Apognophos

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Posts by Apognophos

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  73

  Elders removed in Northern PA. Congregation

  by ToesUp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a close family member just informed me what happened during their last c.o.

  visit.

  this occurred 3 months ago.

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  Apognophos

  Okay, interesting. I'd just never heard of a reversal before; I didn't know that was even a term.
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  6

  Help with Magazine Article Regarding 1975 and Jesus

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello to all.. i need help finding a quote written in an article not sure if it was awake or watchtower.. it may have been the years 68' or 69 but i remember distinctly that it mentioned 1975 was approaching very quickly and that it was not time to be fooling around with jesus' words about no one knowing the date or the hour.. thanks!.

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  Apognophos

  I just posted that on another thread earlier today :-) What's extra funny about that quote is to contrast it with this material from 1976:

  *** w76 7/15 pp. 433-434 par. 8 Keeping a Balanced View of Time ***
  So, when Jehovah God makes known a certain time for the outworking of some feature of his divine purpose, his faithful servants can rely implicitly on the exactness of the published schedule. But when he has not made such announcement, then it remains beyond their ability and power to determine the time of the realization of that purpose. That is the case with the timing of the outbreak of the “great tribulation” that God’s Son foretold, a time of divine judgment that opens the way for the start of the thousand-year Kingdom rule, which will bring untold blessings for this earth and its inhabitants.—Matt. 24:21, 22; Rev. 7:14-17.

  *** w76 7/15 p. 440 par. 11, 15-17 A Solid Basis for Confidence ***
  11 It may be that some who have been serving God have planned their lives according to a mistaken view of just what was to happen on a certain date or in a certain year. They may have, for this reason, put off or neglected things that they otherwise would have cared for. But they have missed the point of the Bible’s warnings concerning the end of this system of things, thinking that Bible chronology reveals the specific date.

  15 But it is not advisable for us to set our sights on a certain date, neglecting everyday things we would ordinarily care for as Christians, such as things that we and our families really need. We may be forgetting that, when the “day” comes, it will not change the principle that Christians must at all times take care of all their responsibilities. If anyone has been disappointed through not following this line of thought, he should now concentrate on adjusting his viewpoint, seeing that it was not the word of God that failed or deceived him and brought disappointment, but that his own understanding was based on wrong premises.

  16 However, say that you are one who counted heavily on a date, and, commendably, set your attention more strictly on the urgency of the times and the need of the people to hear. And say you now, temporarily, feel somewhat disappointed; are you really the loser? Are you really hurt? We believe you can say that you have gained and profited by taking this conscientious course. Also, you have been enabled to get a really mature, more reasonable viewpoint.—Eph. 5:1-17.
  
  17 The Scriptures repeatedly tell us that the end will come as a complete surprise upon the world. The apostle spoke of this, saying: “You yourselves know quite well that Jehovah’s day [for judgment] is coming exactly as a thief in the night.” (1 Thess. 5:2) So that true Christians would not be ‘overtaken as thieves,’ Jesus said even to his disciples back there, and to us today: “Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Thereafter he said: “Prove yourselves ready, because at an hour that you do not think to be it, the Son of man is coming.” (Matt. 24:42-44) These clear statements of Jesus indicate that God’s servants will never be given the date of Christ’s “coming” for judgment until it actually takes place. In fact, it will come at what appears to them an ‘unlikely’ time.—Luke 12:39, 40.

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  These study articles appear to have been part of a sort of "Post-1975 Blame Game" issue of the Watchtower.
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  40

  8 Year Old Getting Baptized!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  eight year old getting baptized!

  (from a jw site.

  this 8 year old sister was the youngest of the 31 who were baptized at a regional convention in bogo city, cebu, philippines on the weekend.

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  Apognophos

  Unless there's some finer point that the Society puts on the word "minister", any kid is a minister if they are even an unbaptized publisher.
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  6

  Awake 1980 advice -Film "The Exorcist" caused demonic possessions and murders in Texas!!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  awake 1980 12/8 p.11 "since the release of "the exorcist" some years ago many reports are on file (at bethel no doubt) of adverse effects it had on many...mureen was an atheist who saw the film..."i could feel something happening to me....there was something in my house as i could feel it with me whereever i went..." mureen studied with local witnesses and was cured.

  awake 1980 7/22 p.31 "excorsist 2 was shown recently on t.v.

  a mother and daughter from whitchita falls texas watched it together.

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  Apognophos

  I haven't seen The Exorcist, but The Shining was hilarious.
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  73

  Elders removed in Northern PA. Congregation

  by ToesUp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a close family member just informed me what happened during their last c.o.

  visit.

  this occurred 3 months ago.

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  Apognophos

  and victim was df'd (later this was reversed (not a reinstatement))

  I'm not clear on this, blondie. Isn't a reversal of a DFing a reinstatement?
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  3

  Matthew 24:36-37

  by lambsbottom in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  matthew 24: 36 concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the son, but only the father.

  37 for just as the days of noah were, so the presence (parousia) of the son of man will be.. i had always thought jws took 36 as meaning christ's coming at armageddon (erchomai), after the 1914 presence (parousia).

  however, the greek word in 37 is parousia.

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  Apognophos

  Well said. Basically this topic only gets confusing when you start with the Watchtower teaching and have to work your way out from there to a common-sense reading. Jesus' message was really quite straightforward and it doesn't require learning Greek in order to distinguish erkhomai from parousia.
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  27

  Elder Appointments

  by MaybeSo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  doing some research as to what qualifications someone needs to meet to become an elder, i came up with one conclusion: it's who you know and is very subjective.. funny thing is too, if you searc the wt online library there are not recent articles that describe and outline the requirements.

  which makes me think that there were too many requirements and as we all know, it is based now on how close you are with the current co and not necessarily on being a model jw in the congo.

  so the borg decided to leave it up all to the co and not tell the rest what to look for on these appointed men.. you could do your hours, be early to the meetings, be prepared, keep your car and house clean, family in good reputation, etc but if you are in the circle then you can forget it.

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  Apognophos

  Okay, what is the advantage of being an elder?

  Status, I guess? Good question. Personally I saw the prospect of becoming an elder as more of a threat than anything. It seemed like a punishment for being zealous. "Good job being a ministerial servant, now you have to: give more and longer talks, conduct field service more, set an even better example (or give the appearance of one, at least), handle various bureaucratic stuff and perhaps sit on judicial committees, go to elder's meetings after the public meetings are done and everyone else is going home, and deal with various and sundry problems thrown into your lap in person and over the phone at all hours of the day by the neediest publishers in the congregation."

  And how many people in any given congregation want to become one?

  Probably not many more than are ones. There's usually trouble finding enough brothers who are fit for promoting to elder or MS, and usually if a brother wants to qualify, he will be able to do what's needed. That's why there's often talks being given to encourage brothers to "reach out" for more "privileges", and this little speech is also given to brothers when the elders visit them on shepherding calls.

  Is it considered gauche to express a desire to become an elder?

  More or less, yes. But if you just say that you're "reaching out", it's a euphemistic way to say the same thing. If you say that often though, the elders will be leery of you for seeming power-hungry.

  Also, if one had more ambition, how could one become a member of the Governing Board?

  Well, you'd have to profess to be anointed, and you'd have to climb the ladder from elder to circuit overseer, then district overseer, then various positions in headquarters leading up to becoming one of the helpers to the Governing Body. It's probably possible to bypass the overseer rungs by taking the Bethel route and being promoted internally. Of course it would be pretty hard to actually do all this on purpose -- about the same odds as starting off as fry cook in a McDonald's and aiming to become a VP of the McDonald's corporation.
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  73

  Elders removed in Northern PA. Congregation

  by ToesUp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a close family member just informed me what happened during their last c.o.

  visit.

  this occurred 3 months ago.

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  Apognophos

  Yes. Sometimes there are good ethical reasons to remove elder bodies, e.g. if they are oppressing the congregation or covering up each others' wrongdoing. What's strange is that the CO did not give a talk about any particular sin afterward in order to imply "this is why we're removing the elders". Is it possible that the talk was just his regular, prepared discourse and it had nothing to do with the removal?
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  12

  2014 AGM - Splane and Pyramids

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  just read a comment on a site that said:.

  "at the annual general meeting this year at stanley halls it is on tv.jw.org david splane said the pyramid of giza the bible students believed in for calculating time periods were from pagans".

  wasted 2 hours watching the am on jw tv.. splane indeed says this, and that br.

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  Apognophos

  No. You have to read between the lines:

  "He let [the slave's] reason win out over [his own, inconsequential] emotion."
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  20

  One of my main problems with the WT: A very irresponsible organization

  by Hidden-Window in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of my main problems with the watch tower and, more specifically, with the governing body is the level of irresponsibility seen when lives of people are involved and their unapologetical attitude when people suffer due to their absurd policies.. how many people were imprisoned or killed for refusing to perform civil service in exchange for military service?.

  we do not know, but it does not matter, because the society does not even apologize for the harm their blinking light caused.. how many people died or contracted illnesses due to the prohibition of vaccines?.

  we might never know, but an apology is not on the menu.. how many people died for refusing (or disfellowshipped for accepting) fractions of blood when it was against the rules?.

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  Apognophos

  CoCo: I think they meant that more JWs have been killed by their own blood policy than the number of JWs killed by those dictators who opposed the religion.

  It is still reasonable to see that 70,000 of died in past 50 years, if you consider children of the the JWs who were not baptized or relatives who are associated with them.

  Yes, I agree.