Posts by TheOldHippie

13

Catholic encyclopedia misquote

by alcyone in

i do not know if this misquote has been discussed here already.. new catholic encyclopedia says this about jw:.

"judge" rutherford introduced important changes in the witnesses' creed and transformed the congregational structure of the sect as it was under "pastor" russell into a rigid theocracy.

the third leader, "brother" nathan h. knorr, gradually replaced the offensive convert-making tactics of the rutherford era by suave manners that have gained the witnesses their current reputation as one of the best-behaved groups in the world.

TheOldHippie

"It is comparatively biased for an encyclopedia. "

All encyclopaedian articles are written by persons, and so reflect what the author wants to state. You find the strangest opinions on various religious and political groups in encyclopaedias.

54

So... Are they done printing the number of partakers?

by thedepressedsoul in

during the wt study yesterday i had a confused look on my face the whole meeting.

more of a, wtf, face.

one paragraph says, "therefore,the number of partakers does not accurately indicate the number of anointed ones left on earth.".

TheOldHippie

Nothing new. The same has been stated for years - though I admit not as clearly as this time, but still it is nothing new, and the numbers have been printed at the same time. So what's the worry?

33

Disturbing/Puzzling Skit at JW Function Last Night Plus Odd Choice of Music

by Cadellin in

so i attended a fairly large jw gathering last night with my active, elder husband.

it was a good-by party for a former special pioneer couple who have been demoted to reg pios and have now moved to a larger city to find work.

anyway, there was music and skits.

TheOldHippie

So it is weird that they proclaim that they wait for the Kingdom and thus show they are die-hard JWs.

And it is equally weird that they loosen it up and sing "Imagine" and show they can do other things as well.

Either way it is weird.

Man, am I happy I am not married to you - you must be really hard to satisfy.

57

Confused: What does the overlapping generation really mean?

by MicaSmith in

can someone help me understand how the wt came up with the overlapping generation theory?

i just don't understand it even though i read the information several times.

it's bewildering.

TheOldHippie

So when you say that "I feel foolish having been a part of this organization. Who came up with this overlapping theory? It's surreal!" - do you really want to have an answer, or do you only want to get support for the idea of yours that it is foolish and surreal?

26

Some gems from the "Anointed" WT study

by NotBlind in

i know this has been discussed before, but i think some of these wacky (but thought-provoking) comments deserve their own thread.. paragraph 6 says: modestly, anointed ones acknowledge that they do not necessarily have more holy spirit than those with an earthly hope.

they do not claim to have special knowledge or revelations; neither do they try to prove that they are in some way superior.

somebody needs to send this memo to the gb.

TheOldHippie

Remember that the study article talks about the anointed, not about the GB.

33

death at the 'memorial'

by eyeuse2badub in

i just got the news from our former congregation in hollister, ca regarding a tragic event following the 'memorial' wednesday night.

we shared the kh with 2 spanish congos.. a couple from the spanish congregation were leaving the kh so that the next spanish congo could have their 'memorial'.

they exited the parking lot in their car when hit by an oncoming car right in front of the kh.

TheOldHippie

No place for tasteless comments.

36

Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

by shepherdless in

i have seen a few posts here, in various guises, in relation to whether watchtower is in decline.

plenty of people respond, but it is all fairly anecdotal, or "gut feel".

some of it has been wishful thinking.. as of late 2015, watchtower's numbers suggest it is still growing marginally, but there are various anecdotes on this site of publishers typically being older, and younger ones disappearing.

TheOldHippie

jookbeard - Poland is a country that can NOT be used as an example, since so many Polish citizens have left for other countries to get a job. In some other European countries, towards 6-7-8 even 10 % of the JWs are Polish, so within the EU of today it makes "much less" sense than earlier to look at the countries. It would be better to look at the number of JWs in foreign-speaking congregations in each country and add up for example all Polish-speaking congregations of the European countries.

36

Estimating future growth or decline of Watchtower

by shepherdless in

i have seen a few posts here, in various guises, in relation to whether watchtower is in decline.

plenty of people respond, but it is all fairly anecdotal, or "gut feel".

some of it has been wishful thinking.. as of late 2015, watchtower's numbers suggest it is still growing marginally, but there are various anecdotes on this site of publishers typically being older, and younger ones disappearing.

TheOldHippie

I don't see how the median age of congregations could have anything to say. The only way, would be for you to get information of the median age of a whole bunch of congregations in a specific country, a whole bunch. Congregations mirror the surrounding area, the country - there are so many "things" involved. You would need the median age of the JW community in a country as a whole.

27

Unbelievable! Is this even allowed? Two elders from my hall RANDOMLY stopped by my apartment!

by macys in

jw
friends

ok wow.

i am really really pissed.

i had to really hold back and bite my tongue.

TheOldHippie

"Allowed"? Why do you ask whether it is "allowed"? Does one have to be "allowed" to visit you? I don't understand this one. At the same time that you state you are in the process of being reinstated, you shout loudly because you are being visited? Why do you want to be reinstated, if it is such a bad thing to be visited?

20

Words omitted from a Watchtower article

by Doug Mason in

a short time ago i sought information regarding a quotation in the watchtower of april 1, 2010, which did not identify the exact source of the quotation from professor oskar skarsaune.

my interest was heightened because words had been omitted from the source.. the wts provided a copy of the original 29-page article, which is in norwegian.. here is my very unofficial personal translation of the passage from professor skarsaune's article that the watchtower is quoting.

firstly i provide the text as it appears in the watchtower magazine, highlighting where the text has been omitted.

TheOldHippie

"Watchtower wants followers to think that the Bible Canon was closed by the Apostles, not at some later period by the Church."

Not quite so, is it? "Scripture Inspired" book has a chapter on this, and ends with a list of canon identifying when compiled etc., and it is nowhere stated that the Apostles themselves decided on which books.

Name and Place
Muratorian Irenaeus, Clement of Tertullian,
Fragment, Asia Minor Alexandria N. Africa
Italy
Approximate
Date C.E. 170 180 190 207
Matthew A A A A
Mark A A A A
Luke A A A A
John A A A A
Acts A A A A
Romans A A A A
1 Corinthians A A A A
2 Corinthians A A A A
Galatians A A A A
Ephesians A A A A
Philippians A A A A
Colossians A A A A
1 Thessalonians A A A A
2 Thessalonians A A A A
1 Timothy A A A A
2 Timothy A A A A
Titus A A A A
Philemon A A
Hebrews D DA DA
James ?
1 Peter A? A A A
2 Peter D? A
1 John A A DA A
2 John A A DA
3 John A?
Jude A DA A
Revelation A A A A
Name and Place
Origen, Eusebius, Cyril of Cheltenham
Alexandria Palestine Jerusalem List,
N. Africa
Approximate
Date C.E. 230 320 348 365
Matthew A A A A
Mark A A A A
Luke A A A A
John A A A A
Acts A A A A
Romans A A A A
1 Corinthians A A A A
2 Corinthians A A A A
Galatians A A A A
Ephesians A A A A
Philippians A A A A
Colossians A A A A
1 Thessalonians A A A A
2 Thessalonians A A A A
1 Timothy A A A A
2 Timothy A A A A
Titus A A A A
Philemon A A A A
Hebrews DA DA A
James DA DA A
1 Peter A A A A
2 Peter DA DA A D
1 John A A A A
2 John DA DA A D
3 John DA DA A D
Jude DA DA A
Revelation A DA A
Name and Place
Athanasius, Epiphanius, Gregory Amphilocius,
Alexandria Palestine Nazianzus, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Approximate
Date C.E. 367 368 370 370
Matthew A A A A
Mark A A A A
Luke A A A A
John A A A A
Acts A A A A
Romans A A A A
1 Corinthians A A A A
2 Corinthians A A A A
Galatians A A A A
Ephesians A A A A
Philippians A A A A
Colossians A A A A
1 Thessalonians A A A A
2 Thessalonians A A A A
1 Timothy A A A A
2 Timothy A A A A
Titus A A A A
Philemon A A A A
Hebrews A A A DA
James A A A A
1 Peter A A A A
2 Peter A A A D
1 John A A A A
2 John A A A D
3 John A A A D
Jude A A A D
Revelation A DA D
Name and Place
Philaster, Jerome, Augustine, Third
Italy Italy N. Africa Council of
Carthage,
N. Africa
Approximate
Date C.E. 383 394 397 397
Matthew A A A A
Mark A A A A
Luke A A A A
John A A A A
Acts A A A A
Romans A A A A
1 Corinthians A A A A
2 Corinthians A A A A
Galatians A A A A
Ephesians A A A A
Philippians A A A A
Colossians A A A A
1 Thessalonians A A A A
2 Thessalonians A A A A
1 Timothy A A A A
2 Timothy A A A A
Titus A A A A
Philemon A A A A
Hebrews DA DA A A
James A DA A A
1 Peter A A A A
2 Peter A DA A A
1 John A A A A
2 John A DA A A
3 John A DA A A
Jude A DA A A
Revelation DA DA A A