the home was built in 1928 by a group known as the outer court of the order of the living christ, which operated under the belief that when jesus eventually makes his glorious return to earth, he will want to live in a palatial setting in… the bronx.
interestingly, beth-sarim was built in 1929 by a group known as the watch tower society, which operated under the belief that the holy ones when resurrected will want to live in a palatial setting in... san diego.. https://therealdeal.com/2017/04/06/divine-intervention-bronx-mansion-built-for-christs-return-finally-sells-for-6-2m/.
compare with beth-sarim below.. .
In fact, the only purpose Beth Sarim served was somewhere to exile JF Rutherford to. He was then - for the winter months at least - out of everyones' way in New York, where his drunken habits had become an embarrassment.
(According to James Penton, anyway)
It is alleged that the only "King David" who attempted to take up residence there was a street person of the same name!
But love is not actually lacking within them.
Based on my own experiences, I beg to differ with you on that one!
For decades, I did try to believe that only the JWs met the requirements of Jesus Christ's "by this, you know that they are my true followers, that they have love amongst themselves". However, after many a hostile snub at a District Convention, I had to reluctantly conclude that the Witnesses displayed love amongst themselves no more and no less than anybody else.
To a degree, this seemed to mirror the local community. My first congregation was a small one, in a thinly populated part of the world. People in general were open, friendly and helpful towards one another. It should have been no surprise that the congregation, too, was much the same. Nonetheless, it did deceive me into swallowing the WTS's propaganda that all JW congregations were like this. It took a long time to wake up to that myth!
pesident trump authorized the missile strike because “it is in the vital, national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the use of deadly chemical weapons.” .
59 tomahawk missiles were launched from two us navy ships.. russia has condemned the action.. https://youtu.be/4svp3yfneyq.
.
The term "Byzantine" would not even begin to describe the present situation in Syria.
Rudyard Kipling may well have had a point, when he penned the following lines:
Now, it is not good for the Christian’s health to hustle the Aryan brown,
For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles, and he weareth the Christian down;
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, with the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear: ‘A fool lies here who tried to hustle the East.’
There does certainly seem to be a long list of well intentioned Westerners - but fools nonetheless - who have come to grief whilst trying to "hustle the East". (With the "East" in this context meaning all of the Asian continent, regardless of its religious affiliations).
i've seen discussions here about how jehovah's witnesses seem to be prone to believing conspiracy theories... https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/04/05/why-more-highly-educated-people-are-less-into-conspiracy-theories/.
this last paragraph seems particularly relevant:.
importantly, van prooijen said his findings help make sense of why education can contribute to “a less paranoid society” even when conspiracy theories are not explicitly challenged.
- President Eisenhower's foreknowledge of the Pearl Harbor attacks.
Huh?
surely these men must see what's going on.
if they can afford fancy pinky rings, they must have smart phones.
if they have smart phones, they must be inquisitive as to how they are perceived.
At least some of them have probably heard so many lies repeated for so long that they have ended up believing their own propaganda.
it's been brought to my attention that there are xjw that say they support the witnesses and don't think russia should ban them.
i would just like to remind all of you that jws are guilty of murder, causing higher rates of suicide, covering up child molestation, and keeping members in prisoned because if they leave they loose family, financial support, possible employment etc.. sure their not strapping bombs to their chests but they easily get members to kill themselves with their blood policies.
they are an extremist group!
If anything was going to finish off the JWs, it would be apathy.
That fact has been noted by many others who contribute on this discussion board, and is certainly recognised by the JW leadership. (Over 30 years ago, I can recall the Circuit Overseer doing a rant about how apathetic we were all becoming. I have little reason to believe that much has improved since then!)
In the JW world, one thing gauranteed to counteract apathy is an outbreak of persecution. So much so, that it was often noted that in the places where the JWs became legalised, there then began a slow but steady trend towards apathy.
Trying to ban the JWs may inflict some harm on them, but would likely be more than offset by the shot of adrenaline that it would subsequently release!
it's been brought to my attention that there are xjw that say they support the witnesses and don't think russia should ban them.
i would just like to remind all of you that jws are guilty of murder, causing higher rates of suicide, covering up child molestation, and keeping members in prisoned because if they leave they loose family, financial support, possible employment etc.. sure their not strapping bombs to their chests but they easily get members to kill themselves with their blood policies.
they are an extremist group!
this is NOT your grandpa's generation
That may not mean too much. Certain persons claimed that the JWs were going to all fall in a heap after 1975, for that very same reason:
- "Grandpa's generation" after all, was looking forward to a "Heavenly Hope", whereas the pre-1975 lot very much believed they were about to step directly through into a "Paradise Earth".
Well, such predictions were bloody wrong!
Likewise, I believe a ban on the JWs would work no better now than at any other time:
- That lot are a bit like that old song Close the Door, they're Coming though the Window i.e. "The more you slapped them down, the more they multiplied".
watchtower bans jws from visiting apostate sites and reading apostate literature.
banning is the tool of the weak and the cowardly, those lacking the courage and/or strength to defeat the enemy face to face.
we ban - quarantine - infected ebola patients from the rest of the population because it's a strong disease and we lack a cure for it.
Censorship is very much a two-edged sword.
All too often, it only piques peoples' curiosity about the matter being censored. As the OP has correctly observed, the best way to deal with an untruth is to completely bury it in facts.
Of course, if both parties in the dispute are equally guilty of being "economical in the use of the truth", then both will resort to such measures as censorship.
it's been brought to my attention that there are xjw that say they support the witnesses and don't think russia should ban them.
i would just like to remind all of you that jws are guilty of murder, causing higher rates of suicide, covering up child molestation, and keeping members in prisoned because if they leave they loose family, financial support, possible employment etc.. sure their not strapping bombs to their chests but they easily get members to kill themselves with their blood policies.
they are an extremist group!
Londo 111,
I think you nailed it! When used against extremist elements, bans tend only feed fanaticism.
Against a money-hungry mob such as the WTS, hitting them hard where it hurts the most, like the hip-pocket, is much more effective!
i've been thinking about this the past few days and curious what the honest consensus is here just for fun.. show of hands,.
is the governing body.... a: completely sincere.
they really do believe what they teach.. b: somewhat sincere.
My guess is that Governing Body membership would be divided between Category C, and a modification of Category A.
This would mean a mixture of both:
1)Those who are completely insincere, and are just playing the system for what they can get out of it.
2) And others who have heard so many lies told for so long that they end up believing it themselves.
