Ironic that, in his attempt at "theocratic warfare", he was unintentially truthful.
Because it IS presumptuous.
when confronted with angus stewart’s blunt question “do you see yourselves as jehovah god’s spokespeople on earth?” the answer that came from jackson’s lips was astounding.. “that i think would seem to be quite presumptuous to say that we are the only spokesperson that god is using.
the scriptures clearly show that someone can act in harmony with god’s spirit in giving comfort and help in the congregations, but if i could just clarify a little, going back to matthew 24, clearly, jesus said that in the last days ‐ and jehovah’s witnesses believe these are the last days ‐ there would be a slave, a group of persons who would have responsibility to care for the spiritual food.
so inthat respect, we view ourselves as trying to fulfill that role.”.
Ironic that, in his attempt at "theocratic warfare", he was unintentially truthful.
Because it IS presumptuous.
hello all interested persons,.
whilst driving to work this morning listening to the radio, my ears pricked when the presenter began talking about jws.
it was on a programme which airs between 8.00 and 8.30 entitled am, and broadcast on the abc national radio.
WingCommander - "...Once the above happens and the Australian government revokes their charitable status, they can immediately start claiming, 'Persecution!!!!!'..."
You sure?
When Russia started cracking back down on the Org in the past few years, the loss of tax exemption wasn't even mentioned, to my recollection... the Org leadership only focused on raids, arrests, and police brutality.
Know why?
'Cause how the fuck do you spin "paying back Caesar's things to Caesar" as "persecution"?
Ten bucks says the rank-and-file never even hear a peep from the WT leadership about loss of "charity status".
Sure, the WTS's lawyers fight like demons in the courts to keep the Org's tax-exemption when they can*, but when have the ever touted that specific accomplishment to the membership when they've achieved it?
...
*I suspect the Org's business model is dependent on it... otherwise why fight so hard to keep it in the first place?
unbelievable.
okay actually it's very believable.
check out the latest video on jwdotorg:.
slimboyfat - "I don’t think they care what opponents say. They do care if it results in lower donations and lower income. I think that’s what prompted the outburst. Are Watchtower experiencing financial difficulty so bad that they see no way out?"
Agreed.
At this point, they don't give a hairy blue fuck what "The World" thinks of them... they're in the Endgame Last Days of the Last Days of the Last Days, now.
What matters is the line in the sand, not budging, and - more than anything else - maintaining the fiction of "God's Exclusive Earthly Organization".
Money is an integral component of that, but reinforcing the ideology - and thusly maintaining a minimum level of membership loyalty and cohesion is - arguably - just as important.
That being said, I do think that financial difficulty is a thing.
After all (and I've said this before), in what crazy-ass, fucked-up mirror universe are constant legal troubles, steady asset and staff liquidation, and demonstrable reduction of product output (in both quality and quantity) signs of robust financial health?
Not to mention that I suspect their lawyers have told them that the Org's tax-exemption is inching towards the chopping block, and I'd bet cash money that the WTS's business model is way more dependent on it than we'd ever imagined.
i was reading in the shepherding book that elders should “ cultivate and maintain friendships with one another.”, and thought to myself “bulls$it!” i remember that most of the elders in my old congregation were nothing but nasty asses.
i know it may vary from congregation to congregation, but do elders generally get along with each other behind closed doors in elders meetings?
or, are they often in conflict with each other?
Jeezus, sounds like fucking high school.
will it ever end??
will a vaccine end this pandemic?
will it suddenly dissipate if joe biden becomes president?
DesirousOfChange - "I heard an old kook suggest it was 'designed' to kill off those that are a drain on society -- the old, infirm, and sick."
Meh; there's too many people anyway.
Seriously, though, when I'm in a suspicious-borderline-paranoid mood, there's a part of me that's tempted to wonder if the world's elites wouldn't actually mind thinning the herd in some manner like that.
My old man said on more than one occasion that he thought the government would love to euthanize all the senior citizens so they wouldn't have to pay their federal pensions.
That being said, he was a loyal Witness (whilst still being an exemplary husband and father), and in my observation, the less informed R&F can be somewhat susceptible to actual conspiracy theories (MLMs, too, for that matter), simply because of how easily said theories seem to confirm the JW worldview and/or can be retconned into WT eschatology.
when i say; “socialist” i don’t mean everyone is equal.
instead i am referring to “leaders” being rich and powerful, whereas the ordinary citizen being poor, and powerless.. i was surprise that the majority of the world is run by socialist government.
the last few countries that are not socialist are the united states and parts of europe.
Nope.
As flawed as capitalism is, it still works better.
i cant get my head around how a religion ,like the jehovah`s witnesses can be a not for profit organization ,that profits $ from wheeling and dealing in real estate ventures $ ,and also profits from being a multi media publishing company $ that in its heyday profited from volunteers selling their literature and now its venturing into the digital age of tv imaging ,video conferencing ,dvd`s and whatever else they can use.$$$.
making $$$ profits from all of these activities while still claiming to be a not for profit religion reaping in the $$$ profits selling prophecy (profitsy $$$).
it`s about time governments woke up to this charade ..
Drearyweather - "...there is no evidence that the profit earned by WT is somehow distributed among the directors or the GB members."
This.
All available anecdotal evidence indicates that the GB's primary (really, only) focus is being "God's Exclusive Earthly Organization".
Money is a factor, but it's a means of maintaining that fiction, not the end in and of itself.
following the link given by kent,.
i have several observation to make:.
(from the link : http://www.un.org/moreinfo/ngolink/brochure.htm).
Ten bucks says they figured that...
a) ...using the resources of "Satan's World"/"The Wild Beast" to further Kingdom interests was (somehow) clever "spiritual warfare", and/or...
b) ...Jehovah would never let such an embarrassing thing about his "Earthly Organization" become exposed.
Both things, I might add, that confirm what we've heard all along... that the WT Leadership really do drink their own Kool-Aid.
'Cause only True Believers would make those kind of dumbass decisions.
whilst i have never quite understood whether petra and atlantis are one or multiple entities i recognise the value of their work and web of contacts.
i think it is fair to say that no-one has consistently contributed more solid gold intelligence to this site.
no one has reliably passed on more bomb shells and solid news as well as day to day minutiae.
nowwhat? - "why are their feelings hurt over one jerk?"
Never underestimate how badly a deeply sensitive individual can be wounded by stupid shit said by one jerk.
australian senator anna rushton has said that all orgs who "don't take reasonable steps to join the redress scheme" will be stripped of their charitable status come feburary 2021.. https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/k1pur7/the_jehovahs_witnesses_will_be_stripped_of_their/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share.
smiddy - "I`m thinking that if the Borg signs up to the Redress Scheme ,they will be admitting there is a problem with child sex abuse in the organization and also admitting it`s not Apostate lies, as they have been telling the congregants for so long."
This.
And they would rather piss broken glass than cop to that...
...because a long-standing, endemic, and institutionalized problem like CSA undermines their claim of being "God's Exclusive Earthly Organization" like nothing else.
And at this point, that claim is really the only truly effective source of cohesion amongst the R&F.
...
Lest we forget, said problem has arguably become so long-standing, endemic, and institutionalized directly because of said claim.
They simply would not consider that their vaunted "Biblical" standards and policies - so superior and effective than anything "Satan's World" could come up with - would not only fail to solve the problem, but actually make it worse.