Richard,
I am all for playing devil's advocate as a way of learning. However, rather than triaging the subject using the definitions of the WT (the very source of the information you are testing) you need to go look for other sources as well.
StarTrekAngel
JoinedPosts by StarTrekAngel
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225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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StarTrekAngel
Fishermen had a lucrative business? Is that why Jesus picked them?
Things make a lot more sense now.. I guess then it must have been inflation that pushed the GB to choose real state over fishing. Not enough fish in the water to survive in this time and age.
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94
What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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StarTrekAngel
Yeah... I once ranted in JW-archive about how Sister Rocha (thats how they call her) was a bad example. Everyone hated on me for judging sister Rocha. How could I criticize her for "dressing in a worldly manner and promoting a lifestyle that is contrary to Jehovahs high moral standards" -
94
What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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StarTrekAngel
Oh by the way, the recurring donation was announced last year in a letter read to all congregations. I believe there was always some website where you could make credit card donations but now you can create an account in jw-org and setup a one time or recurrent monthly donation via credit card.
Another tidbit that was new in our last assembly. Debit card machines used to seat at each side of the auditorium. This last time they announced there was another two additional machines. One in the lockers area (where you change before and after the plunge) and another one behind the platform, where all the elders and MS with assignments seat and wait their turn.
To me the above screams "Don't forget to thank Jehovah for your privileges and he will give you more"
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94
What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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StarTrekAngel
I believe someone posted some information as to what goes on behind the curtain during assemblies. Ever wondered where the "cost" of an assembly comes from? Someone claims that there is a per publisher cost to be included in the "deficit" report that is read out in assemblies. It is not always met but is counted as deficit for the next assembly and any other money that comes into the circuit account ( I am sure) has to be used to cover that first. I could be wrong, but I've always wondered, especially after we got our own AH in TX, why did the assemblies all of a sudden got so much more expensive. They used to be cost around $2,500 for a one day assembly, renting a school gym for example. As soon as we moved into our AH, the last one day assembly had a reported cost of $8,300. The last 3 day assembly, $13,000 -
94
What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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StarTrekAngel
I believe the cart work is just a cover. They probably wish they could stop door to door preaching all together and put more resources on public preaching but they can't do it all suddenly. I think the carts will eventually fade and will be converted into JW stores. We will eventually see TV commercials and potentially full blown hollywood style movies, like "Fireproof" or "Heaven is for real" -
94
What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?
by John Aquila inits been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.
in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.
carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .
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StarTrekAngel
the automatic recurrent doanation on jw-org already exists. -
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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StarTrekAngel
Yep.. you definitely did. You just proved us all here that it is indeed a cult. You got your definition of cult from jw-org. the cult's website. -
225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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StarTrekAngel
No way Mr Richard. Not long ago during one of the hottest days of the summer, I decided I was not going to wear a coat to the Sunday meeting. I pulled it out of the closet at first and then turn it back in. My wife looked at me and asked why... I said it too hot, I am not going to suffer it. She replied.. just take it off when you step inside. I said... the heat OUTSIDE is what I am trying to avoid. The temp inside the KH is fine. She replied.. well take it in your hand, put it on before you enter and then take it off when you sit down.
Now you tell me if the above has anything to do with perception, because there are plenty of personal stories like mine that have no logical explanation and don't fit your idea of a merely "perceived cult"
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225
Cult or Religion
by Richard C B inwhat is a cult and what is a religion?
its open to debate.
who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?
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StarTrekAngel
Within the realm of spirituality, Jesus could be defined as a charismatic cult leader in the sense of the dictionary meaning of the word.
Lets put in context. Assuming you are a believer now or putting yourself in the shoes of a believer in the times of Jesus, he had ways to show the source of his authority as a cult leader. None of the modern religious leaders of today have such proof and that is where the word "cult" takes on a different meaning than just plain worship of something or somebody.