Posts by Listener

15

2025 Convention. How to deal with PIMOs in the Congregation. Copy Jesus in the way he dealt with Satan on the MT.

by liam in

the video on apostates in the congregation and how to deal with them at the 18 minute mark.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1kssfr9/2025_convention_apostate_video/.

so by now, a lot of us have seen a clip from the "apostate" video from the 2025 convention.

Listener

The JW is simply going on a childish hissy fit/tantrum when he says that the email was garbage and ALL lies.

He hadn’t even read it, in this skit.

They are training JWs to be liars because there is no way that email would have contained ALL lies.

9

Is Global Warming a Sign of the Great Tribulation?

by EisMe in

is global warming a sign of the great tribulation?.

we are witnessing unprecedented environmental disasters—events unlike anything seen before in recorded history.

scientists confirm that 2024 was the hottest year ever documented, following 15 consecutive months of record-breaking temperatures.

Listener

The climate system is bad and getting worse, it is unpredictable. Global warming is a contentious issue but there is certainly change and probably due to man’s mucking around with nature.

How bad can it get and when will that be? God will intervene before the earth is destroyed and all of mankind. There were only a few left after Noah’s flood days.

Its horrific what man is doing, even our food is not safe.

51

You Could Be Stuck in a University When Your Parent Dies. Convention Day 2 Video

by liam in

the governing body is going all out at this years convention.

they are still discouraging university education.

i guess the end must be real close .

The story means that the father didn’t go to university and land a well paying job. Enough to afford life insurance or have money set aside to support his own family, even allowing his children to attend University.

Attending Uni is not an expensive venture for a parent with student loans available and the ease of working part time whilst studying. Parents can help pay those student loans down the track, when it becomes easier to do so, if they wish. Many courses can be done mostly online as well. Here in Australia, most kids still live at home whilst attending.

My goodness, it would be a poor parent that required their child to miss out on Uni due to the need of supporting his family, it does happen though and more often than not, it is due to the deficiencies of the parents. Being a JW easily turns the best of parents into irresponsible ones.

I couldn’t even picture the guilt, as a parent, I would have felt had I put my child or children in such a situation, particularly when I consider it my responsibility to see that their future is as good as it can be. This is very, very bad planning but in the JW situation, a flawed devotion to an organisation and their beliefs.

This is just more of the Watchtower indoctrinating followers into not doing something, like further education because of some highly unlikely, horror event. It’s prohibiting and continues to create a depressing outlook for both parents and children who have a natural drive to improve their lot in life.

I’m not saying that parents should send their kids to Uni or that kids should go. It’s a waste of time and money if the child has neither the talent or desire. Trade school or an apprenticeship is ideal for many and these days, in Australia, can be much better paid. With AI technology advancing it’s wise to research the best options. But the Watchtower doesn’t even encourage or promote.

Of course, it’s far better for children to be spending hours and hours letter writing or standing at a cart, or day after day, in labour intensive, boring tasks at Bethel.

51

You Could Be Stuck in a University When Your Parent Dies. Convention Day 2 Video

by liam in

the governing body is going all out at this years convention.

they are still discouraging university education.

i guess the end must be real close .

Listener

The problem, in this story, is that the Brother was taking too long contemplating the idea.

13

JULY 2025 STUDY WT How to Give Advice

by blondie in

jw
friends

i scanned this article and i saw a theme throughout it.

when info like this shows up in the study wt, you can be sure the elders are doing it wrong and the wts hits directly on what it is.

older elders do it wrong and train by word and action the newer elders to do it wrong.

Listener

Jesus knew what to say. He always knew the right thing to say because he based his advice on Jehovah’s wisdom, never his own.

They have such little respect and honour for Jesus. They are claiming he doesn’t have wisdom of his own to exercise and is not able to know what to say in his own right.

we must make sure that the counsel we give is based, not on our own thoughts, but on God’s Word.

Since Jesus lacks any ability to act on what he feels and knows to be good, how much more so is this the case for JWs. Their own thoughts are always bad and must never coincide with God’s thoughts. The Watchtower is just training them to accept its own thoughts, regardless of whether it makes sense to a jw or not.

7

philip brumley wt 7/2025 experience

by andr in

how encouraging one finds the experience of a liar.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-study-july-2025/the-battle-belongs-to-jehovah/.

philip brumley is a legal counsel associated with the jehovah's witnesses organization, having worked for about 40 years at their world headquarters' legal department.

Listener

From the article -

In 1986 when I was 30, I was appointed as the overseer of the Legal Department… I qualified as an attorney in 1988, but I was dangerously unaware of what I had allowed this accomplishment to do to my spirituality. Higher education can nurture a desire for self-promotion and foster the notion that having specialized knowledge elevates a person above others who do not have a similar education.

This is a problem that the Watchtower has mentioned before in its discouragement towards higher education but it is disingenuous. It’s been serious enough for the Watchtower to stop funding Bethelites higher education. It’s not the knowledge that is a potential problem.

In Bromley’s situation it sounds like it was his recognition for having the qualities to make it worthwhile to send to Uni and then his appointment as Overseer of the Legal Department that would have caused his self absorption.

Which raises more issues. When the Watchtower promotes Bethelites to various positions, there is always going to be an ego trip for some of them. It’s not about how much education they have, other than the fact that it would sometimes influence their promotions.

26

Green Handshakes - Taxable income in Australia

by Listener in

i was doing some research on the taxable status of money being gifted to co’s and travelling missionaries and was surprised with what i found.

i had assumed that it was not taxable income in australia.. it is taxable income in australia and it‘s likely that the same rules apply in some other countries.. a registered religious institution only receives tax free status on donations because they have been endorsed by the australian tax office.

travelling overseas and missionaries are not in this category.. there’s a tax ruling that goes into great detail.

Listener

Fulani, it wouldn’t surprise me. I guess the Watchtower doesn’t assist them in the matter of taxes either. Their motto is to get out of the Government every advantage that you can and to go looking for them, regardless of whether they become a burden to society.

26

Green Handshakes - Taxable income in Australia

by Listener in

i was doing some research on the taxable status of money being gifted to co’s and travelling missionaries and was surprised with what i found.

i had assumed that it was not taxable income in australia.. it is taxable income in australia and it‘s likely that the same rules apply in some other countries.. a registered religious institution only receives tax free status on donations because they have been endorsed by the australian tax office.

travelling overseas and missionaries are not in this category.. there’s a tax ruling that goes into great detail.

Listener

I was doing some research on the taxable status of money being gifted to CO’s and travelling missionaries and was surprised with what I found. I had assumed that it was not taxable income in Australia.

It is taxable income in Australia and it‘s likely that the same rules apply in some other Countries.

A registered religious institution only receives tax free status on donations because they have been endorsed by the Australian Tax Office. Travelling Overseas and missionaries are not in this category.

There’s a Tax Ruling that goes into great detail. It’s called IT 2674 and the following is an excerpt

IT 2674 Income tax: gifts to missionaries, ministers of religion and other church workers - are the gifts income?

”36. Matthew is a visiting evangelist who receives voluntary unsolicited gifts of money and gifts in kind called 'love offerings' when he addresses a gathering of worshippers. These gifts are received because those attending are spiritually move to make the gifts. Matthew is not in any way motivated by the prospect of receiving gifts. Rather, he is motivated only by a genuine commitment to his religious beliefs. The gifts are assessable income and should be included in Matthew's tax return for the year of income in which he receives them.”

https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/print?DocID=ITR%2FIT2674%2FNAT%2FATO%2F00001&PiT=99991231235958

Whether they are declaring it or not is another question.

Surely in the USA it would be similar to a person receiving tips and similar laws would apply?

27

God’s wisdom in allowing bearded JWs July 25 Watchtower

by Listener in

the july 2025 watchtower has a paragraph that claims that it was the superior power and wisdom of jehovah that guided the gb into allowing jws to grow beards.. the study article is ‘can you still learn from basic bible teachings?’ under the subheading ‘jehovah is the creator’ paragraph 7 states-.

“ 7. what did rahela do to accept a change in direction?.

your answer.

Listener

Fedupjw “All the JW males (I refuse to call them MEN) seem to now be sporting beards, no matter how unkempt and ragged looking they are.”

They see this as a problem and they have mentioned it before. They require beards to be groomed and neat but it’s still not happening. In this article, they go to the extreme and show four Elders sporting extremely short beards, closer to a stubble than a beard. I’ve seen elderly JWs at carts that look like Santa Clause.

JWs haven’t heard the end of it.

Another excuse used by the GB in laying down rules is to train JWs to obey in even the ‘little things’ so they will easily survive/be faithful when tested on the bigger things.

27

God’s wisdom in allowing bearded JWs July 25 Watchtower

by Listener in

the july 2025 watchtower has a paragraph that claims that it was the superior power and wisdom of jehovah that guided the gb into allowing jws to grow beards.. the study article is ‘can you still learn from basic bible teachings?’ under the subheading ‘jehovah is the creator’ paragraph 7 states-.

“ 7. what did rahela do to accept a change in direction?.

your answer.

Listener

The July 2025 Watchtower has a paragraph that claims that it was the superior power and wisdom of Jehovah that guided the GB into allowing jws to grow beards.

The study article is ‘Can you still learn from basic bible teachings?’ under the subheading ‘Jehovah is the Creator’ Paragraph 7 states-

“ 7. What did Rahela do to accept a change in direction?

Your answer

7 Rahela, who lives in Slovenia, has found that thinking about her Creator has helped her to accept a change in organizational direction. She admits: “Sometimes, it hasn’t been easy for me to accept decisions made by those who take the lead. For example, even after I watched the 2023 Governing Body Update #8, I was shocked the first time I saw a bearded brother giving a talk. So I prayed to Jehovah to help me adapt to this change.” Rahela recognized that as the Creator of heaven and earth, Jehovah is perfectly capable of guiding his organization in the right direction. If you find it hard to adjust to a new understanding or to accept new direction, why not humbly meditate on the superior wisdom and power of our Creator?—Rom. 11:33-36.”

It’s almost as if Jehovah is now the puppet and the GB is pulling his strings.