shepherd

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Posts by shepherd

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  28

  2009 Statistics for the Philippines...

  by Tuesday in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wonder if anyone can find the stats for this, i'm doing a slight bit of research for a question.

  any help is greatly appreciated..

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  shepherd

  "A country that had so much potential, until an unbridled dictator took the reins. They never recovered"

  Not strictly true. The economy has been growing at 4-5% each year for a few years. The problem is the rampant corruption, which is, according to the UN, the worst in Asia. This is not Marcos' fault but the fault of successive presidents. The last president, Arroyo, is widely considered to have been the most corrupt of all, even more than Marcos.

  This means the poor look to religion for hope, and the JW's, as just one amongst a colony of religious vultures, are there for the easy pickings.

  Do not think these numbers are all that high, however. This is a country of 90 million, so 200 000, probably including any kid over 8 who goes out with mom door to door, is a tiny number. Religions there normally count members in the millions.

  Door to door activities alone do not count for growth amongst JWs there. Compare LDS Brigham Young University Newsnet quoting senior missionary Dave Brinsfield: "Out of the 49,000 converts who joined the church in 2001 and 2002 [in the Philippines], only 1,000 remain active."
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  28

  2009 Statistics for the Philippines...

  by Tuesday in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wonder if anyone can find the stats for this, i'm doing a slight bit of research for a question.

  any help is greatly appreciated..

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  shepherd

  No offence, but you clearly know nothing at all about the Philippines.

  Not only is it predominantly Catholic, but many other 'Christian' groups are active, complete with missionaries going door to door, including Methodists, Baptists, LDS.

  There are major reasons for this, and if you are going to compare statistics you need to know and understand them first. It is a country that has a Catholic tradition - the result is large, close, familes with a lot of children, endemic corruption and severe poverty. 40% of the population earns less than $2 a day. It is decidedly 3rd world. Most do not complete a High School education, and those who do would still struggle to pass a test given to 11 year olds in the West.

  The people are traditionally hospitible and friendly, trusting, modest and likely to follow direction.

  In other words, they are ripe for conversion. They need the (false) hope these religions peddle, are highly uneducated so only need to trust the 'teacher'; they do not need to understand any of the actual doctrines to believe, perfect for JW's.

  Jw's do well in countries like these as do other faiths.

  The Catholic Church is going through a rough patch, with scandal after scandal being reported in the press. They also oppose divorce and any forms of contraception while most of the population hopes for both to be available in the future.

  So, before comparing 2 sets of stats and trying to work out if this is caused by the door to door work you need to factor in some basic facts about the place first.

  P.S. It's not nit-picking when your ignorance is the size of an elephant.
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  78

  What is the ULTIMATE goal of the Watchtower Society?

  by MrDarkKnight in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in a number of different threads comments have been made about the motives of the gb and the wtbts.

  it made me think, what is their ultimate goal?

  what is their end game?.

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  shepherd

  To get their reward in Heaven and rule over all of us for the next 1000 years as kings! That's what they believe is the reward waiting for them.
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  51

  Should conscientious objectors to gay marriage be allowed?

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  previous, related thread: ny catholic church on new gay marriage law.

  gay marriage is finally legal in my state.

  let the next wave of ignorance begin!.

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  shepherd

  "This sounds like they changed the job description in the middle of the game."

  I don't think the job changed. Her job was to sign certificates and it's still that. She was not taken on being able to pick and choose who to issue a certificate to, so nothing has changed in her job description.

  This person has the right to refuse to do it. The employer has the right to dismiss her if she does.
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  91

  VERY depressed

  by youngbro in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have severe clinical depression and right now, for whatever reason it is really acting up....

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  shepherd

  Please ignore visitor 525's comments about demons - that's total and utter garbage. Next will they advise you to apply leaches and drink holy water? Demons?????? What the fu$% century did you come out of?
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  8

  Young lady (18yrs.) killed by hit and run, It,s God will.

  by jam in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a friend grandaughter killed by a hit and run driver.

  recently.

  a mutual friend, who is a minister told her.

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  shepherd

  As the doc on Deadwood said: 'if it's the will of God.....then he's a son of a bitch!'
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  98

  Is it ethical to make rich pay more taxes?

  by Lore in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm having trouble getting behind the idea of making rich people pay more taxes just because they have more.. aside from the obvious: "i'm not rich so lets tax them instead of me.

  " the three reasons i hear most often are:.

  1: they may have "earned" their wealth but they don't deserve it!.

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  shepherd

  I think all income tax should be abolished. Instead, all tax should come from goods and services sold, just like the Euro VAT. (Yes, I know they still have income tax there too).

  That way, the rich person will be paying more in tax, simply because what he/she buys is likely to cost more, and the quantity of what they buy would be greater. As for helping the poorest, rather than giving then a tax break, VAT on basic needs like food should be very low or even zero rated, and recovered with a higher rate for non essential goods and services.

  Unfortunately, whatever system was put into use, people would find a way to cheat on it.
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  22

  My brand new Greek Bible!

  by Wonderment in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i just received my brand new greek bible:.

  = the holy scriptures - new world translation.

  why bother?

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  shepherd

  "There are many who believe this often made charge that the WT people have no capability to deal with Greek."

  As someone who had friends in Greece who are JW's, I can tell you you need to draw a distinction between ancient and modern Greek. Even Greek speaking JW's take the GB word for it when it comes to translating from ancient Greek. They are just happy not to be using a bible with a big cross on the front as they used to.

  In general, JW's cannot deal with ancient Greek at all (Many of them have a problem with their own mother tongue, hence the dumbing down of the literature to simple words and phrases).

  Of those who think they have some understanding, most can only look at what others have written and compare, or go to Vines, not be able to understand the nuances of vocabulary for themselves. In the end they accept whatever expert/translator's opinion that suits their views best, just like the GB does.
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  27

  OMG shunning story

  by man in black in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my wife and i went to fedex / kinko's this afternoon and ran into a girl who was df'ed several years ago, (her parents are quite the rabid jw's.).

  they have two daughters, and the younger one recently got married at the kh.. the older one who we were talking to proceeded to tell us that she decided to attend her younger sisters wedding ceremony which was fine despite the fact that nobody talked to her.. but after the wedding she was basically ushered out of the hall.

  she was not allowed to participate in any pictures, or allowed to speak to the new couple.

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  shepherd

  My son got married and I was told I could attend the wedding if I came in after it started and sat at the back and left as it finished. The reception was banned for me. Since this was something he agreed with, and his overbearing wife, I decided I would not bother to attend and be insulted in this way. I will never forget how a few days later they asked to meet with me outside a cafe to get their wedding gifts - they sat for a couple of minutes and declined food and drink, in line with how they understood scripture, but had no problem accepting the gifts.....
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  10

  Why was Eve's eyes not open when she ate from the tree?

  by puppie069 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  eve was the first to commit the sin regarding the tree?

  why wasn't she the example of gods judgement?

  why was adam brought into the sin.. if she ate first, why wasn't there judgement at that point?

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  shepherd

  Because none of it actually happened....just like at the end when they are cast out God puts a sword to block their way - the writers forgot that in those days swords had not been invented!