ThomasMore

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Posts by ThomasMore

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  3

  Prophets other than the FDS.

  by LostintheFog1999 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  what does anyone think about the "famous people" who allegedly predicted the future?

  edgar cayce, nostrodamus, etc.... are they just as much whack jobs as the wtb& ts?.

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  ThomasMore

  Yes.
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  20

  How do JWs know that millions who were martyred as Christians before the 20th century did not have the heavenly hope?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as i understand it, jehovah’s witnesses believe less than 145,000 faithful christians existed prior to the twentieth century.

  the other sheep christians did not start forming until after 1914. that means jehovah’s witnesses view millions martyred for their faith in christ prior to the 20th century as merely professed christians.. the question is…how do witnesses know that those millions who perished for their faith in christ were not christians at all?.

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  ThomasMore

  Vanderhoven - your bullet points are exactly what WTC teaches. The question is as you put it so simply is: "How do Jehovah's Witnesses know that millions who died for their faith in Christ prior to 1914 were professed but not real Christians?"

  The answer is: "They had to be non-Christians or our teachings would be wrong."

  You also wrote: "They know who belongs to Christ and who doesn't."

  This is by their use of the "HEART-O-METER", a unique device that they alone possess.

  Feel free to call me if you have any other questions.
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  6

  Governing Body: The growth we have is a sign of Jehovah’s blessing.

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this looks like your typical watchtower study meeting.

  lots of empty seats.. twenty-five years ago my old congregation had around 180 congregation members.

  the elders decided to split the congregation in two.

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  ThomasMore

  That cong looks to be having amazing growth! They may be ready to split soon. Time to build a new KH to accomodate them - who can give something for the cause?

  Years ago, I extrapolated the age of our BOE and brought it up several times - no one cared at all. Since then, they have struggled to find qualified men, the COBE is immature, and pubs won't share pics of meeting because attendance is so bad. I wonder how they function at all.

  They are a reflection of the majority of congs in the US - ready to collapse. For WTC to claim -1% shrinkage in the US is laughable. Since I left, the numbers are surely 60% what they used to be. As for attendance in person, somewhere closer to 20%.

  If someone tries to tell you something different, offer to sell them beachfront property in Florida 1000 ft from shore (out in the water).
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  23

  2022 WTS Numbers

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2022 grand totals.

  branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 86. .

  number of lands reporting: 239. .

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  ThomasMore

  FedUpJW - that was the most telling number for me. It is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY rare for anyone to come from the field these days and get baptized. Given that WTC was pressuring young ones to get baptized, they certainly knew that almost no one was responding in the D2D work. So, they started pressuring parents to get their kids baptized. This also back-fired when they got heavily criticized for it later in the year. Most JWs understand that such a decision should only be made by mature persons.

  If you take away the children being baptized, the number might be on the low end of 5 figures. That would mean that short of born-ins, the gig is up.
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  23

  2022 WTS Numbers

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2022 grand totals.

  branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 86. .

  number of lands reporting: 239. .

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  ThomasMore

  Hellothere - I think Prince was a good donator to the cong he attended. WTC hoped to get a piece of his estate but that was not in the cards from what I hear. ALthough he was generous locally, he seemed to have enough sense not to leave anything to WTC headquarters. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.
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  15

  bringing up the 1954 Walsh Trial

  by enoughisenough in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i went back into this forum a little ways and found quite a bit of discussion on the walsh (1954) for those newly out or those who don't know of what i write, you should really check it out.

  anyone who is a jw or studying with jw should see material from this trial.

  my take away...the printed materials of the wtbts were to believed over the bible and if you didn't believe the wt teachings over the bible, ( even though they admit to false prophesy )you would be disfellowshipped and deserving of death.

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  ThomasMore

  Slim, the Moyle case was revealing, but especially in the way WTC spitefully paid the award - IN COINS. I can barely imagine the real problem Moyle had wrapping all those coins so that a bank would accept them. I speak from experience when I say it would take many months to wrap that many coins. Getting a bank to accept them would also be more than a task for the most determined.

  I thought that the court should have doubled or even tripled the award when that happened. It was a scummy thing and lots of people became aware of their reluctance to abide by the courts decision.
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  169

  Are the statistics out yet?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  isn’t it about time they released the report for the service year?

  or have they stopped publishing it?

  did they released selected figures at the annual meeting as they usually do, such as the memorial attendance or record number of pioneers?

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  ThomasMore

  Gorb said "It's a fake report so in reality it is far more down."

  Gorb, I think we would all be shocked at the "REAL" numbers if they actually published them unvarnished. WTC has a poker face but the sweat beads are showing.
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  169

  Are the statistics out yet?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  isn’t it about time they released the report for the service year?

  or have they stopped publishing it?

  did they released selected figures at the annual meeting as they usually do, such as the memorial attendance or record number of pioneers?

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  ThomasMore

  Unlike the years of growth that are now far behind them in the rearview mirror, WTC faces a near impossible uphill slog to recover - THE INTERNET.

  Like a child who builds sandcastles at low tide, WTC faced no formidable criticism in the pre-internet era. Some disputed but it was hard to find their criticism and WTC had the bully pulpit to counteract anything that "wicked apostates" brewed up in their caldron. But the high tide of the internet arrived and now eveything WTC builds get wave after wave of exposure from a vast assortment of scholars, exJWs, and human advocates who expose the nonsense, washing it away as fast as they can spew it out.

  The gig is up for WTC. They may not completely dissentegrate soon, but the writing is on the wall - Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin. Their Kingdom has been weighed in the balance and found deficient. Slaves are now leaving in droves as the shackles are broken. Sound familiar?
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  27

  So where oh where did Judge Rutherford come up with JW theology?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  bits of unreported history that may be of casual interest… as to doctrinal origins.

  sykes was one-of-a-kind in the pentecostal movement, but he was considered quite a maverick who went his own way with heretical teachings repugnant to the pentecostal faith.. joshua sykes’ congregation was integrated, unlike pastor russell’s public speeches/sermons where blacks and whites both could attend, but only in separate sections--sykes's members were sitting side by side in the pentecostal church.

  this was considered dangerous and inflammatory at the time.. pentecostal preacher joshua sykes practiced racial and gender "integration" as early as 1908 -- having both african-american and female assistant preachers, staffers, and members.

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  ThomasMore

  Reasonfirst, Fred Franz did have his own collection that remained in his locked office for years after his death until it was catalogued and boxed away. His vision had failed many years before his death so he had ceased to read them and there is no record of others reading them for him. However, his thinking was clearly influenced by non-JW literature, but never shared with the R&F or with the Writing Dept officially. To get his viewpoints, you would have had to follow him to the sauna he frequeted weekly along with other young Bethelites who viewed him as the oracle of WTC, Socrates.
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  27

  So where oh where did Judge Rutherford come up with JW theology?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  bits of unreported history that may be of casual interest… as to doctrinal origins.

  sykes was one-of-a-kind in the pentecostal movement, but he was considered quite a maverick who went his own way with heretical teachings repugnant to the pentecostal faith.. joshua sykes’ congregation was integrated, unlike pastor russell’s public speeches/sermons where blacks and whites both could attend, but only in separate sections--sykes's members were sitting side by side in the pentecostal church.

  this was considered dangerous and inflammatory at the time.. pentecostal preacher joshua sykes practiced racial and gender "integration" as early as 1908 -- having both african-american and female assistant preachers, staffers, and members.

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  ThomasMore

  Terry, thanks for that excellent ensemble of facts!! Well researched and very much appreciated!!!