TonusOH

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Posts by TonusOH

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  53

  What`s the reason some of you think JW`s are in decline ?

  by smiddy3 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from what i can see no such thing is happening.i became a jw in 1960 and remained for about 30 years and the numbers of active jw`s today in the world are far greater than they were back then.. and here in australia the numbers are much higher than they were back then .. so i don`t see that their in decline or have any worries about losing support .. don`t the numbers speak for themselves ?.

  is it just wishful thinking on your part ?.

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  TonusOH

  I agree with nicolaou, they appear to be relaxing a lot of policies in order to keep the numbers from slipping. It's not the same religion I grew up and spent 40+ years in. But that's also not new- the WTS has changed many times over the past 100+ years, and while some of those changes were disastrous (the 1920s are a good example), they have read the winds pretty well overall and kept it together. The big threat now is that 1914 continues to fade into the past and at some point they will need to drop it or refute it, if they can find something to replace it with.
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  33

  Does the Governing Body already know that Jehovah (the name) came from Babylon the Great?

  by Chevelle in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'll start by stating the obvious... according to the watchtower, the catholic church is a huge part of babylon the great which is led by satan and his demons.

  raymundus martini, a catholic monk (who "represents" babylon the great to some extent), woke up one day in the 13th century and decided to alter yhwh so it can be easily pronounced.

  hence the spanish-ish version of yhwh was created... jehova... (sounds something like this in spanish: heh-o-va).

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  TonusOH

  This is also something that happens with a lot of names, even today. Take a common name like John. It is spelled and pronounced differently in Spanish than in English, and I assume it is also spelled/pronounced differently in many other languages. If the spelling and pronounciation of his name was that important, god could have taken care of that when he invented all of those languages at the tower of Babel.
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  33

  Regional convention 2023

  by sove in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any streamed content from this years regional convention available with any of you guys?

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  TonusOH

  The two-witness rule is supposed to apply to deliberations and actions taken by elders regarding accusations of wrongdoing and investigations of 'sinful behavior.' That should not stop anyone from contacting the police if there is an accusation of a crime, especially something as important as child abuse. It should not stop elders from encouraging the rank and file to report a crime to the police, regardless of whether the elders can or cannot get involved. The idea that the police should not be contacted unless there are two witnesses to a crime makes no sense. It is not a legal requirement. It is not a typical behavior in a community.
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  23

  Link between relationships and health/happiness

  by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.

  if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.

  as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.

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  TonusOH

  If you can wait until the very end before making a commitment, and god is okay with that, then isn't that actually the best course of action? Live how you please, wait for clarification, then make a choice. It sounds like the most logical option. If god was to punish people for doing otherwise, that seems unfair.
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  7

  Dr Heather Ransom's Story in the Daily Mail newspaper

  by LostintheFog1999 in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  following on from the rebekah vardy tv programme last week, dr heather ransom's story is in the daily mail.. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12097861/my-family-friends-rejected-fled-jehovahs-witnesses.html.

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  TonusOH

  1% of 8 billion would be 80 million. 8 million would be one-tenth of one percent.
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  17

  What would Watchtower Corporation(tm) do?

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what would watchtower corporation(tm) do in compromise of their 'north korean style rules' if by publicly removing them, they could get more money and power?.

  if each governing body(tm) member (pee be upon them), were offered a few million quid/bucks each to rescind the barbaric 'no whole blood' rule?.

  i know what i think these fake religionists would do.

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  TonusOH

  I agree, LUHE. I think that what would get them to drop it is if you could demonstrate that they would gain a lot more converts as a result. More converts means a steady stream of income, instead of just a lump sum. And it also means you have power over even more people, which I figure counts for something to the members of a 'governing body.'
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  19

  Normal people don't give a darn if you're a witness

  by XBEHERE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was posted on exjw reddit, check it out if some of you never have.

  https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/13q6k5l/normal_people_dont_give_a_darn_if_youre_a_witness/ .

  i find this to be the case, people in general are so not interested in religion that they really could care less about jws.

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  TonusOH

  Most people only know JWs as the people who knock on doors to preach, or who are next to the stands with WT magazines and tracts. JWs tend to be pretty mild and approachable in general, so people who know a JW or two will usually tell you that they're nice people.

  The other stuff --especially about birthdays and holidays-- probably seems weird to them, but since it doesn't affect them directly, it's not a big deal. At my old job, they actually offered to change the name and description of the annual Christmas luncheon and office party, because they felt bad that I would not take part. I explained that it was still, in my mind, a holiday occasion. I think they admired my willingness to take a stand, but also it did not affect them-- they were able to enjoy both, whether or not I was there.
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  17

  What would Watchtower Corporation(tm) do?

  by punkofnice in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what would watchtower corporation(tm) do in compromise of their 'north korean style rules' if by publicly removing them, they could get more money and power?.

  if each governing body(tm) member (pee be upon them), were offered a few million quid/bucks each to rescind the barbaric 'no whole blood' rule?.

  i know what i think these fake religionists would do.

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  TonusOH

  Cognitive dissonance also plays a part. I've known brothers who were definitely 100% in, even though they knew things that should have made them at least stop for a moment and question themselves. I don't think that they were faking it, I think they were genuinely convinced, and were willing to bury anything that might cause doubt. When we want things to be true or false, our minds can work hard to help us fool ourselves.
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  14

  For those following the JW headquarters reaction to the UK documentary - Rebekah Vardy: Jehovah's Witnesses and Me

  by jwleaks in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in addition to the jws false and misleading denial that rebekah vardy was ever a jehovah's witness, a few other interesting developments occurred that are worth noting:.

  1. an article in the last days newsletter reporting on how the jw[.

  ]org website scrubbed clean its jw 'news' page and produced an entire new glossary of jw terminally meaning for the media:.

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  TonusOH

  There are times when they can defend a controversial or unpopular practice, such as refusing to serve in the armed forces. Even for people who disagree with the stance, they can admit that there is a rational explanation for why they take that position. Shunning is very difficult to defend. It's a pretty extreme practice, plenty of religions do not practice it, and there are always going to be examples of how it harms families and friendships.

  I think they are trying to have it both ways- keep the practice, but imply that they don't really do it. So they won't just come out and renounce the practice of shunning. They might hope that it fades from public attention so that they won't get hassled over it anymore, while they keep doing it.
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  8

  Meaning of Elder from the horses mouth as contrasted with Clergy

  by Longlivetherenegades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  meaning of as captured in one of their publications.... .

  elder: a spiritually mature male witness appointed to teach and to provide pastoral care for the well-being of congregation members.

  an elder must meet the scriptural qualifications as outlined at 1 timothy 3:1-7; titus 1:5-9; james 3:17, 18; and 1 peter 5:2.. elders are not paid ministers and are not employees of their respective congregation or any corporation associated with jehovah’s witnesses.

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  TonusOH

  When I was in, turning down an opportunity to become an MS or elder would have been a red flag, unless the man in question had a really good reason to turn it down. But back then there wasn't a shortage of people available, so the ones who were invited were people who clearly wanted to serve. I can't imagine being in a congregation where the atmosphere was that apathetic!