Just to say /darkspilver
Stranraer is in Scotland.
a friend of ours over in northern ireland says that people can't find their country on jw.org.
apparently it is because the list of countries on the jw.org site is by bethel not the standard list of countries that (say) a google website would list.
someone looking for a congregation in northern ireland goes to "ireland" but that is only the republic of ireland.
Just to say /darkspilver
Stranraer is in Scotland.
a friend of ours over in northern ireland says that people can't find their country on jw.org.
apparently it is because the list of countries on the jw.org site is by bethel not the standard list of countries that (say) a google website would list.
someone looking for a congregation in northern ireland goes to "ireland" but that is only the republic of ireland.
A friend of ours over in Northern Ireland says that people can't find their country on jw.org.
Apparently it is because the list of countries on the jw.org site is by Bethel not the standard list of countries that (say) a Google website would list.
Someone looking for a congregation in Northern Ireland goes to "Ireland" but that is only the Republic of Ireland. So they go looking for the United Kingdom, only to find it is not in the list.
They should be looking for Britain (London Bethel) which oversees congregations in the north of Ireland - except official Northern Ireland is not (geographically and politically) a part of Great Britain.
Is it any wonder that people over there are getting confused! The only good thing is that the searcher might give it up as a bad job and move on with their life without ever being contaminated by the WTS.
i've been enjoying watching hulu's "the path" lately.
i found this site with a breakdown of the lingo (not that i needed it).
https://decider.com/2016/04/06/your-guide-to-the-symbols-and-terminology-for-the-path-hulu/.
I have been watching it as well. It was said that the writer was involved with the scientologists and got many of the ideas from there. Like you, I could see the parallels to the JWs as well.
One thing in the story that I can't ever imagine happening in the organisation was when the husband gathered together all the ex-members and brought them to the gates, where they after a stand off were welcomed back. Could you ever see that happening in the Org!?
i have friends who are called "worldly people" by jws.
these people are actively involved in feeding the homeless over christmas.
managing thrift shops so they can send financial aid overseas to poorer children.
I have friends who are called "worldly people" by JWs. These people are actively involved in feeding the homeless over Christmas. Managing thrift shops so they can send financial aid overseas to poorer children. They are doing good works in the true spirit of christianity. And they are outwardly happy people.
The friends in the truth mock them. One elder proudly told brothers that when asked for a donation towards orphan children in poverty he said "those children don't need food, they need to know about Jehovah's Kingdom. Send them Bibles, don't send them food aid!"
The whole "there's too many problems to fix and sure the Kingdom will put everything right" attitude makes me sick.
I stopped giving money to the Borg long ago. I gladly give money to my worldly friends and their charitable services. Jesus Christ fed the poor and the hungry.
so my question to them is why have they continually failed to report incidents of child sexual abuse of child members in their congregations to the appropriate authorities ,either police or child protection agency`s, when they are holding judicial committees into these allegations in their congregations when they occur or even some time after ?.
they have consistently failed to do so.. and this failure to do so is not confined to one country ,it is a pattern that is repeated worldwide ,in one country after another country .
(worldwide where they operate in ).
It is disgusting that the GB move the responsibility from the elders to the family. In their letter of September 17, 2017 to the congregation elders, they clearly stated : (direct lift)
"Therefore, the victim, her parents, or anyone else who reports such an allegation to the elders should be clearly informed that they have the right to report the matter to the secular authorities.
Elders do not criticize anyone who chooses to make such a report.—Gal. 6:5.
4. The Scriptures place the responsibility on parents for teaching and protecting their children. (Eph. 6:4) As spiritual shepherds, elders can help parents to shoulder their Scriptural responsibility. Our publications and website contain much helpful information to assist parents.—w10 11/1 p. 13; w08 10/1 p. 21; g 10/07 pp. 3-11; lr pp. 170-171; g99 4/8 pp. 8-11; g97 4/8 p. 14; w96
12/1 pp. 13-14 pars. 18-19; fy pp. 61-62 pars. 24-26; g93 10/8 pp. 5-13; g85 1/22 pp. 3-10."
What is wrong with the elders going straight to the police? If their own child was a victim, would they also hmmm and hum about what to do?
It is beyond normal comprehension which is so sickening.
just spent 8 hours in a 1 day elders school last weekend.
clarification given: "moving forward any elder, ms, or pioneer who themselves or someone under their roof enrolls in higher education, may no longer qualify for privileges in the congregation.
their qualifications will have to be reviewed by their boe.".
A circuit overseer once sat in our home and said about various changes in the organisation, "It's not rocket science, all you have to do is do what you are told to do. Obedience is better than sacrifice."
And as I humored him with my polite nods, my mind was thinking - Jim Jones and the massacre. "Just do what you are told to do. "
What was it your mom used to say to warn you? "Just because everyone else sticks their hands in the fire doesn't mean that you should as well." Mom's know best. 👌👍
it is not “preach the good news” nor is it “believe in jesus and get saved” neither is it “believe in the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses and get saved” although in practice they do teach this.
no, everything they claim depends on a belief in another doctrine which logic decrees cannot be found in the bible.
the leadership of jehovah’s witnesses put absolute faith in a protestant doctrine which is given a latin name, sola scriptura, meaning “by scripture alone”.. good evidence of the governing body believing in the primacy of this doctrine was when being questioned by the australian royal commission, they resorted to the ‘authority’ of scripture to defend their stance on having “two witnesses” when they are investigating child abuse cases.throughout the hearing they paraded their naive trust in the bible as the highest possible authority proudly ignoring the fact that most people regard it as having been superseded by modern scientific evaluations of what is true.. .
Previous study articles referred to the famous ADV assembly at Cedar Point and stressed to modern day witnesses to also go out and Advertise, Advertise the King and His Kingdom.
It's only recently that I actually saw the entire ADV talk without the.... gaps.... which appear in modern quotes of the talk. The thing that they were to advertise was the unshakeable truth that God's Kingdom had been ruling since 1874.
So this too has long been consigned to the dustbin of dead ideas. Typical of the WT and it's GB not coming clean but still expecting everyone to fall into line because "we told you so."
i ask this question because i have personally experienced first hand the control and intrusion into my personal life by the elders at our hall; and for virtually trivial things or non issues!
what's more, i regularly hear of individuals moving to other halls because they were stumbled by the thought police....er, i mean these elders.. have you had any such experience?
have your elders been a bit ott over trivialities?.
I've had 2 elders visit and counsel me for having an opinion on social media. One of them began by saying none of the elders use social media, so I asked the other one if he was still on Instagram and he said he was. I then named 6 elders I have on my friends list from other halls. It was all a bit of a farce.
But when they had gone I suddenly realised that for 2 elders neither of whom was my group overseer to call obviously someone had raised this issue at an elders meeting and they had picked 2 elders to call on me, so the whole body must have discussed the matter before and after, which really angered me.
am i the only one who can't reconcile new light with the light gets brighter?
if it matters at all.
i bring a candle into my house and light it.
Am I the only one who can't reconcile new light with the light gets brighter? if it matters at all.
I bring a candle into my house and light it. Halfway through it's appearance displeases me, so I introduce a new lit candle and blow out the old one. In time I realise I was wrong about this newer candle so I throw it in the trash, but not before I buy a new one and light it up.
So you can see that my house is benefitting from receiving "new lights" but I cannot say that the light is getting brighter because I am not keeping the old candles lit in my house, I am throwing them out every time.
Tell me then if I keep replacing my old lights with new lights - how can I say that "the light is getting brighter....?"
i have written some time ago, about how the religion i grew up in no longer exists.
i was an 80’s jw kid who became a pioneer then a bethelite.
they have new meetings, new elder roles, new acronyms, new core teachings, new songs and even a new bible.
Have to agree 100%.
I grew up in it in the 60s, became an elder in the 80s, but became disillusioned with it all in the years after 2000. Holy spirit led? Can't believe I didn't see through it before, more fool me!
The happy religion of my childhood years is long dead.
What's that lyric in the Billy Joel song "we didn't start the fire...."