As I've said for years (and I can't understand why others here on this forum don't get it) age demographics is everything. The Organization is dying, not because of the lack of interest from worldly people, donations or the child abuse allegations ... but only because Witnesses can't keep their kids in the truth. The Faith is very, very quickly becoming a old people's retirement village. Of course, the other factors do matter, but without new blood its doomed. You can bank on it.
Its just like when people say China, China, China ... thinking that it will take over the world. China is so screwed, its not funny. With a birth rate of 1.6, China will be economically and politically crushed by its collapsing workforce and an exploding aged tax and social burdens, in 25 years at the latest. This is not wishful thinking, it is predictive fact.
In regards to us, the generation of Witnesses who are now late teens and very early twenties, will see the most radical restructuring of the Organization, that will make all other changes of the past look weak in comparison. Why ... because the the GB will have no choice, when even now our growth rate (the birth rate equivalent) in this years report to be most likely be ZERO. In actual fact, our real growth rate is already -2.42%, when you align us to the global population fertility rate.
Just think about it for a moment ... and then think about the changes that must be made.
no-zombie
JoinedPosts by no-zombie
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12
"the other sheep will feed the other sheep"
by enoughisenough ininteresting statement in this video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zchsc1wedns.
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no-zombie
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Deleting Elders Watchtower Style
by Vanderhoven7 inthe only spirit-directed organization on earth never ceases to amaze me.. https://www.youtube.com/live/0u2ohrbdm-c?feature=share.
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no-zombie
Notice how the Elder in question is the one with a poor attitude. Yep ... slouching in his chair, huffing and puffing, angry ... just like how they stereotype worldly people and people with beards, tattoos and beer.
I was that guy, when they told me that I was going to be deleted as an elder, I'd say ... "you know what, thanks."
But in all seriousness, despite the Organization saying that they aren't against higher education, things like these just prove otherwise.
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no-zombie
Sorry guys, don't read too much into this 'levy' as it been going on for years. Yes, it did have its start when the Watchtower and Awake magazine became free to congregational publishers to distribute, but now that the Organization has gone mostly digital (baring the limited runs of the 'public editions') Witnesses feel that its just a operational cost that should be covered.
And realistically ... a request of Publishers for $2.50usd per week, is nothing like asking for a 10% tithe. Why its not even the price of a take-away cup of coffee.
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Anyone have an NDE or help me with mine?
by BeaverEater inapproximately, 14 years ago i experienced a very violent explosion.
i was air vacd to another city and died in route.
i dont remember going anywhere or seeing a light, but it was after the fact that got weird.
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no-zombie
Near Death Experiences are very common. And while most people attribute them (and their visions of the afterlife) due to previously held religious and world views, the confusion around them is most likely a mix of 'survivor guilt', PTSD and lack of medical knowledge. However to find out why NDEs happen in the first place, we have to first understand the difference between 'clinical death' and 'biological death', and most importantly, how the process or timeline of biological death, effects the brain.
It all revolves around blood flow and those portions of the brain that most needy. They are the first the disintegrate and dump their neurological transmitters into the system. So I suppose the order would rather crudely be; the frontal lobe (which basically controls intellectual thought and memory), then the Parietal lobe (which handles the human senses) and then finally the areas around the mid brain (which oversees the unconscious bodily functions). That's why when people have been resuscitated after around 3-4 minutes of clinical death, they are often no more than vegetables, due to the fact that most of the high-order brain centers have been irreparably damaged.
While I'm not a doctor or a psychiatrist, if you can't seem to let go of these feelings or put them into their proper perspective, I would recommend returning to a medical specialist for help. As with all brain injuries, you should expect some ongoing issues that may last quite some time, but new synaptic pathways form in our brains every day and recovery is possible [conditions apply], so I wouldn't give up hope.
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New NWT
by NotFormer inis it very different from the old version?.
has it changed much?.
how can i get a copy?
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no-zombie
I'd say that there are some considerable differences between the NWT and NNWT, so much so that I think of the NNWT as Jehovah's Witnesses' GOOD NEWS bible.
In actuality the NNWT (despite its ongoing online updates) is really the third generational version Witnesses use. The first being the green editions, the black second version and what we have today ... being the grey/silver one.
As we know the NWT was originally released as a series of volumes from 1953. And I do consider them to be a rather good 'word for word' translation barring the decision to insert the word JEHOVAH into the Christian Greek scriptures, where there is clearly no authority for them to do so. In fact it is clear that the use of JEHOVAH in some verses was inserted to "clarify" or shape their meaning, which runs foul of REV. 22:19.
The second iteration was released in 1984. This was the first leather bound, traditional looking Bible, which Witness took into the ministry and honestly, it something that many took pride in using. It was well bound and had a easy to read font. However, the unfortunate tradition to include the use of the word JEHOVAH was only expanded in the New Testament.
Finally, we have the third attempt by the 'Faithful Slave' to produce a copy of the Bible, offered in 2013.
While some would say that it was easier to read (which I doubt its relevance, as I still consider the 1611 King James as quite understandable if you want to put the smallest of effort into it), the publishers once again decided to move further away from the word-for-word concept of Bible translation and go with a more looser text. This allowed them to make modifications that colored it's wordings to reflect Watchtower doctrine. Case in point, is the word SOUL, which has now been almost completely removed from the NNWT. Another example can be seen is the revisions and inclusions of words to reflect the concept of a 'governing body' in the first century. To my mind, this is inexcusable for people who claim other Bible translations, as tainted.
In summery, the NNWT is a poorer version, for those people who wish to have a translation that attempts to reflect the original manuscripts because it has shown over time, to value prose over textual accuracy.
Of course it only my opinion ... and who am I? Not spirit anointed Governing Body member with an expert handle on the Hebrew and Greek languages, that for sure.
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Anthony Morris the III has been FOUND
by Terry innote: photos can be found on the blue envelope channelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nakezkhqbmtony and susan morris are living in lumberton, north carolina.
a real estate document on the robeson county website is filed:.
the religious order of jehovah's witnesses has provided a "life estate" for them.they can live in this townhouse until they are deceased or choose to move away and in either case the ownership becomes entirely the property of jehovah's witnesses.
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no-zombie
I'd just like to put a little bit of perspective into the so called 'fantastic' deal that Tony got.
Whether you love him or hate him, he really didn't get a good payout.
I'll explain.
Any manager (even a upper mid-level manger) of a billion dollar corporation would easily earning over 200k a year, plus a nice car and expense account for wining and dining clients. On severance, these people typically get extra, as per their contracted conditions. Which can vary between two weeks pay per year of service to four weeks pay. So going with the low numbers (of 200k x [two weeks per year] x 17 years), such a manager could easily expect a payout of over 130k, not including any superannuation or insurance contributions.
Now lets go back to Tony ... and what he exactly received.
Firstly, he got a 2 bedroom duplex (not a house), in on rezoned country property ... THAT HE CAN NOT SELL. Why? Because the Organization are co-owners. So in reality, all what Tony and his wife received was rent free accommodation for life, while they live in that dwelling.
Plus he got a used mid spec'd Cadillac sedan (not a BMW or Mercedes normally driven by company executives) ... and a meager pension.
Why do I say a 'meager' pension? It clearly because if it was a substantial pension, worthy a person who controlled so much company assets and personnel ... would such a person choose to live in 'boring vill' after living a life of prominence? I think not. You'd just buy or rent somewhere else.
But for me a more interesting question to ask, is how did this deal come about?
While the relationship between the Governing Body and Tony was clearly complex. We could assume, that they would have threatened (or implied to) disfellowship him on the grounds of his alcoholism or apostasy. He could have counter threaten (or implied) to go public as Ray Franz did. But in the end, I think that Tony blinked and took the deal they offered, scared the he'd loose access to his family, even though I believe that he had a stronger negotiating hand.
Thus by my accounting, he didn't get a good deal, from any way you look at it. As he could have made literally millions by going public through book deals, TV interviews (and state's witness) for years to come. But strangely enough, I think Tony is still a true believer, only now a little more confused about how things turned out for him.
As it is now though, just don't think that he came out a winner, as he didn't.
He's just become one of the loneliest people in the world.
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Anthony Morris the III has been FOUND
by Terry innote: photos can be found on the blue envelope channelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nakezkhqbmtony and susan morris are living in lumberton, north carolina.
a real estate document on the robeson county website is filed:.
the religious order of jehovah's witnesses has provided a "life estate" for them.they can live in this townhouse until they are deceased or choose to move away and in either case the ownership becomes entirely the property of jehovah's witnesses.
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no-zombie
While I am no lover of the Governing Body, the facts around Tony Morris's housing arrangements prove that the GB are not skimming off donated funds into their personal accounts. And judging by being given a used car for his personal use, I expect that his 'pension' from the Society would only be, not that more above his costs of living.
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What Did the Following People Have in Common?
by no-zombie inwhat did the following people have in common?.
1 job2 the widow of zaraphath3 naaman4 the samaritan leper (one of the 10 lepers)5 the roman army officer of capernaum6 cornelius and his guestsnone were ...israelitesjewish convertspart of the abrahamic covenantchristianspart of a christian congregationin a dedicated relationship with godorbaptizedhowever ...all were directly given holy spirit or individually blessed by god ... even though, they were not part of 'jehovah's organization'.take time to think what this really means.luke 4:24-29acts 10:34-35.
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no-zombie
Witnesses might say that about Korah, Dathan, Abiram or Ananias and Sapphira, that's true. However their stories was a little more complex than being simply disobedient to Moses or the Apostles.
Regardless of that, while a case could be made that God has used organizational structures over time for his own ends, a person would be on shaky grounds Biblically if they claimed that personal salvation is impossible without being a part of one (the current blessed one, that is), which was sort of the point Jesus was trying to make in Luke chapter 4.
But if that is that case, then modern day Witnesses should speak fondly of the people who become Catholics between the years of 4th and 14th century, as that organization was clearly used by God to preserve the Bible.
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What Did the Following People Have in Common?
by no-zombie inwhat did the following people have in common?.
1 job2 the widow of zaraphath3 naaman4 the samaritan leper (one of the 10 lepers)5 the roman army officer of capernaum6 cornelius and his guestsnone were ...israelitesjewish convertspart of the abrahamic covenantchristianspart of a christian congregationin a dedicated relationship with godorbaptizedhowever ...all were directly given holy spirit or individually blessed by god ... even though, they were not part of 'jehovah's organization'.take time to think what this really means.luke 4:24-29acts 10:34-35.
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no-zombie
WHAT DID THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON?
1 Job
2 The widow of Zaraphath
3 Naaman
4 The Samaritan Leper (one of the 10 lepers)
5 The Roman army officer of Capernaum
6 Cornelius and his guests
None were ...
Israelites
Jewish converts
Part of the Abrahamic Covenant
Christians
Part of a Christian congregation
In a dedicated relationship with God
or
Baptized
However ...
All were directly given Holy Spirit or individually blessed by God ... even though, they were not part of 'Jehovah's Organization'.
Take time to think what this really means.
LUKE 4:24-29
ACTS 10:34-35 -
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Only baptised JWs will make it?
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ini think it was a john cedars video or someone else’s where the point was brought up that only baptised jws will be saved?
then one talk about kids of baptised jws hope they will make it but even them don’t know.
most jws probably think that some good people who are not baptised may make it through, but this is not official teaching?.
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no-zombie
While there has been very little actually put in print about this recently (other than discussions of 1 Pet 3:21), the common understanding by Witnesses is ...
Only baptized Witnesses (in good congregational standing and without secrete sins) and their personal unbaptized very minor children with survive Armageddon.
Those people who may be interested or the fence for some reason, will have to make a stand to support Jehovah, the Kingdom and the Society before the destruction of Babylon the Great, or their personal fate will be sealed, to die with the rest of godless mankind.
Regarding inactive Brothers and Sisters ... and those associated with the Truth but have mental disorders, their future is unfortunately a little more greyer.