seriously, how have i never caught on as to how kinky this weird cult language sounds?
"be obedient and submissive to the faithful slave.
"may i have another flogging, mr.
"Now that recent talks and literature is bringing Christ back, (lol), it looks better to the "world" for reasons they need it to be."
Wing commander is right. The new emphasis on Jesus is not about Him, who is not present in the flesh*, but on "his brothers", the GB, who are, unfortunately, alive and well and present among the other sheep, making them do their bidding.
* But supposedly returned in 1914 🙄
hi all , i just had another call by a an elderly jw ,let's call him ian.. only about 3 months ago i had a young jw call and trying to talk to him i had to tone it down a bit because he did'nt seem so theocratically bright as he only offered a tract and not much else , and i've had others call since covid.. so it seems around here they are making regular calls but not like back in the day when i used to auxillary pioneer where we would go over this turf every 1 to 3 weeks in the 80's.. but back to my caller ian ,on his own , but out with a group of jw's he was quick to get around the pleasantries and and so i interrupted him tactfully to slow him down.
started with a bit of my history easing into the fact that i had my first contact with jw's with my soon to be mother-in -law who was an invalided jw ,we had many good talks about her beliefs in the early 70's.. at this point he jumps in and wants to know if i would want a study again because i told him that i once did a study with jw's back.
i carefully steered him into telling me about those days ,what was he was doing back then.
Two old(ish) ladies manning (staffing?) the literature trolley in town* this morning. They seemed to be engaged in a cheerful conversation with a somewhat scruffy** looking gentleman. "Free Bible Course" sign on trolley. Is there a reason they've changed from "study" to "course"?
Anecdotally, the local JWs seem to be quite busy and more motivated than the usual reports about the decline in enthusiasm would suggest. I wouldn't say the same about the JWs in the area I used to live in, however.
* Somewhere in Australia
** By that I mean that he was dressed too casually to be another JW.
thehttps://youtu.be/ycplox56-rk?si=l51-gppfzccoguhd u.s. department of state’s 2024 report on religious freedom sheds light on various challenges faced by minority religious groups around the world.
while the report covers many nations, one of the key regions of focus is japan, where jehovah’s witnesses are encountering growing hostility amidst a shifting legal and social landscape.
this article explores the issues jehovah’s witnesses face in japan and the broader implications for religious freedom in the country.. ### the u.s. report: focus on cults and minority groups.
"Sounds like the kind of utter bollox he'd come up with! Either way they are laughably uninformed about jehovah's witness beliefs and cultural practices (or lack of them!)"
Ostracism and exclusion from public life are JW distinctives. That those things are reflected back on them is a self-inflicted injury.
hi all , i just had another call by a an elderly jw ,let's call him ian.. only about 3 months ago i had a young jw call and trying to talk to him i had to tone it down a bit because he did'nt seem so theocratically bright as he only offered a tract and not much else , and i've had others call since covid.. so it seems around here they are making regular calls but not like back in the day when i used to auxillary pioneer where we would go over this turf every 1 to 3 weeks in the 80's.. but back to my caller ian ,on his own , but out with a group of jw's he was quick to get around the pleasantries and and so i interrupted him tactfully to slow him down.
started with a bit of my history easing into the fact that i had my first contact with jw's with my soon to be mother-in -law who was an invalided jw ,we had many good talks about her beliefs in the early 70's.. at this point he jumps in and wants to know if i would want a study again because i told him that i once did a study with jw's back.
i carefully steered him into telling me about those days ,what was he was doing back then.
Apparently a large bunch of them were working the streets a few blocks away from here yesterday. And they've been doing follow up calls on my neighbour quite regularly.
.
just thought i'd wish those of the wiccan persuasion a happy mabon tomorrow, and al bittersweet fall equinox, marking the summers end.... -seed.
What would Wiccans be celebrating here in the Antipodes, where it is actually the Vernal Equinox?
thehttps://youtu.be/ycplox56-rk?si=l51-gppfzccoguhd u.s. department of state’s 2024 report on religious freedom sheds light on various challenges faced by minority religious groups around the world.
while the report covers many nations, one of the key regions of focus is japan, where jehovah’s witnesses are encountering growing hostility amidst a shifting legal and social landscape.
this article explores the issues jehovah’s witnesses face in japan and the broader implications for religious freedom in the country.. ### the u.s. report: focus on cults and minority groups.
"The group has called for more balanced coverage that accurately reflects their beliefs and practices, rather than relying on sensationalized accounts from disaffected former members"
This is the point at which any sympathy I was feeling evaporated. 🙄
"This bit made me laugh, pot, kettle, black and all that."
Indeed! Being ostracised and excluded from mainstream society's functions is practically one of their main goals for the R&F, particularly children at the school level.
"And 'And 'National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales'? Who came up with that title? 😅? Who came up with that title? 😅"
It possibly is something to do with the widespread backlash against the Moonies after the assassination. JWs being peddlers of religious items and not being team players in a society that encourages that sort of thing probably got caught in the slipstream.
This seems to be a backlash against high control religious groups after the assassination. At first glance it seems wrong-footed. Officially, JWs are against things like assassination attempts or even owning weapons for self defence. But they can't deny that there are times when an ex who has lost everything, thanks to the religion's interference, has grabbed a weapon and gone postal. We've seen the headlines over the years. Perhaps this organisation* has seen them too.
Remember that recently an opposition party in the Diet was interested in the abuse of children by the organisation and was highlighting past literature encouraging the violent discipline of children? That scrutiny may have started in the wake of the assassination.
*National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, that is.
an interesting video was on youtube with a person claiming that the memorial date for 2024 was wrong.
so i consulted three different jewish calendars online and sure enough, he appears to be right.
i went back to 2014 and forward to 2027. they have the future dates listed.
Well shuck my corn! They are so concerned about the externals that they make that biblical allowance. Ot course, it's shoe-horning an OT principle into a new covenant observance (as is their wont, I suppose 🙄).
new to the forum.
i have a question i did not get any feed back for on another site.
what to these people who gave decades working for free in bethel when they are 60 plus years old.
"This will be the next watchtower scandal - after CSA, blood and shunning (particularly of minors) that governments will or should be investigating at some point. The big con, or 'vow of poverty' the "free workers" sign, in order that watchtower doesn't have to contribute to social security!!"
It should be the next big scandal, Diogenesister, but I can't see it happening. The elephant in the room is the fact that the laid off Bethelites will not go to the media and the government to complain about their treatment at the hands of the ruthless WT empire. What little support they now have will be taken away from them if they badmouth the organisation. They'll be disfellowshipped* if they broadcast anything negative about their former "employer".
* "removed"
an interesting video was on youtube with a person claiming that the memorial date for 2024 was wrong.
so i consulted three different jewish calendars online and sure enough, he appears to be right.
i went back to 2014 and forward to 2027. they have the future dates listed.
Since they hold themselves to the date of Passover, according to their calculations, based on OT law, have they ever allowed for the ceremony to be held a month late if extenuating circumstances exist, as the Torah makes such an allowance for Passover?
... is just three weeks from this saturday.
the org has been tight-lipped, really, successfully secret about advance info on these in recent years,.
now that these relatively recent changes on dress and grooming, reporting fs time, judicial matters, etc.
What's the official name of the meeting? Is it an AGM (Annual General Meeting)?
