Vanderhoven7

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Posts by Vanderhoven7

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  70

  A BEARD PREDICTION FOR 2024

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  fyi, i posted this prediction on my facebook page last night and it has received 224 likes and there have been 83 comments made.

  many of the comments are hilarious.. .

  a beard prediction for 2024:.

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  Vanderhoven7

  https://www.youtube.com/live/dF1HNA-emmc?si=6IKMC7Th9v8tH1le
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  23

  Broadcasts, Are they just a distraction?

  by KerryKing in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the recent broad casts about not handing in time sheets, and then about beards, especially the beards, it seems so trivial, are those talks only released in order to distract the followers from the recent court case they lost on spain, from the csa cases, the kh sales and so on?.

  i reckon they're taking their lead from the media, distract and divide tactics..

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  Vanderhoven7

  Beards OK and filling in forms no longer required are critical issues proving Jehovah of the Watchtower continues to major in minors and the Faithful Slave has nothing to important say to mankind.
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  124

  JWLITE

  by Teddnzo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.

  they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.

  i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..

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  Vanderhoven7

  M.M writes -Apparently, watchtower used to think unfavorably regarding “new light”. But, just as with excommunication, or disfellowshipping/shunning as jws call it, they discovered it is useful to control and keep their followers.

  *** w52 2/1 pp. 80-81 par. 13 Jehovah’s Theocratic Organization Today ***

  13 There are some who seem to dote on speculations. They love to be the talking center of little groups, voicing their theories on how or when this or that is going to happen. They may not be deliberately rebellious about what the slave provides, but if they can offer only what the slave has already supplied they do not stand out. How can they shine personally if they merely reflect what all others of Jehovah’s witnesses are reflecting? So they seek for something more sensational, for some “new light” to dazzle unwary listeners. As they feed the open-mouthed listeners their line of new theories, the listeners by their rapt attention feed the ego of the speculators. When someone else begins to do the talking and occupies the spotlight, the speculator loses interest in the conversing group and drifts on. These speculating ones may acknowledge that some of their past theories were wrong, but they do not show they have learned the lesson from these mistakes by refraining from bringing forth new theories. Their longing to be viewed as an independent and deep thinker is stronger than their desire to be theocratic.

  https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=1952083&srctype=wol&srcid=share&par=17

  
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  13

  JWs and Coping with Reality

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  become a jw only if you can't cope with the real world.

  i believe i picked this up here but can't find the thread.

  i think it worth a repost.. “top ten reasons jehovah's witnesses can't cope with the real world.

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  Vanderhoven7

  
  

  Become a JW only if you can't cope with the real world. I believe I picked this up here but can't find the thread. i think it worth a repost.

  “TOP TEN REASONS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CAN'T COPE with the REAL WORLD

  ____________________

  1.The WatchTower hOrganization denies access to reality, substituting its OWN propaganda version instead

  1. Only Watchtower approved publications are allowed.
  2. No higher education is to be pursued.
  3. No non-JW friends or associations are encouraged with worldly "outside" POV.
  4. No free-style questioning of doctrine is permitted nor is constructive criticism.
  5. Threat of being "marked" or disassociated is wielded to discourage insubordinates.

  2. Between every real-world event and the JW's mind, a roadblock has been placed.

  1. The interpretive moment of free thought is interrupted by RE-LABELING in Watchtower-speak, jargon, and doctrinal rhetoric substituted.
  2. World events are twisted into a narrow storyline and propagandized as End Times signs leading to Armageddon.

  3. Individual tastes for Personal IDENTITY are expunged and replaced by a collective PERSONA. You are not yourself. You are to be viewed as a representative and example.

  1. Private thinking is red-flagged as selfish and sinful.
  2. Personal ambition is crushed. Only door-to-door ministry substituted as "worthy" endeavors. Beards and tight-pants are glaring demonstrations of satanic ego.
  3. JW’s are coerced into a public spectacle of theocratic performance for judgement.
  4. No individual is allowed a right to fall in love and marry or educate or earn without prior approval. You are the property of the Kingdom Hall and the Governing Body.

  4. Both History and Future cease to be objective occurrences

  1. Every human endeavor is judged as to whether it is part of Jehovah's Plan
  2. Great Leaps of advancement for humanity are disregarded and minimized.

  c. Terrorist atrocities are proof positive of a Satanic doomed world.

  d. Individual triumphs and tragedies have no particular value; only Armageddon matters.

  5. Talent, Creativity and Genius are transformed into useless ego obsessions.

  1. No personal achievement is praiseworthy since all glory is for Jehovah only.
  2. Neither Musical, Artistic, Scientific or Mathematical ability is encouraged because the preaching activity supersedes all else.
  3. Critical Thinking leads to skepticism and eventual disfellowshipping. Even intelligence itself is marked as suspicious.

  6. Ignorance, poverty, disease and psychological disturbance are NOT worthwhile for charity, education or institutional tasking for JW's.

  1. Building hospitals or colleges diverts precious time away from the JW ministry. Besides, Paradise implies repair and perfection anyway.
  2. Becoming a physician, social worker, volunteer in the community or joining any established task-oriented organization DISTORTS rather than solves human problems because Armageddon is coming quickly anyway.
  3. Humanitarian activity, disaster relief and institutional charity promote secular and false-religious creeds instead of Jehovah's solutions.
  4. Personal financial concerns aren't important to the congregation. Your finances are a symptom of End Times eventuality, not a focus of brotherly remedy.

  7. Human perception is untrustworthy, corrupted by sin and worldliness

  1. Only thoughts which come from official Governing Body writings are safe.
  2. Personal opinions, life experience and original analysis constitute hubris and running ahead of Jehovah's plan for his people.
  3. Calling attention to doctrinal irregularity, questioning "new light" and repeated calls for clarification red-flag spiritual weakness and danger.

  8. There are no "Good" people in any other religion. If they were good they'd join Jehovah's Witnesses.

  1. The appearance of goodness, charity, benevolence and selfless devotion to others by Catholics, Baptists, Buddhists or other religious types is only an artificial misunderstanding of Jehovah's permanent solutions to mankind's true problem: sin and death.
  2. Most do-gooders are religious fakes, imposters and money-grubbing charlatans who should be exposed and not admired.
  3. There is no one good except Jehovah anyway

  9. Everything you read, see, experience and think is a distortion by Satan for the purpose of deflecting you from Jehovah's TRUTH.

  1. Watchtower study replaces corrupt images, thoughts and ideas with clean, purified and approved replacements.
  2. The human heart is desperate and corrupt. What you "feel" is probably sin and not compassion. Don't trust yourself to know anything.
  3. The entire world is in the control and power of invisible demonic forces hellbent on destroying humanity

  10. Doubting Jehovah's organization isn't the result of logic or awareness of errors

  1. They never said they were perfect or inspired or prophetic
  2. Jehovah eventually repairs any damage (Wait on Jehovah)
  3. Disloyalty to the Organization is disloyalty to Jehovah himself. Armageddon will settle that score.

  In view of the Ten reasons above, there can be no doubt that the Organization has completely REMOVED REALITY from JW awareness.

  _________

  Being denied a right to reality is to have one's mind taken hostage.

  Without thinking your own thoughts you cannot ever be an actual real person.

  The group thinks FOR you and instructs you what to do and say and how to be.

  Without that GROUP there is only doubt, emptiness, and longing to be cocooned by the "other" and cradled away from fear.

  ________

  Why it is hard to break free?

  You wonder why JW family member won't listen to reason?

  You wonder why the obvious isn't at all obvious?

  __________
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  45

  Merry Christmas

  by jhine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so for those amongst us who celebrate the season .

  merry christmas everyone.

  .. jan from tam .

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  Vanderhoven7

  Yes! We can celebrate the birth, life death, resurrection, Ascension and future parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ every day of the year.

  Joyeux Noel to all!
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  68

  Are Atheists Hypocritical in Celebrating Christmas?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  richard dawkins revealed that he celebrates christmas on radio four's today programme.. here is is quoted as saying: .

  'i am perfectly happy on christmas day to say merry christmas to everybody,' dawkins said.

  'i might sing christmas carols - once i was privileged to be invited to kings college, cambridge, for their christmas carols and loved it.

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  Vanderhoven7

  No, because partying, decorating trees and giving presents has nothing to do with pretending to be religious.
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  22

  What is worse: 1914 or Beard change

  by Gorb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is worse for jw's: changing the 1914 doctrine or allowing beards without the right to say what their opinion is?.

  g..

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  Vanderhoven7

  @Rattigan350

  "There is nothing wrong with 1914. It is solid doctrine that preceded the governing body, Rutherford, Russell, etc."

  Actually there is everything wrong with 1914.

  Initially, it was based on the 1874 parousia. Because Russell assumed that a generation lasted max 40 years, Armageddon would occur by 1914 at the latest.

  As I understand it, Rutherford changed the 1874 parousia date to 1914 around 1930. It could have been as early as 1927 when he also changed the resurrection of the saints to heavenly life date from 1888 to 1918.

  Regardless, currently the 1914 is based on at least 9 assumptions, the first being that Daniel 4 has a second fulfillment.

  So the 1914 doctrine is solid only in the minds of those who are also willing to mindlessly assume that Jesus was talking about an overlapping generation.
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  70

  Beards are now allowed - New Light

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lett has announced in the latest video update that jehovah has dignified the brothers by now letting them to choose for themselves whether they want to have a beard or not -.

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/.

  this applies worldwide and to all brothers in any position..

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  Vanderhoven7

  M.M. writes:For all these years jehovah's witnesses have been practicing paganism and didn't even know it.🤣

  *** w68 5/1 p. 286 Questions From Readers ***

  Jesus, born a Jew, “came to be under law” and he fulfilled the Law. (Gal. 4:4; Matt. 5:17) This was in order that he might pave the way for the abolishing of the Law and for release of the Jews from the curse of the Law, the condemnation of death that it brought against them. (Eph. 2:15; Gal. 3:13) Like all other Jews, Jesus was under obligation to keep the whole law. One of the commandments of the Law was: “You must not cut your side locks short around, and you must not destroy the extremity of your beard.” (Lev. 19:27) God doubtless gave Israel this law because among some pagans it was the practice to cut the beard in a certain fashion in worship of their gods. (Jer. 9:26; 25:23) Nevertheless, that law did not mean that a beard was not to be well kept, for in the Near East a well-groomed beard was considered a symbol of dignity and respectability.—2 Sam. 19:24.
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  19

  Holy barbasol Batman! Beards are now allowed!

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  latest gb update.

  only took them 20 years to see beards are acceptable in society.

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  Vanderhoven7

  @ Ding: Re GB Control

  Mark Jones writes:
  

  How much control does the GB have over members?

  It depends on the member.

  For some, the control is absolute. For others (most in fact) the control is, at the very least, very high.

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to pray to Jesus - they will.

  [1]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them not to pray to Jesus - they’ll stop.

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to let their child die - they will.

  [2]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to die for refusing to get involved in politics - they will.

  [3]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to get involved in politics by lobbying for a political decision to secure the leaders assets - they will.

  [4]

  [5]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to bribe officials - they will.

  [6]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to shun their own children - they will.

  [7]

  [8]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them to reject organ transplants - they will.

  [9]

  If a Watchtower magazine tells them believe that Jesus is just an angel - they will.

  [10]

  And to top it all off, anyone who decides the religion isnt true and simply wishes to leave can… but they’ll lose their family. Dennis Cybulski doesn't mention that bit to you because he’s trying to sugarcoat it to make it sound like a real religion.

  You know, like a cult?

  

  Footnotes

  [1]

  Jehovah's Witness historical worship of Jesus until 1954

  [2]

  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101994360

  [3]

  The different standards applied to brothers in Malawi, Mexico and the Oath of allegiance

  [4]

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/global/global-unity-letter-writing-campaign/

  [5]

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/malawi/letter-writing-campaign-for-russia/

  [6]

  The different standards applied to brothers in Malawi, Mexico and the Oath of allegiance

  [7]

  https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/gods-love/disfellowshipped-person/

  [8]

  https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/pub-jwbcov_201605_3_VIDEO

  [9]

  Watchtower Quotes Regarding Transplants

  [10]

  https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-the-archangel-jesus/

  
  
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  1

  What's Wrong with the Watchtower Gospel?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there are many things wrong with the gospel jehovah's witnesses preach.

  here is one.. according to their literature, only those associated with the watchtower organization will survive armageddon into the new system.

  is this what the apostles preached as gospel?.

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  Vanderhoven7

  There are many things wrong with the gospel Jehovah's Witnesses preach. Here is one.

  According to their literature, ONLY those associated with the Watchtower Organization will survive Armageddon into the new system. Is this what the Apostles preached as gospel?
  

  Only Jehovah's Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the "great crowd," as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural hope of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil." Watchtower 1989 Sep 1 p.19

  "During the final period of the ancient world that perished in the Flood, Noah was a faithful preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) In these last days of the present system of things, Jehovah's people are making known God's righteous standards and are declaring good news about the possibility of surviving into the new world. (2 Peter 3:9-13) Just as Noah and his God-fearing family were preserved in the ark, survival of individuals today depends on their faith and their loyal association with the earthly part of Jehovah's universal organization." Watchtower 2006 May 15 p.22 "Are You Prepared for Survival?"

  "Similarly, Jehovah is using only one organization today to accomplish his will. To receive everlasting life in the earthly Paradise we must identify that organization and serve God as part of it." Watchtower 1983 Feb 15 p.12

  "... to leave Jehovah's organization ... we would lose not only the privilege of doing God's will but also the hope of life in God's new world." Watchtower 2016 Jun study ed p.26

  "But if we were to draw away from Jehovah's organization, there would be no place else to go for salvation and true joy." Watchtower 1993 Sep 15 p.22
  "They must appreciate that identifying themselves with Jehovah's organization is essential to their salvation." Kingdom Ministry 1990 Nov p.1

  "At this stage of the affairs of man, it is absolutely impossible for anyone, professed Christian or otherwise, to stand independently of the one organisation that is bearing witness worldwide to Jehovah, his goodness and supremacy in accord with the 145th Psalm and, in fact, in accord with all the Scriptures." Yearbook 1982 p.259