Posts by vienne

30

Internal Watchtower Statistics Re: Disfellowshipping and Shunning

by NotFormer in

does the wt have a person/department/section tasked with compiling data and analysing it statistically.

or have they started doing something like that now that they are hiring external consultancies?.

i ask the question because i'm wondering if such studies and statistical analysis would show any link between the harshness of the disfellowshipping policy as it is applied and the dropout rate of people within the organisation who have just had enough.. in previous threads it has been pointed out that the old approach isn't effective any more.

vienne

Other than speculation, I've seen no evidence that the WT hires outside consultants.

3

I Wrote a Young Adult Novel About Being a Witness...Looking for beta-readers

by pr0ner in

jw
friends

hey everyone, i posted this over on reddit as well, but recently i wrote a young adult novel about the pressures of growing up as a wtiness.

i am looking for some volunteers who would be interested in reading it and giving me feedback.

the novel is a little over 75,000 words and would be around 200- 250 pages in book form if i were to guess roughly.

vienne

there are several critique forums. most are free.

128

Why Do JW's Believe that Hell is Symbolic When the Disciples of the Apostles believed it Was Literal ?

by Sea Breeze in

looks like the early christians believed jesus when he warned about hell over 40 times.

why don't the jw's do the same?.

from “the epistle of barnabas” (70-130ad).

vienne

Witnesses, Adventists, Age to Come/Restitution Believers, do not believe hell is symbolic. They all believe it is literal. They believe it is the grave; the word Sheol (שְׁאוֹל‎) encompasses the grave, especially of all the dead, a place of unconsciousness. This is within the scholarly definition of the word. Those who believe in a fiery punishment try to extend the definition to a place of consciousness. This is contrary to Biblical usage which has it the abode of all dead, righteous and unrighteous.

The New Testament uses Hades as an equivalent to Sheol. It suggests in Acts 2:26-36 that resurrection to life is out of the grave, not from a fiery hell or from heaven. This is also the thought of John 5:25-30 which has the dead, righteous and unrighteous come out of their graves.

8

Albert Delmont Jones

by vienne in

jones was a principal investor in the knickerbocker bank of new york city.

there was an earlier and defunct bank of the same name.

the bank issued its own currency, a common practice at the time.

vienne

Jones was a principal investor in the Knickerbocker Bank of New York City. There was an earlier and defunct bank of the same name. The bank issued its own currency, a common practice at the time. Uncle B is seeking a clear image of one of the bills. He posted a blurry image on his history site. Can you find a better once?

see:

https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-d-jones-and-knickerbocker-bank.html

11

Barbara Anderson's important interview with Aussie activist Steven Unthank on Six Screens Mar. 2nd

by AndersonsInfo in

.

vienne

Mr. Fearon seems a bit 'off' to me. But I'll listen to Barbara any day.

23

How will history treat Judge Rutherford?

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes:.

how will history treat joseph rutherford?.

like ben gorden has said, it would depend on who’s looking back.

vienne

The transcripts from the Russell divorce and his suit against the Brooklyn Eagle show that Russell's books circulated at a loss. Rutherford's books? I do not know.

23

How will history treat Judge Rutherford?

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes:.

how will history treat joseph rutherford?.

like ben gorden has said, it would depend on who’s looking back.

vienne

I do not find enough solid proof that Rutherford was an alcoholic. I'm still looking. However, I see him as a true believer who saw himself a semi-inspired writer of Watch Tower articles, especially the prophetic drama type. People like that do not take criticism.

Look how long it's taken the Watch Tower to abandon that nonsense. He cast a very long shadow, extended by Franz who held similar opinions of himself. It surprises me that Franz is a modern-day Watchtower saint when he was responsible for the 1975 fiasco. If an elder had done what Franz did, he's been disfellowshipped instantly.

56

Old Greek Daniel's Son of Man

by peacefulpete in

again this is large topic, some of which has been discussed elsewhere on this site.

the basic question i want to discuss is the identification of the 'someone like a son of man" in daniel 7. as we all know christians understood the figure to be the messiah (christ), so the question posed is did the author intend it to be a singular personage or a collective symbol of the holy of israel as jews typically read it?

or how about the unexpected idea that the "someone like a son of man" was the very same character as the "ancient of days" in another role?.

vienne

Interesting. But J. Lust's conclusion seem to have little to no textual support. It is more wishful thinking than fact based.

35

Visited the Russell gravesite yesterday

by dropoffyourkeylee in

wife and i visited the russell gravesite in allegheny (pittsburgh) pennsylvania yesterday.

i’ll post photos if i can get them to upload on the hotel wifi..