Holy moly! I just read Gen 40:20,21 (thanks @Honesty). Of course I knew about the chief baker being executed. But I never really thought about the fact that HE WAS IN PRISON!!! Hello? He probably did something wrong to be placed there in the first place. Just because Joseph was framed doesn't mean the chief baker was innocent.
leaving_quietly
JoinedPosts by leaving_quietly
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23
Advice, Opinions, Please!
by mellojello indo any of you sometimes experience difficulty in shaking wt teachings?
like it intrudes in your daily life and thought and some things that may be alright, now you feel as if they're wrong or you plain just don't know.
i know the wt is a lie but i haven't lost my faith in god, i know he's there but it's hard knowing whats the right thing to do.
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July 2014 WT cracks down on apostate debates and 'dance parties'
by EndofMysteries inin the july 2014 study wt article titled "jehovah's people "renouce unrighteousness".
par 9 and 10 .
9. how did foolish and ignorant debates affect the early christian congregation?.
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leaving_quietly
Still, when exposed to unscriptural teachings, regardless of the source, we must decisively reject them.
Define "unscriptural".
un·scrip·tur·al ˌənˈskripCHərəl / adjective adjective: unscriptural
- 1. not in accordance with the Bible. " sacraments deemed unscriptural by Luther "
So where is 1914 taught in the Bible? *** UNSCRIPTURAL ***
Where does it say Jesus was enthroned in 1914? *** UNSCRIPTURAL ***
Where does Jesus say only the 144,000 partake? *** UNSCRIPTURAL ***
Where does it say men cannot wear beards? *** UNSCRIPTURAL ***
Shall I go on???
"regardless of the source" - even if the source is WT
"decisively reject" - I guess this means those of us who have been indecisive about rejecting these teachings should do so immediately
This is an awesome paragraph!
~LQ
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Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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leaving_quietly
the Netherlands received 22.1 Million dollars for a new Assembly Hall,... verified (6 more european countries will follow)
I highly doubt the branch is planning on taking the money and running. And, frankly, I'm not about to impute a bad motive here regarding this being a money grab, other than to say: it's guaranteed income for the Society. Before, with the KH Construction fund, it was more loosy-goosy with whatever people wanted to donate. I'd have to check what the average is for our cong, but I can't recall it ever being more than $400 in any given month. If they decided to have a 'suggested amount' per publisher, say, $8.50, and the number of publishers was 80 in a congregation, that's a guaranteed revenue stream of $680 per month, or $8,160 per year. Multiply that by just 13,714 congregations (the number of congs in the U.S. according to the 2014 yearbook), and that's a guaranteed revenue stream of $9,325,520 PER MONTH, or $111,906,240 PER YEAR on the U.S. congregations alone. (That ought to take care of at least 5 of those Assembly Halls in Europe, right emeth?)
Of course, I don't know that there is any suggested amount per publisher, but $8.50 seems to be a number they like to use for other donation arrangements, so I've used that here as an example.
The more I think about this, the more brilliant a move I think it is on their part. I don't like it, but it is brilliant.
So, no, JWs don't pass a collection plate, but they are now requiring each congregation to pay a pre-agreed upon resolved amount. I'm not sure what the difference is. Oh, wait, yes I am... with a collection plate, one gives from their heart. With a pre-agreed upon resolved amount, one gives under compulsion.
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Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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leaving_quietly
I agree with others' comments that the R&F won't bat an eyelash at this and will actually think this is a good thing. On the surface, it is. After all, for poorer congregations, they can get a remodel done essentially for free. However, the letter has this sentence that is worth noting:
From now on, all funding for approved projects will be provided by the branch office from the funds that have been donated by you dear brothers and sisters.
There is a huge implication here. No congregation will be able to do a renovation, repair (beyond minor), or upgrade without express approval by the branch. Carpet needs to be replaced? Expect a year or more of red tape to get that approved. It took our cong. almost three years to finally get the RBC involved with our remodel. What we really needed was new carpeting. The rest was just nice-to-haves. Spent tens of thousands more on a major remodel when we could have spent less than $10,000 to get new carpeting. It was a waste, and it was several years of begging to get approval.
Because the funding is coming from the branch, that means the branch must approve the project. Thus the phrase, "approved projects". Too bad if you think it's important and the branch doesn't. Want a new sound system because yours sucks? Too bad. Not important enough. 13,000 other projects ahead of you. (Yes, I'm being facetious, but this is what I envision.)
Just remember the golden rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.
Is this a money grab? That remains to be seen. Is it a CONTROL grab? MOST DEFINITELY.
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Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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324
Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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leaving_quietly
Hmm. Triple dipping:
1. New monthly donation for KH building
2. Kingdom Hall Assistance Arrangement STILL IN EFFECT
3. Worldwide Work STILL IN EFFECT
Aren't all three of these the SAME THING?????
Does anyone have a scan of any letters about the KHAA and Worldwide Work and what they are for?
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324
Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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leaving_quietly
They use 2 Cor 8:12-14 as their biblical stance for this. Let's use our thinking abilities and break this down in context:
vs. 4: "while they on their own initiative kept earnestly begging us for the privilege of kindly giving, to have a share in the relief ministry for the holy ones." Building Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls does NOT qualify as a relief ministry. Now, if they were starving or were in need of things necessary for life, that would be something else entirely.
vs. 10: "And in this I give my opinion". Thus, NOT INSPIRED.
vs. 12: "For if the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have". This is about INDIVIDUALS, not congregations, and it is for individuals to be personally ready to do this, not forced.
vs. 13: "For I do not want to make it easy for others, but difficult for you". I would agree. This should not be a burden on anyone. Forcing a pledge makes it a burden, especially if the elders are going to do it by way of passing a resolution. Not one hand will go up to ask the appropriate questions, such as: Brothers, the news reports that the Society just made a billion dollars on the sale of their properties in New York and that the Warwick project is costing about $11 million. What's happening with the other $989 million? Why is this burden being put on the congregations when the Society already has a lot of money at their disposal?
vs. 14: "but that by means of an equalizing, your surplus at the present time might offset their need, so that their surplus might also offset your deficiency, that there may be an equalizing." Again, Paul was addressing their need as a relief, not something considered a luxury.Matt 8:20: "Foxes have dens and birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay down his head."
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Oh come on!!! seriously?? This weeks wt study!
by stuckinarut2 ini'm sitting here at the mtg, and i can't believe the mind numbing stupidity of this weeks wt "study"...( i use the word study loosely too by the way...).
how many dumb repeated questions can be posed to try and make a point?.
the opening paragraph illustration re blindness is classic!
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leaving_quietly
I have to suffer through this later today. I noted in the margin just one thing next to the word "generation": N-NMS (Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular). How in the world do they get "two" (two is plural, right???) from a SINGULAR word????
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I survived a 3-hour manipulation session with 2 elderettes!
by Faithful Witness ini'm not sure how else to describe this meeting at my kitchen table.
my elderette ("miss k") arrived with her friend in tow.
i vaguely remember the 2nd lady ("miss w") from the times we went to the kh, but like miss k, we never really talked in depth.
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leaving_quietly
How about whether Christ was enthroned in 1914 as the next topic. There are two parts to this: 1914 (plenty of info on this forum) and Christ enthroned in that specific year. Ask them to open their JW Library app on their phone, look up Hebrews 5:9, click on the verse, go to the Reference Bible, and look at the footnote on the word "perfect". It's IN THEIR BIBLE!!!! Just one of several verses that show that Christ was enthroned before 1914.
Another shocker would be w78 3/1 pars. 15-25. Here's paragraphs 15 and 16, just for your viewing pleasure:
15 When was God’s Son made a King-Priest like Melchizedek? This was 40 days after his resurrection from the dead, when he ascended to heaven. Then he appeared in the presence of God with the value of his perfect human sacrifice in behalf of the redeemed humans who were to become his subjects in the future.
16 Here, at this point, some persons might experience a little confusion of thought and say, ‘Why, I have understood that Jesus Christ has been reigning in heaven only since the end of the Gentile Times in 1914. So how could it be that he has been reigning in heaven since the year of his ascension to heaven, the year 33 C.E.? (Acts 1:1-11; 2:22-36; Heb. 9:24; 10:12, 13) In what way has he been King all the time since, and over whom has he been reigning?’ -
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Scriptural reason why only the anointed can partake?
by StephaneLaliberte inits weird, but im trying to find scriptures used by the wtbs to back the following assumption:.
*** w81 4/1 p. 12 celebrating the death of the greatest man ever on earth ***.
it is because the founder of the celebration set it up for observance by those with whom he made a covenant for the heavenly kingdom.. .
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leaving_quietly
marking
@yadda yadda 2 "SUBSET" - duh! 2+ years after starting to wake up and I still learn stuff. Awesome!
