2017 figures released to bethel families worldwide:.
peak publishers: 8,457,107. total baptized: 284,212 .
regular pioneers: 1,225,279 .
Considering the economy in some parts of the UK is not as it seems it's no wonder pioneers have increased. Sorry for personal opinion but...
I don't agree with university education. I believe in teaching kids life skills whilst at school and grooming them for a good work ethic. Forget university, why aren't young adults using libraries, museums and educational websites? Because they've been dumbed down by continous monotonous education, rather than progressive research as we do.
enough rhetoric for now, here is my promised first part to my series.. for the benefit of lurkers, i'm using mainly wt publications as my research to show this information isn't 'apostate'.
part 1: association with russell and the bible students.
i want to ask an honest question.
Hello everyone, unlike the Watchtower Society, I do not claim to reveal "new light" or something different from what you've heard before. Far from it! I believe what has already been posted by others is far better than my writeup. As an example, ones like Ray Franz and Barbara Anderson and others formerly from the WHQ have written the most insightful information about the Borg no one can top. All you see here is a review of my view of Rutherford, with sprinkles of speculation. Nothing more, nothing less. To presume otherwise would be far from the truth. Your reactions are noble considering I am a "newbie". However, though my viewpoints appear exaggerated, they are so to wake up still ins. Your reactions will confuse them, making them say in cult style "if they don't agree on this, what is there to believe?"
Although not a Christian, I still view others as more important than I am. Who I am is irrelevant and unimportant, I wish to remain in the shadows or else disappear into oblivion. Best wishes to you.
there’s a lot.
i think one strange view is how only 144000 go to heaven.
since the number is mentioned in the symbolic book of revelation, you would expect that the number would be viewed as figurative, but jws say otherwise.
Let me list some of their strange beliefs:
The third heaven is God's Kingdom in it's elevated position.
The seven trumpet blasts are from 7 conventions in the early days
The Song of Solomon is a lovesong
Jesus is wisdom personified from proverbs
Oral or anal sex is porneia
i think the wt will never give up this practice unless forced to by the courts, even if they are financially failing terribly they will keep it because the moment they do get rid of it the whole thing will collapse even faster and they know it(or afraid of it happening).
they have painted themselves into a corner of financial ruin.
.
The jws still view the Bible as more important than or above organisation, even by representatives of their organisation. Only until they reinterpret "remove the wicked man among yourselves" as a removal from congregation rather than family...
i ask this because from what i read on this board lately is that they jw`s seem to be very reluctant to engage in conversation with anybody nowadays and are only interested in placing literature at carts.. and if anyone brings up questions in their d2d work that challenge them ( like the arc ) they will promptly excuse themselves and move on.
also didn`t jesus say "this good news of the kingdom would be preached in all the inhabited earth " for a witness ?.
when was the last time you heard a jw speak about "the good news of the kingdom" ?
I'd hate to burst your bubble, but I can see an increase of jdubs making sense of who they are and what they do now within their belief system by getting straight to the Kingdom message and by increasing their service. I've heard of more auxiliary and regular pioneers and more studies being started, in Britain anyway. Unfortunately despite all the news reports exposing abuse, jws are soldiering on in the UK.
enough rhetoric for now, here is my promised first part to my series.. for the benefit of lurkers, i'm using mainly wt publications as my research to show this information isn't 'apostate'.
part 1: association with russell and the bible students.
i want to ask an honest question.
Pete Zahut,
Thank you. Although on personal examination, I'll decline to accept all the information it presents.
hello to all pomos, pimos and lurkers!
i would firstly like to introduce myself, as i should have done in my initial post.
i will remain anonymous for this website.
Old Navy,
That was a well worded comment. You're jumping to a conclusion that I was initially passing judgment and old habits die hard? You're hugely mistaken.
Dear god, people do tend to read to much into things don't they?
for the december monthly broadcast instead of jws from around the world waving to you and items of how to shun people we will have to make do with repeats of of old gilead videos that have been on the jw website for a good while.
When it crumbles we won't have much to talk about. Too bad too bad... edit: we will, but only about its demise. No need to downvote...
is it still watchtower dogma that the seven trumpets of revelation refer to seven conventions in the 1920s?
would many jws these days even be aware of this?
i find it so amusing that seven little conventions in the distant past, almost a century ago, could be equated with such an iconic biblical passage.
Diogenesister,
It would be freaky if they accepted the "theocratic" idea of an exjw. "Jehovah works in mysterious ways" 😉
