Posts by shepherdless

22

Real Estate Business?

by no-zombie in

i was going over some of the older posts of others and without starting some kind of flame war, i got no idea why people are saying that the society is some kind of real estate business.

of course its making millions of dollars in its real estate sales but this a one time event.

its down sizing by selling the furniture.

I tend to agree with no-zombie. WTBTS seems to be just liquidating whatever assets it can. If WTBTS is seriously trying to become a real estate business, then it is going about it the wrong way, in many respects.

14

The ends of empires

by Half banana in

i’ve been reading up on the last days of the roman empire.

the rule became a tetrarchy; by four regional emperors or caesars.

the emperors had these necessary concerns; they always gave first consideration to the security of their own positions followed by the annual extraction of taxes and their territorial authority.

shepherdless

The book, "The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon is a classic, and is a free iBook. It is very detailed on historical events and tends to just give the facts. Even though it was written over 2 centuries ago, it is reader friendly.

it seems different people interpret the history and give different reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. For me it is obvious. It had almost all of its success as a Republic, before it became an empire. When Hannibal attacked, pillaged Italy, wiped out armies, and inflicted humongous casualties, the Roman citizens remained amazingly united, and kept raising new armies, incurring huge sacrifices, until they won. In the days of empire, the participation of Italians in the legions steadily decreased, until in the later stages there were virtually none, and the Legions were primarily made up of Germanic and other peoples who were just there for the money. In short, once the Roman citizen had lost his say in the Government, he was less interested in defending it.

Linking this back to Watchtower: Watchtower also does not give its rank and file any say. I think for that reason alone, it has a limited lifespan. I have a suspicion that, for example, if its finances take a turn for the worse, the rank and file won't bail it out.

42

UK Kingdom Halls for sale

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

" and a mighty cry went out over all the land: "sell !

sell !

shepherdless

Wonderous liquidation is now taking place.

I notice some of the brochures have prices.

Thanks for sharing, Darkspilver.

13

COUNTDOWN! - The Great London Bethel Sell-off!

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

following the initial publicity for this multi-million pound sale sell-off - as highlighted here and here some three months ago....the sale process has been progressing with tender dates announced:green court (residential apartments):best and final bids invited by monday 19th december 2016 at 5pmno.1 elstree way:expressions of interest and initial bids by friday 3rd february 2017 at 5pmibsa house:expressions of interest and initial bids by friday 3rd march 2017 at 5pmwatch tower house:expressions of interest and initial bids by friday 31st march 2017 at 5pmconference centre & open field:expressions of interest and initial bids by friday 31st march 2017 at 5pmmanor point units 1 & 2:this property will be available for sale with vacant possession in early 2020buttermere court (residential apartments):bidding details to be announcedullswater court (residential apartments):bidding details to be announced.

.

shepherdless

I note in the FAQ section of one of the websites the following:

I was under the impression that apart from the removal of contaminated earth, not much had happened at Chelmsford, yet, and the detailed plans have not yet been finalised. (Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.) Watchtower must be desperate to get those proceeds of sale in as soon as possible.

67

My Issue: How To Step Down As A MS Without Getting Noticed

by JW_Rogue in

so that other thread was fun but now i need some help with something.

i was born in the truth most of my family is in.

although they aren't outwardly super spiritual i doubt any of them would ever leave.

shepherdless

Well played, JW_Rouge!

15

LONDON Kingdom Hall for sale - well, kinda!

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

the sell-off of kingdom hall's in the uk is continuing unabated as we are about to enter 2017....in addition to the thirty-five kingdom halls highlighted by the search a couple of months back.....it seems the cry has gone out to: "sell them faster!

faster!

shepherdless

it tells me that meeting attendances are dwindling...

I think it is far more likely that Watchtower is reacting to cashflow issues.

18

France: Where all donations are going? Germany?

by sp74bb in

source: http://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/publications/assoccpt/pdf/2015/3108/398996694_31082015.pdf.

"nothing is hidden.

jehovah's eyes sees everything.

shepherdless

Just in case it has not been mentioned before, the Britain branch is also sending significant funds to Germany. This is an extract from page 13 of IBSA 2015 accounts:

This seems to be a major increase from 2014. The 2014 figure is not stated, but can be £1.6 million at most.

Note that the Australian branch seems to indirectly contributing as well. This is an extract from page 16 of IBSA 2015 accounts:

Very generous of the Australians to give a long term interest free unsecured loan to the Britain branch. In fact, it appears IBSA Britian wouldn't have had the cash to make the transfer without the contribution from Australia. See the following note from page 19:

22

The uptake...

by Thisismein1972 in

with recent events pointing at watchtower growth, i felt compelled to say a few words.. if the figures turn out to be true, then we should not be discouraged.

after 9/11 there was a surge in, not only the watchtower, but other demonisation of organised religion.

whenever there is a a paradigm shifting event that puts fear into others, this tends to have a life changing affect on an individual.. now let us zoom to the present.

shepherdless

OP: with recent events pointing at watchtower growth...

I have seen a couple of oblique mentions of this. Has there been some data leaked somewhere?

Perhaps I am missing a key element here, but I am not sure what growth or stagnation or even diminishing numbers has to do with how we feel about the religion we have left.

For me it has no effect whatsoever on how I feel about JWism. However, I do care about where this evil cult might drag my kids, and other people's kids. Hence I am interested in the statistics.

193

Great Tribulation and Trump

by TakeOffTheCrown in

please, let's discuss this subject without attacking one another.. it appears that trump has won a victory that no one expected.

is it possible that trump may play a part in the great tribulation?.

there are some who believe trump is one of the most unqualified of men to ever be elected president of the united states.

shepherdless

Just felt the urge to jump in here.

I have actually been to Egypt and entered one of the Giza Pyramids, and various other sites (Karnak, Edfu, etc). Been to the Step Pyramid (Pyramid of Djoser built about 2660 BC) as well. The Great Pyramid if Giza was built around 2560BC.

I mention this, because some JW's seem to think that there could be some mistake about the dates of various reigns of pharaohs, or when things were built. If you have been there and looked around, you would realize that that is virtually impossible.

There is writing in stone, everywhere. There is so much written historical narrative, and so much overlapping in that historical narrative, that sequencing events becomes unarguable. Also the ancient Egyptian numbers are easy to understand (a bit like Roman numerals) and as an agrarian society (and because of annual Nile flooding) they were clearly aware of when years start.

As a result, there is a mostly continuous list of pharaohs going back to around 3100 BC.

In 2370 BC, the supposed year of the flood, Pharaoh Unas of the Fifth Dynasty was on the throne for 5 years, and was to remain there for a further 25 years. His pyramid is not very famous (there are lots of them), is in bad condition, but is still there and was around 45 metres high. His successor (first of the 6th Dynasty) also had a pyramid, as did the rest of the Sixth Dynasty pharaohs (unless they had a short reign). There was continuous building work going on from before the date of the flood, to 2181 BC at least.

Fisherman, you are a smart person, probably smarter than any member of the Governing Body. You shouldn't just be parroting the lines from Brooklyn.

129

Hi forum

by A Believer in

i proably shouldnt be on here but i feel like saying this.

i have been for the last couple weeks been studying religion.

i've learned the only ones who today do what the bible says to is jw.

shepherdless

Sheperdless I believe when it says in the name it doesn't mean the holy spirit is a person. It's a form of speech. Some scriptures say in the name of the law...does this mean that the law is a person?

Well the NWT says (Matt 24:19):

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit"

No mention of "the law". Is the NWT translation wrong?

Also, you might have heard a phrase in this religion "sinning against the spirit", as being different from (and more serious than) sinning against Jehovah. What is your interpretation of that?