The Searcher

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Posts by The Searcher

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  2

  Russia's Supreme Court is due to resume considering ban on Jehovah's Witness activity on 12 April

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  russia's supreme court is due to resume considering a total ban on jehovah's witness activity on 12 april.

  already police in several towns have disrupted their worship.

  they have reported intimidation, harassment, and the disruption of worship by law enforcement agents in several towns as a result of the justice ministry's 15 march order summarily suspending most of their activities.

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  The Searcher

  Sadly, many r & f J.W.'s will almost certainly suffer, while the "faithful slave" capitalises on the persecution.

  Hopefully such circumstances impels countless Russian J.W.'s to do research on the internet.
  
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  30

  I'm 90% PIMO but events in Russia made me stop and think maybe Jehovah is real and helping

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm at the stage where i'd love a big scandal to come along showing clearly that the j.w's are not the true religion, but sometimes i get touched inside by various thoughts or events, the russian court trial being one of them.. i mean, j.w's are understandably fixated with attending the memorial, so why didn't the court say it will resume on monday or tuesday, instead setting wednesday 12 april as the date?

  part of me believes the comments from pro-j.w's that jehovah moved events so they could attend the memorial.. it seems the j.w's will not be banned, which makes my mind and heart wrestle between thinking jah's behind it, or maybe the ministry of justice is just woefully prepared compared to the superb australian royal commission team who did their homework.

  it surprises me the russians seemingly haven't done any homework..

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  The Searcher

  Whenever circumstances/events go against a J.W. or the org - "it's Satan's system!"

  Whenever circumstances/events favour or benefit a J.W. or the org - "it's a blessing from Jehovah!"
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  What criteria does Russia use to label a religion as extremist?

  by sparky1 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  check this out on the russian ministry of justice webpage.

  the governing body is going to have to do some fancy footwork to get around this criteria:.

  http://minjust.ru/deyatelnost-v-sfere-nekommercheskih-organizaci/missionerskaya-.

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  The Searcher

  From the BBC World News: "The authorities object to pamphlets deemed to incite hatred against other religious groups, mainly for proclaiming Jehovah's Witnesses as followers of the only "true" faith. One quotes the novelist Leo Tolstoy, describing the doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church as superstition and sorcery,..."

  The governing body - sitting safely back in their new retirement home in Warwick, U.S.A. - certainly know how to make friends & influence people for the Russian J.W.'s!

  What next? A tract for Malaysian J.W.'s which describes Islam as demonic? The "evil slave" is alive & kicking!
  
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  RUSSIA: (5 April 2017) Jehovah's Witnesses hearing under way

  by jwleaks in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the trial has begun.

  the crowd on the street (see photo) is now inside and the gallery is packed.. yesterday jehovah's witnesses presented a written legal argument - "objections to the administrative claim of the ministry of justice of the russian federation" - to the supreme court of russia which, in paragraph 254, argued that if the ministry for justice liquidates and bans the activities of jehovah's witnesses then this will force individual members to renounce or abandon their religion for fear of persecution.. download legal argument (russian).

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  The Searcher

  The suit on the extreme left is none other than Paul Gillies, a prominent Britain Branch Committee member - as well as being a leading light in the European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses. He is almost certainly in Russia as a representative of the the latter - the E.A.J.C.W.

  In this position, he attended/attends seminars of the O.S.C.E. - Europe's subsidiary of the U.N. - aka the wild beast in J.W. circles.
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  58

  Just a quick Poll...Do you think the GB is sincere?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about this the past few days and curious what the honest consensus is here just for fun.. show of hands,.

  is the governing body.... a: completely sincere.

  they really do believe what they teach.. b: somewhat sincere.

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  The Searcher

  I don't think the G.B. members are any different from the average congregation publishers - some of them are convinced they have the "truth", while some are seriously troubled by various unscriptural decisions and doctrines imposed by the real puppet-masters - as well as the ominous direction their beloved org is taking.

  The latter will simply misquote the apostle Peter's words, "Where else can we go?"
  
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  34

  Have You Found Your Place in the World?

  by Rainbow_Troll in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we were all told when we were in the watchtower that we should be grateful to be part of such a loving family.

  we were told that just beyond the superficial glamour of the world was a quagmire of despair, emptiness and pain waiting to suck us in.

  obviously, we took that part with a mountain of salt or we wouldn't be here today.

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  The Searcher

  Rainbow - "Birds of a feather..............."

  You are caring and have standards and principles. There must be some groups/organizations in your area which attract people with such qualities and ideals. Test the waters and see what you find.

  The "worldwide brotherhood" has all the weaknesses and faults you'll find in "the world", so use your experience to help you choose your new associates. All the best.
  
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  WTBTS & Catholics Singing the Same Song

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this bbc news report - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39475959 - reveals that the catholic church and the wtbts have very similar attitudes when it comes down to "protecting children" from paedophiles.

  "an australian child abuse survivor has called on the catholic church to reform its laws on confession to ensure crimes are reported to police.

  peter gogarty said perpetrators knew anything disclosed in confession would not be revealed to authorities.

• 

  The Searcher

  This BBC News report - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39475959 - reveals that the Catholic church and the WTBTS have very similar attitudes when it comes down to "protecting children" from paedophiles.
  

  "An Australian child abuse survivor has called on the Catholic Church to reform its laws on confession to ensure crimes are reported to police. Peter Gogarty said perpetrators knew anything disclosed in confession would not be revealed to authorities. He told the BBC it was effectively a "get-out-of-jail-free card".

  It follows the final public hearings in an Australian inquiry, which has heard evidence of abusers confessing knowing their actions would not be divulged. The issue of mandatory reporting has split Australia's Catholic Church, with archbishops differing on whether information given by a child victim during confession should be relayed to police.

  "What they are doing is saying we are more prepared to protect an offender than we are to take care of this child," said Mr Gogarty, who was 12 when he was abused by a priest in New South Wales. "If the royal commission [inquiry] has shown us one thing, it is that a paedophile does not stop until they die or are physically incapable of molesting any more."

  Criticism of response

  The inquiry, established in 2013, gathered evidence from 4,440 people who said they were victims of abuse at Catholic institutions in Australia. Mr Gogarty said the church had been slow to respond to the claims. "The church in Australia has treated this like a nasty public relations disaster," he told the BBC. "I don't think they understand the depth of the disaster they have created and the work they need to do to fix it."

  Francis Sullivan, head of the church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council, said the institution had recognised its "shameful" role in enabling and covering up abuse in the past. He admitted that evidence at the inquiry had "corroded the credibility of the church", and said it had already paid hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to victims.

  Confession 'sacrosanct'

  However, Mr Sullivan said confession should not be altered to make priests [elders] report abuse to the police. "I think it would be a tragedy if the privileged communication in the confessional is abolished," he said. "The Catholic Church says that when it involves the seal of confession then that information is sacrosanct - that the priest is bound by that." Mr Sullivan said he favoured a system where a perpetrator confessing abuse was advised to report the crime themselves.

  "I think its incumbent on the priest to say to the person - if you are sincere about this, if you want to absolved - then going to the authorities is part of the exercise," he said.

  Mandatory reporting of abuse has been one of the key issues under consideration by the royal commission, which has heard allegations of abuse at more than 4,000 public organisations in Australia. The commissioners are due to submit their final report and recommendations in December."

  Perhaps it's time for Catholics - as well as J.W.'s - to read Jesus' words at Matthew 18:15 - 17 in order to prove to themselves that confessing serious sins to your fellow man is scripturally false and therefore does not and cannot absolve the sinner of anything.

  For J.W.'s who are likely to quote James 5:16 - ".....openly confess your sins to one another....."

  
  

  "Openly" - not in an elders' room or a confessional booth - and to fellow Christians, not elders!

  The translation of the Greek can read thus: "acknowledge openly your deviation from truth and uprightness, misdeeds." [imperfections or faults, not serious sins]

  Can any active J.W. publisher remember the last time an elder confessed to them?
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  26

  UK number plate

  by stan livedeath in

  1. social
  2. humour

  here in the uk--private--or personal- car registration plates are popular.. heres one i photo'd tonight.. .

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  The Searcher

  I realised yesterday that someone in the UK is driving about with the number plate M1 AOW. That plate will be worth a few thou$ands!

  The licencing authorities refuse to release number plates which could/would be offensive, such as PEN 1S, but a canny Scotsman eluded them by ordering PI55 AFF. (AFF is a colloquialism for "off" in parts of Scotland, so you can see what the number plate would mean to many when the 55 looks like SS)
  
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  The carts or trolleys are going to be around for a long time yet

  by pepperheart in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i say that because it works for both the people doing field service and the watchtower.

  for the people its easier standing than having to walk and you can have a chat with other jws as well.

  for the watchtower they tell the drones that the general public must make the first move(to stop the general public complaining about being pestered) but in doing so it means that they are not giving many magazines etc away but that suits the watchtower because magazines and even single page trats cost money and that seems to be one thing that the watchtower dont have .

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  The Searcher

  joe134cd - "it has made the R&F carter's more susceptible to being targeted."

  It certainly worked for me. When I asked an elder at a trolley if the Catholic confessional was right or wrong, he said it was wrong, and explained how men could not forgive sins.

  I then turned to his younger M.S. companion and said that if he got caught committing a serious sin, he would have to confess his sin to the elders, and face disciplinary action via a Judicial Committee. These three men would decide whether to extend forgiveness - only if he "showed sufficient repentance!" If the Catholic church's practice of voluntarily confessing to one priest is unscriptural, why are J.W.'s compelled to confess their serious sins to three elders?

  The elder mumbled something about it being "an organizational provision to keep the congregation clean." (nothing to do with the Bible then?)

  The look on the M.S.'s face was priceless! Long may the trollies continue.

  
  
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  "It is BECAUSE I value Truth and Honesty that I have chosen to no longer attend"

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yes, i used that line when questioned by someone as to why we no longer attend.. it needs to be used calmly and without any arrogance.

  then this direct, yet simple comment can't help but make the person think!.

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  The Searcher

  I'm prepared to say to any potential inquisitors, "My conscience dictates that I accept

  Bible truth over literature truth."

  If any J.W. wants to assert that they are one and the same, I'll be very willing to discuss the matter with them.