what 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?
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.
its 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 .
its 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 .
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"
its 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 .
its 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 .
its 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 .
what 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?
what 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?
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"
what 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?
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.
legality[edit].
in june 1987, the united states court of appeals for the 9th circuit upheld the witnesses' right to shun those who fail to live by the group's standards and doctrines, upholding the ruling of a lower court, finding that "shunning is a practice engaged in by jehovah's witnesses pursuant to their interpretation of canonical text, and we are not free to reinterpret that text ... the defendants are entitled to the free exercise of their religious beliefs ... the members of the church [she] decided to abandon have concluded that they no longer want to associate with her.
we hold that they are free to make that choice."[99][100].
I would not be surprised if shunning was redefined when presented in this case.
Most people tend to think that we had a choice and we made it when we became members. Not realizing we were enticed into something that happened to be completely different than what we were told. Such ruling may assume that you knew everything about the religion before you when full blown in.
