait expectantly.. 8. as the date approaches, they get more and more excited.. 9. when the date is imminent, leaders get worried and start to hedge their bets through cautionary language.. 10. when the date comes and goes, they come up with some explanation (adam-eve creation gap, no year 0, etc.

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  9

  Threating to Sue

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the wt doing these days if someone das but threatens to sue if the elders make an announcement that leads to shunning?.

  i know the elders are supposed to notify the legal department, but what is the legal department telling them to do?.

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  12

  Study Book

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is the watchtower's current study book?.

  is it what does the bible really teach?.

  is it what can the bible teach us?.

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