from reddit exjw.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/143556c/co_meeting_with_elders_gb_seems_desperate/.
pretty much what other appointed men have been telling me.
I spoke to an elder friend the other day. He told me that they are treading softly with those still using zoom as they dont want to scare them off.
He admitted too many have become comfortable with zoom meetings and letter writing style witnessing and its going to be a battle to get them back.
He told me about 30-40% of the cong are still on zoom, which sounds about right from what everyone else seems to be saying.
i haven't a clue if it's technically feasible but i think if you're going to hit the dislike button on a post you should be open to discussion with the poster.. just your own topics and posts of course.
what do you think simon?.
When someone dislikes your post, they dont necessarily feel like debating you, or want you to expand on the subject further.
Sometimes they are having a bad day - sometimes they think you are a dickhead, sometimes they are the dickhead, sometimes they just dont agree with you- or perhaps they have judged you based on previous posts and dont like you.
Other times, someone may dislike your post and tell you exactly why.
Im giving myself 3 thumbs up for this reply.
even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.
if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.
as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.
Exbethelite,
I have no doubt that a large percentage of JW members stay because of social relationships. Growing up a JW, there was always something fun going on with your JW friends and I sometimes miss my old friends.
I havent attended a meeting in person for a long time but Ive been a long time gym member and I hear the same things said after a workout that I used to at meetings. Comments like;
"I didnt feel like coming tonight - but Im glad I did."
"I always feel better after a class."
"We're having drinks this weekend".
People enjoy social networks, some more than others and I think you can satisfy that human need in a lot of ways that dont include attending meetings.
If it wasnt for the potential for friends you have known for decades to shun you for expressing an opinion, being a JW would be great in regards to the social side of things.
have you seen this video about the covid vaccines?
have you got any views on the information?
i find it worrying at least.
cofty
According to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries it is exactly 31% above normal for last week.
No. its not. - syd
Cofty, here is the chart from the website you referenced. Im guessing if you cited this website then you trust it.
Where are the excess deaths??
The blue line shows 2020 and a spike in deaths because of covid, BEFORE the vaccine was avaliable. After that , the lines all look pretty close to me.
The results of a 1 week sample size proves nothing.
scholar and fisherman, i started this thread because i didn't want to highjack the one in regard to 588/568.. i just wanted to ask if you were both current active jw's that believe the jw's beliefs?.
do y'all believe the gb are the f&ds?
if the answers are no, then why do y'all defend so passionately the date 607?
scholar
If a person does not stand for something then where is the credibility? In relation to the Flood, there is a mountain of evidence for a global Flood and the fact that the story of the Flood is widespread in ancient and modern cultures is a testament to its authenticity.
The flood story is not widespread. We have 1 biblical flood story and all the rest from around the world are different. Given that pretty much every human settlement of any size have always lived close to rivers/ lakes, it would be strange NOT to have numerous flood legends from all around the place.
Come on Scholar, you can do better than that.
the so called apostates of first century later became the catholic church.
these apostates like saint athanasius, theologian, ecclesiastical statesman, and egyptian national leader decided which books would be part of the bible.
we are now following what they decided.
Your sycophantic writing almost makes me want to become a catholic.
Do you actually give the catholic church a pass for :
Supporting the abuse of native land owners during colonisation?
The abuse of children in their care for centuries?
The support of slavery - perpetual servitude for pagans? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Diversas
The silence of the papacy during the holocaust?
Anti-science persecutions of the middle ages?
A lot of people who went to catholic schools talk about the cruelty of the brothers and the nuns.
They have enjoyed great power for about 2 thousand years and while they have done some good, they have abused that power and caused untold misery for a lot of people too.
geoffrey hinton, major inventor of artificial intelligence: .
“if you take the existential risk seriously, as i now do—i used to think it was way off, but now i think it’s serious, and fairly close—it might be quite sensible to just stop developing these things any further, but i think it’s completely naïve to think that would happen.
there’s no way to make that happen.
slimboyfat
further edit: that’s another point some of these people make. We talk about “AI” as if it’s one thing, when really there are going to be many different AIs, and if they are correct about the risk, it only takes one of them to be misaligned with human goals, combined with super intelligence, is a deadly recipe.
There are also a lot of everyday programmers who work on machine learning or other AI projects of their own as hobbies. All it takes is a basic understanding of a programming language like Python, which is considered one of the most user friendly languages for beginners. A couple of months practise and you can start building your own AI project for world domination.
geoffrey hinton, major inventor of artificial intelligence: .
“if you take the existential risk seriously, as i now do—i used to think it was way off, but now i think it’s serious, and fairly close—it might be quite sensible to just stop developing these things any further, but i think it’s completely naïve to think that would happen.
there’s no way to make that happen.
I didn't watch the video but AI is being introduced into a greater range of industries as it gets better.
Manipulation of AI for criminal activity is a risk with the technology as it is right now.
the so called apostates of first century later became the catholic church.
these apostates like saint athanasius, theologian, ecclesiastical statesman, and egyptian national leader decided which books would be part of the bible.
we are now following what they decided.
Jws will argue that God guided the compilation of the bible. For one to believe that, one also has no choice than to accept the influence of the catholic church in that process.
There are more problems though. The earliest complete bibles contain the apocrypha. Does that mean these versions are the right ones, or are only the protestant versions that came 1500 yrs later and removed the apocrypha gods word?
Jesus quoted from apocryphal books, so why don't we leave them in, and who decides that? Was it jesus, god, or men?
If jesus quoted from the septuagint, why do jws prefer the much later masoretic text in their translation?
Paul and Luke wrote about half the new testament between them, yet neither of them met jesus.
scholar and fisherman, i started this thread because i didn't want to highjack the one in regard to 588/568.. i just wanted to ask if you were both current active jw's that believe the jw's beliefs?.
do y'all believe the gb are the f&ds?
if the answers are no, then why do y'all defend so passionately the date 607?
