Posts by FFGhost

17

Questions I have about the "Ministry School".

by Pallbearer in

i remember that jehovah's witnesses used to have a 2-hour, 2-part mid-week meeting which included a 1-hour "ministry school" followed by a 1-hour "service meeting".

please correct me if i am wrong in any respect but to the best of my memory the ministry school was composed of 4 parts, as follows:.

part 1: an "instruction talk".

FFGhost

That's OLD light.

For the past 5 - 6 years there is a "Christian Life and Ministry" meeting.

About 45 minutes that roughly corresponds to the old "ministry school", about 15 minutes that corresponds to the old "service meeting", and 30 minutes for the "Congregation Bible Study" (what used to be called the "book study").

There's lots of other little changes that are too boring to relate.

Most meetings have short pre-recorded video presentations, typically 3-4 minutes in length. There's anywhere from 1 to 4 per week.

Oh, and the "Our Kingdom Ministry" has been replaced by a "Christian Life and Ministry Workbook".

And of course, for the past year all meetings have been conducted via Zoom videoconference.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

Interesting article.

Seems likely, then, that there were spices or other additives in the wine that Jesus used.

So why all the hyperventilation by the WTS on "pure" and "unfortified" wine?

Oh, that's right. The (uneducated) opinions of the GB are far more important than Bible research, by actual, you know, scholars & $#!+.

25

Just invited to a zoom memorial.

by Overrated in

jw
friends

walked away from the trooth years ago(over 20) my older sister sends me an invite to the memorial via zoom.

i have no interest in jwism at all.

should i ignore or respond?.

FFGhost

If there's one thing I've learned from this forum, it's that it takes an enormous amount of time and effort to convince someone of "X" when they are entrenched in their belief in "Y", no matter how logical or reasonable "X" is or how wackadoodle "Y" is..

I'm not saying it's pointless, or it can't be done - it can be.

But you can't do it with 100 or 200 word posts on an internet forum, and you can't do it in 4 minutes on Zoom.

Unless you have the will and the opportunity to engage over a long period of time, best course is just to "save your ammunition" for cases where you might be able to reason effectively with someone.

So I say just ignore it.

5

Questions to examine our faith

by road to nowhere in

this weeks clam part.

takes you to a wt on slowing down.

first question is are you discouraged by the promises not coming.

FFGhost

They really don't give a flying frig about your faith in God.

What they really want is for you to have faith in them - the governing body.

Oh, and when I say "faith", I mean "total, unswerving, abject, unconditional loyalty and obedience to the governing body in all circumstances regardless of cost or sacrifice."

3

the string of wt's 5 unlucky 5s

by waton in

the upcoming "memorial" is the 85th anniversary of the mandatory hunger strike of the earthly sheep "class" of wt workers.

but: look at all these famous 5s:.

1925 : wt advertised the revealing of the ancients of old, like noah, abraham as living model elders.

FFGhost

You forgot 1995: The year they dropped the teaching that the "generation" of Matthew 24 was tied directly to persons alive in 1914.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

I see nothing wrong in putting a lot of efforts into it.

So you'd recommend the Petrus over the Charles Shaw, then?

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

Actually, they've never stated the requirement that the wine has to be kosher. They just say "unfortified red wine."

In one article a while back, they even suggested using Chianti - I $#!+ you not.

Apparently, Brother Has_An_Italian_Wine_Distributorship needed a little marketing boost that year.

4

The importance of being Satan or the Devil

by Etude in

while the word "satan" appears in many translations of the old and new testament, it is much more common in the n.t., with only a few mentions in the o.t.

the word "devil" seems almost exclusively used in the n.t., at least in the few versions i checked.

this may have something to do with the word origin, satan v devil.

FFGhost

the figure questioning god in this fable is obviously not thought of as actually existing as a "being". It is a long Metaphor, for teaching purposes, not a Book about the Spirit world to be taken literally.

Of course that is true.

I just find it so completely...bonkers... that the cornerstone of JW theology, the "issue of universal sovereignty", their entire outlook, hinges on the concept that Genesis chapter 3 and Job chapter 1 are literally factual, that they absolutely describe real events that definitely occurred exactly as written.

Imagine, building a religion whose entire raison d'etre literally hangs on accepting 2 obvious metaphorical legends as absolutely true. Imagine building an entire organization and writing literally millions of pages and spending literally billions of dollars, based on accepting as "real" stuff that normal, sane people with anything more than average intelligence and a modicum of education realize are just....legends. Myths. Stories invented to try to explain complex concepts to simple people. Thousands of years ago.

It would be like someone 3000 years from now finding a couple dozen Superman comics from the 40s, accepting them as literal history, and building an empire from it.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

So can you drink it at the end or do you have to dump the bottle down the drain? I know there was some controversy about people taking the bottle home decades ago.

Are you kidding? These are JWs we're talking about here.

The only "controversy" I can ever recall were disputes on who got to take the bottle(s) home. No such controversy last year or this year with the bread and wine right there in the JW's homes.

I would bet my entire fortune on the prediction that well over 50%, maybe closer to 70 or 80%, will start drinking the wine within seconds (not minutes, mind you) of the Zoom meeting's end. A similarly high number will eat the bread, though I suspect more than half will spread a little cheese or pate on it first.

33

Memorial Prep question

by ExCircuitOverseer in

so are individual witnesses being told to prepare bread and have wine on hand for the zoom memorial?

are they saying it’s “vital” or is it just a “suggestion?” .

FFGhost

I don't think there is anything formal, in writing, from HQ or any branch.

There was a CLAM meeting part last week, on "Preparing for the Memorial". One of the points covered was that "with advance planning, it should be possible for most publishers to acquire the Memorial emblems".

So it was more of a verbal instructions thing. I've also seen informal lists with WT references on how to make the bread & what kind of wine to use.

Are you really an ex-CO?