Corney

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Posts by Corney

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  30

  Montana News

  by AuntBee in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/montana/articles/2020-01-08/court-reverses-35m-verdict-against-jehovahs-witnesses.

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  Corney

  Doubting Bro, open-minded people don't bother themselves to read legal documents. They just call judges whose decisions make them unhapy "fools" or, like some redditors, "retarded", and even probably "bribed". Shame on you!
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  28

  Current JW growth in the United States in historical perspective and in comparison with other groups

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  current jw growth is slower than during most of their history.

  the only probable exceptions are following 1975 when there was a brief worldwide decrease, the late 1920s when around half of the members left the movement, perhaps around the 1917 schism, and various schisms during russell’s time.

  there were also periods of sluggish growth during the 1950/60s and around 2000. .

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  Corney

  Just to outline what the current growth in the USA is, in the last half-decade (2014-9) the average number of publishers has grown by only 1.76%; in 2009-14, the growth was 7.41%, in 2004-9 - 10.17%, and in 1999-2004 - 5.54%. The number of congregations in 2019 was 10.3% lower than in 2016 and 2.3% lower than in 2009, and the number of newly baptized was 17.9% lower than 10 years go and 13.0% lower than 20 years ago.
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  9

  LDS membership figures inadvertently supports Wt as been true and accurate

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it not only reflects, but it would verify that wt statistics are true and accurate.

  herein, are my reasons why.. lds general conference, which is the equivalent of the jw memorial, has an attendance of around 20 million ( that's people, who physically turn up).

  however, the people choosing this online option is the unknown in this equation.. lets now look at 2 different scenarios for lds general conference to see how this compares to the jws: .

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  Corney

  Crazyguy2,

  Yep, neither the fact that their figures are generally corroborated by census data, nor that they repeatedly reported bad and even disturbing numbers (e.g., Memorial partakers figures, Ukraine/Japan/Poland/etc. statistics) don't matter because you sincerely believe they are lying. That's how critical thinking works.
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  30

  Montana News

  by AuntBee in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/montana/articles/2020-01-08/court-reverses-35m-verdict-against-jehovahs-witnesses.

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  Corney

  LV101,

  First, the "real estate business" argument would be frivolous and irelevant. Secondly, it wouldn't help the case because there is no general duty to report in Montana, only some professionals and officials, including clergy members, are mandatory reporters:

  https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0410/chapter_0030/part_0020/section_0010/0410-0030-0020-0010.html

  Tameria2001,

  Because it's irrelevant.
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  28

  FEWER NEW ZEALAND CITIZENS AFFILIATED WITH JWS IN 2013 THAN IN 1996: SUCCESSIVE YEARS OF DECREASE

  by steve2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  fewer new zealand citizens affiliated as jws in 2013 than in 1996: over 15 years of successive decreases.

  the first table shows the new zealand census from 1976 to 2013. typically, numbers of citizens affiliated with the witnesses are higher than the number of active publishers because it includes children and those who are affiliated with the witnesses but who may not be active publishers.. of note, more citizens were recorded as affiliated with the witnesses in 1996 (19,527) than in 2013 (17,931).

  the decline in numbers affiliating with the witnesses in new zealand started in 2001 and has continued across two further census reports - so this is not just a temporary blip.

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  Corney

  First, the religion question changed. Is it possible that some JWs previously just checked the box "Christian" instead of specifying their denomination?

  
  

  Source, see page 40 of the PDF document.

  Secondly, this census appears to be the first one for which religious affiliation data was imputed: "Imputation is planned for this variable where there is no response. Where available, historic data from the 2013 Census will be imputed. Failing this, religion will be determined from the usual resident who is the closest in age in the household. In cases where neither of these are possible, donor imputation will be employed." (Ibid, p. 40-41).

  8.8 percent of religious affiliation responses were imputed from the 2013 Census, and another 8.8 percent were proportionally imputed from similar respondents: http://datainfoplus.stats.govt.nz/Item/nz.govt.stats/472884ac-0f5f-4606-827c-b7153a1a51b1/?_ga=2.173337123.1020392386.1578236967-6827924.1578236967 It didn't necessarily resulted in overestimation of JW population but still.

  Thridly, the data collection methods significantly changed.

  https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/2018-census-a-modernised-digital-first-census

  https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/2018-census-technical-support-information
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  13

  Legal fight over door-to-door notes continues: case goes to Strasbourg

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on 10 june 2019, the finnish jw organization lodged an application against finland with the european court of human rights.

  the case was quickly - by the court's standards - communicated to the finnish government on 10 december 2019. the complaint itself isn't available online but there is a brief summary (see the link above) prepared by the court:.

  the application concerns the jehovah’s witnesses’ religious activities in finland and their compatibility with the data protection regulations.

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  Corney

  Anders Andersen, this case is brought not under the GDPR, but under the European Convention, and the European Court of Human Rights isn't bound by the GDPR. The Convention's right to a private life is much more broader than the GDPR data subject's rights. And according to Prof. Susanna Lindroos-Hovinheimo, there is "a conflict between two rights to private life" here.

  Anyway, it is not likely that Watchtower will prevail.
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  9

  LDS membership figures inadvertently supports Wt as been true and accurate

  by joe134cd in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it not only reflects, but it would verify that wt statistics are true and accurate.

  herein, are my reasons why.. lds general conference, which is the equivalent of the jw memorial, has an attendance of around 20 million ( that's people, who physically turn up).

  however, the people choosing this online option is the unknown in this equation.. lets now look at 2 different scenarios for lds general conference to see how this compares to the jws: .

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  Corney

  Where does the 20m figure come from? I was unable to find any LDS GC attendance numbers. Thanks in advance!
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  13

  Legal fight over door-to-door notes continues: case goes to Strasbourg

  by Corney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on 10 june 2019, the finnish jw organization lodged an application against finland with the european court of human rights.

  the case was quickly - by the court's standards - communicated to the finnish government on 10 december 2019. the complaint itself isn't available online but there is a brief summary (see the link above) prepared by the court:.

  the application concerns the jehovah’s witnesses’ religious activities in finland and their compatibility with the data protection regulations.

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  Corney

  On 10 June 2019, the Finnish JW organization lodged an application against Finland with the European Court of Human Rights. The case was quickly - by the Court's standards - communicated to the Finnish Government on 10 December 2019. The complaint itself isn't available online but there is a brief summary (see the link above) prepared by the Court:

  The application concerns the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ religious activities in Finland and their compatibility with the data protection regulations. In 2013 the Data Protection Board prohibited the applicant community and its members from taking any notes for their personal use of religious conversations engaged in the context of their door-to-door preaching activities without the consent of the discussion partner or in violation of the data protection rules. This decision was partly upheld and partly quashed by the Administrative Court in 2014 [judgment in Finnish]. Subsequently, after a preliminary ruling from the CJEU, the Supreme Administrative Court quashed the decision of the Administrative Court and reinstated the decision of the Data Protection Board on 17 December 2018 [judgment in Finnish, summary in English]. The applicant community claims that no similar burden is imposed on the processing of personal data by individuals engaged in journalism or literary expression, by individuals using personal data purely for personal activities, or when the two State religions, namely the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church, are processing of personal data.
  The applicant community complains under Articles 9 [Freedom of thought, conscience and religion] and 10 [Freedom of expression] of the [European] Convention [on Human Rights] that no balancing act was made by the domestic courts. The interference did not pursue a legitimate aim, nor was it proportionate. Any noted down information was either in the public domain or voluntary given to the members of the community. It complains under Article 8 [Right to respect for private and family life] of the Convention that one’s name and address were data which was widely available in the public domain. Moreover, the notes made by the members of the community are protected against State interference under their right to privacy. The applicant community complains about discrimination under Article 14 [Prohibition of discrimination] of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 [General prohibition of discrimination]. Lastly, it complains under Article 6 [Right to a fair trial] about the lack of an oral hearing before the domestic courts.

  By communicating the case, the ECtHR notified the Finnish Government of the application and asked the parties to answer the following questions:

  1. Has there been a violation of the applicant community’s freedom of religion, contrary to Article 9 of the Convention? Having regard to the fact that some of the data in question was in public domain, has there been a violation of the applicant community’s right to freedom of expression, in particular its right to impart information and ideas, contrary to Article 10 of the Convention?

  2. Has there been an interference with the applicant community’s member’s right to respect for their private life, within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference in accordance with the law and necessary in terms of Article 8 § 2?

  3. Has the applicant community suffered discrimination in the enjoyment of its Convention rights, contrary to Article 14 of the Convention, read in conjunction with Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12? In particular, has the applicant community been subjected to a difference in treatment? If so, did that difference in treatment pursue a legitimate aim and did it have a reasonable justification?

  4. Has there been an oral hearing in the present case, as required by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?

  Also, when an application is communicated, it typically means it isn't found manifectly inadmissible.

  The applicant organization is represented by Petr Muzny, one of the leading JW lawyers which represented their organizations and individual Witnesses from Armenia, Finland, Russia and Turkey before top European courts. It's unclear when this case will be decided.
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  25

  Revised NWT released in Spanish

  by Corney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today in madrid.. jw.org/es-nwt.

  photos, videos, comments:.

  https://jwtalk.net/topic/16901-new-world-translation-2013-revision-in-additional-languages/page/35/#comments.

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  Corney

  Contrary to what some might expect, printed copies of the revised Spanish NWT will be offered to non-JWs (source, p. 3):

  The following announcement is for Spanish congregations only:

  3. Use of Revised New World Translation: Now that most Spanish-speaking congregations have a modest stock of the revised New World Translationon hand, please proceed with offering this translation of the Bible to those studying the Bible, regular return visits, or other sincerely interested people in the field ministry who express a desire to have a Bible. Of course, we would not leave our precious literature with those who do not appreciate it. (Matt. 7:6) When engaging in public witnessing using a table or a cart, publishers should not display Bibles. However, they may have Bibles available to offer to individuals who request one or who demonstrate sincere interest in the truth.

  If you would benefit from having additional copies for your personal use, there is no restriction on requesting them at the literature counter. The regular-size and pocket-size editions are not special-request items, and efforts will be made to maintain a modest supply at the Kingdom Hall so that Bibles are readily available for use in the ministry.
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  28

  FEWER NEW ZEALAND CITIZENS AFFILIATED WITH JWS IN 2013 THAN IN 1996: SUCCESSIVE YEARS OF DECREASE

  by steve2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  fewer new zealand citizens affiliated as jws in 2013 than in 1996: over 15 years of successive decreases.

  the first table shows the new zealand census from 1976 to 2013. typically, numbers of citizens affiliated with the witnesses are higher than the number of active publishers because it includes children and those who are affiliated with the witnesses but who may not be active publishers.. of note, more citizens were recorded as affiliated with the witnesses in 1996 (19,527) than in 2013 (17,931).

  the decline in numbers affiliating with the witnesses in new zealand started in 2001 and has continued across two further census reports - so this is not just a temporary blip.

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  Corney

  According to recently published 2018 census data, there are 20,061 people identifying themselves as JWs in NZ (see this file, table 26). For comparison, in 2013 this figure was 17,931, in 2006 - 17,910, and in 2001 - 17,829 (source; see this file, table 30). The peak publishers figure for 2018 was 14,301.

  I guess this surprise change can be partially attributed to changes in census methodology.