Posts by A.proclaimer

48

Strike 3 for the elderette and me! (???) I never heard a JW talk SO much about Jesus!

by Faithful Witness in

miss k and her friend miss w arrived promptly today.

our scheduled topic of discussion: jesus' claim to be "the way, the truth and the life..." john 14:6 since she was basing this topic choice on the fact that i had quoted that verse, i'm not sure why... she spent what seemed like a very long time, hopping through scriptures that all said that jesus was the truth, the way, or the life.

ok, so we agreed... i kept waiting for her to get to a point, or sway from this principle.. of course, she summed up with scriptures that show how jesus submits to the father, and what does that mean we should do?

A.proclaimer

Nice job FaithfulWitness, I like how you challenged them there, and left with no good answer to your questions and points. I had a similar conversation about the time and no good explanation for that. I'm in the car with my mom and siblings on the way to the Kingdom Hall, my mom is pushing my brother to become a publisher saying he has to (as a side note, I became a publisher at a really late age for being a born in, almost 20 years old). My brother says he sees no reason to sign up, he thinks it's all for prestige and a title. Then I come in and agree saying there's nothing in the bible that says we have to deliver out time, that's something between you and God. My mom gets defensive and starts to say that the ancient isrealites.. That's where I cut her off and said we're Christians, not Isrealites. She replies saying it's what Jehovah wants, and turns to another point saying that numbers are important to Jehovah, the Bible has many specific numbers like how many people were at pentecost event, tribes or Israel, even one book in the Bible is called "Numbers". I reply saying that sometimes numbers are symbolic, not always literal, and other times they are used to specify and there is nothing or any record of requiring one to report. Even my brother said it was a stretch to say we're required to report numbers based on there being numbers in the bible.

Being a publisher is expected, and if you aren't after being involved with JW's for a long time, they'll look at you strangely. That's what happened to me when I was going to a new congregation. I was given "privileges" like microphones, and when members found out I wasn't a publisher yet, they would give funny looks. The person I was studying with kept telling me to be a publisher. In the end I became one, even though I didn't feel ready. Now I regret it, especially knowing TTAT now. If I wasn't a publisher, I could get off the hook easier. As for my siblings, in our old congregation, the elders wouldn't let them preach with someone else, besides my mom, and they're not even children. So to say that being a publisher is because you want to, isn't always the case. It's expected and pushed on if you want to be a JW.

25

Short Online Course (Free) on the Fall and Rise of Jerusalem in 587BCE by Tel Aviv University

by digderidoo in

for those interested in the fall and rise of jerusalem in 587bce tel aviv university are offering a short 6 week online course through coursera in october 2014.. i have done a couple of coursera courses, they are always of the highest quality put together by scholars of whatever the subject matter is about.

universities tend to offer these as tasters and short introductions into their specialities.. you can get the information on the following link the fall and rise of jerusalem | coursera.

emory university are also offering a course through coursera on the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future starting may 26th the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future | coursera.

A.proclaimer

Thanks for sharing this, I find this subject to be very interesting, although complex. Carl Olof Jonsson did a great job with his book, investigating all the facts. I'm signing up for it.

14

last big convention-last memorial buzz

by scotoma in

jw
friends

are others hearing this meme from speakers at their congregation?.

is it a newspeak technique for instilling a sense of urgency?.

if it is - it's more manipulative than 1975. it seems like a way of getting around over use of the word "soon", "just around the corner".. maybe after 100 years of waiting they feel they need to approach it from another angle.. i should mention that the qualifier "may" is added "this may be our last___________________ fill in the blank.. lots of wiggle room.

A.proclaimer

Same old tricks, it becomes meaningless after you've heard that phrase over 100 times, more than 1,000. Just a way to keep the average person on their toes and to look forward, no questions.

2

GREAT WEBSITE FOR PAST INCRIMINATING JW DOCTRINES!

by ADJUSTMENTS in

.

came along this website and wanted to share it, it puts past jw doctrine and falsehoods in one spot.. .

http://www.jwfiles.com.

A.proclaimer

Another good website to check out, full of good quotes.Thanks for sharing!

17

I was a door-to-door magazine salesman...but I didnt know it!

by Londo111 in

both jws and former jws dont seem to remember that up until 1990, jws sold magazines, books, and brochures from door to door.

you went to either the magazine or the literature counter and bought publications that you were going to sell.

pioneers would get a slight discount.

A.proclaimer

I remember a few years ago, getting ready to go out on Saturday morning Field service, the CO told us to mention "voluntary donations" to the householder. He explained that by bringing it up, we won't be in conflict with pervious witnesses who have stopped by and mentioned the donations. And the person may be more likely to donate some money. He told us a story about one person at the door who complained that some witnesses never brought up donations and that those who did were doing it to make money. So to "keep in harmony", this was suppose to be the "new arrangement" but no one I know really followed, only few for sometime.

40

Is it true that the GB is soon planning on ditching the 1914 doctrine?

by yogosans14 in

or atleast tweaking it again... apparently there has been rumors of this coming out of bethel.

.

A.proclaimer

I've just heard rumors, nothing confirmed. They could change it later in the future. As of now, it's 100 years. Time to celebrate!

13

Jehovahs Witnesses immediately formed a disaster relief committee to aid the victims.

by suavojr in

first, i thought they closed the branch in chile?

and second, check out the comment:.

+1 718 560 5000. chile: jason d. reed, tel.

A.proclaimer

I overheard someone in my congregation mention these disaster relief committees, it's part of the new arrangements being planned out.

16

Counting tracts as placements on reports now?!

by stuckinarut2 in

ahhhhhh......man....... .

so now we have to count all tracts / leaflets / meeting invitations etc as placements on the monthly report slip???.

is this just another method of control or accountability!

A.proclaimer

Like people have said, it's numbers. It's so simple to leave tracts, anyone could just stick it into your mailbox, drop it off, hand it out like flyers, message gets across faster. Cheap to make and enough to produce millions. It will be used as a "sign" of God's approval just by showing the number of tracts. It keeps JWs busy and impressed once announced how many tracts were released

27

BOE Letter Regarding Branch Visit

by pixel in

to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory re: branch visit in november 2014. dear brothers:.

in our letter dated february 19, 2014, to all congregations in the united states branch ter- ritory, you were informed of a special weekend program to be held on saturday, november 8, 2014, and sunday, november 9, 2014. this program is in connection with the branch visit scheduled for the united states and will be broadcast to locations throughout the branch territory.

we are pleased to inform you of some of these arrangements.. since the goal is to allow as many as possible the opportunity to benefit from this branch visit program, provision will be made to allow any kingdom hall properly equipped to receive the broadcast.

A.proclaimer

It's called Watchtower broadband high speed internet system, it upgrades with new light here and there. 1914 gb in it all.

i have a feeling "new light" or something new will be introduced for this meeting. So better hold on and wait to see what we'll be hit with next!

14

Interview on YouTube with a former Bethelite who ended up homeless

by RayPublisher in

this is one of the most extraordinary interviews i've done on youtube to date and i'm not just saying that.. shawn "zen" dean shared his harrowing story with me of being raised in the jw "truth", going to watchtower farms and then getting his teaching degree only to end up homeless... lots of stories along the way, told with humor, sincerity and a heart full of love.. this is a tender-hearted guy that has had the ass-end of the stick his whole life... that's "the truth"!.

http://youtu.be/ub1wx3yarf8.

A.proclaimer

Is there a part 2? It was a good experience to hear