Posts by Rattigan350

44

Jehovahs Witnesses make a big deal about following first century christianity, so please explain this.

by smiddy in

where in the christian greek scriptures do disciples of christ record how many hours a month they preached.. " " " " 10 hours for women and children and slack husbands with no ambition.

" " " " do they record how many back calls / return visits they made in a month.. " " " " have they set down how many bible studys they had in a month.. " " " " do they have pioneers ,special pioneers , aux.pioneers , with goals to reach each month.. " " " " do they have d.o.

, c.o., zone servants , etc.etc.. " " " " where in the christian greek scriptures is the word " organisation" applied to christianity.

Rattigan350

The OP is a troll post. Watchtower has addressed those questions.

23

Bible is inspired of God??????

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

is there anything in the bible that makes you believe that some or all the writings in the bible are inspired from god?.

Rattigan350

The problem I have is that if the holy spirit is directing the organization today to be organizational, why didn't it do that back in the first century and with Israel?

Why didn't it anticipate the problems that would exist today and deal with them?

Why are there dates problems when they should have made a calendar from Adam or Noah?

Why the gap between John and now?

The Bible is inspired of God but people don't understand what inspired means. It means where did the idea come from.

It is written about God's people and the things that God did and taught. That is the basis for the writings. That makes it inspired, but not inerrant or right.

2

Official reason vs real reason

by Rattigan350 in

jw
friends

there has been many changes in the past decade, but there is a difference between the stated reason and what we perceive as the real reason.. those who have access to the letters can fill in some of the stated reasons or benefits.

it is like they are afraid of telling the truth.

stating that they are making business decisions for monetary reasons.

Rattigan350

There has been many changes in the past decade, but there is a difference between the stated reason and what we perceive as the real reason.

Those who have access to the letters can fill in some of the stated reasons or benefits. It is like they are afraid of telling the truth. Stating that they are making business decisions for monetary reasons. Like they are afraid that people will think that they lost Jehovah's blessing, if they are in want of all of the gold in the world.

1990: Voluntary donation arrangement for literature

Official reason was simplification and not peddlers of the word of God

Real reason: so as not to have to collect or pay sales tax on literature.

1994 Food being provided at assemblies ended

Obviously to save money because people were abusing the provision and not donation enough

2002 Subscription ended

Don't know if a reason was given, but it would seem to save on postage, and to limit the literature at the time, however that is no longer the case as it is available on the net.

2005: first reduction in magazine production; monthy Awake & monthy in-house WT

stated reasons: less definitions of words, better for translations

real reasons: to cut back on magazine production. Fewer Study copies need to be printed

2006: Bethel layoffs begin

Stated reason: to put more people in the preaching work.

Real reason: Bethelites are expensive and there is cutting back

2007: change to 30 minute Public Talk

Possible reasons: more congregations can share halls, lower utilities.

Additional real reasons: They are boring and a waste of time.

2009: Elimination of Book Study as separate meeting

Stated reasons or benefits: a night for family worship

Real Reasons: More congregations can use the Hall as there will be one less night used for the book study, less obligation for publishers to travel to meetings, less material covered in the book study so fewer books need to be made to cover it, and reuse more books, less use and abuse of homes.

2010: WTS begins closing/merging Branch facilities and selling branch properties

No reason stated but possibly to get cash and cut expenses.

2011: Drop to 30 hours in required auxiliary hours

Stated reason: more can have meeting with CO

Reason: To get more 10,20,30 hour publishers to give more time and think they are doing something great

2011: Gilead stops accepting missionaries

Don't know of a reason, but there is this new or renamed school for Kingdom evangelizers.

2013: reduction in size of magazines/ Putting more on internet

stated reasons: more people are using the internet and translate to more languages.

Real Reasons: internet is free, save money but cutting costs

23

Top 10: Apostate Power Rankings -Who are/were the best apostates?

by kneehighmiah in

jw
friends

i only know a few like franz.

i rank him #1. then theres that jwsurvey guy and jwfacts guy.

and the silent lambs lady.

Rattigan350

Best as in what way?

most outspoken?

That would be Danny Haszard and Kent Steinhaug, James Penton.

Or best at getting the message across without drawing attention or raising flags?

Not sure.

41

How Many Circuit Overseers And District Overseers Really Believe The Governing Body Is Really The Faithful and Discreet Slave and That The Watchtower Is God's Earthly Organization?

by frankiespeakin in

i'm thinking around 20% have serious doubts and 99% have some doubts but keep them from becoming conscious to avoid cognitive dissonance.

this is becoming increasingly harder to do over the fact that the governing body are showing their true colors and the contridictions are so great..

Rattigan350

They have to do the bidding of the Governing body or they will be replaced with ones that will.

38

Bullet list of major (recent) changes

by RN in

jw
friends

it is with great interest that i recently read ceders article on the decline of the wts.

his article along with many of the comments really drives home just how many major changes there have been in a fairly short peroid of time.. somewhere in the recent past i could swear that someone had posted a bullet list of major changes with the corresponding year.

when i saw this (or something like it) my first thought was that this simple list made it all the more shocking; and since i have searched and cannot find anything like it.. so i dug around and started one of my own, please feel free to add/corrects events.

Rattigan350

and removing the publisher monthly totals from the KM.

24

Views on women priests.

by quellycatface in

having an interesting time at the moment with my faith journey.

my hubs was confirmed a catholic and his views are no women priests because there weren't any in the bible.

hence, the absence in rc churches.. my mother is a jw.

Rattigan350

The problem with women in authority is: Wasn't the only person in congress who voted against entering WWII a woman?

Jeannette Pickering Rankin - A lifelong pacifist, she was one of fifty members of Congress who voted against entry into World War I in 1917, and the only member of Congress who voted against declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 ""As a woman I can't go to war," she said, "and I refuse to send anyone else."

Women ain't got the balls to do what it takes.

26

Todays wt study, a query, no oxymoron jokes !!!!!!

by jonahstourguide in

i wonder, is this a new doctrine and when did "reason and scripture" take place.. .

page 25 paragraph 10 dec 15 2013 study wt.

10 the bread that the apostles could see and would soon partake of meant jesus body.

Rattigan350

The problem with that 1954 W quote is that they drew conclusions from Paul's words.

Paul wrote in the context to which he intended. He was not writing in a manner to answer our questions.

And then there is the assumption that Paul actually knew what he was writing about. Just because Paul saw Jesus in a vision and angels acted upon him does not mean that everything that he thought and wrote was correct.

And the problem with associating the breaking of bread to the not breaking of his bones, is irrelevant. Breaking of bread was to give it to each person.

And back in the days of the 1954W, they assumed things because it was taught prior; and those things were taught prior, not because it was true, but because it seperated them from other religions.

Their changing and adopting a new understanding is not bad thing. It is like the supreme court looks at a law and facts in one point of view, then a later supreme court reverses that because it looks at it in a broader sense. Both are right, but the later is more right because it has more information.

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