InquiryMan

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Posts by InquiryMan

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  108

  How Far Up The "Ranks" Did You Go In The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at age 18, i was a regular pioneer.

  at 20, a ministerial servant.

  at 24 an elder.

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  InquiryMan

  Auxiliary pioneered several times, declined to RP cause of the constant pressure Invited to Bethel to do translaten, declined MS servant at 20 number of assembly parts took pat in drama once elder at 29 visiting speaker TMS assistant servant congregation book study conductor never wanted to reach out more as an elder took part as a JC just once - did not like the system Even wanted female elders ;-) Never got much support for that. DA at 42
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  17

  The WTBTS and Money. Three questions, please!

  by Gill in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  why does the wtbts not have to publish full details of its accounts, financial dealings, and multi business schemes?

  are all their little business tax free?.

  do women bethelites get paid the same allowance as men bethelites?.

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  InquiryMan

  advises Christian tolerance in a multi-cultural society. Oh really....
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  105

  Name "UNWRITTEN" Rules That JWs Are Supposed To Follow

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as with the scribes and pharisees, there are a number of unwritten rules that witnesses are supposed to follow.

  here's a couple : "worldly" kids in society depictions are shown quite often wearing their baseball caps backwards.

  jehovah's witness youths would not want to imitate that "look".

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  InquiryMan

  Quite a few of those unwritten rules, seems to much more prevalent in the US, than in Scandinavia. I guess due to the fact that fundamentalist groups are not very widespread here, and few people are puritanic, witnesses tend to be more relaxed than their US counterparts. Even though they are perceived as being quite strict compared to the average population.
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  15

  Jehovah's Witnesses & "worldly" association (sad story)

  by lovelylil in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  today a jw friend of mine related this story to me.

  she was at the park with a sister whose husband is an elder.

  the elder's wife had their four year old son, an only child with her.

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  InquiryMan

  This seems pretty weird to me. Most witnesses I hear of in my country are not raised that way. I was not raised in such an extreme way either....
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  23

  Sleeping during meetings

  by darth frosty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just remembering some of the great sleep i used to get at the meetings.

  towards the end i would sleep while reading for the bookstudy and the watchtower lesson.

  who can top that?

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  InquiryMan

  I also once fell asleep when reading the WT study :;-)
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  9

  Mexican county aids KH facilities

  by rosa in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  "ruth icela mena guzman, mayoress, announced that the supports have not been limited the catholic faith, also it has contributed to the construction of facilities for christian church "god of prophecy", of jehovah's witnesses.

  http://www.imagenzac.com.mx/2007/01/30/estado1.htm

  rehabilitan capillas

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  InquiryMan

  Why is this a scandal?

  In e.g. Norway, Jehovah`s witness get governmental support equivalent of 500,000 US dollars annually.... Each registered denomination gets a specific sum based upon the number of believeres. Although the peak of witnesses last year was some 10,130, the number of JWs according to the National Bureau of Statistics is close to 15,000, because children and non-active members are also listed. (I for instance was listed as a member until I DA three weeks ago, although not having been to a meeting for four years. It was a reliev that my money, although by means of taxation, no longer would go to a group I disagree with)
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  26

  Did you ever go to Brooklyn to visit Bethel?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i joined back in the mid 80's many in my congregation went to visit the bethel in brooklyn.. for some reason, i had no interest for that.. in the last years that i attended meetings, they didn't organize anything like that anymore.. i wonder why that changed?.

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  InquiryMan

  Being a sincere, devout witness at the time, I did enjoy visiting various Bethels. I did however, get a bit bored, when hearing the routine on th washing procedures, because it is the same whatever Bethel you go to ;-).

  small resume of my impressions:

  Bethel USA: visited for half a day when going to New York in the late 80s, also went to Stanley Theatre (which was quite impressive). I did however, think that the US Bethel was somewhat old-fashioned and "boring" compared to e.g. the German HQs. The machinery was somewhat outdated. Did like the lobbies of the two hotels though. I guess I liked the flair of "luxury"... (Although it was kind of un-witness like). Had a nice tour guide. Used to know a brother who worked there as an architect, called Mark Anderson coming from Upper Saddle River. If anyone knows him or his whereabouts, please pm me.

  German Bethel, Selters: very modern, up-to-date. The guides being very orderly, expecting everything to abide strictly to rules... Businesslike, a bit cold and stern, but impressive. Did notice a little board at the dining hall stating that there was a weekly visit by doctor, dentist and psychologist (!). Also remember my German friend, who is very theocratic, and still in, serving as an elder, never wanted his girlfriend to stay in Bethel cause it was too strict.

  French Bethel (the old one in Boulougne-Billancourt, Paris): small, secluded, not very tidy, all brothers having moustaches. (funny, cause at that time, you could not even handle the microphones in my home cong if you had a moustache, and it still is the same - but that is a cultural thing I guess).

  Bethel, London (Mill Hill): Nice, but a bit dull, a bit old-fashioned too. Had a beer at the pub before entering.

  Sweden: went on a bus tour with a lot of witnesses. Stayed in a witness-operated hotel. The senior-psycho-elder got mad because we were not quiet at exactly 11. He flipped out yelling at us.... Nice structure, marble in the entrance. Extremely clean, like the German one.

  Norway: nice, small structure - no printery. Nicely situated near the forest. Also visited the previous Bethel there, which was situated in the embassy area of Oslo and it had worldly tenants on the 3rd and 4th floor...

  Denmark: nice Bethel too, nice guides.

  Austria: visited the old one in 1984, it was very old-fashioned and small. Saw the new one a few years later. Then I saw the curtains used in the lobby were being reused covering some items in another room. That was kind of funny, they did not waste things...

  Italy: visited in shorts (always visited according to dress code elswehere). Welcomed nicely. Lively guide.

  Greece: I was on spending a week with my school there (all girls, me being the only boy). Spent one of the two days I had off taking the underground to the posh suburb where Bethel was situated before (now it has moved out of Athens). Had a very nice reception. When I got there, the brothers had some time off playing volleyball outside in shorts. I got lunch there with white wine and everything. They were genuinely nice.

  Barbados: very small Bethel (now it is a new one), went on a morning visit on our honeymoon. Had a nice visit there. A friendly caribbean brother showed us the premises. I later saw a photo of him the Watchtower. He did warn us to be careful because we told him that were going on a cruise with Jolly Roger (a party boat)...

  Kenya: (I guess they have a new one now): was called IBSA. Went as a part of an organized visit when going to Kenya as an international delegate for an assenbly in 1985. We got lunch boxed there. What was different there, was that it had separate living quarters for brothers who worked there who had their wives and children. Perhaps they did translating or whatever, but I have never seen that anywhere else. The brother showing us around was Mark Noumair, I think he is now working at Gilead.

  And that was about it.

  So no wonder I know the laundry routines....
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  26

  Did you ever go to Brooklyn to visit Bethel?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i joined back in the mid 80's many in my congregation went to visit the bethel in brooklyn.. for some reason, i had no interest for that.. in the last years that i attended meetings, they didn't organize anything like that anymore.. i wonder why that changed?.

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• 

  InquiryMan

  Being a sincere, devout witness at the time, I did enjoy visiting various Bethels. I did however, get a bit bored, when hearing the routine on th washing procedures, because it is the same whatever Bethel you go to ;-).

  small resume of my impressions:

  Bethel USA: visited for half a day when going to New York in the late 80s, also went to Stanley Theatre (which was quite impressive). I did however, think that the US Bethel was somewhat old-fashioned and "boring" compared to e.g. the German HQs. The machinery was somewhat outdated. Did like the lobbies of the two hotels though. I guess I liked the flair of "luxury"... (Although it was kind of un-witness like). Had a nice tour guide. Used to know a brother who worked there as an architect, called Mark Anderson coming from Upper Saddle River. If anyone knows him or his whereabouts, please pm me.

  German Bethel, Selters: very modern, up-to-date. The guides being very orderly, expecting everything to abide strictly to rules... Businesslike, a bit cold and stern, but impressive. Did notice a little board at the dining hall stating that there was a weekly visit by doctor, dentist and psychologist (!). Also remember my German friend, who is very theocratic, and still in, serving as an elder, never wanted his girlfriend to stay in Bethel cause it was too strict.

  French Bethel (the old one in Boulougne-Billancourt, Paris): small, secluded, not very tidy, all brothers having moustaches. (funny, cause at that time, you could not even handle the microphones in my home cong if you had a moustache, and it still is the same - but that is a cultural thing I guess).

  Bethel, London (Mill Hill): Nice, but a bit dull, a bit old-fashioned too. Had a beer at the pub before entering.

  Sweden: went on a bus tour with a lot of witnesses. Stayed in a witness-operated hotel. The senior-psycho-elder got mad because we were not quiet at exactly 11. He flipped out yelling at us.... Nice structure, marble in the entrance. Extremely clean, like the German one.

  Norway: nice, small structure - no printery. Nicely situated near the forest. Also visited the previous Bethel there, which was situated in the embassy area of Oslo and it had worldly tenants on the 3rd and 4th floor...

  Denmark: nice Bethel too, nice guides.

  Austria: visited the old one in 1984, it was very old-fashioned and small. Saw the new one a few years later. Then I saw the curtains used in the lobby were being reused covering some items in another room. That was kind of funny, they did not waste things...

  Italy: visited in shorts (always visited according to dress code elswehere). Welcomed nicely. Lively guide.

  Greece: I was on spending a week with my school there (all girls, me being the only boy). Spent one of the two days I had off taking the underground to the posh suburb where Bethel was situated before (now it has moved out of Athens). Had a very nice reception. When I got there, the brothers had some time off playing volleyball outside in shorts. I got lunch there with white wine and everything. They were genuinely nice.

  Barbados: very small Bethel (now it is a new one), went on a morning visit on our honeymoon. Had a nice visit there. A friendly caribbean brother showed us the premises. I later saw a photo of him the Watchtower. He did warn us to be careful because we told him that were going on a cruise with Jolly Roger (a party boat)...

  Kenya: (I guess they have a new one now): was called IBSA. Went as a part of an organized visit when going to Kenya as an international delegate for an assenbly in 1985. We got lunch boxed there. What was different there, was that it had separate living quarters for brothers who worked there who had their wives and children. Perhaps they did translating or whatever, but I have never seen that anywhere else. The brother showing us around was Mark Noumair, I think he is now working at Gilead.

  And that was about it.

  So no wonder I know the laundry routines....
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  11

  My roommate went to the one day assembly yesterday

  by oppgirl63 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  1,940 people attended.

  10 baptized - 6 female, 4 male --- youngest 10 yrs old, oldest 66 yrs old.

  .

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  InquiryMan

  Must be an American phenomenon among witnesses. It is extremely rare that someone younger than 14 gets baptized in Scandinavia.Most between 16-19
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  48

  Jehovah’s Witnesses Lose Court Battle to Suppress Freedom of Speech

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.silentlambs.org/denmarklawsuit.htm.

  [see more information at the link above] .

  jehovahs witnesses lose court battle to suppress freedom of speech.

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  InquiryMan

  In fact the number of witnesses in Denmark is on the same level today as it was some 25 years ago, so the number of ex-witnesses is rather large in that country. Extra Bladet is a tabloid, likened to the New York Post.