Re Biahi's comment: When I was first studying with Witnesses I often compared the NWT with The Living Bible and I do remember that footnote, which now suddrenly calls this question to my mind, If the dead were concious, when resurrections took place, where was the person 'called back' from? I think except for 2 instances the person had just died. Lazurus had been dead several days. Watchtower reasoning is, when he was alive again he did not mention being in another realm, but the Bible doesn't record Anything Lazurus said. Re: one of Vanderhoven7's comments, they of course use whichever interperetation suits the immediate purpose, at times the Spirit is God's (impersonal ) Active Force, but Witnesses often do speak of grieving the Holy Spirit by their wrong conduct but in this case it is made personal "Jehovah's Spirit" , so as to be offending God himself. I think this is often used as a point of counsel by elders. A couple we know had difficulty adjusting to marriage for a time, not communicating, sitting apart at meetings. Happily they later reconciled and the sister confided to us after talking with the elders that she "hadn't realized she was grieving Jehovah's Spirit"..
HereIam60
JoinedPosts by HereIam60
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Examples of Watchtower flawed interpretation of Bible passages?
by Vanderhoven7 inasking jehovah’s witnesses to interpret specific passages is a great way to demonstrate their interpretive abuse.
got any clear examples?.
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Flee to the Mountains......What Mountains?
by liam inmay 2025 study article 21 seek the city that will remain.
what i remember was, when you see the romans, flee to the mountains.
now the wt is saying that's not enough.
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HereIam60
In past decades wasn’t WT teaching that the “modern fulfillment” of this fleeing to the mountains was Fleeing ,to, taking refuge in God’s Kingdom - the Mountain of Jehovah (Micah 4 :1,2)..?
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Don't you just love LITERATURE truths?
by BoogerMan inas jw's we swallowed such concoctions for years - without a single scripture provided as proof!.
w71 12/15 p. 759 - "apparently, the apostle peter was the chairman of the governing body on the festival day of pentecost of 33 c.e., and the disciple james, the half brother of jesus christ, was the chairman at a later date, according to the account in acts of apostles.
from this, and from what historical evidence there is available, the chairmanship of the governing body rotated.".
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HereIam60
I never read that particular WatchTower quote before… but my immediate reaction… I thought the Christian Congregation did not ‘officially’ come into being until Holy Spirit was poured out on Christ’s disciples at Pentecost 33 CE….How could it even have had an existing functioning Governing Body?
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1 Thessalonians 5:3....Prophecy ?
by HereIam60 ini've always had difficulty understanding how watch tower interprets 1 thessalonians 5:3 as prophetic of a future event - that the nations will unite in a (false) cry that they have achieved 'peace and security' which will signal the start of the great tribulation.
whenever i've read that passage i got the sense that it is simply stating a general principle... that when people are complacent and off-guard, thinking everything is o.k., peaceful and secure then sudden unexpected events hit them harder and they don't know what to do.
when i was first coming in (1980s) i well recall the "true peace and security" book that made a big deal about the un having declared 1986 'the international year of peace'.
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HereIam60
I've always had difficulty understanding how Watch Tower interprets 1 Thessalonians 5:3 as prophetic of a future event - that the nations will unite in a (false) cry that they have achieved 'peace and security' which will signal the start of the Great Tribulation. Whenever I've read that passage I got the sense that it is simply stating a general principle... that when people are complacent and off-guard, thinking everything is o.k., peaceful and secure then sudden unexpected events hit them harder and they don't know what to do. When I was first coming in (1980s) I well recall the "True Peace and Security" book that made a big deal about the UN having declared 1986 'The International Year of Peace'. I'm sure it was heavily implied that that might be the fufillment of the "cry", but when I mentioned this years later to a brother he shut me down saying No they never said that.. Of course at the moment (or ever ?) it does not seem like the nations will unite in anything...
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JWs in the news: "Must the Norwegian state protect the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses?" CNE news.
by Balaamsass2 inmust the norwegian state protect the children of jehovah’s witnesses?.
21-02-2025. northern europe.
evert van vlastuin, cne.news.
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HereIam60
An interesting article. Question...during the court proceedings were the recent so-called changes to the disfellowshipping/removal policy brought up or discussed?
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The Pella Deception: Watchtower May 2025
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/4otnshkqdbi?si=5ilzez_lxqscp1ww.
so, in the latest may 2025 study watchtower, the writers of this magazine, they have another go at revising church history for their own ends.
they take a well-documented historical event—the flight of christians from jerusalem before its destruction in 70 ad - and twisting it into a convenient narrative to reinforce blind obedience to organizational leadership.
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HereIam60
It may be entirely coincidental, as Watchtower articles are often prepared long in advance, but on December 25, 2024 a poster on the e-jehovahs-witnesses.com website, in the Bible Questions forum began a thread on 'The Flight to Pella" in which they cited the same passage by Eusebius that was used in the recently published study Watchtower. There may be no connection whatever, but in the past couple years I've more and more been getting the feeling that Watchtower writers are looking at 'outside' religious literature for direction..
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Her Handbag Told Her to Stop Preaching
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/qzpj3kzgidi?si=x1xazpqmed1zq5h2.
ah, yes, another shining example of the watchtower’s *unmatched* commitment to rational thought.
forget logic, science, or even basic common sense—just blame that suspiciously cursed handbag for all your troubles!
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HereIam60
Once, when talk of that type started, a (wise) elder shut it down by saying "Funny how people never think the money in their wallet is demonized and they don't know where that has been ..."
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Flee to the Mountains......What Mountains?
by liam inmay 2025 study article 21 seek the city that will remain.
what i remember was, when you see the romans, flee to the mountains.
now the wt is saying that's not enough.
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HereIam60
Since there was no Biblical support for this "further instructions revealed to, and by qualified men" stuff. They've resorted to partially quoting 'Church Father' Eusebius. If you look up past mentions of Eusebius in Watchtower publications, you find he was described as someone who did not stand firm in his faith and compromised with Constantine the great. Also they've only used a portion of his writing that seems to confirm their own idea. As said by someone else, no scholars among them, and the "leaders" no longer even seem spiritually minded.
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When JW's say they are 'In the truth'...
by Ron.W. inwhere did this phrase 'in the truth' come from?.
it's been around as long as i can remember.
is it from the time they were promoting 'the truth shall make you free' book back in 1943?
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HereIam60
"The Way" would certainly be a scripturally correct term, but possibly they've avoided using it because there is a similar (though not so old) group known as 'The Way International'..
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Did you have a written schedule?
by karter inthe wts encouraged us to have one, i alway found it funny when people would desplay it where everyone could see it to show how busy they are in the lords work.. karter..
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HereIam60
No, I was never good at setting goals or making schedules. Always seemed, and seems , as soon as I plan something, something unexpected comes up and I have to change it. An elder I admired once made out a schedule for me. As he suggested how I should arrange my time I tolerated it but wanted to say "This could only work if I were some kind of mechanical clockwork wind up machine.Instead, I have feelings, moods, family needing my material and emotional support, and physical limits." This brother seemed able to do it all. In addition to being an elder, he sometimes pioneered and had an executive position at a large company. I figured he just didn't worry about being tired and did it all by prayer and willlpower, so I attempted to follow his example and pushed myself to keep going and do everything, until one night, as I was preparing to leave for my night job, I had an emotional crash and found myself screaming so loud that neighbors called the police, who came to our door to see what was wrong. I was embarrassed and assured them I wasn't going to hurt myself or anyone else. After that I decided I had to use my time, my way with sufficient rest and recreation to keep myself mentally stable. I think now, that elder was able to do it because all he did was his stuff while his wife shouldered the burden of everything else in their lives...