when I was an elder, we had a visitation system (at the bookstudies) for taking care of the elderly. In time, however, it was vanished out in the sand... I guess the demands of life in general made it hard to keep with all demands both from work, family and congregation. However, I got to say that lot is dependent on individual witnesses cause there is little organized efforts with the Watchtower society with social or humanitarian programs (apart from disaster relief and reading classes in developing countries). All emphasis is put on the preaching work... to me it was amazing to see that in a mormon church they could play basketball in the church! Remember when I was young, I young was studying, humbly asked the elders to have a table tennis board in the basement of the hall. I guess they just stared at him in disbelief. I am sorry about your parents being neglected Bonnie. And also others who have suffered injustice.
InquiryMan
JoinedPosts by InquiryMan
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
Sorry if I was misinformed. Obviously, America and Scandinavia has vastly different social systems as well as attitudes.... What I wanted to state was that as indivuduals, though organized through the WTBTS, many Jws have done a tremendous effort. I think quite a few also did it for unselfish reasons....
When i Was a JW I realized that other churches did a lot of good things. When I am an ex-JW I also acknowledge that JWs and even the WTBSs at times can do good things....
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Bethel Tour - What a Joke
by tresdecu ini had to laugh (internally of course), i was over at a friends house and he was showing me pics of a bethel trip they took sometime in the spring.
pic 1...a bunch of people (the tourists) in suits walking through a (seeming empty-ish) warehouse with goofy smiles on their faces.
(oh boy a warehouse!
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InquiryMan
Entering a church for the sake of being a tourist has never been forbidden or "frown upon".. In the worldwide assembly reports from the 50s and 60s, there are several reports from witness groups visiting churches and temples of all sorts. I remember when taking part in a witness-only bus ride to Austria, when visiting a church, some 2/3 entered and enjoyed it, and 1/3 remained outside. both groups respected the other. I always had a fetish for churches.... He he
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
I do not try to defend JWs or the organization.... When a witness, I often disagreed with the lack of more commitment to humanitarian efforts. But I appreciated it when it was done. Before the WWFdonation arrangement came into being, I often contributed money to Bethel, earmarking it to a specifici aid purporse. And I always got a letter of appreciation for that. Parts of my country was invited to donate clothes/food etc to Eastern Europe in a special campaign. We also had a special Fund just for Eastern Europe for years. As an individual witness I personally donated loads of clothing etc to Poland and Africa. The brothers liked contributing to "my" projects, although this was not at all Watchtower sponsored. Now that I am out of it, I of course see things less black and white as I did when I was in.
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
5600 houses rebuilt by 17,000 people - crumbles?
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
That is too sad... I also remember the points on Katarina that was made by people on JWD some time ago. That is why I thought it was interesting to see the JWs presentation of their relief effort. Of course, the standing in the congregation, should not be of relevance when humanitarian effort is the issue. I guess the truth lies somewhere between the examples given here on JWD (might be that the dissatisfied are overrepresented here, otherwise they would have remained in the socalled spiritual paradise (sic).... and the glossy interviews with over-achieving JWs.
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
I see no reason to belittle good efforts nor to praise them as extraordinary as witnesses do. But they at least do help their own.. and whether it is a showcase or not, non-witnesses (relatives and others) benefit, cause efforts by others can then be devoted to others, since witnesses are cared for. I see no need to employ degoratory terms, even though they are witnesses. (One reason why I left the JWs was the handling of abuse cases. However, I do not fall in the trap of thinking that everything is black and white..... like I did when I was a witness.
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Do the Witnesses ever help anyone (link)?
by easyreader1970 inmormon church warehouse aids evacuees.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/09/03/mormons_hurricane_supplies.html.
do the witnesses ever do anything of note to help the common man or do they strictly help themselves?.
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InquiryMan
Just read an article in Awake (I am DA, but was given copies from my ex mother in law) on the relief efforts after Katrina. 17,000 witness volunteers from all the US as well as 13 other countries took part in the relief efforts. Relief centres were set up, some lasted for more than 2 years.... Some witnesses even quit their jobs in order to work fulltime in the relief work. 5,600 homes of witnesses were rebuilt and according to the article several non-witnesses were helped too. Even though the concentrated efforts were done to aid fellow believers, it was a huge project. I admire that part of the witness religion. I disagree with a lot of things, but they are early on such spots and efficient. However, also other groups do a lot (and in times of non-disasters, much more).... I remember when reading about andres, moe than 3000 witnesses helped out, whereas 9000 mormons did and thousands of SDAs..
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WORLDS APART: Actors Going in Service
by compound complex inthe orthodox muslim faith is a constant source of debate in the western world today, and it would be obvious to draw a parallel between saras dilemma and the difficult situation of young muslim girls in a western country like denmark today.
director niels arden oplev has openly stated that this was a parallel he had in mind when he made to verdener.. .
sara goes proselytizing with her father (jens jrn spottag) and younger sister (sarah juel werner).
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InquiryMan
Please remember that everyting is not like in America. In Europe, beards are accepted in Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands. In e.g. Norway, moustaches are frowned upon in many congregations, but widely accepted in the US, even portrayed in the Societys magazines. I guess sometimes, cultural differences have someting to with it ;-) E.g. in the philippines, one can see JWs giving talks without a tie....
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WORLDS APART: Actors Going in Service
by compound complex inthe orthodox muslim faith is a constant source of debate in the western world today, and it would be obvious to draw a parallel between saras dilemma and the difficult situation of young muslim girls in a western country like denmark today.
director niels arden oplev has openly stated that this was a parallel he had in mind when he made to verdener.. .
sara goes proselytizing with her father (jens jrn spottag) and younger sister (sarah juel werner).
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InquiryMan
I will get my DVD in the mail in just a few days... And I am going to watch it for the first time (I have to force myself to wait).... in the end of september along with severa other ex-JWs and our present partners I think this evening will be very emotional for us....