doing some additonal research on the 1919 appointment.
they claim to be the only ones preaching at that time and i find it hard to believe that a few thousand russelites out weighed the global preaching work of christendom.
especially considering that what they were preaching from door to door at that time was false prophecy and now 95% abandoned.
There is always a way around logic with the Organization and it's followers.
How many were preaching doesn't matter.
What was being preached doesn't matter (at least not the biggest factor).
What does matter is that Jesus selected the organization because of heart condition, willingness to be as moist clay to be molded, willingness to feed the sheep and teach, willingness to make adjustments.
at page 63 of its book, reasoning from the scriptures, the watchtower society poses the question: how can we be sure the bible has not been changed?.
the reasoning book opens its response with a citation from a book written in 1929: the bible from the beginning by p. marion simms.. i have prepared a study that examines whether the reasoning from the scriptures book accurately presents the position presented by simms in his book.. http://www.jwstudies.com/we_can_be_sure.pdf.
does simm's book really say that we can be sure the bible has not been changed?.
Doug, thanks for your work and for sharing it with us.
clickable link
http://unstoppablethemovie.com/.
it airs live at liberty university tonight at 8 pm est and will be shown in theaters tonight and in oct, one day.
i hope to see this at one of those times or perhaps it will be available on line after that.
I went to a RUSH concert a couple of years ago, finally got that one off the bucket list.
I felt a lift in spirit after listening to them.
from paragraph 10. in keeping with jesus pattern of feeding many through the hands of a few.
...once or twice is a proven pattern that's relatable 2000 years later?
are they being serious.
Who writes these articles? What goes through their mind?
http://www.circuitvehicles.com/home/.
.
Advertised at the bottom of an official Watchtower letter recently posted by Atlantis
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/262421/1/2013-September8-and-September9-BOEs
The cars used by the traveling overseers are directly owned by the branch office. When these cars are replaced, the funds from the sale are used for the worldwide work. Any who ex-press interest in purchasing a used traveling overseer vehicle may contact the branch office by telephone at (718) 560-8412 or via the Web site www.circuitvehicles.com.
so, a couple of weekends ago, i, a non-jw, went to my non-jw cousin's house and lo and behold, two witnesses showed up.
amongst the many random topics, the mediatorship of jesus came up.
i stated, "...now, in your faith, jesus is not your mediator, correct?
For the majority of Witnesses, Jesus' mediatorship, like most anything the rank and file doesn't quite grasp, just nods and agrees after the explanation is given.
Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant
the new covenant is for a kingdom
the 144,000 are invited to be a part of that kingdom covenant and rule as kings and priests
Jesus is mediator to the 144,000, the anointed class
however, all mankind can benefit from this covenant
Jesus sacrificial death applies to all who exercise faith
the blessings will flow to mankind through this kingdom
.... when explained to a JW, even though they may think they believe Jesus is their mediator before the explanation, because they are already indoctrinated into the two tier anointed/little flock and the great crowd teaching, most will accept the explanation as making sense (at least this has been my experience)
it seems the finland branch has taken over the work from estonia, latvia and lithuania (see http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/offices/finland/).
I imagine it is a fiscally responsible move. The GB is the figurehead of a religious organization that is the front for a corporation which is mostly run by attorneys and bean counters.
Not that long ago, the term they would have used is that they are being "responsible with the master's belongings", but now that they say they haven't been appointed over his belongings yet, this explanation no longer applies.
if the wbts is just another business?
then what do the gb get out of all this?.
tim cook (ceo apple) makes around 378 million a year.. donald trump makes around 60 million a year.. i understand the wbts may have vast property holdings, stocks, bonds, and revenue from donations.. but i can't grasp the incentive for the gb to make this stuff up.
Consider what kind of income it would take to live like a GB member.
Consider the ego boost that every word you utter is viewed by millions around the world as if it were from God.
Consider the speaking engagements at conventions in resort areas around the world.
Consider the complex ... "administrative center" ... they are building for themselves in Warwick.
They are in want of nothing.
Why would they give it up?
Even if any did come to realize the religion is wrong, the extreme forces of cognitive dissonance probably keep their minds holding to the truth, they just have too much to lose.
if one meets privately with an elder and brings up some religious concerns havin to do with doctrine, does the person risk being disfellowshiped?
does attitude have anything to do with it?
or persistance?
I've met privately with elders, even two at one time, and brought up concerns. If you bring them up as questions or concerns and do not spread them to others in the congregation, which would be causing division, one would be okay. If you adamantly state that you do not believe what the organization teaches or start spreading your different views, you will be axed for apostasy.
i love this gem, it was taken off the jw.org website, it seems only material after 1990 is up now, but it's here, http://www.scribd.com/doc/5472988/the-time-for-true-submission-to-god .
page 6, "the need to search for the truth".
says this....and i couldn't agree with it more!
Thanks! I searched Watchtower Library and came up with this reference, Booklet titled "The Time for True Submission to God" from 1983
In another thread Atlantis provided a link to the pdf which is still active. http://www.sendspace.com/file/kc20bc
*** sm pp. 15-18 The Need to Search for the Truth ***
The Need to Search for the Truth
1 Actually, we need to know the truth about everything we have dealings with. A businessman wants to know the truth when he is settling accounts. He does not let sentiment or prejudice blind him, otherwise he is likely to lose money. When we get married, we want to know the truth about our future partner. If we allow ourselves to be deceived, we will likely be unhappy later on. Yes, if we do not know the truth about a matter, we invariably lose out in one way or another. This is also true with respect to religion. The problem is, many people for one reason or another are not inclined to discuss religious matters.
2 Here someone may say: ‘But I have a religion. I belong to the same religion my parents and my grandparents belonged to. How can that be wrong?’ Yes, at birth most of us received some religious faith as a heritage from our parents. Often, the name of that religion is put on our identity papers without our even being asked.
3 But do we deserve honor or credit for belonging to a religion that we received from our parents, if we have never done anything to check whether that religion is right or wrong? A man born in Italy would likely be born into a Catholic family, and he would grow up a Catholic. A man born in Burma would likely be of the Buddhist religion. If a man is born in a Muslim family, he will likely grow up as a Muslim.
4 Surely all of this means nothing as to his submitting himself to God. It is purely an accident. The man who truly surrenders himself to God is the one who carefully examines all aspects of the religion he was born into. If he finds it is true, he remains with it. But if he finds it is false, he sets out to find the true religion.
5 Some find it hard to reason on the subject of religion. They are strongly convinced theirs is the right religion and no more discussion is needed. In this, we may be a little like a fanatical supporter of a certain sports team. As you know, when a fanatical supporter watches his own team play another one, he supports his own, however badly it plays. If the opponents win, he may say that they cheated, or the referee was on their side, or something else happened. He thus ignores the good qualities of the other team, and all the bad qualities of his own.
6 However, to see the true facts in a sports engagement, you have to be impartial. And this is even more so in the case of religion. If our mind is captive to prejudice, we will never see the truth. Is it reasonable to say whether something is right or wrong before you have looked into it, or before you have even thought about it?
7 Yes, we may have received our religion from our parents, and we respect our parents. We owe them much, and many of the things they have given us are very good. But that does not mean we have to accept everything they say without thinking. Our parents are human, as we are. They make mistakes, as we do. In fact, many of the problems that we have to live with today are because of things that our parents’ generation did. They did not do them deliberately to make things hard for us. They just made mistakes, because of being human.
8 Hence, a wise man will examine the things he has received from his parents, including his religion. He will keep the good things and reject those things that are not good. This is essential if he is to find the truth about religion.
[Study Questions]
1. (a) Illustrate why it is to our advantage to know the truth about everything we have dealings with. (b) What problem often arises in discussions about religion?
2, 3. Is it any credit to a person to belong to a religion merely because he inherited it from his parents?
4. How can a man be sure he has truly submitted to God?
5, 6. Why should we be reasonable and open-minded when we discuss religion?
7, 8. How will a wise man view the things he received from his parents?
