I think the WT would find a way to spin their disfellowshipping doctrine to satisfy the courts, particularly for minors. The Norway situation is all about the government subsidies, and the fact that JW disfellowshipping as taught and practiced fails the government's criteria.
dropoffyourkeylee
JoinedPosts by dropoffyourkeylee
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46
What you think consequences gonna be for watchtower if they lose the court appeal in Norway?
by Hellothere inpersonally i think they gonna realise god's not backing org.
that idea gonna get even more established in their minds.
i think the real selling of kingdom hall gonna start then.
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The Next Big Thing In WT World
by NotFormer inthings got a bit lively after the agm leaks in october.
there was a lot of discussion going on on this board for a few months.
now that all the leaks have been more or less confirmed as policy, and we've had lively discussions at length concerning the changes, things seem to have slowed down here.. a few suggestions have been raised as to what might be the next changes, such as women being allowed to wear slacks (in the usa, anyway), decoupling from 1914 as an anchoring date and others.. so, what changes do you think will be announced this year?.
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dropoffyourkeylee
Expanding role of women
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Patterson New Visitor Centre & Museum Announced
by raymond frantz inhttps://www.jwupdates.com/post/new-patterson-visitor-center-and-first-century-museum.
january 1, 2024, marked the official opening of the patterson visitor center, located at the watchtower educational center in patterson, new york, u.s.a. the feature museum of the visitors’ center is entitled “first-century bible village.” brother isaiah miller, who works in the museum department at bethel, said: “the bible village was designed to provide everyone with a realistic and educational experience.
studies show that interactive learning has a powerful effect on people of all ages.” after her tour, one visitor exclaimed: “this museum made me feel like i had been transported back to the land of ancient israel.
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dropoffyourkeylee
As visitors tour a replica of an ancient synagogue
A JW can go to a replica of a synagogue, but can't go to a modern synagogue or church to attend a wedding.
LOL
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34
JW profit from disasters
by enoughisenough insome time back i questioned about jw making money from doing relief work for disasters.
i found this story on reddit and also noted some of the replies.
it makes me wonder how many would have left their own jobs and paid their way, giving free labor and some supplying free materials if they had know what was going on behind the scenes.
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dropoffyourkeylee
If my roof is storm damaged and the “ Brothers “ repair it for free , I have suffered no loss. I cannot claim on insurance. If the householder makes a claim based on commercial rates ... it is fraudulent.
I concur with DOC here. I do understand how the insurance market works, as I worked in insurance for nearly 20 years before retirement.
What the WT is doing is not fraud from an insurance perspective.
Homeowner has a covered loss. Homeowner files a claim on homeowner insurance. Insurance claims adjuster assess the value of the loss and
offers a dollar amount to the insured. The homeowner can get any contractor they want to do the work, they can even do it all themselves if they want to.
What the WT is doing is running what is essentially a construction company with volunteer labor, using free labor and donated or discounted materials. The WT collects the money as a 'donation'
What I find objectionable is that the messaging around it is misleading. They make it sound like the disaster relief work is part of their Christian life and duties. It isn't. It is a fundraising activity for the WT, nothing more.
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Conversation with old friend
by LongHairGal ini recently had a conversation with an old acquaintance from the congregation i used to attend.
we talked about the recent changes in the 2023 annual meeting.
i especially pointed out the one about getting rid of hourly reporting on monthly time slips.
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dropoffyourkeylee
The week after the 2nd broadcast from the '23 annual meeting, I was listening to some older (70's) JWs discuss the changes. The husband said 'as long as they don't change the doctrine, I'm OK with it', or something to that effect. I wanted to say, 'But isn't that what they have done, change the doctrine?'. It is remarkable what blinders these people have on.
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JW profit from disasters
by enoughisenough insome time back i questioned about jw making money from doing relief work for disasters.
i found this story on reddit and also noted some of the replies.
it makes me wonder how many would have left their own jobs and paid their way, giving free labor and some supplying free materials if they had know what was going on behind the scenes.
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dropoffyourkeylee
The WT Relief work as I understand it is this.
A disaster strikes for which the resident has insurance, be it a hurricane, wildfire, large hailstorm, or whatever.
In such cases, local contractors are overwhelmed, so it is not unusual for contractors (JW or non-JW) to move in temporarily for the work. There is usually a demand surge on materials as well, resulting in delays. JW's take in mostly donated materials, donating their time and expertise for the rebuilding/reconstruction work. They feel like they are doing good for the brotherhood and get that happified feeling. The JW homeowner is just happy to get the work done and get back into their home. Then when the homeowner JW gets the insurance check, they turn it over to the WT.
I don't think what they are doing is illegal or fraudulent, though it seems kind of underhanded to me.
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Is there “new light” on 1914?
by wallsofjericho ini’m hearing paraphrasing like “we just don’t know” .
is this regarding 1914?
or micheal the arch angel?.
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dropoffyourkeylee
But if they were going to point to 2034 in any significant way they are leaving it pretty late now
Curious phenomenon of apocalyptic date setting is that it tends to put the 'end' about 25-40 years in the future.
A few examples come to mind:
Jesus to apostles, not a stone left upon a stone, 33-70 = 37 years
William Miller, came to belief in 1818 that the end was coming in 1844 = 26 yrs
Charles Taze Russell, 1874 to end of 'Gentile Times' in 1914 = 40 years
Fred Franz, 1967 to a vague 'end of the 1914-generation of (abt 1994 or so) = 27 yrs
There's probably a human psychological reason for this, maybe because people can buy into something if it is later in their life and they can see themselves living that long. If the date selected is shorter than that (ie Rutherford's 1025) it just makes them look stupid. If it is longer than 40 years it isn't believable; seems so far off that no one can relate to it.
I'm being cynical, but if the WT wants to set a date, they'll have to spin something around 2050-2065.
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Charles Taze Russell & His Secret Mission To S. California That Killed Him
by West70 inthe last 5 months of charles taze russell's life was quite hectic, and according to reports in the watch tower magazine, russell's health was declining throughout.
in september, 1916, russell went on a convention train tour which lasted nearly the entire month.
this train tour included stops in several southern california locations around the 8th through the 12th.
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dropoffyourkeylee
fascinating letter, startingover.
Lots of businessmen carried a portable typewriter with them on the train for catching up on correspondence. Undoubtedly Macmillan wrote this while travelling.
He was well known across WV, Ohio, and Ky. I once knew a brother (now deceased of course) who had known Macmillan and had him stay at his house when he visited their area in the '40's and early '50s. I think Macmillan lived into the '60's.
It's curious how the railroad-era towns like Brandonburg WV and Crooksville Ohio which became nearly ghost towns once the railroad passenger traffic pulled out.
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Governing Body's failed doctrines blamed on Jehovah's gradual revealment
by RULES & REGULATIONS inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh9w8zmgli0.
( starts at the 21:00 minute mark ) governing body member jeffrey winder reveals the real reason for the failed doctrines throughout the watchtower's 150 year history.
he claims that the governing body are neither inspired or infallible.. the governing body do not need to apologize for getting doctrines wrong.. the governing body ''do their best with what they have and what they understand at the time.''.
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dropoffyourkeylee
My issue with the JW doctrines is not that some of it is wrong, but that if you disagree with anything, you are labelled apostate and shunned. It doesn't matter if you are right or wrong yourself; they shun you just because you don't follow the party line. It's ridiculous.
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2023 Yearly Report UNDER the Microscope
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/pi7sn2rnrke?si=lnvklqct6nuayv2q.
branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 85 (= down one from 86 from the previous year and quite possibly they are referring to the hong kong bethel that closed down recently).
number of lands reporting: 239 ( =the same as 2022).
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dropoffyourkeylee
The population growth rate compared to the JW growth rate is a useful comparison. Using population rates (last published for 2022);
world pop +0.8%
World jw +1.3%
US pop +0.6%
US jw -1%