Posts by Rivergang

19

Elder Arrangement

by vienne in

hi everyone, (including the person who down votes all of my posts).

as some of you know, i'm working toward my master's degree.

comments from those associated when the elder arrangement was introduced would help me with a research paper.. what was the reaction among adherents?

Rivergang

When the coming elder arrangement was first announced, which was about 12 months before it was implemented, there was considerable speculation as to its consequences.

Many wondered if it would result in the similar sort of upheaval that followed the WTS’s 1938 move to henceforth directly appoint the congregation’s “Overseer” (prior to that, these had been chosen by election). That, in its time, caused some congregations to completely break away. In fact, in one city at least, those that separated themselves from WTS control outnumbered those who remained.

It was speculated whether the coming elder arrangement would result in similar such division.

8

"Why would anyone build a house in this system of things?"

by Queequeg in

recent posts about elders telling people to quit their jobs etc.

reminded me of this.. when i was in my early twenties i decided that i really wanted to build a house (id always wanted to, even as a kid).

i justified my "selfish" desire in my own mind by thinking that once we were living in it we'd have more freedom and skills to volunteer to do things like quickbuilds and international construction (actually, it really did work out that way).

Rivergang

Waton.

It was yet another case of “obey and be blessed” - and the “good” (ie. obedient) JWs the ones most likely to suffer.

8

"Why would anyone build a house in this system of things?"

by Queequeg in

recent posts about elders telling people to quit their jobs etc.

reminded me of this.. when i was in my early twenties i decided that i really wanted to build a house (id always wanted to, even as a kid).

i justified my "selfish" desire in my own mind by thinking that once we were living in it we'd have more freedom and skills to volunteer to do things like quickbuilds and international construction (actually, it really did work out that way).

Rivergang

This was very much the case during those years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Then, anybody who even bought their own home was viewed as either “worldly”, barking mad, or both. Rather, the expectation was that anybody who owned property would sell it and “pioneer” on the proceeds. A commonly held belief was that if you owned a house, someone else would only “take it off you in the persecution”.

Talk about mad people and mad times!

61

Elders hounding members to quit their jobs due to missing too many meetings

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

how many times did you see elders hounding congregation members to quit their jobs due to missing meetings?.

my brother worked at a grocery store at 16 years old.

he would miss tuesday's ministry school due to his work schedule.

Rivergang

In the day, they tried that one on my father, while he was still a “bible study”. They would have had him throw in his job and move in closer to town, so as to be able to “attend the meetings.”

Being the fiery-tempered Scotsman that he was, though, my father promptly told them where to go - and what to do with themselves once they got there!

39

Climate propaganda

by neat blue dog in

gotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.

Rivergang

Volcanic eruptions are more likely to produce an overall cooling effect than anything else, because of the large amounts of sulphur that get released.

More recent examples of this are Mt Pinatubo:

Global Effects of Mount Pinatubo - Philippines | ReliefWeb

and Mt ChiChon:

Looking Back at the 1982 eruption of El Chichón in Mexico | WIRED

39

Climate propaganda

by neat blue dog in

gotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.

Rivergang

There has been considerable speculation about the role of volcanoes in the release to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases.

Going by the example of the Mt Pinatubo eruption (Philippines, 1991), the short term effect of a major volcanic event is to in fact cause lower temperatures. That volcanoes release large quantities of sulphur is self-evident to anybody who has ever been in a volcanic area (For example, the city of Rotorua in New Zealand's Volcanic Plateau, throughout which the "rotten egg" smell of hydrogen sulphide gas permeates everything!).

This results in an "aerosol" of fine particles of sulphuric acid in the atmosphere, which reflect the sun's rays - see the following link to a CSIRO discussion about this effect, and the result it has on surface temperatures.

(CSIRO = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)

Volcanic eruptions and climate change (csiro.au)

39

Climate propaganda

by neat blue dog in

gotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.

Rivergang

Sea Breeze,

Not sure why that article you quote includes a link to NASA, because if you follow that NASA link, it mentions nothing about Arctic sea ice being greater in extent in 2021 than in 2007? Rather, it confirms that the area under sea ice in the Arctic (as measured each September) has consistently decreased every year from 1979 until the present.

FEE writes:

In 2021, the Arctic sea ice extent was 4.72 million square kilometers, about 11 percent more than the 4.16 million kilometers in 2007, according to NASA’s estimates.

39

Climate propaganda

by neat blue dog in

gotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.

Rivergang

Solar activity is something else which also affects the earth's climate. (For example, where I grew up, the annual rainfall peaks with the 11 year sunspot cycles. During a peak year in sunspot activity, 97 inches of rainfall in just a three month period is not at all uncommon).

For those who are interested, though, the following discussion outlines why it is thought that the current warming trend is not the result of increased solar activity.

Is the Sun causing global warming? – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (nasa.gov)

39

Climate propaganda

by neat blue dog in

gotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.

https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.

Rivergang

Further discussion from NASA, re. the Milankovitch Cycles

https://climate.nasa.gov/ask-nasa-climate/2949/why-milankovitch-orbital-cycles-cant-explain-earths-current-warming/

48

"Jehovah God"

by Jeffro in

the expression "jehovah god" has always seemed strange to me.

even when i was a jw, i found the term awkward, and never used it myself.

both words are nouns intended to be synonyms of each other, unless the name "jehovah" is being used as an adjective, which is also weird.

Rivergang

The results of the latest census in Australia reveal that under the heading of “Religious Affiliations”, those that state their Religious Affiliations as “Non Religious” are in the clear majority (over 38%)