i have a bit of a dilemma that i would welcome advice on from the forum.. a brother in my congregation is giving evidence of having woken up - his comments and talks are usually slanted towards topics discussed here.
he is a former elder and is part of a group of other former elders and ministerial servants who i regularly overhear using terms i would expect to hear from ones knowing ttat.
he is a quite an effective teacher and will probably influence some.. however, in the past he has caused lots of problems for myself and others who i like (including another poster to this site who i have identified) and continues to be someone who i dislike intensely on a personal level.. his comments have been noticed by the body of elders and he is being watched.
Not a dilemma at all - you don't seem to like him, having a shared skeptiscm is hardly likely to make you bosom budddies. let him get on with his life and you do your own thng.
Confiding in him or trying to help him is only going to cause you problems.
i wold love to see all the worlds leader proclaim "peace and security" soon, loud and clear.
that wold make all jws go totaly nuts.
they would all run around and yell "now it's coming, now it's coming!".
I remeber being at Edinburgh assembly when 1986 was declared international year of peace and security.
They could hardly contain themselves!
omg.
i have the entire service group coming over for dinner on sunday.
i don't mind when my wife has a couple over that are cool, but with more than 2 or 3 extra people in my house i get nervous.
a catchy little number this one!
curiously, this little known christmas song by perry como was actually the theme tune to the odessa file movie back in the 70's.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l1uddoh-yu.
so what have you got?.
Bollocks - there's only one best xmas song!
stumbled upon www.towerwatch.com.
a ministry of misery.
depression.
I think it may have been any glasses they were opposed to, not just wire rimmed ones.
They probably thought that the person who needed them was indulging in too much wanking.
* adjusts glasses to see the screen better*
despite claims to the contrary, there's no guarantee the watchtower will be around in a few decades time.
and it seems to me there's ever mounting evidence that the opposite may well be true.
but it's not just that recruitment is down and their defectors are up.
I'm not current at all, I have no idea how many now go to the hall I used to go to, but I get the impression it's less than it used to be.
I think JWs fall in to several categories
1) People that are born in - I reckon at least 60% of these will stop going once they realise what it's about (out of three kids my mother had - none of us go now).
2) Vulnerable people, people who have lost someone and cling to the resurrection hope like a comfort blanket, or people who have been abused or are emotionally fragile; people who 'feel the love'; people who 'need' something in their life.
3) Elderly people, people who have always gone because, well, they've always gone.
The number of born ins who stop going will increase due to being members of the google generation - no matter how hard the elders condemn the internet, the kids are gonna google and a brain worm will get in.
In developed countries the numbers will fall due to the information on the interweb. If there will be an increase it will be in undeveloped countries where the internet isn't readily accessible, but this causes an issue as their ability to contribute is waaaay less than those from developed countries.
I think we'll see a lot of the printing stop, it's an anachorism in this day and age. The WTS will send the info out in PDFs and get the publishers to print it out themselves, or use the ipads and offer to email a copy to the householder.
In essence the WTS will downsize its operation due to its dwindling cashflow.
mary gives birth to a girl..
jesus shares the lead in his ministry with a woman..
half of jesus leading disciples and half of his apostles are women..
Mary gives birth to a girl.
Jesus shares the lead in his ministry with a woman.
Half of Jesus’ leading disciples and half of his Apostles are women.
Jesus addresses God as “Heavenly Mother”.
A few of the other events would have been different, there would have been no baptism in the Jordan for a start, think of what that would have done to her hair!
family background: my wife ("liberal" jw), me (ubm), two children aged 5 and 2.
(want more details?
-> http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/279456/raising-kids-jw-mother-agnostic-father).
didn't even try to ask her, to come with us, because I knew she would decline. But obviously she hated the idea of me taking our son there. So why does going into a chuch seem to be the worst sin ever?
Tell her it's ok - you did ten hail marys and five our fathers while you were there.
congregations get an annual letter that tells what can be ordered for literature (it's mainly a list of audio cds/dvds for the deaf), but this time it included publications that will be discontinued, and this included the isaiah's prophecy book and the reasoning book, and i think i saw the draw close to jehovah book.
i meant to take a picture of the letter but forgot.
the branch is only going to give what they have on stock, when that stock depletes that's it, you won't be able to order those publications anymore.. this is in canada so i don't know if this is worldwide..
yes, we can enjoy christmas!.
we can put up and decorate a xmas tree, wrap and give presents and get the whole section of non-jw family round for a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings - yum!.
we don't feel guilty about getting time off work and relaxing in front of all those cheesy xmas movies (baby's day out is still my favourite).. so if, unlike me, you want to frame your festivities in a story of a magical baby go right ahead, this thread isn't about belief bashing.. whatever your definition of the 'true meaning of christmas', mine is just as valid; it's the celebration of my freedom, my ability to choose how to live my life and who to share it's joys with.. so let this rabid, godless, antichrist of an atheist wish you all a very merry christmas!
Xmas is what it is. Bit of time off work (for me anyway - wife's not so lucky), chance to spend a bit of time with family (whether you want to or not), and to overdo the wine and mince pies.
Soon be Jan 4th and back at work. :(
Merry xmas to all on here! :)
