I went to visit Bethel about 5-6 years ago and had lunch there too (VIP you see not everyone gets to have lunch). What I noted was that there is a class system of sorts. Cleaners are the lowest, if you have a pager on your belt you are higher up, and so on. What i did note was that those pictures you get in the publications are hanging on the wall on the Personnel floor, but what was amazing was that the picture of Jesus (supposedly) was behind the glass doors of the HR office like some sort of alter, plants and the like around the painting which was on an easel. Now I am pretty sure that as Bethelites walked past there was a perceptable (just) change in their walk as they passed by, like Church goers might cross themselves or nod at the alter. There was a sort of reverence around the place.
Posts by uriah
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24What's the BIG deal with Bethel?
by onlycurious ini was at my jw's friends house a few days ago and she had a jar on her counter that had "trip to bethel" written on it.. there was some chump change inside.
i never asked.
is bethel kind of like mecca?.
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202
CO/DO's in the UK?
by pobthespazz incan anyone compile a list of as many as possible past and present co/do's from the uk?
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uriah
Mike Sidler was as we called him the 'Designer' CO. He and his daftly named wife Dodo or was it Dodi only mixed with the brown - nosers if they had money. He was an arrogant condesending turd as I remember. I think they had a private income and drove their own car instead of the bog standard issue one. Are you allowed to say turd here? The only one I had any time for was Richard Cullen, the most humane and human of them all - unless anyone knows different.
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11
SOON! SOON! How SOON is SOON?
by Little Bo Peep inin reading over drew sagan's post this am, we were discussing how often the wt says soon.
it is really brought to the fore when you read his post.
it's now been over 92 years since their 1914 date.
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uriah
Basically, there is no definition in Theo-speak to "soon", "soon!". It is one of the 'roundabout' words that are used in sequence on the cover of the mags. These are, and by no means in this order or an exhaustive list as, no doubt, I have missed some (feel free to add at will, if that is not too thread hijacking) ....Soon ....At Hand ....No More..... ....Will xxx ever end?... and the like. I reckon, in the end, all mags will say the same with blanks for the publisher to fill in as they see the need. Oh My, you have no legs, this mag is for you,(scribbles in the space) "Will Disability End Soon?"
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Oh the innocence of a child
by nonamegiven inlast night i came home from work and my kids were over someones house from our congregation.
when they brought them home the family came in.
of course no body talked to me since i'm df'd and am not worth the oxygen to talk to.
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uriah
What was the joke?
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11
Who Is The Agency that fulfills the Lord's will upon the earth
by descmh ini am speaking with a wonderful person about the jehovah's witnesses and she has asked myself and my wife who we think the "agency" that fulfills the lord's will upon the earth is.
my question is, do the jehovah's witnesses think that their watchtower organization is this "agency" or is it christ's church on the earth.
furthermore, where is the scripture reference that this is taken from.
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uriah
Judging by all the jockying for position amongst Jesus' disciples when he was on earth, it would seem logical for him not to have any one person or agencey incharge. Russelle started off okay with a loose collection of people of similar minds and we an see how that developed into the organisation today. Far removed from the original concept. There was an article written by an MP - which escapes me at present, but someone here will remember - that describes how organisations turn againt the very thing they were set up to promote. Russell was into character development - not a bad thing for christians to aspire - loving our neighbours/family/helping the poor and needy/ministering to the sick and christain works such as these, to but Ratherafraud this was an anthema and so we had being saved by flogging his books. So with all this human failure, I doubt there will be any one organisation that will fulfill God's will.
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72
Astonishing Publisher Peak in Britain for August 2006
by slimboyfat inwell i just got the new kingdom ministry for december and it has the publisher peak for august: 129,482!.
that is quite an amazing total when you compare it to the trend of recent years:.
2006 - 129,482. i wish i could produce a graph, but you get the picture - there has been a dramatic increase in the publisher peak number this year compared with the recent downward trend after the 1995 "generation" change and subsequent stagnation.
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uriah
It is quite likley that immigrants into the UK have boosted the numbers. I know of JW's in Eire who have many studies with such, but my take on it is that they want the 'use' of the witnesses - e.g. if they have problems the JW's fall over themselves to 'assist', say with the authorities. I don't think it takes long for them to cotton on to this and so are willing studies - rice JW's in effect. Same in the UK I reckon. If you have someone who will help plead your case to the authorities to get benefits/housing etc., they will study and do all the JWery things. If the JWs run to form, old sister in-need will be relegated to the back burner whilst the new and 'exciting' latest 'cause' will do the rounds of hot meals/lifts and all the other nauseating carpet love bombing that make Bomber Harris look like a damp squib.
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uriah
Giant Killer Worm Eats tree.
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55
PROOF THIS JW Religion COULD BE THE TRUE RELIGION
by Dark_Princess inwell in the bible it says said by jesus christ himself... that "the true religion will be the relgion everyone despises and hates.".
is this not the relgion of jehovahs witnesses?..
look in the bible itself it says in john 15:18-19. jesus says, "if the world hates you, you know it has hated me before it has hated you.
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uriah
What I have found is this: The world only hates the JW's in JW-land, in their minds. I have yet to find anyone - except a JW or XJW - who actually knows what JW's believe. Ask anyone and they will say that they don't celebrate Christmas, birthdays, easter or any other 'Holiday'. They don't smoke or have blood transfusions. Everyone except JW's will die at the end of the world. They come round with the WT. Generally, people don't know what their message is because all they get offered is the WT. That is about it. I don't know anyone who actually HATES them. Most of the anger expressed against them is generated by themselves sticking to WTBTS mandates that even the WTBTS bend - Mexico/Malawi anyone? At best most people say 'No thank you' At worst most people tell them to go forth and multiply. This is taken as persecution and hatred and within the group mumblings becomes magnified out of all reason.
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101
Strange picture In J W publication
by BluesBrother in.this "new world scene " is from p 190 of the "bible teach " book dated 2005.. it is just a joke.
they have transformed their key belief into a cartoon type kiddies scene.
is there no thought of child safety?
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uriah
Dang! Does this all mean there isn't going to be a paradise like in the books? I was looking forward to those lazy hazy days of perpetual summer just-a-sitting and watching lions an'all and eating gargantuan baskets of fruit that were brought to me by endless smiling visitors to my way-out-of-the-way wooden house with the spectacular views and lakes and mountains and no sassy neighbours for ooh, at least 3 miles and not having any work to do 'sept peeling bananas and the like. Dang!
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69
Did you ever think you'd stop being one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by sandy ini'm sure this question has been asked before .
i've come a long way in my thinking.
a very long way!
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uriah
Up to 1975, when I married I would have said no. But for some reason we became victimised, but nothing you could put your finger on, it was attitudes towards us. One day after a Theo school meeting it started to pour with rain. A brother, who lived next door to us delayed leaving the hall so that he would not feel obliged to give us a lift and we didn't ask because I could sense the keep away vibes. We walked home down a steep hill and up another and got home soaked. We arrived at the same time that he arrived. We said nothing and ignored him, keeping a dignified silence and it was at that point I began to realise that these 'Christians' don't think like me. I tried to be a 'Good' JW but on my journey found that many were not practisers of what they preached and were hypocrites. The rest, as they say is history. I have found many good people in 'the world' more than I ever did within borgdom. I always remember their sanctimonius chant when you say so and so is a nice person, it goes 'Yes, but do they love Jehovah?' I enjoy meeting the JW's - we are not DA or DF - they look bewildered as we look so well and they expect to see us hollow eyed and covered in sores and despondant so they can gossip about us '... see that is what happens when you forsake Jehovah!'. We deny them that and I rub it in by expounding on what we are doing and our hopes for the future and how great we feel. Sad, i know, but as the Great Homer say's 'Yeah, but what can you do?'