As I understand things FFGhost, every country is basically a standalone business unit, where profits above the local branch's operating expenses go to the US. The Governing Body don't mind if things run neutral, however funds never flow out the the US. Thus while 1.5 million annually is nothing globally, it is probably critical for the Norwegian branch and without it, some very embarrassing restructuring (read here, Kingdom Hall sell offs) would have to occur.
no-zombie
JoinedPosts by no-zombie
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19
Did Tony Morris Get Sideways with His Bros.?
by Sea Breeze ininteresting video connects the dots.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3ff1ibybfe4&t=205s&pp=2ahnazacaq%3d%3d.
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no-zombie
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18
Biden gives the order to Zelenskyy to Use the long range missiles to hit the interior of Russian territory
by liam inthe war in ukraine has now escalated.
europe is now talking of getting involved in the war to curb the north korean armies that are helping russia.
putin has warned that this will now give him no choice but to retaliate against nato nations.. the biden administration and the democrats in congress want to make sure that the war escalates to such a point that trump won't be able to bring peace to the war in ukraine.
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no-zombie
I find that Americans who complain about how much money has been spent on the Ukraine-Russian war, fail to recall how many TRILLIONS of dollars the US government gladly spent to send the Soviet Union broke on the arms and space races of 1945 to 1990s. Showing that the money and equipment the the Ukrainians received is nothing in compared to that ... no even a drop in the proverbial bucket.
Lets look at the facts.
So far the US has given about 55 billion dollars in cash and equipment.
However one defense project, the Ronald Reagan Star Wars system (which actually failed to work) cost your tax payers, 30 billion (1985 dollars). Now just add up all anti-communistic programs and proxy wars America paid for over the decades ... and you should develop a different perspective on this issue.
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Is it just me, or is Watchtower lowering its standards?
by ukpimo inin the past, we used to hear talks on:.
avoiding sexual immorality and porn, as well as masturbation and other sexual practices.
why evolution cannot possibly be true.
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no-zombie
While its true that the Governing Body has recently lowered the behavioral standards of the Brotherhood, as well as what qualifies a person to be an active publisher ... I wonder when they will take a look at the standards and procedures to qualify for baptism.
Will the exhaustive baptismal questions be dropped one day?
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2024 year Highlights: JWs hit 9 million Publishers
by Sanchy inwatchtower put out some highlights for the 2024 service year:.
average publishers: 8,828,124. peak publishers: 9,043,460. a 43.2 percent increase in "those who returned to jehovah", meaning 65,816 were reinstated.
baptized: 296,267. memorial attendance: 21,119,442. missing stat: number of partakers .. womp womp.
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no-zombie
Sadly everyone, the number of 8.5 to 9 million publishers might be right.
From last year's report, there was about 120,000 congregations world wide and if you simply divide 9 million into 120,000 ... you get 75 people per congregation. And allowing for people who are only on zoom and who just tick the reporting box, it does sounds about right.
But like people have said before, most of the brotherhood (at least in the western world) are elderly and as few of the born-ins stay ... we should start seeing a contraction developing soon.
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9
WATCHTOWER IS WATERING DOWN BEDROOM SURVEILLANCE?
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/hwzly3fnpdo?si=0p8zd0_9a-lwtb_9.
the study article 2 from the january 2025 watchtower study edition titled “husbands, honor your wife” represents a marked shift from the earlier, stricter watchtower stance on marital intimacy among jehovah’s witnesses.
this article’s language feels more relaxed, with paragraph 17 and its footnote stating, “the bible does not provide details as to what sexual practices between a husband and a wife should be considered clean or unclean.
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no-zombie
While I served as an Elder, I never heard of a married person being disfellowshiped for oral sex (with his or her spouse) ... but has anyone else heard of it?
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Loss of a Jehovah’s Witness who I considered a friend
by Fallen_Winter ini have known a jehovah’s witness for approximately 15 years and i have considered her a friend although i know that jehovah’s witnesses cannot have friends who are not jehovah’s witnesses.
approximately two years ago, i was going through a very difficult time and i asked my friend if we could have bible study.
she said yes and we have been studying the bible since.
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no-zombie
Most Jehovah's Witnesses are good and kind people. And as a result (as she genuinely believes that she is trying to help you) her motives should be seen as coming from an honest place. However, Jehovah's Witness are also strictly loyal to the Organization that directs the preaching work and as such, she will follow the instructions to terminate a 'unproductive' study. Like disfellowshipping, even this is seen as a kindness, as the shock of loosing your study is viewed as a last chance for you to change your mind, so that you recommence it with more vigor and commitment.
Sadly, under the current Governing Body, witnessing and conducting Bible studies is not about spreading Bible truths, no ... is only about conversion. And when it is not happening, Witnesses are told to move on to a more deserving souls.
Sorry.
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WHAT DOES THE NEW LIGHT ON THE UNITED NATIONS REVEAL ABOUT THE WATCHTOWER
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/8p5z-acq8yi?si=zs5r75kguxkk1woc.
so what you are about to watch is the 3rd adjustment that was introduced in the annual meeting by geofftey jackson and it has to do with the their new understanding on the united nations, so here is the verse revelation 17:12 :"these have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast.
" so they used to believe that the "one thought" in this verse was the one thought to destroy babylon the great but that has now changed to one thought empowering the united nations with more powers to carry on god's will and bring armageddon.
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no-zombie
I don't know why people here get so excited about the UN. History has proven that no matter what is says, it is just as effective in preventing international problems and gathering international coalitions as it predecessor the League of Nations.
Like any political group it needs to stay in the public eye and so it will often come out with catchy "peace in our time" messages. Yet the reality is that its bordering on insolvency, crippled by its own veto laws and directly attacked by member counties.
It took me about 2 minutes for find these references to everyone to consider ...
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Does maths prove the bible is wrong?
by joey jojo inthere might be a few that find this post boring, because, you know - its maths.. i like maths but im not a mathematician or condsider myself any type of expert on the subject.. there is a branch of maths called propositional logic that is used widely in computers and computer programming that allows computers to make decisions based on certain conditions.
for example: if a condition exists, then do something.
like: if the a button is pressed, then the letter a will appear on the screen.
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no-zombie
While I understand logic based reasoning reasonably well, the problem most people fall into is when they make their statements too open.
For example, we have the common logic statement that goes like ... as most serial killers play violent video games, there is a high chance that playing violent video games will turn you into a multiple murderer.
However, we all know in reality that there are other factors behind every supposed causality concept, like this.
Thus trying to boil God or the Bible down into a simple logic based diagram, will not be that helpful to the reader, as the truth of a matter often is more nuanced ... just as it would be, if we tried to analyses you and your life in the same way.
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THE PROBLEM WITH THESE 2 NEW GB MEMBERS APPOINTMENTS
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/rjr0ugtu6zu?si=d3zsz20ee33gytxi.
these new appointments are troubling, to say the least, especially considering the factors surrounding their selection.
these appointments raise key concerns about leadership, experience, and what is happening behind the scenes at the organization's headquarters.
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no-zombie
I wouldn't worry about radical changes occurring within the Organization due to the appointment of Jedele and Rumph because Fleegle and Winder have now been with us for two years, and its still been 'situation normal'.
This is due (in big part) to the fact those in power generally appoint like minded replacements and never push radicals high up the decision making ladder. Its just human nature.
Of course in time Jedele and Rump may tinker around the edges of the Society, but its going to take some time to acclimate into their new roles. But once they begin to feel the power and prestige of being a GB member, I'm sure that they will think quite hard about decisions that could erode their own authority.
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THE PROBLEM WITH THESE 2 NEW GB MEMBERS APPOINTMENTS
by raymond frantz inhttps://youtu.be/rjr0ugtu6zu?si=d3zsz20ee33gytxi.
these new appointments are troubling, to say the least, especially considering the factors surrounding their selection.
these appointments raise key concerns about leadership, experience, and what is happening behind the scenes at the organization's headquarters.
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no-zombie
Once a person understands that the Organization isn't really governed by the Holy Spirit, then it become quite easy to see how these kinds of appointments are made. And I wouldn't be surprised if these recent GB additions aren't part of the power-block politics that exist in congregational Elder bodies.
But yeh ... I'd be bummed if I was a long time Helper, and saw those newbies fast-tracked in front of me.