it embarrassed me.
when i was young my folks made me wear one and i opened it up and took the paper out making it look like it fell out.
after my folks ask what happen i said i dont know.
recent pre-assembly meeting parts still mandated to wear badges even in restaurants to advertise the assembly and mark the many visitor count. earlier we were encouraged to put magazines in the car windows to identify and cheer on [speeding?] fellow convention travellers.
had also "administration" signs in the windshield, only to promptly have the radiator punctured with long spear. --switched to air cooled VW. ha ha.
one of the sillier notions taught at km schools is the concept of "teaching through prayer.
" the idea is that words supposedly directed to jehovah god through christ jesus are actually aimed at individuals who are in a position to say "amen" to the supplication.
for example, in a judicial setting brother pompous opens the hearing in prayer: "dear jehovah, we ask your blessing on this arrangement.
did you know that job's family celebrated birthdays?
the word translated "his own day" at job 1:4 is the same word translated "day of his birth" in job 3:1. .
seems deceptive, does it not, to change that translation.
more "odds and ends".
i liked lyman swingle (governing body member)......he was from alabama, he knew how to curse at the right time.
i think, that’s why i went to him, when i was having so much trouble with my future wife’s parents.
with the book crisis of conscience detailing the turbulence at bethel during the early to mid 70's, the transformation from autocratic rule to governance by committee or a body of men, many of us can speak to how that felt among the rank and file of the local congregations during those years.
we learned new concepts based in large part to research done for the aid to bible understanding volume, then we were asked or coerced into unlearning those principles, going back to the old ways.
some of us never readjusted, finding ourselves very different from our more hardline compadres.. the inertia for the changes that eventually were initiated in the congregations came from the discovery that the greek words episkopos and presbyteros were used biblically to refer to all qualified men in a congregation, not just one.
some scattered thoughts about the granting or denial of privileges of service as a control mechanism:.
this method of persuasion involving reward or punishment is so deeply ingrained in watchtower function, it is second nature.
although sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant, everyone from new bible study to traveling overseer is subconsciously aware of the possible limiting of his official opportunities to serve god and his brothers.. .
with the book crisis of conscience detailing the turbulence at bethel during the early to mid 70's, the transformation from autocratic rule to governance by committee or a body of men, many of us can speak to how that felt among the rank and file of the local congregations during those years.
we learned new concepts based in large part to research done for the aid to bible understanding volume, then we were asked or coerced into unlearning those principles, going back to the old ways.
some of us never readjusted, finding ourselves very different from our more hardline compadres.. the inertia for the changes that eventually were initiated in the congregations came from the discovery that the greek words episkopos and presbyteros were used biblically to refer to all qualified men in a congregation, not just one.
JWdaughter; "I don't remember short skirts, pantsuits--" no wonder you did not remember that, it was no doubt sarcastic prophesying be a previous poster. it was villagegirl :Oh wait a minute, what message board is this ?
i just remembered something from the past as a jw.. in the 60s and 70s our dad would have a mini study at the dinner table every day on that days text from the yearbook.
one of us would read the text and then dad would ask questions or make comments about it.. this was, of course, on top of a weekly family study.. since there were usually about 7 of us at the table it required a number of yearbooks to be purchased.
the society came up with genius ways of why we needed so many of their publications, i am assuming this was suggested by them.. this daily ritual used to be done at breakfast to start with but ended up not working out so well, then it was changed to dinner time.
don't underrate that ritual, wt has it's foot firmly planted in the mouth all the time, and these are old wt magazine paragraph reprints. so , since these discussion are free wheeling not under congregation control; what a good way to expose wt "truth", planting "seeds" by asking for refutation of Imaginary house holder "objections" aka TaTT really? used to be that the text was part of the Year book, and it was not a prophetic year of 360 days, there was no letup. not even 5 days off.
i am going way, way back.
history reveals that in the beginning the wt was just a publishing house, selling books and magazines; over the years it evolved into what it is today..
the placement of the original publications was mostly done thru sales people masquerading as preachers.
so, if a "generation" is a vague period that can take in several overlapping generations, why are other "dates" supposed to be specific?.
for example, 1914 is supposed to be set in stone - specific, based on scriptural principles, timing, etc.
but the start date is wrong 587 vs 607. and they use "a day for a year" principle.
