ThomasMore

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Posts by ThomasMore

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  25

  New instructions on not using sisters to manage KH computer ?

  by fifth.column in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since covid in france, especially in the countryside with lack of brothers, it was quite common that some sisters were using the computer at the back of the kingdom hall to manage zoom session.. i heard a rumor that new instructions, maybe a july letter, stated that this was reserved for male only, even unbaptised publishers, but no sister if there is at least a male available.

  that would be a steps back and disappointment for these sisters.

  last week i heard at my mom’s house how they were happy that this service was available for them, a proof that the org was moving forward.

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  ThomasMore

  Pastor Russell and Rutherford shared the same view of women. They set the standard and it has never changed.

  Today WTC is hanging on by their fingernails and still belittling women who make up over 65% of their publisher base. It's a head scratcher.
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  25

  Trump assassination attempt??

  by Diogenesister in

  1. social
  2. current

  it happened at a rally in pennsylvania, apparently.

  he seems ok i've seen a photo of him bleeding from his ear.

  this is absolutely nutso....if it's too it doesn't surprise me the way they constantly describe him as "far right" and that his supporters are "maga republicans".

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  ThomasMore

  Now it seems that intel was in hand that Iran was planning an assasination attempt. Where was the increased coverage for that threat? The shooter had no affiliation with Iran, but why was law enforcement at their highest attentive state? SS has a lot to answer for.
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  51

  Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i still read on reddit.

  (though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

  it's been a long time.

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  ThomasMore

  LHG said: "no young person years ago invited to a pioneer dinner and patted on the back had ANY idea their financial security in old age was in jeopardy and they were being lulled into a sleep mode..."

  By now, some of those who basked in the praise from WTC for trading their future for full time service, must surely realize that they got nothing in return. Worrying about bills, a roof over your head, and medical coverage is a wakeup call from that indiced sleep.

  I took a lot of grief for focusing on my future, and some JW's won't speak to me now. No one forced them to stay at Bethel until they were kicked to the curb, but it rubs them wrong that they were duped. Sadly, it is too late to make a dent in their budget deficit. My heart goes out to them but my donations do not.
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  22

  The Rapture

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

  does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

  for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

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  ThomasMore

  Rattigan - you wrote:

  "As of right now (or rather 1995) all of the 144,000 have been anointed and sealed."

  Can you please elaborate on this comment. I have never heard that JW's ever felt 1995 was pivotal.
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  25

  Trump assassination attempt??

  by Diogenesister in

  1. social
  2. current

  it happened at a rally in pennsylvania, apparently.

  he seems ok i've seen a photo of him bleeding from his ear.

  this is absolutely nutso....if it's too it doesn't surprise me the way they constantly describe him as "far right" and that his supporters are "maga republicans".

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  ThomasMore

  Biden was quoted Monday on a call to Democratic donors that they needed to put a "bullseye on Trump". Of course he was not recommending violence, but it was irresponsible nevertheless. Tempers are flaring on both sides, but radicals don't know when to check their anger - so here we are.

  I heard commentators say that we still have months before the election, but the real attacks against Trump started AFTER he was elected. Is this what we have to look forward to if he wins again?

  Now an attendee has been killed and two others are in critical condition, yet some are still using inflammatory rhetoric to describe both candidates. We need civility.
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  27

  Awake 1976 - Should a Pocket Calculator Be in Your Pocket?

  by Ron.W. in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  awake 1976 - should a pocket calculator be in your pocket?.

  somehow this totally zany 'bible based' article passed me by first time around!.

  anyone remember it?.

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  ThomasMore

  Cell phones now have calculator apps so I wonder how calculator sales have been affected?

  I also found that the more I used my calculator, the less adept I was at doing calculations in my head. I decided to limit using the calculator to complex math like determining depreciation, compound interest, and CSA settlement totals.
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  51

  Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i still read on reddit.

  (though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

  it's been a long time.

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  ThomasMore

  Grandpa Atlantis - thanks for all you do mate!

  I think that they say they are unsure about how many KHs they have because:

  1) Some KHs in foreign lands are homes where pubs meet - not dedicated KHs

  2) They are selling so many so quickly that the number from day to day is different

  3) They leverage KHs for loans used for operating expenses and to pay CSA settlements, so technically the bank owns them :)

  It is a moving target that they view as semi-liquid assets. They are not emotionally attached to the KHs like the publishers who built them, paid for them, maintained them, and worshipped in them.
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  22

  The Rapture

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was pioneering, i don't remember ever addressing the rapture question.

  does anyone know how a jw would respond to this verse?

  for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god.

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  ThomasMore

  The JW answer was that it prophesied the resurrection of deceased anointed ones in 1918, all at once. However, they never addressed verse 17 with any finality which says "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

  They did offer that it 'could' be that the annointed still alive prior to Armageddon could be taken to heaven all at once, but they waffled back and forth as to when this might occur. While saying that all anointed would share in the battle of Armageddon as brothers of Christ, they later said that some could live through Armageddon and be taken afterward. Clearly, they have no insight on the matter, per their usual 'make it up as they go' method of muddling through scriptural explanations.

  I recall some 'heavies' saying that that 1 Thess sounded like Christendom's version of the rapture, but they did not want to use the word. Typical WTC spin.

  WTC also uses these verses as proof that Jesus is Michael the archangel.

  I always found it puzzling that they claimed that the Kingdom was established in 1914, but had no officials other than Christ until 1918. Details, details - don't bother Watchtower with details.
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  51

  Interesting that the other cult-cousins are going thru nearly identical hemmoraging of members.....

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i still read on reddit.

  (though no longer post) occasionally, i'll venture over to the ex-seventh day adventist (sda) sub and catch up a bit.

  it's been a long time.

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  ThomasMore

  dropoffyourkeylee - I think your points are all valid.

  However, if WTC is banking on growth in Africa to save them, they are truly desperate. African publishers do not donate enough to offset the costs and risks of doing business there. Currently, WTC is not sending investment funds there as one might expect, given the interest being shown by the people.

  Political tides turn quickly in most African nations. US based religions are seen by the governments as a drain on the nation, and are viewed with growing suspicion. Historically, moving money out of those countries back to the US has been problematic, placing the JW Branch personnel in those lands at risk of imprisonment and/or persecution.

  African interest in the promise of paradise is to be expected. However, the cultures in those lands are not aligned with JWism at all. CSA, domestic violence, fraud and other practices are deeply rooted. Immigrants from African lands bring all those problems to the US where they manifest themselves in judicial hearings. I don't see any help for WTC coming as a result of interest on that continent - and I think WTC has serious doubts that growth there will ever be profitable.
  
  
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  36

  Big News: August English Watchtower released on servers

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  big news.

  just in from a friend who is fading.. disfellowshipping will no longer be a term used by jws.

  study article 35, paragraph 4 footnote says this:.

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  ThomasMore

  Well that settles it. I am going back!