well i'm sure we can come up with clever comments that make people feel uncomfortable by serving to decompartmentalize things that have been compartmentalized in the thinking of the average jw.
or comments that make the cognitive dissonance stand out plainly, these have to be said in innocent manner and with an apparent obliviousness to the contradiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/compartmentalization_%28psychology%29.
One comment was that the Bible in Judges 4:4 calls Deborah a judge and a prophetess, so she held a very important position...
The conductor then explained how Deborah was not actually a judge, and that suited me perfectly.
I wonder if any questioned his reasoning, having just been shown in the Bible that he was twisting things.
Oh well, we'll keep it up and see what happens.
today's wt study (nov 15, 2014 page 4, par 4.. the governing body in jerusalem sent the apostles peter and john to these samaritan converts, and they laid their hands on them, and they began to receive holy spirit.
(acts 8:5, 6, 14-17) .
there are multiple references to acts 15 whereby "the apostles and older men" were the governing body.. i have never noticed this applied to "the apostles" only in acts 8:14 before.. is this another new item to reinforce the concept of the governing body?.
We are taught that there was a 1st century GB, but they, although being anointed miracle workers personally chosen by Jesus, were not the F&DS.
Yes, they may have written most of the NT and were told to 'feed my little sheep', but they were NOT, I tell you, the F&DS who should feed the domestics.
The 8 men in NY alone are entitled to claim that title for themselves.
hello folks.....so in an earlier thread i started, you'd realize that my father and i are quite close, we talk about almost everything/anything.. he traveled outside the country (he's semi-retired), enjoying the fruitage of his hard labor during his younger years.
so he recently returned home after he and mum went away to catchup with some old friends in another country.. upon his returning home, and subsequently to the meetings, he was told that a decision was made to strip him of his "field overseer" role, but will still continue to be an elder.. the reason...he goes away for too long too often...you can't be away from your congregation for three months out of the year!!!???
has anyone else had this experience before?
The seeds were sown by one jealous elder who used your Dad's absence to form a BOE meeting and cast him in a bad light. Petty mindedness with no consideration for his years of sacrifice and service.
This plays out in congregations all over the world, your Dad isn't alone.
Sounds like a great result for your Dad though, maybe they will go away for more than 3 months next time!
i was deleted as the cobe after i let my adult child move back home and he admitted that he fornicated under my roof while my wife and i where away on a rbc project.
of course the elder mode in me kicked him out of the house.. the elders moved quickly to remove me because i was too involved in "theocractic activities", i had neglected my adult son.. i accepted this primarily because i didn't want to serve with a boe that did not want me.
i was devastated however because it was the only life i knew.
Hi James Jack,
Welcome. I've been where you are (well, very close).
You are going to go through mental and emotional hell as you adjust your long term held beliefs, your personality and your family obligations.
At least you now when you have something to say, you have somewhere you can come without fear of being judged, accused or looked down on.
i have former jws looking at jwfacts.com in order to update themselves with what is happening with the religion, so that they can better understand their jw family.
it thought it would help if there was a page devoted to what has changed since 2000. .
2012 oct release of jw.org - jws encouraged to download their own publications and use ipads at meetings and field service.
I'm guessing that's for when the public WT's are stopped in favour of single sheet tracts.
Gotta keep counting something!
i have former jws looking at jwfacts.com in order to update themselves with what is happening with the religion, so that they can better understand their jw family.
it thought it would help if there was a page devoted to what has changed since 2000. .
2012 oct release of jw.org - jws encouraged to download their own publications and use ipads at meetings and field service.
DO's discontinued
New Bible, songbook and meetings - public talks 30 mins
New talk style for brothers on TMS, like sisters talks
Half sized magazines printed half as often
Pioneer hours reduced
SADs replaced with Circuit Assemblies, and RCs replace DCs
New 'visible' GB
New donation and hall building arrangements
New bethel locations
New preaching tools (website/mobile devices/trolleys)
New khall teaching tools (jw TV)
New branding
You now have to count tracts placed on your monthly report
couting time and, how to count time while doing as little service as possible is often a hot topic around witnesses.
i even overheard pioneers discussing about it.
they call it "creative time counting" (i translated that phrase from a different language so bear with me ;-).
The mental justifications are brilliant.
If you offer a magazine to someone who completely ignores you, or if you knock on a door of a house that is obviously unoccupied, your journey to outlying territory can be counted as 'time'.
If you just drive straight out to the territory without either of these little rituals, you cannot count your time.
Even better, do one of these things before you even meet for field service, preferably near your own home. This way you can count even more time, just knocking off 10 minutes for the field service meeting.
You've probably got 45 minutes before you even reach your territory!
Do a 'call' when you're back in town and bingo! You're on target to meet the congregation average.
do you keep falling asleep during meetings and assemblies?
long and boring home studies?
> here's a way to change all of that.. > > .
http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/2015/01/jehovahs-witness-respect-us.html/.
click the link on the page at the top next to "re:" for full story.
i wonder if this guy had permission to address the media on watchtowers response?
corinthians 1:18, holman christian standard bible "for to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is gods power.
an austrian radiologist, hermann moedder, experimented with medical students in the 40's, hanging them by their wrists with their hands directly above their heads (much like the watchtower pictures jesus on a stake).
in a few minutes, the students became pale, their lung capacity dropped from 5.2 to 1.5 liters, blood pressure decreased and the pulse rate increased.
If you value Leolaia's thoughts on this topic (and who wouldn't!), she gives a forensic analysis of it here:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/97358/cross-stake-which?page=1&size=20#/.UqFsCtIW3nh
