professor massimo tistarelli:.
"my sister gave me a copy of the book life - how did it get here?
by evolution or by creation?
Prof. Tistarelli is a JW.
http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g201302/robot-designer-interview/
Obviously, this is the article that is being cited, but if he has embraced JW teachings, what would you expect him to say about the WT publications?
i read a post on this site that said that there is a double standard for elders as opposed to regular r&f publishers.
can't seem to find it now, but i believe it was in the elders manual stating this....... thinking back, i can vividly remember one instance: the po's (a superstar in the district) daughter was getting married.
she was marrying a "brother" who was only baptized but 3 months, yet the were able to use the hall for their wedding.. another brother in our hall (about 2 years later) was planning on getting married, he asked for permission to use the hall for his wedding and was told that his service hours were too low (he was averaging about 3-5 hours a month) i asked him later why he was so pissed at the elders and he said this was the reason.. has anyone else ever noticed this "double-standard"?.
I remember one case back in the 1970s where an elder's daughter and a newly baptized young man both got reproved, presumably for some sexual hanky-panky. The elder's daughter had her restrictions lifted after a month; the guy's lasted nearly a year.
do witnesses really want to go to the meetings?
or do they just go because they feel they must to get into the new world.
or is it just peer pressure or pressure of elders?
I remember one time when we had a big snow storm, the meeting was cancelled and a lot of the Witnesses went out and had a sledding party. The elders went berserk and said they would never cancel another meeting, but let individuals decide whether it was safe to go if there was bad weather. It was many years before they cancelled another meeting, and of course, everyone felt pressure to go no matter how bad the weather was.
In a different congregation, a big snow storm was predicted for a Thursday evening, so the elders decided about 30 minutes before the meeting was to start that they would cancel. Of course, that wasn't enough time in advance, lots of people were already on the way to the KH, especially since it hadn't started snowing yet. So we all stood around the bone-dry parking lot looking at each other and wondering why the meeting had been cancelled. As it turned out, the storm veered out to sea and it never snowed at all that night.
remember this incredibly stupid sentence in the 2013 special talk (posted on this board in recent months)?:.
"despite nanotechnology, humans can neither create life nor restore it.".
well apparently, the english-to-spanish translator (who wrote the spanish version of the 2013 special talk outline) apparently realized that the use of the word "nanotechnology" in this outline was completely irrelevant and childish... so he simply substituted the word "nanotechnology" with the phrase "great scientific advancements".
So is there a word in Spanish for "nanotechnology"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uads9caywh4&list=uu5siqfsjttx7gijqfwo2aaa&index=15.
I remember hearing Mark Palo's story even before Rick Fearon came out of the JWs.
the announcement was something like "[name] got checked".well if he ain't got df'ed then what does this mean?is it based on the bible?where does this policy come from?how is the rest of the congregation supposed to behave to that person in a situation like this?what happened in the background anyway?is he checked for a period of time or what?any restrictions?.
if the matter is not public knowledge, they should likely not give a marking talk. In other words, the matter is supposed to be so widely known that they NEED to give a talk (no name necessary) to alert the congregation that they are dealing with that person.
Problem is that as often as not, it's the elders who are spreading it around the congregation. So even if it wasn't widely known, it will be after the elders get involved.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cities.jpg.
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It would be interesting to know what their criterion is for "Bible mindedness." The first city I looked for was Grand Rapids, because some of the bigger Bible publishers are headquartered there. I'd have expected it to at loeast be in the top 10. However, it came in at only #35. I wonder what makes Knoxville #1?
why do jw's accept contributions?
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So, the apostles and disciples tithed to Jesus, then?
If that's a response to what I wrote, it's a total non sequitur. I only mentioned tithing in relation to Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, since you asked how his "free" literature distribution was financed. I never said anything about the apostles and disciples tithing to anyone.
Jesus and the disciples, as faithful Jews under the Law, would have tithed to the temple as required. But from the sources I cited, it does appear that they received support (not tithes) from followers who had the means to assist. We need not conclude that Jesus miraculously made food every time they needed a meal. They apparently lived on donations. You seem to be implying that if God is not doing miracles to support a work, it should not exist. God provides, but he generally uses human means to do so.
you mean jesus could not predict that printing mags was cost $$$$
he could not predict that homes or halls cost $$$$$ to build, and cost $$$$$ to keep heated/maintained?
Again, this comment doesn't make sense if it's a response to what I wrote. The biblical precedent for the support of the Lord's work, including the ministry, is through voluntary donations. It's a theme that appears over and over again in the NT. Of course, Jesus would have known that ministry costs money to support, whatever from it takes. His own ministry had expenses - that's why they maintained a money box that Judas was able to steal from.
I'll reiterate - Terry's original citation of Matthew 10:8 was out of context and his implied application of it (as requiring that all funding for ministry had to be provided miraculously) was contrary to the context. Jesus told his disciples to "give free" with regard to miraculous works of the Spirit, not with things that they themselves had not "received free," i.e., the normal expenses of conducting a ministry, whether that be travel expenses, printing literature, maintaining places of worship, or support of those doing the ministry.
This doesn't simply apply to religious ministries, either. Many secular charities, and even organizations for the advancement of atheism, survive on donations. There's nothing wrong with the concept, and it works.
the announcement was something like "[name] got checked".well if he ain't got df'ed then what does this mean?is it based on the bible?where does this policy come from?how is the rest of the congregation supposed to behave to that person in a situation like this?what happened in the background anyway?is he checked for a period of time or what?any restrictions?.
Did one of the elders body-slam him into the literature counter?
why do jw's accept contributions?
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Herbert W. Armstrongs Magazine was mailed out FREE for many, many years (The Plain Truth).
How did he do it without charging?
Are we saying Jehovah wouldn't "provide" the means?
Armstrong's literature was paid for by the oppressive tithing system he imposed on his members, demanding as much as 30% of their income to be given to the church. The initial 10% was mandatory. It was submitted directly to headquarters, and one could be disfellowshipped for failing to tithe. The second tithe was for the purpose of attending their "festivals" (parallel to the Jewish holidays, but really more like JW conventions). Any part of the second tithe not spent in actually attending the festivals was to be donated to the church. And the third tithe was collected every three years for "widows and orphans," but subsequent research has shown that it mostly went to pay for Armstrong's opulent lifestyle.
For God to provide the means for any ministry doesn't mean he would drop cash from the sky. People giving donations to a ministry is a completely legitimate and biblical way for it to operate. Most churches operate on such a basis, as do many secular organizations as well. So what if the WTS also solicits donations for their literature? Even though it's printed by slave labor, there are still costs involved that need to be covered. There are a lot of good things to criticize them for, but I don't think this is one of them.
