Posts by UnshackleTheChains

38

Latest Study Watchtower - JW's NEED to confess to elders

by The Fall Guy in

watchtower november 2017, page 10, paragraph 8 - "today, a christian guilty of serious sin needs to seek the help of congregation elders to recover.

) why is this so important?

first, the arrangement for elders to handle cases of serious sin comes from jehovah, (2nd lie!

UnshackleTheChains

I was an elder a long time, and we did very well not talking out of turn.

True it's not foolproof, and some people like to show they are big shots about what they know.

I think what happens more often is that people put 2 and 2 together and think someone f#cked around. And that's true 90% of the time.

Don't get me wrong - JWs are the BIGGEST Gossip Whores you will ever find.

I have experience that to a large degree after fading

Hey ttdtt

Thanks for your comment. There is a lot of truth in what you say. I don't doubt the sincerity of many elders as confidentiality is a must. However. Having experienced the star chamber myself, I can only say that my experience felt like an interrogation. I also felt that it was very intrusive. The questions asked of me were unbelievable. Having been through a JD in the past has been really off putting. Matters should be kept private. No one else's business. Announcing that someone has been reproved before the whole congregation for a one off sin is disgusting and wrong. It flies in the face of scripture. The GB have their policies upside down. They need to read their bibles and get it right.

332

The most successful teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses and an amazing new book on the divine name

by slimboyfat in

jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.

but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .

i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.

UnshackleTheChains

I remember jotting down how many times the name Jehovah was used during a talk given at an assembly. Jehovah was mentioned about 80 times. Jesus was mentioned once.

38

Latest Study Watchtower - JW's NEED to confess to elders

by The Fall Guy in

watchtower november 2017, page 10, paragraph 8 - "today, a christian guilty of serious sin needs to seek the help of congregation elders to recover.

) why is this so important?

first, the arrangement for elders to handle cases of serious sin comes from jehovah, (2nd lie!

UnshackleTheChains

Yep. You've committed a one off serious sin. Let's say you are a young man on a night out. Youve had a bit too much to drink. You end up having a one night stand. You are deeply remorseful for your error. Totally cut up about it. You go to the elders to confess. What happens? Well that's a big gamble for you. Depending on the whims of your body of elders. They will either

1. Reprove you privately.

2. Reprove you publicly

3. Depending on the circumstances and your past sins taken into account, in a worse case scenario, you get disfellowshipped.

Great system. No wonder people are afraid/ reluctant to go to the elders!

34

cleveland ohio RC notes

by nowwhat? in

peak attendance 7100. baptised 38 mixed bag of old and young.

youngest age 10. saw no brothers with beards.

better than average .50% growth.

UnshackleTheChains

In relation to beards, it just shows how Watchtowers most recent study article on dress and grooming is having an impact. It's just so borderline. Yes it's fine to have a beard etc....BUT...

Now brothers worldwide are pushing the boundaries as to what is and what is not acceptable in JW land and has everyone talking about.....like yeah...what the hell was all the fuss about!!! Welcome to reality Watchtower.

14

When exactly did Jesus become king? The Insight Book tells us.

by The Fall Guy in

it-2 pp.

61-62 jesus christ - "they [1st century christians] recognized him as their lord........because of his kingly position and authority.

it was in the full regal as well as priestly authority represented by jesus’ name that his followers preached.....to the “name” of this divinely commissioned king, the lord jesus christ.

UnshackleTheChains

Man I just love this organisation. They just won't let go of dates, will they?

34

cleveland ohio RC notes

by nowwhat? in

peak attendance 7100. baptised 38 mixed bag of old and young.

youngest age 10. saw no brothers with beards.

better than average .50% growth.

UnshackleTheChains

That is the same with the Italian assemblies. Many men (and women) with beards

Wow rubadub. The women there letting it go. There wasn't even one sister sporting a Tom Berenger/Burt Reynolds tache this year

332

The most successful teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses and an amazing new book on the divine name

by slimboyfat in

jehovah's witnesses have had to revise their chronology and various doctrinal interpretations due to events and scholarly corrections.

but the one teaching where they have been consistently ahead of the curve is the importance of jehovah's name.. .

i'm going to run through a (necessarily selective) timeline of jw events and scholarly publications that demonstrate the phenomenal success of this teaching in the last days.

UnshackleTheChains

I think the video below explains things in a nut shell. It's interesting that Jesus in his sermon on the mount encouraged us to pray to YHWH by the introduction 'Our Father'. And rightly so. It is much more intimate and respectful. Eg what do we call our own parents. Do we say their actual name or call them dad/mom/mum etc out of respect for them.

It is great that we can try to pronounce God's actual name when making reference to him. Various religious groups may prefer to use Yahweh, others Jehovah etc. The point is he is our Father and we are his children. I personally rarely use the name Jehovah when praying to him anymore I always prefer saying 'Father' as Jesus did when praying.

https://youtu.be/40OO5AVPuvM

34

cleveland ohio RC notes

by nowwhat? in

peak attendance 7100. baptised 38 mixed bag of old and young.

youngest age 10. saw no brothers with beards.

better than average .50% growth.

UnshackleTheChains

Saw no brothers with beards

Wow. It looks like Scotland is leading the way. Everywhere you looked around at our convention, there was someone wearing a beard (men of course 😂)

11

Speaking of the 144,000...................

by The Fall Guy in

...........why would an all-powerful christ, whom the bible describes as having been given "all authority", need 144,000 other king/priests as "helpers" to run his universal organization?

(matthew 28:18) .

1 corinthians 15:25 - "for he [not 144,000] must rule as king until god has put all enemies under his feet.".

UnshackleTheChains

why would an all-powerful Christ, whom the Bible describes as having been given "all authority", need 144,000 other king/priests as "helpers" to run his universal organization

If you read all old testament prophecies about the coming Messiah; and then read all new testament prophecies about Messiahs (Christ -in Greek) 2nd coming, it makes perfect sense for Jesus to appoint rulers/governors over the earth - effectively his administration. How can you do this sitting on the clouds far away invisibly. Rev 5:10 is perfectly correct in saying the chosen ones will rule on or upon the earth.

The whole idea about the 2 class system - ie small flock going up to heaven and a great Crowd staying here on earth has created so much confusion.

That's why the number of memorial partakers is turning into a farce. All Christians were to partake in remembrance of Jesus sacrifice untill the end.

18

honesty

by midnight in

regarding the recent 1975 video at the convention it hit me !.

when reasoning with people about the inspiration of the bible we used the bible writers candor ie/ there honesty when recording bible accounts about there personal mistakes .. how come the governing body despite its claims to be spirit directed are not honest about there mistakes ?.

UnshackleTheChains

They could have been honest at this year's convention like saying

'Dear brothers, we as an organisation have decided to make some important adjustments.

admittedly, we got the year 1975 wrong. We printed this idea through a our literature which in turn built up false hopes. We on behalf of the GB wish to apologise for this error.

Also just to set the record straight our understanding is that Jerusalem was actually destroyed in 587bce. But this doesn't change God's timing about the end of the 'age'.

What's more, we would like to suggest that our teaching on blood, and the celebration of birthdays is now up to an individuals conscience and no one should judge his brother over their choices in such matters.

If an individual chooses to leave the organisation freely. So be it. As a change in our policy individuals making such a decision should not be shunned. But out of Christian love, the door is always open to welcome such ones back.

We have also made a thorough review of all our policies and would like to announce that are policies are available to read on our website JW.org. We also welcome any constructive feedback.

We hope these changes reflect a Christ like spirit of love brothers. We thank our God Jehovah and our Lord Jesus Christ for helping us in bringing about these momentous changes.