Posts by truthseeker

50

My guess for August WatchTower: GB claims we're in beginning stages of Great Tribulation due to World governments turning on JW's

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

the september watchtower has already been released and is being discussed over on reddit.

some highlights: .

1. more hitting the flock on total reliance and obedience to god's representatives on earth today, the f&ds (the governing body, of course).

truthseeker

Even if the August study edition should delay, it will not be late!

17

JWs obtaining fake degrees from a US institution to teach English as a foreign language

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

teaching english as a foreign language in asian countries is quite popular for those looking to travel and explore and make some money.

if you have the tefl qualification you're pretty much good to go and don't need a degree.i don't know how lucrative these overseas jobs are but i do know one jw from my congregation in england who decided to move to the caribbean and teach english as a foreign language.

i'm not knocking this individual.

truthseeker

Some more follow up info...

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/11eliol/jw_pseudouniversities_how_many_are_there_like/

"Been speaking to a PIMI recently who got a 'degree' from USILACS, a university based in America where they hand out TEFL degrees to JW's.

If you go on their website, there is nothing to suggest it's ran by JW's, and it may well accept people of all faiths on to their e-learning course, however apparently in JW inner circles it's owned by JW's.

They even allow you to submit ministry hours as part of the requirements for the degree as it is classed as teaching.

Does anyone know of any more institutions like this"

"I did a quick search and was surprised to find that USILACS is offering Bachelors degrees. I remember old PIMI friends telling me that they allow you to use a large amount of preaching hours as "volunteer teaching time". This "degree" program is a complete joke though. https://usilacs.org/degree-programs/"

17

JWs obtaining fake degrees from a US institution to teach English as a foreign language

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

teaching english as a foreign language in asian countries is quite popular for those looking to travel and explore and make some money.

if you have the tefl qualification you're pretty much good to go and don't need a degree.i don't know how lucrative these overseas jobs are but i do know one jw from my congregation in england who decided to move to the caribbean and teach english as a foreign language.

i'm not knocking this individual.

truthseeker

Teaching English as a foreign language in Asian countries is quite popular for those looking to travel and explore and make some money. If you have the TEFL qualification you're pretty much good to go and don't need a degree.

I don't know how lucrative these overseas jobs are but I do know one JW from my congregation in England who decided to move to the Caribbean and teach English as a foreign language.

I'm not knocking this individual. They are accomplished in their field of expertise so this post has nothing to do with their teaching ability, rather it is the credential they hold.

On their LinkedIn profile they have a BA in Education from USILACS (United States Institute of Language and Clerical Studies). This is a four year American college degree.

I thought it odd that a pioneer would ignore the society's direction on pursuing higher education and wondered how someone from the UK could afford a four year degree from an American university as you cannot get Federal and State aid if you're a foreign student who lives overseas.

This individual has also worked as a "Sales Manager" for USILACS which I thought was odd.

I decided to do some research on this institution and what I found shocked me.

USILACS is not accredited. It's degrees are useless in the United States.

Here are some links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/sdtd6v/why_do_many_jws_have_degrees_from_this_university/

"Many PIMIs I encountered who teach English as a second language online have degrees from United States Institute of language and clerical studies. Just curious does anyone know about this university. Is it legit?"

The most informed response I saw on this thread:

"The school has national accreditation and is registered with the state of Florida as a religious institution. They can offer degrees as long as the title of the degree contains a religious designator. These degrees typically would not qualify for required education such as being a licensed teacher or other professional in the United States.

In the United States, regional accreditation is the most rigorous. "Real" universities/colleges have regional accreditation and can confer traditionally recognized degrees and can participate in the US student loan program. If you wished to be a professional in just about any field, you would need a degree from a regionally accredited school. The school in question is not regionally accredited.

These types of institutions very widely in their quality and value. My guess would be it's an easy and quick way to get the qualifications to work overseas. Probably not good for much else. But probably not worthless either."

Perhaps the most interesting response was this:

"I personally know a person with this degree. All the exams are closed questions and there is no final thesis to deliver. What's most ridiculous is that when you get the transcript they change the dates of your exams and backdate them several years before you actually started the course to make it look like you started the school 4/5 years before you graduated. When in reality it takes 2/3 months at most to complete it. And if you had been pioneer that also gives you credits.

You do learn some stuff to be completely honest but this is far from being a real uni. It's just a bit more than reading lots of Awake magazine. But you do get a degree at the end. Such degree is unfortunately pretty useless outside of Thailand, China and some other third world country"

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/weasel-wording.57580/

"I've been wanting to do a full breakdown of this particular outfit for quite some time, but never got around to it with all else that was going on in my life. Given how absurdly and comically dishonest their accreditation page is, I'm inspired to share a bit of the fun here.

There's a diploma mill known as USILACS - the United States Institute of Language and Cultural Studies. What makes them stand out from other diploma mills is who runs it and who the target market is. It's a juicy story, but basically, its student base is primarily ex-pat fundamentalist Christian evangelizers who need a bachelor's degree to maintain their Visas in Thailand. The "graduates" from the school are in Thailand and other Asian countries as TESOL instructors, and use the fake degree to gain employment and evade scrutiny from government officials while they dutifully go about their preaching assignments. They pay several thousand dollars, spend a few weeks reading fundamentalist propaganda (that they believe is somehow equivalent to a university education) and go off on their merry way, proud of flouting the system.

They're not approved by the State of Florida. They have EXEMPTION from approval as a supposedly religious institution. Their Florida headquarters is a small rented office which appears to be one of a couple of addresses that they use for mail forwarding. Also, this "school" operates under 2 different names- one of them replaces "cultural" with "clerical," in a bid to keep up the front of religious studies. Good luck finding the names of anybody associated at this school- no faculty, no administration, and they went so far as to block out the name of the person to whom the state approval letter is addressed. I was able to find the name of precisely one person associated with their operations, but since I could not find any further confirmation of this person's identity, I wont reveal the name here.

They're not lying about the religious part, but they ARE lying about the studies part. I've even received word, from a first hand source, that the "school" has even been lying to students about their legal status in Thailand. Apparently, they don't even have THAT to their credit."

"I just searched this Institute (USILACS) on LinkedIn and it's super interesting: https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/people/?currentCompany=%5B%2243280678%22%5D&origin=COMPANY_PAGE_CANNED_SEARCH&sid=h%2C4 if you read their employee list you can find out that many of them are JW.

And I just found this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/lxqts8/what_the_hell_is_this_a_new_jw_college/"

55

Trinity Statements in the Dead Sea Scrolls

by Sea Breeze in

dr. ken johnson has identified several statements in the dead sea scrolls that predict that god would visit the earth as a man... as the messiah.

.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrfvytjhve&ab_channel=kenjohnson%28biblefacts%29 .

truthseeker

I mostly read this forum and rarely post...

According to Yohannes Greber who inspired the NWT and published the book "Communication with the Spirit World," (a channeled communication), he relates this regarding the Trinity:

“There are two other grave errors in the concept of God entertained by your creeds, and of these I shall speak only briefly here, because they will be discussed at greater length on another occasion.

“You teach of the union of three persons in one Godhead, maintaining that there are three spirits, each of which is a true Deity, but which, when united, constitute only one God. This is human madness and the greatest absurdity. There is no union of three persons and no Trinity in the sense in which you teach it. God is only a single personality. Only the Father is God. All other holy spirits are God’s creatures. None of them is the Father’s equal."

7

Rutherford's Grave

by vienne in

excellent research into j. f. rutherford's burial and grave site.. https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2023/09/judge-rutherfords-grave.html.

truthseeker

Even if there were no grave markers there will usually be a burial register showing the date, name of deceased, last address etc. I have consulted many burial registers during my family history research and most show you where the deceased is buried, sometimes including the depth of burial and if it was a shared family plot or paupers grave which had multiple people per plot.

58

Did the ransom sacrifice even work?

by Sharpie in

shower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.

as per doctrine.

is still alive in heaven right now correct?

truthseeker

Seabreeze,

Thank you for your reply and the video - certainly food for thought.

So basically we have to die first to experience the benefits of the ransom sacrifice as a new creation or spirit.

76

Front row seats watching the collapse of watchtower

by Indoubtbigtime in

i’m a pimo ministerial servant and i won’t fade because i want to keep my front row seats watching what happens next few years.. my predictions are that this current governing body will slowly die off and the current younger helpers will be the next gb.

they will eventually have new light that they were wrong about 1914 and the overlapping generations.. the new light will be something on the lines of the last days are now because of king of north king of south pushing each other etc etc.

they will do their very best to burry old literature and try to change the past trying to make it sound like they were right all along just as they have done for 150 years now.

truthseeker

My old congregation in West Sussex lost about 31 youths between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

58

Did the ransom sacrifice even work?

by Sharpie in

shower thought entered my mind the other day... jesus christ.

as per doctrine.

is still alive in heaven right now correct?

truthseeker

The problem I have with the ransom sacrifice is that if Jesus died for our sins why do we still grow old and die? The Bible says the wages of sin is death.

If someone kidnaps someone's child and the parent pays the ransom they are supposed to get their kid back yet Jesus paid the ultimate price with his death and nothing has changed for the human race.

I'm not understanding what the ransom sacrifice is all about.

43

Sunday January 15 is my 76th birthday. I answer some of your questions.

by Terry in

jw
friends

happy birthday 2 me!!.

sunday is my 76th birthday and i know that you want to know how it "feels" to have outlived my usefulness, to have lost my natural beauty (being reduced to wrinkles and flab), and constantly walking into a room not knowing why i'm there.

you also are curious as to how i can continue to find a reason to live since none of my kids think my opinions have any possible value, most of my facebooks friends i wouldn't recognize if i tripped over them on my way into starbucks, and my monthly expenditure on bird treats exceeds u.s. spending on the military.

truthseeker

Happy birthday Terry. You're 30 years older than me so hopefully I can learn some useful things from you for when i get to be your age..

46

Nephilim...Only desired females

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

bible questions answered.

who were the nephilim?.

the bible account says that “the sons of the true god began to notice that the daughters of men were beautiful.” (genesis 6:2) those ‘sons of god’ were actually spirit creatures who rebelled against god when they “forsook their own proper dwelling place” in heaven, materialized human bodies, and “began taking as wives all whom they chose.”—jude 6; genesis 6:2.. the hybrids born from this unnatural union were no ordinary children.

truthseeker

My personal take on this subject

The demons are the Nephilim survivors of the Great Flood. Because they had a spirit component to their existence, they drowned and died a corporeal death but the spirit part of them lived on. At the time of their physical deaths there would have been adult Nephilim and child Nephilim around.

It's hard to imagine that the fallen angels, who were basically universe and planet builders, playing games with humans and scaring them - this behavior is much more likely to be Nephilim spirits or what are called demons. It would explain why they are obsessed with possessing people - so they can feel what it is like to be a human again.

I remember reading somewhere that angel-women procreation also produced females but the gestational time was much shorter for Nephilim males and these mothers-to-be were celebrated because they were wives of the gods. When the thoughts of men became bad all the time, and after the 120 year decree, the angels decided to create a new species of human to prove that humans were worthy of existence by copulating among themselves. Materialized male angels and materialized female angels produced offspring but these children were born retarded and could not comprehend their existence.