Arauna

Does anyone remember about 4 years ago when someone came on this forum (jw-archive.org at the time) and said they had just been through real estate training for the Society, because the Society, they said, was going to be one of the biggest buyers and sellers of real estate? I got the impression that this person was already preparing for their specific assignment with an assigned partner to scout out better places purchase KH properties somewhere in the U.S. That person gave the impression that this was about to kick off all around the United States, perhaps even further abroad.
That was many months before the Society announced their cash flow problems, and long before we started hearing about the sales of so many KHs and even a couple of AHs. 
This is no doubt correct. The Society did the same thing in the Brooklyn area, as sometimes they would need to bring in a brother who had his family with him. There was also a need to house certain elderly brothers and sisters in a place where they could get physical therapy, nursing visits, palliative care, etc., with some privacy and out of the way of the hustle and bustle of Bethel life.

My daughter bought a small home in UK in a safe area. One bathroom, 3 bedrooms - and it costs over over half million pounds.   So a 1 million pound house (especially in London must be the size of a dingy) and  is definitely not the epitome of luxury -  which impression you are trying to create.
To sell a house that people have been using is good. They can use this money to assist brothers in the rest of the world. I guess they are selling because it is no longer needed..... but if they kept it you would also complain.  One cannot ever please some people.....

If you think they use it for their own purposes then why do you donate?  That is not logical.
It depends on what you define as own purposes, private purposes, public purposes, necessities, etc. 
I think you really should be more thankful to be associated with the organization and what it does for us.

Exactly!  There is a united loving group of people all over the earth under the name of God- jehovahs people.  The miracle is that they have unity despite being IMPERFECT.    Just like  old israel, dedicated to jehovah, individuals are imperfect and stumble like David and Solomon.  God loved David - but he did not have hundred 100% of gods spirit all the time. 
Jehovah can inspire a group of people to accomplish a purpose.  Israel of old brought forth the messiah and provided the imputus for the first congregations despite all the problems had with them. 
 The nation of God today allows for jehovah to accomplish the preaching work and guarantee survivors (a great crowd)  through armageddon.  The slave helps us to understand our stance of neutrality and morality - which will be tested.  Our faithfulness to Jehovahs kingdom government and its principles will be tested.  The slave teaches us what we need at this time......to survive Armageddon.
If you have so much of gods spirit that you can quote scriptures in a sly way to sow doubt on others who may have gods spirit? ..... Whose will are you serving?  
The facts are before you: there is a united nation for Jehovahs name - against all odds. They are preaching earth wide a kingdom government which christendom does not even understand to be a real government. Our members only vote by their loyal actions for gods government,  whereas christendom are all voting for various political factions and even going to any war their leaders wish to embroil them in. As for the godless..... we know what the bible has to say about them.

The bible itself says that we must not have fellowship with those who are brazen in conduct.  There is no "threat".  When a person is a spiritual threat to other brothers and sisters and does not stop brazen conduct......then only, after they have been requested many times to stop unacceptable behaviour,  are they disfellowshipped.  These are the ones who usually then defame JWs and hide the truth-  that they were disfellowshipped because of a Christian conduct,  be it repetitive lying, stealing, fornication etc...... a practice of some und of unacceptable behaviour.
Many realize the need to change and come back into the fold - others become more brazen..... and defame JWs.
 
I see you did not like this comment. ...... it says a lot about you.  People like to blame "others" .... never themselves.... Adam blamed eve.... lol.

Yes, for now.... but they receive a heavenly body to do their job in heaven as a full complete body of 144000.  Why is this new heavenly  body necessary if they could do their job on earth......?? 
Yes, to serve a purpose!  To show he was resurrected but his real home was in the presence of his father....... no longer here on earth. 
Jesus gave up his fleshly body when he died and was resurrected with so heavenly spirit body and immortality.
 
1 cor 15: 50
"But I tell you this brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit gods kingdom."  Corinthians 15  goes on to contrast a fleshly body with a heavenly body. 
They will  fulfill the function of kings and priests when they have been sealed  and taken up to heaven.. when there is no man or woman ......... . They sing the new song in heaven..... not here on earth. 
I see the slave as "facilitators" at present. The elders are our servants or facilitators.  The humility that Jesus taught ..... to serve others.
Here is the definition : 
Facilitator:  to make an action or process easy or easier
Synonyms for facilitate: help, simplify, smooth, promote, 
The slave are not yet ruling - they still have to be approved to receive that immortality and incorruptability in that future heavenly body. 
 
It is those who remain humbly faithful to the end who will receive that crown.  Unfortunately some do not keep that unity and start beating up on others.....becoming Jezebels....... spoken of in Revelation. 
"And no-one was able to master the song except those 144000 who were bought from the earth"

The bible itself says that we must not have fellowship with those who are brazen in conduct.  There is no "threat".  When a person is a spiritual threat to other brothers and sisters and does not stop brazen conduct......then only, after they have been requested many times to stop unacceptable behaviour,  are they disfellowshipped.  These are the ones who usually then defame JWs and hide the truth-  that they were disfellowshipped because of a Christian conduct,  be it repetitive lying, stealing, fornication etc...... a practice of some und of unacceptable behaviour.
Many realize the need to change and come back into the fold - others become more brazen..... and defame JWs.
 
I see you did not like this comment. ...... it says a lot about you.  People like to blame "others" .... never themselves.... Adam blamed eve.... lol.

My daughter bought a small home in UK in a safe area. One bathroom, 3 bedrooms - and it costs over over half million pounds.   So a 1 million pound house (especially in London must be the size of a dingy) and  is definitely not the epitome of luxury -  which impression you are trying to create.
To sell a house that people have been using is good. They can use this money to assist brothers in the rest of the world. I guess they are selling because it is no longer needed..... but if they kept it you would also complain.  One cannot ever please some people.....

I think you are wrong. The GB and or others at the top, make rules that are not from scripture. The Elders enforce those rules blindly. In Jesus time the religious leaders did the same thing. 'Putting heavy loads on the shoulders of others, which they would not even use a finger to help'.
And actually the baptism questions / at baptism, a person agrees to become 'One of Jehovah's Witnesses', so it is much like a contract. 
Also the Elders use the threat of disfellowshipping someone, which then means the person will be shunned by maybe 100 or more people / the whole congregation. And it could also mean the loss of business because JWs won't do business with D'fed ones. 
Whereas 'interested ones' that go to meetings and do ministry, are not ruled over by the Elders. True that elders could stop an unbaptised one from doing ministry. but that is all they can do.  An Elder does not have the authority to tell an unbaptised person not to talk to a D'fed person. 
I think that on some occasions the 'law of the land' shows more justice and mercy than the JW org. 
And the rules of the GB /JW Org go beyond the things written in the scriptures. The GB themselves know this and have had to tell their lawyers and elders to lie in courts because of it. 

My daughter bought a small home in UK in a safe area. One bathroom, 3 bedrooms - and it costs over over half million pounds.   So a 1 million pound house (especially in London must be the size of a dingy) and  is definitely not the epitome of luxury -  which impression you are trying to create.
To sell a house that people have been using is good. They can use this money to assist brothers in the rest of the world. I guess they are selling because it is no longer needed..... but if they kept it you would also complain.  One cannot ever please some people.....

Just one question for you:  when you go to meeting or field service you get to use many videos that were made to be easily accessible for all ages and peoples.  Do you have any clue what equipment costs?   Many poor congregations in Africa receive projectors from the organization because they cannot afford it.
They do still print bibles and watchtowers etc.
Do you think they must remain in the Jurassic age when it comes to using technology or will it be ok by you if they venture to use the newest tech to support the brothers?
You have a budget to fulfill your responsibilities at home.....dont you?  Why not broaden out and see that they also need money to provide services in almost 1000 languages?  
I think we need a little more gratitude and less criticism...  ALL you see is "billions" which you try to imply are used for their own purposes.... 
They are always in need of funds to make it stretch further..... because we do get all our spiritual needs fulfilled without cost.  You need not give any donation if you feel they waste it.  You can use all amenities without giving a dime! 
 

My above comment was an illustration.  If you find it a joke you have not thought it through. It illustrates the need for "barriers" to drive on a road safely and also to drive through life. To not tread on each others toes we need barriers which are not crossed. When they are crossed society does not function properly.
There are people here who hate JWs..... so do not take them seriously.

If you drive a car on the road and you follow the road rules..... you do not encounter a problem and you do not feel as though you are under law....  BUT break the rules such as going over a solid white line ..... one stands a chance of killing your own family or another in an oncoming car..... or the police may catch you....   So you are only under law when you break the law. ..... When you keep/observe the law you are safe and free.....   So there is only police control when you break the law or the law of disaster steps in because of risk behaviour..... 
So the org has no control.... your own behaviour puts you at risk....... but irresponsible people with risk behaviour see it as encroachment on their freedom.

If you think they use it for their own purposes then why do you donate?  That is not logical.
It depends on what you define as own purposes, private purposes, public purposes, necessities, etc. 
I think you really should be more thankful to be associated with the organization and what it does for us.

Just one question for you:  when you go to meeting or field service you get to use many videos that were made to be easily accessible for all ages and peoples.  Do you have any clue what equipment costs?   Many poor congregations in Africa receive projectors from the organization because they cannot afford it.
They do still print bibles and watchtowers etc.
Do you think they must remain in the Jurassic age when it comes to using technology or will it be ok by you if they venture to use the newest tech to support the brothers?
You have a budget to fulfill your responsibilities at home.....dont you?  Why not broaden out and see that they also need money to provide services in almost 1000 languages?  
I think we need a little more gratitude and less criticism...  ALL you see is "billions" which you try to imply are used for their own purposes.... 
They are always in need of funds to make it stretch further..... because we do get all our spiritual needs fulfilled without cost.  You need not give any donation if you feel they waste it.  You can use all amenities without giving a dime! 
 

Just one question for you:  when you go to meeting or field service you get to use many videos that were made to be easily accessible for all ages and peoples.  Do you have any clue what equipment costs?   Many poor congregations in Africa receive projectors from the organization because they cannot afford it.
They do still print bibles and watchtowers etc.
Do you think they must remain in the Jurassic age when it comes to using technology or will it be ok by you if they venture to use the newest tech to support the brothers?
You have a budget to fulfill your responsibilities at home.....dont you?  Why not broaden out and see that they also need money to provide services in almost 1000 languages?  
I think we need a little more gratitude and less criticism...  ALL you see is "billions" which you try to imply are used for their own purposes.... 
They are always in need of funds to make it stretch further..... because we do get all our spiritual needs fulfilled without cost.  You need not give any donation if you feel they waste it.  You can use all amenities without giving a dime! 
 

I was there about a month ago, having flown into Orlando for the wedding of my nephew. I arrived near closing time, and was only able to walk around the outside of the fort.
But I had just before came from Ft Matanzas, about ten miles south, party closed due to hurricane damage. The next day I went to Ft Caroline, outside of Jacksonville.
Ft Caroline was French. They send a raiding party to the Spanish Ft Matanzas, but the party got upended in a squall. When the Spanish discovered that, they took those French soldiers captive and slaughtered most of them. (Matanzas literally means ‘slaughter’—landmarks, businesses, and roads all around that area are named Matanzas this or Matanzas that.) The docent at Ft Caroline told me the Spanish commander sent a letter to the French king saying the prisoners were killed, not because they were French, but because they were Protestant. The few captured French soldiers that were Catholic were spared.

Since girls can now get married at age of nine or ten I guess these views will soon change.  Why am I making this statement?  Because society changes and the age of a man (when he is viewed as mature enough for highly important decisions by free will) ) or when a woman  is viewed as mature is constantly changing. ....  our current circumstances are in the process of changing. 

Yes, christiandom had a big role to play in the suppression and even the extermination of the "savages", especially in spanish south America.  The wars between protestant and catholic took their toll in Europe just before the new world opened up.  Christendom has a lot to answer for before jehovah.
I come from the stock of huguenots who fled from France to South Africa and started the wine industry there. They obtained slaves from Malaysia and some intermarried. Our language has many French and Malaysian influences which is different from current Dutch.
When I visited the Spanish fort  close to Jacksonville, florida,  I discovered that the Spanish massacred the huguenots who fled from France to Florida for religious freedom.  The details were shocking.
Christendom's history is blood thirsty and oppressive of the people under its dominion.  At the beginning of our organization these attitudes were not immediately stomped out.  The brothers focussed on the other truths that were new such as the mortality of the soul, jehovahs name and so forth.
But thanks to jehovah we now have a miracle of unity and love all over the earth..... only Jehovahs spirit can allow people to make these drastic changes in their own hearts and attitudes.  In South Africa it is very clear...... the brothers who take the lead are wonderful and mostly black..... trained in the scriptures. 
 
 
 

There are few things more off-putting than condescension 
Not at all.
If you negate the upside of something, your sense of proportion goes all awry. There is nothing left to focus on but the downside, and to bang away at it until it seems far more imposing than it truly is. In fact, if you negate the upside, ANY downside becomes intolerable.
You have negated the upside. She has not.
She knows there is a downside. She knows it is a price well worth paying in view of the upside. She knows that any human being or institution crumbles under relentless accusation. Even Job fared poorly at the hands of his three interrogators.

They are all backstabbers, here—the GB, the COs, the elders, the MSs, the.....really, everybody but me.
But it doesn’t bother me. When I see them sneaking up behind my back to do this (which is always) I have learned to whirl around and take them out with a kick to the head like Chuck Norris.

Please remain focused on what is at hand. I hope you have this same energy in front of the judgement seat of God concerning such practices.
I'm a Biblical Unitarian, not masquerading anything. Then again, Trinitarians, no, mainstream Christians, will say things because they cannot backup their case at times.
This goes back to the Acts 10 thread where I was in the right to put you with the collective that cherry pick twist scripture for man's war.
That being said, partaking in festivities that have such connections isn't doing glory to God at all. You know this, perhaps, but I doubt you care. Take a good read of 1 Corinthians 9 concerning Apostle Paul.
 
You are incorrect. The problem is the celebration itself concerning it's connection to false god(s) and practices, and the act of partaking in such an event. Clearly the history of such an event is perhaps unknown to you.
The decision is left for you, you side with Yah or you side with the deceiver, no middle ground.
By the way, I read labels - I tend to avoid any MSGs.... To make it simple for you, I avoid Monosodium Glutamate.
One thing I like to point out is some Americans do not know how to clean their food. No cleansing, no nothing. Which results in blood and or chemicals in the food. One thing that cannot be deterred is what is fed to the livestock, in which are used as food sources.

Dear reader.
You have often come across terms, God's holy spirit and God's love.
You have also often prayed for the favor of God, among other things asking that God's holy spirit help you, guide you, to have a spirit. Some Bible passages say that God gives something to people.
We find expressions that say how God gives:
- his spirit without measure - John 3:34.
- a certain measure of faith - Rom 12: 3
- a measure of grace - Eph. 4: 7
- measure of authority - 2 Cor. 10:13
- a double measure of blessing - Isaiah 61: 7
- double measure of inheritance - Deut 21:17
- double measure for bad deeds - Rev. 18: 6
Also how a man seeks or receives from another man:
- double measure of spirit - 2 Cr. 2: 9
- double honor - 1 Tim. 5:17
 
There are also allegations relating to love. How love is given or received and under what circumstances:
And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. ”- John 14:21
For God loved the world, - John 3:16
I love those who love me - Prov 8:17
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens - Psalm 36: 5 -7
I have loved you with everlasting love; - Jer 31: 3
 
From these statements we can see that love also works under certain circumstances. Sometimes it's eternal, going to heaven. Sometimes it is conditioned because he says: I will love you if you love me", "if you obey, listen me".
Based on the paragraphs that speak of giving / receiving a spirit, I could conclude that God gives the holy spirit to those who seek it, and those whose hearts are pure receive that spirit from God. When GB claims that they make mistakes in word and deed because they are not perfect and because they are not "spirit-inspired," then that is just an excuse. When they claim that they are not "inspired by the spirit of God," that would mean that God does not give his spirit to anyone, not even to them. So, if they, as "God's elected," "anointed," cannot be "inspired," then they are actually sending the message that no one else can be "inspired." And then such a claim has the consequence, meaning, that God and his spirit are not able to be active. God works through his spirit, doesn't he? Well, he created the universe with his spirit ?! He wrote the Bible with his spirit ?! He uttered prophecies with his spirit ?! And today the spirit is unable to act on the few people sitting in Warwick?
Does God lie when he says, "... for God gives the Spirit without limit. - John. 3:34
Is the problem in the spirit of God? Or is it a problem in humans? :))
 
 

I get exactly what you mean, kinda like these? 
"Families are free to report abuse to the authorities" 
"leave it in Jehova's hands"
"click on jw.orb"
"the answers are on the website"
"That's for Jehova to decide" 
"we don't shun former members" 
"we only had the library card"
 
 
 
 

What is it with this idiot?
His first remark bashes me for seeming to criticise Trump:
His second bashes me for seeming to praise him:
As his many accusations at JWs are shot down, he is degenerating into just another source of vitriol.
As for cheering for Trump, an elder leading a pioneer meeting—dare I say it was the circuit overseer?—emphasizes the importance of neutrality and the challenges of completely remaining so. “Now we all know that Trump is crazy, but.....” he starts. Two sisters look at each other, and the one says to the other: “I know that my father is a good man, and he voted for Trump.”
That CO is very atypical. I’ve never heard another one mention the president, or any president, either way. Doubtless he watches the network news at the end of the day, where they do nothing but bash the president. Making any country great again doesn’t necessarily do it for those accustomed to treating equally those of any “nation, tribe, people, and tongue.” (Revelation 7:9) As for the photoshopped Trump beating up on the CNN bobble head, the average Witness who sees that thinks of how he tries not to do like that with the householder. He observes that Trump is bombastic whereas he tries to be polite. Often his politics go no further than that.