"'Jehovah's Witnesses' means that body of Christians who recognise the spiritual authority of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses situated at 25 Columbia Heights Brooklyn New York, United States" - From section 9 ("Interpretation") of the 2000 (Amended) Articles of Association of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Britain.
If you got baptised at a WTS convention after the mid 1980s, you made a verbal commitment which was based on your understanding "that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-directed organization" You cannot legitimately be called a JW, according to the WTS, if you do not recognize the ecclesiastical power of the GB over your spiritual life.
Posts by JWB
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18JW ORG duplicity? : Baptismal question.
by Splash inon jw.org there's a section which asks the rhetorical question "are you christians?"..
( http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/are-jehovahs-witnesses-christians/ ).
it has a number of points to explain why jw's are christians, and the third point reads:.
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JWB
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The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses and the OSCE
by JWB inthe european association of jehovah's christian witnesses and the osce.
on 29 december 2000 a document originating from ibsa (international bible students association) house in london was signed by david carpenter.
the purpose of this document was to give notice of the first annual general meeting of the european association of jehovah's christian witnesses (teaojcw).
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JWB
OSCE is a Political Body with Connections to the United Nations, so what is WTS doing getting involved with it?
"Clearly, then, it is essential to look at the fruitage of a religion before concluding that it is acceptable to God. For instance, is the religion involved with politics? Then note these words, recorded at James 4:4: 'Whoever . . . wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.' Moreover, Jesus said of his true followers: 'They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.' (John 17:16) The religion that is good in God's eyes is not involved with the politics of this world, which 'is lying in the power of the wicked one,' the invisible spirit creature Satan the Devil. (1 John 5:19) Instead, the religion that God approves loyally advocates his Kingdom under Jesus Christ and declares the good news concerning that heavenly government.—Mark 13:10." - Watch. 15 September 1996, paragraph 8, page 6 ("Do All Religions Please God?")
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"TX Attorney-General warns OSCE election monitors":
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtBMFknPvso
It appears that the OSCE is even involved in politics outside of Europe.
Here is one view of the why and how of OSCE being involved in US election observation:
"What is the OSCE? - First, for the sake of context, the OSCE in an independent organization. While it does share a partnership agreement with the United Nations—given several core competencies that UN agencies sometimes call upon—the UN and OSCE are two separate and distinct entities. The OSCE does not report to the UN Secretary-General or General Assembly, and both its funding and its membership are entirely separate from that of the U.N. To give an example with which many Americans are familiar, this structure is similar to the kind of formal working relationship that the Red Cross has with the United Nations — also two separate and distinct entities. Second, OSCE members also observed U.S. elections in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, under the George W. Bush administration. In fact, OSCE member counties, including the United States, have committed since 1990 to hold free and democratic elections and to allow one another to observe their elections. As a founding member, the U.S. has taken part in dozens of observer missions over the years. In allowing observers into the country, the United States is preventing setting a precedent for other, less democratic states, to ban these monitors. Of course, neither the OSCE nor any UN agency has any jurisdiction over U.S. elections, nor do they presume to. Any notion that the UN is meddling in U.S. elections is patently false. Why will OSCE observers be present on Election Day? As in previous years, this limited election observation responds to an invitation from the U.S. Department of State." - www.betterworldcampaign.org/news-room/press-releases/election-day-observation.html -
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Are We the Only Life in this vast Galaxy?
by frankiespeakin in.
well i say the same condition for life evolving are relatively repeated over and over again in perhpas billions of solar systems with different combinations of chemical reactions producing all kind of self replicating molecules not just carbon based or dna based.
many stars having a much earlier formation and intelligent life much more before our earth was formed billions of years ago.. .
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JWB
This news article may be of interest to the posters here.
uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/us-space-newplanet-idUSBRE89G0H420121017
"Researchers say the new planet is too close to its sun to support known forms of life, with a surface temperature estimated at 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 Fahrenheit). But previous studies suggest that when one planet is discovered orbiting a sun, there are usually others in the same system."
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Dictators, What Happens To People Who Ask Too Many Questions, and Crocodile Tears
by JWB indictators, what happens to people who ask too many questions, and crocodile tears.
warning!
the following video clips from the film "team america" contain extremely strong language and vulgarity which may seriously offend some viewers.
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JWB
?
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Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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JWB
I might also add that the apparent non-participation of a person in the observable universe does not disprove that person's non-existence. All it proves is their apparent non-participation.
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Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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JWB
0 + 1 = 1
0 + 0 = 0
Zero has no potential generative power. It requires the existence of non-zero for it to 'become' anything other than zero.
That's why when you hear any supposed theory explaining how something came from nothing the 'nothing' is actually a very small 'something'.---
When speaking of 'God', I think of some eternal entity, something that 'wraps around itself'. There are those who believe that 'God' is simply some kind of eternal consciousness rather than a particular person who is set apart in one location. Of course one cannot argue against the existence of 'God' based on morality. We know people exist who are extremely evil but their lack of morality is not a condition of their existence.
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Dictators, What Happens To People Who Ask Too Many Questions, and Crocodile Tears
by JWB indictators, what happens to people who ask too many questions, and crocodile tears.
warning!
the following video clips from the film "team america" contain extremely strong language and vulgarity which may seriously offend some viewers.
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JWB
DICTATORS, WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE WHO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS, AND CROCODILE TEARS
Warning! The following video clips from the film "Team America" contain extremely strong language and vulgarity which may seriously offend some viewers. If you feel you might be offended please do not watch. However, if you feel you can get past any offense that might be caused, I think you will not only be entertained but find some very interesting messages hidden within.
Whether or not the film makers intended it to be significant, I find it rather apt that the story is told in a world where everyone is a puppet (manipulation by hidden hands?).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPSvIz9NDs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEaKX9YYHiQ -
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Jesus' parousia started in 1975, Governing Body selected as Faithful and Discreet Slave and Evil Slave dealt with by 1980, and Armageddon arrives in 2015?
by JWB injesus' parousia started in 1975, governing body selected as faithful and discreet slave and evil slave dealt with by 1980, armageddon arrives in 2015?.
it seems to me that some new light needs to be generated if the governing body (gb) of jws is to be considered as the faithful and discreet slave (fds).. .
(a) gb needs to be around as an entity when selected by jesus during his parousia.
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JWB
Thanks Botzwana! I had a sneaking suspicion about that. Since we can't see posters' facial expressions and hear their voice intonations its not always easy to detect when someone is being serious or joking. RubaDub, sorry for the misunderstanding.
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Long time Lurker, ready to join in...
by Blackbird Singing inhi all, i'm a long time lurker, ready to join in and add my two cents worth now and then!
i was in the religion for 25 years, out now for 8, along with my husband, daughter, and son!
i would have to say pretty much the whole time i was in i didnt want to be, pretty much "dreaded" all aspects of it, meetings, service, assemblies, and talks, i hated talks, man o man would i be grouchy the whole week i had a scheduled talk.. we didnt have much family in, but lots of friends and many jw employees, pretty much lost all that, down to just one jw employee left(thats a good thing).
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JWB
Welcome to the board Blackbird Singing!
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697
Why aren't you an Atheist?
by Bloody Hotdogs! inlong time lurker, first time poster.. .
i'm an ms (accounts servant) in a large congregation in canada.
over the last several years i've faught a hard-won battle to rid my mind of all religous and supernatural beleifs.
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JWB
Maybe because I don't want to join another popular belief system and want to have the humility to acknowledge that the more I know the more I don't know. I like Outlaw's outlook and Slimboyfat's statement. I try not to worry about what may or may not be. One thing I do hate though is dogmatism and any claims to absolute truth. Whether you believe or not, the fact is that you are here, so what are you going to do with your life? Waste it arguing over the existence or not of 'God' or over the 'proper' understanding of the Bible or some other religious book? Do you get your sense of self-worth and identity from belonging to this group or that? At the end of the day its up to you to think for yourself and decide for yourself. I won't allow myself to be bullied into accepting some group's particular brand of 'logic' by those who try to win arguments by calling into question my sanity or appeal to 'authority' or the supposed number who accept a particular view as true. I decided long ago that I wouldn't leave my independent thinking lying on the road leading away from the organization!