Posts by voltaire

41

Here's the reason for the 3% jump in publishers for the past year

by sir82 in

jw
friends

it is immigration that explains the vast majority of the increase.. who is it that immigrates?

the poorest of the poor, the desperate ones that would be dead from starvation or execution by gangs/guerillas within 5 years anyway.

these were not the ones being converted in their home countries - when you have to work 14-18 hours a day, 7 days a week just to feed your family, there is no time to "study", attend meetings, go out in field servce, etc.. so, they go to their new country.

voltaire

I'm with Jusititia. The 3% was OVERALL growth, it can't be explained away by immigration. Likewise, the 15 minute publishers don't explain the growth either. It probably gave them a one-year bump, but the following year's growth is a percentage of the previous year's numbers, which includes the 15 minute pub.s. I think people will have to face the fact that JWs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Religion is emotional, not rational. It's tempting to think that the spotlight on the UN, pedophiles and other scandals with "bring the tower down", but it may not affect their numbers appreciably. I'm sure the efforts being made to alert people to the JWs' ethical problems help some get out, or keep some from getting in at all. So, it's well worth the effort to expose the WT. Not to mention the fact that's it's always worthwhile to let others know the truth. So, keep up the good work, keep encouraging JWs to think for themselves and leave it up to each individual to decide for himself.

Ron

21

Good JW Growth for 2007

by voltaire in

jw
friends

dear all,.

i don't see that anyone has commented on the 2007 report.

i must say i was surprised with the impressive growth, not only worldwide, but in the developing countries which have seen some decrease in the last few years.

voltaire

Dear All,

I don't see that anyone has commented on the 2007 report. I must say I was surprised with the impressive growth, not only worldwide, but in the developing countries which have seen some decrease in the last few years. I suppose it will not inspire any do-you-think-the-WT-will-fall-apart-soon threads. I'm afraid that religion fills a deap-seated need for reassurance and certainty which is not going away anytime soon. Despite the pedophile issue (because of the pedophile issue?) there will probably be consistent growth for the forseeable future. Sorry folks, that's the way it goes.

21

JW e-mail going around (gag warning)

by alamb in

jw
friends

a different congregationthrough all my years as a witness, the times past were not always good.. too many mistakes were being made, brothers not doing what they should.as i look back now, there are times, i can recall,when i didn't look forward to going to the kingdom hall.

the brothers showed no love.

they didn't seem to care.the elders were unyielding, demanding and unfair.meetings were dull and boring.

voltaire

Whoo-Hoo! I was wrong, they do have the truth afterall.

13

I PRESUME THAT JWS DON'T BELIEVE IN PARALLEL UNIVERSES

by badboy in

jw
friends

am i right?

voltaire

I thought they were in a parallel universe already.

Ron

36

Pedophilia Summary

by LennyinBluemont in

ive read barbaras intro to the pedophile records and thought it might be useful to have a record here on the forum of the most damning and verifiable facts regarding the pedophilia situation.

sort of a summary.

that way we can all have a source to go to and be able to quickly summarize whats criminal about the way the society has used its authority in this matter.

voltaire

Open Mind,

On point four: If you've been an elder you know what a foregone conclusion it is that the congregation is going to pay the insurance. I'm curious to hear what other elders/former elders have to say, but I would hazard a guess that if the society didn't get their check that the CO would make sure heads rolled. If a body of elders couldn't get the congregation to approve such a routine expense, there would be a major shakeup. If a brother, or brothers, made an attempt to debate such an expense during the time allotted for such resloutions he would be practically marked on the spot (not officially, but the brothers would be aghast and he wouldn't be getting invitations to dinner) and if he lobbied brothers to block such a resolution, which would require at least half the baptized brothers to vote against it, he would DFed. It's not a 'suggestion'. If I 'suggest' that you give me your wallet while I point a gun at your head it won't wash with the judge when I explain that I wasn't robbing you. The WT can kill you forever (otherwise known as disfellowshipping) and when they hold that over your head it's not a suggestion. So, I say it's a BILL, pure and simple. You pay or you're out.

7

Alternate dates

by wherehasmyhairgone in

i am wondering as the wts is so keen on making 'times and half a time' apply to this and that scripture, i am wondering if anyone else has had the energy need to use 'biblical supposed prophecy times that are completely different, like 607 dogma, can it be made different to arrive at a point in history that could be claimed similar calamities.. .

i am not sure how clear i am making myself.. has anyone used dating within the bible to arrive at dates about the end of the world or armageddon before the 20th century.

and references would be great.. steve.

voltaire

A friend and I used to do this a lot when we were young. We would start with a date and then add/subtract Biblical numbers to find the date of the end. We were just having fun. !914 + 40 years the Jews spent in the wilderness, + 33 years for Jesus' lifespan +12 apostles + 8 cities of refuge=2007. There you have, the end's coming this year for sure. Sad thing is,the WTS calculations aren't much more sophisticated than a couple of teenagers joking around.

21

SALUDOS DESDE ESPAÑA

by odnanref in

jw
friends

hola,.

os envio saludos desde espana.

os invito a visitar mi pagina: http://www.fcc.org.es .. un saludo.

voltaire

Translation,

Greetings from Spain. I invite all of you to visit my webpage.

Un saludo=a greeting, hello, not sure how to translate since 'greeting' at the end would seem strange

Oh yeah, 'Fernando' means Fernando in English :)

11

Can you choose which elders you wish to deal with ?

by JH in

jw
friends

lets say that there are 4 elders in your congregation, and you don't like 1 of them, don't trust another one, but like the 2 other ones for some reason.

now lets say that the elders you don't like that much come over and want to speak to you, would they respect you if you said, "i prefer to talk to the 2 other elders instead".

i get along with them better than you guys.. i compare this to a store.

voltaire

We were once told by a CO that if a publisher had a problem with a particular elder, he or she could request that he not be on the judicial committee. He did say, though, not to let the publisher hand-pick the committee. So you might get away with requesting that an elder with whom you don't get along not be on your committee. Give it a try,

Ron

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